Ed. Note: Walpolean reader Dodie Ransome passed along this important news! CCB GEORGE WATKINS RECOGNIZED
FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
EPSOM, NH - The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) has
recognized George Watkins of Walpole with the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award. This is a new award this year to recognize a truly outstanding volunteer effort over a sustained period of time.
This year’s nomination was submitted by Paul Colburn, Manager of the Walpole Recycling and Transfer Center, who said that Watkins and two others persuaded the Walpole Selectboard to start a Recycling Program in 1986.
“George was instrumental in recruiting a small group of volunteers, later known as the Walpole Recycling Action Project “WRAP”, to staff a Recycling Center at the landfill,” Colburn said. “Within 2 years, ‘the program’ had grown to include a granulator, glass crusher, storage facilities and around 100 volunteers. In 1990, a full time Coordinator was hired and, in 1992, ‘the Transfer Station was’ moved to its present location. In 1995, a Pay-as-You-Throw program was put in place.”
Watkins has continued to be Chair of the WRAP Committee, which recruits 55+ volunteers per month and has been the guiding light behind the creation of the separate facility and equipping it. In addition, he has overviewed the continual expansion through the WRAP Committee, which is the “Board of Directors” for the Recycling Center, meeting and reviewing progress each month. Without Watkins continued pushing of the Walpole Selectboard, Recycling in Walpole wouldn’t exist today.
Incidentally, Watkins is over 90 years old, granulates plastic and other things every week – still.
This award was presented at NRRA’s 29th Annual Conference and Expo on June 7h and 8th. This year featured a first-ever, School Recycling Conference within the NRRA Conference at the Radisson Hotel Manchester. This Conference & Expo was a fantastic opportunity for those interested in recycling and waste reduction to come together to discover new technologies, exchange ideas, share philosophies, and further promote waste reduction efforts.
The NRRA is a proactive, non-profit cooperative working with its membership to make their recycling programs strong, efficient and financially successful. For more information, visit www.nrra.net.
Ed. Note: Jeanne Jeffries reports that the Walpole Seniors will meet June 14 2010 at noon in the UCC Congregational Church on the Walpole Common."Lunch,: she says, "will be pot luck and always delicious." the program will be about the Historical and Ecological Plant: HEMP presented by Beth Merrill. Beth grew up in Walpole on a seventh generation dairy farm and is the Master of the Grange for NH.All seniors of Walpole are welcome.
Ed. Note: Patricia Dooley tells me that there is a group organizing for informal group tai chi on the Common, that is, Cheng Man Ching's Yang-style short form tai chi. If you're interested in details, phone Ben Daviss at 445-2200. CCB
reopening her Walpole Mountain View Winery on Saturday, May 29th, for tastings and will be open from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. every Saturday until Christmas. "I'll also conduct vineyard
walking tours at 5:00," she says, and "we'll also be at the Farmers Market in Walpole Fridays 3:00 to 6:00." For more information, call Ginny at 756-3948 or check her web site at www.bhvineyard.com. CCB
The Walpole Artisans are offering a FREE workshop entitled French Polish: The Ultimate Furniture Finish with professional woodworker Peter White. The workshop will be from 1--3:00 p.m. June 12 at Peter White's studio. Peter describes French Polish as "low tech, green and beautiful: it is a venerable technique for applying a shellac finish to furniture and produces a high gloss sheen as yet unmatched by any modern finishing technique". Peter will discuss the steps necessary to create a beautiful finish beginning with surface preparation, materials used and ending with a demonstration of the process itself. For more information about this workshop please call or stop by The Walpole Artisans 603-756-3020. The store hours are: Wednesday - Saturday from 10:00 - 5:00 pm and Sunday 11:00 - 3:00 pm.
Jeanne Jeffries reports that the Walpole Historical Society will sponsor a Genealogy Workshop on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 1-3 p.m. in Walpole at the Academy Building on Main St.Jeanne and Peter Jeffries have researched genealogy for over 30 years and will lead the Workshop.Beginners and experienced persons are welcome. Participants will learn how to start research, what resources are available and how to get over, under or around "stone walls".Call 756-2933 for more information.
Ed. Note: Does any Walpolean reader have a used ping pong table they would like to get rid of at a reasonable price? If so, please phone Chuck Bingaman at 756-9268. Thanks! CCB
Walpole Seniors will meet May 17, 2010 at noon in the UCC Congregational Church on the Walpole Common.Lunch will be potluck and always delicious.Walpole seniors are all invited to hear about the upcoming Farmers Market scheduled to open on the Common on May 21.Cindy Westover will present the topic.
Eric Merklein of Walpole, an employee of Animal Planet, the cable TV channel, reports that the company is creating a series of programs on unusual pets and is "desparate" for new ideas. If you have an unusual pet and would be interested in TV coverage of him or her, call Eric at 603-321-0758 or email him at eric.merk47@gmail.com. CCB
Jean Jeffries announces that the Walpole Seniors will meet at noon on Monday April 19, 2010 at the UCC Congregational Church on the Common in Walpole.All seniors in Walpole are welcome for a potluck lunch anda program "What's Going on with Walpole Recycling".Paul Coburn, Manager of the Walpole Recycling Station, will provide an update on current procedures.Upcoming trips will be presented for sign up. CCB
Merchant ship captain David Sanchez-Navarro of Walpole will discuss Modern Day Priacy with the Walpole International Affairs Discussion Group (WIADG) Tuesday, April 20 at Hastings House.
This meeting of the WIADG is free and open to the public and begins at 7:00 p.m. with refreshments. The program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Sanchez-Navarro, who recently returned from a journey around the Horn of Africa and through the Suez Canal, will be joined by John Belle, an executive of his shipping line, for the discussion. See http://picasaweb.google.com/bing390/4112010Piracy for a poster of the meeting.
For further information, call Chuck Bingaman at 756-9268.
Jean and Peter Jeffries report that The Walpole Historical Society will sponsor another of their popular genealogy Workshops on May 15, 2010 from 10-12 noon in Walpole.Jeanne and Peter have researched genealogy for over 30 years and will lead the workshop.Beginners and experienced persons are welcome.Call 756-2933 for information.
The Walpole Artisans Cooperative at 52 Main St. in Walpole, NH will "welcome in spring" with a Featured Artist Reception on Friday, March 26 from 5 - 7 pm. The 3 featured artists: Terri Lipman, Darren Honey & Joe Beer are the newest members of the Walpole Artisan Cooperative. Although Terri Lipman is new to the Coop, she has been creating & selling her folk art, painted giftware & paste papers for 26 years. Terri's artistic philosophy is "Our home is our castle. Our person is happiness". Darren Honey of "The Ideal Board", "a family business of fine wood craftsmanship creating unique wood products for home & business," is a well known Connecticut River Valley artisan. He now joins the Walpole Artisans Cooperative and features his handmade wood products that range from end-grain cutting boards to whimsical mobiles. Joe Beer, a recently retired and much loved Fall Mt. High School educator, is displaying many of his artistic endeavors at the Walpole Artisan Cooperative, including watercolor paintings of historic Walpole buildings. Please join us in welcoming these fine artisans into the Walpole Artisans Cooperative. Refreshments will be served during the reception. For more information call 603-756-3020, visit www.walpoleartisans.org or stop by the Walpole Artisan Cooperative during the business hours of Wednesday - Saturday 10 - 5 and Sunday 10 - 3.
Heidi Westover finished 7th among an elite field of women distance runners in Houston yesterday in the half-marathon. (I had misunderstood and previously reported that she was going to be in the full marathon that was run at the same time.) Heidi's time for the 13+ miles was one hour, twelve minutes and 59 seconds (1:12:59), a personal best. Leading up to the race, her class at North Charlestown School got a prepping in Texas geography. CCB
Walpole's Heidi Westover tackles the Houston Marathon tomorrow morning along with more than 22,000 other top flight runners. (Since Heidi now lives in Walpole, the Walpolean editorial board has decided to claim her over Acworth where she grew up or North Charlestown where she teaches.) You can watch it live on www.universalsports.com and, if it works as the New York City Marathon did two months ago, you'll be able to follow the leaders with live TV pictures on your computer and follow any other runner on a live map of the course. To read a detailed preview of the race, see http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=390157.html#houston+marathon+ready+liftoff. If I read the schedule correctly, it comes on between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. our time. Go Heidi! Blow 'em away! CCB
Joan and Larry Devault are leaving today for their move to Harrisonburg, Virginia. They will be truly missed in Walpole. Since moving here 14 years ago, Joan and Larry and their children have made real contributions to the fabric of the town. Joan has led the Recreation Commission and co-chaired Walpole Old Home Days. Larry has been a leader with the Walpole Fire Department. Both have volunteered for many school activities. The move puts them in closer proximity to Larry's work, but they assure us that they will visit often as they leave several family members in the area. Dave and Cindy Westover threw a great farewell party for them last night that was filled with funny stories and lots of tears and langhter. CCB
Guest Bloggers Needed! This is an open invitation to readers of The Walpolean to share your thoughts on our town and where you would like to see it go in 2010 with other Walpolean readers.
If you'd like to share your thoughts, please send me your note to chuck@chuckbingaman.com before Saturday at noon. Over the weekend I'll post the notes on The Walpolean. Notes should not exceed 500 words, and all must be signed. (If you would prefer that your name not appear on the posted version, please let me know.) I reserve the right to shorten or otherwise edit the notes before posting or to not post them. Chuck Bingaman
Ed. Note: I happened to see this story on Tedd Benson from EcoHome Magazine through a Google Alert. Thought you might be interested. Chuck Bingaman
Custom Builder Squares Off with Production Builder Over Green Construction
Tedd Benson commands pros to build high-performance homes, while Rick Andreen states that big builders have made progress.
