What’s in a Name?
The history behind the naming of Cobb Meadow Road.
By Felicity Pool
Go back through town records and you can find a lot of Cobbs: as many as 54 in the History of Dublin Index of Persons [The History of Dublin, by Leonard and Seward, was published in 1920.] That number accounts for at least three generations over many decades.
About some Cobb individuals and families, very little is known; about others, we have small insights that give a flavor of the times. For example, there was an Ebenezer who arrived from Temple with his wife Abigail. She was apparently a resourceful person who, armed with only a broom, chased a marauding bear away from the family’s pig. In 1778, Ebenezer’s name appears on Dublin’s Warning Out of Town list. The custom was for newly arrived settlers to be given a year to establish themselves. If not self sufficient by that time, they could be asked to leave by town officials so as not to create a drain on town resources.
The Cobb associated with a road name is Seth (no apparent relation to Ebenezer) who arrived with his wife and six children from Packersfield (now called Nelson) in 1780, after serving in the Revolutionary War. His first wife, Catharine, from Sherborn, Massachusetts, was first cousin to early Dublin settler Ivory Perry. After Catharine died in 1789, Seth married Huldah Bond, sister of Jonas. Marry up a Bond and a Cobb and it makes a familial kind of sense that Bonds Corner and Cobb Meadow Road come together.
Seth’s property comprised 80 acres on the west side of Monument Road before it becomes Grimes Hill Road. Early roads were sometimes built in pieces, as needed, to connect properties as they were settled. In the days before mechanical surveying, the mapping process was very landmark-dependent, making it a challenge to figure out nowadays exactly what went where.
Consider the following from the Town record in 1794: “voted to accept of the road . . . beginning at a stake and stones on the line between the land of Mr. Seth Cobb and William Davis, thence Wly [sic] to a stake and stones, thence to a stake and stones, thence to a rock maple tree, thence to a stump and stones, thence to a stake and stones on the road N of said Cobb’s barn. Mr. Cobb to have liberty of convenient bars at each end of said road.”
[map] Inset of 1853 Map of Dublin by Thomas Fisk. Seth Cobb’s homestead was located in the upper left corner of the photo where Cobb Meadow Brook swings in a huge curve. What is now called Cobb Meadow Road follows the stream to the southeast and ends next to the house labeled Franklin Bond. Photo credit: Dublin Archives
Seth’s three surviving sons emigrated from Dublin, and the house no longer exists on the 1853 Map of Dublin by Thomas Fisk, shown above. Cobb Meadow Brook clearly runs through what was the Cobb family homestead.
Felicity Pool is a member of the Dublin Historical Society, and serves on the Dublin Lake Preservation Committee.
DHS Seeking Interviewers
The Dublin Historical Society is wondering who would like to learn more about interviewing fellow townspeople for its upcoming oral history project. There will be a training session on Saturday, November 7, from 9 am to noon in the multipurpose room at the DPL. Please call Lisa Foote at the Archives 563-8545 to register.
Annual Dublin School Halloween Party
Saturday, October 31, from 10 am – Noon
Fountain Arts Building
Sponsored by the Dublin Recreation Committee and
the Dublin School Girls’ Soccer Team.
All Dublin residents are welcome
to this free event.
Town of Dublin
Trick or Treat Night
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015
Hours: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Per Dublin Police Dept., 563-8411
4th Annual Trunk or Treat
Mountain View Bible Church will hold its
4th annual Trunk or Treat
on Halloween this year, October 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
In case of rain, the event will be held inside at 81 Page Road.
Dublin Public Library
If you are free on Wednesday mornings, please visit the Dublin Public Library with your children. StoryTime will begin November 4 with a look at owls and bats. (The library is closed on November 11 for Veterans Day.) Sharing stories and singing songs usher in the holiday season as we work on crafts for your Thanksgiving table on November 18 and 25. The program begins at 9:30 am and refreshments are served.
November…leaves blowing off the trees, snowflakes in the air, windows steamed up from soup cooking in the kitchen. November gives us all an opportunity to enjoy hearth and kin. Come check out some of the seasonal books that will be on display including decorating, cooking, baking, making gifts, and crafts for the whole family to work on. With less daylight hours there is more time to read in the evening, and the library has lots of wonderful books for all ages and tastes.
