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Quimby Country, A Rustic Resort In The Northeast Kingdom, Will Reopen

Quimby Country Facebook page
Quimby Country's emphasis on families has attracted a devoted following over the years. As it prepares to re-open, its board is balancing its rustic traditions (no televisions) with the need for modern upgrades such as WiFi.

Earlier this year, the board of directors of Quimby Country decided to close the 122-year-old Northeast Kingdom destination. Now, a newly-elected board says the place that bills itself as “Vermont’s oldest sporting camp” will reopen in 2017.  

Quimby Country is a bit of an anomaly in today’s hospitality industry.

It has resisted modern touches that have overtaken even the quaintest bed and breakfast. The 19 cabins are equipped with wood stoves instead of televisions. There’s no cell service and limited WiFi.

But Quimby Country’s emphasis on families has attracted a devoted following over the years, which is why it’s not uncommon for families to return year after year, generation after generation.

“People tend to go the same weeks every year, stay with the same families and you grow up with them. I know three generations of many of the families I’ve shared my summers with,” says Brooke Bridges, who has been vacationing at Quimby Country since she was a child.

Many longtime guests are also among the several hundred shareholders that control ownership of the lodge, cabins and 600 acres of land in the town of Averill.

After the closing was announced, there was an outcry from shareholders and the board was disbanded. Bridges was elected president of a new board. Some members of the previous board remain.  

Bridges says a private loan and financial gifts will enable Quimby Country to open for the 2017 season. 

She says deferred repairs and other cost-cutting measures had made staying at Quimby Country less enjoyable in recent years, and guest numbers declined.

"The most important thing the board can do is to restore Quimbys to what it was ... a decade ago. When it was firing on all cylinders [and] the guests were there." - Brooke Bridges, board president

Repairs are being made with the infusion of money, with an eye toward restoring the quality of guests’ stays.

“I think the number one focus, the most important thing the board can do, is to restore Quimbys to what it was several years ago, a decade ago. When it was firing on all cylinders [and] the guests were there,” Bridges says.

Bridges says new programs are under consideration to help increase revenue. A long-planned timber harvest will generate additional money.

Bridges feels Quimby Country is sustainable in the long run once guest numbers increase.

“It’s really just a combination of running the business well, staying on top of it and thinking creatively and coming at the issue from all different sides,” she says.

There may be a few nods to modernity in the works, but Bridges says the idea of family vacation time without many of the distractions of contemporary life will remain central to the experience. 

"I certainly don’t see TVs in rooms,” she says.

WiFi may be another story.

“As many people want it as don’t, so that WiFi question is really a very challenging one,” says Bridges.

Quimby Country also caters to anglers and hunters during so-called "shoulder seasons" in spring and fall.

Bridges says there’s been a flurry of inquires since the reopening was announced two weeks ago.

Steve has been with VPR since 1994, first serving as host of VPR’s public affairs program and then as a reporter, based in Central Vermont. Many VPR listeners recognize Steve for his special reports from Iran, providing a glimpse of this country that is usually hidden from the rest of the world. Prior to working with VPR, Steve served as program director for WNCS for 17 years, and also worked as news director for WCVR in Randolph. A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Steve also worked for stations in Phoenix and Tucson before moving to Vermont in 1972. Steve has been honored multiple times with national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for his VPR reporting, including a 2011 win for best documentary for his report, Afghanistan's Other War.
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