For the past 50 years, the United Church of Underhill’s Old Fashioned Harvest Market has welcomed scores of visitors. The festival, which is part town-wide yard sale and part autumnal celebration, also features food like fried dough, maple cotton candy and lots of local artisans. And for nearly four decades, one voice has rang out through the family fun.
James Morris is Underhill’s unofficial town crier. He can out-shout a tractor in the parade or a high school marching band, and like almost everyone who helps at the harvest market, he’s a volunteer. Morris spoke with Vermont Public’s Abagael Giles about how he does it.
This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
James Morris: Hot buttered corn on the cob, fresh picked. It's delicious. Hot buttered corn on the cob! Pizza. Mountain High!
Abagael Giles: Can you just tell me, like, what does it take to do that? How do you yell like that?
James Morris: Well, I started out on a dairy farm with a lot of loud equipment. And if you were going to have conversations, you had to be talking really loud. I've been a surveyor, and back before we had walkie talkies, you had to shout directions through the forest. I was a drill sergeant. I was a college professor, and you're talking loud all day doing that. So there is a knack to it, and you have to be able to support it from your diaphragm. Because if you do head shouting, I could only do it twice, and that'd be it for the weekend. But I can definitely do it both days. [laughter]
Abagael Giles: Do you do vocal exercises? Do you train for this?
James Morris: Well, I've always been a singer. I'm in a choral group, and I've done some solo work, but nothing specific. I've just got leather vocal cords and and know how to, you know, breathe and support correctly.
Maple sugar cotton candy! We got beans! Baked Beans!
Abagael Giles: How did you come to Underhill and be part of the harvest market?
James Morris: Well we were members of this church, and, you know, just some of the nicest people you ever wanted to meet. I sat here and you, you saw people go by. You see everybody that you have been in contact with for all these years. And it's just a wonderful thing.
We got beans with [sic] ‘lasses! We got beans with honey! We got baked ... beans!!
Abagael Giles: James, I'm curious, did anyone make you try out for this role? Did you have to audition, or did you just start doing it?
James Morris: No, we were all under the tent back many, many years ago. We would just be under there at our various stations and say, 'Oh, cheese, get your cheese here, blah, blah.' And then there was one of the gentlemen kept saying, 'James, every time you shout out, I get a headache.' So that drove me out from underneath the tent. And so it kind of evolved into a town crier, barker type of a job that I do.
Abagael Giles: What do you love about Underhill and this place? Like, what does this day make you think of?
James Morris: Well, my favorite thing about it — 'Hey, buddy, it's good to see you again.' 'I'll come talk to you once I do the …' 'I love it. Good. Good.'
The thing that is so terrific for me is, as a professor of engineering, working on fundamental research and science, I could throw a party where I would have other professors, but I'd also have dairy farmers. And I grew up on a dairy farm. I love agriculture and agricultural people. You have people that work at IBM in the technical side of it, but also cleaning up after the technical people.
And in Underhill, at least, when I was here, all of those people just intermixed, you know, which you don't see that a lot of places. You go to a party in some places, and it's a monoculture, you know? It's all one type of people, one type of income level, one type of thinking of stuff. Where here, people — at least used to — could disagree without being disagreeable. That's one of my favorite sayings right now. It's OK to disagree, just don't be disagreeable about it. You know, we're all trying to push to the same solution. We're all trying to do the best, we hope, for what, what's out in front of us.
Abagael Giles: I'm curious, have you ever lost your voice for harvest market?
James Morris: I got, I got vocal cords of steel. I get really tired. And that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it, though it's a great thing.
Lemonade, fresh squeezed lemonade! Hannaford’s fried dough!
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
