By Danielle M. Crosier, Vermont Country Magazine.
BENNINGTON — Together with the Better Bennington Corporation (BBC) Design Committee, BBC Executive Director Jeanne Mintrone has been working to beautify and bring vitality to Bennington’s historic downtown.
The majority of the district covered by the BBC includes the merchants of the downtown district, but there are also a few businesses “just on the outskirts” of that area that are included in the BBC network.
“We support them by driving business to downtown, bringing people in for festivals, putting out different events, like the Thursday Night Live Music Series combined with the Hemmings Cruise-Ins on Thursday nights, where we close off Main Street and School Street, and it’s lined with classic cars,” explained Mintrone, adding that Mayfest and the Winter Festival Gathering are also BBC events.
The Thursday Night Music Series and the Hemmings Cruise-Ins take place on the third Thursday of every month during the months of May through September.
“They’ve been wonderful — and it brings a lot of business downtown, which is what our goal is,” said Mintrone. “We want to boost the economy by keeping people in the downtown area.”
The BBC also does a Beans and Bagels event every other month, hosted by local businesses such as the Bennington Community Market, The Local & Co, CAT-TV, Comprehensive Computing and the Gift Garden — where merchants can come together to network, plan, explore each other’s businesses and strategies, give feedback, connect on issues, drink coffee and have breakfast.
“It’s really blown up, and people really enjoy it,” said Mintrone, and added that the networking experience inspires collaboration and communication, and works to build community from the inside out. “The hosts are really excited to showcase their business to other businesses. It’s been a great initiative overall to connect merchants to merchants, merchants to the BBC, and merchants to the town officials.”
One of the newest projects that Mintrone and the BBC Design Committee are working on is the Quilt Square Project, an installation of 2-foot-square and 4-foot-square boards on businesses throughout downtown, with each quilt square representing an authentic and historic quilt pattern.
“They’re painted on aluminum composite,” said Mintrone. “The Local — they used to be Bringing You Vermont. The building’s been completely transformed, and they’re actually home to one of the quilt squares. It’s on the side of the building.”
Other locations for installation of the painted quilt squares include the Elm Street Market, Ramunto’s, Sunnyside Diner, the Bennington Community Market and the Town of Bennington building. More will be forthcoming as the project develops and grows.
The Quilt Square Project is really in its infancy, said Mintrone, but the future of the project is wide open.
Mintrone sees possible applications everywhere — partnering with the math department at the local high school for a geometry or fractal lesson, collaborating with the local elementary schools, opening the project up to community organizations and social groups, making 1-foot-square boards for individuals, and even possibly creating an interactive quilt square scavenger hunt for tourists and locals to tour the downtown area.
“That’s all down the road,” said Mintrone, excited and invigorated about the project.
Involving and engaging the local youth in the project would bring them downtown, Mintrone said, and it would give them a sense of investment in the community. Hopefully, it would bring their parents and friends to the historic downtown area, as well.
In addition, expanding the project to include various community organizations and social groups would create a sense of togetherness, pride and collaboration.
“A great community member Vickie Lampron, who is a quilter, brought this project idea to the BBC when I first started,” recalled Mintrone, detailing the origin of the Quilt Square Project initiative. “I was a co-director at that point, but I knew. I knew I was interested. And, when I became the director, I immediately went back to the emails and contacted Vickie and said, ‘I want to hear all about this.’”
Lampron’s efforts to pioneer the Quilt Square Project have been instrumental in its success, said Mintrone, but what really sold her on the Quilt Square Project was the symbolism.
“To me, quilts are Americana,” said Mintrone. “They connect to our country in so many ways. And, so many of these patterns represent something — so many (life moments) that they depict — and I knew it would connect us. You know? Each of them tells a story — and that’s what I want this Quilt Square Project to do.”
According to Mintrone, each quilt square design is from the Quilters Guild and meets all of the requirements, with a number of the patterns originating directly from the Guild. “They even have one that’s called Vermont, and it’s the design that was made for Vermont out of the 50 that were made for the country. So there’s a story behind every one of them.”
As each quilt square has a story, Mintrone envisions these being printed onto plaques which would eventually be mounted near their corresponding installations. Giving meaning and context, and credit to those who painted the individual pieces, is what will pull the concept together and create that authentic sense of community cohesion, accomplishment and identity.
Historically, Mintrone believes, the quilt squares also represent community as a form of cultural expression.
Quilts are literally and figuratively ingrained in the fabric of our country’s history and identity, reflecting the rich heritage of our pioneering nation, from quilting as a social and communal activity that bridged distance and generations to quilting as a sacred art that communicates identity.
In these ways, quilts have served to preserve, commemorate and exchange cultural ideas. They represent connection and the forming of bonds.
In a more tactile sense, quilts represent warmth. They represent family, and they represent a sense of safety and protection — and, as a labor of love, they represent home.
Most importantly, perhaps to Mintrone, a quilt can symbolize the many fractured parts of society being stitched together to form a whole.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing, if downtown was just filled with these,” asked Mintrone, mentioning that there are hopes for possible future collaborations with the Bennington Quiltfest, the Downtown Bennington Harvest Festival and the Bennington Museum’s renowned 1863 Jane Stickle Quilt Exhibition, which is shown on a brief annual basis due to the fragility of the fabric.
This is Mintrone’s first year as the executive director for the BBC, but she envisions the continued growth and beautification of Bennington’s historic downtown district.
“One of the things BBC does, is it keeps communication going in the downtown area,” said Mintrone. “And, then, we bring in the revitalization. We want to see green spaces in the downtown area. We want to see fountains. We want to see people coming downtown — not just to shop, but also to enjoy themselves.”
Mintrone believes that creating beautiful space that is meaningful and purposeful is about creating culture.
Sharing one of the BBC Design Committee’s signature initiatives — “one of the most beautiful spots in the downtown area” — Mintrone referenced the Pocket Park near Katie Cleaver. “I could just sit there — and probably fall asleep. That is the most beautiful waterfall and little nook. And, how it’s all curved — it’s just very peaceful — and, we want to see more of that.”
“Bennington is one of 24 towns in the State of Vermont that’s been designated as a ‘Main Street America Downtown,’” said Mintrone, explaining that the goal of maintaining this preferential status is to continue to improve the vitality of the downtown area.
“For the Quilt Square Project, we really see this as Phase One,” said Mintrone. “So, we see Phase Two, Phase Three — like, we see a real future for this. And, the part that I’m so excited about is that we’ve had different organizations and different people get to paint these, including kids.”
Lampron has already coordinated multiple collaborative painting sessions in venues throughout the downtown area, “Turning Point did one, (Greater Bennington Community Services) painted one at the potluck dinner that they do. We set one up at The Community Market and people who came to shop got to sit and paint.”
Looking toward the future, Mintrone envisions more and more networking and collaborations. “Next harvest season, we’re going to have a real chance to do something big, so I’m — I’m excited. We’re engaging people who might not normally ever be asked to do something. They’re working together on something, and they’re excited about it.”
“I absolutely love downtown Bennington: its beauty, vibrant community and sense of promise in its bright future. It truly is a hidden gem — full of charm and potential — just waiting to be experienced and appreciated.”
Danielle Crosier is a landlocked mermaid who found her way to Vermont by accident. She is a wife and mother, a former technical writer (10 years), former educator (19 years), and glass artisan with a background in marketing and strategic management. Her interests, though, lie mainly in studying and understanding systems and improving the lives of those around her. She also loves spending time with her precious children and their significant others, organizing, learning about social geography, creative endeavors, experimenting with various cuisines, and exploring the world around her.
