The Faces of Danny Gore

Although Gore has long left the campaign trail, he still wears his campaign jacket festooned with campaign regella.

For many years Norm Lewis served as a school superintedent in Orleans County, but most people now know him for his alter-ego, Representative Danny Gore from Avery's Gore, the good-will emissary for rural Vermont.

Gore says while New Hampshire's moto is "Live Free or Die", Vermont's moto should be "Work or Die".

Lewis/ Gore, who lived in Derby Line for many years, now lives in Danville. He was on hand at Derby Line Days on August 9 to entertain and educate those present.

Gore uses facial expressions as much as words in his skits.

To those not familiar with the Danville man, his run for governor was a good-natured political satire in which he humorously fought to keep the rural Vermont character and culture in Vermont politics after political reapportionment shifted the balance of power from rural Vermont to the state’s urban centers. He began his satirical run for office in 1962. His days on the campaign trail ended more than three decades later on November 18, 1994 . At noon of that day, while standing on the State House steps, he declared victory and appointed himself the governor of the state. Seven minutes later - minutes he borrowed from the legally elected governor, Howard Dean, without the governor even knowing it – he abidicated the governor's seat and allowed Governor Dean to serve out the remainder of his term. There is no word whether Gore plans to throw his hat into this year's presidential race.

Whether he is Norm Lewis or Danny Gore, the Danville man is one of the most colorful characters to ever live in the Northeast Kingdom.

Gore is a strong advocate of the environment and the creatures that live in it – and creatures that only live in his mind, such as the single-lipped sucker (seen in the photo), and the egg laying woodchuck.

Just where is Avery's Gore? Gore uses a map to show the audience who came to listen to him talk at Derby Line Days. The Gore is marked by the start. The Northeast Kingdom, which is made up of Orleans, Essex, and Caledonia Counties, is located in the shaded region.