Today's Vermont: Bigger Than Texas

Vermont is a small state. Tiny, even. 

Just over 620,000 people live here. The total number of Vermont residents is smaller than the population of the metropolitan areas of Boise, Idaho or Springfield, Massachusetts. The borough of Brooklyn has four times the population of Vermont (and no doubt a significant number of those Brooklynites are browsing Vermont homes on Zillow as you read this column).

Vermont is second only to Wyoming for the title of least populated state in the union, and in terms of geography, all 9,623 square miles of the Fourteenth State would fit unobtrusively within the spacious expanse of the Texas Panhandle.

There’s an old saying, though, that if you smoothed out all the wrinkles, Vermont would be bigger than Texas. 

Now, before a mob of irate Texans shows up at Fort Ticonderoga to cross the Lake Champlain Bridge in a fleet of giant excavators and try to prove the saying wrong, let me make clear that Vermont lays no claim to being bigger than the Lone Star State. Sure, Vermont was an independent republic for 14 years, decades before the Republic of Texas was founded, but that’s beside the point. The Big Bend region of Texas alone is bigger than Vermont, and boasts taller mountains, too.

However, the old “Bigger than Texas” chestnut does point to an enduring truth—the creases and corners of Vermont’s landscape create an enormous amount of space for ecological and cultural diversity to thrive. There are countless microhabitats in Vermont, and more hills, hollows, neighborhoods, farms, villages, camps, cities, towns, mountains, rivers, campuses, parks, trails, gravel roads, and wild places than a single person could explore in a lifetime. 

All we’re missing is an ocean, but if you make a trip to the Burlington waterfront, order a Frozen Mango Margarita at The Spot on the Dock, listen to seagulls bicker over a french fry, and squint into the sunset until the Adirondack Mountains start to shimmer on the far shore of Lake Champlain, you can almost pretend that you’re on the coast of Maine.

Thank goodness for all the opportunities for exploration in Vermont, because for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic most Vermonters won’t be traveling anywhere else. For Vermont businesses that cater to visitors, there’s hope that a critical mass of locals will take advantage of opportunities to travel within the state, and provide just enough patronage for folks to get by. 

To encourage Vermonters to spend money at local establishments, Seven Days recently launched a new in-state travel section called Staytripper that features a series of travel narratives published under a hashtag-ready title: Vermonting. 

So far the Vermonting feature has highlighted destinations such as Shelburne Farms, Taconic Mountains Ramble State Park in Hubbardton, and the arts scene in downtown Barre. I can personally vouch for the recommendation of Rickie’s Indian Restaurant in South Barre, which is right up there with Taj-E- India in White River Junction on my list of go-to spots for exceptional take-out Indian food at an affordable price. 

For more inspiration about travel in Vermont, check out some of the excellent travelogues right here on State14, including co-founder Carolinne Griffin’s accounts of a Sunday Drive to Barnard and a journey over the Appalachian Gap to experience incredible tacos and modern art in the Mad River Valley. 

Although rural destinations with ample space and fresh air might be particularly appealing these days, those of us who live in rural Vermont might especially enjoy a summer vacation in the big city of Burlington. Our friends at Hotel Vermont are taking reservations, and have opened Brick, an outdoor wood-fired kitchen and bar - one of many options for summertime outdoor dining in Burlington.

We’ll see if in-state tourism and local support is enough to sustain the many Vermont businesses that typically rely on income from a summertime influx of visitors from out of state. Many Vermonters don’t have money to spare on any sort of leisure travel, after all, and others might not feel comfortable venturing further than the Post Office or the creemee window at the village store. 

Others might listen to the call to spend money at tourist attractions in Vermont and hear echoes of President Bush urging Americans to go to Disney World in the weeks after 9/11. Responding to a crisis by indulging in consumerism can feel unseemly, especially in an era of escalating inequality and over-consumption, but then again a camping trip at a Vermont State Park, or a week spent relaxing in a cottage at Highland Lodge, Quimby Country, or Basin Harbor is a far-cry from a trip to the Magic Kingdom. 

Who knows—given Vermont’s low COVID-19 infection rate and appealing proximity to population centers, we may experience a surreptitious sort of economic boom this summer, with well-heeled visitors decamping to Vermont for the sort of long term stays that were popular a century ago, back when the word “summer” was more frequently used as a verb.

One sector of the Vermont economy that continues to chug right along is residential real estate, fueled in large part by the purchasing power of people with the means to contemplate summering (or wintering) in Vermont. There are valid concerns about how immigration to Vermont might exacerbate economic inequality and contribute to a widening class divide, but to my way of thinking there’s plenty of room to welcome new residents. For many people, Vermont can offer a sense of sanctuary, and Vermont communities stand to benefit from the vibrancy that newcomers provide. 

When it comes to building vibrant communities, however, the Achilles Heel of Vermont is that racism is pervasive here. Vermont is not unique in this regard, of course, but as one of the whitest states in the union, racism in Vermont is particularly insidious and challenging to uproot.

When I listen to white people talk about the idea of racism in Vermont, I often hear expressions of surprise and disappointment in reaction to the idea that racism is a problem “even here”. In contrast, when I listen to the voices of people of color in Vermont, it’s clear that racism is especially problematic here.

At a recent Black Lives Matter protest in Craftsbury Common, I listened to Anthony Marques, a filmmaker who spoke with incredible clarity and courage about his experiences of racism while growing up as a Black man in the Northeast Kingdom. The Craftsbury rally was one of several Vermont Black Lives Matter events that Anthony has attended and filmed in order to amplify the voices of Black Vermonters. I recommend watching all of the videos on his YouTube channel, and especially Seeking Safer Space, a powerful video testimonial in which Jess Laporte speaks about how systemic racism impacts her life as a Black Vermonter.

The work that Anthony Marques and other people of color are taking on is tremendously important, and should be celebrated, but white people need to do the work as well. As Jess Laporte notes, white people have tremendous privilege, and responsibility, to make Vermont a more inclusive place. 

So, white Vermonters, we have work to do. Let’s step up, even when it’s hard. 

Especially when it’s hard. 

Where to you like to go #Vermonting? How are you coping with the coronavirus pandemic? Is there a Vermonter whose voice you want to amplify? Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #todaysvermont, and thanks, as always, for reading.

Big thanks to Breezy Hill Marketing for sponsoring this column and helping us spread the word of Today’s Vermont. Read more about this friend of State14.

Photography by Nathanael Asaro.