A Festive Holiday Season
Christmas Dessert Banquet: Fairwood Bible Chapel is hosting a Christmas Dessert Banquet on Sunday evening, December 4, at 6:30 pm. This has become a wonderful yearly tradition, as we look forward to seeing familiar faces and welcoming new friends. If you’ve never come before, let this be the year you decide to check it out. We’ll be celebrating with lots of desserts and snacks, music, and a short read-aloud for the children from Charles Tazewell’s The Littlest Angel. Come enjoy a casual, relaxed evening together to kick off your celebration of this special time of year. To RSVP, just leave a message at 563-8492 or email shawnpost@nullgmail.com by December 1. Bring a friend!
Annual Christmas Vespers: Dublin Christian Academy will be hosting our annual Christmas Vespers on Friday, December 16, at 2 pm. All members of the community are welcome to attend this festive event. DCA is located at 106 Page Road in Dublin and can be reached at 563-8505.
Christmas at the Community Church: All are welcome to share the joys of the Advent/Christmas Season at the Dublin Community Church. After worship on Sunday, November 27, join us for an Ornament Making Workshop and Soup Luncheon. Then on December 11 is the Children’s Christmas Pageant, which will take place during worship. Worship is at 10 am.
The Pulpit Series for the Sundays of Advent will be “More Carols of Christmas,” sermons based on the carols: “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “As With Gladness Men of Old,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” and “Who Would Think That What Was Needed.”
All are welcome to join the congregation for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7 pm on Saturday, the 24th.
The lights on the Dublin Christmas Tree will turn on at 6 pm
on Friday, December 2, in the lot between Yankee and the Fire Station,
thanks to the Fire Department.
Expect a special surprise visit from the fellow from the North Pole.
Bring the children!
2nd Annual Breakfast with Santa at the Hub: Santa Claus is coming to Dublin! On December 10, the Dublin Community Center will be hosting Santa and his elves for breakfast, singing carols, and reading The Night Before Christmas. Tickets are $10 a person with a limit of $40 a family for large families. All ticket holders will enjoy a breakfast of pancakes, fruit, cereal, juice and coffee. Two seatings: 8:30 am and 10:30 am. All children can sit on Santa’s lap and receive a small gift from Santa himself. Please join us on December 10 to welcome the holidays with your children.
Christmas Show at Del Rossi’s: Come to hear Susie Burke & David Surette, one of New England’s favorite folk duos from Portsmouth, NH, as they perform seasonal and holiday gems featuring David’s renowned mandolin virtuosity and Susie’s entrancing vocals. They will perform at DelRossi’s with special guest, multi-instrumentalist Kent Allyn on two evenings: Saturday, December 17, at 8 pm, and Sunday, December 18, at 6 pm.
Both shows are $15 at the door. Call DelRossi’s Trattoria at 563-7195 or visit www.delrossis.com.
Holiday Bazaar: Dublin’s first annual Holiday Spectacular Market and Bazaar is on December 3 at 1283 Main St. and is hosted by Vintage Label Co., Dublin’s newest business.
Among the more than 40 vendors, local artisans include:
Heather Stockwell: mosaics, found-object assemblage, painting, upcycling, and more.
Mary Potter: Handcrafted terrariums using an assortment of vintage containers and handmade hypertufa pots.
Susan Barker: Precious Metals and Petals, necklaces using glass beads and hand-wrought sterling silver pieces; earrings with a horticultural theme.
Rebecca Welsh: Naturally dyed luxurious silk, raw silk, and linen scarves and hats.
Kathy Bollerud: Himalayan Naari, beautiful woolen woven and knitted throws, shawls, and stoles handmade by women in the mountain villages in India.
Lida Stinchfield: Stunning beaded work and knitted wares for all ages.
Admission and parking are free. Visit with Santa from 10 am to 12:30 pm (photo opportunity), and make your Toys For Tots Donations here.
Contact Maria Amarosa and Jonathan Driscoll of Vintage Label Co., LLC at 603-852-3503 or email mariaamarosa@nullyahoo.com.
