Congratulations to Cindy Westover and Joan Devault, co-chairs of Walpole's Old Home Days celebration over the weekend!  Great job, ladies!

    Others whose work made the great weekend possible included Secretrary/Treasurer Judy Trow, ad book committee Betty Prentiss and Linda Graff, and pet show chair and emcee Myra Mansouri.

    Also, Margaret and Larry Roy ran the antique car show, Dave Westover ran the tugs of war, and Dick Hurlburt was in charge of the fireworks Friday night.

    George Jeffrey organized the Friday night street dance, Bruce Martin did the Sunday Legion breakfast (with lots of help!), and Krystyna Mort organized and ran the delightful talent show.  Antonia Andreoli honored Lou's memory with Saturday's jazz concert that he would have enjoyed.  Tara Sad judged the pet show, played Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream, and probably handled several other key tasks that I missed. Jane Prager organized the Academy breakfast, Matt and Crystall Phillips ran the junior woodsmen contest, and Diane and Ronnie Kinsbury ran the senior woodsmen contest. 

    Bill Perron participated/emceed the Walpole Players and emceed the parade, and I probably missed a few other of his contributions to the weekend.

    Joe and Peggy Dion organized the Common for all day Saturday and were there from dawn until late afternoon making sure all exhibitors had what they needed.

    Brian Pickering ran the basketball shootout, Annette Grenier and Rick Blake got the terrific red OHD t-shirts, and Jim Baucom and Steve Horton organized the 5K run early Saturday morning.

    Nancy Wettach organized the Wednesday Block party with Raynie Laware, and Nancy put together one of the best parades in Walpole history on Saturday a.m.!

    Jim Skofield and his wonderful cast and crew produced A Midsummer Night's Dream that the bard himself would have been delighted with and showed once again what a pool of talent our town has!

    And that list is just the beginning! Many others played key roles in making the weekend one more reason why all of us feel so lucky to live in Walpole, NH!  We should all take time this week to thank those noted above and all others involved for such a great project!

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Acworth resident, artist and published poet Alice Fogel delivered the Fall Mountain Regional HIgh School graduation speech ast week.  Knowing that it would be stimulating and substantive, I asked Alice for permission to reproduce it in The Walpolean.  Here it is...                                                                                                     

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS: FALL MT. REGIONAL H.S.

Langdon, NH, 18 JUNE 2005

by Alice B. Fogel

Chapter 1:  What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

There was once a little five year old girl playing alone in a sandbox in her back yard.  A family party was going on in the girl’s house and no one stopped to wonder about where she was or what she was doing.

Peter A. Palmiotto reports that the water department is working on the water in the village next Wednesday and Thursday.  So village water will likely be a bit brown during that time and residents may want to stock up with drinking water. The water department does post the days they plan to work on or flush the system in the Town Hall.

    Mel Schupack reminds me that the Town Conservation Commission is developing a long-term conservation plan for Walpole and that it will have a table on the Common on Saturday  showing work so far.  Commission members would be glad to discuss it with you there.  (Many other community groups will have displays, activities, etc. on the Common too!)  See the full Old Home Days schedule previously posted. See you Saturday!

Here are my notes from last week.  I'd be interested in YOUR take on the meeting...

Walpole Planning Board Hears Preliminary Plans for Multiple Business Expansion

    The Walpole Town Planning Board Tuesday evening got preliminary notice of plans to expand or improve several businesses in the town and to develop apartments behind the North Meadow Plaza area.

    Vicki Gohl, proprietor of the Walpole Village Market, summarized her plans for renovating the interior of the former gas station that houses the business in the center of town and for adding clapboard siding to the building, picnic tables and landscaping around the outside.  “I’m trying to do the most tasteful thing I can do”, said Gohl before promising to submit a complete site plan in the near future.  (Gohl has also developed the Ruggles & Hunt gift store across the parking lot from the Market.)

    Len-Tex Corporation, a manufacturer of commercial wall coverings, presented preliminary plans for a 17,000 square foot addition to its current office, warehouse and finishing facilities at 199 Main Street, North Walpole.  Len-Tex intends to move its laminating operation from its Church Street site into the new addition along with seven employees.  According to company president Don Lennon, this expansion may also result in up to five new jobs by the end of the year.  Lennon reported on Thursday that Len-Tex is “growing very happily” with expanding sales in North America, Eastern Europe and in Dubai and will soon open an “in-stock wall covering facility” in Moscow.  Using its pioneering water-based technology, Len-Tex claims to be “the most environmentally responsible commercial wallcovering manufacturer.”  See www.lentexcorp.com for further information.

