Listener comments on ‘Great Thoughts of Vermont’

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“I usually like [Madeleine Kunin’s] commentaries, but I felt the piece about Shelburne Museum, was off the mark. It characterized the many artisans who created the collection as uneducated, simple-minded and unself-conscious creators of artifacts which others later perceive as having artistic merit. In my experience, the artisans I know (I’m a furniture maker and builder) are as thoughtful, intentional, and educated about their work as anyone. I also think some mention of how the Webb family came to be able to do their good works (and at whose expense) could have been worth a mention. For example, the 30 farmers who were displaced to create their estate.”
~ Sam

“Thanks very much for producing [Gregory Sanford’s commentary on Ralph Flanders] as part of Great Thoughts of Vermont! A timely topic, and Gregory Sanford caught all the important points. ”
~ Sarah in Peacham

“PLEASE indicate on your web pages EXACTLY when the Great Thoughts commentaries will air. I could find no schedule, other than Mondays, of when to be particularly alert and listen. The Dairy Compact and its impact is indeed, a great idea, worthy of a column. Also, Harriet Worrell – theatre director, SpeakChorus originator (VPR did a piece a few years back) and Arts Coordinator for Woodstock – continues to ignite a passion for theatre and the arts in a second generation of youngsters. She could be one of your subjects or could write a commentary herself. At any rate please advertise the schedule of upcoming GT’s! Thank you for this wonderful series- the ones I have heard have been just terrific!”
~ Diana in Woodstock

Note: Great Thoughts commentaries air on Mondays at 7:55 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., and repeat at 4:30 p.m. and 5:55 p.m.

“Just a quick thank you for the Great Thoughts of Vermont series. I am an enthusiastic member of VPR but this series has raised my appreciation of what the VPR staff does to a new level. It has also raised my appreciation of my adopted state to a new level and I have been eagerly awaiting Mondays since the series started. This has been a splendid gift. Are there the makings of a book here? Thank you.”
~ Thomas in Hartford

“Thomas Davenport, visionary inventor of the electric motor, might have transformed the world (would slavery have been necessary?) if an Albany scientist had told him, as he knew, that reversing the process would have produced the dynamo needed to power the motor. The late MIT professor Hank Paynter, who retired to Pittsford, researched all this, and fellow engineer Emerson Frost of Pittsford has his materials.”
~ Ed from Brandon

“I am enjoying this series. Thank you for broadcasting it! Another Vermonter you might consider is Frederick Buechner of Pawlet. Buechner, a writer and Presbyterian minister, is the author of more than 20 novels and nonfiction works. His works cut across denominational lines to touch hearts. Quotes like the following from his book, “Now and Then” both inspire and challenge: ‘Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.’ Frederick Buechner is a Vermonter who has Great Thoughts!”
~ Linda from Montpelier

“In these times when people are deeply concerned about the erosion of civil and constitutional rights, and when the political climate discourages those who would speak up for these rights, I propose the courageous act of U.S. Senator from Vermont Ralph E. Flanders. He was the first senator to move that the Senate censure Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy for his red-baiting, anti-civil rights activities. A longtime Vermonter, Flanders was a Republican of the ‘enlightened conservative’ variety.”
~ Sarah from Peacham

“What about the two co-founders of AA? Dr. Bob Smith was born in St. Johnsbury and Bill Wilson was born in Dorset.”
~ Daniel from Plainfield

“The Dairy Compact belongs on the list of Vermont’s great ideas. The best system ever invented for pricing milk, it brought consumers, farmers and processors together from all over New England to do what decades of farm programs could not do – set a fair and stable price for an agricultural product.”
~ Clark from Charlotte

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