Cheshiremen Annual Holiday Festival Sing
(for the whole family)
Saturday, December 17, at 4 pm
United Church of Christ – Head of the Square, Keene
Tickets $10; children under 12 free
Questions or ticket requests, call Bob Meissner 603-499-3633
Dublin Public Library
The theme for Story Time during December at the Dublin Public Library is “through the eyes of a child.” Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or if winter is a favorite season, take time to slow down with books and activities at the library. We will read Vermont author Eugenie Doyle’s new book Sleep Tight Farm on December 7 and will read many old favorites on December 14, 21, and 28. As we explore snow, sleighs, and a season of happiness, come make a decoration and a lasting memory with your child. Wednesday morning programs begin at 9:30.
On Saturday, December 17, and Saturday, December 24, at 10 am, we offer family time with music, refreshments, and activities. Supplies will be available so that children can be creative and take home ornaments or small gifts that they make. Gathering on the quilt to read a few books and share stories and holiday traditions is always a favorite part of the morning. Children and adults of all ages can relax with a good picture book, so don’t limit yourself to long books over the busy holiday. Enjoy the beautiful illustrations; most are thought provoking and encourage great conversations.
I haven’t read many biographies that have drawn such a wonderful picture of the subject as “Some Writer,” the story of E.B. White. Each page is filled with words that paint a picture of his life. It brought back fond memories of reading Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web and Trumpet of the Swan. Then to discover E.B. White on Dogs, Elements of Style, Points of my Compass, and many others. Do take time to visit the display of his work.
Books
Night School by L. Child
A Baxter Family Christmas by K. Kingsbury
Lion in the Living Room by A. Tucker
Night Watch by I. Johansen
Countdown to Pearl Harbor by S. Twomey
Faithful by A. Hoffman
The Award by D. Steel
Dublin Voter Turnout
By Dale Gabel
On Election Day, 72 new voters registered to vote in Dublin and, when the polls closed the checklist, had a total of 1253 voters registered. Of those, 1063 cast their vote, for an 85% voter turnout rate in the Town of Dublin.
According to the NH Secretary of State’s office, the estimated statewide number of registered voters was 1,010,000, including approximately 90,000 new registrations. Total ballots cast statewide was 755,850, for a voter turnout of 75% of the voting population.
Dubliners can be duly proud of our level of civic involvement and commitment to the democratic process demonstrated by exercising our right to vote at a much greater rate than the statewide average.
Dale Gabel is a retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral. He serves on the Budget Committee, the Planning Board, and the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Committee.
BOS Seeks Volunteers for Recreation Committee
By Sherry Miller
The Selectmen are looking for community volunteers to be appointed to the Recreation Committee to develop, coordinate, and implement town-wide activities and events for adults and children of all ages. Do you have special skills or talents you would be willing to share with fellow members and your community? Want to see the Memorial Day Parade, Halloween events and Winter Fest continue? Consider volunteering, and be part of creating lasting memories for generations to come.
Sherry Miller is the Town Administrator. Contact her at townadministrator@nulltownofdublin.org or call 563-8544.
Swap Shop Closes for Winter Months; Reopens in Spring
William Jerszyk, one of several volunteers helping out in the Swap Shop at the Dublin Recycling Center, informs the Advocate that during their last meeting (October 20) they concluded that the Swap Shop will be closed from December 2016 through March 2017 and will reopen the first Saturday of April 2017.
If you have any questions please feel free to email William Jerszyk at prismx03@nullgmail.com.
You can also contact Nancy Nolan, Leslie Whone or Jane Holmes, also volunteers of the Dublin Recycling Committee’s Swap Shop.
John Edward Younie
1927-2016
November Update from Our School Board Rep
By Bernd Foecking
On Monday, November 14, about 30 community members met at DCS for a constructive conversation about the future of the 5th grade in Dublin.
The feedback I had received prior by e-mail had shown a somewhat clear line between those who were parents of students at DCS, and community members who had had children at DCS in previous years or who are in different ways connected to the school. A majority of parents of current students had expressed that they would want their children to attend the 5th grade at SMS, while the second group expressed an overwhelmingly strong desire to keep the 5th grade at DCS.
During the meeting, that perception changed as the feedback was more diverse within the group of parents.
