(male announcer) Production costs for Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations have been paid for in part by Fred and Lou Hartwig, generous supporters of Kansas City Public Television, and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(man) ♪ Welcome to a show about things you can see ♪ ♪ without going far, and a lot of them are free.

♪ ♪ If you thought there was nothing ♪ ♪ in the old heartland, ♪ ♪ you ought to hit the blacktop ♪ ♪ with these fools in a van.

♪ ♪ Look out, they're driving hard, ♪ ♪ checking out art in their own backyard.

♪ ♪ Randy does the steering so he won't hurl.

♪ ♪ Mike's got the map, such a man of the world.

♪ ♪ That's Don with the camera, ♪ ♪ kind of heavy on his shoulder.

♪ ♪ And that giant ball of tape, it's a world record holder.

♪ ♪ Look out, they're driving hard, ♪ ♪ checking out art in their own backyard.

♪ ♪ Look out, they're driving hard, ♪ ♪ checking out the world in their own backyard, ♪ ♪ checking out the world in their own backyard.

♪ ♪ (Mike) Yeah, it's cold out this morning.

No, it's great this morning.

Hey.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Mooo.

Hey, whoa!

(Don) Dear TV Mailbag, is it Ben or Jerry?

Did we pay extra for that?

(Don) Hi, Don the camera guy here, happy to discover this cow isn't mad, at least until these TV weasels con him into some heavy lifting.

(Mike) Oh, I got it.

[grunts] Yeah.

Tapes.

Oh, the camera bag.

(Randy) No idea what's in there.

[gasping] For your troubles.

It's the first time I've ever felt good about cow tipping.

[laughs] (Randy) Ci ao now... br own cow.

(Mike) Ci ao now, br own cow.

(Don) Livestock labor laws aside, it's nice to have some help, which means a few more minutes to take in Lake Champlain.

(Mike) That's us, that little dot right there.

(Don) Purported home of a giant sea creature the locals seem to know and love.

"Champy, the Lake Champlain monster."

We're gonna see if we can see him.

If we can't, this will have to do.

(Randy) I think maybe someone has taken some tiles.

(Mike) Th e Champy Monster?

(Randy) Champy.

(Mike) Champy?

(Randy) Not "The Champy Monster."

Just Champy.

Now, really, where's that, over in Ireland or Scotland, the Loch Ness Monster?

Now, that's kind of a scary name: Loch Ness.

It's like... but Champy?

I think they don't want him to be scary.

This is that-- that Burlington tree hugging, you know, let's all be friends-- (Don) Monster Hugging.

(Mike) It's a pretty clean lake.

Look how clear the water is.

(Randy) It is clear.

(Mike) It's very clear.

[whistling] (Randy) You see-- you see the monster?

(Mike) Where is the monster?

[Don whistling] Do you hear a-- No.

That's so nice of them to provide a town whistler.

(Don) It's the whistling monster.

[laughter] (Don) Now, somehow, not seein' what we were expecting to see doesn't seem near so bad when soon we're seein' this instead: lots and lots of lovely hills and dales and the state's fall foliage startin' to flash.

But Vermont has only one floating bridge, the one that sits smack dab in the middle of teeny, tiny Brookfield.

And that's exactly where we've come.

(woman) But everyone stops.

They come over, and they ask me: "Can we really drive across it?"

Yes, it's a state highway.

You can drive across it.

Now, there's some controversy about whether or not there was always water on the bridge.

And one of the neighbors has documentation over 30 years that the bridge used to be dry.

I've only been here for two years, so I've been telling everybody: "Oh, it's a floating bridge.

There gotta be some water on it."

Do you swim well in case there's any issue?

Yeah, oh, yeah.

You can come out and get me, send the dog?

(Nina) Yeah, you have 24 hours to get your car out of the water, because otherwise you get a fine of, like, $100.

Ticket for being submerged for over 24 hours?

(Mike) If I don't make it, you can have my stuff.

(Randy) It's a state highway.

Don't go fast.

Were there some other instructions?

(Mike) I don't like this.

(Randy) Look at this.

(Mike) I hope we're not over 6,000 pounds.

(Randy) Check this out.

Check this out.

We're below the water.

Look over there.

How often do you see that when you're on the bridge?

We're below the water.

Randy's heart is beating, but he's doin' okay.

He's kind of groovin'.

She was nice, wasn't she?

There you are.

You did it, yay!

I was; I was right with it.

You were with the water.

(Don) All that bein' with the water has left us needin' to let some go.

Good thing there's room at the inn for doin' just that.

