Town’s Annual Holiday Night is December 7
Downtown Dublin is where the action is on Friday, December 7. Our annual Holiday Night to usher in the Christmas Season is bought to us by the Dublin Recreation Department with songs and song sheets provided by the Dublin Advocate.
We will all gather at 6:30 pm around the Christmas tree in the parking lot between the Fire Department and Yankee Publishing. Our reigning Miss Dublin will do the honors of flipping the switch that will light our town’s Christmas tree.
The Dublin Recreation Department will serve hot chocolate, Christmas cookies, and marshmallows for roasting at the bonfire. We have it from a very reliable source that Santa Claus is making Dublin his first stop of the season.
We will sing a few familiar carols led by Ramona Branch and Bruce Simpson, and then move to the back of the Yankee parking lot for a bonfire. Bring flashlights, gloves, and dress warmly — join your neighbors in ushering in the holiday season.
Come One, Come All! — Fairwood Bible Chapel warmly welcomes you to attend the annual Christmas Dessert Banquet on December 9 at 6:30 pm. Everyone in Dublin is invited for a celebration of the season, as we enjoy treats, carols, and a student production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. Bring a friend! RSVP by December 5th (563-8492).
Performance & Carol Sing — Mountain View Bible Church invites all to an annual Christmas Choir Performance on Sunday, December 16th at 6 pm. A mixture of classic Christmas hymns, it includes a children’s choir and instrumental solos. Plus, an annual Candlelight Carol Sing will be held on Sunday, December 23rd, also at 6 pm. Visit www.mtnviewbible.org.
Christmas Vespers — Dublin Christian Academy will be doing an all-school Christmas Vespers program December 20 at 2 pm. The town is invited! Dublin Christian Academy Blount Auditorium is located at 106 Page Road in Dublin. Please call 563-8505 with questions.
The Hills Are Alive with Christmas Music — The Dublin Community Church will celebrate Christmas Eve with lessons, carols and candle lighting, Monday Evening, December 24th at 7 pm. The carols are chosen from different countries, cultures, and musical periods. This year the choir will perform a Spanish carol, “Riu Riu Chiu,“ and “Christmas Day” by Holst, among others. This lovely ceremony dates back to the 19th century in England. All are invited.
A Musical Tradition — “Nowell Sing We Clear” is a spirited choral group from Brattleboro, VT, that sings a mixture of folk and traditional melodies, from different countries and centuries, both religious and secular, celebrating the Christmas and winter season. Come hear them at the Dublin Community Church, Friday evening, December 7th, at 8 pm. $15/$12 for senior, youth and advance internet sales; monadnockfolk.org.
Dublin Public Library
Story Time at the Dublin Public Library promises to be full of fun activities during the month of December. December 5 we welcome our Frosty Friends with the book Sam the Snowman. We may not have visions of sugarplums but we will have candy canes and gingerbread men on December 12 for Tasty Treats and we will read The Gingerbread Baby. Light the Way to Christmas on December 19 by listening to the book Shine – The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy. Silver Packages will be read December 26 as we talk about being thankful. We offer a different craft each week as well as refreshments. Story Time begins at 9:30 am.
Our December display will include Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa books for children and adults. Traditional stories such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and The Twelve Days of Christmas as well as the classics, Polar Express and A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree will be available as well as dozens of new books and crafts, cookbooks and decorating ideas. Most popular authors have written at least one Christmas book: Silver Bells by Luanne Rice, Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs and James Patterson’s The Christmas Wedding are just a few that are ready to be checked out. Relieve the stress of the holidays by ending your day with a great book.
New Books:
NYPD by J. Patterson
To Heaven and Back by M. Neal MD
Angels at the Table by D. Macomber
The Sins of the Mother by D. Steel
Racketeer by J. Grisham
The End of Your Life Book Club by W. Schwalbe
Save the Date: On Saturday, January 19, at 10 am, Edie Clark will present her program about the Dublin Art Colony at the FDPL Annual Meeting. Entitled “In the Latin Quarter: The Story of the Dublin Art Colony,” the presentation includes thumbnail sketches of artists George de Forest Brush, Joseph Linden Smith, Alexander James, Rockwell Kent, Richard Meryman, and Frank Weston Benson.