Superintendent Kimberly Saunders facilitated a conversation in three discussion groups focused on collecting opinions on the advantages and drawbacks of keeping the 5th grade in Dublin versus the same for South Meadow School (SMS).
In no hierarchical order and without promise of being a complete list, participants saw the following as benefits of keeping the 5th grade at DCS: small class sizes; staying in the community; shorter transportation; later school start; more time “to be a kid;” being more mature during the transition; less screen time; protection from potentially undesirable behavior; ease of parental involvement; physical proximity to their children.
Benefits of starting 5th grade with the other 5th graders from the community elementary schools at SMS were: a larger peer choice; more access to extra-curricular programs in arts, sports, music, and science; full time librarian; full time nurse; classrooms for 5th grade only; program for incoming 5th graders at SMS designed to ease the integration; and participation in the 1-to-1 Chromebook initiative.
One discussion group suggested that keeping the 5th grade at DCS was beneficial to the students. Two of the three discussion groups suggested switching to SMS should remain/become an individual choice, possibly with clear parameters on when a switch to SMS would be granted.
I did sense that most who were present did not feel as connected to SMS as they felt to DCS. I think that is natural, as it is hard to replicate the intimacy of the small elementary schools in our district. As a father of students at DCS and at SMS, I feel that SMS quickly became as familiar and as welcoming as my older daughter’s elementary school (GES) had been and DCS is now.
We, as the Dublin Community, are also part of the SMS community. I do believe that our children, whether they begin their SMS career during 5th grade or during 6th grade, are very well served at SMS. The opportunities provided by the dedicated faculty in either setting are certainly not always comparable, but both are wonderful, and I am truly grateful that my children can attend schools in the ConVal School District.
I am still looking for more feedback and opinions, by phone or by e-mail from more community members, as always call 831-6134 or e-mail bfoecking@nullconval.edu.
Bernd Foecking is Dublin’s representative to the ConVal School Board, SAU1. He is also Headmaster of the Hampshire Country School.
Fall Events at Dublin Consolidated School
By Nicole Pease
While November is a very short month, with 17 school days, DCS works to pack it with events! For quite a few years, DCS students have enjoyed a Residency Week in November. This year was no different; however, the focus of the Residency was new for us all. Thanks to the Arts Enrichment Program, from November 14 through 16, DCS students participated in Drumazing, which combined fitness and musical rhythms with students playing beats on exercise balls using a variety of tools. While we didn’t have an evening performance, it was well enjoyed by all.
We also celebrated the retirement of Emily Brnger, longtime veteran teacher at DCS, with a party. So many people came! We will certainly miss her kind smile and dedication to teaching Dublin students. Her positive impact upon the students and staff of DCS has been immeasurable and she will be greatly missed. We hope she will make sure to stop by and visit the kids and us often.
While I welcomed the Thanksgiving Break, it was not only because I had a bit of time to catch up. It was because the focus of this holiday is family, friends and, of course, food! We all hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
The annual DCS Holiday Concert will be held on Friday, December 9, from 6 to 7 pm. The format will be a bit different this year with each classroom performing a song of their choosing. It is my understanding that the Dublin Fire Department will assist a particular sleigh in arriving on the stage at the end of the concert! This beloved tradition is such a special event; please be sure to stop by and enjoy.
Wishing you a happy and healthy end of 2016 and welcoming in of the New Year.
Nicole Pease, who is in her second year as principal at DCS, is also the SAU1 District Math Coach.
Cross Country Skiing for All Ages
Last year a group of Nordic ski enthusiasts in the Monadnock Region created Dublin XC. Our goal is to provide opportunities for all ages to enjoy the outdoors through participation in our cross-country ski programs and events.
Dublin XC offers youth programs through our Bill Koch League (BKL) Club for Grades K-8. High school age skiers can get high-level coaching and year-round training through our Junior program. Masters skiers come together throughout the winter for our informal Headlamp ski races — open to all ability levels!
Our Youth BKL Club is getting organized for another fun winter of programs coached by Holly and Sean Macy. Come play games, explore Dublin’s trails, and make new friends!
Children in grades K-8 interested in learning to ski or improving their skills may check out our various program offerings at www.dublinxc.com.
Dublin School is hosting an
American Red Cross Blood Drive
on Monday, December 12, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm
in the Whitney Gymnasium.