(Nina) Bye, guys!

Bye.

(Don) After sayin' our good-byes to Nina and grabbing some quick puppy love, we barreled a few miles back up to Barre, the town where more granite is mined than any place in the world and, consequently, where markers made from it make Hope Cemetery a one-of-a-kind stop.

(Randy) Are these carvings, like, awesome or what?

(Mike) They're very awesome.

This place is amazing.

(Randy) There's an airplane.

There's a car.

There's a cool cube.

(Mike) Yeah.

(Randy) Man, this is, like, the best-- This is the best ever.

(Don) Wow, this guy looks like Jack Benny.

Oh, Rochester.

Clearly, they've come to bury Caesar.

Did Maxfield perish?

Look, it's up on a lift.

(Randy) It is; it's getting some work done.

Is this a reminder that at some point we should check our fluids?

[laughter] (Don) There's your problem with self-guided tours, but fortune smiled upon us when we least deserved it in the form of a Barre man who'd spent years burying people here.

This is the old sections.

If you go over in the new sections, you'll see sandblasts.

All this stuff is done by hand.

All that up there-- all that carving, that's all hand done.

There's Mr. Corti.

(Randy) Wow.

(Fontana) Like, these roses here, right there, that's all hand done.

The old Italians, some Spaniards, they did that all by hand.

See those urns up there?

Mm-hmm.

Those were turned on a lathe, just like a lathe like wood carving.

These raised, round letters, that was all done by hand.

Okay, I mean, these guys are goin' [makes pulsing sound] Okay, see that, see that?

(Mike) Th ey were good.

Best in the world.

(Mike) Be st in the world.

The stuff is really impressive.

(Randy) Italians seem to be pretty prominent here, right?

(Fontana) Yes, we are.

[laughter] I noticed the name.

(Mike) A lot of Italian families here.

(Randy) An d they were th e best stone carvers?

(Fontana) Yes.

(Randy) Does it get cold up here?

[laughter] Smart guy, isn't he?

(Don) For Randy's sake, I suggest we resume the driving portion of this show, though not much actual driving is needed to reach Hardwick.

If you're wonderin' what's happened to the folk art part of the show, here it comes-- in a big way-- here at the old firehouse.

(woman) We do about 500 workshops a year.

All from Burlington to Saint Johnsbury, so it's all northern Vermont.

And two workshops a week here, community workshops open to anyone that would like to come.

Real nice mix of kids, elders, everything in between, home school kids.

(Don) Art therapy, this is not.

More like a great grassroots greenhouse growin' a bumper crop of local talent.

Ranging from Larry Bissonnette near Burlington...

This is called Uncle Leo's Earthy Dwelling.

(Mike) Hm m, now, is that Uncle Leo, or is that Larry?

(Putnam) That's Larry.

(Don) To Hardwick's own 80-something Dot Kibbee... (Putnam) She's a retired nurse, and she started coming to our community workshop about 20 years ago.

(Don) To the master of moose Merrill Densmore, to name just a few.

(Putnam) He comes in.

He's got all these paintings: stuff he's either seen or read about.

He loves doing the Vermont landscape.

If you look around here, there's just so many different kinds of styles and expressions, and it's-- it's really refreshing.

You know, we're not coming in, saying, "Okay, paint like this" or "do this."

It's just letting people do their own thing, which is really the idea behind GRACE.

It's a wonderful place to be around and step into every day.

Yeah, it's great.

(Don) And speaking of spirit, get ready for Gayleen, Gayleen Aiken that is: painter, puppet maker, author, musician, and Barre's all around force of nature.

Though after two broken legs, she's not the hiker she once was.

(Randy) These are all life-sized here.

Is that you at the piano?

(Gayleen) That's a Rainbilli Cousin, my originals.

Oh, yes, they're all around the nickelodeon, you know.

People come from miles around to see my hobbies.

(Mike) Who are the Rainbilli?

(Gayleen) The Rainbillis are the cousins, Rainbilli Hill cousins, who live on a big farm.

And there's 24 children-- a mother and a father and 24 children.

I made that story up when I was a very young girl, very small girl.

I made up the story of the Rainbilli Hill Cousins.

[tinkling xylophone music] ♪ ♪ I've always lived in the country.

I never lived in cities or would ever want to live in the city.

I miss everything about my old house: the wallpaper, the woodwork, the chandeliers, the friendly neighbors, country hills, and the old-fashioned sinks.

And I've written a lot of books about the good old days.

I've made story scrapbooks-- found the right pictures that look like our house and things.