Dublin’s Voter Turnout: Feel Proud
The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript gave 81% as the average turnout for its readership region, of which Dublin is considered a part. Dublin exceeded the regional average with 83% turning up to vote.
On Election Day, 110 new voters registered to vote in this town. At the end of the day, totaling additions and deletions, the checklist had 1293 voters registered. Of those, 1070 cast their vote.
According to the NH Secretary of State’s office the statewide voter turnout was less than 70% of the voting population. Dubliners can be proud of our level of civic involvement and commitment to the democratic process by exercising our right to vote. (Next time, let’s see if we can surpass Hancock, which had 90% turnout!)
Tax Rate Down Slightly
By Jeannine Dunne
Part two of the property tax bills for 2012 taxes have been mailed and are due on December 17th. If you mail your payment and it is postmarked by this date, it will be considered paid on time and no interest will be charged.
The tax rate went down slightly, from $22.54 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2011, to $22.15 per $1,000 in 2012. This means that if your property is assessed at $200,000 (and was assessed at the same amount in 2011), you will owe $78 less for 2012 taxes than you did in 2011.
And, of course, December 25th is a Town holiday.
Thanks, and Happy Holidays to you all!
Jeannine Dunne, Dublin’s Town Clerk/Tax Collector, can be reached at 563-8859.
Monadnock United Way Campaign in Dublin
By Bill Goodwin
The Monadnock United Way campaign is nearing completion in Dublin. Barbara Summers and her team have raised $6,395 (75% of our goal) so far and have just a few more businesses to follow up with before completion. Yankee Publishing came in with $5,060 this year, thanks to the employees and the corporate match. We thank you for your generosity in these difficult financial times.
The greater Monadnock United Way campaign is at $1,422,717 or 62% of our goal of $2,303,009. We hope to reach goal by the end of this year.
As previously mentioned, MUW agency programs were used 309 times by Dublin residents and more than 61,500 times by residents in the Monadnock Region in 2011. About 90% of the funds received go toward MUW agency programming.
For more information about the Monadnock United Way, we invite you to go to www.MUW.org.
Bill Goodwin is General Campaign Chair for the Monadnock United Way campaign for 2012-13.
News from the Dublin Consolidated School
By May Clark
November was a short month, but what a lot of activity! October ended in a very strange way, with two days off from school while Hurricane Sandy blew through. She tried to put a crimp in our Halloween style, but failed! We had our usual parade up the hill to show off our costumes to the generous folks at the town hall, library, police station, and Yankee Publishing. We thank all of you for organizing the generous treats for the kids!
Once we got into November for real, we hosted our annual New Hampshire Dance Institute (NHDI) residency week, with the fabulous Lisa Cook as our teacher once again, and the students put on a successful and exciting show for their parents one Friday evening. For many of us, both kids and teachers, this is our favorite week of the year. The children dance every day, and the joy bubbles up on everyone’s face!
As I write this mid-month, we are planning something new at DCS. And if the Advocate comes out a couple of days before December 1, which it usually does, you will be able to read this description as an invitation to the event! On November 30, we are putting on a community supper, together with our partners from the Cornucopia Project. It marks International Food Day, and is part of our focus on local, sustainable agriculture. The children will cook all day on the day before, using produce we grew in our garden, and we will serve homemade soup and bread to any community members who would like to come. We will have dessert too – it promises to be delicious, as it includes chocolate, but it is also made with zucchini!
Anyone who comes is asked to bring his or her own soup bowl and spoon, as well as a cloth napkin. We will eat together, and then take our dishes and napkins home, saving the energy that goes into washing lots of dishes and throwing away lots of paper napkins.
We hope to see you there! It’s Friday, November 30, at 6 pm. Be there or be square!
May Clark is Teaching Principal at DCS. She can be reached at 563-8332 or email mclark@nullconval.edu.
