Daybreak Tuesday, 10/27/26

Sunny but cooler. We’re under high pressure today, but yesterday’s cold front also brought in some noticeably colder air behind it. Winds from the north today, highs only a bit above 50, and lows tonight in the low 20s—with teens possible in the hollows.

Seeing red. Before this crazily beautiful autumn is just a memory, two reminders: a maple on Route 5 in Norwich, from Nicole Perry; and Jeff Hinman’s up-close view along the rail trail in Lebanon.

If only leaves really did come with a see-by date! It’s fall in DB Johnson’s Lost Woods, and Henry and Lydia are debating falling leaves. Lydia gets downright Hobbesian about it all; Henry’s having none of it.

Ask Maggie: Whatever happened to Joseph’s Waterworks? You know that building on Route 5 in Norwich that stands by itself and, at various times, was home to the Nordic Skater, Hanover Adventure Tours, and other endeavors? Well, back in the 1980s it was Joseph’s Waterworks, where Joe and Ingrid Stallsmith hosted not just diners and drinkers, but musicians like Aztec Two-Step, Taj Mahal, Tony Trischka, Marcia Ball, and lots of others. A reader’s question set Maggie Cassidy on the hunt for Joe Stallsmith, his memories about those years—and why it closed. “The biggest blow to pop and otherwise non-classical music locally was dealt by one guy who wanted to see more of his family,” Rebecca Bailey wrote in the Valley News at the time.

Where things stand with the Norwich Farmers Market. As you know, a nonprofit formed to secure and develop the land across the road from where the market now sits has been working to fund a move. A recent $1 million donation put “wind in the sails” of the effort, organizer Peg Allen tells Corin Hirsch for a Daybreak story. And a recent community survey, which drew over 1,000 respondents, highlighted some of the market’s current challenges, including the fact that a significant portion of people who don’t visit it cite crowding and parking as reasons. At the link, Corin takes a look at the progress Allen’s has made, and how far it still has to go.

Okay, I wasn’t going to link to this story about a theft … but then came the carrot cake. Back on October 15, reports the VN’s Alex Ebrahimi, who has a nice eye for the quirky, someone stole a truck belonging to Unity’s Stoneface Earthworks from a job site in Bethel. After the sheriff’s office tracked it down to some woods in Chelsea using GPS, Stoneface owner Neil Prive found it with all the tools gone. Prive says the lead investigator—who happens to be running for Windsor Co. sheriff—has been slow to find the culprit; Lt. Richard King says Prive has been slow to come up with a list of stolen tools. The carrot cake? It was left inside the truck, but not by any of Prive’s crew.

SPONSORED: Join Raj Panjabi, M.D., at the Norwich Bookstore with Matt Hongoltz-Hetling to discuss his new book Safer: A Playbook. It’s an essential guide for navigating crisis and uncertainty from the acclaimed physician who served as White House Senior Director and Special Assistant to the President at the National Security Council. Dr. Panjabi will share his experiences managing, and preventing, crises in government, business, and life, this Wednesday, October 28 at 7pm. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Norwich Bookstore.

You know what a week from today is? I mean, other than November 3rd? It’s Election Day, and though the national spotlight is mostly elsewhere, there are federal and gubernatorial elections in both VT and NH, a bunch of statewide offices on the ballot in VT and a local Exec Council race in NH, plus plenty of state legislative faceoffs. Reporters at the Valley News, the Standard and The Herald, and at news outlets in both states have been busy for weeks with stories, interviews, debates, and more. At the link, a handy Daybreak guide with links to help you learn more.

On Samurai Soul Food’s closing: “I’m too old to be a line cook, and that’s basically what I was.” That’s Kelden Smith, the now-shuttered restaurant’s owner, talking to Marion Umpleby in the VN. You may remember that Smith announced Oct. 12 that he’d shut down the popular Fairlee restaurant, known—as Umpleby writes—for its “sometimes bemusing” and eclectic dishes. Samurai struggled after the pandemic to rebuild a loyal customer base, Smith tells her, and staffing got tougher, sometimes forcing the restaurant to close if someone called in sick. Rainwater’s also damaged the building, which Smith owns and couldn’t afford to fix. Lots more at the link.

Struggling to hire plow drivers, NH will boost contractors’ pay. That decision came at last week’s Exec Council meeting, and the move will cost taxpayers an additional $2-$3 million for the upcoming winter, reports NH Bulletin’s Ethan DeWitt. But councilors of both parties found NHDOT’s request problematic for another reason: As Republican John Stephen put it, “What does this say to the DOT employees that are out there, that are going to be driving alongside these contracted-out plow drivers and equipment, and they receive a 15% increase, and the DOT employees are not receiving that increase?” But not paying contractors more also has its risks, DeWitt writes.

