On this gloomy Wednesday, let’s chat about our hometown’s claim to fame. Here’s mine, which was recently featured in a New York Times essay…
I grew up in Fairlee, Vermont, which is home to the longest ice skating trail in the United States. The groomed, four-and-a-half-mile-long loop attracts thousands of local and visiting skaters each winter. Plus, the trail is featured in some top publications like Travel and Leisure and The Boston Globe, and The New York Times recently ran an essay about it as well.
“Situated in the town of Fairlee, Vt., just over the New Hampshire border near Dartmouth College and Hanover, Lake Morey covers an area of 545 acres. Plenty of other lakes exist in the vicinity, of course. What distinguishes this one is that the town has taken it upon itself to keep the perimeter plowed. Four and a half miles’ worth of open skating trail.” wrote novelist Joyce Maynard in her essay for The New York Times.
But before the ice skating trail was known, Fairlee’s claim to fame was something else entirely.
According to local legend, the first boat powered by an internal combustion engine lays at the bottom of Lake Morey. The boat, named Aunt Sally, belonged to the prolific inventor Samuel Morey (hence the lake’s name Lake Morey). President George Washington signed Morey’s first patent in 1793.
There’s no proof that Aunt Sally is at the bottom of the lake, or ever was, but in the early 90s, divers found a wreck of a boat they hoped was her. That wreck remains at the bottom of the lake, with mud acting as a preservative for the rotting wood. But that’s only added to the myth of Aunt Sally.
The ice skating loop and Aunt Sally are Fairlee’s two main claims to fame, but I can’t end this post without also mentioning Fairlee’s drive-in movie theatre and summer camps, which attract campers and counselors from all over the world.
What’s your hometown’s claim to fame? When people visit your hometown, what do you always tell them that makes your town special? I’d love to hear!
P.S. A Vermont DIY wedding and Mother’s Day weekend in Vermont.
(Top photo by Kelly Burgess for The New York Times. Second photo by Lisa Rathke for The Associated Press. Drive-in theatre photo by Fairlee Drive-In.)
I love this post and it has given me an idea to do one about my town too! Or, better yet, my country. Here’s a clue to my country: It’s home to the fastest man and woman on earth!
Happy guessing. Thanks for sharing too. You sound so proud of your winter wonderland hometown.
Jamaica!! I’ve followed Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain Bolt’s careers — so impressed with them both!
I love this!
Thanks, Susan!
This is so unique! Thanks for sharing Fairlee’s story – I hope to visit someday! My hometown is Mequon, Wisconsin. While I can’t think of any single “claim to fame” for it, one awesome fact is that it is home to Wisconsin’s oldest German settlement. There is a church, historic town, and schoolhouse still standing. I perform with the local folk dancing group, but there is an affiliated heritage group and 4-H club as well!
That’s so cool, Chelsey! Mequon sounds like a very special place.