For Vermont artist Charlie Hunter, much of the beauty of his native New England lies not so much in its vistas and richness of color, but in the human intervention of road signs, the abandoned or transformed industrial structures, the trestle rail bridge and vintage gas stations… This is not the Vermont of fall leaves and covered bridges the tourists come to see, but the Vermont of abandoned Plymouths, lost industries and declining family farms. And Hunter captures that everyday beauty with realism and sympathy, his eye eager for the telling detail, the unusual viewpoint, and the unexpected angle.
— Robert Smith, Art New England
By Charlie Hunter
Igrew up in Weathersfield Center in the house built by my great, great, great grandfather. It was idyllic, with a pond for swimming, pigs, chickens, sheep and startlingly accessible ways to injure oneself in the barn. Then, like most of us with an ounce of gumption, I moved away for a while. Not that there’s anything wrong with Vermont at all, it’s just that when you’re 20, you’ve got to see the wider world. So I did. And when I was done, I moved back to Vermont.
I chose to settle in Bellows Falls. Bellows Falls is an old mill town on the banks of the Connecticut River where International Paper was founded in 1890, left in 1920, and it was pretty rough sledding after that. Every region has a town that becomes the butt of jokes. When I was growing up, it was Bellows Falls.
The village of Bellows Falls, where “a vital, quirky little arts scene […] was blending seamlessly into the blue-collar ethos of the town.”
By the time I moved back at the turn of the century, there were some interesting alterations to the landscape. A fellow who had purchased a house in Bellows Falls back then and had moved up was now working hard to develop what we now call “the creative economy.” And some motivated been-heres who were banding together with the motivated come-heres and making a vital, quirky little arts scene that was blending seamlessly into the blue-collar ethos of the town.
Today, Bellows Falls is thriving. We’ve got a great full-power community radio station (WOOL-FM, 100.1, “Black Sheep Radio”), a gorgeously renovated Opera House for live performances and big screen movies, a vital Farmers’ Market on Friday afternoons, the long-running Roots on the River music festival every June, and creative and engaging ongoing series like Stone Church Arts and Stage 33 Live.
Charlie Hunter, artist and Bellows Falls insider.
A typical day for me might start at Cafe Loco (try a Cyndy Wrap — a New England take on the breakfast burritos of New Mexico and Colorado. Cafe Loco is an excellent bistro located within the fantastic greener y and produce at The Last Stand (Dan Harlow’s exquisite organic farmstand) or with a scone and cortado at Flat Iron Exchange, where everybody meets up to talk about everything. Work for a few hours (as it turns out, the life of a professional artist is mostly answering emails or wrapping paintings), breaking for lunch at Moon Dog Cafe (recently relocated from Chester) or Cafe 7 On The Square (I always go for the half-sandwich and cup of soup special), The Miss Bellows Falls Diner (It’s a diner! Get the burger!) or local institution Dari-Joy (home of the preternaturally-smiley Big Joy on the roof), then head down to the Bellows Falls railroad yard for some painting.
The rail yard is great — an actual, functioning junction of two rail lines — filled with shuttling cuts of freight cars and the daily Amtrak VERMONTER at 12:30 and 5:30 (you can set your watch by it, so long as you don’t mind your watch being a few minutes off). Or maybe check out what astonishments Bill has found at Aumand’s Junktiques, or Michael Bruno has curated at the Windham Antique Center. Halladay’s has great gifts, and next door Anastastia’s Closet will scratch that vintage-clothing itch. In a region rich with bookstores, we have one of the best with Village Square Books, and just a few doors down is the antiquarian Arch Bridge Books. There are several fine-craft and art galleries to nose about in.
Cafe Loco offers an excellent bistro amid the greenery and produce of Harlow’s Farmstand.
And J&H Hardware has everything else you might need. Everything.
For dinner you can either cook at home (traditional meats and groceries from Lisai’s; locally-grown and organic goodness from Harlow’s) or head to Popolo, our extraordinary, community-owned farm-to-table restaurant now in its sixth year. There’s Leslie’s just down the road if you’re looking for French cuisine in a chef-owned farmhouse setting, and we all anticipated the debut of the recently opened Bavarian beer-garden Wunderbar with bated breath. (See Upfront, page 10.)
I travel a lot, away for art events and running music trains, but it is always a joy to get back to our small town. Bellows Falls has pretty much everything I like in a place—smart, engaging people devoid of pretension, a defiant quirky attitude leavened with a self-deprecating sense of humor, great nineteenth century architecture, no traffic problems to speak of, no strip development, a daily train going to those big cities – New York! DC! (and St. Albans!), affordable housing for artists, families and anybody else, a spectacular Square (it looks like Italy), locally-owned stores, great cafes and restaurants. And so on.
You should come visit. It’s easy to be happy here.
Charlie Hunter is a painter (CharlieHunter.art) and creator of music trains (RootsOnTheRails.com) whose home and studio are (rather obviously) located in Bellows Falls.