VT’s a climate refuge? Think again. In the third state Climate Assessment, released Friday, researchers at UVM report that VT is warming faster than the global average—especially in the state’s southeast—and seeing on average 32 fewer inches of snowfall than in 1960, reports VT Public’s Abagael Giles. As she points out, “Since the last assessment was released in 2021, Vermont has seen catastrophic flooding twice followed by the worst drought on record in 2025.” She explores the results: damaged farms, lost homes, dried-out wells, less hydro power, more hot days. The state’s aging infrastructure and population, plus mountains, make it vulnerable, the lead author says.

Chapter 11 plot twists? You don’t see that phrase very often, but the subhed atop Kevin O’Connor’s article in VTDigger charting the twists and turns in the VT Catholic Church’s bankruptcy filing seems apt. Two years ago, the Roman Catholic Diocese filed for bankruptcy amid escalating payouts for priestly misconduct. But now it’s seeking to withdraw from its Chapter 11 filing—because the filing brought about even more claims, and its legal costs have gotten unsustainable, it says. O’Connor offers a primer on why the Church filed in the first place, and where things stand legally now.

Around the Brave Little Campfire, buried treasure, a haunted bridge, and the Wampahoofus. All sorts of questions come in to VT Public’s Brave Little State team, and recently they got out the kindling and marshmallows and gathered to talk about three of them (with a few detours into other mysteriers): the long-ago rumors that the guy who gave his name to Mallett’s Bay up on Lake Champlain left behind a fortune (rumored in the early part of the 20th century to be hundreds of millions)… unless he was just a hermit; the stories about the dark and gloomy Emily’s Bridge in Stowe and mysterious doings there; and the lore about the large, very fast, asymmetrically-legged Wampahoofus on the flanks of Mt. Mansfield.

How could you not visit the sixth-worst McDonalds in America? That’s what Washingtonian reporter Sylvie McNamara figured when she learned that a McD’s that ranked so near the bottom of the 14,000 locations in the US was close by, and decided to see for herself. Reviews note 45-minute waits for drinks, an employee who is “blitzed out of his mind or just didn’t have a single care in the world,” and “one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve seen.” But when she and a colleague visited, “It was pleasant. It was nice … What were we missing here?” Then she started talking to the teenaged staff. And took a surprising detour through Robert Caro’s The Power Broker.

The Tuesday Crossword. A little throat-clearing mini, from Laura Braunstein.

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.

Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:

THERE'S SOME GREAT DAYBREAK SWAG! Like Daybreak tote bags, sweatshirts, head-warming beanies, t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!

HEADS UP

At the Howe Library, “Protecting Vermont's Ecosystem - Backyard Strategies for Corridor Conservation.” Emily Ruff of Sage Mountain Botanical Sanctuary in Orange, VT will talk about “their efforts to protect an 80,000 acre high priority wildlife corridor, diverse wetland habitat, sensitive watershed, and rare plant communities” and tie them to what individuals can do. 6:30 pm in the Mayer Room and online.

Toad the Wet Sprocket at Lebanon Opera House. It’s been 40 years since the alt-rock group formed, and in honor of the anniversary, they’ve released the album Rings: The Acoustic Sessions—an acoustic journey through their repertoire. Now they’ve taken it on the road, and to the LOH stage: 7:30 pm, some seats left, but not a lot.

The Tuesday poem.

Where does such tenderness come from?
These aren’t the first curls
I’ve wound around my finger—
I’ve kissed lips darker than yours.

The sky is washed and dark
(Where does such tenderness come from?)
Other eyes have known
and shifted away from my eyes.

But I’ve never heard words like this
in the night
(Where does such tenderness come from?)
with my head on your chest, rest.

Where does this tenderness come from?
And what will I do with it? Young
stranger, poet, wandering through town,
you and your eyelashes—longer than anyone’s.

— Marina Tsvetaeva’s 1916 poem, “Where does such tenderness come from?” Translated by Ilya Kaminsky and Jean Valentine, with Kaminsky’s notes about the poem and Tsvetaeva here.

See you tomorrow.

Looking for all of the hikes, Enthusiasms, daybreak photos, or music that Daybreak has published over the years? Go here!

And always, if you’re not a subscriber yet:

Want to catch up on Daybreak itself (or find that item you trashed by mistake the other day)? You can find everything on Daybreak’s homepage.

Written and published by Rob Gurwitt      Poetry editor: Michael Lipson    Associate Editors: Jonea Gurwitt, Sam Gurwitt

And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to visit daybreak.news to sign up.

Thank you!