By Jennifer Goodman
At the Greenbuild Conference in Phoenix last week, custom builder Tedd Benson faced off against Shea Homes’ executive Rick Andreen in front of several hundred professionals over the green home-building movement. Speaking in a quiet, but forceful tone, Benson, owner of Bensonwood Homes in Walpole, N.H., chastised home builders for not crafting high-quality homes anymore. “A Consumer Reports investigation found that 15% of new homes are seriously defective,” Benson told pros attending the conference’s Residential Summit. “This is the hard truth about what we do and what plagues us all.” Green builder Benson questioned why his counterparts, both large and small, aren’t constructing houses that save energy and resources and that make better the health of the occupants. “We’ve known what to do since the 1970s …but our industry leaders have been fighting the rules and regulations,” he added, quipping that before the housing debacle, that big builders were more concerned about “ceaseless growth and unfettered profitability.” Benson said that once the recession abates, pros must “build long-term value into homes that improves peoples’ lives. The materials are available to you. This important work we do comes with an obligation.” But the 30-year veteran builder told the audience that high-performance homes cost more than standard houses. “You can’t double the insulation or add better windows without increasing costs.” In addition, Benson said that buyers must be made aware that “a $20,000 home theater will cost $75,000 over 25 years because of the additional energy costs.” The green construction advocate also called for increased builder education. He noted that in almost every state, professional hair stylists need licenses to practice their craft, but that “you only need a ladder and a hammer” to be a contractor. “We lost the old skills and haven’t yet acquired new ones,” said Benson, the author of three books on timber frame construction. “Building trades people can’t be stupid anymore.”
SIGNS OF PROGRESS
Andreen, the Phoenix-area president for Shea Homes, the nation’s largest private home builder, said Benson was a tough act to follow. As a production builder, he said “I must take some responsibility” for the industry’s failings. But he added: “There has been progress; not all has been bad. Homes are significantly higher quality than they were 5, 10, 15 years ago.” “Profits are not evil,” he continued. “We just have to find ways to take the technologies we have … and make them affordable.”
For example, Andreen said that models in the Shea Green Certified Homes program, which launched two years ago, come standard with photovoltaic panels, but that the builder loses money on each installation. If solar were optional, Andreen said he doesn’t think many buyers would pay for it. Despite their higher costs, Shea Homes is exploring other energy-efficient technologies, including home generation stations, natural gas HVAC equipment, and photovoltaic thermal systems. The Shea Green Certified Homes package soon will be standard on all the company’s Trilogy models. The green homes, which use 15% fewer materials, have a 48% reduction in their carbon footprint compared to the standard new house, Andreen said. With average energy and resource savings of 20% compared with conventional homes, Shea Certified Green Homes exceed by about 30% the International Energy Code, according to the firm’s Web site. Besides solar systems, the eco-friendly houses include, among other products, solar-powered attic fans; Energy Star-rated appliances; dual-pane, low-E windows; and high-performance insulation. During the question-and-answer segment, there was one significant point Andreen and Benson agreed on; that is, that consumers aren't powering the green home movement.
“There are always going to be people who want the fancy granite countertop, but it’s changing, and [builders] are going to have to drive it,” the Scottsdale-based executive said. Benson concurred: “The only way that the built environment is going to get to zero [environmental] impact is if we push our clients, push our manufacturers, and push ourselves.” Jean Dimeo is Chief Editor Online for EcoHome.
Library Friends leader Judy Shumway tells me that the Friends are looking for an energetic person to chair the annual October Book and Tag Sale in 2010. And, they're looking for someone with a large, dry, first floor space to store sale books from the time they begin accumulating in the late spring until the sale in October. Anyone with ideas, interests, questions or suggestions on those two important items shuld call Judy at 756-3664. Chuck Bingaman
It's Veterans' Day, the day we stop and honor our veterans who have served us with distinction, courage and selflessness over our lifetimes. We have pride and admiration for each one of you! CCB
Ed. Note: Thanks to alert Walpolean reader and tipster John Hubbard, I learned that I overlooked two other Walpole runners in last week's New York City Marathon, Christie and Tom Winmill. I tracked down Tom by email and asked for a short report on their experiences. CCB Tom wrote back as follows:
"Christie’s NYC Marathon run last year in 4 hours, 40 minutes, inspired me to join her training regimen this year. After Walpole’s Old Drewsville Road, our favorite training route was the Sugar River Rails to Trail in Claremont. On Nov 1, I finished in 4 hours 49 minutes and Christie (with a bad case of swine flu) completed the 1/2 Marathon, 13.1 miles, in 2 hours and 22 minutes. We are grateful for the many encouraging cheers and wonderful music along the route through NYC’s five boroughs. A band playing on its church steps “This is the Day which the Lord Has Made” gave us a particularly heartening boost!"
Walpole Couple's Firm Has Revolutionized Steel Construction
By Chuck Bingaman
Kristyna Wallace is president/CEO and husband Chris Curven is vice president of Applied Bolting Technology, a twenty-employee business in the woods off Rt. 103 in Bellows Falls, that has cornered the market on a unique way of indicating bolt tightness for building the world’s refineries, bridges, windmills and other large structures.
The Walpole couple’s firm’s Squirter® DTIs—that’s Direct Tension Indicators—have transformed the old technology for bolting steel girders together into an easier, safer, less expensive and much more reliable process. And the company is expecting to sell well over 10 million of them by the end of 2009!
“You’ll find our Squirter DTIs being used in major building projects right now in the Middle East, Alaska, South America and all over the US,” according to Chris Curven, Vice President and Field Bolting Specialist. “We work with the largest engineering and construction firms that often specify our product to indicate that the proper clamp load has been achieved in their structural steel connections.”
Curven shows tightened bolting assemblies for windmill construction. Looking carefully around the edges of the bolts you can see the orange silicone that indicates that the bolts are tensioned properly. Chuck Bingaman photo.
DTIs are washer-like rings with bumps punched into them when they are stamped out of steel strips. When inserted between a nut and the girders or other pieces of metal being bolted together and then tightened, the bumps flatten out to show that things are tightening up. That technology has been around for a while.
But every such nut and bolt assembly needs to be checked by inserting a skinny piece of metal called a feeler gauge all around the DTI in spaces between the bumps. Steel erectors have thought they could measure the tension in the coupling by the amount of “torque” or force needed to turn the nut. But, of course, that really measures how much effort it took to turn the nut, not the eventual tension in the sandwich of nut, bolt, washer and girders, a tension based on how much the bolt actually stretches in the tightening process. Knowing the tension in the bolt was just right in every case was a costly, sometimes haphazard construction challenge.
Then along came Applied Bolting eight years ago with its bright—and patented!—idea!
Director of Quality Assurance John Herr had an inspiration, headed to Aubuchon Hardware in Walpole, and bought some plastic wood and a small Dremel tool. He thought he might fill the depressions made on the backside of DTIs where the bumps were punched with some flexible material that would be forced out when the bolts were tightened and the bumps flattened.
After a lot of experimentation—some goo was too soft, some too messy, some too affected by temperature extremes—Herr and his co-workers settled on a silicone concoction, dyed bright orange, that worked just right! When the tension level hit the minimum requirement for a tight bolt, it flattened the bumps in the washer-like ring and the orange silicone in the backside depressions shot out the little creases running to the edge of the DTI. Voila! Perfect tension, regardless of how easy or difficult it was to screw it together.
Equally important, the visual proof of proper tension enabled inspectors to check the tens of thousands of bolts on large projects like bridges in South America, gold mines in Alaska and oil rigs in Abu Dhabi just by looking at them and spotting unsquirted DTIs or loose bolts in a flash. And, by avoiding having to do over hundreds or thousands of bolt assemblies, building firms avoided costly add-ons.
Applied Bolting’s Squirter®DTIs so change the procedures on a large steel fabrication job sites that the company sends representatives out to many sites just to train steel workers in using them. And, where a job site is in Algeria, Abu Dhabi or South America, where many languages make job-site or classroom instruction difficult, the visual cue to a properly tightened nut and bolt has proven even more valuable.
From initial production of Squirters where the silicone was inserted by hand with syringes, Applied Bolting has created its own robotic assembling systems that can turn out thousands of precisely filled Squirter®DTIs per hour. Travis Congdon, Manager of Squirter Manufacturing and Process Improvement, has adapted robotic filling equipment and bread proofing ovens from the restaurant industry to help the silicone cure at the proper rate for perfect consistency. And, he has built sound baffling walls to contain the roar of the machinery.
Amy Millette runs one of the robotic SquirterDTI filling machines for Applied Bolting. Chuck Bingaman photo.
Started by Canadian Wayne Wallace, Applied Bolting was enticed to Ludlow, Vermont originally by then Governor Howard Dean in 1994. Applied Bolting moved to its own building in Bellows Falls in 2001. Wallace’s daughter, Kristyn, who moved in to help her dad in the business after college, and is now President/CEO.
“We run a company without much of a hierarchy,” says Kristyn. "We’re all working together, and we want a good environment for all of our people to work in. Family matters come first, and we believe in full benefits for employees.”
“2009 will be our largest year ever,” adds Curven, “and we’re looking for even more growth, especially in the wind energy market as more and more projects get built.” See www.appliedbolting.com for further information on the company.
Ed. Note: Thanks to Ron and Tammy Vittum, here is the latest from our local Boy Scout troop. Congratulations to the boys and their leaders! CCB
Boy Scout Troop 299 held their Court of Honor at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Walpole on Monday, October 19, 2009. Forty-seven merit badges were awarded to 18 scouts. Merit badges handed out included swimming, leatherwork, weather and orienteering, among others. Other summer camp awards were also handed out including snorkeling, kayaking and mile swim and the Polar Bear Plunge.
Ron Makinen and Josh Makinen completed training to become BSA Lifeguards.
Six ranks were awarded. Ben Bashaw and Macane Dunbar were awarded the Tenderfoot rank. David Faulkner was awarded Second Class rank. Alex Peck was awarded Star. Graham Kaletsky and Kaelan Hansson were awarded Life Rank.
Graham Kaletsky was also awarded the World Conservation award.
Don Martin received the Parent of the Year Award for his outstanding service and dedication to the scouts of Troop 299.
Heidi Westover was the 13th woman finishing the New York City Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 44 minutes and 59 seconds. She averaged 6 minutes and 18 seconds per mile for the 26 mile, 385 yard distance! World-class performance!
Kathy Monahan was the 5,791 woman to finish in a time of 4 hours, 23 minutes and 17 seconds, averaging 10.03 minutes per mile! She also raised in the neighborhood of $5,000 for Boston Children's Hospital. Another amazing performance! You can still add to her pledge total at www.childrenshospital.org/newyork. CCB
Ed. Note: Want to see how our marathoners are doing in the middle of the race? You can get up to the minute times and maps at http://athletetracker.ingnycmarathon.org. Just put in Kathy Monahan or Heidi Westover, and you can pop up a map of the marathon course and see right where they are along with their times. Amazing! CCB
You may know her as a friendly server at Burdick's, but that's just her daytime gig while she builds her reputation and repertoire as a cross-over country music singer and songwriter.
