Wagons in vintage Street scenes

This photo reminds me of the 1960 version of the Brady bunch…. I can just hear Cindy yelling out.. “we’re the Brady’s, and we’re here to see the Cedar Swamp preserve!”

 

Sporty in the front business in the back. Liked those Buicks.

 

Here it is again, from a distance:

 

Rutland Vermont

 

On Thursday, August 21, 1975, the ferry Valcour out of Burlington ran aground on Ferris Rock, a couple miles short of its destination, Port Kent, New York. On board were 115 passengers, and Valcour’s deck was packed with 45 vehicles, including several RVs.
Another ferry was quickly dispatched to take off the passengers, who were taken to Burlington and put up at UVM dorms until they could be reunited with their vehicles.
The grounding ripped a six foot long gash in the ferry’s hull. Divers did temporary repairs, but she was still taking on water. So towing her off the rock while still loaded was not an option, since officials could not be sure she would stay afloat. So a plan was put together to take the vehicles off Valcour using two smaller ferries and a crane. The smaller ferries used were the George D. Aiken and the Mount Marcy. The photos show a crane operated by Bill Scott of Burlington’s Scott Riggers lifting cars from Valcour onto the George D. Aiken. According to reports all of the vehicles were transferred to the two ferries without a scratch, and they were taken to shore were their owners were finally able to resume their travels after this major disruption.
Valcour was pumped out, and pulled off the rocks. This pulled off the temporary patch and increased the size of the initial gash in the hull. So rather than risk towing her back to Burlington she was towed to a nearby beach in New York, where she was patched up to enable her to be towed to Shelburne Shipyard for permanent repairs. Tugboats and personnel from Burlington, New York City and Montreal participated in the operation.
Ferris Rock was marked by a buoy, and the captain of Valcour at the the time of the grounding was charged with negligence by the Coast Guard. He eventually received only a one month suspension because the weather was severe at the the time of the grounding, and there were other mitigating factors.
Photos are courtesy of Natalie Billings