Dublin Summer Playground Is Alive and Well
By Eliot Pelletier
People often ask why I continue to spend my summers at the Dublin Summer Playground after working here for more than a decade: “Isn’t the best part of being a teacher having the summers off?”
While I enjoy a vacation as much as the next teacher, certain aspects of being a professional educator can leave me unfulfilled. While it’s a great joy to see the academic progress my students make over the course of the school year, I realize that these skills are only a few of the ones that these children will need to be successful in the future. Not covered in our mandated and frequently assessed curriculums are other important aspects of the whole-child approach: social skills, appreciation for nature, and the importance of bringing creativity and imagination to everything we do.
Take a quick walk around Playground on a typical day and you’ll see all of these skills being practiced constantly. While we play camp games such as Capture the Flag and Foursquare, the part of Playground that keeps me coming back is seeing kids using their imaginations to have fun. Just this week as I strolled around, I noted some of the creative enterprises taking place all over the DCS campus.
In a culture where electronic screens are ubiquitous and kids feel enormous pressure to stay “plugged in” 24-7, it’s truly refreshing to see kids playing the way we all did when we were younger.
There’s one group building dams and diverting miniature rivers after a rainstorm, working together to control the flow. There’s another group building up their business acumen with a combination spa/pet store. As I sit in the “waiting room” (a section of the stone wall) I watch them style people’s hair and dole out hand massages to a steady stream of customers. Their fee is quite reasonable, merely a small handful of stones.
Next door a pair of girls is cooking fairy food in their trusty stump oven. The acorn sandwiches are quite a hit. Nearby another group tends to the DCS garden, while yet another group creates enormous floating bubbles, shown above.
The 40-year-old tradition of Dublin Playground allows the children of Dublin to spend hours outdoors, use their imaginations and work through disagreements. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it.
Eliot Pelletier has been director of Playground for the last 10 years. During the school year, he is a 5th grade teacher in Jaffrey.
Solar Correction
I incorrectly indicated in last month’s article on solar energy that Germany obtains over 50% of its electricity from solar power. Although solar has provided over 50% of the country’s electricity on a given sunny day, the overall contribution of solar energy in 2014 was between 6-7%. Thanks to Rick MacMillan for bringing this to my attention.
—Bruce Simpson
Reminder: The Planning Board will hold an open meeting on Thursday, August 6, at 7 pm to discuss the issue of solar energy systems in Dublin. The Board is seeking input from townspeople as it considers changes to the Dublin Zoning Ordinance regarding this issue. The meeting will be held downstairs in the Town Hall.
Dublin Public Library
Dublin Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, The Golden Summer, will continue Wednesday mornings at 10 am through August 26. Children will meet Wednesday, August 5, in the multi-purpose room in the lower level of the library. We will end our official summer program on this day with a wonderful nature craft. We will read Leaf Man, Wild Ideas and I’d Know You Anywhere, My Love. This is always a day of celebration so please mark your calendar. Morning programs on August 12, 19, and 26 will include some of the crafts that we offered earlier in the summer along with new books, so if you missed a week or took the summer off, do stop in. In anticipation of a smaller group, we will meet upstairs. Have your child check out a few books on a topic that interests them and watch their reading enthusiasm soar.
As the last days of summer approach there is still time to do some reading. A number of books have been favorites this summer, including:
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The Dog Who Saved Me by Susan Wilson
Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Country by Danielle Steel
Tiny Little Things by Beatriz Williams
The Sound of Glass by Karen White
Missoula by Jan Krakauer
Our Kids by Robert D. Putnam
DVDs
Birdman
Paddington
The Maze Runner
Woman in Gold
The Longest Ride
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
MallCop 2
From the FDPL
By popular demand, Tom Warren will be back at the Library to show the slides of birds that he was unable to show during his talk because of a power failure. Please come to the library’s lower level on August 12 at 6:30 pm.
The Friends of the Dublin Public Library would like to remind you that we have Museum Passes for everyone — visiting grandchildren, friends from out of town, or even if you just want to get away from the summer heat and visit a nice, cool museum!
The Friends of the Dublin Public Library is sponsoring a reading group in which all books are provided for free: even the current best sellers. Check the calendar and the posters at the library for meeting times and dates. The current book is Narragansett, which should be a really good read. The discussion will be on August 27. Please join us.
FDPL’s Ice Cream Social a Big Hit
By Ramona Branch
A beautiful evening, music so good (familiar) you wanted to sing along, and ice cream that kept around 80 Dubliners coming back for more were key components of a stellar Ice Cream Social on the back lawn of the Dublin Public Library on July 22.
This is the third year that the Friends of the Dublin Public Library has put on the social. Since its inception it has been a huge hit with young families and ice cream- and fun-loving residents.
The band, Legacy, which was invited back for the second year, played and sang music favorites that baby boomers, as well as the younger crowd, could sing. Guests raved about the Kimball’s ice cream flavors, which included Chocolate Truffle, Moo Tracks, Heath Bar Crunch and Raspberry Chocolate Chip. Do put this on your calendar for next July.
