Welcome to “Dear Daybreak”, a weekly Daybreak column. It features short vignettes about life in the Upper Valley: an encounter, some wry exchange with a stranger or acquaintance… Anything that happened in this region or relates to it and strikes a contributor as interesting or funny or poignant—or that makes us appreciate living here.

Dear Daybreak:

A BLANKET OF BROKEN BRANCHES

A blanket of broken branches Cling to the still frozen ground Spread about by sleeted, Raucous wind squalls of last night.

Dead grass and budless bushes Peek above the once white snow, Perched like a tenuous bird Unattached to the lifeless earth.

I don’t see the veiled beauty outside. The gray empty bird feeder Attracts only the fruitless Searching of a hungry squirrel.

Yet under the small ice skimmed pond Orange colored fish have spawned; Soon to be tadpoles cling To the root of the water lily.

A black snake’s sleep, interrupted By a rogue warm day portends The summertime dance of nature After the deep winter breath exhales.

— Sue Lin, Hanover

Dear Daybreak:

When I walk into the Royalton Community Radio studio, it feels like stepping into the beating heart of Vermont. Perched high atop Magic Mountain (Daycare) in South Royalton, the station isn’t flashy. A patchwork of equipment, shelves cluttered with CDs and vinyl, with a few signs reminding the programmers about the station’s call letters: WFVR-LP South Royalton. Everything is held together by the hands of volunteers who believe in non-commercial, community produced radio.

From the booth I can see out over the Vermont Law & Graduate School parking lot to the rolling hills that stretch beyond the White River. The snow from last night’s storm clings to the trees, softening the edges of the world. Vermont winters are unforgiving, but there’s a quiet solidarity in them, much like this station. We hold each other up, in the cold, on the airwaves, spinning stories and songs for the people scattered across these mountains and even across the country.

The station’s DJs come and go at all hours, some with stacks of vinyl tucked under their arms, others arrive with nothing but a playlist in their head and anecdotes to share. Whether it's rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, americana, classical, world music, etc, each DJ brings something different to the airwaves, the common thread being their love for this place and the people who listen.

Among them is Jim Rooney—legendary producer, Grammy winner, and recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association. He could be anywhere in the world, yet he’s here, in this modest little studio, sharing songs and memories on his weekly program, “In It for the Long Run”.

It’s the kind of magic that only happens in a place like Vermont, where fame and legacy don’t separate you from your neighbors—they just add to the story. Vermont winters are long, but here in the Royalton Community Radio studio, we hold each other up, spinning stories that remind us we’re all part of the same song.

— Morgan Haynes, South Royalton

Dear Daybreak:

Winter Raindrops