Jandee, a 2005 graduate of Keene State University in nutrition, has recently issued a CD titled "Strangely Right" in which she sings all her own songs, plays the guitar and is backed by a band.
Jandee recetnly working at Brudick's.
You can ask her yourself about upcoming gigs in the area so you can see her in action and catch her music! CCB
Ed. Note: Heidi Westover of Walpole is running tomorrow in the World Half Marathon Championship race representing the USA. The race is at 9:00 a.m. local time in Birmingham, England (4:00 a.m. here). I understand that one can see it live on a web site at www.universalsports.com. CCB
"Walpole Boy Scout Troop #299 has been challenged by an anonymous donor to collect 200 non-perishable food items, which the donor will match with a dollar for each item. We will also be placing boxes for food donations at local businesses. If you would like a box at your business, please contact the troop. All food items and the monetary matching funds will be donated to the Fall Mountain Food Shelf. Anyone interested in donating food items or expanding on the matching funds, please call Tammy Vittum, Walpole Boy Scout secretary at (603) 445-2159 or ron-tami@comcast.net. This food drive is in addition to the annual Scouting for Food event that takes place in November due to the high demand on the FM Food Shelf at this time. Walpole Boy Scouts are also selling popcorn to help support their scouting program. Please contact the troop secretary if you would like to purchase popcorn, but have not yet been asked."
Ed. Note: Here's one of the most interesting stories I've had for a long time! CCB
9-28-09
Charlestown Firm World Leader in Space Optics
By Chuck Bingaman
Optical Solutions Inc. (OSI) of Charlestown NH, an 8-employee firm described by owner Brad Piccirillo as a “po-dunk” company, is, in fact, a world leader in development of optical components for the leading space and land based telescopes.
Despite their size and short, 13-year history, Piccirillo and company have designed and produced the optics for several of the world’s most advanced telescope instruments, including the Japanese owned Subaru telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii—one of Japan’s national treasures—and the airplane mounted Sofia telescope. See www.subarutelescope.org. and http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Sofia/sofia.html.
Most importantly, OSI was tapped through an extensive competitive program run by NASA and Lockheed Martin to create the lenses for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to be launched in space 4-6 years from now. See http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/meet-menzel.html.
The Webb telescope has been in the talking and planning stages for years and will be the successor to the well-known Hubble Space Telescope that is nearing the end of its life span. When fully functioning in space, the JWST will view much further into space than the Hubble and capture images through infrared waves that will reach back to the Big Bang itself—the beginning of time as we know it, approximately 14 billion years ago!
Piccirillo sees his company—that he formed with little capital, no space, and no specific business plan—as primarily a research and development incubator in the field of cutting edge optics. “We specialize in taking on those extremely difficult jobs that others shy away from!”
“The JWST project is the most important, most significant thing in my life,” Piccirillo
said Monday in his Charlestown office co-inhabited with his dogs, Isabella and Gracie. “The specs for the lenses were ungodly difficult, and some said they couldn’t even be made.”
Brad Piccirillo demonstrates how completed lenses undergo through computerized testing to be certain they meet or exceed specifications in his Charlestown plant Monday. Technologist Kathy Cobb assists. Chuck Bingaman photo.
“Lockheed was tasked,” according to Piccirillo, “to find the best optical company in the world to make the lenses and to use notoriously difficult lithium fluoride (LiF), barium fluoride (BaF2) and zinc selenide (ZnSe) to do so.”
“We did the sample optics and one day six years ago—sitting right here in this office and this chair—I got a call from the Lockheed Project Manager who said “you’re technical ability is second to none. Your optics are ‘far better’ than any others in the world. You’re going to get the contract for every single lens!”
“We’d put in seven frigging years at that point. And we got the job strictly on merit. It’s the job of a lifetime!
Last Monday Piccirillo showed off the actual lenses that have now been created in the OSI factory and are ready to ship to Lockheed in California for testing and eventual incorporation into the telescope. Each of the orange-ish, zinc-selenium lenses, about the size of a hockey puck, took nearly a year to make using the latest in high-tech design hardware and software, extremely narrow tolerance diamond turning, and extensive testing. OSI is making two sets of lenses for the Webb telescope—it carries a back-up set in case the first set is damaged in any way—and a number of back-up copies.
“To date,” Piccirillo notes, “every one of our lenses has performed above the specs NASA requires.”
Originally from Schenectady, New York, Piccirillo attended Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York and the State University of New York Fredonia where he got a degree in optics. When he was 32 he decided that his “thing” in life would be to make the best optics anywhere.
“I’m not interested in business management,” Piccirillo, the intense, energetic, jeans-wearing CEO admits. “What I really enjoy in the business is the working with customers on technical solutions to their needs. I think astronomers must be the smartest people in the world, but few of them are instrument makers. We get to support that part of it!”
OSI has never done any marketing. Rather, its sophisticated products and willingness to take on the most difficult R&D projects speak clearly for themselves in a relatively small community worldwide. “We can,” Piccirillo says, “make any kind of optics you might imagine and make them to tolerances or levels of quality second to none in the world.”
Monahan Bags Telly Award for Documentary Tribute to Brother
by Chuck Bingaman
Chris Monahan of Walpole recently earned a Telly Award as the producer of “Jay: The Story of Katie Couric’s Late Husband”, a documentary tribute to his deceased brother for whom The Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health is named at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical College of Cornell University. See www.monahancenter.org.
Monahan, who left a 20-year career as an equity trader in Darien, Connecticut to move to Walpole five years ago, has been reinventing himself as a documentary film producer since coming here. And, in fact, this award was only the latest in several he has garnered for non-broadcast videos.
Telly Awards are given annually for achievements in film and video production. See www.tellyawards.com.
Originally produced in collaboration with Eric Ewers, “Jay” tells the story of Chris’s big brother Jay, a New York City criminal defense lawyer who was married to television personality Katie Couric and who died in 1998 at age 42 of colorectal cancer. In addition to his practice, Jay had gained national prominence as am MSNBC television commentator on legal cases including the O.J. Simpson trial and many others.
“Katie’s been so devoted to spreading the word about the dangers of colon cancer and ways of preventing it,” Monahan noted. “His doctor, Mark Pochapin, suggested the creation of a center in Jay’s name for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these deadly diseases. And it opened in 2004. So a lot of good has come from Jay’s death.”
But, after several years of the Center’s operation, Chris saw that there was little of Jay’s presence in the Center, something he could fix. Hence the 42-minute documentary on Jay and his life, emphasizing the magnetic personality that attracted clients, persuaded juries, enchanted Katie Couric and informed TV viewers from coast to coast. Now the documentary is shown on a daily basis to patients and visitors to the Monahan Center in its reception room.
Monahan, 50, recently set up Barnett Hill Productions, his own company, to produce what he calls “milestone videos”, non-broadcast productions designed to highlight events, achievements, and personalities. His clients include families that wish to memorialize beloved members, companies that need to celebrate achievements and accomplishments, and colleges and prep schools that need top-quality video for student recruitment and alumni communications purposes. “There is a world of non-broadcast video opportunities out there, and we are focused on being one of the top quality producers. We edit all of our productions down to their emotional core, add evocative music people can relate to, and seek a dynamic, long-term impact. For information visit Monahan’s web site at www.barnetthillproductions.com.”
Alyson’s Orchard Opens for Pick-Your-Own Apples…and more!
Chosen by New Hampshire Magazine in 2008 as the “Best Agricultural Experience” in New Hampshire, Alyson’s Orchard will open for the Pick-Your-Own season on Saturday, August 15 with a rain date of August 16. It’s the perfect choice for an afternoon of family fun!
Starting at 10 a.m. visitors will be able to pick Paula Red apples and blueberries and go for a free wagon ride in a special fire truck wagon pulled by a John Deere tractor. (The first 50 kids who ride will receive a fire chief hat.) There will also be free hot dogs and live music from 12 – 3 PM.
The farm stand will be open, selling apple pies, jams, local honey and maple syrup, cheese, chicken pies, gifts and more. Other seasonal fruits such as peaches and plums will be available at the farm stand, as well.
There will be a wine tasting featuring Alyson’s Heirloom Apple and Dry Apple wines, along with some new, award-winning selections from LaBelle Winery of Amherst, NH from 12-3 PM.
This event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weather permitting.Alyson’s is located on Route 12 in Walpole, 12 miles north of Keene.For more details visit their website www.alysonsorchard.com or call the Orchard at 603-756-9800.
Alyson’s Orchard Opens for Pick-Your-Own Apples…and more!
Chosen by New Hampshire Magazine in 2008 as the “Best Agricultural Experience” in New Hampshire, Alyson’s Orchard will open for the Pick-Your-Own season on Saturday, August 15 with a rain date of August 16. It’s the perfect choice for an afternoon of family fun!
Starting at 10 a.m. visitors will be able to pick Paula Red apples and blueberries and go for a free wagon ride in a special fire truck wagon pulled by a John Deere tractor. (The first 50 kids who ride will receive a fire chief hat.) There will also be free hot dogs and live music from 12 – 3 PM.
The farm stand will be open, selling apple pies, jams, local honey and maple syrup, cheese, chicken pies, gifts and more. Other seasonal fruits such as peaches and plums will be available at the farm stand, as well.
There will be a wine tasting featuring Alyson’s Heirloom Apple and Dry Apple wines, along with some new, award-winning selections from LaBelle Winery of Amherst, NH from 12-3 PM.
This event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weather permitting.Alyson’s is located on Route 12 in Walpole, 12 miles north of Keene.For more details visit their website www.alysonsorchard.com or call the Orchard at 603-756-9800.
Ray Boas's fascinating paper produced for the Spring Annual Meeting of the Walpole Historical Society is now available on the Society's web site at www.walpolehistory.org. In the paper Ray fills us in on an important time in our country's--and Walpole's--early history when publications printed and largely written here were mailed throughout the country. Terrific work, Ray! I should also mention that our Historical Society, now led by BarbaraHunter, is actively pursuing several other valuable projects for the town including great new exhibits at the Academy Building and a new history of the town due for publication this fall. Great job Barbara and all of your board members and volunteers! CCB
Walpole's Barbara Tarantino has a watercolor exhibit titled "The Flower Show" from now through August 31 at that Grafton Nature Museum at 186 Townshend Road. Call the museum at 802-843-2111 or check out the museum web site at www.nature-museum.org to confirm hours before going. You can also reach Barbara at btarantino@msn.com. CCB
Ed. Note: This item comes from Walpole Scoutmaster Lou Koletsky.CCB
YARD SALE TO BENEFIT LOCAL BOY SCOUTS
On Saturday June 6th from 8AM to 3PM, Walpole Boy Scout Troop 299 will be having a yard sale to raise money for a very special trip.
