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Nelson Cole and guests discuss a variety of subjects relating to sustainable communities, including alternative energy and homesteading.
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Autobiographical coming-of- age tale of five working class boys in the historic village of Cooperstown New York. The story centers around a local brothel called the Sugarhouse, operated by Ma Rutledge, the Maple Sugar Madam, and her two saucy, bovine daughters, Bertha and Emma. “The happiest times at the Sugarhouse came when Ma Rutledge was making maple syrup. During these sap-boiling days the sugary breath of the candy kitchen penetrated everywhere. The beds of the girls were saturated with ...
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In this installment, Iver and Nelson take a trip in Iver's GEM car (after solving some technical and cat-related difficulties) down to see our tax dollars in use: the new River Walk path built by the Army Core of Engineers along the shore of the Kennebec River in Skowhegan. Then we talk about things that Iver's done at his house to save money and s…
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Whereupon Iver and Nelson take the new Chevy Volt--the first ever series plug-in hybrid produced by a major manufacturer--out for a spin o'er the bucolic Maine countryside.
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Continuing with our "Too Big" theme, Iver and I sit down in the Sugarhouse and talk about the Titanic as metaphor (yes!) for the coming challenges to the U.S. and the world. Will other technologies be there to help us off the sinking ship of oil dependency?
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Welcome to Sugarhouse Journal: Tools and Ideas for Sustainable Communities. On our first Podcast, recorded at the sugarhouse, Iver and I talk about the recent maple syruping season, Corporation Nation, "Too small to fail," and other things that came to mind. Hope you enjoy!
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A new girl arrives at the Sugarhouse, Belle Saint Marie, “a dusky Cajun princess with snapping black eyes and a body no man could ever forget once he'd seen it.” A lovers’ triangle develops, with tragic consequences for local hayshaker Paul Greenfield. The villagers elect a new mayor who fires Bill Rassmussen and hires a real cop. The new mayor and…
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The five boys turn 17 and start going to the Sugarhouse “to get some sugar.” They get jobs working for the Otsego County Highway Department, and hang out at the Glimmerglass and the Oaksville Hotel. Donny catches the Monster of Eel Pond, a giant fish coveted for years by locals.
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Three years later. Donny begins playing hockey on frozen Otsego Lake with Turk and three other boys who become his closest friends, Wes Cameron, Frank Finocchio and Willy One-Nut. One night the boys skate down a frozen creek that flows past the Sugarhouse. Attracted by music and whooping laughter they approach the Sugarhouse and peek into Emma’s be…
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The boys arrive at Natty Bumppo’s Cave, are caught in a thunderstorm and spend the night in the cave. In the morning they hike on into town and are greeted with a hero’s welcome. The next day, Turk, Donny and Billy walk downtown for a malted milkshake at Withey’s Drugstore. They pass the Glimmerglass, “Otsego County’s most disreputable bar,” and we…
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Cooperstown New York, Vietnam Era. The Sugarhouse. We meet Ma Rutledge, the Maple Sugar Madam, her daughters, Bertha and Emma, Bill Rassmussen the town cop, Teddy Granger the singing taxi driver, and hero-narrator Donald O’Donovan. Ten years earlier. Donny and his best friend Turk Monahan, eight years old, pop tar bubbles in the street in front of …
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