Remembering Ann Day: One of the People Who Made This Place

\The Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce joins our community in mourning Ann Day, who passed away on October 11 at the age of 97. A poet, farmer, innkeeper, photographer, activist and beloved friend, Ann was truly one of the people who made the Mad River Valley the special place it is.

We often talk about the Valley’s sense of place—the qualities that draw people here and inspire them to stay. Our landscape is part of that story. So are the people who care for it, welcome others into it and help us see it with greater appreciation. Ann’s life brought all of those things together.

Ann and her husband, Frank, purchased Knoll Farm in 1957. There, farming, hospitality and creative expression became intertwined. She raised animals, welcomed guests and found inspiration for her writing and photography in the land around her.

For decades, readers of The Valley Reporter knew Ann through her column, The Nature of Things. Her observations offered a regular invitation to pause and pay attention—to the seasons, the natural world and the details we might otherwise hurry past. Her voice became part of the rhythm of life in the Valley.

Her care for this place also took lasting, practical form. She helped protect Knoll Farm through an early conservation agreement with the Vermont Land Trust. Her commitment to peace and justice extended that spirit of care to people seeking safety, offering refuge at the farm to Central Americans fleeing violence. For Ann, caring for the land and caring for people were connected responsibilities.

That legacy speaks directly to the kind of community we aspire to be: welcoming, thoughtful, independent and willing to act on our values. Ann helped give those qualities a home here.

At the Chamber, we have the privilege of celebrating the people whose work and generosity sustain this Valley. Some contributions are easily counted. Others live on in a protected hillside, a remembered conversation, a piece of writing or the experience of being welcomed when it mattered most.

Ann leaves that kind of legacy.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and all who knew and loved her. We are grateful for everything she shared with the Mad River Valley—and for the reminder, through her life, that the people who love a place help make it what it is.