Thanks to my fellow “friends” on the board: Anne-Marie Warren, Heidi Thomas, Kirsten O’Connell, Shari LaPierre, and Sherin Pierce.
Ramona Branch is on the staff of the Advocate.
Dublin Women’s Club News
By Nancy Campbell
More than 110 members, their families, and guests have been enjoying this summer at the Women’s Club Beach. We have been fortunate to have long-time employees Polly Seymour and Liz Lawler back to provide swimming lessons to many young Dubliners. Taya Kerwin has been our sailing instructor this year and Cam Harrington and Natasha Kipka have been our weekend lifeguards.
The Beach Annual Fun Day, with the Lake swim, a cookout, games and sand castle building will be held on Friday, August 14.
The Board of Directors and Beach Committee thank our employees and others in the community who contributed in any way to making our beach a pleasant place to be on a hot summer day. We also thank all those people and organizations who so generously contributed to our annual appeal.
Nancy Campbell is treasurer of the Dublin Women’s Club.
Dublin Lake Preservation Committee
By Tom Warren
The Dublin Lake Preservation Committee, which met June 25, is composed of a few interested citizens appointed by the Selectmen to monitor the lake’s quality and recommend programs to maintain this beautiful town resource. Among the issues and programs regularly reviewed by the Committee are:
- VLAP Water Quality tests, data analyzed by state biologists.
- Lake Host Program conducted during summer months to make certain that invasive/aquatic plants do not enter the lake by boat, canoe or kayak.
- Weed Watch Program to identify any invasive aquatic plants.
- Salt on Highway, which can affect water quality.
- Erosion of earth bank and/or storm water erosion on lake shore.
- Shoreline property issues.
There is extensive cooperation with the Conservation Commission, Highway Department, Fire Department and Board of Selectmen.
For many years Dublin Lake has been one of the cleanest lakes in New Hampshire, its pristine waters exceeded by only Connecticut Lakes in the far north of the state. It is about 100 feet deep at its deepest and was created by glaciers thousands of years ago. It has been home to various species of trout (and now, unfortunately, bass), mink, otters, loons and ducks. It has been the inspiration for artists, writers, and poets and a joy to visitors and residents for years.
The history of glacial lakes is well documented in biology textbooks. It is reported that the water temperature of glacial lakes at a 70-foot depth feet during the heat of August is approximately 39 degrees, when the water temperature at the Women’s Club Beach is near 80 degrees. One Committee member has verified this fact each summer. This is why, during an oppressive heat wave, you should bring your scuba equipment!
Other committee members include Felicity Pool, John Morris, Jeff Oja, Karen Bunch, and Jill Lawler.
Tom Warren is chair of the Dublin Lake Preservation Committee.
Changes in Library Trustees
By Bill Goodwin
Prior to our June Trustees meeting, Adele Knight told us that she had decided to resign her position as Permanent Trustee of the Dublin Public Library.
As many of you know, Adele has a long history as Trustee of the Library. She was appointed as a member of the Library Planning Committee in 1988. That committee conducted an in-depth needs assessment of the Dublin Public Library and determined that there was a need for additional space for various library-related activities. Our new addition was the result of the work done by the committee.
Adele served as a Trustee from 1992 to 2015. She was Chairperson of the Library Expansion Committee in 1995 and became Permanent Trustee in 2000. She had a significant role in creating and updating the Procedures Manual currently used by the Trustees.
The Board of Trustees will miss Adele’s willingness to take on new tasks and her consistent caring for the Library.
As a result of Adele’s resignation, Bethe Walker will be our new Permanent Trustee and Celeste Snitko will be moved from Alternate Trustee to Trustee. Marty Smith will remain as Alternate Trustee.
Bill Goodwin is chairman of the Dublin Public Library Board of Trustees.
DHS Annual Meeting and Tree Dedication
By Lisa Foote
The Dublin Historical Society will hold its annual meeting on Friday, August 21, at 6 pm at the Dublin Community Church. Courtesy of a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council, Charles Doleac will present “Teddy Roosevelt’s Nobel Prize: New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty” after a brief DHS business meeting.
Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for facilitating the end of the war between Russia and Japan with the Portsmouth Peace Treaty in 1905.
Prior to the annual meeting, the 1841 Schoolhouse Museum will be open from 4:30 pm until 5:30 pm so that Doleac, who is founder of the Japan-America Society of NH (JASNH) and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum, can conduct a brief dedication ceremony for the Living Memorial Cherry Tree. (Please park at Dublin Consolidated School for the tree dedication.)
The cherry tree is a cutting from the original trees around the tidal basin in Washington, DC, which were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912 as a thank you for the United States’ role in brokering the 1905 peace treaty. JASNH received some of the cuttings to distribute and chose to give DHS a tree because Baron Kitaro Kaneko, one of the Japanese delegates to the peace negotiations, had connections in Dublin: at the conclusion of the talks he came to stay with the Joseph Lindon Smiths at Loon Point. The Smiths had previously met Baron Kaneko through an introduction from Teddy Roosevelt while visiting in Japan in 1901.