     Bill Carmody, owner of Benchmark Custom Products, Inc, of Walpole, headquartered at 4 Ames Plaza Lane, announced his intention to develop 4-6 one-bedroom apartments and possibly two two-bedroom apartments on .6 of an acre of land he owns between his current business building and the rear parking lot of the Plaza.  Carmody, who also manages rental property in Keene, said he expects to develop a detailed plan soon, to seek necessary approvals but not to begin construction for a year or two.

    Bob Jasse, proprietor of Alyson’s Orchard on Wentworth Road, announced preliminary plans to add roughly 2400 square feet to the event center at the orchard that is used for weddings, receptions, parties, and meetings and to complete the entrance to the property off Route 12 in July (based in concept, he said, on an entrance he has seen at Mt. Rainier National Park) to be used 6-7 months each year.  Jasse said that he hopes to get necessary approvals and to complete the building addition by November.

    Peter Roos of Walpole, recent purchaser of the Long River Gardens property at the foot of Westminster Street, announced that he is developing plans to sub-divide, or at least adjust the boundaries within, the 30+ acre property for future uses.

    Planning Board Chair Jeff Miller announced that the town board of selectmen had hired counsel Gary J. Kinyon of Keene to represent the town in dealing with efforts of the owners of the Merriam Road area development to force Walpole to upgrade the road from Class 6 to Class 5.  The owners have apparently decided to try to force the selectmen to upgrade the road to facilitate their developing the site, but the selectmen have repeated said that they would need to put the matter to town vote

     In other discussion, John Hansel of Walpole Tomorrow asked about possible Board plans to update its Master Plan for Walpole.  Chairman Miller noted that the town had appropriated $2,500 for 2005 to fund updating its capital improvement plan and that he thought that should be done before taking on an update of the Master Plan.  Vice Chair David Edkins suggested that the chairman might talk with the Southwestern Regional Planning Commission, nevertheless, about making preliminary plans to consider the Walpole Master Plan next year

     In reply to Hansel’s offer of possible financial support for the town’s reconsideration of its Master Plan, Selectman Sheldon Sawyer, sitting as liaison to the Planning Board, said that “if you want the Master Plan to be seen as ‘non-biased’, it might be better to have it funded by public monies.”  Sawyer also noted that the Conservation Commission is looking right now at the problems and possibilities of where newcomers to Walpole might live in the next 20 years—an investigation that would play into any revision of the Master Plan.

    Edkins said that Charlestown, where he serves as Town Manager, had recently finished a survey of citizen attitudes toward development whose outcome had been “unexpected and eye-opening”, and he suggested that Walpole might wish to do a similar survey as part of a Master Plan reconsideration.  Edkins reminded the Board and audience that a Master Plan is not a regulatory document but rather a “direction or vision” for the town boards to use in their planning, zoning and other uses.

    At the close of the meeting, Chairman Miller announced with regret the resignation of Judy Trow, the board’s long-time secretary, and noted that steps would be taken immediately to seek a replacement.

 

   

         

         

    Walpole technology guru and consultant Michael Kreek of 780 Valley Road put me on to a pet project that some readers my wish to learn more about.  Pedaling Empowers Daily Active Lifestyles or PEDAL is fully explained at www.pedalnewengland.org.  More info available from Michael at 756-3750.

    Sue and I are trying to provide a range of subjects and approaches for The Walpolean, and we solicit your suggestions.  Please email me at chuck@chuckbingaman.com with information or stories that we should pursue.  Incidentally, we CAN include pictures with stories and hope to begin that over the weekend.  So, you can also email us pictures to post with stories.

    We now have over 50 registered readers, but we are hoping to increase that number dramatically.  If you know others in Walpole who have email but may not know about The Walpolean, please mention it to them.  Also, if you have family or friends out of town that are interested in Walpole doings, please let them know about it too.

    I read last week that there are an estimated 40,000 new blogs going up on the 'Web every DAY!  Most carry useless drivel that is of interest only to the writers!  Hopefully we, together, can do much better than that!

Chuck

    My preview of the Walpole Players' "Mid Summer Night's Dream" production appears today in the Arts & Entertainment section of the Eagle Times, but they had to cut it slightly to make it fit available space.  I include below the full text of the preview...