Books:
After You by J. Moyes
The Murder House by J. Patterson
The Company She Kept by A. Mayor
A Thousand Mornings by M. Oliver
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by G.R.R. Martin
Unfinished Business by A. Slaughter
New Member of the FDPL
The Friends of the Dublin Public Library welcome Donna Garner to the board as Program Director. A recent arrival from Westwood, MA, Donna has served on other Friends’ boards. “I love libraries,” she says, “and I would love to see this library as the center of town.” She also serves as an alternate on the Dublin Planning Board.
Donna grew up in New Mexico and moved to the Boston area with her husband, Jeffrey, where she worked as a tax lawyer. She left her practice to care for their two sons and to work for her husband’s business. Since his business does a certain amount of work in the UK, Donna and Jeff travel several times a year to London.
Donna’s favorite author is Edith Wharton and Donna serves on a board that supports Wharton’s house, The Mount, in Lenox, MA. She also does her own taxes.
FDPL Speaker: To Climb Kilimanjaro
Please join the Friends on November 14, at 10 am, at Dublin Public Library to hear Chiropractor Joshua Hirsch talk about his years of living strenuously after his cancer diagnosis in 2003. He started hiking Mount Monadnock regularly, twice a week for the last three years, and summited 16 of NH’s 48 four-thousand footers. Finally, last September, he and his son Christian participated in a ten-day expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 19,341 feet, and the highest freestanding mountain in the world. The event is free and open to the public.
Other FDPL News
Library Pass Program: Remember that the library is offering museum passes this year for free or discounted admissions to six area museums for patrons and their families to enjoy. The 2015 museum pass list includes Cheshire Children’s Museum (Keene); Currier Museum of Art (Manchester); McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (Concord); Worcester Museum of Art (Worcester, MA); Ecotarium (Worcester, MA); and Museum of Fine Arts (Boston).
Book Group: Books can be discussed among the discerning and brilliant at the DPL Book Group. The next book is Blood, Bones & Butter and it can be picked up at the library. Please join us for monthly meetings. Check with the library for the next meeting date.
Needleworkers: Is anyone interested in a needlework group meeting regularly at the library? Winter is coming, sweaters are in order. Not all of us are expert knitters/ crocheters/ needlepointers — plus, it can be lonely work. Let us know your thoughts and suggestions on this matter. Contact Kim Allis at fotoallis@nullgmail.com
Budget Committee Deliberating
By Charlie Champagne
Your Budget Committee is hard at work developing a town budget to present at our Budget Hearing on Tuesday, February 9, and again at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 12. This task began on August 3 with the Selectman’s Budget Summit where respective department heads and committee chairs were informed of Selectman’s expectations and given the task of developing their individual operating budgets for submission to the Town Administrator no later than September 3.
Once all budgets are received, Sherry Miller, Town Administrator, reviews them with the person accountable and prepares a draft of the department budget to be shared with Selectmen and Budget Committee members. She also defines any warrant articles in writing for distribution to these same individuals.
By the middle of September, the weekly meetings begin and the Budget Committee — along with the designated Selectman’s representative — meet with all major departments and most committee chairs to discuss their budgets in detail. These meetings take place on Tuesday evenings and the review and discussion process normally extends over a 10- to 12-week period.
Once the reviews are complete, the Budget Committee will take a preliminary vote on the budget and associated warrant articles culminating in a final vote on both budget and warrant articles by the middle of January.
Our Budget Hearing for the 2016 budget will be held on February 9, 2016, and will provide an opportunity for the public to understand how the operating budget and warrant articles were constructed and the reasoning and logic behind any decisions that were made. Department Heads are usually present at this meeting to clarify any issues. The 2016 operating budget is then forwarded to the Board of Selectman in the middle of February and presented at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 12, 2016.
Current members of the Budget Committee in addition to myself include William B. Gurney, Judy Knapp, Richard Scheinblum, Tom Warren, Dale Gabel, and Sturdy Thomas (Selectman’s Rep).
