Friday Night January 7, 2011, 7 PM at the basement of the Abbott Memorial Library in Dexter. Local refreshments, and discussion following. Donations gratefully accepted.

Here's the blurb:
Since Colonial times the rural hilltowns of New England have been home to generations of dairy farmers.

Over the last four centuries they have earned their living through an astonishingly varied combination of seasonal activities- maple sugaring, plowing, planting, haying, gardening, clearing the forest, logging, building stone walls, mending fences, and incessant daily chores- milking cows, mucking stalls, breeding, feeding, doctoring and slaughtering livestock, cooking, cleaning and tending home fires; all the while supporting each other in tightly-knit community networks sustained by shared values, mutual needs, and respect for the land.

When Jefferson wrote of the citizenry essential for the success of America's experiment in democracy, these could well have been the type of people he had in mind- self-reliant, hard-working, good-humored, neighborly and blessed with common sense.

ROOT HOG OR DIE is a portrait of a living remnant of this once pervasive but now vanishing way of life. From spring to winter it follows the cycle of the farm year, while visiting with elders who reflect on the deep patterns, the memories, the inevitable forces of change and the bittersweet nature of their lives as farmers.

Dexter Dover Area Towns In Transition (DDATT) is a group of local citizens concerned about our society's heavy dependence on petroleum for almost everything we do, and planning for ways to "transition" out of that dependence.

Call 277-4221 or 924-3836 for more info.