[hschoolingfam]

We have been considering a move back to VT for some time now.
Brandon seems like a wonderful place, does anyone have any
info to share? Thank you!

[seanpecor]

I lived in Orwell, 15 minutes from Brandon from '98 to '04 and I watched Brandon progressively improve it's main street during that time. It really went from Ho-Hum to quite an attractive and bustling community. My in-law's have an 800+ farm in Orwell but also own 200+ acres along otter creek at the foot of Brandon Gap along Rt 73; it's a beautiful area and you're not too far from Middlebury or Rutland.

Sean

[vter]

I really like Brandon. It's a nice small town thats undergone a renaisance (I can't spell this morning) over the past few years. It's home to a great restaurant - Cafe Provence, and a lot of other more casual restaurants. A good bookstore too.
It's about 20 minutes to Rutland where most of you shopping will most likely be done. Brandon has a small grocery store, but the big ones are in Rutland.
Schools? Don't know much about them other than the kids will go to Otter Valley Union HS for middle & high school.

[NYtoVT]

I live about 10 minutes from Brandon and have found the town to be very nice. There is a thriving artist community with the main draw being Warren Kimble. The town fathers along with some very active residents have brought Brandon back from a defunct manufacturing town to a bedroom community to Rutland and Middlebury. No big box stores so you're going to have to make the trip to Rutland for those. Brandon hosts what they claim to be the biggest 4th of July parade in the state. I can't attest to that, but it is a fun time.
Just like most every other town in Vermont, it has the requisite church, cemetary and village green. Park St has some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen in addition to a few B&B's.

[laryofvt]

Originally Posted by hschoolingfam

We have been considering a move back to VT for some time now.
Brandon seems like a wonderful place, does anyone have any
info to share? Thank you!

I have read all the lauditory comments regarding our village, and they are true. This is truly a wonderful place to live. But, and you know there was a "but" coming..............

I believe Brandon has the highest percentage of welfare recipients in the state.

I do not mean this in a hateful way, but, in my humble opinion, we have more than our share of fat,(don't get me going on the morbidly obese) ignorant people with poor personal hygene. Perhaps that is the legacy of the former Brandon Training School, an institution which housed (warehoused?) folks with all sorts of mental and/or physical disorders.

The ones remaining in town (again, my opinion) are easily spotted due to their unusual movements, "retarded" looks and mannerisms.

It is a blue collar town. There are really three "Brandons"-the so-called normal, mid-upper clas people, Joe 6 pack who's off all day trying to make a living for his family, and the 3rd-the porch monkeys who watch the rest of us work while sipping on their pepsi's and smoking their cigarettes and watching tv.

This is a much more fair assessment. I will be trying to find out why so many are on the govt. "gimmee" list when time permits.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

You signed up today to put this <see above> post up ??


On a more realistic note :
Sully's and folk music above the Bookstore !!
Good stuff.

[bonniewimett]

I saw some online pictures of the damages done in Brandon Vt. by Hurricane Irene. Seeing the pictures brought back memories and some sadness to see such damage.

I grew up in Brandon - my father was the local baker there for many years. My sisters and I were sometimes referred to as the bakers daughters - mine was the last class to graduate from Brandon High School in 1961. After that they went to Otter Valley Union HS.

Does anyone remember those days?

The park and the bandstand, the old movie theater, Shapiros dept. store - where I could actually pick up something for my mother, take it home for her to try on and then go back to return it or buy it - Browns Pharmacy - Wimetts Bakery - Desi's store - the ice cream parlor where the ladies made their own ice cream ( what was their name?) Sid Rosen 5 & 10 store?

[looking4home]

Originally Posted by bonniewimett

I saw some online pictures of the damages done in Brandon Vt. by Hurricane Irene. Seeing the pictures brought back memories and some sadness to see such damage.

I grew up in Brandon - my father was the local baker there for many years. My sisters and I were sometimes referred to as the bakers daughters - mine was the last class to graduate from Brandon High School in 1961. After that they went to Otter Valley Union HS.

Does anyone remember those days?

The park and the bandstand, the old movie theater, Shapiros dept. store - where I could actually pick up something for my mother, take it home for her to try on and then go back to return it or buy it - Browns Pharmacy - Wimetts Bakery - Desi's store - the ice cream parlor where the ladies made their own ice cream ( what was their name?) Sid Rosen 5 & 10 store?

What a lovely, heartfelt post. It made my day! I hope you will get some responses from posters that remember Brandon as you do.

[Amy in Vermont]

Brandon and the surrounding area did sustain a great deal of damage due to Irene. But the town is alive and recovering.

I have lived in Vermont for over 40 years, and each area, each town, has its own appeal. While Brandon may have a large "welfare" population, as mentioned earlier, it is also one of the most diverse small towns around.

I live in Vergennes and commute to Brandon to work at the high school. If you are moving to Vermont, and have school aged kids, give Brandon a shot. No, it's not the wealthiest school system, nor the fanciest, but I find the people who make the system tick, the teachers and administrators, are among the most dedicated and caring people I have ever worked with. You feel it the minute you walk in the door. I took a 20% pay cut, leaving a job I hated, to work in a place where people care about each other.

So don't let one person's perceptions scare you away. Come see for yourself.

[companykeeper]

I've always thought that if or when I move from Williston, I'd like o move to Brandon.. It's such a beautiful town.