Two positions are up for election in March 2016 so if any residents would like to know more about what is required to run for this office, I encourage them to call me or contact any member of the committee.
Charlie Champagne is Chairman of the Budget Committee.
Help Prevent Thefts
By Stephen Sullivan
Over the past month the Town of Dublin has experienced an increase in crimes of opportunity such as thefts from unlocked buildings (garages, sheds, barns, etc.) and vehicles. Residents can make themselves less likely to be victimized by taking simple precautions such as securing all buildings and vehicles and ensuring that valuables are stored in appropriate secure locations. Anyone who sees or hears anything suspicious or unusual should notify the police immediately at (603) 355-2000 or 911 if an emergency.
Stephen Sullivan #81 is Chief of Police for the Dublin NH Police Department. His non-emergency contact is 563-8411.
The Transfer Station will be open
Veterans Day, which falls on
Wednesday, November 11.
Monadnock Rotary Speakers
By Sue Copley
The Monadnock Rotary Club meets in the lower level of the Dublin Community Church on Tuesday mornings at 7:30 am for fellowship, breakfast, updates on our service projects, and to hear a speaker of interest to club members; visitors are welcome.
The speakers in November will be:
Nov. 3: Eldon Munson, Project Manager for the new Scott-Farrar facility.
Nov. 10: Tyler Hogan, new co-owner of Pure Flow in Peterborough.
Nov. 17: Bob Boyd, Clock Collector and Repairer of old clocks.
Sue Copley is a member of the Monadnock Rotary Club.
Time to Register
By Jerry Lawler
When you become a registered voter in the Town of Dublin, you simply provide proof of identity, age, domicile and citizenship.
For a registered voter to obtain a ballot at an election, the voter must present an approved photo ID or complete a Challenged Voter Affidavit and have their photo taken by an election official and attached to the affidavit.
When a voter whose party affiliation is undeclared selects a party ballot at a primary election, the voter becomes affiliated with that party until the voter changes this affiliation by meeting with the Supervisors of the Checklist.
The next meeting of the Supervisors is on October 30 in the Town Hall from 7 to 7:30 pm. All meetings of the Supervisors of the Checklist are posted in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript at least seven days prior to their occurrence.
Jerry Lawler is Chairman of the Supervisors of the Checklist.
Consider Your House Number’s Sign
Those who man our roads and extinguish our fires
wish to remind Dubliners that it’s most important
to place your house number in a conspicuous place
for emergency purposes. Keep in mind
the height of snowbanks.
The Staff of the Advocate wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
Academics, Art, & Activities at DCS
By Nicole Pease
October was an exciting and very busy month at DCS! In early October we had our first whole-school field trip to Norway Hill in Hancock, which was complete with apple picking and a visit from Kin Schilling and her sheep. This exciting combination was followed in the evening by Open House, which was attended by many families. The teachers had made special plans for the visitors: applesauce, liberty bells, poems, and dioramas! Further, the teachers have been working to gather individual assessment data to identify everyone’s academic needs. It is a great deal of work, but assists teachers in providing instruction that is most relevant for each student.
As if apple picking, Open House, and data collection are not enough, Picture Day, and an afternoon of storytelling with renowned Len Cabral occurred on October 15 (many thanks to the PTO for organization and support).
And of course, what is the focus for many children in October? Halloween! We will have our annual Halloween Parade up to Yankee Publishing on Friday, October 30. Our PTO members and DCS Music teacher coordinated the Harvest Supper for that evening followed by Contra Dancing for the whole family. A fun-filled evening for all!
November is a short but exciting month. Jeannie Connolly with the Arts Enrichment Program will be bringing a Circus Residency to DCS with Troy Wunderle. This one-week program will occur the week before Thanksgiving and is aimed at teaching life skills through the circus arts, and we are very much looking forward to this experience. Thanks to the Dublin Community Foundation for its support of this opportunity!
With all that is going on, it would be easy to miss a detail or two, I have to thank Jo-Ann Hopkins for working so hard to make sure that doesn’t happen!
Nicole Pease, the principal at DCS, is also the SAU 1 District Math Coach.
