The Welsh Garden at Wake Robin has seemingly always been a fixture of Wake Robin’s landscape. It is situated on the back lawn, next to the Aquatic Center. During the last phase of renovation, there was much effort put in to protect the space from harm. This garden is not just meant to be beautiful or to be a space of reflection; it was built as a testament to a former resident.

The garden is named for Priscilla Welsh. She was well known in the community through her involvement with Planned Parenthood, Civil Liberties Union, the Unitarian Church, and as a partner in By-Gone Books. She was also well known for her love of flowers. She especially loved nurturing flowers around Wake Robin to beautify the public spaces for everyone. When she passed unexpectedly, one of her friends decided that there could be no better tribute than a beautiful space filled with flowers, shrubs, and benches.

When this area was created in 1999 – flowers and shrubs were transplanted from Welsh’s personal garden, as well as from the gardens of her family members. The centerpiece of this space is a stone fountain that circulates water as it passes through the irrigation system, keeping nearby plants watered.

Since its creation, there have been a few minor changes, mostly to make the space more accessible for those with walkers and wheelchairs.

This Wake Robin landmark remains today as a reminder to stop to smell the flowers. A magnificent gift to remember someone who was very loved and who appreciated upholding the beauty of Wake Robin.

The Jean Connor Library has gone through quite a few transitions through its existence at Wake Robin. It began with a basket containing a few books available for residents to borrow. It has now evolved into a library with over 4,000 volumes, 1,000 DVDs, and audiobooks.

A haven for all book lovers at Wake Robin, the library is named after one of the community’s first residents, Jean Connor. A librarian for 30 years before retiring, Connor was dedicated to the organization and functionality of the space. The library currently operates with about 25 resident volunteers and it’s their dedication that ensures the offerings are always evolving and growing. “It’s a big job with tracking returns, organizing shelves, overlooking donations, and considering new purchases,” says Pat D, the head librarian.  “While there is always a constant stream of donations from residents, there are also many new volumes per month added to the collection.”

The most recent transformation occurred during the renovation of the Community Center finishing in 2020. This construction created space for the addition of 750-1000 more books as well as enlarged areas for reading tables and comfy chairs. Resident committees such as the Nature Committee and the Racial Justice Committee were granted dedicated shelf space to house special topics.  A few shelves of children’s books await grandchildren of residents (these books are not usually expected to return).

Scheduled hours?  7 days a week, 365 days a year! If the Community Center is open, the library is also open for business.  Even through Covid, avid readers were offered their favorites by way of curbside pick-up.  Gratefully, the doors are once again open for all to enjoy this special place.

Article from Newsletter “News from Wake Robin” dated Fall, 1997.

What’s in a name?

by Cathy Y.

Naturalist and Wake Robin Founder

How did the name of Wake Robin–and the names of the many buildings in our community come to be? When the Founding Committee arrived at the decision that, indeed, there was to be a Life Care Community, they gave the naming responsibility to an ad hoc committee. Doro S., Fran A., Mary G., and I (all nature lovers) met, selected and finally proposed Wake Robin for its overall name, with the buildings to be named for a long list of our native trees. Linden, an important honey-producer (and another name for Basswood) was the last building to be named. For the cottages and apartments, we chose names of trees or bushes which grow on Wake Robin’s hillside or nearby.

Red Trillium and Wake Robin are identified now as one plant, but in the early days, settlers in Appalachia called all its family Wake Robins; there was the Large White, Dwarf White, the lovely Painted (at higher elevations) and the shy Nodding and small Toad Trilliums (The Latin word triplum or triple, is the base for Trillium with its three leaves, three petals, and three stamens). All varieties are found in Vermont, but at different elevations and in different habitats with the common Red and White (also named the Snow Trillium) the earliest to bloom.

The Red Trillium is synonymous now in my wildflower references to Wake Robin and it carries unfortunate nicknames–Birthroot, and Indian Balm (it was once used to stop bleeding externally and on snakebites) and also Wet Dog Flower and Stinking Benjamin referring to its odor. But because it and its lovely white relative are our most visible tenacious (their rhyzomes spread through rock walls and over forest floors) and beautiful reminders that spring has come again, the new beginnings and successful lives of the residents moving to this new facility seemed appropriated to correspond. Our nature-oriented committee felt that the bond between people and plants was indeed a strong one — with the carpets of Trillium, white and red, the name Wake Robin, could carry the message of spring throughout the year.

If you’re new to the community, the Gentry Gallery is a pleasant surprise to discover. It resides in the Community Center hallway north of the Maple Leaf dining room and serves as sort of an “art museum” bridge to the Linden Health Center. It’s a common sight to see a resident, and at times family or friends, stop right in their tracks because of a moving piece of work. Exhibits have ranged from quilt showings, wood carvings, photography, oil paintings, and watercolors. Most displays have been completed by Wake Robin residents.

