[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4558-S4559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VERMONT COUNTRY STORE

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate the 80th 
anniversary of the Vermont Country Store opening its doors in Weston, 
VT.
  Eight decades after its founding, the Vermont Country Store remains a 
staple of Vermont's business community and is known to folks across the 
country for its selection of high-quality products and old-fashioned 
charm. Throughout the store's history, its owners, the Orton family--
who pride themselves as the ``Purveyors of the Practical and Hard-to-
Find''--have maintained the store's traditions while continuously 
adapting the store to the changing economy.
  The Vermont Country Store started as an aspiration of Vrest Orton's 
in the early 1900s. Vrest grew up in Calais, VT, where, as a child, he 
helped run his father's country store. Vrest hatched the idea for the 
Vermont Country

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Store decades later while working at the Pentagon during World War II. 
Vrest wanted to bring old-fashioned, high-quality products--like those 
sold in his father's store--to customers far and wide at a time when 
country stores like his father's were dying around the country as the 
United States grew and consumption patterns changed. Vrest and his wife 
Mildred started the Vermont Country Store as a catalog mailing 
business, headquartered in their kitchen.
  Vrest and Mildred were savvy entrepreneurs. Because catalog mailing 
businesses were innovative at the time, customers were skeptical of 
sending cash through the mail, so the Ortons included a ``Customer's 
Bill of Rights'' in each catalog to make people feel confident about 
doing business with the Vermont Country Store. The couple mailed their 
first catalog in 1946 to about 1,000 customers. It was 12 pages long, 
and its products were drawn in black and white, captioned by Vrest 
himself.
  The Ortons' first catalog was so successful that they were able to 
open the doors to Vermont Country Store's first retail location in 
Weston, VT, a year later in 1947, where it remains to this day. The 
store was cluttered but curated, and customers appreciated its rustic 
character. In 1984, the Weston store, along with the entire Weston 
Village Historic District, was rightfully included in the National 
Register of Historic Places.
  By 1967, the Vermont Country Store had grown so much that the Ortons 
were able to open a second location in nearby Rockingham, allowing them 
to expand their merchandise, storage, and customer service offerings. 
Like the Weston store, the new location maintained its hallmark old-
fashioned appeal, featuring a restored covered bridge and a gristmill.
  Vrest's and Mildred's son Lyman took over running the Vermont Country 
Store in 1972, at a time when business in America was changing by the 
minute. Lyman worked to carry on his parents' legacy and improved 
customer service by expanding phone-ordering capabilities and further 
expanding the store's offerings. He made exclusive agreements with 
merchandisers, cementing Vermont Country Store's reputation for having 
niche and high-quality products.
  Now, Lyman's sons Cabot, Eliot, and Gardner, help him run the Vermont 
Country Store. Together, they have adapted to the digital age while 
retaining much of the old-fashioned appeal that has made Vermont 
Country Store so special and successful. Despite having a website, most 
of the store's business is still driven by catalog sales, which today 
is 100 pages long and features professionally shot and color-printed 
photos of handmade fudge, wool rugs, and seersucker pajamas.
  The Vermont Country Store is now celebrating its 80th anniversary 
under a third generation of Ortons and is thriving. I wish the Orton 
family nothing but continued success and extend my deep gratitude for 
what they have done to bring little pieces of Vermont to every corner 
of the country and the world.

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