Community Almanac

Robbin LaRue was born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts but moved to a farm in East Plainfield, NH. Today she recollects that their land abutted a 30,000 acre game reserve, and that her love of that farm informed her decision to move to Starkboro many years later, but at the time she remembers thinking of it as "just a really cool place to live". Looking at magazines depicting sustainable farmers today, Robbin describes her father as 40 years ahead of his time: an innovative farmer, who, despite expectations to the contrary, excelled as a farmer for much of his life. Because of how she was raised: growing the majority of the food her family ate, she has been dedicated to providing the same security to her daughters; especially in such difficult economic times. Equipped with a love of Northern New England, Robbin studied at UVM and was drawn to education. Later she traveled to New Zealand and achieved her masters degree in Auckland. Compromising between Montana and New Jersey with her then-husband, she moved to Vermont. Robbin lived in Burlington, searching for a plot of land. When she found what she called a rectangle-shaped property, identified it as "a farm that hadn't been hacked to bits", and decided that she had to live there. While she isn't able to farm as much as she would like, but she still describes farming as her "fantasy life", and looks forward to doing more in the future. Since moving to Starskboro, Robbin feels very lucky to have been integrated into the community, and strongly values the stories of or friends and neighbors. Robbin was interviewed on May 14th, 2009, in a workshop with the Starksboro Community Storytelling Group. The Storytellers are working with the town's Art and Soul Project to continue to gather the town's stories, create understanding and plan for the future.