Shifting Responsibility
By Mary Loftis
The ConVal School Board recently spent a Saturday preparing for the upcoming budget season. What we learned was disheartening. The District is facing its own “fiscal cliff” as the result of the State Legislature “balancing” its budget by transferring financial commitments and responsibilities to the cities and towns – with dire implications for public education. There are numerous examples of this transfer of responsibility, but two of the most egregious and costly involve cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services and to the State Retirement System:
CHINS – Children in Need of Services – is a State program designed to help children who are having serious difficulties and need services to protect them from long-lasting harm. The New Hampshire Legislature voted to change the funding for this program. Now our School District is responsible for both the residential and educational costs of any out-of-district placement whereas previously the District covered merely the educational component. This change results in an almost $400,000 increase in the budget for next year.
Similarly, the State is no longer funding the mandated retirement system for State employees. This change in funding has increased the School District’s contribution by 35 percent for a total additional cost of around $700,000.
These are examples of how the fixed costs for our District, those costs over which we have no control, have increased dramatically. Yet we need to move the District forward with such new initiatives as full day Kindergarten, a middle school iPad program, as well as curriculum renewals and technology and infrastructure upgrades.
We’re hopeful that the newly elected Legislature will provide a more balanced approach to issues that directly affect education, but meanwhile, it’s important to understand the “backstory” of the budget we’re working to present to the voters in March.
Mary Loftis is Dublin’s representative to the ConVal School Board, SAU 1.
My Bookshelves
By Adele Knight
With the rise of innovative technology, libraries are changing. Even our sources of reading material are subject to change. Library users may search the Internet rather than turn to books for their information. Many book lovers are weighing the merits of e-Books as opposed to traditional books. I have been mulling this over myself.
Libraries and books have always been a mainstay of my life. My first memories of a library are of a small one-room library in a little town in Connecticut. My brother and I would make a weekly six-mile round trip on our bikes to get our books. We would always engage in a friendly conversation while there. As the years went by, there were school and college libraries, other town libraries, and even private libraries. I knew libraries were a place where I could get wonderful books to read and obtain answers to many questions as well.
When I moved to Dublin, one of the first things I did was get a library card. I loved the little library, crowded as it was with about 20,000 books crammed into every available space. It has since been renovated and expanded and now includes a bank of computers and offers Wi-Fi and even Kindles. When my laptop is down I can log on to a library computer for my link to the world.
Adele Knight is a trustee of the Dublin Public Library and President of the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association.
I mostly follow the traditional path for selecting books but also delight in sharing titles and authors with several other book aficionados via frequent emails labeled “my bookshelf.” I resisted buying a Kindle when they were first introduced but I recently purchased an iPad and one of the first ways in which I used it was to download the Kindle App. I now have some e-Books in my iPad library. How exciting! And it is amazing — read a page, “tap” and the page turns, another “tap” another page. Many people love their e-Readers, but others claim they do not want to give up the feel of a book in their hands. I prefer having traditional books in my hands too and continue to check them out at the library. However, I personally think having a supply of unread books in any form, along with the many books I have already read, is like having money in the bank. It is there when you need it. Regardless of the ways by which I fill my bookshelves, the library continues to be a dominant beacon that leads me to books, DVDs, services, programs, and answers to questions.
In my capacity as President of the NHLTA, I have had the privilege of visiting many libraries. As the year progresses, I will have more opportunities to see how libraries and patrons are bridging the traditional and the new. There is a perception by some that libraries and books will become obsolete. I do not believe that for a minute. Libraries are meeting the new demands. Library directors find that they must help patrons with e-Readers and e-Books, audio books and computers. Trustees are drafting new policies to cover the innovations and reconfiguring space to fit everything in. All this in addition to what they are already doing. They are busier than ever.
What choices are other readers are making? You are invited to share your stories or comments by emailing a.knight@nullnhlta.org.
Dublin School Trails
By Brad Bates
Dublin School is currently constructing what we hope will turn out to be a world-class cross-country ski trail. With the generous support of Michael Lehmann and Nancy Lehmann Haynes, who are the children of the founder of Dublin School, we have hired leading trail designer John Morton and David Lindahl of Morton Trails to design a trail using Dublin School land and Lehmann land to the west of Dublin Road (formerly Harrisville Road).