Hal Close Exhibits at Putnam Gallery
This month’s artist exhibiting at Dublin School’s Putnam Gallery is Hal Close (DS ‘54 P’87), who will be showing his most recent photographic work entitled “Patagonian Glacial Rock Formations.” He created this body of work during his travels to the Viedma Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina. The photographs document an oxidation process that occurred from the rapid shrinking of the glacier.
Hal has been photographing from his earliest years at Exeter and has mastered the craft through his business travels alongside some of the world’s top-notch photographers.
The show will run until November 20. The Putnam Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm and on weekends by appointment. For more information, please call Dublin School at 563-8584.
“Thanks for the Inspiration”
By Margaret Gurney
Around five years ago, when the Post Offices stopped providing small welcome packets to new residents in towns, Margaret Schillemat, our rural route carrier in Dublin, decided to fill in the gap. And ever since, she has been sending cards to new town residents, and then some. One grateful recipient must have praised her to those pretty high up in USPS, because her story made news that was sent 250,000 postal workers. One of those workers replied to Kathy Moore, our postmaster:
Good Morning,
I just read the nice story about your carrier, Margaret Schillemat. Please pass on that I love what she is doing and that it gave me the idea to try something similar in my own little Alaskan community. Sounds like you have a really nice team. Congratulations to all!
Respectfully,
Rosanna McInnes, Postmaster
Seldovia Post Office [AK]
Kathy’s reply to Rosanna concurs, “I do have a great team in my office! We all work very well together, and this carrier is certainly one of the best at providing service to our customers. They all love her!”
It’s not every town whose rural route carrier sends personal welcome cards to new residents. Margaret buys nice cards, stamps, and her personal messages include some or all of the following information:
“Welcome to a great town, you picked a wonderful New Hampshire community. There are lots of things to do here. Dublin Lake has beach access through the Dublin Women’s Club, the Monadnock Rotary has year-round trails at the new park, the Dublin General Store provides fresh food, and if you have any questions, come on into the Post Office and we will try to answer them.” Margaret includes brochures from the preschool, area businesses, and sometimes even an extra Advocate newsletter.
But from what I’m told, Margaret doesn’t stop there. She sends cards to people who have fallen ill, and has struck up quite a few closer friendships in town. Some people even wait for her to drive down their roads in her distinctive red Jeep. That Margaret cares is no question: she seems to live by the adage that people matter, a lot, even if she doesn’t know them.
Margaret Gurney is editor of the Advocate.
Frank E. White
1945-2015
Many Came to Plant Trees
By Margaret Gurney
We have many opportunities in Dublin to come to some kind of agreement together, in meetings held throughout the year: Planning, Zoning, Budget, Library, Roads, Selectmen, Health, Conservation, to name just a few, and culminating in Town Meetings, held always in March.
Such was the case at the last Town Meeting when Miriam Carter, chair of the Conservation Commission, gave voice to people’s displeasure with the silviculturing of the woodlands adjacent to the Town Barn on Cobb Meadow Road the prior fall.
In one of two warrant articles, she prevailed in her request to secure the funds to purchase and plant some new trees along the property to soften the view of the Town Barn wall.
Mission accomplished. In September, Miriam and Mary Langen’s call for volunteers resulted in the timely planting of almost a dozen trees, mostly conifers with a few that were deciduous. They were carefully selected and prepared for planting and holes were dug with the help of Brian Barden in the backhoe.
Neighbors on Cobb Meadow Road, some of whom had signed the initial petition, along with Dublin School students, showed up early one Saturday morning with work gloves and shovels to help Miriam distribute loam and seasoned manure and to plant a dozen or so trees. The volunteers included Joe Carignan; Mary Langen and Dan Myshrall; Traceymay and her daughter, Avelea Kalvaitis; Walt Snitko (Selectman’s representative to the Conservation Commission and recently retired from 13 years of teaching at Dublin School); and Katri Jackson, a current teacher of science at Dublin School, who brought six students: Ian Stanford, Joe Dupont-Roche, Nick Lemieux, Hansu Kim, Sita Moses, and Peter Spang. Yay Dublin Schoolers!
Thanks are extended to all these residents for their expertise and dedication.
Margaret Gurney is editor of the Advocate.