If you are interested, contact Anne Mackey at
603-563-1223 or email amackey@nulldublinschool.org.
A Community Supper will be held
December 27, from 5:30 – 6:30 pm,
at the Dublin Community Church.
Ham and macaroni and cheese will be served.
All are welcome.
Waterways of Dublin
Part III: Brush Brook Basin
By Traceymay Kalvaitis
Every waterway all over our planet runs through an area that can be defined as its basin. Basins are like very wavy bathtubs carved into the earth’s crust by the waters that flow through them. Many basins were born from a fault, or crack, in the earth’s surface; the fault becomes the path of least resistance for rain and snow run-off and the carving of the basin begins — and never, ever ends. Just like in a bathtub, the highest, curved end where one could rest one’s head is known as the headwaters. Rims of the basins are always the high-points, or ridges, that separate one waterway from the next. The mouth of the basin would be where the drain is in our “tub,” and this is where one waterway empties into the next. We have an excellent example right in the heart of our village.
From Carr’s Store, driving uphill toward the village, the highway actually travels either right along a ridge, or within sight of the ridgeline, all the way through the village and up just past the Fire Station. This ridge is the divide between the Brush Brook basin on the right, or north, side and the Stanley Brook/Mud Pond basin on the left, or south, side of the highway. At the Fire Station, we’re near the top of the Brush Brook basin on our right. If we turn onto Old Harrisville Road, it will take us along the slopes of Beech Hill, and we will be traveling right around the back of the “tub,” tracing across the headwater basin, where the waters first gather into tiny feeder streams that will flow five miles as Brush Brook, then Stanley Brook, joined by Nubanusit in MacDowell Reservoir, then through West Peterborough before meeting the Contoocook River in downtown Peterborough.
Seven miles of streams run through the Brush Brook basin, but we know this waterway mostly by the visible areas of open water, connected like widely spaced beads on a string. The uppermost jewel can be seen at the bottom of Monument Road; I call it Monument Marsh. Turn onto Cobb Meadow Road from Monument and just out of sight, as you drive down the dirt road, there are two more large pools on the right that you have to imagine, unless you have hip waders. Six more pools are hidden from sight along the waterway.
Part 4 in this series will focus more in depth on the history connected to Brush Brook, the significance of its wetlands, and the aquifer that lies beneath it.
Traceymay Kalvaitis is a member of the Dublin Conservation Commission.
Nonprofits Offering Humanitarian Services in Town
Sixth in a series of nonprofits providing essential care to Dubliners.
By Casey Caster
Big Brothers Big Sisters is celebrating its 50th anniversary of serving youth in the Granite State. Our mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
In the past year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire served 19 Dublin children in mentoring matches. Additionally, 16 Dublin residents volunteered as mentors. At an average cost of $1,200 per mentoring match per year, BBBSNH provided approximately $22,800 in direct services to Dublin youth. We do not charge any fees to families or volunteers.
Our site-based program at the Dublin Consolidated School is very strong, serving about 15-20 children each school year. Community-based mentoring matches meet in the community two to four times per month, participating in activities they plan together.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer mentor or know a child who would benefit from the program, please call us at 1-844-NH4-BIGS.
We are extremely grateful for the generous contributions of Dublin’s residents over the past several years. We couldn’t do our work without your support.
Casey Caster writes and manages grants for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire, which can be called at 669-5365 or visit online at www.bbbsnh.org.
Dublin Christian Academy Performs Peter Pan
On December 8 the DCA’s Junior High will be performing Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Please join us and see the students bring this childhood classic to life. This play will take you through the exhilarating adventures of the daring Peter Pan, the protector of the Lost Boys and the Darling children, who faces off with wicked Captain Hook in epic swordfights that will determine the fate of the children’s lives. Please come on December 8 at 7 pm to witness their adventures for yourselves. The play is directed by the DCA Speech II class. DCA is located at 106 Page Road, Dublin. For information, please call 563-8505.
“Making a List, Checking it Twice”
In-Town gift-shopping opportunities abound.
