This Week’s News
Lost Names, Part 27: Gilbar, Gilbert, Bushee, and Cornstock
Several years ago, Roberta (Wright) Mills of Florence asked me to explore the genealogy of her great-great-grandfather Eli Gilbar to see if we could find any evidence of Native American ancestry. While no traces of Native American forebears have yet surfaced in this family, Eli nonetheless emerged as opportunity to investigate another lost French-Canadian surname.
Brandon SB discusses appointments and conflicts of interest
The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening.
Brandon’s Tonya Durant takes her drag craft in a new direction
Tonya Durant has built a devoted following as Anita Cocktail, the powerhouse momma hen to a big brood of drag performers in Rutland County. An unusual drag artist, Durant is a biological woman whose drag persona has also been female—until now.
Sheila Gearwar to be Grand Marshal in July 4th parade
Anyone who’s been in the Brandon area for any length of time has at some point crossed paths with Sheila Gearwar at the beloved Brandon House of Pizza on Center Street, which she has owned and/or managed since 2011.
Photos of the Week
Sports
Field hockey love
A couple of weeks ago, an out-of-town sports team came to Brandon to donate a day of free labor. Brandon’s economic development and recreation director Bill Moore welcomed the help and put the Castleton University field hockey team to work moving a big pile of woodchips at the Seminary Hill Park playground and painting picnic tables at Estabrook Park.
Cosmos, Otters embody sportsmanship
This past Saturday, the Otter Valley field hockey team met visiting Springfield in which both teams came out as winners by seeing close-up what good sportsmanship means.
OV wins State Championship!
The Otter Valley boys’ golf team dominated the field at the Manchester Country Club on Thursday, Oct. 10 to win the Division II championship by a 22-stroke margin.
Eagles pull away to topple OV in high scoring battle, 44-20
The Mount Abraham-Vergennes cooperative football team converted seven Otter Valley turnovers into 30 points on Saturday as the Division II Eagles won for the time this season, 44-20, at the visiting Otters’ expense.
OV field hockey starts fast, blanks host Tigers 5-0
When the Middlebury and Otter Valley union high school field hockey teams met in the 2020 Division II playoffs the Otters prevailed in double overtime.