The Bordertown Flood series tells the stories of Central Vermonters experiencing the 2023 flood disaster.

Jaquelyn Rieke is the owner/operator of the Onion River Campground, the founder of Nutty Steph’s and a co-founder of the Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft Co. in Montpelier. Jaquelyn speaks of the lessons she learned from the river as it rose around her home, stranding her and several other residents of the Onion River Campground.

If you would like to donate to the Onion River Campground, please their website

If you want to donate the flood recover effort in central Vermont, please visit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund website

Special Thanks for Ward Joyce for his generous support of this podcast

Music for this Podcast by Railroad Earth

Bordertown is hosted by Vic Guadagno and recorded in Montpelier, Vermont – located in the Upper-Winooski Watershed. Our goal is to serve as an instrument for relationship building and communication, and to encourage the conversation around resiliency, equity and justice. Our intention is to celebrate life and community - and to help create conditions for all life to thrive.

On July 11th A State of Disaster was declared for all 14 counties of the state of Vermont after extensive rain in two days triggered the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The National Weather Service reported unofficial rainfall observations for a 38-hour period with 6.82 inches at the Montpelier airport, 7.8 inches in Barre and up to 8.65 inches in Andover.

Winooski River at Montpelier, capital city of Vermont - jumped by over 14 feet in the space of 20 hours. The Winooski finally crested at 21.25 feet, well above Major Flood Stage of 17.5 feet.