Brave little state of Vermont

"I love Vermont because of her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most of all because of her indomitable people. They are a race of pioneers who have almost beggared themselves to serve others. If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the Union, and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont." - President Calvin Coolidge, September 21, 1928 in Bennington, Vermont

The above quote is from President Coolidge's famous "Brave Little State of Vermont" speech, given in Bennington, Vermont in September, 1928 when the President toured his birth state to assess the damage from the floods that had devastated much of the state a year before. The speech has become iconic in Vermont, with the last sentence of the quote inscribed in marble at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.

While Coolidge was referring to Vermont's response to the famous 1927 flood, he could just as easily had been referring to the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Irene, which caused catastrophic flooding around the state, resulted in widespread power outages, entire roads and bridges being washed away, and people's homes being destroyed. In a predominantly rural state like Vermont, this resulted in many communities being almost completely isolated from the outside world. However, Vermonters (and in many cases, their neighbors in New Hampshire) were able to pull together and rebuild. We recently passed the six year anniversary of the storm and I wanted to briefly discuss the storm and the incredible response that followed.

At the time Irene hit Vermont, I was living in New Hampshire and attending Dartmouth College. Unlike many of my classmates, I had opted to spend the summer of my junior year in rural New Hampshire, working as an organizer for a political organization.  As an idyllic New England summer drew to a close, Irene began to make her way up the eastern shore, and Northern New England was faced with the possibility of a relatively rare event: a direct hit by a hurricane.  Before the storm made landfall, I was able to evacuate from the area and head home to North Carolina.

When I returned a couple of weeks later, I encountered a landscape marked by devastation. Many roads in the area were closed and nearby communities, like Woodstock and Queechee, had sustained severe damage. Many stores in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, the main commercial hub of the Upper Valley were closed. Many residents of the Upper Valley (the bi-state region where Dartmouth is located) had seen their lives turned upside down.

One of the things that impressed me was how quickly people began to pull together to help each other rebuild their communities.  In 2016, VTDigger marked the five year anniversary of Irene by looking at the progress that Vermont, the hardest hit state, had made in recovering from the storm. One of the things that they highlighted was the role of local municipalities and non-profits, who sprang into action quickly to help residents find housing, food, and attend to whatever needs that they may have had as a result of the storm. The article also highlights the role that the state government, led by new governor Peter Shumlin, played in helping Vermont recover. The speed at which Vermont was able to make substantial progress in recovering was remarkable. Within three months of the storm, Vermont had repaired and reopened 500 miles of roads. To commemorate the five year anniversary of Irene, the Valley News, the local newspaper in the Upper Valley posted a video that highlighted the progress that had been made in rebuilding many of the damaged structures in the area.

While challenges remain and the scars from the storm will likely be felt for years to come, I always love to highlight Tropical Storm Irene and the subsequent response by Vermonters. Irene and its recovery is a great example of what is possible in Rural America and what happens when community members, their elected officials, and the non-profit sector work together and leverage their resources. This potential is a great example of why it is important to invest in rural America so we can ensure that every community has resources to leverage.