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Vermont Commission on Country Life - 1931

For more than two years, 300 Vermonters worked to chart a better future for the state. The Vermont Commission on Country Life, chaired by former Gov. John Weeks, was the first time that a group of Vermonters formally assessed the state of the state and planned for the future.

The commission reports provided comprehensive assessments of the state's people, climate, soils, agriculture, fish and game, summer residents, handicapped people, educational facilities, medical facilities and much more.

The work of the commission became colored in controversy because of the involvement of University of Vermont Professor Henry Perkins, who strongly believed that Vermont would be best served through selective breeding. As the report on the committee on the human factor asked, "What of the seedlings? How can Vermont stock best be conserved and made to continue to provide its share of leaders for the nation and builders for the state?"

But to focus solely on Perkins' part in the commission does an injustice to the significance of the commission and its report. The recommendations in many areas set the agenda for the next few decades.