The west side of the gallery offers a long stretch of wall, approximately 117 feet, to hang artwork, and that space comes in handy as it allows for large frames and canvasses. Across the hall, the showcase shelves are backlit and contain fascinating artifacts made up of resident collections. With 80 square feet available, past collections have featured a wide range of artisan pottery and tools from early American history. Currently the showcase shelves illustrate the history of the automobile with exquisitely made miniature models from the Ford Model T to the Thunderbird.

Setting up the exhibit

The gallery of artwork is curated by members of the Gentry Gallery committee. Often, they partner with resident artists who either have professionally exhibited work or have practiced their craft for several years. The showcase shelves are of a democratic variety: topics are announced to the community and then residents contribute items that match that theme. Themes are intentionally general so residents can get creative. About half a year ago, the theme was set to transportation, and the shelves featured a model sailboat, a black and white picture of a resident’s grandfather on a horse buggy, and someone’s running shoe. The Gentry Gallery committee labels each item, so residents know who brought in what, with amusing conversations usually ensuing from what was seen on the showcase shelves.

Next time you’re in the Community Center, make sure you to stop by and enjoy the art atmosphere created by the Gentry Gallery and its exhibits!

Battling Buckthorn

By Candace Page

A tearing, grinding hullabaloo arose as Gerry Hawkes drove his tractor into a seemingly impenetrable patch of common buckthorn below the Maple apartments one morning in August. The first phase of a long-term plan to reclaim nearly 13 acres of Wake Robin forest from the grip of invasive underbrush was nearing completion. The big, wedge-like teeth on the 2,500-pound shredder attached to the tractor’s back end ripped at the buckthorn. Rotating knives swallowed the small trees and spit them out in shreds. The machine drove deeper into the jungle, leaving behind a carpet of woody mulch.

“When I started here in 1992, this was all native forest with open areas of grass,” grounds manager Peter Hausermann explained as he surveyed the area from the third floor of Maple. That didn’t last: Buckthorn was on the march.

Common buckthorn is a vigorous, tree-like shrub, a European native imported to the United States as an ornamental in the 19th century. Like many invasives, it escaped from gardens into the wild and . . . went wild. Buckthorn leafs out early, creating shade and monopolizing nutrients so that native shrubs and saplings can’t compete. Its blue-black berries contain a natural laxative that makes them a poor food source for birds, who nevertheless spread the seeds. 

“By 2005, the density of buckthorn down here was at the point you couldn’t walk through it,” Peter remembered. By 2021, it was difficult to see the few remaining large oaks, butternut, and ash in the woods; the jungle was a poor habitat for birds and wildlife.

But what to do? Removing buckthorn (and its sidekick, invasive honeysuckle) in any quantity is nearly impossible to accomplish by hand. “I’ve never seen anything like its root system,” Peter said. “It’s incredibly strong and tolerates any condition.” Though he had wanted to attack the problem for years, he had found no feasible method.

Then Wake Robin’s consulting forester, Joe Nelson, learned of Gerry Hawkes and his firm, Forest Savers. A Woodstock contractor and tinkerer, Gerry had turned his tractor into an assault force for clearing invasives in places where native trees need to be spared. “All of a sudden we saw the opportunity in the cheapest way possible to achieve something you can’t do manually,” Peter said.

Over many days this summer, Gerry and his tractor worked their way through 12.5 acres of woods in Wake Robin’s southwest corner. His machinery—debris rake on the tractor’s front, cutter/shredder on the back—cut down the invasives and chewed up everything, while leaving desirable trees untouched. (Much of the green and white ash went too, since those trees are doomed by the arrival of the emerald ash borer.)

Now, Joe Nelson said, there’s a chance for a different kind of woodland to thrive. Audubon Vermont’s Mark LaBarr, who also consulted on the project, said he hopes a variety of native shrubs will join the small clumps of native, fruit- bearing hawthorn left behind by the clearing work. Gray-stem and red-osier dogwood and viburnum, for example, “are great for pollinators, and they produce a great supply of berries in late summer and fall,” Mark said. Shrubland dwellers like gray catbirds and eastern towhees may be drawn to the area. “And we’d love to see blue-winged warblers and golden-winged warblers.” Joe and Mark will work with Wake Robin this winter to devise a master plan to guide future management of the woods.

If Wake Robin can succeed in preventing the resurgence of buckthorn and honeysuckle, the woodland between Maple and the railroad tracks will become a mosaic of native trees, grassy areas, and shrubs. That will require ongoing work for at least the next three to five years. The land will need to be mowed and brush-hogged to cut down the invasives that sprout from seeds and roots left behind by this summer’s work.

