"On Vermont Time ..."

Tim Photo Timothy G. Stetson is a Vermont native who was born in Richford and after a short (10 year) stint in northern New York now lives in Enosburg Falls with his wife Kathy and his family. He is the Regional Disaster Program Officer for the American Red Cross in Vermont and the New Hampshire Upper Valley Region. Tim is also an ordained minister and is the Pastor of New Life Christian Church of West Berkshire, Vermont; a church that along with his wife and a team of leaders he helped plant in 2007. In addition to his work in disaster response and the ministry, Tim is a small business owner; a Gospel Music Recording Artist; performs in a Gospel Music Duo – The Stetsons; and has written two original Christian musicals for the theatre stage. Both he and his wife Kathy have been actively involved in Community Theater and many other event production projects for many years. He stays very active in many other community organizations and projects. In his 30 plus year career with the Red Cross he has traveled around the country working on some of the nation’s largest disaster operations. As much as he has loved traveling to all of these places, he still loves to come home to Vermont which is why he started compiling all of the stories about the state that are found in this book.

Lou Photo
Louis J. Hill (1935 – 2005) was born and raised in Enosburg Falls, Lou remained a Vermonter at heart while living in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Missouri and Florida, and Vermont was where he returned to spend the final years of his life. While his career path included electronic engineering, sales and a stint with the INS and Border Patrol, Lou’s hobbies ranged from genealogy to gemology to gardening. He was above all a life-long learner and someone who loved a good story. Inspired by a Creative Writing class taught by Vermont author Joe Citro, Lou set out to tell stories about growing up in Enosburg. His essays provide a glimpse into Vermont life with the humor and heart that were Lou’s trademarks.

Rick Photo Roderick (Rick) Bates is a Vermont native whose family home in Chester has nurtured his forebears and his children over four generations. He has supervised the Brattleboro Probation and Parole office since 1982. He began writing poetry in high school, and became serious about it several years ago when, at his wife's urging, he joined a writing group in Walpole, NH. He also writes essays, and his essay "Straightening Nails," which first appeared in Vermont Life Magazine, won an award from the International Regional Magazines Association. He has a degree in Religion from Dartmouth College. He has published poems in Vermont Folkus, Naugatuck River Review, The Dark Horse, and on the web at Poets Against the War, Rat's Ass Review, and Astronomers Without Borders (where he won another award).

Lou Photo Lauren L. Young says, “Poetry flows through my veins. It feels like the calm before a storm, riding the crest of an ocean wave, and soaring through the air propelled by my own energy. Writing for me is an emotional high that whets my appetite causing insatiable hunger, which is temporarily sated with each new piece!” Through her photography she brings to the surface the five senses of touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight. Every photo tells a story; be it complex or simple, it is life. Lauren wrote her first poem when she was nine and her first story when she was in Junior High. She wrote the poem for her niece Nancy and her first story as a school assignment. She remembers fondly when the teacher asked her to approach her desk she was hoping for an “A” on the story. What she got was, “Where did you copy this from?” Because of this experience Lauren learned the importance of listening to children and teenagers. She finds her most fun writing to be when she uses romance and humor. Because if you don’t have humor or romance, what do you have? She says she isn’t talking about the romance between special people. She is talking about the romance of life with all its ups and downs. Sometimes you have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and carry on. Life hands us lessons every day. What we do with them is our choice.