By Barbara Summers
For several years, we have provided information about local businesses that offer unique gifts for Christmas, holidays, and other times. These gifts could work for stocking stuffers, teachers’ gifts, gift certificates, or just a plain old-fashioned wrapped gift under the tree.
This year, we want to celebrate two outstanding businesses whose owners are celebrating a new journey and downsizing their inventories. We thank them for contributing to business in Dublin, and wish them well in their new adventures.
Dana and MaryAnn Mullett of Harvest Thyme Herbs on Dooe Road, are selling their home and moving to Fitzwilliam and Florida, which will leave more time for MaryAnn to concentrate on her lovely pastel paintings. Although the retail section will no longer be open, their Harvest Thyme Herbs products are still available online. Many a party has been well served by their Harvest Thyme Herb mixes! (HarvestThymeHerbs.com)
Linda and Ben Benziger, of Hedge House on Route 101, will be open through Christmas Eve, the 24th, when they will close for the last time after 35 years of business! They still have some fine gifts and antiques, Yankee candles while they last, jewelry, and unique greeting cards. They are open Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 10 am to 5 pm. Stop by to wish them well. (HedgeHouse.com)
While we say farewell to two of our business friends, we welcome our newest business, Vintage Label, located at the Dublin Village Park on Rt. 101. If you have not stopped by yet, you are in for a surprise. Their inventory includes antiques, retro, repurposed goods, vintage clothing, and a children’s room. Hours: Thursdays and Fridays, 11 am-6 pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 9 am-3 pm. Also, Vintage Label is hosting a Holiday Market and Bazaar on December 3 from 9 am to 5 pm. Several local artisans and more than 40 vendors will be on hand. (MariaAmarosa@nullyahoo.com)
Happy Holidays!
At the Archives building, home of the Dublin Historical Society, neatly tucked behind the library and Town Hall, Nancy Campbell and Lisa Foote are selling greeting cards: 10 note cards (5 different scenes, 2 of each), featuring the artwork of Abbott Handerson Thayer. Just drop in and see this jewel of a building and its treasures. Hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, from 9 am to 1 pm. (DublinHistory@nulltownofdublin.org)
This month the Dublin Community Center is featuring the photography of Linda Greenwood, Green Lion Photography. Photos on repurposed hard cover book covers, postcards, coasters and greeting cards are for sale. Open Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 am to 3 pm. (DublinCommunityCenter.org)
Is there anyone who would not enjoy a gift certificate to DelRossi’s Trattoria, the best Italian restaurant in the area (just off Rt. 101 to the north on Rt. 137)? What you might not know is the store upstairs offers folk instruments for sale: mandolins, guitars, recorders as well as CDs of folk and bluegrass music and more. (DelRossis.com)
Morning Star Maple features our favorite maple syrup, maple products, honey, and many other items such as photo cards of the Monadnock Region, Christmas ornaments, a wonderful collection of stuffed animals, Christmas gift baskets, and syrup gift bags. New this year: cashmere scarves, Holland lotions and soaps, and jams and jellies. They will ship products for you. (MorningStarMaple.com)
Steve’s Sport Shop is ready for ice-fishing season, with licenses, inventory, and gift certificates. Email ssports0@nullaol.com for hours.
At Wilderness Creations stop in to see a display of two showrooms of rustic furniture, as well as smaller decorative pieces, wall hangings, sculptures, and smaller items for stocking stuffers. They offer a variety of furnishings and gifts at a range of prices. Custom-made to order available. (RusticFurnitureGallery.com)
If you like to browse, drop into the Yankee Magazine Book Store. You will find books, cookbooks for almost any occasion, calendars, puzzles and the Almanac For Kids. New this year: “The Best Holiday Recipes Magazine,” and the “225th Anniversary of the Old Farmer’s Almanac.” (YankeeMagazine.com)
Other gift and/or gift certificate ideas include Amaryllis Beauty at Dublin Village Park; Audrey’s Family Restaurant; Carr’s Store; Dublin General Store; and the Friendly Farm.
Barbara Summers is a freelance musician.
The Birds are Here to Stay
By Mary Loftis
Sue and Jerry Bird live in one of the most interesting homes in Dublin: the former Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church on Church Street. The Shingle Style structure was built in 1904 and served as a seasonal house of worship for the servants working in large summer estates at the beginning of the 20th century.
