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I can clearly remember this sentiment growing up in Vermont. You were a real Vermonter or you weren’t. It was pervasive and no one thought about whether this was OK or not. It was just a basic truth. After we moved to Massachusetts my husband wouldn’t change our car registration from those green plates until we were pulled over by an Amherst, MA policeman who told us gruffly, “get that updated!” We still have the plates in the house. But now, 45 years later, having lived more years in Mass than in Vermont, are we still real Vermonters? My husband points out that Western Mass should have been part of Vermont- just extend the east/west borders of VT straight down into Massachusetts where we live. But what about this sentiment- of being a real Vermonter? Yes, it’s pride of place and love of the many attributes of the Green Mountain State. But it’s also exclusionist. It’s a silent agreement that if you are a real Vermonter you understand things that an ‘outsider’ won’t. It is a quiet resolve that they will never be a real part of the place. It becomes a sort of ‘Us vs. Them’ approach to life. As I age I see the world as smaller and belonging to no one. We all just live here together. If we move back to Vermont will we be real Vermonters again or somebody from ‘down country?’

Harry Cooley ~1960 at his house, this house, The Ridge Road House. He would have called it The Day Place, having bought it from his friend and neighbor Sam Day. (see aerial map below). Photo of Harry found with his second wife Bernice's things from the 1960s at the Ridge Road House recently. She most likely took this photo. His parents bought what became known as The Cooley Farm on Ridge Road in 1910. Later when Harry was married he moved into the Hill House with his wife Gertrude in 1917 which became known as the Little House. Here you can see from north to south the juxtaposition of the Cooley Farm, the Hill Farm, and the Day Farm (the Day Farm being the location of the house in this blog- The Ridge Road House). Information from: Harry H. Cooley, "Farming, An Autobiography," Korongo Books 2020, The essays collectively titled "Personal Reminiscences"were originally published 1978, "Randolph Vermont Historical Sketches," by Harry H. Cooley, edited by Miriam Herwig.

Please give your input. (Comment in area below the post.) It’s quite a while in the future before we have to decide this but…do we go with a local builder or prefabricated building. The only way I’d even consider prefab is if #1 it is a company with a great reputation and track record, #2 it is a Vermont company, #3 the end product looks like a house not a box. We are considering using Huntington Homes which fits all three of the above criteria. My heart says use a local contractor. My concerns with that are costs continually rising over time, a contractor who is pulled between several jobs, and the process being very long (with us not living in Vermont to oversee it). Huntington Homes gives a fixed cost. They claim to cost less per square foot because of their buying in bulk, working inside to build which cuts down on work stoppages, and repeated experience with similar designs. Even their non-custom home designs can be changed (rooms moved around, for ex. at no extra charge) which makes it easier for me to ultimately match the old Ridge Road House. One must keep in mind other costs however, such as site costs (though our site being already developed will be less than the usual), and the foundation cost. Another cost with this prefab option is the ‘buttoning up’ charge where you do have to find an available local contractor who is willing to do the finish work on the house including any porches or garages. Here is a house in Monkton, Vermont which is a good example of a finished Huntington Home that you wouldn’t guess is prefabricated. Here is one of their stock home designs called Buck Hill (see below) with some of the basic design features that are similar to the Ridge Road House. Notice the upside-down V-shaped dormer on the front. I would move the garage to the north side (opposite what it is in this photo since I want the south side to be for living not for parking). I have some reticence with this since it would be a change from the original design of the existing house. I would also move the porch from the left to the right in this photo above which would more closely match the original house. See photo of the original house below.

I saw these address books as I sorted through items at the Ridge Road House and thought, yes, keep them! Old address books have a page for birthdays: if someone needs to confirm an ancestor's birthday this would be a good resource. If you want to look up census data from a particular town or city, this could be a starting point. The red address book belonged to Harry Cooley himself. Harry and his wife Gertrude (Small) lived on the farm down the road for over 35 years but owned this particular house for only two years (1953-1955) before she passed away from lung cancer. Sadly, my husband Daniel R. Cooley only remembers her ill and lying in bed (he would have been 3-4 when she died. Harry lived until 1986. The other address book belonged to Harry's second wife Bernice (Parker Lane). Even though she doesn't share DNA with the family, she lived at this Ridge Road house for almost five years, from 1957-1962, and Harry loved her dearly. Harry discovered her on the kitchen floor having died of a heart attack (they knew she had a bad heart but she had been completely fine just the day before). Share any memories of your grandmothers...Gramma Cooley and/or Gramma Bernice in the comments section below. I realize you had to be born well before 1955 to be old enough to remember Gramma Cooley and well before 1962 for Gramma Bernice.

The best feature of this tiny bedroom- the two windows with a view of the Green Mountains. Not big enough to add in a closet. L-shaped. Many a grandchild remembers sleeping here. Two secret peek holes created by one grandchild. You could lay in bed and see who was coming up the stairs! Very useful if you were reading late with a flashlight.

This is possibly the most beautiful bedroom in the house. Facing south doesn't hurt any room. So lit up and cheerful. I have always been fond of Capes...with the two bedrooms upstairs that match on either side of the house. I love symmetry I guess. It doesn't matter that there are only two windows in each room...they fill up a whole wall. This room also has a beautiful wide-board floor, though parts of it are kind of 'cut up.' I'm not sure why. Could these boards be saved and reused? I certainly would like to try. As I have mentioned in my Design & Planning Posts, the whole upstairs will be for guests, but this room in particular will be the most hospitable for visitors. It will be known as the PA Bedroom (see previous reference for explanation) and will host my son & wife when they come, and any other special visitors that come just as a couple. Jill and John used this room in summer. Who else has slept here? I have not.

I learned that this bedroom was updated by Marion (Cooley) Stouder (a daughter of Harry Cooley who bought the house in 1953). The Stouder family visited often and spent a lot of time at this house. This room tilts dramatically to the north and the floor can make you a bit dizzy as you walk on it these days.