Lisa Foote is the Dublin Historical Society Archivist. She can be reached at 563-8545.
A Gardener with Love
By Kim Allis
The charming flower gardens at the Dublin Public Library are the results of the loving labor (volunteer, it should be said) of Gail Bartlett, who is quick to say that she has volunteers of her own, weeders and waterers.
Gail, a former board member of the Friends of the Dublin Public Library, comes from a gardening family in Peterborough. Her father grew vegetables, and her three brothers join in her love of planting and growing. Gail’s husband Francis is also a gardener, tending fruit trees, roses, and vegetables on their Burpee Road property. Is it any surprise that two of their three sons are also accomplished gardeners?
Gail’s love of growing things has translated into further creative venues. She is a Master Judge with the National Garden Club. She teaches Ikebana, Japanese flower arranging, at garden clubs in NH, VT, and MA, and presents a workshop once a year at the Boston Ikenobo Chapter, of which she is a long-time member. Ikenobo is the classical form of flower arrangement.
Gail met her husband Francis as a senior in high school. She studied nursing at Northeastern University and was in the second class to graduate from that institution’s innovative five-year Co-op program. She worked first at the Cheshire Hospital, and then as her three boys were born, she worked part time at Monadnock Community Hospital.
Gail retired from the Day Surgery department at MCH just last April after 35 years. Her first grandchild, a girl, is due in September. She is sure to inherit a green thumb.
Kim Allis is on the staff of the Advocate.
DCS Welcomes New Principal
By Mary Loftis
When Nicole Pease attended sixth grade at Dublin Consolidated School in 1977-78, her teacher (and the principal) was Dick Dunning. Years later, Nicole was hired by Dick, who had by then become the principal of South Meadow School, when a math / science position became available as she finished her student teaching. After a successful 15-year teaching career (including being named 2014 Teacher of the Year by the Peterborough Rotary Club), Nicole is returning to her elementary school as the new principal following the retirement of May Clark.
Nicole recently acknowledged surprise and satisfaction in completing this circle, which will allow her to be more connected to her town. She said that she views her new job as an “awesome opportunity” to contribute to her community.
Nicole’s job will be different from May’s. Instead of being responsible for a classroom, she will serve as one of two District-wide elementary math coaches, assisting teachers with math instruction. However, she says that during her first year she plans to concentrate on the new principal role and looks forward to being available to the students and “great staff” of DCS, many of whom she already knows well.
In addition to seeking a new challenge in her hometown, Nicole is really looking forward to the small size of DCS. She compared the opportunity to “looping” at SMS, in which a group of students stay with the same teacher for both sixth and seventh grades allowing educational continuity. Nicole’s eight-year-old son Zachary pointed out that, as principal, she would be able to know and monitor the progress of all 64 students as they move up through the grades – a sort of ultimate looping!
Nicole lives on Upper Jaffrey Road with her husband Greg, their son Zachary and a very tall Chocolate Lab named Oscar, who surely weighs more than she does! She is looking forward to the first day of school, although she has broken the ice by running her first staff meeting as the last school year concluded on June 23. Everyone at DCS seems ready for their new leader!
Mary Loftis is on the staff of the Advocate.
Monadnock Trails Week Volunteers from Dublin
2nd Annual “Bluegrass at the Pines”
August 16 at Cathedral of the Pines.
The sounds of bluegrass music will once again be heard in the Monadnock Region as the Cathedral of the Pines hosts its second annual “Bluegrass at the Pines” Sunday, August 16, at the Cathedral’s outdoor site at 10 Hale Hill Road in Rindge.
This one-day event, which overlooks majestic Mt. Monadnock, features four top bluegrass bands from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, including Bob Amos & Catamount Crossing, Bump Road Band, Cold Chocolate, and Tony Watt & Southeast Expressway.
The festival begins at 11 am and goes through 7 pm. Jam sessions are encouraged! Those who come are encouraged to bring their own blanket and a picnic. No alcohol is permitted.
The Cathedral of the Pines is an open-air national memorial dedicated to the memory of all Americans who serve this nation. In the search of peace, it is open to the public as a place of spiritual, cultural, and environmental appreciation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase throughout the day.
Tickets are $29 for adults. Tickets for children ages 6 through 12 are $19. Children under six are free. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the event, via email at laurie@nullcathedralofthepines.org, or call (603) 899-3300.
Dublin Dufour Bicentennial Celebration
By Holly Alderman
The bicentennial celebration of the Dublin Dufour wallpaper scenes continues from August 6, 7 and 8, at the annual three-day show of the NH Antique Dealers Association in Manchester by Jason Hackler of the NH Antique Co-op in Milford (where more of the originals are available for viewing by appointment).
For an entire year in 1815 in Paris, 20 artisans in the atelier of Joseph Dufour hand carved and printed expansive wall scenes of eastern Mediterranean vistas and classical ruins. A 35-foot panorama of the landscapes of antiquity was installed in Dublin for 78 years in the old Stonlea living room, when Tom and Anne Blodgett invited all Dublin residents for the Millennial New Year’s Eve open house in 2000 and again in 2002, an all-town dinner for more than a thousand residents.
