Skies Smile
On Randolph’s 4th

Jake, Elliot, and Charlie Morse of Buffalo, N.Y., display the colors as they await the Randolph parade's passing on Maple Street Friday. (Herald / Bob Eddy)

By M. D. Drysdale

Sunny summer weather crowned Randolph’s Fourth of July celebration last weekend, where crowds turned out in huge numbers for many of the holiday events.

The only cloud during the weekend was the constant presence of the tragedy of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, whose murdered body was discovered Wednesday. Her story was invoked in tactful ways by several of the floats in the Friday parade, as well as by the Depot Square announcer, Tom Harty.

"We were trying to do what was appropriate," said Deb Jones, the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the annual parade and other events. "Tom Harty was right on top of it."

And Randolph citizens and the thousands of visitors found much to celebrate and determined to do so. They turned out in bigger-than-usual numbers for the parade, and crowded into the dozen booths, offering food, information, and rock climbing, which were set up for a couple of hours afterwards.

The fireworks Thursday night attracted a sub-par turnout, as is usual during mid-week fireworks shows, but the Vermont Symphony concert at the Three Stallion Inn required overflow parking, and the "Sound of Music" show at Chandler Music Hall sold out all four performances to delirious crowds.

For Deb Jones at the Chamber, it was quite an initiation. She began her job just this spring and was amazed to see what a huge job it is to produce the annual celebration. Her office has been working on it since May, she noted.

Parade Winners

The Chamber announced the following winners of parade categories:

Corporate—Three Stallion Inn, Randolph National Bank, Randolph Village Fire Department.

Business—Brotherly Farm Organic, Meadow Muffin Farm, and Quality First Plumbing & Heating.

Civic: Green Mountain Cloggers, Baptist Fellowship, American Legion/Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Youth—"The Sound of Music," Girl Scouts of Braintree, RUHS Junk Band.

Jones had one light-hearted suggestion for next year. Noting that the pooper-scooper duties behind the parade horses were entirely made up of Democrats (Randolph’s legislative delegation), she suggested some Republicans would be welcome to help scoop next year.

Winners of the Chili Challenge were, in order, John LaPerle, Jeff and Rachel Irish, and Anne Silloway.

Fireworks

Randolph Fire Chief Jay Collette noted that the fireworks went off "without a hitch," thanks to the fact that nearly the entire 21-member firefighting force turned out to help.

About 1500 people paid to see the fireworks in the Green Mountain Stock Farm meadow, he guessed, a number which is down considerably from the crowd of several years ago.

Recently, he noted, the money take at the fireworks, including $1000 donated by Randolph merchants, has been $4000 to $4500, and this year it will be nearer the lower figure, he said, which will probably turn out to be a loss of about $1000.

Hundreds of other people watch the fireworks for free, parking along the golf course, on Route 66, at the former Ethan Allen and Waterbury Plastics manufacturing plants, and elsewhere.

The fire department doesn’t have the manpower to try to collect from these watchers, Collette said, who in any event can’t see the ground fireworks.

The cost of fireworks may become a problem, as the contract rate may be increased, the fire chief said. "Sooner or later we will face a dilemma. We’re managing it from the funds we get. We’re doing it for the community."

Book Sale

Lynne Gately at the Kimball Library said that adding a second day to the annual book sale—the library’s biggest fundraiser of the year—turned out to be a very good idea, resulting in many more sales than in previous years.

The turnout of library volunteers was great, she said.

"Friday morning when we need people to take books down from the attic we had elbow-to-elbow volunteers, and a lot showed up to help us put them away, also."

All the volunteers received coupons for five dollars, which they promptly spent on books.

She also thanked library friends and patrons.

"Every year we are lucky we get so many donations that we have enough for another book sale. People brought in a lot within the last week and we didn't even get them all out so we're on to a good start for next year."

"We put the best of the crop in a bookshelf full of books for sale within the library itself," she noted.

The friends of the library had a bake sale at the same time.

"It was good day for the library," Gately concluded.

Music and More Music

The production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s "Sound of Music" at Chandler Music hall brought out crowds that filled the hall, leaving 80 seats empty the first night, 20 he second night, and moving to complete sellouts the last two performances, meaning that about 2200 people attended, though final figures are not available.

Another 110 people were on the stage at one time or another, in the large cast, and the overall production probably involved as many as 300 people, Chandler President Janet Watton said.

"It was not easy" considering the circumstances, acknowledges the show’s producer, Betsy Cantlin. "But oh, what a show! I am so proud of these kids, especially for working so well together through such a difficult time."

Made up of high school and elementary students from two dozen surrounding schools, the cast drew sustained cheers every night. Particular praise was heaped on the lead singers, whose vocal abilities at such a young age astounded audiences.

"The best Chandler youth musical ever," was heard from many mouths.

On Saturday night, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra staged its annual outdoor concert at the Three Stallion Inn, drawing about 900 people, according to the VSO’s Alan Jordan.

That’s a lot more than in the most recent years, probably because this year’s fine weather was predicted ahead of time and brought out many families and groups for picnicking on the grounds.

Jordan said it’s not the biggest crowd ever for the VSO, however; the record is 1300.

"People seemed really pleased," he noted. It was especially gratifying to see the fireworks exploding in a clear sky, instead of being partially blocked by clouds, as they were last year.

Historical Museum

Harriet Chase, curator of the Randolph Historical Museum, was very pleased with the number of people who came through the museum during the weekend.

More than 40 people stopped by on Friday July 4, while another 10-15 each on Saturday and Sunday.

She noted that high school reunions in town resulted in several people looking at memorabilia from their high school years.