The yard sale is taking place on Route 12 by the corner of Upper Walpole Road.
If you have any quality items taking up space in your garage or attic that you wish to donate to the Yard Sale, please contact Lou Kaletsky at nhlou@yahoo.com.
Eight local boy scouts will be traveling to the Cape Lookout National Seashore, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a 9 day Sea Kayaking Adventure. Throughout the course of the trip the scouts will carry all of their food and supplies in their kayaks, being totally self sufficient. They will learn and practice advanced outdoor skills such as wilderness cookery and low impact - Leave No Trace camping methods, just to name a few. They will also learn skills essential for sea kayak safety such as paddling techniques, self-rescues, navigation, and much, much more. The scouts will gain insight into the rich history of the North Carolina coastline through visits to Harkers Island, Cape Lookout, & Portsmouth Village, to name a few places. This is a unique program that combines the physical and mental challenges of paddling over 80 miles of untouched or deserted beaches with the necessity to practice team work and exhibit leadership. The scouts plan on participating in a number of activities during the adventure, including visiting historic sites, learning about the ecology of the area, and performing conservation projects. This is sure to be a rewarding fun filled adventure.
asking for your support for the American Cancer Society. On Thursday May 21, 2009 I shall be having my head shaved to provide support and empathy for those individuals who have lost their hair due to chemo and or radiation therapy - especially women and children. This is the first time I have done something like this! I would appreciate any donation you are able to make to support my efforts with a check made out to the American Cancer Society. Your checks my be mailed to me at PO Box 457, Walpole, NH 0360."
All donations will be forwarded to the Cancer Society on May 21, 2009 when my hairdresser, Marie Castine of Turners Falls, MA, will do the honors of shaving my head."
We see her as a friendly, efficient Burdick’s barista, handing out lattes and hot chocolates most afternoons in our popular Walpole café.
What we don’t see is Catey’s challenging work four days each week as a para-professional teaching youngsters with disabilities at a public school across the river in Vermont. And what is even less visible is Catey’s difficult dyslexia that prevents her from understanding soft vowels and makes reading very problematical.
But Catey, who has struggled with and worked around her disability since having it identified in first grade, is using her experience-based understanding of kids with disabilities to empathize with and teach them on a one-to-one basis.
“I always wanted to teach. My grandmother was a para-professional working with children with learning disabilities long before they were called para-professionals or learning disabilities,” says Catey. “Being dyslectic myself and having a learning disability makes it easier for me to understand and relate to the feelings and struggles such kids go through.”
“College,” she notes, “was just not my thing because reading was so difficult. But being around these kids enables me to further my education.”
So, four days each week, Catey spends 6 or more hours working with 7-year old Aaron (not his real name) teaching him reading, spelling, math and other subjects. Aaron has muscular dystrophy, a progressive disease that attacks the muscle tissues and interferes with muscular control. “We have a whole reading program for him that includes lots of repetition. I love him. He’s a sweetheart, even though when we began in December he told me he hated me because I made him do such hard work! Fortunately, we’ve turned that around!”
Now in her third year of work, Catey has also had extensive experience working with autistic children and she stresses that autism has a wide range of manifestations. “Every child learns differently, and we have to re-arrange how we teach with each one so it fits their needs and aptitudes. I was always a hands-on learner—still am—and learning from a book was very difficult for me. It’s the same with Aaron, so I’m constantly thinking of physical ways to help him learn. And it’s working!”
But it can be very challenging, physical work. Metcalf notes that she’s been bitten, kicked, scratched, punched and spit on over the years by children working out their frustrations and sometimes anger with their challenges. “But at the same time it’s very rewarding! You just keep going! When it’s a tough day for your child, it’s a tough day for you. When it’s a good day, it’s a really good day for you!”
The hardest part? “Not being able to speak directly and often with my student’s parents under Vermont school regulations. But I do have to provide a log of Aaron’s activities and learning in a diary style notebook that I send home with him each day. And, his mother often sends it back the next day with questions and notes. So we do have an ongoing communication about him.”
The most rewarding part? “Seeing Aaron understand things and succeed!” says Catey. “Everyday we see some progress in something. Just last week he clearly mastered the concept of his birthday. That’s got lots of elements to it, if you think about it!”
Metcalf, 27, comes to her work from a long history. Growing up on Long Island she lived with several relatives that had dyslexia and other learning disabilities. And, one of her fondest childhood memories was working in and raising funds for a camp for children with disabilities. “Plus,” she adds, “I worked for some time in a classroom with autistic children, and the teacher was awesome! I learned to know them as individuals that I could relate to even though their behavior was different from mine and other kids I knew. Now, when parents bring kids into Burdick’s that have autism or other challenges, I can often sense it right away and connect with them in ways that let them feel at ease and have a good time.”
Someone to admire and respect? You bet! Catey Metcalf tacks on 32 hours of work each week at Burdick’s Café to her 26 hours at her Vermont job. It adds up to an impressive young woman who is setting an example of industry, creativity and commitment for all of us. And making a profound difference in the life of a child with major needs!
Ed. Note: The following story is in the Eagle Times this morning. CCB
2-10-09
Walpole Couple Share Genealogical Hobby
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Retired Walpole family practice doctors Jeanne and Peter Jeffries are offering free workshops for people interested family research from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Saturday, February 14 with special interest in helping genealogy buffs climb over the “stonewalls” they find in their research.
“I love discovering people and facts I’ve searched all over for!” laughed Jeanne Jeffries in a recent discussion. “It’s that ‘Eureka” moment when you find information about someone like a long-lost relative you’ve been searching everywhere for that is so exciting!”
Jeanne Jeffries has traced her ancestry back twelve generations in the 30 years she’s been doing genealogical research.And she’s been offering workshops for five years to help others get started or pursue their interests.
Along the way, the Jeffries have been journeying to Salt Lake City, Utah for 25 years to use the vast genealogical resources of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.“I first went there,” Jeanne recalled, “when we had to page through these enormous ledger books just looking for names.Then they gradually moved into having the pages on microfiche—those same ledger pages on machine-readable plastic sheets.And now much of it is computerized for faster searching!The beauty of it is that the LDS searches for and records genealogical records from all over the world.”
While helping many area residents to begin or continue their research, the Jeffries are also planning their next genealogical foray to Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Denver in search of knowledge of Jeanne’s great, great, great uncle who lived at various times in the late 1800s to around 1930 in Hartford, Minneapolis and Denver.
In other searches and genealogical trips, the Jefferies have discovered information about their ancestors in Scotland and closer to home.Peter’s family seems to have origins on the Scottish Hebridean island of Lewis, later moved to Ireland and, eventually, to New Hampshire.Jeanne’s forebears came from the southern Scottish town of Dumfries that is associated with Robert Burns and John Paul (late known as John Paul Jones of US Naval fame).
One of Jeanne’s most rewarding “stonewall” scaling experiences required her to travel to Swanzey, Massachusetts in search of evidence of her grandmother’s half-sister, Mary Mason.Searches of census records had failed to turn up the woman or anything about her.But, sitting on the floor in a back room of the town library, Jeanne was finally able to find evidence of the long-lost relative in unpublished town reports of poll tax payments.Eureka! And lesson learned: You often have to travel to the place to find the way over your research stonewall!
But genealogical finds are not always happy ones!Jeanne recalled that, when helping her mother search ancestral records, her mother found that an ancient relativehad been hung from the yardarm of a British ship during the Revolutionary War!Her mother closed the book on the spot and ended her genealogical career forever!
For information on the Jeffries’ public workshop on genealogical research, call Peter or Jeanne Jeffries at 603-756-2933. And if you find that the British really hanged some of your ancestors, count them as patriots and be proud!
Opinion: How Fortunate We Are to Have Chief Dick Hurlburt Lead Walpole’s Volunteer Fire/EMS Service
Wow! Do you know how fortunate all of us in Walpole are to have Fire Chief Dick Hurlburt and our crack team of over 40 volunteer firefighters and EMS providers?
Having sat in last night for the Walpole Leadership Academy’s final session of the first half of the year’s curriculum, I was impressed all over again with the leadership demonstrated by Dick and further described by Bill Carmody, an Academy class member and eight-year volunteer firefighter himself who moderated the session.
* Dick Hurlburt has been our Chief for 12 years and served another multi-year stint before cutting back to being a regular volunteer for several years when his children were growing up.Dick’s dad was chief for 22 years (and still helps out!), and his grandfather was chief for 5 years.
*Dick—and his assistant, Mark Houghton—plan, schedule and lead the extensive, year-round training program the department keeps beginning, intermediate and advanced firefighters and EMS crews up to date with the latest techniques.They also train the men to maintain all the complex equipment the department uses from tankers to ladder trucks, from emergency rescue equipment to outboard motors, to high-tech medical equipment.
*Dick supervises the 24/7/365 on-duty status of the department, seeing that highly skilled teams are ready on a moment’s notice to save US and our property from fires and other emergencies.They receive between 200 and 300 ambulance calls per year and over 100 fire calls!(Incidentally, our volunteers DO get paid a small wage for time they are actually answering calls.Unlike past tradition, local employers actually dock their pay for hours they are away working to protect us.)
* Dick is also the town's emergency preparedness manager.
It’s difficult to capture in words the level of commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm Dick Hurlburt embodies when speaking about the department.But when you see his passion in person and realize that Walpole has more volunteer firefighters than most surrounding communities combined, you know where that level of group dedication comes from.
And you know the type of leadership Dick provides when he answers the question “What’s the best part of the work for you?”with “It's when I see the younger guys—and the veterans as well—jump in and do their jobs really well automatically and without any further instruction or direction!”