Michael, Nancy and I feel strongly that this trail be open to the public when it is not being used for races or being worked on by the school. We ask that people follow the instructions on the signs at the trail heads, only use skis and snowshoes on the trails, and not bring dogs onto the groomed trails. These are private trails and we want people to know that use of the trails is at their own risk. We hope that the trails will be enjoyed for many years to come.
Cross-country skiing has been an important part of the Dublin School experience since the school’s founding and the team continues to grow under the leadership of head coach Bill Farrell and assistant coaches Shelly Farrell and Alison Weber. Over the last few years we have been building up our endurance racing sports offerings and now have many student-athletes participating in cross-country running, rowing, and cross-country skiing.
Once the trail is finished we will go through a process of homologating the trail to make sure that it meets international standards. Having a homologated trail allows us to host regional and national level races on our trail. The trail has been designed to meet the standards of the highest classification of trails. The up-hills are quite wide to allow for skiers using the more modern skating technique to pass one another, while the down-hills are narrower and have banked turns helping skiers carry speed. Seth Kallman and Jason Barden are doing an impressive job of constructing the trail and we were fortunate to work with Dan Reed as our consulting forester.
We have completed the start-finish area, a connecting trail to our lower trail system, and a parking area near the town line with Harrisville. We are hoping to complete one of two planned two-mile loops before the snow falls this winter. We will re-route the hiking trail that connects the Beech Hill trails to the Lehmann property so that hikers do not have to cross the ski trail. We ask that people stay off the trails until they freeze and harden, but hope to see many people out on skis and snowshoes this winter. Think snow!
Brad Bates has served as Head of School for Dublin School since 2008.
Putnam Gallery at Dublin School
“Pictures from Life”
November 30 – December 30.
Opening and Artist Slide Talk: November 30th
Talk at 6:30, Reception 7-8 pm
www.dublinschool.org
181 Lehmann Way
Dublin, NH
Mike Worcester’s Antique Auto Repair
By Rusty Bastedo
The workplace has multiple bays. In one of these bays a large machine occupies all available space. This machine resembles a commercial laundry drying machine, but it fires baking soda at the decades of dirt that cover the steel engines that Mike Worcester restores. Fifty pounds of baking soda and forty-five minutes in this machine bring individual engines back to their “like new” brightness.
The use of baking soda for the cleaning process, rather than the more widely used glass beads, is evidence of the modern machinery that Mike uses for his antique engine restorations. In other bays modern milling and boring machines are installed, and Mike sends digital camera records of his work via email to customers who want to keep in touch with Mike’s work and progress. One customer in British Columbia, Canada, has been in touch twice weekly for two years about his 1906 Ford engine that was purchased without all of its parts. And on the floor nearby sit a 1925 Model P Ford engine, a 1925 Buick engine block, and a 1928-29 Hercules engine that once powered a Town of Dublin ‘Cletrak’ snow plough. [When Route 101 was paved between Dublin and Marlborough, 1925-1928, the Cletrak’s tank treads ran over dirt roads; when road paving began the ‘Cletrak’ was soon obsolete.]
Engines and motors come in to Antique Auto Restoration missing Babbitt and other bearings, valve guides and seatings, bushings, and other essentials. Mike reconditions or makes new parts, and mills, grinds and bores other parts, using modern precision equipment.
Mike no longer works with bronze or aluminum. Some aluminum precision parts come from China, where precision milling work has been excellent; other bronze or aluminum parts are farmed out to craftsmen like Mike, specialists who can make one or two parts by special order. A Canadian foundry operated by an Amish community does pattern work for Mike, as well as duct work if ducts are needed. Craftsmen in Rochester and Nashua (both NH) do other work by special order.
Mike says his line of work needs workers with engineering backgrounds, but workers with such skills don’t have the patience to learn the trade. Matching ‘book-learned’ skills to available work is a national problem that we must solve; when Mike stops work his shop will be sold at auction, and his knowledge will be lost. During our Machine Age, American ‘mechanics’ were the best in the world, and their patents streamed into the U.S. Patent Office; now craftsmen like Mike are dwindling, while demand for their skills remains.