About a decade ago, Peterborough developer Bruce Hunter bought the de-accessioned property from the Catholic Archdiocese and, with the help of architect Dan Scully, converted the church into a home. The renovation was accomplished thoughtfully with the goal of preserving the integrity of the handsome building. A second renovation some years later added insulation to the sanctuary, which allowed it to be used year-round as a dramatic great room. Shortly after that, the house caught the eye of Jerry and Sue Bird, who were looking to downsize from their Colonial in Mason.
The Birds had passed through Dublin years ago and thought it would be a nice place to live. The town was also closer to family in Alstead and Charlestown and worked for their respective commutes: Jerry’s to Markem-Imaje in Keene and Sue’s to Cisco Systems in Boxboro, MA, several days a week.
Jerry and Sue, who have been married for 17 years, met at work. Jerry graduated from Harvard with a degree in Government and worked in Washington before switching to the high-tech industry. Now his job at Markem-Imaje is to help establish global supply chains for project lines. Sue, a Psychology major at UNH, also switched fields. At Cisco she works with design engineers to optimize hardware components for cost and supply.
When they’re not working, the Birds are clearly having fun settling into their new home. They are currently creating an impressive fireplace surround and mantel and have had the components hand-carved from limestone to go with the Tudor-style paneling. They showed me an enormous set of elk antlers, which may be installed above the fireplace.
In addition to the interior work, they have cleared trees from around the building and plan to do more landscaping next summer. They’re also thinking about acquiring a dog – possibly a really big one!
Sue and Jerry have found Dublin to be a warm and welcoming town and obviously love their handsome and unusual home – for them a true “sanctuary.”
Mary Loftis is on the staff of the Advocate.
Pollinator Garden by the Garden Club of Dublin
Planted in September and October of 2016.
By Sara Timmons
One of the members of the Garden Club of Dublin looked at the area between the post office, which the Garden Club has maintained for many years, and the General Store. It needed help! The Freemans, who owned the land, quickly approved the project. Cleaning out and grading were needed.
Sturdy Thomas and Jim Letourneau, of Good Digs LLC of Dublin, got rid of invasive shrubs and plants that needed to go. Then the fun began: the planting of a variety of wildflowers that are also pollinators, allowing insects, moths, and butterflies to survive and reproduce.
Mr. Thomas did not charge for his work and the plants were available at no cost. A garden club member donated soil, and mulch was donated as well.
Spring will mean a good look at the site to see what might be added or subtracted. Please stop by and admire Dublin’s Pollinator Garden!
Sara Timmons handles publicity as a member of the Garden Club of Dublin.
Blake Sabine: 1925-2016
By Jeff Powell
Blake was the quintessential gentleman. He always wore a jacket and tie, even just to visit us at home. The first time I saw him in a t-shirt I nearly fainted. He was someone who could wear a tuxedo well. There are some wonderful pictures of Thea and Blake at the Copley Plaza. They met at a dance just after World War II and it was a long love story; they were married for 66 years. During their courtship, Blake was written up in the newspaper as The Waltz King.
Blake never spoke about the war until Edie found a box of letters he wrote to his great aunt during that time. Edie and Blake worked for over a year on putting the letters together into a book and, with the help of Henry James, they got it published just before Blake’s decline. He was very proud of that, and we’re so glad to have his words.
He was a freshman at Dartmouth when he joined the Army Special Training Program in 1943. He was sent to England for training and then landed on Omaha Beach. His company marched across France and into Germany, where he was shot. Two surgeons in France saved his life and then he was sent to England for rehabilitation. From there he went back to France and then, at the end of the war, to Germany to help keep the peace. He was awarded a Purple Heart. After the war, he returned to Boston and went to Harvard on the GI bill. He graduated in 1949 and he and Thea were married later that year.
His career took him on the road a great deal. He was familiar with every state east of the Mississippi. Edie describes him as the original MapQuest. She’d call up and ask him how to drive from North Carolina back to Boston and he’d give detailed directions – highways, exit numbers, which lane to be in, the best deli for a sandwich.
He was a solitary person – and well read. He often clipped out articles for us to read – usually an opposing perspective – but we never argued about politics – or anything. He was gentle, patient and a great listener.
