Signs of Life Detected in Green Mountains …

I became the President of the Yale Club in November, 2019, a dubious distinction at that time, because there was no Yale Club of Vermont, nor had there been one for the previous decade or so. I was President of Nothing. Did I have ambitions to revive the club? No. Did I have a plan? No.

The backstory is that I wanted to meet with some classmates who were active in planning for our upcoming 50th Reunion, scheduled for May, 2020 and who would be attending the YAA Assembly in New Haven. I was charged with putting together the reunion book, and an in-person meeting would be helpful.

The glitch was, the Assembly was by invitation only, and I was not a current delegate. Our contact in the YAA office came up with a solution. There was an open slot for the President of the Yale Club of Vermont. Would I fill that position? Having never been in charge of a non-existent institution before, I gladly accepted.

“Let me put the book project behind me,” I thought, “Then, I’ll think about the club.” Enter Elaine Gustafson, a Yale alum, who split her time between Sarasota, FL and nearby Woodstock, VT. Elaine had energy and, most importantly, as an active member and past-President of the Yale Club of Sarasota, experience to offer.

Flash forward and the Yale Club of Vermont is now a reality. We’re still in a formative stage, but we have a logo, a website, a planning committee, and, most importantly, alums full of ideas and enthusiasm. Time to throw a party! On February 10 we’ll honor the Yale tradition of Feb Club by hoisting a Vermont-made beverage or custom cocktail created from Vermont ingredients.

I know what I’ll be drinking. In 1978 I set off from Scituate, MA on an odyssey to discover why American beer was so … bad, bland, and boring. My very first stop was Strafford, VT where I met a man who published an underground pamphlet called Mountain Brew. “Underground” because homebrewing was illegal in the United States at that time. I had learned to brew while living in London, where it’s a common hobby. Why it was a felony in the US was just one of the things I didn’t understand about beer.

I’ve been brewing ever since, and I will be bringing a bottle of my finest to our Feb Club gathering. I just wish I could share a glass with you. See ya on February 10.

(Postscript: The book that resulted from my journey was The Great Beer Trek. It made me rich, famous, a legend in the beer business, and a household word. Well … that’s not exactly true, but I am President of the Yale Club of Vermont which means that, now, I’m President of Something!)