The Swap Shop will be open
every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
— Recycling Committee
Internet Connectivity Survey Needs Our Participation
But hurry, the deadline is October 30.
By Carole D. Monroe
Broadband and Internet access have become an indispensable utility of the 21st century, driving the economic growth of our communities and supporting the long-term goals of the businesses in this region. The amount of data moving across the Internet is growing at exponential rates and the number of Internet devices per person is expected to reach 5 by 2017 with devices like smartphones and tablets. Add in healthcare-monitoring devices, fitness devices, emergency-notification devices, and electronic textbooks. As faster broadband speeds become available, new applications requiring speed and capacity quickly consume the increased access. The minimum speed required to access Internet applications will rise to 38 mbps, leaving the current DSL speeds inadequate.
Affordable and reliable broadband access is essential for creating high-paying jobs whether here in Dublin, working from home, or elsewhere in this region. Healthcare providers, financial services, educational institutions, technology firms, manufacturing, and entrepreneurial start-ups require fast, reliable, and secure connections. In the Town of Dublin, the options for affordable, powerful broadband are very limited.
The Town of Peterborough has moved forward with an Internet Connectivity survey and invited the regional towns to participate. This is an opportunity for Dublin to fully understand the needs of our citizens and businesses for the affordable and adequate broadband needed today and into the future.
Please complete the survey found at www.InternetConnectivity.org (or go to http://readersurvey.org/internetconnectivity/indexE.asp) and ask your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to do so as well. You can log your Internet speed and capacity at www.iwantbroadbandnh.org/speed_test. Please feel free to email me with any questions at cdmonroe@nullmyfairpoint.net, or call me at 831-4909.
Carole D. Munroe is General Manager of East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network and Broadband Consultant, based in Royalton, VT. She lives here on Windmill Hill Road.
Please Fill Out Regional Internet Survey
It’s quick, easy & so important!
Dubliners who wish to weigh in on Peterborough’s timely survey of Internet availability in our town must hurry to fill out an online survey as it is due October 30.
This study is the first step in a multi-year effort to make the region attractive to global players in compatible industries; build a vibrant and integrated locally based economy; and attract, develop, and retain a skilled, talented, and innovative workforce, especially young adults.
One Dubliner remarks: “I feel it’s an important issue in our area
and I’m hopeful some good will come from the study…
PS: I did the survey last week. It’s very simple and done well.
I hope others agree and take the time
(just a few minutes max!) to participate.
Thanks again!” —JB
Residents and businesses are asked to complete an online questionnaire, “Internet Connectivity: Today & Tomorrow.” This survey, funded by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, is the beginning of a multi-year effort to build infrastructure and identify ways to increase overall prosperity without asking towns to alter their unique identities and ideas.
While the Town of Peterborough, which is conducting this survey, is not asking for any financial assistance, the Peterborough Select Board is requesting that the towns promote the survey by encouraging their residents and businesses to participate.
To learn more about Peterborough’s program for regional economic development, visit www.peterboroughnh.gov or contact OCD@nullpeterboroughnh.gov.
Maureen Ahern’s Art Shows at Hub
By Paul Cooper
The artwork of Maureen Ahern, a resident of Dublin since 1996, is on display from November 2 through November 30 at the Dublin Community Center. The opening reception for the show, which is titled “The Eye of the Beholder,” will be held on Friday, November 6, from 5 to 7 pm.
Ahern’s use of interference paint and mixed media challenge the viewer to see each art object from various perspectives depending on the source of light. As light changes depending on the source, weather, and time of year, so does the tone of the interference paint. For example, if the viewer gazes straight at one of her paintings, a strip of paint may look blue — but if the viewer looks at the same strip from the side, that strip of paint will look golden, which is the opposite of blue on the color wheel. Interference paint only reflects half of the light spectrum. The paint and other reflective materials that are incorporated in her works change tone depending on where the viewer is standing. The work on display in this exhibition will include pieces with interference paint as well as other works using mixed media.
Ahern was granted a BFA from the University of Massachusetts and an MA in painting from SUNY Albany. Her work has been exhibited regionally as well as in Massachusetts and New York and is in both private and public collections. She recently retired from the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College where she was the Director and now works in her studio full time. She and her late husband, Bill Knorr, moved to the Monadnock Region in 1981.
