The Shelburne Vineyard routinely attracts visitors who come to sip wine straight from the source. On those occasions, oenophiles gather around the large wooden bar in the center of the tasting room. But, once a month, a small group ventures upstairs to a loft-turned-stage that looks out over the bar. The participants vary in age, profession and background. What they have in common is a desire to share stories — and Recille Hamrell is the person who brings them together to fulfill that desire. Hamrell, 79, stands about 5 feet tall, has a white bowl cut and often wears flowing garments. Her eyes are bright, her step is lively and her face becomes animated when she talks. That's important, because talking is what Hamrell does best. She's been leading storytelling workshops and open mic events in the Burlington area since the mid-1990s, first for kids and now for adults. During this time, Hamrell has become something of a doyenne of the personal storytelling movement. Her role was pointed out to Seven Days years ago in a letter to the editor from Michael Jordan Evans of Williston. He expressed frustration that, in an article about the popular Moth storytelling events, Hamrell hadn't been given her proper due. While she can't take sole credit for the rise of local storytelling, Hamrell is an important contributor as teacher, cheerleader and community maker. She hosts monthly Wine & Story nights at the Shelburne Vineyard and frequent workshops at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston. She can often be found at other local story nights, too. For example, there's Storytelling VT at Light Club Lamp Shop in Burlington on the first Tuesday of each month and the Moth at ArtsRiot on the second Tuesday. Hamrell describes the storytellers with whom she shares the stage as her family and community. A transplant to the Green Mountain State, Hamrell was born in Chicago in March 1938. Her parents were pharmacists who emigrated from Russia as children. She grew up in the Windy City's Hyde Park and South Shore neighborhoods. After earning a bachelor's degree in speech therapy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hamrell married a medical student. Soon after, she began working in the Chicago school system, which she describes as "an eye-opener," both for the "terrible segregation" and the overcrowding. "The schools, which were built for, like, 500 [students], had 1,500 in the…
The Shelburne Vineyard routinely attracts visitors who come to sip wine straight from the source. On those occasions, oenophiles gather around the large wooden bar in the center of the tasting room. But, once a month, a small group ventures upstairs to a loft-turned-stage that looks out over the bar. The participants vary in age, profession and background. What they have in common is a desire to share stories — and Recille Hamrell is the person who brings them together to fulfill that desire. Hamrell, 79, stands about 5 feet tall, has a white bowl cut and often wears flowing garments. Her eyes are bright, her step is lively and her face becomes animated when she talks. That's important, because talking is what Hamrell does best. She's been leading storytelling workshops and open mic events in the Burlington area since the mid-1990s, first for kids and now for adults. During this time, Hamrell has become something of a doyenne of the personal storytelling movement. Her role was pointed out to Seven Days years ago in a letter to the editor from Michael Jordan Evans of Williston. He expressed frustration that, in an article about the popular Moth storytelling events, Hamrell hadn't been given her proper due. While she can't take sole credit for the rise of local storytelling, Hamrell is an important contributor as teacher, cheerleader and community maker. She hosts monthly Wine & Story nights at the Shelburne Vineyard and frequent workshops at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston. She can often be found at other local story nights, too. For example, there's Storytelling VT at Light Club Lamp Shop in Burlington on the first Tuesday of each month and the Moth at ArtsRiot on the second Tuesday. Hamrell describes the storytellers with whom she shares the stage as her family and community. A transplant to the Green Mountain State, Hamrell was born in Chicago in March 1938. Her parents were pharmacists who emigrated from Russia as children. She grew up in the Windy City's Hyde Park and South Shore neighborhoods. After earning a bachelor's degree in speech therapy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Hamrell married a medical student. Soon after, she began working in the Chicago school system, which she describes as "an eye-opener," both for the "terrible segregation" and the overcrowding. "The schools, which were built for, like, 500 [students], had 1,500 in the…