It’s amazing how some words and phrases disappear from our communal lexicon – only to reappear when the time is right.
“Good old-fashioned ingenuity” has not been in the vernacular for some time, but the moment certainly is ripe for ingenuity to show its lovely face.
And fortunate for us, it has surfaced fully – right here in Vermont.
In our holiday issue of VERMONT Magazine, we published a feature on Vermont Glove – which has manufactured beautiful hand-made gloves since 1920. The holiday issue was published in November 2019. Never could I have imagined that less than 6 months later, Vermont Glove would actually be on the forefront in combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The family-run company has paused glove production. Instead, they are using their employees’ skills and the company’s perfectly-equipped facility to sew protective face masks for medical and community workers. They openly acknowledge that this pivot in production has dual goals: They consider producing masks for “the everyday heroes” across the country a great opportunity to meaningfully contribute to society at this dire moment. This adjustment in their product line will also enable them to keep their employees on payroll during this economic crisis.
If that is not “good old-fashioned ingenuity” at its best, I don’t know what is!
So – like Rosie the Riveter in World War II – who was not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work, this week’s cover illustrates and salutes The Vermont Glove Company for demonstrating true ingenuity in the face of crisis.
The world may seem grim, but if we are willing to collaborate with one another and be thoughtful towards each other, Rosie’s original tag line will still hold true.
“We can do it!”