Paul Cooper was the Interim Director of the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery just before Maureen was hired. He then left the area for 30 years and has since returned here to retire.
Zumba at the DubHub
The Holiday Session of Zumba Fitness with Deb Giaimo starts November 2 and runs through December 28. The classes are held in the DubHub every Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm for nine consecutive weeks. Along with energizing Latin and World music, students will be dancing to well-known seasonal favorites like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “We Need a Little Christmas.” Deb says there will even be a Christmas Conga!
Zumba Fitness is great fun especially if you like to dance, and in Deb’s Zumba classes all participants are encouraged to exercise at their own pace. Plus, because Zumba is so much fun, it is a great way to ease holiday stress! The cost for the full session is $40, but a 4-class pass may also be purchased for $28. The first class is complimentary to anyone taking Zumba Fitness with Deb for the first time.
Fun and Food Fundraiser: Deb will also host a food and fundraiser for the Peterborough Food Pantry in the DubHub on Thursday, November 19, from 5:30 to 6:45 pm. The Third Thursday Zumba Party for the Food Pantry has collected hundreds of pounds of food so far and raised more than $1,500 since its inception two years ago. Everyone is invited to join Deb for 75 minutes of upbeat Latin and World music where you will cha-cha, meringue, salsa, swing, and cumbia — all while helping to support the Food Pantry. The Pantry in turn provides food throughout the area for our neighbors in need. The suggested donation at the door is $5/person, and any contributions of non-perishable food items are always greatly appreciated.
Questions about Zumba Fitness at the Hub? Please call Deb Giaimo at 563-8648 or email fredebg@nullmyfairpoint.net.
HCS’ Nurse Is In at Hub
Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services (HCS) is offering a Nurse Is In wellness clinic at the Dublin Community Center on Tuesday, November 17, from noon to 1 pm. Our HCS wellness nurse will check blood pressures and answer questions about any health concerns. This screening is open to residents of all area towns and is free. No appointments necessary. Nurse Is In clinics are sponsored by Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services, a Monadnock United Way agency. For information, visit HCSservices.org or call 352-2253.
Foot Care Clinics in Peterborough
Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services (HCS), a Monadnock United Way agency, is offering Foot Care Clinics to residents of Dublin. The clinics will be held on Tuesday, November 10, and Wednesdays, November 4, 11, and 18, from 10 am to 2 pm at the HCS office at 45 Main Street, Suite 316, in Peterborough. Our foot care nurse trims toenails, checks feet for problems, teaches proper foot care, and massages feet with lotion. If needed, referrals can be made. There is a $20 fee. Appointments can be made by calling HCS Wellness at 352-2253.
Poinsettias for Sale through and for Hospice
Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services (HCS) announces the 20th Annual Poinsettia Sale to raise funds for Hospice at HCS. These poinsettias are local – grown here in New Hampshire. Available in red, pink, and white and in three sizes: a single-stem plant in a 6” pot with 6 to 8 blooms ($10); a double-stem plant in a 7” pot with 12 to 15 blooms ($20); and a triple-stem plant with 18 to 25 blooms ($30). Order forms for Hospice, which provides end-of-life care to patients and their families throughout southwestern NH, must be received by November 19. For information, call the HCS office at 352-2253.
Many Programs at The River Center
Money Coaching on Mondays, 11 am – 1 pm: Meet for free with our money-coaching specialists to learn creative ways to budget and save money. Drop-in or make an appointment.
Employment Resource Center open Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 9 am to 2 pm: Schedule a free appointment to help with your job search.
Job Seekers MeetUp on Tuesdays, 12 am – 1 pm: Come to gain resources to cope with unemployment or underemployment. Open group; fee or registration not necessary.
Farm to Table on Thursdays, 9:30 am – 11:30 am: Field trips and cooking fun with fresh local produce for parents and children. Donation of $5 encouraged.
Call The River Center on 46 Concord St., Peterborough, for information or inquiries about computer trainings and safe sitter babysitting training at 924-6800 or visit www.rivercenter.us.