What a lesson in leadership!What a terrific example! What a great way to end the first half-year of the Walpole Leadership Academy!Chuck Bingaman
Do you want a really good, interesting, fun book to read that has all kinds of direct roots in Walpole? Looking for a perfect Walpole-related Chrsitmas gift? Get "A Country Practice: Scenes From the Veterinary Life" by Langdon resident Douglas Whynott (North Point Press, 2004). I know, it's been around for several years, but I've just had it for a month or so, and I've enjoyed every page! You'll get to know local veterinarian Chuck Shaw a lot better along with those that have practiced with him over the years, women and men that have worked in his clinic, and even local dairy farmers that figure prominently in local affairs. You'll appreciate all the more how hard these people work, what kind of problems, medical and ethical, they struggle with, and how lucky we are to have them in our community. CCB
“A Christmas Carol”—A Gift To the Town From the Walpole Players
Benefiting Fall Mountain Food Shelf
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
The Walpole Players will stage “A Christmas Carol”, Charles Dickens’ immortal tale of redemption and caring for one’s fellow men, December 18, 19 and 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the Walpole Town Hall.
They are staging the play as a gift to the town and will fulfill the message of “A Christmas Carol” by encouraging those attending to make a gift to the Fall Mountain Food Shelf in lieu of spending money on tickets.
Co-Directors Ray Boas and Tara Sad are rehearsing an “all comers”, 23-person cast with veteran local actor Jim Skofield as Charles Dickens doing a public reading and other players, ranging in age from 8 to the 70s, doing vignettes of key parts of the story.
“At the cast party for last spring’s “You Can’t Take It With You,” Jean Kobeski suggested that we do “A Christmas Carol”,” explained Boas, who is also president of the Players. “We held a special meeting in September, and we were unanimous that it was a great idea.”
“What we wanted to do was to include anyone who wanted to be in the play. So Tara and I read 4-5 scripts and I sat down over ten days and made my own adaptation. I took out the narrator’s parts and replaced them with scenes of dialogue to accommodate everybody that tried out.”
Ray showing his collection of "A Christmas Carol" editions at his shop yesterday.
“Dickens,” Boas added, “spent a good part of his career doing public readings of his work, much of which came from “A Christmas Carol”. So we have adapted that historic approach and interspersed it with the acted parts.” Skofield as Dickens will be on one side of the stage, and the vignettes will be performed behind and through a 9 by 12 foot Victorian frame built by Bill Perron, creator of many of the Players’ past amazing sets.
The original thought was to make the play a gift to the town. Admission will be free, but tickets will be required (because of limited space in the town hall) and will be available at the usual distribution points—Real to Reel Burdick’s Café and Galloway Real Estate and. The tickets will reserve seating until 15 minutes prior to curtain time. In lieu of paid admission, the Players are asking that each person attending make a monetary donation for the Fall Mountain Food shelf. “In keeping with the spirit of Christmas,” explained Boas, “it just felt right for us to encourage these gifts to a very needy and increasingly important organization in our community.”
“Following each performance—and we’re keeping it to a tad over an hour without intermission—we are going to have refreshments for the audience,” added Boas. “And keeping with the theme, the refreshments and the theater decorations are going to have a Victorian flair.”
But there’s even more! Boas noted that few people know about the Christmas customs of 19th century England, the background of “A Christmas Carol.” Hence he is drawing on his long interest in the subject and his collection of over 20 published versions of the story to create a special, 12-page “keepsake booklet” to be given to every person attending the performance. And Boas intends to produce annual booklets with additional information on “A Christmas Carol” and early English Christmas traditions for future Players’ Christmas productions.
Mary Lou Huffling, director of the Fall Mountain Food Shelf, thanked the Walpole Players last week for their coming gifts and noted that the Food Shelf, this fall, has been serving many more families in need than it has in its entire 30-year history. The Food Shelf, which serves needy families from Walpole, North Walpole, Alstead, Charlestown, Langdon and Drewsville, last month served nearly 900 families in need of food, nearly twice the number that needed its services following the flood of 2005. “The costs of medicine, heat, gas, and lights have gone up so much, and many people just can’t afford them,” Huffling said last week. “And, there have been many lay-offs from smaller companies in the area that do not make the news.”
A retelling of the lessons of “A Christmas Carol” cannot have been better timed or the Walpole Players’ approach more appropriate.
Preston Brings SOMA Neuro-Muscular Integration to Langdon
By Chuck Bingaman
Few career choices hinge on being hit in the head by a falling bowling ball, a serious brain injury and a period of paralysis!
But that accident in her freshman year at the University of Vermont led Louisa Preston through years of pain, loss of her athletic abilities, and exploration of many therapies to regain her sense of physical movement, control and energy.
“I came from a family in New Jersey where we all played tennis, skied, and swam.We were very physical and enjoyed it! But my accident ended nearly all of it until I discovered SOMA and it helped me put it back together!”
In fact, SOMA Neuro-Muscular Integration was so successful for Preston that she took the 8-month course at the SOMA Institute outside Seattle and became a certified SOMA therapist in 1995. Then she launched a 13-year practice there until moving to this area where she continued her work at Okemo last year.
Now she’s opened a SOMA practice in a room at the Langdon Town Hall on Rt. 12A and is using her abilities to help people regain alignment flexibility and balance.’
“The SOMA program is body work delivered in 10 sessions, each loosening and unwinding the body one area at a time,” explains Preston.“Even though SOMA work is very physical and hand-delivered one on one on a table, it is different from ordinary massage.With SOMA we change the structure of the body through the manipulation of fascia—tough connective tissue that envelops and isolates the muscles, providing structural support and protection—and the musclesthemselves.The neurological work is done on both physiological as well as psychological levels.”
By applying pressure to fascia and muscles, returning them to their free and flexible functions, “people find that their recurring bodily problems often go away,” says Preston.“It gets the fasciaflexibility, and the changes in the body continue to evolve after the sessions are completed.”
So,” she continues, “ it’s great for chronic pain in the back or neck, chronic shoulder and hip pain, fibromyolgia and even lack of energy.”
The SOMA program is administered in ten sessions, each lasting one and a quarter to one and a half hours.Preston takes pictures of her patients, front and back and in profile, before and after the first and last sessions so they can see actual changes in their posture as a result of the work.In between sessions, clients are requested to complete logs describing how they felt before, during and after the sessions to make their emotional/psychological changes clear.Sessions are usually given a week or two apart.
While the benefits of the eleven-session regimen are more or less permanent, Preston said that she and other SOMA therapists do offer “a maintenance massage for their patients that is customized to their particular needs.”
For further information or to discuss possible treatment, call Louisa Preston at 603-499-2017.For information on SOMA, see www.SOMA-Insitute.org.
--30—
[Sidebar]
Maybe There’s Something to This!
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Got to try this before writing about it, right?
Well, I went to my first SOMA session not expecting a lot.After seeing my photos, I wasn’t too inspired!Uneven hips, crooked spine, dropping shoulders.An iffy task for any body worker!
Lying down on my side on a padded table with arms and head on padded squares and covered with warm blankets, at least it was comfortable.Then Louisa Preston began applying pressure from her strong hands and forearms augmented by the firm leverage of leaning into the work.
I felt muscles, bones, and nerves that I had never felt before!While not exactly painful, I knew that serious pressure, serious work was going on deep inside.From high on my neck to deep around my hip bones, she applied smooth, very firm pressure, while constantly moving along bones and muscles.(Subsequent sessions deal with all other body regions from head to toe.)
I was feeling relaxed but also loosened up.First on the right side and then on the left side as she took it up.
And then—90 minutes later—it was over. And you know what? My head and shoulders were realigned! My shoulders were not as hunched over. My chin was probably a half inch or more higher than before and my head more upright.Muscles under my shoulder blades and extending around my shoulders had been pushed, stretched, released and returned to their natural length, allowing me to stand straighter than I had in years!
Wow!
--30--
Lisa Preston at work in Langdon. Chuck Bingaman photo.
Several hundred people gathered this afternoon at Alyson's Orchard to remember Bob Jasse who died a week ago. What a character! What a mixture of things! While we all know Bob could be as friendly, as passionate, as outspoken, as profane as anyone we know, he was also as generous a friend as any we could hope to have. And many of those that benefitted from Bob's caring spoke up Sunday with tales of his warmth and his generosity that enriched lives and saved families.
One addendum to yesterday's posting on the Second Chance animal rescue project being pursued in Bob's name by Bobby Hall: There is a narrow window of time in which to accomplish the rescue. "Four or five days," according to Bobby who I talked to at the memorial service for Bob. So, if you're interested in helping rescue the herd of red deer and elk and enabling them to live in the fields adjoining Alyson's Orchard along Wentworth Road, contact Bobby Hall immediately at 399-7152. CCB
I understand from Bobby Hall--most of you know Bobby as the bartender and animal friend extraordinaire at Burdick's--that he has arranged a not-for-profit in honor of our friend Bob Jasse that will use some of Bob's land to rescue animals for Walpole families and surrounding communities. Bob always dreamed of having some deer, elk, bison, etc. nearby.
Bobby has learned about a heard of 15 red deer and elk in Westmoreland that are facing slaughter unless people volunteer to purchase and save them. They would find a new home in the field along Wentworth Road near Alyson's Orchard. If you are interested in knowing more about the project and possibly donating, call Bobby at 603-399-7152. CCB
I'm sorry to report that Bob Jasse passed away yesterday. Bob was a friendly, funny, generous man--one of the real characters in the town--and we will very much miss him. We'll be thinking of and supporting Susan and the rest of Bob's family. CCB
Since she arrived from Finland one day in August and started the next day at Fall Mountain Regional High School, Noora Niemi has been immersed a new culture, new academics, a nearly new language and, it turns out, an old love: soccer.
Niemi, 17, attends high school at home in Tampere, a city of 200,000 outside of Helsinki, but she sees it as not that different from rural America because “in Finland our cities do not have tall buildings like in American cities.”Also, “my grandparents live in the country in Finland, and we visit them every summer, so I am used to being in small villages.”
“I came here,” she says, “because I wanted to become fluent in English and I wanted to meet new friends.It was “a little bit scary”, she admits, because she didn’t know where I would go till the end.
Last Minute Arrival
At it happened, Walpole resident Glenn Barcome had been contacted in late summer by ASSE, a large program that places foreign students in US high schools, because he had hosted “about 12” such students in the past.He chose Noora from a pool of students that were still hoping to find a placement for the academic year in a US high school.And it didn’t hurt, as far as Fall Mountain was concerned, that Noora was a soccer player.
