make copies, it is wise to first inquire regarding the edicts of the town. It is equally
a sin to open a book in a town where no
self-copies are allowed as it is to presume
that a clerk is there to make copies for you
in a do-it-yourself town. Likewise, depending on the town, pointing out recording errors can either make you a hero or a villain,
so it is best to get the lay of the land immediately.
One lawyer recalls a clerk that was especially unsolicitous to lawyers coming from
afar, as well as IRS agents poking their noses into land records, as if that were inappropriate. At this office one had to ask to
have the lights turned on, again as if this
were above and beyond. To not put them
out entirely, one lawyer found the most expeditious way to enlist the assistance of the
new town clerk was to be sure to stop at
the general store and bring a boxed dozen
Freihofer donuts.
The hours are often up to the clerk. One
attorney relayed this conversation:
I Am Legend
TC: I’ve got to go pick up my daughter
at the end of her shift as a chambermaid. Just close the door when you’re
done.
Me: Okay, I’ll lock the vault too.
TC: (emphatically) Geez, don’t do
that—no one knows the combination!
When searching in Vermont, it is important to know the quirks of the clerks themselves. While many of these next sets of
members’ stories are about clerks from
past decades, it still rings true that no
two clerks are alike. Even today, before
a searcher starts manhandling books to
www.vtbar.org
The lawyer eventually finished the search
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2015
and had started to leave, but was too curious about the vault door. Carefully swinging the vault door partially closed to get
a look at the front, the searcher saw many
layers of old yellowed scotch tape plastered over the combination dial to hold it
in position.
Another clerk’s office was only open
two hours per week, which made it impossible to “call ahead” when the drive time
to the office approached two hours. In order to verify being open, searchers from
afar would have to call ahead between the
hours of 9-11 AM exactly one week before
they wanted to arrive. Even this method
proved not to be foolproof when the attorney went the following Tuesday after a call
and found the office locked. The clerk had
a problem with the school bus she drove
and did not open, thereby wasting the attorney’s trip. Often, even calling the same
day may not work—one attorney recalled
arriving at a town only to find a hurried
note taped to the door that the clerk had
closed because of a sick horse.
There were many stories, or perhaps urban (rural?) myths, regarding the need to
remain on a clerk’s “good side.” One attorney recalls being called by clerks on
more than one occasion about a document
that was missing a witness or an acknowledgement giving the attorney a chance to
correct before she or he would record it.
On the other hand, the same attorney has
Tales from the Crypt (Vault)
the store and the clerk’s office and land records were on the US side of the line. The
office had a collection of American and Canadian flags attached to the ceiling of t