Growing Up in Vermont

Growing up in a small town in a small state is not as idyllic as everyone might have you believe. Yes, you know all of your neighbors, you can leave your door unlocked (hardly anyone ever really regrets it), and there aren't a lot of city blocks to navigate. On the other hand, your neighbors know your business whether you want them to or not, everyone knows that your door is unlocked, and you're likely to be stuck behind a tractor for a few miles because there isn't always a connecting street that will bypass it.

I grew up in a small town called Bradford, Vermont, and while it's a nice place to live, I'm not here to hype it up or make you want to visit. I'm here to tell you my favorite places in town. I lived there for the first ten years of my life. It was pretty great as far as I remember, because I got to be outside until the streetlights came on, and there were very few limits on where I could go. I lived in a relatively safe neighborhood, on a strictly residential street, right on the corner. The biggest worry we had when I was a kid was whether or not we were going to have enough time to rollerblade down the road before another car would turn the corner.

Main Street Bradford, Vermont

As a kid, the best days included a trip to Bliss Village Store for an ice cream cone. They've had an ice cream window as a part of the village store since before I was born. Everyone who has visited or lived in Bradford has gone to Bliss Village Store at least once in their life. And if they haven't, they should. It's the kind of place that does things the same way they've always done things (excluding the obvious health code regulations). It's a great place to get a quick bite to eat, and an even better place to stop and grab a drink on a road trip through Vermont.

The Bradford Fair is one of the best things to do in the summertime. Usually in July, the fair has been around for years. I'm almost 25, and I remember going to the fair when it was still down behind the Bradford Academy (BA; I'll come back to that later). Since then, they've moved to a much larger space, and can do more with the fair. My favorite part of the fair used to be the horse and oxen pulls. I don't know why, but I loved it. Other than that, it was rides, and participating in the kiddie tractor pulls (may have gotten a win or two in my day). I haven't had many chances to go back to the Bradford Fair as an adult, but I definitely plan to make it a tradition with my future children. And don't even get me started on the fair food. For some reason, fair food doesn't taste the same unless it's at the Bradford Fair (I might be a little biased).

Bradford Academy

Bradford Academy used to be a school, but I don't know anything about what year it opened, and what year it closed as a school. The building is still in use today, mostly for the auditorium. As a child, there used to be all kinds of things and events that would take place in this building. Kids used to be able to go meet Santa here every winter. I have quite a few pictures with Santa taken in this auditorium, including one where I had just shut my finger in a door and my face is less than impressed that I still had to take a picture with Santa, holding my poor finger in a cup of cold water. Fun times.

There were a few times that the Bradford Elementary school would use the auditorium for gym class gymnastics recitals, which I participated in at least one of. It was a nightmare, I assure you. Photo proof is not necessary. The other sports type activity I used to participate in in the general vicinity of this building was recreation center soccer. From kindergarten to about third grade, I played soccer on the 'peewee' rec center soccer team. I'm sure it was cute, but I'm fairly certain that no pictures exist from that time. There used to be a few of me as a mini human mid kick, but pictures disappear over time.

And as I mentioned above, the fields behind the BA (Bradford Academy) used to be used as the fairgrounds. It was cramped, and there wasn't much room for much of anything, but they made do with what they had.

Bradford Public Library

The Bradford Public Library is the last place I'm going to tell you about. This was my absolute favorite place in Bradford. When I was younger, I used to beg my mother, father, and older brother to take me to the library. All I ever wanted to do was read books. Sometimes I wonder if that's why I wanted to become a writer. I spent far too much time as a young girl settled in a beanbag chair in the library basement, nose buried in a book. Of course, this was before computers became a big thing, so there weren't any computers to use, so it was all about the books. My brother and I used to check books out, and he would read them to me at bedtime. Before I could read, and before I went to kindergarten, my brother read to me every night before we went to sleep, and I can thank him for my love of books.

Basically, Bradford is your typical but atypical idyllic small town. There are some upsides, and some downsides. But I won't ever say that I didn't enjoy growing up there.