The Dublin Dufour bicentennial in 2015 has also produced innovations in digitally restored, customized installations including this new sepia print 10 feet wide in Katonah, NY, and unique variations for homes in Palm Beach, Lake Forest, Houston, Manhattan, Olympia, Las Vegas, London, Istanbul, Bangkok, Jaffrey and Dublin (see photos at HollyAlderman.com.)
You may view samples, reproductions and prints at Alderman Studio in Jaffrey Center on Sunday afternoons, from 2 to 5 pm through Labor Day weekend, by appointment.
Holly Alderman can be reached at 617-733-5493 or aldermanholly@nullgmail.com.
69th Season of the Amos Fortune Forum
The Amos Fortune Forum was organized in 1946 to take advantage of the many widely known speakers on subjects of public interest and importance who live in and visit the Monadnock Region. The lectures are a continuing tribute to Amos Fortune, one of Jaffrey’s most distinguished citizens.
On August 7, Philipp S. Krüger, Director, Digital Economy Project, Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, Berlin will speak on “Big Data: Transforming Freedom, Security and Business,” explaining how large data sets reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior. Its use will force us to transform our ideas about privacy and security at both the personal and corporate levels.
On August 14, Severine Fleming, Agrarian, will present “A New Economy on the Land.” A farmer, activist, and organizer in the Champlain Valley of New York, she is founder and director of The Greenhorns, a grassroots cultural organization with the mission to promote, recruit and support a growing movement of young farmers and ranchers in America.
On August 21, Eric Masterson, Ornithologist, will discuss “The migration of Broad-winged Hawks – a ground level perspective.” Each September, a Broad-winged Hawk migrates from its summer home in Jaffrey, traveling south along a time-worn route. By the time it reaches southern Mexico three weeks later, it will be one of millions, before crossing into the vastness of the Amazon basin where it will regain its individuality. Eric Masterson, who will discuss this remarkable phenomenon from a cultural and historical perspective, has worked in environmental conservation at New Hampshire Audubon, the Piscataquog Land Conservancy, and at the Harris Center in Hancock. He is the author of Birdwatching in New Hampshire. He serves on the New Hampshire Rare Bird Committee and is a seasonal editor for the quarterly journal New Hampshire Bird Records.
Amos Fortune Forum lectures are held on Fridays promptly at 8 pm in the Meetinghouse in Jaffrey Center, two miles west of downtown Jaffrey. There is no charge for admission. Visit www.amosfortune.com for further details.
Hub’s August Art Show
April Claggett will be showing her paintings at the Dublin Community Center during the month of August, with a reception Saturday, August 1, from 5 to 7 pm.
April, also a musician, and her husband will provide live musical entertainment from 5:45 to 6:15 pm. In addition, April is creating a visual scavenger hunt game to go along with the exhibit. Families are encouraged to participate.
April, who lives with her husband Rhine Singleton on Windmill Hill Road, says in her artist’s statement: “My painting is grounded in a love of light and color…I grew up on a farm which formed a peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay. Some paintings come from a series based on my mother’s house on this ‘century’ farm… For me, the hard work of painting is buoyed by exploration and connection, memory, identity and loss. So the premise for my painting is introverted, yet the outcome in my favorite pieces I feel is always beyond the personal.” All are welcome to attend.
August Events at the Hub
In addition to the art opening August 1 for April Claggett, on the 18th we will serve a Community Lunch from 12 to 1 pm; all are welcome to attend.
The Nurse Is In takes place at the Hub on August 18, from 12 to 1. No appointments are necessary. (More details in HCS piece below.)
Also, on August 20, Zumba instructor Deb Giaimo will host a food and fundraiser to benefit the Peterborough Food Pantry at the Hub from 5:30 to 7 pm.
On August 22 we have Saturday Family Night at the Movies, and on the next day, Silvie Perez offers Cooking Lessons: Healthy Vegetarian at 3 pm ($5/supplies).
Near the end of the month, don’t miss the Hub’s 1st Annual BBQ & Birdhouse Raffle drawing from 5 to 8 pm on August 29. Come see if you won!
HCS Offers Wellness Clinic at Hub
Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services (HCS) is offering a Nurse Is In wellness clinic at the Dublin Community Center on Tuesday, August 18, from 12 to 1 pm. Our HCS wellness nurse will check blood pressures and be available to answer questions about home care and any health concerns you may have. This screening is open to residents of all area towns and is offered free of charge. No appointments necessary.
Nurse Is In clinics are sponsored by Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services, a Monadnock United Way agency. For a complete list of clinics or for more information, visit www.HCSservices.org or call HCS at 352-2253.
Thanks to Our EMT Crew
We would like to thank the Dublin Rescue Department for their service. In the wee hours when we called 911, the members arrived promptly and displayed professionalism, competence, courtesy, and kindness.
