Thank you, Fairlee!
The power of a community that cares.
Hello friends & neighbors 👋 —
This past weekend on Saturday, May 8th, we held a volunteer day at a vacant lot that is now in the process of being transformed into an active and socially-driven park on Main Street in Fairlee, Vermont. Less of the traditional grassy park that, instead, aims to facilitate social connections within the community through games, public art, coffee, food, and events.
(ICYMI, the Valley News did a great write-up of the event)
Saturday marked the kickoff of Phase 1 — an effort to establish the park’s baseline infrastructure — and we couldn’t have asked for a better day and group of people to spend it with. I want to take some time to thank all of you that came out to support.
All said and done, we accomplished a lot (pun intended?). Planters and flowers: check. Fence posts installed: check. Picnic tables painted: check. Mulch and grass seed spread: check. We were even able to complete the bocce court. A big win if you ask me.
To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Part of me thought no one would show up. The other part of me was sweating that half the town would stop by and we wouldn’t have enough meaningful work for everyone.
Thankfully, we ended up somewhere in the middle. Well, kind of. By the end of the day, somewhere between 30-40 people had come by either ready to roll up their sleeves or just say hi. And that was perfect.
There were a million other things that folks could have been doing on one of the nicer weekends this year. Taking a spin with Vermont Bike & Brew; drinking White Claws on the river (as a millennial, I am obligated to say that); or just kicking back with a good book and a Sip of Sunshine. Just to name a few. Of course, those all have sober alternatives, too.
But, instead, you came out. Because, like us, you believe in the future of the town (or, as a family member, you were simply compelled to). Regardless, we share a vision for what Fairlee could be and I’m thankful for that.
The word community is tossed around a lot. Especially in reference to planned development communities. But co-locating a group of houses does not inherently establish a community. And the same is true for neighborhoods, towns, and cities.
Community is more of a feeling or connection and less of a top-down designation assigned by a developer. It’s almost intuitive. Being a part of a community is understanding you are a member of a larger group that thinks and feels the same way you do about certain ideas or ideals. And, in the case of our small town community (as opposed to activity- or industry-related communities), we are united by the desire to strengthen our connections, systems, buildings, and services.
Community might not be what draws you to a certain area, but it sure as hell is what will make you want to stay.
This was made abundantly clear to me on Saturday. From folks showing up to get dirty; people dropping by to chat and show support; local businesses providing donations (big shoutout to Chris Clemson at Frost Gardens!); and our generous benefactor who made this all possible through private investment — it’s clear that there is a collective hunger to enact positive change.
It’s funny. I’ve lived in Manhattan for almost 10 years now. Everyone always talks about how there is so much more going on: activities, events, bars, restaurants, people, you name it.
But, despite all that, there isn’t much of a community feel. Your neighbors are more of an annoyance that take their time picking the right elevator button than being a source of inspiration or pride. Sure, you can make friends at a bar or playing a sport but there’s rarely a sense of community established around a physical place or neighborhood.
Don’t get me wrong. The dog-eat-dog mentality in Manhattan is a great motivator for succeeding financially. But typically the only pride you see surrounding place is when you have the best apartment among your friends. Did you say floor to ceiling windows on both ends of the apartment??
All kidding aside though, some of the best relationships I’ve made are with people in Manhattan. But those were always formed around work or school or some other activity. Never around place.
That said, it was truly inspiring to see the local turnout on Saturday. It just goes to reinforce one of the advantages of living or working in a small town — the power of a strong community that cares.
As a town, we may not have a ton of investment capital (yet), but the amount of social capital that runs through Fairlee’s veins more than makes up for it. I’m excited to see how we can continue to build off of the momentum with Red Clover Bikes and Broken Hearts Burger (get your discounted gift cards today!) opening up this summer.
Thank you again to all the volunteers — regardless whether out of generosity or coercion — that showed up on Saturday. I’m looking forward to the day we can help you out on projects of your own.
- Jonah
Thanks for reading Brick + Mortar, a newsletter about the incremental projects and big ideas that are driving small town revitalization. I’m Jonah Richard, a small-scale real estate developer in the Upper Valley of Vermont, Columbia Engineering alum, and former NYC-based management consultant at Accenture. You can find out more about me here and connect with me on LinkedIn.
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Looks awesome!! Teamwork makes the dream work. Fairlee has some great things going on!
Yay! So excited for everything happening in Fairlee! Thank you for leading such a cool community project!