Was such a last minute, hurried transition to a new school in a new culture difficult?“No, no,” Niemi said last week.“I was very excited!”She does concede that language has been a bit of a problem even though she had had English since she was 10 years old in school at home in Finland, both British and American versions.Barcome noted that Noora’s English has improved markedly week by week since she’s been here, and on her first progress report her grades were all As and Bs.Often in her interview last week, she referred to her well-used English—Finnish dictionary to get just the right English word to complete her thought.
High school academics here are much different from Finland, says Niemi.Classes change from day to day, unlike the usual routine at Fall Mountain where one’s class schedule is the same each day.High school in Finland is three years long.The Fins take academics very seriously, and while there are fewer subjects taught, achievement levels rank very high internationally.Everyone is required to study Finnish language, Swedish and English, and they are also offered a large number of other language choices as electives.Home economics is not taught on the high school level, and art classes are very limited.“The Finnish School system is one of the best in the world,” says Niemi, “and every year we win international prizes for our academic achievement!”
“Language” laughed Niemi last week, “has been my hardest problem so far.In school some of the teachers spoke so fast for me.But I am learning.”
American Surprises
As to surprises Niemi has encountered living here, she mentioned, first, “Everyone is so friendly, so nice. And everyone talks to me.Everybody is friends to each other.In Finland we don’t speak to people who we don’t know.Some people might talk to you, but normally Finnish people are shy”.
Niemi also has been surprised at how cheap everything is here.“In Finland it seems like everything is double as expensive as it is here.I bought an IPOD here and it was less than half as much as at home!”
Niemi says she communicates with her parents and three younger brothers by email and over the Internet with Skype!“They think I am brave to come here and they are happy that I am getting this experience because when they were young they couldn’t be an exchange student.They think this is important because I can use English anywhere in the world.”
“In Finland we have no school teams. But I have played on a soccer team there for 10 years, and we practice all year.In school we have only gymnastics.But after school everybody has their own hobbies.I have soccer.In my soccer team we have girls from many schools,” says Niemi.She adds that her girls team in Finland won a top league championship for her age group last year.“I am lucky here because all of my teammates are so nice and they are good players.”
Host parent Barcome said that he had to persuade local authorities to take a foreign student this year and they were happy to have an experienced soccer player to boot.“She lives, eats and breathes soccer,” says Barcome.“When she’s not practicing, she’s running outside or inside on the treadmill to strengthen herself.”
“The playoff games are starting soon,” adds Niemi, “so we will have really exciting games. I hope you will come and see them!”
How will a year in Walpole and at Fall Mountain change her? Niemi thought a bit and said, “I think I am much more independent, [after consulting the dictionary] more worldly.I can manage myself much better.And my English will be much better.”
And Walpole will be a better place for having had Noora Niemi in our community.
Seeking more trade in their store and in others locally, the Walpole Artisan Coop last week initiated action to get Walpole businesses working together.
In a meeting to which they had invited local business people, the Artisans started the brainstorming that, they hope, will result in a more coordinated effort to help visitors to Walpole appreciate the many businesses and attractions that are available in the town even if they are not obvious to outsiders.
According to Priya Allaire, a member of the Coop, “We get many shoppers in our Coop store that ask about other things to see and do in town, but we are not yet prepared to give them well-thought out answers and supporting printed materials.”
Walpole Artisans Coop member Barbara Tarantino wields the marker to record business cooperation ideas at last week's discussion at the Coop shop. Sue Bingaman photo.
Even though initial turn-out from other businesses in Walpole was scanty the first night, those present did roll up their sleeves and begin brainstorming about ways to make the most of visitors to the town and to the Coop shop in particular.
Out came the newsprint pads and colored makers and forward came the ideas. Among the first ideas thrown out for discussion was the possibility of capitalizing on the evident need for a visitor information source in Walpole by making the Artisans’ Coop shop itself a very visible source of such information. Advocates of that idea saw it as a chance to attract more visitors to the shop itself and exposing them to the many works of fine art on display and sale there.
Others suggested that a visitor information sign might be added to the front of the shop, either in an official state program, if there is one, sponsored by the state of New Hampshire or simply a one-of-a-kind sign.
Barbara Tarantino, a painter and member of the coop, suggested that several shops in Walpole might offer discount coupons to their customers for redemption at other town shops, thereby encouraging visors to drop in at other businesses nearby. She reported seeing such a coupon at Little Anthony’s Seafood Restaurant in Winchendon, Massachusetts recently for a discount on purchases at a nearby gift shop.
Glass blower Chris Sherwin suggested the possibility of placing a visitor information sign on South Street near the entrance to the village on Rt. 12 to direct outsiders to the Coop shop and the information they can use.
Local real estate agent Sue Bingaman noted that the recently published Walpole Civic and Business Directory contains a comprehensive list of Walpole businesses that could be invited to participate in further discussions of business cooperation.
Coop members present agreed to convene another meeting after calling local businesses to urge their participation in implementing cooperative plans.
I made a huge mistake in the French house exchange posting on The Walpolean Saturday day! The French family from Brittany is looking to exchange THIS Christmas only, from December 21 to January 1, about 10 days. Would any Walpolean reader be interested in an exchange of houses during that time or maybe even making their house available if you are going to be away then and using the French family's beach house at a time to be negotiated next summer? Or even just having them stay in and take care of your house for the ten days in December? If so, please call Sue or me at 756-9268. Thanks! Chuck Bingaman
We are in touch with a French family from Brittany that is looking for a house to exchange over the Christmas period from December 21 to January 1, about 10 days. They would like to do an exchange with someone in the Walpole area who would like to spend Christmas in Brittany (a beautiful, beachy area in the northwest of France.) In the alternative, we are wondering if there might be a Walpole family that will be away during that time that would make their house available. (They could care for pets, house plants, etc.) They have a father, mother, 12 year old daughter, 18 year old son and--the reason they are coming--a daughter who is an exchange student at Keene State. None has ever been to the US except the daughter at Keene State. They came to our attention because they belong to an international organization that we also belong to called Intervac that facilitates international house exchanges. We would be available to assist them during all or most of the time that they are here. If you might wish to discuss the possiblities here, pleae call us at 756-9268. Chuck and Sue Bingaman
Just a reminder that the Walpole Artisans are holding a celebration tonight--wine and cheese--in honor of one of their talented members--Janette Schuster--and her new book at the Artisans shop on Main Street in Walpole from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. See attached story. Janette does interesting, beautiful work, and her book is spectacular! Chuck Bingaman
9-9-08
Walpole Artist/Geologist Publishes Mixed-Media Collage Jewelry Book
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Janette Schuster of Walpole, though trained as a geologist and employed as a freelance textbook writer, finds her real joy in finding old watch faces, electrical washers, typewriter keys and other castoff items and fashioning them into unique jewelry.
And add greeting cards, bookmarks, robot like dolls and other precise, never-seen-before creations to the list!
Further, she is the author of a newly published “how-to” book in the field—“mixed-media collage jewelry” (2008 A by Lark/Hollan Book, A Division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. of New York and London.)
“I am by nature and nurture a hunter of treasure and a creator of stuff—equal parts scientist and artist!” Schuster admits.“I grew up scouring local flea markets, yard sales, and even the dump for much of the stuff of life.I spent the first half of my life making a beeline for a career as an archeological geologist, seasoning my scientific pursuits with art and craft workshops whenever possible.”
“I finally found my creative niche when I began using found materials in jewelry and collage. Found objects, often having the flavor of time and antiquity about them, provide the best medium for expressing who I am and where I come from,” she adds.
Schuster’s new book, available along with many of her mixed media art pieces at the Walpole Artisans Cooperative store of which she is a member, gives instructions for constructing 25 orginal pieces from found objects.Readers are encouraged to follow the instructions precisely using their own collage materials or to use the instructions and ample, artful photographs as inspiration to work in innovative ways to create their own looks.
While most works in the new book are Schuster’s she also includes jaw-dropping photos and production plans for mixed media work by other artists in the field, including her friend Luann Udell of Keene and perhaps the biggest name in the field, Thomas Mann of New Orleans, one of the founding fathers on innovative collage jewelry.
Unlike most books where authors often seek publishers for years, Hollan, a major name in the craft publishing business, discovered Schuster’s web site and recruited her to do the book.“It was the publishing equivalent of the agent seeing a drug store clerk and offering her a movie role,” she laughs!“Being asked to do it was a surprise and an honor…and actually doing it was a lot of work!”
Schuster, who grew up in Edison, New Jersey, came to Walpole two years ago and found that the artisans here “welcomed me into the fold and made me feel at home creatively here!”During most days, she turns out geology education materials for major textbook publishers, but on the evenings and weekends her heart, mind and treasury of tools are engaged in a never-ending process creative!“Art making,” according to Schuster, “is purely an act of joy for me! I love every step along the way.I can be inspired by the face of an old watch or a tiny rusty spring.I get a lot of pleasure from a completed piece!” To see a collection of Janette Schuster’s work, visit www.visualApothecary.com.
Tomorrow is Assistant Town Clerk Wendy Walsh's last day in the office before moving with husband Kenny to Hopkinton where Kenny has been working for some time in the Office of the State Fire Marshall in nearby Concord. Wendy has provided Walpoleans with cheerful, friendly, highly professional service for many years, and we'll all miss her smiling face. Sandy Smith is advertising for a new assistant and tells me that she has some good applicants. But they won't be Wendy! Good luck Wendy and Ken! CCB
Ed. Query: Does any Walpolean reader have an objection to occasional commercial entries like this one for Walpole people doing business in Walpole? CCB
"Looking for quality childcare close to home? I have openings for an infant and/or preschoolers in my Walpole home. Lots of room outside to run, play and explore! Lots of love, imaginative play and stories inside. I'm a mother of three with over 20 years of childcare experience. For more details call Julie Rios at 756-4173."
“It’s intellectual, exciting and lots of surprises!”
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Walpole’s Barbra Bragg returns as a juried craftsperson Saturday to the 75th Annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair at Mt. Sunapee Resort east of Newport on Rt. 103.
And that’s meant that her outdoor/indoor studio space has been smokin’ for the past several weeks.Literally!
Bragg does Raku, the ancient Japanese pottery method whereby clay pieces are heated quickly to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit in special kilns and then moved to covered containers—in her case, metal garbage cans—filled with combustible materials such as saw dust and straw.The resulting, smoky process “reduces” the pottery surfaces and glazing giving them a unique, aged look and stains the exposed surface with carbon.
