Top Stories for Tuesday March 2, 2010

Of Horses, Cattle, Blacksmithing, & Sleighs: Sharing Memories With Bill Oosterman
By Cookie Steponaitis
    Growing up in Whitensville, Massachusetts, Bill Oosterman crossed paths with a man simply called “Uncle Charlie” by everyone in the village of East Douglas. A blacksmith and a horseshoer by trade, Uncle Charlie’s place was always alive with activity. To thirteen year old Bill Oosterman, it was the beginning of a fascination for the merging of heated metal, pounding irons and showing horses. As a striker in Charlie’s shop, metal hot out of the fire became shapes that turned into a life long passion for metal work and grew into a career involving horses, cattle, welding, shipyards and magical creations including wagons, sleighs and music wagons. Now looking back on a career that has spanned more than seventy years, sharing memories with Bill Oosterman is a look into a life of hard work, dedication to family, his profession and his faith.

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Maple Season Is Almost Here
By Mike Cameron
The time is almost here for the maple sap to start running in earnest.  Will the maple season be on track in 2010?  It usually depends on who you ask.  Vermonters enjoy a good debate.  
    Many trees have already been tapped.  Mother nature has already begun the process of bringing sap into a new season.

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Devil’s Bowl Speedway Begins a New Era in 2010

  Presenting a good show for the fans has always been a priority for the Richards family, and this year will be no different in that respect. The big difference will be in the racing surface itself, as “Vermont’s Fastest Half Mile” will make the conversion from a dirt racing facility to an asphalt speedway. Paving the track will make it more appealing to race fans, while creating more opportunities for different types of racing than in the past, as well as new marketing potential for sponsors and corporate partners.   [ more ]