The Sound of Music History Part 5 - A House in Vermont

By Katrina Casey - www.edelweisspatterns.com

Once the von Trapp family had lived in America for a number of years, their reputation as a singing group was well established and they enjoyed many long and successful tours. After visiting Vermont, the von Trapps unanimously decided that this was where they would settle down in the United States. Their homeland was in a state of upheaval with World War II, and Vermont’s lush pastures and mountainsides seemed to them the next best thing to Austria itself. So with a small down payment and a bank loan, Captain von Trapp and Maria purchased a 660-acre piece of property whose buildings were in a state of disrepair, but which contained gorgeous scenic views and fertile fields for crops.
But before the family had a chance to build up the land, their older sons, Rupert and Werner, were drafted to join the United States Army in March of 1943. As tensions between America and Germany mounted, the von Trapps had to register with the FBI as resident foreigners, and their property was searched to ensure that they were not German spies. The only concerns which the officials had was the fact that on every family member’s nightstand was the same black book, thought to be a code journal or something of that nature. Thankfully, the books turned out to be nothing more than German Bibles, and the Trapps continued on with their life!
With the absence of the boys’ voices in the singing group, the Trapp Family Singers now consisted of a handful of women. Father Wasner, their conductor, scrambled to find new arrangements for their musical numbers which were quickly mastered for their performances. As they sang in subsequent concerts, Maria would explain that their two oldest sons were off at war, and soon Americans embraced the slightly smaller singing group just as they had the entire family.
During the off-season, the Trapp family worked feverishly building their home on their Vermont property. From sunrise to well past dark, the Captain, Maria, and their adult daughters labored to dig a cellar without a bulldozer, lay the foundation, and construct an Austrian-style chalet almost entirely by hand. Digging the cellar alone took eight long weeks of toiling, during which time they also harvested numerous acres of wheat, canned wild berries, and tended to the summer vegetables. By the time that their fall concert tour was to begin, they had just finished construction of the house a mere three days earlier!
Now they were no longer refugees, they were officially immigrants to the United States, with a place of their own in the hills of Vermont.

Katrina Casey is the owner of Edelweiss Patterns, an online company specializing in Sound of Music costumes. Her life-long love of The Sound of Music has led to much research of the von Trapp family's history, including a lecture from daughter Rosmarie von Trapp and a visit to the Trapp Family Lodge. An avid seamstress, Katrina has studied historical costume in England and has had her work featured by PBS show host Martha Pullen. She resides in Oregon where she sews, designs patterns, and spends time with her family.
Visit her website at www.edelweisspatterns.com for Sound of Music costumes and von Trapp related links.