Our gratitude goes out to Karen Horgan, Andy Freeman, Sturdy Thomas, Dan Adams, and Tom Vanderbilt for good work that inspires confidence. Our community is lucky to have such a great team.
—Polly Bannister and David Voorhis
Windmill Hill Cabinets
By Rusty Bastedo
Jack Kurilla is the owner/operator of Windmill Hill Cabinets, a Dublin-based business since 1984. Jack came to the Monadnock Region 40 years ago, at 22 years of age. He built his present Dublin shop in 1987 and, with very few exceptions, he has been a “one-man shop” and a Dublin small business since that time.
Windmill Hill Cabinets specializes in “kitchens, baths, workstations, and libraries,” and all of his custom work is built to homeowners’ specifications. He works with kiln-dried woods so that he has tight quality control over the materials; cabinetry, millwork, moldings and paneling must all conform to his drawings or architectural prints.
Jack avoids pre-mixed finishes, preferring to make up his own finishes for the specific job. He works with older homes as well, integrating his work into the products of architects and builders working a century or more ago. His craft demands patience and skill, and the ability to understand the intentions of past builders, as well as the intentions of present ones.
Most of all, Jack’s work demands understanding of his materials, the raw woods he purchases, from African mahogany to tulip poplar. Each wood has its own special characteristics, and Jack is a wood doctor, shaping his responses to what his woods are telling him.
Jack Kurilla can be reached at windmillhillcabinets@nullgmail.com, or call 563-8503.
Rusty Bastedo is on the staff of the Advocate.
Surprise at Andy’s Summer Playhouse
In July, Dublin’s own Woody Stockwell had a part in The Kid of Billy the Kid, written and directed by Jared Mezzocchi and presented at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton, NH. A tale from the Old West, with a bit of Spaghetti Western thrown in, it was an adventure of self-discovery.
Showing in August, this theater for children and young adults who adore theater, is Into The Woods Jr., with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, based on the book by James Lapine. It is a fairy tale mash-up that takes center stage at the Playhouse with a special Andy’s twist. Andy’s kids help design the production, invent new choreography and explore the world of fairy tales as they dig into the history behind this production.
Performances are August 7, 8, 12-14 at 7:30 pm; matinee August 9 at 2 pm. Closing night performance (and closing day of the season) is August 15 at 4:30 pm.
To contact Andy’s Summer Playhouse, email info@nullandyssummerplayhouse.org, call 603-654-2613.
But that’s not all! Woody will also have a play and a film on August 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm. Try to catch the shows and see what our young playwright and filmmaker has been up to.
Walden School Receives Music Grant
The Walden School, on the campus of the Dublin School, received a New Music USA project grant in support of The Monadnock Institute, a first-of-its-kind contemporary performance program for teens, launched this summer in partnership with International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and Face the Music. The Institute is designed to hone participants’ craft of contemporary music performance.
The program takes eight accomplished teens from the Face the Music program in NYC to Dublin for 16 days of immersion in a three-way collaboration among ICE, Face the Music and The Walden School. The Institute teens also receive the same training as the students in Walden’s flagship, five-week Young Musicians Program.
Since 1972, the Walden School, in summer residence at Dublin School, credits this idyllic setting as an integral ingredient for nurturing the music creators of today and tomorrow.
Get your Hike Safe card from NH Fish and Game: 271-3361 (see * below).
John Allis, an Olympian
By Bronson Shonk
A few months ago, during the recent Winter That Was, I was cross-country skiing at John Allis’ place on Page Road, with a few others. John had gone ahead to break trail. “You know,” I remarked, “John Allis is an Olympian.” Silence. Then, from someone, “What?”
“Yes,” I said. “A cyclist.”
In fact, it was no great surprise, back in the ‘60s, to be driving by Concord on the way to, say, Durham, and pass John, coming the other way, on a bicycle.
He was in the ’64, ’68, and ’72 Olympics: Tokyo, Mexico City, and Munich. He won the U.S. Nationals in ’76.
This account actually begins in 1963, in college. John had found his way onto the cycling team, which won the Collegiate Championships. In the summer of ’63, he went to France to race, becoming affiliated with the Athletic Club of Boulogne-Billancourt. He began doing big races, such as Paris to Cayeux-Sur-Mer in Normandy. These races were more than 100 miles, one of which he won.
In ’64, the Olympic tryouts were in New York’s Central Park. John tried out in Time Trials — a team event with four riders — and the individual road race. In Tokyo, he finished 76th in the road race. (He rode in the Time Trial event in Tokyo and in Mexico City.)
John recalls, “The Tokyo Olympics were a marvelous Olympics, complete with Japanese cultural events in the cycling village, including a tea ceremony and Japanese art.”
College graduation, somehow finished in the midst of all the travel and competition, was followed by the Army, which sent him to an artillery unit in Germany. Then, however, the Army sent him to Los Angeles, the Olympic Training Camp for the ’68 Olympics.
The road race had become his specialty. However, in Mexico City, something rather untoward happened. He remembers, “The night before the road race, I had this sort of random fish chowder, which did look good. In the morning of the race, my pulse was really high. I was done in by Montezuma’s Revenge.”