Russell Bastedo was formerly New Hampshire State Curator from 1997 to 2009. He has served on the staff of the Advocate since 1999.
Go Online with the Advocate
It’s been a year since the Advocate went online. We post the whole issue as a blog — one full entry with the photos speckled throughout, and we also post the pdf of the actual newsletter, which is best viewed online in color.
The rest is up to you. When you sign up by registering (we do not share the list), you will get one monthly reminder when the new issue is posted, both the pdf and its blog version. Please don’t miss this opportunity to participate at DublinAdvocate.com.
DCA Spreads Good Cheer
By Kevin Moody
At Dublin Christian Academy, we believe it’s very important to teach, in both word and deed, the blessing of giving to others. Many times young people get the false message that it is better to “get” rather than to “give.” Our DCA Ministry team has the unique opportunity to travel around to different area churches and practice the art of giving.
Their program will include both dramatic and musical selections, but they also desire to be available to help each church with whatever project or task may be needed. On November 25, the ministry team traveled to the Southern NH Rescue Mission in Nashua, NH, and helped serve meals to those in need. They sang Christmas carols and received first-hand experience on how to be an encouragement. It’s a good reminder for all of us at this special time of year to look for opportunities to be a blessing to those less fortunate.
Kevin Moody is President/Administrator of Dublin Christian Academy.
DCA Goes to Lego Championships
By Gregg Fletcher
Dublin Christian Academy is pleased to announce that their rookie FIRST LEGO League team won second place in robot design and has qualified to go to the State Championship in Manchester on December 1st.
The “Skeeterbytes” is made up of four students from fourth to seventh grade. The team had to program and operate their robot to perform certain required functions to obtain points. The students also had to research and report on a “Senior Solution” — a way to help the elderly in their everyday lives.
The team will do its best to represent DCA and the Town of Dublin at the State Tournament.
Gregg Fletcher is a Science and Math teacher at DCA.
A Pastel Exhibit by Maryann Mullett
Don’t miss Maryann Mullett’s ongoing exhibit in December at the River Center in Peterborough, located at 46 Concord St., Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 3 pm. Maryann has also been invited to show her works at the new Healing Arts Gallery at Monadnock Community Hospital located near the Sarah Hogate Bacon Emergency Services Department entrance. Exhibit opening is Thursday, January 31, from 5-7 pm and will run through Friday, April 26. The other artists in this group showing are Chris Reid, Gordon Ripley, Anne Murray, and Earl Schofield.
Back to the Land
By Mary Loftis
Jeremy Wilson, the new Executive Director of the Harris Center in Hancock, was drawn back to the Monadnock Region by the land. Although he grew up in New Jersey, the freedom of roaming the woods during childhood summers at a family camp on Windy Row in Peterborough was imprinted at a young age.
Now Jeremy and his family, which includes his wife Katie and four children ranging from 6 to 16, as well as an apricot standard poodle, have moved to Main Street in Dublin.
Jeremy started his new job in July, just as the Harris Center’s children’s camp season was getting underway, and he finds his days busy, stimulating – and not at all predicable. He supervises a full- and part-time staff of 16 who implement lectures, outings, educational programs for adults and children, and conservation education programs in 27 local public schools. In addition, the Center’s conservation program oversees a “Supersanctuary” of more than 18,000 acres in five contiguous towns.
Part of the Harris Center’s mission is to encourage “active participation in the great outdoors,” which seems to be part of the Wilson family’s mission as well. They love the fact that their home (the former O’Rourke residence) backs up to the Dublin School soccer field and well-maintained Nordic ski trails, and they look forward to a snowy winter!
The Wilson family moved to Dublin from Orono, Maine, where Jeremy taught and conducted forestry research at the University of Maine. He said that while living in a college town their lives were centered in Orono. They have had to adjust to this region being more spread out but really appreciate all that the area has to offer. The kids have adjusted well to ConVal High School and DCS, and Katie, who has previously worked in non-profit management, is exploring a career switch through coursework at Antioch University. Another bonus of the move is their proximity to extended family: Jeremy’s parents live at RiverMead and his sister and her family at Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm. And in his new job, Jeremy gets to roam the woods he remembers as a child!
