Name: Naugatuck Valley Textile Industry
Brand: Mary Ruth Shields
SKU: 9780738573533
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Naugatuck Valley Textile Industry

9780738573533

$24.99

T he textile industry found its roots in Connecticut along the banks of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers between Waterbury and Bridgeport. From the early 1800s, when David Humphries, former aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington, brought the woolen industry to America, to the 1950s, when the vast Sidney Blumenthal Mills moved to the South, the textile industry shaped life in the Naugatuck Valley. The industry witnessed labor actions, inspired cultural expression, and experienced the growth of shipping by road, water, and rail. Workers produced felted wool, cotton, and silk fabrics, velvet, fake fur, wool hosiery, buttons, ribbons, and various other goods, laying the foundation for the prosperity enjoyed by the valley today.

Lobster Rolls of New England:

9781626194083

$19.99

The mighty lobster roll is best enjoyed at a picnic table under a red umbrella accompanied by the sounds and smells of the sea. The perfect roll is all in the execution, and the variations are subtle but nearly endless--from top-sliced to buttered or mayonnaise-based. Blogger extraordinaire Sally Lerman chronicles her quest for the perfect bite in Lobster Rolls of New England." Savor mouthwatering descriptions of forty coastal lobster rolls, their storied venues, luscious photos and recipes for some of the lobster roll's best complements. Discover the surprising history of the first trademarked lobster roll. Devour the very best New England has to offer, from Downeast Maine's Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound to Captain Scott's Lobster Dock in New London, Connecticut."

Luminaries of Early West Barnstable:

9781626193154

$21.99

West Barnstable is unique among historic colonial Cape Cod hamlets. A quartet born in the little village in a fifty-six-year span in the eighteenth century marked this village on the map forever. James Otis Jr., the Patriot," led the intellectual revolution and helped shape American independence. His sister, Mercy Otis Warren, broke free of the defined roles for women of her time to become a significant political activist, dramatist, poet and historian. War hero John "Mad Jack" Percival rose to the highest rank in the U.S. Navy and saved the USS "Constitution "from the scrap heap before sailing it around the world. America's magistrate Lemuel Shaw influenced the country from his seat as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Few villages shone so brightly for their size. Join author James H. Ellis as he traces the stories of West Barnstable's luminaries and their profound village legacy."

Boston and the State of Massachusetts:

9781439600993

$11.99

Help your child discover and understand exactly what makes Boston and the state of Massachusetts so great - and perhaps learn a thing or two yourself!

HOW one Boston building provides a daily weather forecast? (Hint: If you know the poem you can crack the code!) WHAT popular spot in the city was once used for such things as livestock grazing and public hangings? (Hint: It's been public property for a long time!) Find these answers and more in Cool Stuff Every Kid Should Know™ -- an interesting little book about a very special place on the planet!
Arcadia Kids is a series of fun, colorful, easy-to-read books for children ages 7-11 featuring attention-grabbing cover art, inviting conversational style content, and vivid full-color images of landmarks and geography. Parents, grandparents, and savvy shoppers will appreciate the feel good factor of purchasing books that are both fun AND educational.

Westford

9780738556574

$24.99

This book about Westford describes the effect of the mills‚' demise in the 1950s, and chronicles the town‚s recent development into a very appealing bedroom community for workers in Boston.

From its incorporation in 1729 through the late nineteenth century, Westford, Massachusetts, was a farming community sparsely populated by families of English ancestry. But in the first years of the twentieth century, a significant change occurred in Westford when mills that had opened in the town‚'s Forge Village and Graniteville sections began to recruit workers from Russia, Poland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Canada. Westford depicts what the arrival of the mills and the mill workers meant to the town and its evolution in the twentieth century.

The Lepine Girls of Mud City: Embracing Vermont

9781609494315

$21.99

The Lepines" story began in Quebec, from where Maurice and Imelda immigrated to Vermont during the Great Depression. The family farmed, lived off the rich Vermont landscape and instilled a love for it in their daughters, Gert, Jeanette and Therese. As adults, "the Girls" taught school, traveled the world and worked for President Johnson but never forgot their roots. All three returned to Mount Sterling Farm, raising their famed Jersey cows and embodying Vermont's agricultural tradition. Their story is one of hope and valor--of a family who loved their home and neighbors and left their land as a lasting gift for the world.

