Modern life is hectic and stressful, and it can be hard to adhere to that old adage about taking time to stop and smell the roses. But as loyal readers of the Rutland Herald are reminded each year, it is definitely worth it to stop and smell the lilacs.
Every year around this time, the Herald publishes an editorial that first appeared in the paper back in 1929 that extols the virtues of Vermont's lilac blooms.
"Now is the brief season of the lilac bush, modest and enduring symbol of the depth and permanence of New England traditions," it begins. "It has given a name to color, perfume, poems, songs, story."
David Moats, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial page editor for the paper, explains the column's origins.