    But first I wanted to note how much fun it was to visit the rehearsal Tuesday evening in Town Hall and to watch director Jim Skofield at work along with his large cast of energetic and enthusiastic Thespians!  Jim is a highly organized and strict taskmaster with, obviously, very high standards.  And the cast is clearly motivated to perform on a high level and is brimming with anticipation of next week's performances!

    Here's  my preview as originally written...   

Walpole Players Presenting Shakespeare’s  “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”

            Tickets went on sale yesterday for the Walpole (NH) Players production of William Shakespeare’s “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream” in the round at the Town Hall June 23, 25 and 26 with a 40-person cast under the direction of Jim Skofield.

            Skofield, who told me that he had "wanted to direct this play since I was a kid,” has been rehearsing his cast since February, beginning with the most basic lessons in breathing, voice control and stage movement.  “Mid Summer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies,” according to Skofield, “and it blends the worlds of reality and fantasy into one another.  You have to get the actors over their fear of doing ‘Shakespeare’ but then the intentions of the characters are pretty transparent, and the actors realize the situations they’re in.”

            In the play Oberon (Michael Delaney) and Titania (Tara Sad), King and Queen, respectively, of the fairies, find themselves in Athens for the marriage of Greek hero Theseus (played by Walpole State Representative Jack Pratt) to the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta (Trina Carmody).  But things become more than a little thrown off when a lovers’ quadrangle appears, a group of clueless rustics attempt to stage their own play, and a mischievous fairy, Puck, who loves to play tricks on humans, intervenes.  Much hilarity follows before the Bard brings things to a happy conclusion.

            The Titania role, according to Walpole activist and actress Tara Sad, “is wonderful, wonderful, the best part in ‘playdom!'  She’s a powerful person who changes into a hopeless wimp in love with a donkey!”  Oberon, to be played by Walpole resident and National Grange computer programmer Michael Delaney, is a mighty part with a whole range of challenges for an energetic actor.  Inspired by his son who found acting in a Fall Mountain Regional High School production fun, Delaney began his stage career only recently but has appeared in several Branch River Theater productions in Marlborough.  On the side he writes poetry and does readings.

            The slapstick rustics who appear in the forest determined to offer their own play include Petra Quince, the carpenter (Fran Kemp), Nick Bottom, the weaver (Jim Baucom), Francis Flute, the bellows mender (Frank Balla), Snout, the tinker (Julie Marden), Snug, the joiner (Bill Perron) and Robin Starveling, the tailor (Lucy Weber).  Rebecca Holtz plays Puck.  Other ensemble roles are played by assorted fairies, attendants to Titania, henchmen to Oberon, and Athenian nobles.

Beth Cannon is Stage Manager, Carolyn Norback is Assistant Director, and Gretchen Ackerman has served as Dramaturge and Diction Coach.  Gretchen Abendschein is the choreographer, Eric Merklein has designed the sound, and Ben Northcott and Steve Grenier have designed the lighting.

All performances are in the Walpole Town Hall, which is handicapped, assessable.  Tickets are $10 apiece and may be purchased in Walpole at Burdick’s, Galloway Real Estate, Real to Reel Video and Walpole Village Store.

For further information, call Walpole Players president Kris Tyson at 756-4124.

P.S. Isn't Jack Pratt a wonder of a man?  Here he is more than fully engaged in representing us in Concord in a very complex and contentious state budget battle and he still can find time and energy to play his role in this community production!

 

                 

 

           

 

 

           

Former Walpole residents Ned and Lynn Platt are back in their Suffield, CT home.  Lynn had surgery in Florida in March and continues with chemo therapy in Connecticut.  They can be reached at ecplatt@earthlink.net or at P.O. 625, Suffield, CT 06078.

The Real Twist Ice Cream stand in Walpole, NH  will hold its next Classic Car Cruise Night  on Sunday, June 12th , from 6-9PM.  It’s a chance for the whole family to enjoy a Sunday evening looking at old and antique cars while listening to live music by Vinnie Dibernardo, and enjoying pizza, hot dogs and ice cream. Anyone who brings his classic car to show will get a free regular sized sundae. Everyone visiting can get free jimmies, diptop or flavorburst with any cup or cone. And, you can enter the drawing for free pizza, ice cream or DVD’s!

The Real Twist is located next to Real to Reel Video at the North Meadow Plaza in Walpole. It is open noon – 9PM, seven days a week. Enjoy your ice cream outside, in  their garden, or under the porch.

Future  2005 Season Cruise Nights are scheduled for July 10, August 14 and September 4. See you there!