The Lepine Girls of Mud City: Embracing Vermont

The Great Escape of Edward Whalley and William Goffe: Smuggled Through Connecticut

9781609493028

$21.99

Author Christopher Pagliuco reveals the all-but-forgotten stories of these Connecticut heroes.

When Puritans Edward Whalley and William Goffe joined the parliamentary army against King Charles I in the English civil wars, they seized an opportunity to overthrow a tyrant. Yet when his son, Charles II, regained the throne, Whalley and Goffe were forced to flee to the New England colonies aboard the ship Prudent Mary--never to see their families or England again. Even with the help of New England's Puritan elite, including Reverend John Davenport, they struggled to stay ahead of the authorities in Boston, New Haven, and the outpost of Hadley, Massachusetts. Though forced to live out the rest of their lives fugitives, these former major generals survived frontier adventures in seventeenth-century New England, and became embedded in early United States history.

The Great Escape of Edward Whalley and William Goffe: Smuggled Through Connecticut

Patriot on the Kennebec:

9781609495008

$21.99

In late 1775, a few months a¬fter the first shots of the Revolution were fired, Benedict Arnold led more than one thousand troops into Quebec to attack the British there. Departing from Massachusetts, by the time they reached Pittston, Maine, they were in desperate need of supplies and equipment to carry them the rest of the way. Many patriotic Mainers contributed, including Major Reuben Colburn, who constructed a flotilla of bateaux for the weary troops. Despite his service in the Continental army, many blamed Colburn when several of the vessels did not withstand the harsh journey. In this narrative, the roles played by Colburn and his fellow Mainers in Arnold's march are reexamined and revealed.

West Roxbury

9780738512471

$24.99

Once a part of Roxbury, West Roxbury was originally known as Westerly. Located six miles from Roxbury's town center at Meeting House Hill, which was settled by Puritans in 1630, Westerly was composed of farms and large estates. In 1840, Brook Farm, a transcendental community striving to live and commune with nature, brought fame to the hamlet. In 1851, after years of agitation headed by the Honorable Arthur Austin, West Roxbury officially separated from Roxbury and became an independent town. Meanwhile, the Boston and Providence Railroad, with various depots, such as Bellevue, Highland, West Roxbury, and Spring Street, launched a building boom that continued unabated well into the twentieth century. New streets and houses soon fragmented the farms and large estates. West Roxbury chronicles the development of this desirable and well-regarded Boston neighborhood through vintage images from the collection of the West Roxbury Historical Society and modern photographs taken by Charlie Rosenberg.

Brown University Athletics

9780738512525

$24.99

Brown University established one of the first athletic programs in the nation in 1857. As one of the oldest colleges in America, the university has been a pioneer in intercollegiate athletics for more than one hundred twenty-five years. Brown University Athletics: From the Bruins to the Bears explores this rich and storied history with rare archival photographs.

Brown University Athletics features some of the greatest teams and athletes in Brown history, as well as several others who have gone on to prominent careers, including Governor Don Carcieri, media mogul Ted Turner, and ESPN sports anchor Chris Berman. From football legends John Heisman, Joe Paterno, and Steve Jordan to baseball star Billy Almon, Brown athletes have enjoyed tremendous success and have won national championships in several sports.

Orleans County

9780738574127

$24.99

Orleans County is a quiet, rural county in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. In the late 18th and early 19th century, southern New England settlers moved north to the hills and valleys where the Native American Abenaki had long resided. Life in Orleans County was hard and isolated, with travel often curtailed by intense winter weather and deep spring mud. But instead of leaving the beautiful land, the people made their own civilization and settled into country life. Images of America: Orleans County highlights the men and women who farmed the land and took part in the growth of industry. Historic photographs portray the county's evolution as the number of farms decreased and factory work increased, transportation progressed from wagon and sleigh to the automobile and railroad, and agriculture moved from horse-powered equipment to gas-powered tractors.