Bragg currently focuses on creating fanciful visual pieces she calls tongue pots (faces with removable tongues), zoo morphs (creature-like things
with legs, bodies and often dangling wire doo-dads), chimneys (stacks of ringlike pieces), story houses, and masks.Some hang on walls, some sit on tables, others are just there to be looked at.Are they functional?Bragg says “to be looked at is a function too, you know!” And they ARE something to look at!
“I first showed my work at the League’s Annual Crafts Fair 25 years ago, but then I went off and worked in porcelain, painting and sculpture—areas that aren’t shown at the fair.So now I’m back in pottery full-time, and it’s great to being going to the Fair again!”
Bragg says she likes “being on the edge, producing really primitive, archeological, earthy, ‘just dug out of the ground’ looks.”And her pieces fit that description!
But it’s not all fun and games.Bragg says her work, which she pursues nearly everyday, IS work, not fun.“I wouldn’t say it’s fun.It is intellectual, exciting and has lots of surprises.And there are frequent disappointments.Such as when people reject your work or when you accidentally crack a favorite piece in the firing process.And it’s hard to make money selling art!”
But she wouldn’t—couldn’t—trade her life for another.“I’ve been playing in the mud and making things with rocks since I was little girl.It’s what I do. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t be making things”
Along the way Bragg has collected a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics at State University of New York at New Paltz and a Masters of Fine Arts at Johnson State College in Vermont.She’s also taught ceramics and sculpture at Plymouth State College and Granite State College.To be allowed to exhibit at next week’s Fair, her work had to be juried by a panel of her peers in the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, a serious hurdle for serious artists.
Why go to the work of creating an inventory of pieces and traveling to the Annual Fair?“Well,” says Bragg, “I hope to sell a lot of stuff!But I also want to meet representatives for several galleries that might handle my pottery and meet the managers of the New Hampshire League stores.They too might want to stock my pieces for sale. And I hope to see many New Hampshire friends over the four days I’ll be there.My booth’s #813!”
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Annual Fair runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, August 2 to Sunday, August 10 at the Mt. Sunapee Resort on Rt. 103 east of Newport.In addition to hundreds of exhibitors showing baskets, pottery, fiber crafts, glass, leather, metal, printmaking and more, there are musical performances several times daily, special exhibits and workshops, and even childcare.Compete details are available at www.nhcrafts.org.
Who needs the Tour de France? Walpole got its own French Gran Prix Monday evening as two revelers at Burdick’s annual Bastille Day festival leapt into their perfectly matched Citroen 2CVs and competed for three laps—in opposite directions—around the town common.
Francophiles David Howard of Walpole and Dr. Mark Anagnostopulos of Brattleboro both came for dinner in their French wheels, tiny, underpowered Citroens aged around 40, depending on which parts you are considering. Howard is an architect, and Anagnostopulos is a psychologist. Commonly known as the “deux chaveaux” (doo shav??), the nickname for their cars is based on the French phrase for two horsepower, the car’s rating for tax purposes.
“They have about 14 horsepower,” said Howard Tuesday morning, “but you can soup them up to about 16 horsepower if you work at it. In short, they’re incapable of breaking the speed limit.”
But that didn’t stifle Monday’s competition. With roars of the tiny engines—hardly more than the power plants of self-respecting John Deere lawn tractors—the two men rolled out of the Burdick’s parking lot to the cheers of fifty or so spectators. Howard piloted his wife’s wine red ’66 model, trimmed in black, with Anagnostopulos close behind in his sky blue ’70 model. They headed around the corner in the same direction, but 10 minutes later Howard reappeared from the direction he departed and Anagnostopulos appeared driving through the Burdick’s lot from the other direction!
Turned out they had agreed to circle the common in opposite directions, adding hilarity to the racket of the engines and cheers of the confused spectators.
After a dizzying series of laps, loops and laughs, Anagnostopulos was declared the winner.
The Citroen 2CV is one of the most iconic of cars. According to Wikipedia, “the 2CV is described in Drive On!: A Social History of the Motor Car by longtime CAR magazine columnist LJK Setright as 'The most intelligent application of minimalism ever to succeed as a car.' It was designed for low cost, simplicity, versatility, reliability, and off-road driving. For this it had a light, easily serviceable engine, extremely soft suspension, high clearance, and, for oversized loads, a car-wide canvas sunroof. Between 1948 and 1990 3,872,583 2CVs were produced, plus 1,246,306 camionettes (small 2CV trucks).”
Ed. Note: Here's an opportunity to support five local women who are working very hard to raise funds for the leader in cancer research support, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Tiffany Guiterrez and Melissa Neal, especially, need our support at this point to reach their fund-raising goals. You can reach Tiffany at 313-4442 or Melissa at 756-3176. Or you can pledge online at www.the3day.org. CCB
7-15-08
Walpole Women Walking for Cancer Cure
60 Miles Over Three Days in August!
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Six intrepid Walpole area women—calling themselves The Pink Sox—will attack a three-day, 20-miles-per-day, trek through suburban Boston in August to raise cancer research funds as part of the Breast Cancer 3-Day® to Benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Walpoleans (and sisters-in-law) Chris and Patti Neal, Chris’s daughters Melissa Neal and Tiffany Guiterrez, Diane Myers-Miller, along with Angela Warren of Hanover, have been training since spring for their marathon days next month.
Breast cancer research walkers at their Old Home Days Bake Sale were, left to right, Patti Neal, Diane Myers-Miller, Christine Neal, Melissa Neal, and Tiffany Guiterrez.
And, they’ve been recruiting individual and business sponsors of their walks with an equally bold goal of raising at least $2,200 apiece and a total of $14,000 for breast cancer research. So far Chris, Diane and Patti have exceeded their individual sponsorship goals, and Melissa, Tiffany and Angela are still working on theirs.
Seeking a Cure
“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” said Patti Neal at the group’s Old Home Days bake sale on the town Common last week. “I went to the web site at www.the3day.org and found that my sister–in-law Chris had already signed up. I called my friend Diane [Myers-Miller] and convinced her to join us. So that was great!” Patti is an administrative secretary at Fall Mountain Regional High School.
“I had a friend in San Diego who is a breast cancer survivor,” added Chris. “She did the walk a few years ago which is how I learned about it. Unfortunately, we all know many others who have been touched by it. This is our opportunity to do something bold to fight back.” Chris is a nurse with Fresenius Medical Care of Lebanon (NH), a dialysis center. Chris also recruited a Fresenius colleague, Angela Warren of Hanover, to participate along with Chris’s two daughters, Tiffany and Melissa.
“Originally, just my mom wanted to do it,” recalled Tiffany, 25, a stay-at-home mother. “But the more I looked into it the more important I realized it was. We’re doing it for the future. As the slogan on the web site, says it, ‘everyone deserves a life’.”
Funds Raised to Date
The Pink Sox have made substantial progress in raising pledges for their goal of $14,000. But they still need help. Readers can get an up-to-the-minute tally of their pledge progress at http://08.the3day.org/. Pledges can be made on the site. Alternatively, readers can download a form for making a pledge by mail.
The next fundraiser is a concert at Hastings House behind the Unitarian church from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. on July 26 featuring the Highball Heroes. Admission is $10 if one wears pink and $15 otherwise.
Komen for the Cure
Eighty-five percent of the net proceeds from the Breast Cancer
3-Day benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network fighting to end breast cancer.
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement to fund research for a cure.
Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure® and the Breast Cancer 3-Days, the organization has invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill its promise. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org/ or call 1 877 GO KOMEN.
National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund
Fifteen percent of the net proceeds from the Breast Cancer 3-Day benefit the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund that will provide support for breast cancer initiatives including research, treatment, prevention and education. The NPT Breast Cancer Fund is an endowment that will ensure that the cause receives long-term, continuing support irrespective of gifting activities in years to come.
National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) is an independent public charity dedicated to promoting and facilitating charitable giving by individuals, families and organizations while expanding their knowledge in the field of philanthropy. Founded in 1996, NPT is one of the 100 largest charities in the United States with more than $640 million in assets under management. For more information, visit http://www.nptrust.org/ and http://www.nptrust.org/donors/field_interest_funds.asp.
Serious, Concrete Action
Asked why she is training for 60 miles of August walking over three days, Angela Warren laughed, “One of my closest friends had to have a double mastectomy in her thirties. And we just know so many friends who are sick or even dying of breast cancer. So we’re looking for something concrete we can do to help them and other women in the future. This is a great program, and I’m glad to help!”
Diane Myers-Miller said the day she decided to participate was her daughter Eliza’s 21st birthday. “I am mindful of doing this for my daughters and others as well. And not just for treatment but for a cure!”
Melissa Neal said, “I’m walking for my mom, my sister, my niece, and my future children.”
For more about the project or the Pink Sox, call Patti Neal at 313-7476 or 756-4286.
In the "better late than never department", here are the people that made Walpole Old Home Days such a great success last week! CCB
Co-Chairs: Joan Devault and Cindy Westover
Secretary/Treasurer: Judy Trow
Logo/T-shirts: Annette Grenier
Program booklet: Linda Graff and Betty Prentiss
Walpole Players Liaison: Bill Perron
Block Party: Nancy Wettach and Raynie Laware
Talent Show: Trina Carmody
Friday Night Dance: George Jeffrey/American Legion
Fireworks: Dick Hurlburt/Firemen
Academy Breakfast: Susan Vose/Historical Society
Common set-Up: Kathy Hanks
5K Race: Jim Baucom and Steve Horton
Parade: Nancy Wettach
Antique Cars: Margaret and Larry Ray
Pet Show: Myra Mansouri
Basketball Shootout: Brian Pickering
Junior Woodsmen: Matt & Crystal Phillips
Adult Woodsmen: Ronnie and Dianne Kingsbury
Sunday Breakfast: Susan Vose/Historical Society
Jazz concert: Antonia Andreoli
Chicken Barbecue: Rick Prentiss and Joe Graff/Congregational Church
I know that this list only includes the people who had the most visible roles and that MANY others worked very hard to make the great weekend a reality! Thanks to all of you for your hard work on behalf of our community! CCB
Ed. Note: Here is a great opportunity for gardening enthusiasts and a wonderful cause to support this coming weekend. Thanks to Kathy and Michael Nerrie for their generous hospitality! CCB
OPEN GARDEN
TO BENEFIT THE FALL MOUNTAIN FOOD SHELF
( Donations Appreciated )
*******
The gardens of Kathy and Michael Nerrie
will be open to the public on Sunday July 13
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
*******
The gardens are located at 507 March Hill Road in Walpole.