Shortly thereafter, however, he competed in the Worlds in Uruguay, finishing 26th in the road race.
After college and the Army, John had a nice, normal 9 to 5 job in Cambridge, MA. But the training regimen: “Up at 5:30 am, ride 40 miles in two hours, shower, eat, put on appropriate attire, ride in to work — on a different bicycle. Then leave work at 5, by 6 pm back on the racing bike, two hours, 40 miles, eat, bed at 9. Fridays I trained only in the morning. Weekends were spent racing. On Mondays I slept in. But rode after work. 10,000 miles a year.”
(The tires obviously wear out, but so do the wheels. John says the wheels are “pretty technical, there are training wheels, road race wheels, time trial wheels.”)
The preparation for the Munich Olympics was all about tryouts and competition. John remembers, “There was too much competition within the team. It became stressful and ultimately took a lot out of us.”
Then came Munich and the devastating attack on the Israeli athletes. John says: “You could walk in and out of the Olympic Village almost at will. I lived across the quad from the team from Israel. I went to breakfast, came out and there were guns everywhere. It took about 24 hours to more or less resolve. The cycling events hadn’t happened yet. Some people wanted out, to go home. I thought, I need to focus.”
John only did the road race, finishing well inside the top one-third, out of about 200. But there was another personal event at these, his final Olympics. He met Kim, on the job for a cycling magazine and a San Francisco radio station. During and after the attack, she reported by phone to the radio station. They met for dinner after the race, wrote transcontinental letters, and married in ’76.
That was the year he won the Nationals in Pontiac, MI. He had also ridden in the tours of Ireland and Britain.
John’s career was in cycling, at first working — and riding — for Raleigh Bicycles. Most of his work life was at Belmont (MA) Wheelworks, where he started the custom-fitting program. “If you customize the angle of the foot — toe in or toe out,” he explains, “along with cleat fitting and bike fitting, it’s significantly easier on the knees.”
John now rides a single-gear bicycle. His route takes him along 137, across 101 and up to Harrisville, to Chesham, back to Harrisville, to Dublin, Upper Jaffrey Road to Jaffrey, then Bryant Road, Proctor Road to 137, and finally back home.
These days, John has cut his Olympic training regimen down by half, to around 5000 miles per year on the single-gear bicycle. He says his knees are still good (“no impact”). It was and is, quite a ride.
Herewith a few quotes, selected by John.
“The bicycle has a soul…it will give you emotions that you will never forget.”
—Mario Cipollini (pro bike racer)
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”
—John F. Kennedy
Bronson Shonk has been in and around Dublin his whole life. His wife, Mary, however, is a Nelson native.
Dublin Day, sponsored by the Recreation Committee shown here, on July 18 was, as always, a big success, with the climbing wall, food booths, games, the crowning of Jocelyn Jeanne Worcester as Miss Dublin, a raffle of the replica of the Church as a fundraiser for the Community Center, children petting the farm animals from the Friendly Farm, and much more.
In Memory of Bert and Isabel
By Barbara Summers
Early in the 1980s, two elm trees gracefully grew in front of the Dublin Community Church, welcoming people as they approached the “rock.” Eventually, the trees were afflicted with Dutch elm disease, and needed to come down. The beautiful church stood alone, graced by the lawn, for a year.
In 1984, the Dublin Garden Club donated two maple trees to be planted in front of the church in memory of Bert and Isabel Pratt, Dublin residents who were dedicated to the church and to the town, and had recently passed away. Dick Hammond was instrumental in planting the trees, which were referred to fondly as “Bert and Isabel.”
For the next few decades, residents, Rte. 101 commuters, tourists, and photographers watched the maples grow, and took many pictures throughout the seasons of their spectacular colors.
The last few years however were hard on the trees, between disease and the weather, and the potential threat of another ice storm. On July 16, the trees were taken down. They will be missed. Once again, the beautiful church stands alone, graced by the lawn, for another year.
Barbara Summers is Minister of Music at the DCC.
Guest Musicians at the DCC
By Barbara Summers
The Dublin Community Church will host several guest musicians during the summer at the regular service, beginning at 9 am during August. On August 2, Scott Mullet will play the flute. On August 9, a Jazz Quintet will perform, and on August 16, we will hear the Village Ringers. On August 23, Olga Bean on violin will be accompanied by her nephew, Vlad Litvantsova, on piano.
Then, on August 30, Vlad Litvantsova will perform solo on the piano. The music is made possible in part through the generosity of the Spiker and McIntyre funds.
Barbara Summers, Minister of Music at the DCC, plays the organ and conducts the choir during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. She often accompanies guest musicians.
Community Church Supper
Everyone is invited to the Dublin Community Church on Tuesday, August 25, for the monthly Community Supper from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. There will be chili, cornbread, salad, and dessert. Free for all.
Honoring Our Veterans
An opportunity to serve those who served.