Haverhill's Immigrants at the Turn of the Century

9780738564296

$24.99

Haverhill's immigrants--they came for the jobs that were so plentiful in the booming shoe industry. They came to flee poverty, insecurity, and massacres. They came because their relatives had come before them, or because they would find old neighbors in this new place. Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the early twentieth century was a magnet for newcomers. They came from such diverse and faraway places as Asia Minor and Eastern Europe. They were Poles and Lithuanians, Greeks and Armenians, and Italians and French-Canadians. They joined the Yankees and Irish who had previously immigrated to the city. The result was a wonderful mix of customs, languages, religions, and names. The images in this book are family treasures. They have been lovingly taken down from places of honor on living room walls. They have come from boxes of family photographs, carefully preserved for future generations. Some photographs traveled with the immigrants from their homes far away. In all, this book offers a loving glimpse of some of the many people who helped to shape modern Haverhill.

Haverhill's Immigrants at the Turn of the Century

The Music Hall, Portsmouth

9780738512495

$24.99

On Christmas Eve 1876, Portsmouth citizens watched flames reduce their largest meetinghouse and entertainment hall to ashes. During the following year, local families, businessmen, and craftsmen combined their resources to build a new auditorium with state-of-the-art lighting, rigging, staging, and seating-a comfortable venue for public addresses, charity functions, and international entertainment. The Music Hall, Portsmouth, was born.

Twain spoke from her stage, Sousa's brass echoed from her walls, and Edison's films brought her silver screen to life. Enduring war, depression, and multiple threats of destruction, this grand hall today stands as New Hampshire's oldest operating theater. Showcasing the world's finest stage and screen talent, offering artistic education to young and old, and hosting fundraisers and private events, the Music Hall is a testament to the necessity of arts in local culture and the strength of a community's resolve.

The Daring Coast Guard Rescue of the Pendleton Crew

9781626190955

$29.99

Jack Nickerson and his faithful lab, Sinbad, wake early one snowy Cape Cod morning, ready for winter fun. Meanwhile, miles away in the ocean, the crew of a cargo tanker ship called the Pendleton is in serious trouble. The waves and wind of a raging nor'easter rip the tanker in two, leaving the people to cling for their lives in the wicked, cold storm. There's no time to waste--the Coast Guard, including Jack's friend Bernie Webber, leave Chatham Harbor in search of the Pendleton crew. They don't yet know that Jack and Sinbad have snuck aboard the rescue boat as stowaways. Join the young duo in the front-row seat for the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

The Daring Coast Guard Rescue of the Pendleton Crew

Winthrop

9780738512099

$24.99

The Winthrop lakes region is a richly historical area of great natural beauty. Winthrop chronicles the town's life since the mid-1800s with views of many resort hotels and camps on the Maranacook, Annabessacook, and Cobossecontee Lakes, still fondly remembered by summer rusticators. Also included are vintage photographs of the town's rapidly evolving Main Street and village, recently the focus of modernization efforts that resulted in the restoration of the Penniman Block.

Route 7, The Road North:

9780738502564

$24.99

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this "golden age" can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Route 7 from Norwalk to Canaan,
Connecticut, showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available.

Glimpses of Medford:

9781596292314

$21.99

In Medford's past, the Mystic River was the origin and the lifeblood of the town.

On June 17, 1630, Governor John Winthrop led an expedition of colonists up the Mystic River to the north of Boston, where six miles up the river they found "a good place upon Mystick." This "good place" became Medford, Massachusetts, and Winthrop's journey marked the start of a long and lively history.

Glimpses of Medford consists of a selection of articles, stories and reminiscences from the Medford Historical Register, the publication of the Medford Historical Society. In these pages you will be taken on a trip through Medford's history as told by Medford's homegrown historians, from the days of the early settlement to the night that Paul Revere stopped in Medford Square on his famous ride. You will walk down Ship Street at the height of the shipbuilding era, take a ride around town on the Boston and Lowell Railroad and meet Medford's people, from Victorian milkmen to the soldiers of the Lawrence Light Guard. It's a journey through Medford's past that you will never forget.

