Stateside with Rosalea: Vermont

What’s not to like about Vermont? It used to have more cows than people. The official state drink is milk, and the official state pie is apple pie. Not just that, but since May 1999, state law has decreed: When serving apple pie in Vermont, a “good faith” effort shall be made to meet one or more of the following conditions: (a) with a glass of cold milk, (b) with a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum of 1/2 ounce, (c) with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Moreover, from 1777, when the state’s constitution was written, until 1791, when it was admitted into the United States, it was an independent republic. Although a republic, it didn’t call itself a nation, but a state. The main reason it wasn’t admitted earlier was that there was a fight between New Hampshire to the east and New York to the west over whether the land actually formed part of their states. New York opposed Vermont’s admission to the Union as a separate state.

Nonetheless, in 1790, when George Washington called for a census to be taken of all the “heads of household” and their families then living in the U.S.—mainly to find out how many boys and young men might be available for military service—Vermont was included in the count. You can download the census here. Two things caught my eye: despite the Republic of Vermont’s constitution outlawing slavery—which it kept when it joined the Union—there are 16 slaves listed; and there aren’t any French surnames.

I’m surprised about the latter because Vermont borders Quebec and its early history is as much about the French presence as the British. Lake Champlain, which forms the border between Vermont and New York, was discovered by the French explorer after whom it’s named around the same time that Henry Hudson discovered the river named after him. Hence the Quadricentennial Celebrations taking place in Vermont and New York this year.

As for the 16 slaves, a footnote in the census publication states: An examination of the original manuscript returns shows that there were never any slaves in Vermont. The original error occurred in preparing the results for publication, when 16 persons returned as “Free Colored” were classified as “Slave.” (That’s what you get for letting the government get hold of your personal data—a mine of misinformation!)

Speaking of which, Vermont is one of only four states that is issuing “enhanced” driver’s licenses (in VT they’re known as Operator’s Licenses) to meet the June 1st federal requirement that people making land border crossings have some kind of digital ID. The other states are New York, Michigan, and Washington. This movie from the US Customs and Border Protection shows how the RFID documents (which also include passports and passport cards) are used at entry.

But my favorite little bit of Vermont-related goowikiness is the comment that someone has made about a YouTube video which shows a 2007 TV news story on the contemporary movement in Vermont for it to become once again a republic by seceding from the United States.

RestiveBob says: “If Vermont left the country, who the f*** would miss it? A pack of loony-tune, tree-hugging, dope-smoking hippies and gun nuts who live only to kill deer. It's not like Vermont came up with anything (other than two of the worst presidents we ever had). Go back to your f***ing commune and pretend you matter. Vermont is nothing but Afghanistan with maple syrup!”

I forgot to mention—Vermont’s state tree is the Sugar Maple. And its state soil is the Tunbridge Soil Series, which is reputedly what makes the grass grow greener than in neighboring states--hence the name “Green Mountains” (Vermont). One of the official state rocks is marble, and whenever you see an image of the exterior of the U.S. Supreme Court, you’re looking at it.

Finally, just because I love the song and stumbled upon these guys while searching for a video of someone singing it, here’s a link to a video of a schoolboy jazz trio in Israel playing Moonlight in Vermont. Wow!

rosalea.barker@gmail.com

--PEACE—

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