Mary Loftis is on the staff of the Advocate.
“We Love Spanish Time!”
By Ruth Thompson
A retired Spanish teacher from both the ConVal and Keene school districts, Patricia Wheeler began volunteering at Dublin Community Preschool about six years ago. She explains that “young children are so great to teach because they repeat everything you say which is the way to learn a language.”
Each Monday morning Senora Wheeler brings new culture to the preschool. Through games, songs, pictures, and strong visual aids the children learn their Spanish numbers, body parts, food items, action words, animals and simple greetings and responses.
Pulling from her own childhood, Senora uses both traditional children’s American and Mexican songs that the children love to learn. They are already counting to 20 and know several colors in Spanish. She has also been working on weather and winter clothing vocabulary as well as several body parts in Spanish and are proficient at simple movement activity. December will bring a fun song called ChocoLaté, which she will connect with actually having the children help make Mexican hot chocolate with a “batte”!
Ruth Thompson is president of the board at DCP.
The Dublin Fire Department
A well-managed and technologically advanced fire fighting, life-saving machine.
By Ramona Branch
Writer’s Note: The tag line in the masthead of The Dublin Advocate reads, “To Encourage and Strengthen Our Community.” The staff believes that writing about Dublin’s support departments and the people who run them is a significant part of meeting this objective.
We pass by it everyday (most of us anyway!)…our local fire department. It is a 4,000 square foot building in the heart of our little town next to Yankee Publishing and across from the library. It looks like other fire departments, but once you pass through its doors and spend time inside you know it is truly special.
At the fulcrum of this complex and multi-faceted operation is Tom Vanderbilt, Dublin’s Fire Chief. A member of the fire department for 25 years, Tom has been the Fire Chief for the past 10 years. During our interview, my quest for knowledge about the department was intensified by his enthusiasm for his profession of firefighting, the department’s equipment, and his remarkable team of firefighters and EMTs.
We spent over an hour going through the vehicles and the highly specialized equipment on each one of them. The newest vehicle for fire fighting is Engine 1, custom built for Dublin. Due to our high elevation, windy streets and long, steep driveways, our equipment is different than other towns in the Monadnock Region. The equipment on this truck includes a Cascade panel, used to refill the firefighter’s air packs, an enclosed pump panel that dispenses type A and B foam to fight both house fires and brush fires, as well as gas and oil fires. This truck also carries a thermal imaging camera that is called into play to monitor the progression of a fire, to look for hidden fire, or to locate victims in a house fire. Tom explained that, “In the past, firefighting was all about putting out the fire. Today our focus is about protecting our firefighters as we put out the fire. As a result a whole new tier of equipment and training has been incorporated into our operations.”
Engine 2 is the department’s second-due engine to a fire scene in town. It also responds to our neighboring towns as an engine to the scene of a fire or as a cover truck assignment.
There is one tanker truck that holds 3,200 gallons of water. The tanker carries a fold-a-tank that holds 3,000 gallons of water, which is used when the tanker truck cannot get that close to the fire. Tankers are able to dump their water into the fold-a-tank and leave to go get more.
To fight wildland fires, firefighters use the brush truck designed and outfitted to fight forest fires. A 16-foot long, specially outfitted motorboat facilitates water and ice rescues.
The Rescue truck, a non-transport vehicle, responds to all medical emergencies and motor vehicle accidents. This truck carries a Phillips 12-lead, automated emergency defibrillator for cardiac emergencies. Dublin was the first fire department in the country to be trained on this machine’s unique feature, the Q-CPR, which gives real-time feedback on the quality of CPR. This machine was acquired by the generous donation of a private donor. The Rescue also carries important hydraulic equipment, which the general public knows as the “jaws of life.”
A Polaris six-wheeler has been outfitted for brush fires and to rescue mountain bikers and hikers. It maneuvers well in small rough areas.
Upstairs in the firehouse, there is a large state-of-the-art meeting room, which has been painted, re-carpeted, and outfitted by the generous, hardworking volunteers of the Dublin Fire Co. Fire and medical training, which is vast and ongoing every week, also takes place in this room.