(Mike) A lot of this is local history, though, it looks like to me.

(Gayleen) Yes, local history as well as being funny.

I make a lot of funny books about local history and our industry.

I'm proud of our granite industry.

[harmonica music] ♪ ♪ (Mike) I'm still a little confused.

The Rainbillis are a family that you made up?

(Gayleen) Yes, I made up the story when I-- I don't know.

Maybe I was four or five years old, and I began to write the words before I could even go to school.

(Mike) So I'm amazed at how young you started doing this.

Yes, I was an artist all my life.

Was only about two years old.

Couldn't walk much.

And I drew on the woodwork.

My father took off that woodwork and kept it.

That would be worth money now.

♪ ♪ Well, well, look who's hiding?

What's this?

Cousin Golleen.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

I'm Cousin Golleen.

I'm hiding in your travel bag.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Oh, I hear a cat.

Meow, meow, meow.

Susan, a cat.

I didn't know she was in there.

I hear a dog.

[barks] A sheppie lassie.

[laughs] ♪ ♪ (Mike) Co uld you ever have imagined th at your drawings and stuff would have made you so famous though?

No, I used to tell people I was a private artist, just drawin' pictures for my shut-in friends and just drawin' pictures for fun, you know.

I didn't think I was going to be famous.

I didn't really expect to be or want to be, I guess.

I don't drink, smoke, or drug.

I don't even like to take my ordinary aspirin, but I have to take one for the knee, 'cause it aches so much.

But I believe more in prayers.

I love the organ.

Wish that was louder.

[warbling electronic organ music] One key don't play there.

Maybe they let children play.

I hope not.

Not--these are not meant for children to fool with.

[laughter] (Randy) Gayleen, I noticed your book is called The Enchanted World.

Do you feel like you live in an enchanted world?

(Gayleen) I don't know.

Maybe, when I'm making my pictures.

I don't know.

Maybe.

♪ ♪ (Randy) There's the clapping.

[cheers and applause] (Gayleen) Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

[cow moos] (Don) Man, this is-- this is roomy.

Now, on occasion, I may have complained about our accommodations.

But check it out: a room large enough for that game of catch that's been gettin' rained out.

You kids, get out of the way.

(Randy) No w, is that the bullpen ba ck behind you, Mike?

Yeah.

(Don) No peppa!

I suppose if you stayed here long enough, you'd know how to play the walls.

[laughter] (Don) No, you don't see this often, nor, I would wager, will you see what awaits us here either.

(Randy) Cool lions.

(Don) Along with all the natural history you'd expect, the Grand Old Fairbanks can hold its own with anyone when it comes to bug art.

Insect mosaics made by a New Jerseyite named John Hampson more than 100 years back.

(Randy) Was there anything to indicate he was going to make bug art?

(man) Nothing in his history particularly.

I think he was a curious fellow, and entomology captured his fancy when he was living in New Jersey.

And apparently, he had too much time on his hands, 'cause he certainly spent a lot of time collecting these.

Remember this was before the bug zappers and the other commercial products that cause piles of dead bugs at your feet.

So he was out collecting these-- mostly at night-- and then meticulously turning them into these lovely mosaics.

We believe that each one of these took several years.

And the number of insects in these ranges from somewhere around 6,000 to 7,000 upward to 20,000.

So it's a huge piece of work.

(Randy) What specific bugs are we talking about?

(Browne) Well, we're talking about very common moths and beetles, for the most part.

And they were very abundant, which made it easy for Hampson to collect them.

But we're very fortunate, also, that these particular insects have this structural color so that they haven't faded over the years.

The color is actually built in in the microscopic structures of the proteins in the-- in the wings.

And so they-- they've retained their color despite being under-- under the lights for the better part of a century now.

And they're still as bright and pretty as ever.

We don't know very much about his politics, his sense of history, or-- we do know that he was patriotic.

(Randy) And he had a 50th birthday.

(Browne) And he survived his 50th birthday and celebrated it with a dedication to his own life, yes.

He was apparently a quiet and discreet fellow who was reasonably successful at what he attempted and threw his life into this particular work and died not knowing that it was going to wind up in a prominent northern New England museum.

(Randy) That has a lot of other stuff, by the way.

That has a lot of other stuff, by the way, yeah.

(Mike) What time was he doing this?

(Browne) He did this from the 1870s to about 1920 over a long career.

And that was a time-- contemporaneous with much of the collection of the museum-- that was a time when attitudes about nature really were that you collect and assemble and amass everything that's evidence of God's creation, and that's what Franklin Fairbanks was about as well.