In 1989 he and Thea moved from Annapolis, where they spent many years, back to Dublin, and they had a house built on Pumpelly Lane. Blake had done some building with his father-in-law, Handasyd Cabot, back in the early days, and he loved the process of building that house. He and Thea had many happy years there before moving to RiverMead.
Blake was a MacPherson and for his 80th birthday we took a family trip to Scotland with his sister, Sue, and two nieces. We went to castles and the MacPherson Museum in Newtonmore, the Isle of Skye. He had a lot of wonderful memories of that trip.
The last two years were difficult ones as Blake sank deeper into dementia. Thea and Edie were amazing during this time. Thea went up to see Blake every morning to get him ready for breakfast and then back again for a nap and then again at bedtime to help keep him grounded and comfortable. Edie loved visiting the dementia unit and spending time with her father. It was a hard time, but there was also lots of humor. Just when things would get really crazy there, Thea would come through the doors pushing her poodle, Joe-Joe, in a stroller.
Blake was someone who liked helping in the background. He was on lots of committees: an elder at his church for more than a decade, a member of Dublin’s Planning Board and Riding and Walking Club. Blake was a man of service – to his country, his community, his church and especially to his family.
Jeff Powell is Blake and Thea Sabine’s son-in-law. This eulogy was given November 20, 2016, at the Jaffrey Bible Church.
Events at the Community Center
Author Reads from Finding Phil: Come on December 1 at 7 pm to hear Paul Levy read from his book, Finding Phil, which traces the author’s search for his Uncle Phil, killed 70 years earlier in World War II. Phil was a young tank-platoon commander who braved the frigid winter of 1944-45 as Allied troops advanced against an increasingly desperate Hitler; he died in France only months before the war ended. At once a mystery, a love story, a soldier’s tale, and a reflection, Finding Phil ponders family silences, peace and war, the nature of heroism, the complexity of anti-Semitism, and the love of a nephew for an uncle he never knew.
Artist of the Month: Photographer Linda Greenwood of Peterborough is December’s featured artist. In her distinctive photographs of the natural world, Linda turns ordinary objects into artistic compositions that convey emotion. Linda says that she likes “to capture the lifecycle of flowers from budding to fading, as well as the change in New England seasons, in a way that features both the beauty and the reality of existence.”
Last year, Linda completed Project 365, meeting a personal challenge to shoot at least one photograph every day of the year. She was invited by the Peterborough Heritage Commission to hang a solo show in the Peterborough Town House called “Seasons of Peterborough.”
In her Dub Hub show, Linda will include a new art form in addition to her nature photographs: Book Cover Art repurposes the hardcover of books on which she mounts her photographs and original zentangle designs. She will also offer coasters, postcards, and greeting cards featuring her photographs.
An opening reception for the artist is on Friday, December 2, from 5 to 7 pm. Light refreshments will be served.
Film on Climate Change in the Region: “From Hurricane to Climate Change,” a newly released film by the Monadnock Institute for Nature, Place and Culture, based at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, will be shown on Wednesday, December 7, at 7 pm. The event is free and open to all.
The film documents how the Monadnock Region is addressing the challenges of an increasingly unstable climate. It opens with scenes from the Hurricane of 1938, the after-effects of that devastating hurricane on Peterborough, and how it led to the building of the MacDowell Dam.
The film discusses the increase in extreme weather events here and how the region is addressing the threat of climate change, from rebuilding culverts to deal with an increase in precipitation, to development of alternative energy, farmers markets, and community resilience. There is an 8- minute film called “Memories of the Hurricane of 1938” with relevant interviews.
Trailer: http://www.franklinpierce.edu/institutes/monadnockinst/
HCS Wellness Clinic: Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services (HCS) is offering a Nurse Is In wellness clinic on Tuesday, December 20, from 12 pm to 1 pm (the same time as the Community Lunch.) Our HCS wellness nurse will check blood pressures and answer your questions about home care or any other health concerns you may have. This screening is open to residents of all area towns and is offered free of charge. No appointment is necessary. Nurse Is In clinics are sponsored by Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services, a Monadnock United Way agency. For more information, visit HCSservices.org or call 352-2253.