Gloucester's Sea Serpent

9781596294615

$21.99

In 1817, as Gloucester, Massachusetts, was recovering from the War of 1812, something beneath the water was about to cause a stir in this New England coastal community. It was a misty August day when two women first sighted Gloucester's sea serpent, touching off a riptide of excitement among residents that reached a climax when Matt Gaffney fired a direct shot at the creature. Local historian Wayne Soini explores the depths of Gloucester harbor to reveal a treasure-trove of details behind this legendary mystery. Follow as he tracks Justice of the Peace Lonson Nash's careful investigation, the world's first scientific study of this marine animal, and judges the credibility of numerous reported sightings.

Boston's Back Bay

9780738590257

$24.99

One of the largest development projects in nineteenth-century America, Boston's Back Bay was essentially a tidal basin until the construction of the Mill Dam (present-day Beacon Street) just after the War of 1812. By 1837, the area bounded by Charles, Boylston, Beacon, and Arlington Streets was filled in and laid out as the Public Garden, later the site of Boston's famous swanboats. In the late 1850s, the massive infill of the Back Bay commenced, and the earth collected from the hills of Needham was deposited in the city's "west end" for nearly four decades. As the new land began to reach Muddy River, the streets assumed a grid-like plan. The grand avenues eventually comprised Victorian Boston's premier neighborhood, and became home to the most impressive religious, educational, and residential architecture in New England.

Milton Firefighting

9780738549880

$24.99

The Fireward Society of Dorchester and Milton was founded in 1793 to protect citizens on both sides of the Neponset River. In 1830, both towns recognized Fountain Engine No. 1 as their main source of fire protection in Milton Village and Lower Mills. Later the Hydrant Engine Company was formed in East Milton, reflecting the population growth in this area. When Milton officials recognized that their fire department could not keep up with the growing town, a chemical engine was purchased and installed in a new firehouse built in the center of Milton in 1881. Soon the town acquired a steam engine and installed it in an even larger station. Thus began the gradual development of a professional, full-time fire department in Milton.

Groton Revisited

9780738554907

$24.99

Its proximity to the ocean will always be the most significant part of Groton's history. The 19th-century shipyards along the Mystic River produced some of the country's finest clipper ships. Land along the Thames River today remains home to the country's oldest submarine base and to the General Dynamics Electric Boat corporation, where the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, was built and first set sail. Today Nautilus is permanently berthed along the Thames in Groton at the Submarine Force Library and Museum. But Groton is a typical New England town as well. Within this volume, the town's evolution is traced from its agrarian roots in Center Groton and along the plains of Poquonnock to the devastation wrought by the Great Hurricane of 1938. It recalls some of Groton's great citizens, including two Civil War Medal of Honor winners and two Boston Marathon champions.

Lifesavers of the South Shore:

9781596292246

$21.99

However cruelly the rocks of Massachusetts's South Shore have treated storm-driven sailors, there can be no questioning the selflessness and courage of the keepers and surfmen who played host to the no man's land between frozen beach and gale-tossed sea. Read John Galluzzo's enthralling account of the Life-Saving Service and meet legends like Joshua James, whose surfboat, Nantasket, once saved twenty-nine men from six boats in a grueling thirty-six hours. Chart a course through the service s history, from its humble beginning in the refuge huts built after the American Revolution until its absorption into the U.S. Coast Guard in the twentieth century.

Penobscot Bay

9781596296237

$21.99

Penobscot Bay is the jewel of mid-coast Maine, a landscape of close-knit communities and picturesque ports whose scenery is matched only by its rich history. Granite from the quarries on Vinalhaven has built bridges, banks and monuments in twenty-three states. Ships launched in Searsport and Belfast have traveled the world. Harry Gratwick explores these and other episodes in Penobscot Bay's past, from the first recorded solar eclipse in Islesboro in 1780 to a covert meeting between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in 1941. He also recalls some of the region's most indelible characters and traditions, including South Orrington's Earl 'on the River' Morrill and the Vinalhaven North Haven basketball rivalry. Describing war, sport, industry and tragedy, he captures the essence of Penobscot Bay.

