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U.S. NEWS Monday 13 February 2017
VALENTINE’S

DAY

SPECIAL

American Living:

Is there a curse on the Putney General Store?

WILSON RING you have places like this repairs with a combination
Associated Press that people frequent it of grants and donations.
PUTNEY, Vt. (AP) — The Put- makes it possible for com- About 18 months later, as
ney General Store, estab- munities to solve tough repairs were nearing com-
lished in the 1790s, is having problems and face tough pletion, another fire, clear-
a devil of a time staying issues.” ly arson, struck the build-
open in its fourth century. Papazian, who is now on ing, burning it into the cel-
Just don’t call it cursed. the board of Preservation lar hole. No one was ever
Efforts to keep it thriving Trust’s Board of Directors, charged with the fire.
have been challenged said the historical society is This time the historic preser-
over the past nine years by determined to reopen and vation grants used to repair
two fires, one of which was manage the store as soon the building weren’t avail-
arson; a lapsed lease after as possible, hopefully by able, because the building
the proprietor became ill; early next month, while the would be new, but it was
and, most recently, the un- search goes on for some- insured. That money, cou-
expected cancer death of one willing to dedicate Lyssa Papazian, of the Putney Historical Society, stands on a bal- pled with more fundraising,
a pharmacist who had run years to the effort. cony of the closed Putney General Store, in Putney, Vt. helped the Historical Soci-
the store for just over three “For whatever reason, it’s (AP Photo/Wilson Ring) ety rebuild the post-and-
years. like this romantic ideal, ‘I’ll beam structure with local
The store is again closed, go open a general store,’ lumber and other dona-
and the owner of the build- when in fact it’s a lot of Kimball Hill Road in Putney, wiring in the attic. tions of money and kind.
ing, the Putney Historical work,” she said. “People current population about At that time, the owner The new structure also has
Society, which is paying a want to retire and own a 2,700, since the late 18th opted not to rebuild, and the advantage of modern
mortgage and can’t afford general store. That is not a century. Over the genera- the Historical Society, rec- weatherization and heat-
to keep the doors closed, is retirement.” tions it had a succession of ognizing the importance ing and cooling equip-
planning the store’s next A store has been at the in- owners, some long-term, of the store to the life of ment. A sprinkler system is,
incarnation, hoping some- tersection of what is now some short, until the 2008 the community, bought not coincidentally, promi-
one will be able to take it known as U.S. Route 5 and fire, which started in the the structure and funded nently displayed.q
over and run it for decades.
“Some people say,
‘It’s cursed, you see it’s
cursed,’” said Lyssa Papa-
zian, an architectural his-
torian and member of the
Putney Historical Society
who has worked on the
store since shortly after the
first fire in 2008. “OK, we are
not going there. It is not
cursed but, well, it goes
to show you how difficult
the business is of running a
store in Vermont.”
After that first fire, Papa-
zian and the other soci-
ety members sought help
from the Preservation Trust
of Vermont, which helps
communities save and use
historic buildings. It has a
special interest in general
stores and similar locally
owned and operated busi-
nesses across the state,
said Executive Director
Paul Bruhn.
“That’s what community is
about,” Bruhn said. “When