Over 60 vendors greet “Wells River’s “So Long Summer, Hello Fall!”
Event honcho Richard Roderick announced on Saturday noon, September 5, 2026 that he has been “in town and on the street for every event for the past 14 years and this year is the biggest I have seen yet,” he exclaimed to The Bridge Weekly as we strolled by his table under a tent that protected him from the sun’s rapidly heating rays.
He said the businesses and organizations that have been a part of the gala have enjoyed it over the years. He said this year he counted over 60 of them had signed up, a full 10 more than last year.
Bernie Marvin
Lined up along Main Street in Wells River for the end of summer gala festival held last Saturday, September 5, 2026, are, left to right, John Hunt representing the Old Church Theater, and three members of the Cohase Chamber of Commerce Board, Gary Scruton, Joe Mitchell and Darren Sherburne. It was a busy time for all vendors stretching along Main and Railroad Streets. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin
Wells River, VT – Car and truck traffic on Route 302 and streams of people traffic on the sidewalks marked the 14th Annual “So Long Summer, Hello Fall” Festival, the happy child of the Wells River WRAP Program that has been growing larger ever since it began 14 years ago with just 10 entries.
Event honcho Richard Roderick announced on Saturday noon, September 5, 2026 that he has been “in town and on the street for every event for the past 14 years and this year is the biggest I have seen yet,” he exclaimed to The Bridge Weekly as we strolled by his table under a tent that protected him from the sun’s rapidly heating rays.
He said the businesses and organizations that have been a part of the gala have enjoyed it over the years. He said this year he counted over 60 of them had signed up, a full 10 more than last year.
And it showed. Traffic through town slowed as walkers used both the sidewalks and roads to mosey up and down Main and Railroad Streets taking in the wide variety of everything imaginable that was presented to the public that day between 9AM and 2PM.
At 11AM, a super show of farm tractors, end to end came slowly through town on route 302 in the west and proceeded to parade over to the Wells River Chevrolet parking lot where they assembled for the crowd to visit and inspect the ag giants.
He was helping hand out tickets for three different raffles, one including the July 4th Woodsville/Wells River activities, also the American Legion was sponsoring a raffle, he said, adding that it was always good to see a lot of people and family activity in the Wells River Village as they all say “So Long to Summer.”
Book lovers gather at the Baldwin Memorial Library each festival year to look over hundreds of books placed for sale out front. It was a busy place all day. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin
A long line of tractors paraded through Wells River last weekend during the Wells River "So Long Summer, Hello Fall" event, drawing large crowds. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Long-time helper and boss Richard Roderick tends the raffle table and information booth during the Wells River "So Long Summer, Hello Fall" Festival held last weekend in Wells River. The weather was perfect, and Roderick said it was the largest event in their 14-year history. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Author Marianne Kelly, a long-time exhibitor at local festivals, book sales, and author events, sells her books and other goodies during the Wells River "So Long Summer, Hello Fall!" Festival, September 5, 2026. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin
Danville's Luke Morrison, 15, Is A Bright, Young Military Collector With His Own Museum.
Morrison is 15 years old and a Ninth-Grade student at the nearby Danville School. His marks are good, he tells me, even though over the past year or so his chores and job tasks at home have increased many times over. Luke seems very able to promote his new military museum, and he has met with early stardom after the New York Times published a story a month or so ago, "The 15-year-old Keeping War Memories Alive."
Bernie Marvin
Luke Morrison looks over the logo he designed for his unique military museum at his home in Danville, Vermont. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Danville, VT – In this small, handsome, typical Vermont town, there are many things visitors find attractive: a variety of small and large animal farming, not much vehicle traffic, a variety of good restaurants that serve breakfast, and a popular military museum.
That's the thing that surprises folks who travel through town on Peacham Road and Harvey's Hollow: there really is a museum in this town, and it carries its own fascinating story about Luke Morrison, the founder and manager of the museum.
Morrison is 15 years old and a Ninth-Grade student at the nearby Danville School. His marks are good, he tells me, even though over the past year or so his chores and job tasks at home have increased many times over. Luke seems very able to promote his new military museum, and he has met with early stardom after the New York Times published a story a month or so ago, "The 15-year-old Keeping War Memories Alive."
The story highlights donations Luke received from area veterans who had personal stories to share about the items. Luke can repeat a story about any piece in his museum, including the story of the Ploesti Oil Fields bomber crew member who somehow survived one of those terrifying raids on what was, in 1943, Hitler's main oil supply depot in Romania.
Luke's military museum is located inside a small camping trailer adjacent to the family's tidy goat farm. The trailer, by the way, is now the first of two trailers, needed because of the increasing number of military items donated to Luke's efforts to feature an even wider spectrum of warrior clothing, photographs, unit patches, media stories, helmets and implements, and a whole lot more!
There it is, laid out there among the parked four-wheel drive recreational vehicles, a dirt bike, animal trailer, 20 goats, a neatly cut yard area, a wooded pasture, and a brace of young oxen Luke's brother Caleb was trying to coax into the pasture.
Luke's little sister Natalie was in the house helping his mom, Carolyn Morrison, and Dad, Earl Morrison, was at work tending to the business efforts of Morrison's Garden Store in St. Johnsbury and the Feed Mill in Barnet among the family businesses the family and many employees tend to.
Both parents get a load of credit from Luke for helping him keep the military museum running smoothly and lugging him and his wares around the area when necessary. Luke has no vehicle operator's license, so their help is essential, he told me.
Early one morning last week, my son, Spencer, and I visited Luke and his mother, Carolyn, at their home and farm area. Luke's main military museum trailer sits with the other smaller travel trailer unit and is also filled with military paraphernalia Luke showed during four grueling days at the nearby Caledonia Fair.
Luke said several hundred guests toured his Caledonia Fair display space, and many promised return visits when his museum opens, usually on weekends. Although he said it seems he has always had an interest in the military, he began his serious military collecting in 2024. He said he has been pleased with the acceptance his museum is receiving so far.
His plan includes accepting donations he will use for expenses and to purchase additional military materials and equipment for the museum. Looking to the future, Luke said he is hoping to eventually find or build a structure to hold his fast-growing inventory. When or where that will be is unknown at this early point.
The trailer that holds most of the museum's artifacts at one time belonged to his great-uncle Dright Cooley, a World War 2 veteran. Luke has nearly doubled his capacity by spending $2500 on another trailer that sits proudly nearby, bulging with war mementos offered by Luke for his military museum.
Anyone who wants to contribute to Luke's military museum efforts or would like to set up a visit can contact him by email at lukesmilitarymuseumvt@gmail.com.
Luke Morrison, 15 years-old, checks on one of the many displays in his military museum. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Luke Morrison admires a B-24 bomber crew member’s leather flight jacket worn during bombing raids on the Ploesti Oil Fields in Romania during World War 2. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Military Museum owner Luke Morrison holds a prized authentic US Marine Corps herringbone twill utility jacket. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.
Carolyn Morrison, at left and her son, Luke Morrison. He is the 15-year-old owner of Luke’s Military Museum in Danville, Vermont. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.