Lexington, Massachusetts:

9781596291034

$19.99

As history's raw material, documents serve as our gateway into the past. In this exciting new book, Lexington historian Richard Kollen places these faded and crinkled relics within their historical context to reveal a picture of a bygone society. This collection of essays describes the ordinary and the extraordinary in Lexington's history. Kollen paints a rich portrait of colonial and post-Revolution life, from the infamous Battle of Lexington to misconstrued Puritanical marriage. This engaging book is organized according to three basic and timeless categories? matters of home and community, matters of finance and matters of war. Kollen's easy style relates a time long gone to present issues and shows how Lexington's history can enrich and broaden our view of American history.

Ellington

9780738538242

$24.99

Located 16 miles northeast of Hartford, Ellington was incorporated in 1786 and has retained the charm of a New England village and farming community. Originally part of Windsor, it was known as the Great Marsh. Ellington Center, with its town green and 18th- to 20th-century houses, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Japanese business pioneer Francis Hall donated the jewel of the district to his hometown in 1903--the neoclassical-revival-style library. Archival photographs preserve faded memories of schools, churches, townspeople, and a unique dentist's tooth-shaped tombstone. Ellington captures a time when John Hall's Ellington School was known worldwide, Crystal Lake was a popular summer resort, and Daniel Hallady invented the modern windmill.

Midcoast Maine

9780738536415

$24.99

Midcoast Maine: The Cunningham Collection transports us back to another time in American history when optimism and confidence soared and anything seemed possible. Based on the remarkable photographic work of brothers Frank and Bert Cunningham, this pictorial history effectively captures the people and their way of life long since gone from the midcoast region. Born in the small town of Washington shortly after the Civil War, the brothers traveled narrow dirt roads by horse-drawn wagon, covering an area that encompasses nearly three hundred square miles. In their works, they preserved for us not only the people and the places of the midcoast, but also something of its character as well.

Cover image for Midcoast Maine, isbn: 9780738536415

The Italian Home for Children

9780738538273

$24.99

As it ravaged the world, the influenza epidemic of 1918 devastated Boston's congested North End and left hundreds of orphans in its wake. Touched by this crisis, a Roman Catholic priest and a group of Italian Americans founded the first home for Italian children in Massachusetts. Franciscan Sisters devoted 24 hours a day to providing the children with a safe, loving, and spiritual environment. In addition, the home provided educational support for its residents. Over time, the changing needs of children mandated that the agency change the nature of its services from custodial care to treatment. In 1974, in response to the changing political and social climate, the agency became the Italian Home for Children. Today, it is a nonprofit, nonsectarian residential treatment facility with a capacity for 61 children of all races, nationalities, and religions. The images in The Italian Home for Children document milestones in the organization's history: the devastating influenza epidemic, the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas plays, a visit from Joe DiMaggio, trips to Canobie Lake Park in the summer, the Tony Martin benefit performance at Boston Garden, and the home as it is today--a refuge for children in the most severe crises.

The Polish Community of New Britain

9780738537658

$24.99

Factory jobs in "the Hardware City of the World" began attracting Polish immigrants to New Britain in the 1890s. The Poles soon became the city's largest ethnic group, centering their family, business, social, cultural, and spiritual life on Broad Street. Their Polonia was unparalleled in New England. Three parishes and dozens of organizations shared a strong commitment to Polish education, military service, political representation, and "Dozynki" and "Dzien Zaduszny" traditions. Continuing waves of immigration contributed to Polonia's ceaseless self-renewal. The Polish Community of New Britain celebrates this magnetic vitality and cultural continuity with rare photographs drawn from family albums and local archives.

Legendary Locals of Beacon Hill

9781467101493

$24.99

In the 1600s, William Blaxton set up his farmstead on Beacon Hill because it was far from the bustle of the city. John Hancock's uncle Thomas Hancock built his mansion on the hill in the 1700s so he could enjoy a rural lifestyle. In the early 1800s, future mayor of Boston Harrison Gray Otis moved to Beacon Hill because it was the new and fashionable neighborhood he was helping create. Louisa May Alcott, in the 19th century, and Robert Frost, in the 20th, lived on the hill because the literary set loved the neighborhood's picturesque streets and close quarters that made it easy to get together for conversation. The 9,000 residents who live in this small, urban neighborhood of Boston today appreciate its walkability, convenience, quirkiness, and neighborliness. The historic architecture, ever-burning gas lamps, rugged bricks, and one-of-a-kind shops prove that the best of the past can live comfortably with the novelty of the present.