County forester Ethan Tapper visited the site and was impressed by what he saw, though he warned, “It’s the follow-up that will determine whether this is a success…there is so much buckthorn in the Champlain Valley that the threat will always be there.” He added that Wake Robin residents shouldn’t expect the cleared area to become a neat and pretty landscape. Not all the remaining trees will survive the change in their environment, and the brushy habitat attractive to birds can look messy to human eyes.

By Nancy W.S.

What is that sport that has mature men perching in an unfamiliar, painful crouch to give a whiffle ball a tiny tap and nearly weeping when his octogenarian, minute female opponent slams it at his midsection? It is Pickleball! The court game has swept the country with those fifty and older. It is more forgiving than tennis and eons quicker than golf. Players can be any sex, size and age. Wake Robin resident and dedicated player Nan M. captures it’s appeal: “It’s a silly game and you can’t get that worked up about it.” Its only drawback is The Dink, that humiliating tap shot that must be mastered to qualify as a superior player.

Pickleball is popular at Wake Robin

Peter G. is the originator of the Pickleball movement here, having been introduced to it while visiting friends in Florida. His leadership style of relentless persistence and wry humor had us turn eight parking spaces at the Community Center into a wildly inaccurate version of a regulation court. Audiences thronged to watch us develop basic skills while tripping over curbing, crushing shrubbery and dodging moving vehicles. This year a much better temporary, almost legitimate court was created and there are now about 30 players.

Peter was aware of a 2018 bequest to Wake Robin with usage unspecified. He put together a case for Pickleball that created traction in the movement. Dick H., longtime tennis pro and keeper of our two world-class Har Tru courts, tried the sport and jumped on the bandwagon. He was key in deflecting the idea of paving over the existing courts for Pickleball. Our tennis courts get more players every year. Myriad potential sites were considered. Great progress was made recently when Peter Hausermann, our well-loved grounds man, designated the site to be above the tennis courts, next to the gardens. It is more central than many alternatives and as attractive to spectators as players. There will be a sitting area with flowers, shade, and a 4′ fence.

Our goals are now in view. Response from the residents has been great and the marketing department is finding that prospective residents are very interested in the sport. It is hoped the court will be built this fall in conjunction with other planned paving projects.

Does Wake Robin really need Pickleball? Mary H., a woman of great energy and accomplishments who arrived recently, thinks so. “This (game) makes me feel like I belong in the community.” What a gift.

Shelburne, Vermont is a special place. Chartered in 1763, the land was ripe for farming and milling. Over time, it has blossomed into a tourist destination for history buffs, foodies, naturalists – all types! The town is just south of Burlington, Vermont’s largest city and cultural hub, and it also is located on the shores of Lake Champlain. Shelburne is a four-season experience and you would do no wrong visiting any time of year. Whether you’re new to the area, or have been a resident for years, the following are some can’t-miss places to find in Shelburne:

• Shelburne Farms – A 1,400-acre working farm, forest, and National Historic Landmark, Shelburne Farms is a treasure of the area. You can hike or walk, visit the animals, enjoy the beautiful garden overlooking Lake Champlain, and dine and lodge at the historic Shelburne Farms Inn. Shelburne Farms is home to many wonderful children programs as well.
  

   There are many surprises for you waiting at the Shelburne  Museum, which is walking distance from Wake Robin!

• Shelburne Museum – A stones throw away from Wake Robin, Shelburne Museum features exhibits for everyone’s tastes. According to its website, the museum offers “an unparalleled and unique experience of American history, art, and design. Designed to allow visitors the pleasure of discovery and exploration, the Museum includes thirty-nine distinct structures on forty-five acres, each filled with beautiful, fascinating, and whimsical objects.” You can’t really understand Shelburne Museum until you experience it yourself!
• The Shelburne Farmer’s Market – The Shelburne Farmers’ Market is a one-stop-shop for all things local, all things Vermont.  The market opens at the end of May and runs through the second week in October on Saturdays from 9:00 to 1:00, and on the third weekend of August it celebrates Shelburne Day with great fanfare!
  

  Beautiful Shelburne Beach, open to residents of the town

• Shelburne Beach – Enjoy this patch of Lake Champlain shore sunrise to sunset.  It’s a great place to picnic with friends, go for a swim, or play a casual game of volleyball or basketball. Also has a playground for kids, and a boat launch to get out on the lake. One of the most popular places in the warmer month!
• Town of Shelburne – Official website for the Town of Shelburne, where you can find the business directory, government services, history records, and more.

Wake Robin is lucky to call Shelburne home. With so much to do and so much to see, residents thrive both on campus and out and about town. Come see for yourself!