Remembering Linda McAleer
By Suzan Dennis
My dear friend Linda McAleer passed away on October 4th.
Linda and her husband Ken sold their home on the Upper Jaffrey Road last summer, where they raised their daughter Jen and lived for almost 25 years before they retired to Florida. For all who knew them, it was a very bittersweet moment when they finally left. Linda was well known in the Monadnock area as a high-powered businesswoman who turned the Millard Group into one of the top direct marketing establishments in the country. I knew Linda as a friend — and what an amazing friend she was!
Linda was the person you could call at 2 am and she would be there for you no matter what — or at least send Kenny! She was fun and quirky. At Christmas, for instance, our two families and occasionally the Sundstroms would get together for dinner. One year, Linda called and said, “Let’s do something different for dinner: let’s have fondue!” That tradition went on for years.
New Year’s Eve was another fun time in the McAleers’ kitchen including just a few good friends — but Linda had the hats, horns, confetti, and champagne ready!
Linda had a very caring and compassionate side to her. She cared deeply about nature, her gardens, and animals. She supported various rescue groups and always went to local shelters to adopt her pets. When she lost a pet, she lost part of herself. Her plan in Florida was to rescue a cat or two once they got settled. Her gardens were wonderful. She was the daylily lady, a passion she inherited from her mom, and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to maintain those gardens still.
She was a great mom, always supporting Jen in sports and life and was a soulmate to her husband Ken. Family is wonderful, but a friend is someone you choose to have in your life. And Linda and I chose each other many years ago. We shared many good times, some bad, some heartbreaking, but we had each other. We were “sistahs”!
Thank you Linda, for being my friend and a gift in my life. Thank you for your contributions to the Town of Dublin and the Monadnock Region. You will be missed by so many.
Suzan Dennis is the proprietor of the Monadnock Garden Connection, which offers landscaping, garden design, and maintenance.
Make your reservation early for
Breakfast with Santa on December 12.
Please call 563-8021 or come to
the Community Center to sign up.
More details in next issue.
Dubliners’ Art & Studios in the Art Tour
To follow is a short recap on the seven Dublin artists who participated in the 20th Annual Open Studio Art Tour.
Painter Edie Tuttle was thrilled and grateful for the company of the 235 friends, neighbors, and many people whom she’d never met before. They filled her studio with warmth and good fortune during the Columbus Day Open Studio Art Tour. “It was my best tour ever… My heartfelt thanks to all of you.” Edie’s painting, Miriam, graced the cover of her husband Peter’s recent book, The Porch of Common Prayer. —PT
Susan Barker displayed her original jewelry at her home, complete with a view of the mountain and brilliant fall colors. Susan produces one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings, and bracelets using silver, gold, and ceramic and glass beads. One pair of thin, silver maple-leaf earrings looked lovely against one customer’s long dark hair. —SS
Dave Nelson has recently completed an 8- x 10-foot commissioned work for the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. He calls his new series of art “Swarm” paintings. Dave likes to say he does “messy things in a neat way — or neat things in a messy way.” While each series will begin with a few structural and strategic “rules,” he allows randomness to guide the execution of the painting. Look for Dave in the latest “Frost Heaves.” —KA
Jane Simpson’s variety of artistic expressions are in, on, and around paper. She makes collages using found paper, thread, sewing notions and/or natural materials such as wasp nests, beaver-chewed sticks, pine needles, and leaves. Her work was displayed in a two-level studio belonging to Christine Destrempes of Harrisville, an artist who was also displaying works. We look forward to the next opportunity to view Jane’s art (Minis on Main*). —MG
Maryann Mullett’s medium is pastels, which she uses to create deep rich hues that add depth and drama to her art, often flowers, animals, and other things of beauty. Her pastel artwork was displayed in a room of a restored barn, which was modified to house Maryann’s retail company, Harvest Thyme Herbs, a most welcoming sensation. —RB
The studio for Rebecca Welsh’s artwork is a towering restored barn, entire sides of which are made of glass — flooding the room with natural light. You do indeed feel like you are entering an art gallery. While Rebecca was listed in the art brochure for her naturally dyed silk scarves and fiber hats, her paintings and other objets d’art graced the artist’s space as well. —RB
Paul Tuller demonstrated the use of Japanese woodworking tools, which he uses to make custom furniture and architectural details. He showcased a traditional Japanese Minka, a small timber-frame farmhouse erected on his Pierce Road property. Originally part of a cultural exhibit at the Brattleboro Museum, this small structure incorporates many elements of Japanese home design. —ML
* Minis on Main: On Friday & Saturday, November 28 & 29, an Exhibition & Sale of artworks all sized 5” x 5” will take place in Peterborough at 30 Main St.