Monadnock RSVP Volunteer Center will carry out a National Day of Service and Remembrance on Friday, September 11, to provide support to veterans and immediate military family members (including widows/widowers) throughout the Monadnock Region.
We are seeking veterans and adults age 55 and over to serve in teams to help less able veterans and their families with home repairs, weatherization, safety, and seasonal projects. Volunteers with special skills, as well as willing laborers, are welcome.
The National Day of Service and Remembrance is now the nation’s largest day of charitable engagement. It was developed to provide a permanent and constructive way for individuals to annually remember and pay tribute to those lost and injured on 9/11, and to help recall and rekindle the spirit of unity, compassion, and service that existed in America following the 9/11 attacks.
Together with the Monadnock United Way’s Days of Caring, businesses, and many community volunteers, we aspire to make this a significant event in the Monadnock Region.
To volunteer, or to request help with a project if you are a veteran or immediate military family member, please call Monadnock RSVP at 357-6893 or 924-7350 for the Greater Peterborough area. Project requests must be received by August 21 for consideration. Monadnock RSVP is a program of Monadnock Family Services, a Monadnock United Way agency.
August at the Peterborough Players
By Fred Leventhal
Charley’s Aunt, one of the most successful comedies in the English language, continues its run at the Peterborough Players until August 9. This is the fourth time the farce has been performed in Peterborough to the delight of audiences. Kraig Swartz plays Fancourt Babberly, posing as Charley’s aunt from Brazil, but with the unexpected appearance of the real aunt, the farce descends into classic comic confusion.
Garson Kanin’s comedy Born Yesterday, which ran on Broadway for four years and made Judy Holliday famous on stage and screen, will be performed August 12 to 23. Karen Peakes, will play the role of Billie Dawn, whose naiveté and social ineptitude conceals a natural honesty and moral integrity that prompts her to uncover her crooked junkman-lover’s efforts to bribe a Congressman.
The production of Stella and Lou marks the return of TV star Gordon Clapp to the Players’ stage in a two-character romantic drama that will be performed August 26 to September 6. He appears with local actress Kathy Manfre, his co-star in the 2012 production of Auld Lang Syne. The play, set in a Philadelphia bar, explores the evolving relationship between Lou, the bar owner, a widower in his 60s, and Stella, a divorced emergency room nurse in her 50s. With humor and sympathy, it wrestles with the realities of aging, loneliness, and loss of dreams as the two characters ponder whether they can move to a deeper understanding.
Performances are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; and Sundays at 4 pm.
The Second Company will offer a new adaptation of Pinocchio for adults and children in five performances on August 15, 18, 21, and 22 at 2 pm and on August 17 at 7 pm.
Fred Leventhal, a Dublin Resident, is a Trustee of the Peterborough Players.
The Bobolink
By Tom Warren
“The Bobolink is gone
The Rowdy of the Meadow
And no one swaggers now but me….” —Emily Dickinson
The Bobolink is a visually striking bird; the males looking like they are wearing a tuxedo backward. Males sing a bubbly song as they fly in a helicopter-like flight over our hayfields in the Monadnock Region. This flight inspired the poem “Robert of Lincoln” by the poet William Cullen Bryant.
The Bobolink is polygynous and was one of the first bird species for which multiple paternity (females laying a clutch of eggs sired by more than one male) was determined.
While they breed in North America they make an unusually long trans-equatorial migration: 7,000 miles to and from South America. It is one of the longest annual migrations of songbirds.
Bobolinks nest on the ground usually at the base of large plant grasses like meadow rue and clover with the site chosen by the female, usually in slightly wet habitats. They hatch 4-5 eggs in 13 days and they fledge after 10 days. Nests are especially vulnerable to prolonged spells of wet weather, thunderstorms (hail) and early cutting of hayfields. Nests that do not survive are nests with eggs/young and are abandoned due to early haying.
Ecologists refer to hayfields and pastures as “surrogate” grasslands, but the farmers who own the land have another term, “a living.” Postponing the haying of fields by two weeks can save most Bobolink families.
Other threats include shooting and trapping in South America where they are considered a crop pest and where males are sold in the pet trade. Bobolinks have declined by 88% in Canada and somewhat less in the states over the past 40 years.
Here in Dublin you can view Bobolinks in the field opposite the Howe Reservoir and in fields on the Old Harrisville Road and several other locations.
Tom Warren is Dublin’s resident ornithologist, and serves as a trustee of both the Harris Center and the Audubon Society.
Baha’is Host Annual Program in Dublin
This month the Baha’is of the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire will celebrate their annual commemoration of the visit of Abdu’l-Bahá to Dublin in the summer of 1912.
At the invitation of Mrs. Agnes Parsons, Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in Dublin for three weeks during July and August of that year. While He was here He met with many of the friends in the area and gave a number of talks, including the Dublin Community Church and at the historic Dublin Inn.
On Sunday, August 9, we welcome Mrs. Karen Darling as our featured speaker. She will talk with us about the importance of the spiritual education of children and youth. Karen, who lives in Franklin, NH, has a long and distinguished career as an educator in Montessori and middle schools and has served the Baha’i National Organization for 11 years in the National Office of Education and Schools. At 9 am she will address the congregation at the Dublin Community Church service, and at 3 pm she will lead the Baha’i program with a talk on the same topic.