The EOC (emergency operations center), which serves as the center of operations, and as a command center during the more severe storms in Dublin, also operates out of this meeting room.
In addition to fire and rescue, the department also conducts their own fundraising, teaches fire safety in local schools and organizations, and provides residential, school, and business inspections for required permits.
Tom Vanderbilt grew up in Pennsylvania. He attended Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH, where he graduated in 1980, securing a bachelor’s degree in economics and management. It was there that he became a firefighter. Except for a brief time in the gardening and landscaping business, firefighting has been his profession. He has one son, Shane, 29, who lives in Peterborough.
Ramona Branch is a freelance writer and editor and is on the staff of The Advocate.
In Memory
Elizabeth Pool
1914-2012
She will be remembered for her generosity and kindness.
HCS Offers Support for Caregivers
A new Support Connection is starting December 4 for people who are caring for a family member or friend with a chronic or life-limiting illness. The Support Connection group will meet on the first Tuesday of every month from 10 am to 11 am at Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services (HCS), 312 Marlboro Street in Keene. Since most care is given by family members, the Support Connection is a place for family caregivers to exchange practical information and share concerns and tips with others in similar situations.
No registration is necessary; anyone who is a caregiver is encouraged to drop in for coffee or tea. The group is offered free of charge. For information, please contact Lynn Anne Palmer at 352-2253.
Dollars for Scholars Launches 2012 Annual Appeal
By Judy Tomlinson
The ConVal Community Scholarship Foundation Dollars for Scholars (CVCSF) was established in July 2006 “to give hope and confidence with community support to help more Students in the ConVal Region to achieve their potential.”
CVCSF takes a unique approach when awarding scholarship funds. First, through its mentoring and outreach program, it identifies worthy students for whom the scholarships it provides will motivate them to finish high school and pursue postsecondary education opportunities and training. Second, with a commitment to provide scholarship funds over a two-year period, it allows students to complete their postsecondary educational requirements or training program without being financially strapped with debt.
Since 2007, CVCSF has awarded 36 scholarships and committed more than $144,000 in funds, supplements, and matching awards. CVCSF is funded entirely by contributions from its board members, founders, individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the ConVal region and beyond. By the end of 2012, the organization’s goal is to raise more than $35,000.
Donations, regardless of size, are needed to support this critical effort. All donations are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Please mail your contribution to CVCSF, PO Box 372, Peterborough, NH 03458.
Judy Tomlinson is CVCSF Executive Director and lives in Dublin. Her email address is info@nullcvcsf.org.
The Crossbills
By Tom Warren
An unusual winter finch has invaded the spruce and pine forests of the Monadnock Region this fall and will be with us all winter. They act like small parrots, grabbing branches with feet and beaks.
Red and White-winged Crossbills, often traveling in large flocks, are specialized for feeding on conifer cones, primarily white pine, spruce, hemlock and also tamarack.
Their specialized crossed bill is used to open the cone and then, with their tongue, they extract the seed. They can eat up to 3,000 seeds a day. Their nomadic movements are timed to take maximum advantage of cone crops and they breed in any month of the year, including the bitter cold winter months, to take advantage of cone crops.
Red Crossbills are a brick-red to reddish yellow, sometimes even greenish. The White-winged Crossbill has white wing bars and black wings.
They wander nomadically through the boreal forest sometimes in flocks of 10,000 birds. Large movements, recently witnessed in our area, occur when the cone supply is low in the Canadian boreal forest.
White-winged Crossbills are partial to spruce and tamarack while Red Crossbills prefer white pine and hemlock. They will also come to bird feeders especially on snowy days. They supplement their diet with grit, salt and water and hundreds are killed on highways. They drink 20% of their body weight in water daily. Red Crossbills have declined over the past 100 years due to extensive logging in eastern Canada and U.S. They feed on decaying wood, concrete and ash, all sources of ash and calcium. The minerals likely assist in digestion of conifer seeds.
Scientists have speculated there may be as many as 10 different species of Red Crossbills evolving today depending on the type of pinecone habitat they prefer. They are evolving slightly different bills and songs in the forests they inhabit.
