by David Dudley
BEEBE PLAIN — Many residents along the northern border remember a time, before September 11, 2001, when the line that separated the United States and Canada was more of an abstract concept than concrete reality. But with terrorist attacks occurring with increasing frequency around the globe (up from 651 terrorism related incidents in 1970 to 16,860 incidents in 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Database, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has taken a robust approach to shoring up border security. Some residents of the Northeast Kingdom wonder, however, if the measures taken since 9/11 are worth the trouble.
“I grew up in Derby Line,” said lifelong Derby resident Bill Gardyne, sitting on his front porch last week. “My first real exposure to Canada was when I started school, in 1959. There was no kindergarten in the area, so a large number of parents got together and put their kids in taxis. They sent us across the border up to Stanstead, to Ursuline Convent.”
Mr. Gardyne marveled at the idea of a bunch of five-year-olds crossing the border that separates the United States and Canada without passports, or enhanced driver’s licenses.
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