EAST HARDWICK – The East Hardwick Neighborhood Organization’s (EHNO) efforts in the village have helped bring crosswalks, improvements to Overlook Park, the planting of 300 trees as a buffer along the Lamoille River streambank, prepared the way for the purchase of a radar speed sign and set the stage for VTrans to conduct an evaluation of the intersection of Main St. with Vt. Rte. 16 for traffic safety, according to its Summer newsletter.
photo by Cheryl Michaels
The E. Hardwick Children’s Parade “was again a successful community event,” said the newsletter. Many children participated along with Bread and Puppet Theater, a Human Elephant and parade music, July 7
After the parade, EHNO board members gave away over 80 bags of popcorn on the First Congregational Church of East Hardwick lawn. Church members held the annual tent sale, with the church reporting another good fundraiser, helped by a bicycle raffle, basket raffle, bake sale and hot dog barbecue.
Across the street, at Caledonia Grange No. 9, popsicles were handed out and the Swap Sisters held a plant swap on the lawn. A Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament was officiated by Justin Lander, Mary Whittaker led rock painting and Jeanne Segretto Miller and her sons played music for visitors.
Porch decking at the Grange was recently replaced with rot-resistant wood and the railings have been rebuilt. Plans for painting it are in the works.
photo by Cheryl Michaels
The town road crew recently added three E. Hardwick crosswalks that came as recommendations from the Better Connections process. They are at the corner of Main and School Streets near the little free library, on the Main St. hill at Care Bear Day Care Center.and on Main Street near the old McFeeters Store, crossing to the U.S. Post Office.
At Overlook Park, granite boulders purchased by the East Hardwick Neighborhood Organization (EHNO) with funding from the Prevot Family Foundation have been placed by the town road crew to create two short-term public parking spaces and space for a new bike rack. A base has been set for a State of Vermont historic marker to be unveiled in an event this summer.
The park, at the northwest end of Main St. at its intersection with Brickhouse Road and E. Church St., creates a small rest area for viewing the river and learning about East Hardwick’s history. David O’Brien and Dave Gross have helped prepare the area.
Hardwick Town Manager, David Upson, has been in contact with VTrans about cutting the tall grass and trimming trees at the Main Street intersection with Vt. Rte. 14, which will be receiving the traffic safety study. It is hoped better visibility will help improve safety there.
Hardwick Police Chief Michael Henry attended the June meeting of the EHNO board and shared that a new movable radar speed sign for East Hardwick had been ordered and was to be received soon. Its first location will be on East Church Street, he said.
A broken gutter on Main Street near the post office, along with the hole near the Lamoille River bridge have been temporarily repaired.
Gail and David O’Brien helped bring the Streamwise program to E. Hardwick where a crew planted 300 native plants along the Lamoille River this spring. Stream Wise is an organization of volunteers who work with property owners to create vegetated stream buffers, increase flood resilience and benefit water quality and natural habitat throughout the Lake Champlain basin.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