(Mike) I know there are other things here, but-- (Browne) There are other things here, and we hope you'll take a look at those as well.

We hope anybody who comes for the bug art will be pleasantly surprised, but if the bug art is what draws folks here like flies to the light, that's fine.

(Don) Or weasels to a flame.

(Randy) Weasels to a flame.

(Don) Charlie's right about the other stuff, but as usual, there's no time to linger.

We are, in fact, passing up the dog chapel, this town's other big claim to fame, to soak up one last dab of scenic Vermont before crossing state lines to commit more video offenses.

Here in New Hampshire, they say, "Live free or die."

And while you're at it, why not do some shopping?

Sure enough, we've stopped in Gorham to sneak a peek at a shop unique.

Let's let the proprietor explain.

See, I think-- let me take my glasses off, in case there's any good-looking women watching.

(Randy) Our audience is all good-looking women.

Oh, I say, I think, as far as I know, that we are the only all-moose store.

There's a lot of other stores that carry a lot of moose stuff, but we have nothing but moose.

Strictly Moose, hence the name.

(Randy) No caribou, no armadillo, no elk.

(Duncan) No armadillos.

(Randy) No elk, aardvarks, nope, none of that.

Just strictly, strictly moose.

Mooooose.

(Mike) What originally gave you the idea for the moose?

Um, my wife was working, and I wasn't.

[laughter] And what do people come up here for?

90% of people come up here to see moose.

(Randy) And how thrilling is it to see a moose?

Depends on how bad you want to see one, I guess.

Me, no, I'm moosed out.

I've been doin' this for seven years.

It doesn't really excite me anymore.

(Mike) We have Moose Poupon.

(Don) That's a nice sweat-ah.

(Mike) Yes, and here's the hat.

One size fits all.

(Don) That's a viz-ah.

(Randy) That is a fine piece of casual attire.

(Don) I think it's you.

(Randy) Any tips for us?

(Duncan) Yeah, stay away.

Stay away from a male in rut.

And now is rut season.

You don't want to-- you don't even want to mess.

You don't, 'cause they'll come after you.

Take that to my cabin in the woods and do a little rutting.

(Randy) What about Moose and Squirrel?

Moose and Squirrel, what are you talking about?

(Randy) Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Oh, yeah, the heck with Rocky.

He's just a squirrel.

(Randy) How will you do it?

No armadillos, no penguins, just moose.

(Don) Now, Al is closing up shop, but just for the winter, since apparently, it does get cold up here.

That means more bargains to clutter up the Chrysler which even now is hauling us into Maine, past Farmington, birthplace of the ear muff, and into Canaan, home of the Lindbergh Crate museum, which is just what the name implies, and a motivational tool to boot.

(man) What you're looking at is the box that brought The Spirit of Saint Louis back to the United States after Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris.

Didn't look like this when I found it.

It was in pretty rough shape when I found it.

And I found photographs of what it looked like and hauled it here and restored it.

(Randy) Ho w do I know it's really th e Lindbergh crate?

Oh, then, yeah; here's the real deal.

Here's a picture of it being loaded onto the USS Memphis, and this would have been the wings in this box here.

You can see this strap in here is this strap in here.

And there's a vent up in this window.

If you look at it, these are the two vents up in the corners.

This is a brief summary of what Lindbergh Crate Day is to the kids in my community.

"Lindy made his dream come true with some plane, "and so can you.

"Choose the place you want to fly.

"Always, always try.

"Lindy flew his ocean blue.

If he did it, so can you."

You can tell you're looking at a guy who grew up reading Burma Shave signs, right?

And what is that?

(Mike) It looks like a landing strip.

That's The Spirit of Canaan.

(Randy) All right, I'm likin' this.

Oh, Jeez, wait a second.

I gotta get Paris up for you.

Paris is blowing over.

(Randy) I can't see out the front.

That's the way it was.

(Don) Like a Chrysler mini van.

Yeah.

(Randy) Whoo-hooo-hoo!

[Don giggles impishly] (Randy) Contact.

Engines check.

[rumbling] Oh, yeah.

(Don) Touchdown, Houston.

(Randy) Skiddin' to a stop.

(Ross) Very big hit with third and fourth graders.

(Mike) Oh, I'll bet.

(Ross) Oh, yeah, I call it the big bang theory of education.

They come here, and I tell them things that I want them to think about.

Then I give them the really big bang.

And that's F-16s, A-10s, C-5s, all these aircraft flying around, and they have a day that they will remember.