Hikers, snow-shoers and cross-country skiers will have frequent opportunities to see the crossbills this winter.
Tom Warren, a Dublin resident, is a Trustee of the Harris Center for Conservation Education and New Hampshire Audubon.
Peter’s Pondering
One of the mist joyful sounds I’ve ever heard was produced on a piano played by Thomas Wright Waller, known by his fans as “Fats.”
Aside from being a bit of a clown, Fats was a superb musician and an extraordinarily good pianist who could make a piano sing, and produce a big sound without pounding on the keys.
Fats also wrote some great songs such as “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose.” As well as some silly ones like “Your Feets Too Big,” “The Joint is Jumpin’,” and “Your Socks Don’t Match.” And there were several swinging stride-style solos including “Handful of Keys” and “Smashing Thirds.”
When Fats died — at a tragically young age — Irving Berlin quoted a line from one of his own old songs: “He knew the fine way to treat a Steinway.”
Peter Hewitt retired to RiverMead along with several residents of Dublin.
Speakers at Rotary, Open to All
The Monadnock Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at 7:30 am at the Dublin Community Church. Please join us for breakfast.
On December 4, the speaker is David DeWitt who is CEO of Phase65, Inc. He will discuss his company’s mission, which is to be a cheerleader of sorts for manufacturing in the U.S.
Kimberly Kersey Asbury, who is a painter and mixed media artist with a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Boston University, will be the presenter on December 18. There will be no meetings on December 11 or December 25 due to holiday celebrations.
The Monadnock Rotary Club is based in Dublin and is dedicated to community service. The Club’s primary interests are youth development and health advocacy for people of all ages in the Monadnock Region and around the world.
The Club is part of Rotary International, a worldwide service organization of more than 1.2 million members.
Christmas Show
Saturday Dec. 22, 8 pm, $15
Susie Burke & David Surette
New England’s favorite folk duo from Portsmouth NH
perform seasonal and holiday gems.
DelRossi’s Trattoria,
call 603-563-7195 for reservations.
Nowell Sing We Clear
The Monadnock Folklore Society presents Nowell Sing We Clear on Friday, December 7 at 8 pm at the Dublin Community Church. ($15/$12 for senior, youth & advance internet sales).
This will be the 38th touring season of Nowell Sing We Clear with its unusual songs, carols, stories, and customs. Drawn mostly from English-language folk traditions, the songs tell both a version of the events and characters involved in the Christmas story and detail the customs that make up the 12 magical days following the return of the light at the winter solstice. Many of these ancient customs are the basis of the today’s holiday traditions, such as visiting and feasting, gift-giving, carol singing from door-to-door and the adorning of houses and churches with garlands of evergreen.
For details, visit the Monadnock Folklore Society at www.monadnockfolk.org.
Frost Heaves Presents Holiday Hilarity
Frost Heaves, the comedy show that absorbs 27 times its weight in excess seriousness, returns with holiday hilarity, Dec. 7, 8, 9 and 15 at the Peterborough Players theatre.
“This is our annual Christmas show,” says Fred Marple, unofficial spokesman for the town of Frost Heaves. “It’s kind of our gift to the Monadnock region. Except you can’t return it.”
The Frost Heaves Players (Dave Nelson of Dublin; Kathy Manfre, Beth Signoretti, and Liz Wright of Peterborough; and Ken Sheldon of Hancock) join the Speed Bumps band to present such nonsense as a visit to the Retirement Home for Classic Toys, what happens when the Christmas tree lights go to the dump, Real Yankee Toys for kids (including the Kiddie Cordwood Kit), Life’s Little Mystery Theatre, the news from Frost Heaves, and more. As always, the band will write an original “Song on the Spot” based on audience suggestions, always a favorite part of the show.
Winner of a Best of New Hampshire award, Frost Heaves performances are Dec. 7, 8, and 15 at 7:30 p.m., matinee Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15, general admission, available at the Toadstool and Steele’s in Peterborough, Rousseau’s Music in Jaffrey, online at frostheaves.com, or by calling 525-3391.