By Curt Peterson
With funding secured, the Hartland Conservation Commission (HCC) and the Upper Valley Land Trust hope to close on the “Pohl Property” and conservation easement purchase by the end of this year.
According to a listserv post by Rob Anderegg, HCC chair, funding includes private donations, a $128,000 grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), and $100,000 made available from the town’s Capital Reserve Fund by Hartland voters.
The price is $400,000.
“The success of the [fundraising] campaign means [the Upper Valley Land Trust – UVLT] and Tim Pohl’s estate can proceed with a survey and sub-division to complete the purchase,” Anderegg wrote.
Left-to-do list includes: Collecting pledged donations, completing a land survey in early fall, finalizing the VHCB grant, and planning a celebration event post-closing.
The entire parcel involved is 75 acres with frontage on Route 12 (across from the Fire Dept.), Bischoff Lane, and Hartland-Quechee Road. The HCC has ultimate aspirations for community housing, a long-term desire of consecutive Select Boards, on 7 acres which will be excluded from the conservation easement. Anderegg said this will require additional fundraising when and if it becomes a reality. No decisions have been discussed regarding what type of housing — ie, senior, low- or middle-income, etc. — the project might include.
Hartland Winter Trails maintains 3.5 kilometers of ski trails on the property, and there’s a small area used for passage by [Vermont Association of Snow Travelers] snowmobile riders. In general, Anderegg wrote, “four-season, low-impact, non-motorized uses” for the general public, in easy walking distance to the Three-Corners village and the town hall and offices. A local farmer harvests hay from part of the property — an arrangement that is expected to continue.
The Pohl estate will retain 11 acres containing two houses and a pool house that once belonged to famous artist, illustrator and author Ilse Bischoff, who was born in New York in 1901 and died in Hartland in 1990. Her works are on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYSC), Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. She was known for having lavish parties with many New York and arts world socialites among the guests that went on for days, according to the late Jane Curtis.
During an interview with Mr. Pohl a few years ago, he told the Mountain Times as a child, he was often at the house during the parties and had a close bond with Bischoff. His ownership of the house was destined early in his life.
Pohl, a member of the bar in Germany and educated at Dickinson College Law School, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was president and CEO of Daimler-Benz for 20 years, and regularly traveled back and forth from Hartland to his office. On one foggy, fateful night in 2009 his car struck a large deer on I-89 in New Hampshire. The Rutland Herald reported his car ended up inoperable, with no lights, and facing the wrong way in the northbound lanes. Hoping to prevent tragic accidents, he stood in the road, trying to warn northbound drivers, which led to his being hit by two vehicles. He was air-lifted to DHMC with serious injuries.
As he aged, Pohl was given care by Gabriella von Schoren, a long-time friend and companion.