But then I believe that they'll also sit back, and over time, all this other stuff starts to percolate down for 'em.

So we get in here every year, and we hang a big carrot from this.

It's--the carrot's in the house, so we get in this baby, and we just hang that carrot on there.

And they get in here.

(Randy) Sounds like a good reminder to pay attention so you don't get whacked by it.

We ring that bell.

And this thing, you load it with seven loads of toilet paper, and it's got four leaf blowers inside it, so it takes this toilet paper and unfurls it, like, you know, higher than the top of this tree.

I'm just kind of a big kid.

I--I enjoy it all.

(Randy) Do you come out and sit in the crate sometimes and just soak up vibe?

(Ross) Uh, not very often.

Like, when I knew you guys were coming and I didn't have anything to do, I came out here, and I read for a couple of minutes.

But I got a lot of lawn to do, and my wife says I got too much vibe already, so I don't need-- I don't need to soak up much more.

(Don) Ordinary people doing extraordinary things is what Larry's all about, so we felt compelled to share with him our constant companion: the world's largest ball of video tape.

Who knows?

We may end up on the wall too.

You are creative guys.

Or idiots.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It is heavy.

(Mike) Symbol of the great era in the late 1800s, when Bangor, Maine, was acclaimed to be the lumber capital of the world.

Reputed to be the largest of Paul Bunyans in the world.

There are a lot of Paul Bunyans out there.

We've seen some.

(Don) Yes, Bangor has one big Bunyan, with literary merit too.

In Stephen King's It, a giant lumberjack not unlike this springs to life and terrorizes the town.

Or so we think, since none of us has actually read Mr. King's book.

[horn honking] Yeah, hello!

Hi.

That was Steve.

I call him Steve.

(Don) No, I doubt the world-famous author will be dropping by soon.

So after pokin' around a wee bit more.

(Mike) It looks like there's some kind of secret flap back there that opens up.

(Don) We adjourned across the street for a hot cup of joe and began our drive out to Deer Isle, which requires crossing this very cool bridge.

Stonington, at the other end of it, is where Everett Knowlton built his own miniature village.

Tiny versions of things you'd see in towns around Penobscot Bay.

Everett's gone now, but his buildings have survived, taken in by local folks each winter and spiffed up for display.

(Randy) This is a miniature village.

It's like a regular village only smaller.

(Don) However, firsthand accounts are hard to find, which must account for our brand-new associate deputy producer workin' the phones like a champ.

You're going to go meet Thurlow Pitts, and he's, like, a local historian.

He has a column in the paper every week, and he knows everything about this area, so you're all set.

You're goin' up to his house.

This village was primarily a hobby, I believe.

It was built over a number of years, one house at a time or something like that.

And it got a lot of attention.

A lot of people have stopped and photographed it and so on.

(Mike) I bet Everett must have been awfully proud of that.

(Pitts) Yes, yes, he was quite pleased with it, and deservedly so.

It was very attractive and very unusual and added a lot to the town.

(Randy) Would he approve of the way it's been handled, do you think?

Oh, I think so.

Yes, I'm sure he would be glad that it hadn't been dismantled or sold to somebody outside of the community.

He patterned the community.

I think that's perhaps the most notable thing about it.

(Randy) Ca n you tell that we 're not from around here by the way we talk?

I think so, yes.

(Don) Can you tell we're out of good questions?

And just about out of time too.

So here's one final reminder: if you're ever in Stonington, give so that little houses can live.

(Randy) Thank you for producing our show for us, since we were starting to fail miserably at the task.

My pleasure.

You just want a producer who does the job, don't you?

Yes.

(Don) This is Don the camera guy signing off.

(female announcer) To learn more about the sights you've seen on this show and plan a road trip of your own, visit Rare Visions on the web at: You can also purchase DVDs, videotapes, and a companion book to this award-winning series.

Call: Captioning and audio description provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Captioning and audio description byCaptionMax www.captionmax.com (Don) Full service?

(Randy) How are we?

(Don) He doesn't know.

He has to wipe it off-- Have you ever done this?

(Randy) Looks vaguely familiar.

We're good for another, what, 8,000, 10,000 miles?

We're down a quart?

Yeah.

Really.

Yeah, right there.

Well, let's put one in.

What do you want?

Best oil you got.

(Don) Cheapest oil.

(male announcer) Production costs for Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations have been paid for in part by Fred and Lou Hartwig, generous supporters of Kansas City Public Television, and by viewers like you.

Thank you.