At the Archives
By Felicity Pool
If you like treasure hunts, the Archives building is a good place to go. Owned by the Town and shared with the Historical Society, the structure contains records of both the Town and the Historical Society in equal shares.
Three mornings a week, in the rectangular white building that shares a parking lot with the Town Hall and Library, Town Archivist Nancy Campbell and Assistant Archivist/Historical Society Archivist Lisa Foote go on hunts. Among the places they search are: 16,000-plus indexed file folders; Leonard and Seward’s 1920 History of Dublin NH; online databases; National Register Records; Town Clerks’ books; tax, census, church and cemetery records; clippings; periodicals; photos; maps from as far back as 1799.
The ‘treasure’ each archivist looks for is one piece of information that fits with another and another to answer a question, show a history, tell a story. The work may be as much jigsaw puzzle as treasure hunt, and treasure can only be found if the laborious work of cataloguing and indexing has been done carefully and thoroughly. That’s how clues are found and random facts add up to a cohesive whole. Patience and concentration are required.
Hang out at the Archives, and you’ll see that both characteristics are entirely necessary for survival there. The tasks Nancy might plan for a typical morning are the indexing and cataloguing of documents from a particular year or looking up information requested by the Town Administrator and Selectmen for conducting business. Lisa will have her own agenda: administrative tasks, perhaps; logging in material (typically documents, letters, or photos) donated to the Historical Society; searching out new acquisitions and discovering provenance for existing ones.
But what goes on of a morning for both archivists usually looks nothing like what was planned. Interruptions are the rule, not the exception. The phone rings and emails land with research requests. Realtors and prospective homebuyers drop by needing information about a property’s septic plans, boundary lines, and whatever is known about previous uses and occupants of the land and buildings. Members of town committees show up wanting minutes from years back. A writer for The Advocate arrives with questions. Someone comes in to investigate his or her family history.
Sometimes it’s easy to hunt for what’s needed, other times not so much. Septic plans, for example, have only been officially recorded since 1967 when the state mandated that it be done.
There are other challenges with town records. Early on, vital statistics were kept chronologically but not alphabetically. Similarly, property ownership and boundaries can be challenging to trace. Up until 1920, range and lot numbers — correlated with a gridded town map before 1906 — were used to identify holdings.
To trace land histories from that era is relatively simple. But not all tax records noted range and lot, so figuring out what has happened to a particular parcel requires research skill and deductive reasoning (and sometimes even a trip to the Registry of Deeds in Keene).
It probably helps that Nancy and Lisa both developed an interest in the past at college, the former majoring in history and the latter in history of art. Nancy got to learn the importance of records and organization from her grandfather, Glen Scribner. He served as Town Clerk and School Treasurer, as well as running a main business in town, the General Store. Nancy has also been a Selectman. Put all that together, and by 1990 when she started working on archival matters with John Harris, she already had a deep knowledge of the town and its workings.
At that time, historical documents were scattered – some tucked in a vault in the Town Hall basement, some on shelves in the 1841 Schoolhouse Museum and others in the choir loft over what is now the Post Office. That’s where Nancy and John worked until the archives building was opened 20 years ago in 1996. It met a state requirement that “The selectmen shall cause all books of public record belonging to the town to be well and strongly bound, and all papers and documents to be filed and arranged in an orderly manner convenient for reference and examination, and shall provide suitable fireproof safes or other means for their care and preservation…”.
Lisa started working with John and Nancy 13 years later, after the Footes became year-round Dublin residents. She had long been a volunteer at the Concord Museum in Massachusetts, doing research with original source material. So it followed that she would become a volunteer at the Dublin Historical Society and would then take over as Archivist when Harris retired in 2013.
The archival work takes place in a room invitingly hung with the work of local artists, portraits of Dublin residents, and several maps. Bookshelves run along two walls and neat piles of folders are everywhere on the counters and center island. The building is open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, 9 am to 1 pm, and by appointment. One thing you’ll pick up, if you visit, is the enthusiasm of the hunt. What the archivists say most often is that this or that discovery about the town and its history is “pretty cool” and when they tell you about it, it’s hard not to agree.
Felicity Pool is a member of the Dublin Historical Society.