Mr. Tillotson's winning essay, titled "Earl's Barn," describes how an oldbarn in Bakersfield played a central role in Mr. Tillotson's youth, and theloss he felt when it burned down: "Sadly, I never took a photo of Earl'sbarn. It is still with me, though, when I smell hay on a summer day andfind my thoughts back in the haymow, handling hay bales that were half thesize of my childish stature."

Mary Hegarty Nowlan, one of the judges and editor of Vermont Life,commented, "Mr. Tillotson's essay was selected as the winner because hisheartfelt story about the rise and fall of Earl's Barn speaks to largertruths about Vermont, our architectural heritage and the fragility of ourway of life. It was a lovely read with characters and situations that rangtrue to many of the judges."

Mr. Tillotson, 39, an auto parts salesman and photographer, grew up inBakersfield where there were more cows than people, and more people in hisdorm at New York University than in his hometown.

"I have written other pieces for auto racing magazines," Mr. Tillotsonadds. "But this is the first time I have written something outside ofprofiles of race car drivers. I had known about the contest for severalyears, but after the barn burned in 2007 I finally had something that Ifelt was worthy of entering. I wrote the story pretty quickly, as it wastruly from the heart. There was no need to fictionalize anything.Everything in the story is true."

"The barn symbolized the childhood of myself and my two brothers," says Mr.Tillotson. "It really was where we learned to become men. The majority ofour learning about mechanics, life and death, nature, and countless otherlife lessons occurred during our time at that farm. There is no questionthat we boys would be different people today if we had not spent so manyyears working on that farm."

"Earl's Barn" will be published in the fall issue of Vermont Life, whichwill be available in bookstores and on newsstands in late August.

Mr. Tillotson will receive a $1,500 prize for the essay. The literary prizeis named for the late Ralph Nading Hill, Jr., a Vermont historian andwriter and long-time member of Green Mountain Power's Board of Directors.Mr. Tillotson will receive the award at a ceremony to be held this summer.This is the twentieth year the literary prize has been awarded and GreenMountain Power will publish a book with all the winners of the first 20years.

The Ralph Nading Hill literary prize is now considered by Vermont writersto be one of the state's premier literary prizes. Entries may includeessays, short stories and poetry.

The selection was made by an independent panel of judges: Mary HegartyNowlan, editor of Vermont Life; Tom Slayton, past editor of Vermont Life;Tony Marro, retired executive editor of Newsday; Alison Freeland, a 1994winner of the Ralph Nading Hill, Jr., award for her story, "Shadbush";Brian Vachon, retired vice president of communications at National Life ofVermont and a former Vermont Life editor; and Steve Terry, retired GreenMountain Power senior executive.

The deadline for entries for this year's contest is November 15, 2008. Thecontest is open to all Vermont residents, including seasonal residents andcollege students enrolled in Vermont colleges. Entrants may be amateur orprofessional writers. The focus of the work must be "Vermont -- Its People,the Place, Its History or Its Values." Entries must be unpublished and lessthan 3,000 words long. Staff of Vermont Life or Green Mountain Power andprevious winners are ineligible. Send entries to the Corporate RelationsDepartment of Green Mountain Power, 163 Acorn Lane, Colchester, VT 05446.

Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine