Exploring Vermont From a Native Point of View

Two business people with strong ties to Orleans County are working to provide a unique, often historical, occasionally humorous, sometimes satirical, glimpse into life in Vermonts Northeast Kingdom-past and present. Scott Wheeler of Derby and Bill Alexander of Jericho, formerly of Newport, have websites that open the world to different aspects of life in the Kingdom that people who dont live here might not otherwise see or experience.

(PRWEB) January 8, 2005 -- In the mid 1990s, Bill Alexander created one of the first websites in the state of Vermont to showcase the Northeast Kingdom. The Vermont Northeast Kingdom Guide laid the groundwork for the tourism-related websites that were soon to follow. Alexander also created and maintained the Vermont North Country Chamber of Commerce website for many years.

The hard working, 'tell it like it is wit, razor-sharp sarcasm and no-nonsense attitudes of generations past made Vermont unique," he said, adding that these days the original culture of Vermont is slowly being phased out in favor of more metropolitan views and beliefs. With the tourism bases already well covered, Alexander decided to change the format of the Vermont Northeast Kingdom Guide as a tribute to the multi-generations of Vermonters who live and work each day in the Green Mountains.

The Vermont Northeast Kingdom Guide is no longer just a tourist guide. It is a guide for Vermonters both near and far away to reminisce and maybe chuckle a bit at some of the memories and myths. Now expanded into Vermonter.com, the website continues to explore some of the more unique aspects of Vermont. Humor, nonsense and just about any subject is fair game. Real Vermonters wouldnt have it any other way. Alexander welcomes businesses from across Vermont to advertise on his site.

Wheeler is a 1984 graduate from North Country Union High School and earned a bachelors degree in psychology from Johnson State College. In addition to working as a community relations writer at North Country Hospital in Newport, he is the author of Rumrunners and Revenuers: Prohibition in Vermont. He is also the publisher of Vermonts Northland Journal, a publication designed to share and preserve the history of the Kingdom through the words of the very people who lived it.

Alexander and Wheeler pride themselves on providing a unique glimpse into the Kingdom and its people. Their view of the Kingdom isnt quite the view you might find on other websites or in other publications. Instead, they show the region as a working landscape where most people still take pride in good, hard physical labor. While there is a growing tendency to ignore, or even make fun of people who work with their hands, the pair celebrates these people-the loggers, the farmers, mill workers and the carpenters.

Life in the Kingdom isnt always easy, the two men said. The weather is less than ideal, and the economy often lags behind the rest of the state. Despite this, they said, most of the people of the Kingdom have adapted well over the generations -- mostly through that totally unique Vermont-style wit, not the obnoxious, rude sense of humor used by comedians" who poke fun at Vermonters, but a dry humor that catches one totally off guard, a humor that is more than amusing; it also tells a message.

Some people might argue that not white washing" traditional life in the Kingdom might scare off potential tourism. Alexander and Wheeler couldnt disagree more. They are unembarrassed and proud of the land of their birth. They emphasize that there is no reason to portray the Kingdom as something it isnt, or to bend reality a bit to entice tourists. The beauty, the working landscape, and the people speak loud enough to attract visitors from every corner of the world.

To check out Alexanders website, go to www.vermonter.com. Or to talk to him, call (802) 899-2970. Check out Wheelers website at www.northlandjournal.com. To talk to him, call (802) 334-5920.

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