Holly Johnson, owner of Partnership Books, a division of Wind Ridge Publishing, with the company's latest published author, Rick Bessette.

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On Thursday evening, Sept. 2, at Shelburne Farms Coach Barn, lifelong Shelburne resident Rick Bessette celebrated the fruition of a long held dream. It was the release of his book of poetry, "A Vermonter's Heritage: Listening to the Trees." Published by Wind Ridge Publishing's Partnership Books, in Shelburne, Book Editor Lin Stone worked with Bessette since the beginning of the year to organize the prose penned by Bessette over the course of decades. Stone explained that Bessette came to her with a collection of first drafts of his poems. Each poem reflected a lifetime of warm-hearted observations of Vermont's changing seasons, meadows and moonlight, and the peace that nature can bring to the human soul. The work she completed with Bessette involved a series of revisions, the graphic design of the book, and finally, in August, the book's printing and release.

"Rick is one of the world's most good-natured and willing hard-workers imaginable," said Stone. "In fact, working with Rick on this book did not require blood, sweat, and tears: it only required several sharp pencils with good erasers (Rick doesn't compose on the computer), perseverance, a ready smile, and a couple of pounds of Shelburne Farms Cheddar Cheese."
Three generations of Bessette's family have lived and worked on Shelburne Farms: Rick, his father, and his two sons, in addition to four uncles that worked on the farm in its early years. One of those uncles also wrote rhyming quatrains; the impulse to write poems about everyday life and the beauty of Vermont's landscape seems to run in the family.

"Wind Ridge Publishing gave me the opportunity of a lifetime," said Bessette. "Everyone was so helpful in guiding me through the process. I would like to offer a special thanks to Holly Johnson for giving me this chance and for her generosity and good heart that is providing such a wonderful opportunity to local people."

As an introduction to Bessette Thursday evening, Stone called Bessette "Mother Nature's class valedictorian. He received his Master's Degree in Meadows and Moonlight and his Doctorate in (you guessed it) ‘Listening to the Trees,'" announced Stone. "He is a graduate of Shelburne Farms School of Lifelong Learning and studied under the fine tutelage of the meadowlarks and mourning doves."

Alec Webb, president of Shelburne Farms was one of the more than 100 guests gathered at Thursday's celebration."Rick's writing springs directly from his warm spirit and his love for this land and community. Each poem is a doorway directly into the place in our hearts where it is possible to simply appreciate the earth and each other - the relationships that matter most in life."

Bessette and his wife Candy live in Shelburne Village and Rick continues to work on and around Shelburne Farms, as do their sons, Jeremy and Travis.

"A Vermonter's Heritage: Listening to the Trees" is available locally at the Shelburne Farms Welcome Center, The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, the Paper Peddler in Williston Vt., and online at www.windridgepublishing.com/OurPublications/PartnershipBooks.