A new video series from Vermont producer and host Rocket features a visit with Rob Hurst, the fifth generation proprietor of Willey’s Store in Greensboro.
This town is more readily known as the home of Lake Caspian and globally renown brands such as Hill Farmstead and Jasper Hill Farm. And yet, for over a century, Willey’s has played the vital role of being the rural town’s general store, providing nearly every imaginable necessity, from groceries to clothing to hardware.
In their conversation, Rob and Rocket explore the importance of a community institution like Willey’s, as well as some of the looming challenges that small general stores around Vermont face in their vital effort to survive.
Filmmaker Rocket profiled Willey's Store in a series of eight video stories called Small Vermont Businesses in Small Vermont Towns. New videos will be released weekly for eight weeks. To see other videos from the series, click here.
Rocket is a storyteller and the driving force behind Eat Vermont and Stellar, a mobile application that empowers people to create custom recipes and navigate the kitchen. He's an alumnus of The Putney School '10 and Middlebury College '14, and a recent graduate of the Vermont Law School.
Rocket's video series was supported in part by Vermont Public's Made Here Fund, launched in 2022 to broaden and diversify Vermont storytelling. Rocket's project was one of 10 projects selected by a jury in and funded in 2023. To learn more about the Fund and released and upcoming projects, click here.