A reception will follow at 4 pm at the historic Dublin Inn located at 1265 Main Street. There will be refreshments and live music by the Salt River Trio from Eliot, ME. All gatherings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend.
For information, call Phil Gammons at 563-8809 or visit dublininn.bahai.us.
Jaffrey Historical Society Features The Park Theater
Month-Long Exhibit through August 31.
An historic exhibit on The Park Theatre opens with a reception on Friday, July 31, from 5 to 7 pm at the Jaffrey Civic Center on Main Street in Jaffrey. The exhibit is another in a series of unique historical presentations by the Jaffrey Historical Society.
The public is invited to attend the opening presentation, which will include a video presentation, the Theatre model and display of the original facility, four WPA murals, and contemporary mural-mosaic and architectural plans for the future building.
The Park Theatre, first opened in 1922, was the creation of Italian immigrant Romolo Vanni. He expanded it once in 1935, renovated it completely in 1941, and reopened it as the New Park Theatre. Featuring vaudeville and films, it was a lively gathering spot for the town and a center of community life for more than 50 years. After Vanni’s death in 1954, the Theatre changed hands several times, finally going dark in 1976. Rediscovered in 2002, it has been the subject of a community-wide effort to rebuild and reopen it as a film and performing arts theater for the community and the region.
The Park Theatre currently presents its 9th Annual Movie Season with free movies every Thursday night at the Jaffrey Woman’s Club. Once a month, movies will be shown at La Mia Casa Pizzeria in Peterborough. Visit www.theparktheatre.org for schedules and details.
Exhibit in Jaffrey
The Jaffrey Civic Center offers a photography exhibit by Hue Way He of New York City in the first floor Auditorium Gallery beginning on Friday, August 7, and running until Saturday, August 29. It is called “Follow Me to the High-Plateaus of Himalaya, and the Corners of Central Park,” in which all his works are photographed, processed, printed and finished by himself.
“I try to capture the serene, and to a degree, surreal moments of our lives and environment. My subjects are mostly the cityscapes of New York City and landscapes of China, Tibet and Nepal. I intentionally display them side-by-side to highlight the contrast between two equally beautiful environs: one developed, civilized, mechanized; the other, natural, wild, elemental.”
The Jaffrey Civic Center is at 40 Main St., Jaffrey, next to its library, with parking in back. Admission is always free.
For hours, call 603-532-6527, e-mail jaffreycntr@nullaol.com, or go to www.jaffreyciviccenter.com,
* Get Your Hike Safe Card
By William Boudreau
Fish and Game Conservation Officers were called to Mount Monadnock State Park for the third time in three days for overdue hikers. It is the police who contact the Fish and Game Dept., which sends two Conservation Officers to locate overdue hikers. (Each of NH’s Conservation Officers is responsible for patrolling an average area of over 275 square miles.)
Conservation Officers would like to remind everyone who ventures outdoors to prepare for the unexpected by leaving adequate time to hike and by carrying essential equipment including flashlights, food, water, and extra layers.
For details on the Hike Safe Program or to purchase a Hike Safe Card, visit Fish and Game Dept. at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us or call dispatch at (603) 271-3361.
Conservation Officer William Boudreau & K9 Ruby are part of the NH Fish and Game Dept., located in Concord.
Dancing Friends and Families
By Christina Ahern
The staff and teachers at Monadnock Academy of Movement Arts (MAMA) in Peterborough are excited to announce our 2015-2016 Dance School Year Season and Programs. Class schedules and new programs include expanded dance class offerings and fitness programs, as well as yoga, BodyFlow, CEBO and DanceFIT. Also offered is a Boys Class, Dance Performance Class, Lyrical, Cabaret and more.
Feel free to call the MAMA Dance Studio, 18 Depot Square, in Peterborough at 924-8900.
Christina Ahern, who lives in Dublin, is the Director at the MAMA Dance Studio.
Friday Summertime Concerts in Peterborough
Music in Depot Park is Peterborough’s free celebration on Friday summer evenings, sponsored by Twelve Pine and Depot Square. Come and enjoy music at the confluence of the Contoocook and Nubanusit Rivers (rain location inside Twelve Pine). Bring your picnic, lawn chair, friends and family, and enjoy open air entertainment from 6 to 7:30 pm. On August 7 – Paul Klemperer and His New Hampshire Ensemble has become a fixture of our summer music series and we are thrilled to have him back!
MCVP Crisis and Prevention Center offers advocacy services and a 24-hour Crisis Hotline, where all services are free and confidential. Located in Keene (12 Court St.), the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention (MCVP) can be reached at 1-888-511-MCVP (6287) — NH only. They also offer a shelter for women and children, advocacy in court, and are present at the local colleges, empowering survivors and breaking the cycle of domestic and sexual assault. To contact the business office, call 352-3782 or go online at mcvprevention.org.
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