Suncook Village

9780738557526

$24.99

Located within the boundaries of the towns of Allenstown and Pembroke, Suncook, first granted as a township in 1728, has developed a rich history all its own. Railroad transportation was instrumental to the establishment and growth of three large textile mills. The first railroad system, the Concord and Portsmouth line, began in 1852. A second line, the Suncook Valley Railroad, followed in 1869. Drawn by advertisements in Canadian newspapers, French Canadian workers began migrating from Quebec in large numbers. By the late 1800s, Suncook had become known as "le Petit Canada." The power of the Suncook and Merrimack Rivers, scenic beauty in the area, and the connectivity brought through transportation helped transform a small industrial village into a vibrant and lasting community.

The Portland Sea Dogs

9780738557120

$24.99

Since the team's arrival in 1994, the Portland Sea Dogs have captured the hearts and loyalty of the citizens of Portland, Maine. More than five million fans have visited Hadlock Field since the Sea Dogs began playing there. In 2006, the Sea Dogs celebrated a landmark victory when they won their first Eastern League title. For the fans, players, and Sea Dog staff, Hadlock Field has become their own "field of dreams," and a place where dreams really can come true.

Lake Boon

9780738537580

$24.99

Lake Boon is a beautiful 65-acre lake located west of Boston. Beginning in the 1920s, its accessibility from Boston and western suburbs via two railroads made it a popular vacation spot. Attracted by its natural beauty, a lively and decorous summer community grew and returned year after year to enjoy boating, bathing, fishing, and many other activities. Photographers were also attracted to the lake, and many of their images became postcards used by the lake residents and visitors to send to friends and relatives. Through vintage postcards, Lake Boon is a visual journey around the lake as it looked in the early 1900s.

Dedham

9781596297500

$21.99

This New England community has made national headlines for the notorious Sacco and Vanzetti trial; it has hosted Presidents Washington, Jackson and Lincoln, among other leaders; and it played a formative role in the establishment of the Animal Rescue League. In popular culture, Dedham made its mark as the setting for several notable films and works of fiction. Author James L. Parr gives a fresh take on Dedham's famous moments and also weaves in lesser-known stories of its heritage and traditions. This town has accumulated some eccentricities, from the legendary apparitions that haunted the cemetery for most of October 1887 to the still-active, two-centuries-old Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves. Explore the intricate microcosm of American history that belongs to this charming New England town.

Cotting School

9780738557656

$24.99

Cotting School details the interesting history of this national leader in serving children with a broad spectrum of disabilities.

In 1893, two pioneering orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Augustus Thorndike and Dr. Edward Bradford, saw the need to educate children whose physical challenges prevented them from attending school. As an experiment, they founded the Industrial School for Crippled and Deformed Children in Boston. Modeled after 19th-century European institutions, the school was America's first for children with physical disabilities. Early classes were held in a church basement where Mary Perry volunteered to teach seven students. Tuition, a hot meal, and transportation in a horse-drawn carriage were free. Thanks to the leadership of the two doctors and board chairman Francis Joy Cotting, within 10 years the school was housed in an impressive, debt-free brick building. Renamed the Cotting School, the school is now located in Lexington and serves 130 day students from 74 communities. Staffed with highly skilled special education teachers; nurses; physical, occupational, and communication therapists; and dental and vision specialists, Cotting is a national leader in serving children with a broad spectrum of learning and communication disabilities, physical challenges, and complex medical conditions.

Country Stores of Vermont:

9781626192720

$21.99

Each Vermont country store carries its own particular stock of special wares and memorable characters. From the Connecticut River to Lake Champlain, country stores and their dedicated owners offer warmth against the blizzard, advice and a friendly ear or a stern word. Neighbors meet and communities are forged beside these feed barrels and bottomless coffee urns. Author Dennis Bathory-Kitsz returns once again to the Green Mountain State with this updated and revised history and guide to its beloved country stores. When Hurricane Irene threatened many of these local institutions and communities in 2011, Vermonters came together, often at their country stores. Explore the very heart of communities big and small, where locals have been keeping their house keys behind the counter and solving the world's problems on the front stoop for more than two hundred years.