The Great Blue Heron
By Tom Warren
As Indian summer wanes, our local ponds and lakes are still an attraction for the Great Blue Heron, one of the largest and adaptable wading birds in North America.
The two most common subspecies are the Great Blue Heron and the Great White Heron (Florida). A common wader along shorelines of lakes, ponds, and rivers, it primarily eats fish, frogs, and snakes. It will eat rodents in adjoining fields. Due to its great height, telescopic sight, and acute hearing it has tremendous advantages when feeding in the marshes.
The earliest fossil record for the large herons dates back 14 million years, so they have been spearing frogs and fish for a long time. The Great Blue Heron is divided into seven subspecies, but the Great Blue Heron is the bird we see in Dublin.
Its local name from colonial times was “Crank” for its noisy squawk given day and night. It also has a loud bill snap, which is part of sexual display.
During mating season, adult herons form a circle with each male displaying his plumage. The males choose a new mate each year. They nest either as single pairs or in loose colonies. The nest is in a tree about 40 feet high, usually in a swampy area, especially where beaver are common. The nests are occasionally used by hawks and owls. There are usually 3-6 eggs, which hatch in 27 days. The young leave the nest in 7 to 8 weeks.
The great November flight occurs in mid-November, usually at night and long the coast. They return in April as soon as the ice has melted.
Audubon reported the Great Blue Heron chasing an Osprey and forcing it to drop a fish.
In Dublin you can look for this bird at Mud Pond, Howe Reservoir, beaver ponds, and Dublin Lake.
Tom Warren is Dublin’s resident ornithologist, and serves as a trustee of both the Harris Center and the Audubon Society. He was seen swimming in the lake in mid-October when the water temperature was 58 degrees.
View Vintage Mountaineering Gear
The Jaffrey Civic Center is offering an exhibit of Early Mountaineering Paraphernalia by Denis Boudreau through November 19. The artist explains: “Mountains and mountaineering has become a way of life for me. Something I cannot deny. I feel thankful and humble by the enrichment. The archival aspect has taken me on a journey to a place in time when things were much simpler. You could say primitive. People were much more in tune to their environment that they were relying on. I am intrigued by a blacksmith forming an ice axe head, a cobbler making hobnail boots or a rope maker twisting his cordage. When a guide cuts steps in the ice wall of a mountain for his client to follow, or when his movements become like a dance on ice, his axe rings out like a song.”
The Jaffrey Civic Center, 40 Main Street, Jaffrey, is next to the library with parking in back. Admission is always free. Closed Sundays and Mondays. For information, call 532-6527, e-mail info@nulljaffreyciviccenter.com, or go to www.jaffreyciviccenter.com.
CASA of NH Offers Trainings
The abuse and neglect of children occurs in every community, yet it rarely makes the news. Identities are protected, services are put in place, and we go on with our lives thinking all is well. Here is an opportunity to make a difference in young lives before something tragic happens.
CASA of NH, a statewide nonprofit, provides guardians ad litem to be the voice of these children in court proceedings; to identify and advocate for what is in the child’s best interest in these cases; and to ensure that every child can grow up in a safe and permanent home.
CASA will offer training throughout the state for adults age 21 and older who wish to volunteer their time and talents in advocating for their community’s abused and neglected children. The work is challenging, but rewarding. CASA will offer training during the first quarter of 2016 in Keene and other statewide locations.
CASA/GALs have impacted the future of New Hampshire’s children for 25 years, and our goal is to provide a CASA to every child in need. Help us reach it. Call 603-626-4600 or visit www.casanh.org to learn more.
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