‘Herald’ Meteorologists
Publish Weather Book
By Martha Slater

The cover of the new book, "A Love Affair with Vermont Weather."

"A Love Affair with Vermont Weather," a new book written by Miriam ("Mim") Herwig and edited by Kevin Doering, is hot off the press. The two Randolph Center weather aficionados will be the guests of honor at a book signing this Friday, Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. at Cover to Cover Books on Main St in Randolph.

Published by Sharp & Co. Printers in Rutland, the book covers the 25 years (Oct. 1978-Oct. 2003), that Herwig wrote the weekly Weatherwise column for The Herald of Randolph. Illustrated with watercolor paintings done by an award-wining Vermont artist Nancy Stone, it also includes photographs from various sources, including some taken by Mim’s late husband, Wes Herwig; and Tobias Nielsen, a German exchange student currently living with the Doering family.

The back cover features comments from a number of notable Vermonters, including WCAX-TV meteorologist Sharon Meyer, who noted, "Miriam reports the weather with the accuracy of any scientist, but she does it with a poet’s heart."

Fairbanks Museum meteorologist Mark Breen agreed, adding, "I’m not sure which is more delightful—the wealth of weather memories, or the elegance of Mim’s descriptions. Either way, this is a wonderful treasure."

"When Kevin took over Weatherwise in October 2003, he read all of my columns and decided they must be preserved," Herwig explained. "He thought if he didn’t do it, that it might not happen. This book would never have come about without Kevin believing in me and in the project."

"Mim and I share a love of Vermont weather but we come at from a slightly different perspective," noted Doering. "I’m a trained meteorologist so I make forays into predicting, which she didn’t."

Herwig’s columns were not predictions, but rather a look back at the weather events of the week just past. Given spice by her trademark sly sense of humor, her observations were written with what Herald editor M.D. Drysdale once called "Mim’s poetic elegance."

Herwig kept clippings of her columns in a number of tidy scrapbooks, along with the fan mail she received.

"I actually got more fan mail when I wrote the ‘Homemakers Get-together’ column from 1947-53 for M.D.’s father, Jack Drysdale," she noted.

"When we started working on the book, Mim thought I should pick just 52 columns, representing one for each week of a year," Doering explained. "But, I spent several months by the woodstove during the winter of 2003-04 with her scrapbooks and decided that I couldn’t capture her work in just 52 columns. The book has at least 52 complete columns, but also includes hundreds of excerpts from other ones. I’ll always treasure the time I spent working on this book with her."

Also known for her love of history, Herwig is often asked to speak about events that combine her two enthusiasms. Boston TV station Channel 5, an ABC affiliate, recently aired an interview with her about the 1927 Flood on the station’s "Chronicle" program. She was also the guest speaker recently at a meeting of the Randolph Rotary Club and will speak on the topic of agricultural diversity in Vermont’s past at the annual meeting of the State Agricultural Museum organization January 12.