Borrower Profile: Putney Historical Society

“The General Store is a huge anchor for our community,” said Putney Historical Society member Lyssa Papazian. “It is an economic engine here, so after it burned, the entire community came together to support its stabilization and once again make it the hub of our village.”

Papazian, a former Select Board member, stepped up to the challenge to help revitalize Putney’s downtown center by leading the effort to restore the oldest Vermont general store in the state. Originally built around 1796, the Putney General Store has been in continuous operation since then.  The Putney Historical Society then bought the landmark in November 2008. Their goal is to rehabilitate the building, restoring it to its historic condition, and then lease it to a general store manager, once again making it a tourist stop as well as a centerpiece to the community.

“I’m an incorrigible volunteer!” Papazian laughs. “When I came off of the Select Board, I felt this rehabilitation was so important. I felt I had something to offer and jumped right in.” Lyssa is no stranger to historical preservation or architecture. She has worked as a consultant with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and is an architectural historian with more than 15 years of professional experience. “Once I jumped in, I brought the local Historical Society with me; they bought the property last November,” Lyssa said.

The Loan Fund provided the Putney Historical Society with financing for the stabilization of the store property and improvements. They also received many private contributions from community members. The store is expected to reopen in early 2010.

The General Store fire has had a devastating effect on the community. Missing one of the central landmarks that had historically drawn people to Putney, other stores in the village were forced to close, or just be open on weekends. Thirteen jobs were lost from the closing of the General Store alone. But the revitalization effort will make for a brighter future. Once construction and stabilization is complete, Lyssa says they hope to have the store open in January 2010. “Without support from so many places, and especially that of the Vermont Community Loan Fund, I’m not sure we could have come to where we are now. The Loan Fund was willing to hold our hand and be there for us.”

The Loan Fund strives to bring communities together with all of our community facilities loans, but rarely can we point to such a great example: One day during the beginning of the restoration process, the local elementary school bus came rolling down the hill. “Every kid on that bus started cheering, the bus driver stopped, and the kids got out and cheered!,” Papazian marvels. A faded note still stapled to the side of the entry way commemorates the day: “Dear Great Guys, We are so appreciative of your efforts to get our General Store back. We left you these brownies as a way to say ‘thank you.’” Underneath that note was a note from the crew: “The brownies were excellent, thank you for thinking of us. Love, The Great Guys.”

Now THAT’s building community.