Top Stories for Tuesday August 22, 2006

Ernie Bragg Preserves Outdoor Memories
By Mike Cameron
   One of the most respected aspects of outdoor lore is the ability and work of a dedicated taxidermist.  Middlebury’s Ernie “Butch” Bragg is that kind of professional.
   As he indicates in the mission statement of his business,“Bragg’s Taxidermy started with a dream several years ago.  A close friend of mine taught me how to mount my own white-tail buck back in the early 90’s in his shop.  The gentleman moved to Florida in 1995 and I bought his equipment with the hopes of having my own shop.  I became a hobbyist in 1997 after attending the Rinehart Supply Company’s two day work shop in Albany N.Y. and from then on, I’ve been hooked on Taxidermy,” Ernie recalls.  [ more ]

Sharing Memories With Stanford Pritchard
By Larry Johnson
    One thing many deeply creative people seem to  share  is an intense passion for and a narrow focus on whatever craft they 0are applying themselves to at any given time. Stanford Pritchard of Middlebury is no exception. He is a novelist, playwright, poet and jazz pianist and his life is an all-consuming dedication to his many talents.
     Stanford was born in Washington, D.C. where his father owned and operated a men’s clothing store. While growing up in the nation’s capitol, Stanford, a newspaper boy, had the dubious distinction of delivering Richard Nixon’s newspaper. The Vice President lived about a half-block away in a private house. Stanford also delivered newspapers to Estes Kefauver and Dean Rusk. Fortunately for Stanford, newspaper delivery was only a temporary vocation.
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Dreams Really Do Come true
By Brian Bauer
     During a period of pre-history when the price of gasoline was not necessarily a deterrent, you might have taken a drive just to get away for the day. During that escape you probably remarked to yourself about the beauty of the mountains and hay fields which you passed. Every so often though, you passed a remnant of someone's dream. It might have been a little place to eat which had been by-passed by a major roadway, a shop which had sold Vermont products, a vegetable stand living beyond its usefulness, or, a myriad of other possibilities. These are remnants of small businesses which may or may not have been a success in their time. They were created, planned, and worked at by average people who dared to try to develop a business of their own.
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