Woodstock celebrates John Doten
Sylvia and John Doten wave to the participants in a vehicle parade for John’s 90th birthday in Woodstock, Vermont, on Wednesday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Cars, trucks, tractors and a few backhoes formed a joyful parade to celebrate Woodstock's longest-standing select board member on Wednesday.
It was the 90th birthday for John Doten, Jr., who has served 28 years on the Woodstock Select Board. The sun broke through the clouds just in time for the vehicle parade's 2 p.m. start — the perfect birthday gift. As the parade neared town hall, where Doten and his wife Sylvia sat out front to wave to the participants, a friend hopped off a tractor to give Doten a large sign stating in big, bold letters: "Johnny D. for President." The vehicles kept on coming, and the Dotens kept on waving. John, famous for his big smile, booming laugh and sense of humor, was grateful to see everyone driving by.
"If I didn't have all these friends, I don't know what I'd do," he said. "Everyone's just been great."
Town employees drive heavy equipment as part of Wednesday’s parade for John Doten’s 90th birthday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
John and Sylvia Doten have been married for 61 years, and he graduated from the local high school in 1949, and Sylvia in 1956. All four of their children graduated from Woodstock as well.
Sylvia remembered John's work ethic going back to the early days. He bought his first truck in April of his senior year, when the rest of his peers were off to New York City for the class trip. Some of the folks who waved to John on Wednesday remembered those days, and Sylvia called it a "fantastic" afternoon.
"He realizes how loved he is," she said.
John Doten, Jr., a military veteran, has run his local grading and excavation business for decades in town. No one knows Woodstock better than John, and for years, he has put that knowledge to good use during his work as an elected official.
"The thing about John is, he did it for the people," said L.D. "Butch" Sutherland, Jr., also a select board member. "And now the people are saying, 'Thanks.'"
From left, pictured with John Doten, are Lynn Beach, Mary Riley, Nikki Nourse and Beth Fish, who have each worked as the administrative assistant to the municipal manager during Doten’s select board tenure. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Mary Riley, also on the select board, served for years as the administrative assistant to the municipal manager. She met the Dotens in 1970, a year after she moved to Woodstock. Riley remembered a time in the early 1990s when her son, Chris, was in college in Massachusetts, and he planned to bring some friends home to Woodstock one day, when college was called off because of a snow storm.
"They were going to come up and go skiing the next day," she said.
That night, Riley looked at her driveway piled high with snow, and wondered how on earth the boys were going to get to the house. Well, the group of friends included the Dotens' son, Johnny — so his dad had a plan. Suddenly, Riley heard a loud bang, and up the driveway came John in his plow truck.
"He plowed his way up the driveway, turned around and left, and then, the boys came up," she recalled. It was reflective of his approach to town business: simply doing what needs to be done. "Just in the nick of time, right on cue."
Onlookers wave at Wednesday’s vehicle parade for John Doten’s 90th birthday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
That resourcefulness has been important on numerous occasions, right up to the present day. Bill Kerbin started as Woodstock's municipal manager in March.
"He has a lot of institutional knowledge," Kerbin said of John. "That comes in handy for a newcomer like me."
Toward the end of Wednesday's event, friends and family kept showing up. A basket of birthday cards was piled high as the celebratory balloons waved in front of town hall, a place John knows very well. His niece Julie Strong was happy to see the turnout.
"John is so deserving of this and so much more," she said, noting how much happiness he's brought to others. "We're hoping we can give some of it back."
— Gareth Henderson
Riding an antique tractor, Woodstock Town Clerk Charlie Degener shouts “Happy Birthday!” to John Doten at Wednesday’s parade. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