Carl Wistreich of Walpole is the new owner of L&B Trucks, a Westminster VT company that sells and services Daimler brands Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star trucks.
A family business founded by Luke and Diane Bazin nearly 30 years ago, L&B has grown from one to 55 employees with a second location in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Wistreich, 41, spent several years in a large New York City law firm before a legal client, C&S Wholesale Grocers, then based in Brattleboro, persuaded him to join their staff over nine years ago.Through several positions with C&S, including sales, mergers & acquisitions, operations and legal and human resources, Wistreich not only learned the grocery business but also learned a lot about the trucking industry that C&S relies on so heavily.
“Since I began with L&B in early May, I’ve had to learn a lot,” Wistreich laughed last week in his Westminster office, “But luckily I had a thorough business education with C&S, and I had had broad exposure to most aspects of the trucking industry.”
One of former owner Bazin’s goals in selling the company was to pass it on to a new owner that would understand and continue the “family atmosphere” he sought to cultivate in growing the business since opening it in 1979.It took him many years to find that perfect candidate in Wistreich, and Wistreich feels fortunate that the two met.
“I hope that our customers will continue to think of L&B Trucks as the best source of service and parts by the best people,” according to Wistreich.
But he knows the challenges for truckers are growing and those that service them will be busy and will have to keep on adjusting to the changing business climate.
“In the fist place,” says Wistreich, “there have been new regulations tightening emissions standards in 2004, 2007 and there will be more regs in 2010.The result has been that the latest diesel fuel spews fewer particulates into the atmosphere, but it also yields fewer miles per gallon. That has meant new, more efficient engines have had to be developed and new training has been necessary to keep our technicians up to date. The 2010 regs will be even tougher, and we’ll do all we can to help our customers comply with them.”
Rising fuel costs also heavily impacts truckers, and manufacturers are responding with more aerodynamic vehicles, more efficient engines,and small, self-contained power units to save fuel.In fact, recently L&B has been retrofitting a number of trucks with small “Tripacks” on large diesel cabs that can power heating, air-conditioning and electricity in a cab while the trucker is resting instead of using the truck's main—and fuel hungry—engine to power them.Such “tripacks” and similar products can cost up to $8,000 per unit installed but can pay for themselves in fuel savings in a year or less.
The downturn in the economy has also meant that trucking companies and other L&B customers such as towns and businesses with just one or two large trucks are seeking to maintain their trucks a few more years rather than to purchase new ones as quickly as they might have in prior years.Hence the truck parts and repair business have, for the moment, helped offset the dramatic decrease in new and used truck sales even though with the high price of diesel some truck owners have had to even cut back on maintenance.When and if diesel fuel costs stabilize, sales may return to better levels.
Complete information on L&B Trucks is available at www.LBTRUCKS.net.
Wistreich lives in Walpole with his wife, Amy, and three daughters.
Ed. Note: Here is the schedule for Saturday's Old Home Days celebration. Congratulations to Co-Chairs Joan DeVault and Cindy Westover, pictured below, for all the work they've done, along with many others in town, to pull it all off!! CCB
Saturday, June 28
7 am – 9 amAcademy Breakfast for all who attended the Academy and spouses.Prizes foryoungest, oldest, longest distance traveled – Tent on Historical Society Lawn
8:30 am5K Race and Children’s Race (12 and under)Start/Finish at Walpole Town Hall- Prizes- Benefit of Fall Mountain running & skiing teams$$
8:30 amPower Walk with Paula Burdick - Prizes -Walpole Town Hall $$
9 amPies for Grange Pie-Baking Contest to Town Hall for judging
9 am –8 pm Walpole Community Pool-Free to all
9 am –4 pmCommon displays for Walpole non-profits…educational, fundraising and food
Walpole Historical SocietyInformation
Walpole Recycling Action ProgramInformation
Walpole Community GrangePie Baking Contest\Pie & Coffee
Walpole Old Home Day CommitteeWater, Souvenirs, Totes & Info., Hamburgers, Fried dough
Walpole Village SchoolChicken-on-stick, Iced tea, Fruit cup
Ed. Note: Congratulations to Walpole 8th grade students and science teacher/event coordinator Kim Lewis for a terrific Rube Goldberg Day yesterday! See story below! CCB
6-13-08
Rube Goldberg Day at Walpole School
By Chuck and Sue Bingaman, Contributing Writers
What do you get when you combine 60 energetic 8th graders in the last week of the school year, creative, experienced teachers, more than 2 miles of duct tape, 317 marbles, nearly $200,000 in braces?
Rube Goldberg Day yesterday at Walpole School! The day when units on physics are translated into colorful, crashing, even flaming, demonstrations of gravity, motion, potential and kinetic energy and lots of fun! No mere dropping of apples from Newton’s tree for these kids!
Started by former Walpole teacher Robert Brown more than a decade ago, Rube Goldberg Day commemorates the bizarre contraptions created by award-winning cartoonist Rube Goldberg in the 20th century. Goldberg’s hilarious cartoon machines were designed to perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. Since his death in 1970, schools throughout the world have begun using the creativity and humor involved in Goldbergian designs to help students learn elementary principles of physics.
In Thursday’s 8th grade show of Goldberg-inspired machines, two and three student teams of students, under the supervision of science teacher Kim Lewis and others, created—and named—machines to break eggs for frying, feed goldfish, flash fry tennis balls, and more.
With “Rube Goldberg to the Eggstreme” Chelsea Gay, Megan Smith and Karli McCormick designed a machine using marbles rolling along tilting troughs that turn levers that eventually drop fresh eggs into a frying pan with just enough force to break the shells.
Courtney Phillips, Alysia Evey and Amanda Clark built “The Hampster Maze” in which a very intelligent and cooperative hamster lit a light bulb after traversing a complicated maze that included a teeter-totter and a box full of turns.
Siana Searles, Andrea Perkins,and Chloe Shoppmeyer with their "Fish Food" machine at Thursday's Walpole School Rube Goldberg Day. Sue Bingaman photo.
In the “Tunealater” Alyssa Burns and Kaian Wilkes created a complicated, multi-step machine in which marbles flowed down a corkscrewing length of PVC that eventually triggered a contact that started an Ipod recording a song.
“Felix” the goldfish enjoyed his automatic feeding device, “Fish Food”, designed by Siana Searles, Chloe Schoppmeyer, and Andrea Perkins even if it required a complex system of pulleys and swinging pieces to finally spew the food in his general direction!
Megan Sellarole and Katelyn Atwood created “Hopywoks” and hoped it’d work to light a little flashlight bulb after rolling marbles, tilting levers, and falling wedges of wood eventually resulted in electrical contacts being made.
“By this time in the school year,” laughed science teacher Kim Lewis, “ the kids are getting a little tired of the routine, and it’s getting harder to keep their attention. The Rube Goldberg project is a great way of engaging them and allowing them to apply some important principles of physics in a creative way. And, they learn from each other and practice some teamwork as well.”
Principal Sam Jacobs noted Thursday that “any time middle school students can do problem solving together it’s really valuable. Problem solving is, obviously, a skill they'll use all their lives, and it’s really important. This project also helps them develop their teamwork skills and the habits of learning form each other.
Dutchie Perron told me this a.m. that they'll have wine and cheese--and some great art to sell--at the new shop on Main St. from 6:00 to 8:00 this evening. And, they'll have coffee and donuts tomorrow! Stop in! CCB
Trina Carmody, Chairperson of the Old Home Days Talent Show, is seeking adult and children's entries in the show set for 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday, June 27. She also needs a few more judges. Contact Trina at 756-3836 or at tcarmody@sau60.org. CCB
Walpole’s Cassandra Kreek is sketching out a summer job—maybe a professional career—with portraits of individuals, couples and even their houses and pets in pencil and paint.
“Most people think of portraits as expensive oil paintings by and for the wealthy,” Kreek observed earlier this week. “But I like to think of my work as high quality art that is more accessible, for everyone. Portraits are for people who want a lasting memory, not just for those that are into art for art’s sake.”
Kreek, 19, who just finished her second year at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, has been doing portraits of people for several years with extensive tutelage by renowned artist Peter Granucci of Gilsum. “I remember sketching in class at Fall Mountain High School in one notebook while taking class notes in another,” says Kreek. “And,” she added, “I can remember
Cassandra Kreek showing a protrait of former Fall Mountain High School Principal Tom Ferenc and his wife. Chuck Bingaman photo.
when my mom first handed me a box of crayons. I took out a big red one and started to work! It was just something I wanted to do. But I feel like I learned everything about portraiture from Peter.”
While most of Kreek’s portraiture to date has been black pencil on paper, she also does colored pencil work and even oil paintings. Most of the time she works from photographs of her subjects because, she says, “people really don’t want to sit for 4 to 20 hours!” She also notes that often she works from several photos of the same subject to see it from different perspectives and in different lighting situations.
Kreek describes her portrait style as “very realistic. I look for character in faces and really create a highly detailed view. I love to concentrate on the details that make someone unique without making it a caricature. I concentrate on what’s important without exaggerating it.”
Granucci noted, “Cassandra was one of my top students among hundreds I’ve had. She has the ability to stick to it, to maintain her focus until the piece is completely finished…something that separates the professional artist from the amateur.” He added, “Cassandra has the skill to really capture the character of her subjects.”
Why portraits at all when inexpensive digital photography makes shooting pictures so easy and quick? Kreek says, “Most photos are far from perfect and have to deal with multiple light sources. In doing a portrait I can control the light sources, take time with the details, and really try to capture the personal qualities of the person. And I can put people in any environment, not just the one presented by the photo opportunity.”
Kreek’s portraits cost anywhere from $60 to two or three times that amount depending on the number of characters in them, the size of the work requested and the time she estimates the work will take. People who would like to explore the possibility of a Cassandra Kreek portrait can telephone her at 603-756-4381 or email her at Cassandra.kreek@sjca.edu.
How have Kreek’s portrait subjects reacted so far to her wok? “Most people,” she says, “are pretty excited about the results!”
Walpole's Ambassador Adrian A. Basora, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Director of the Project on Democratic Transitions, will be the featured speaker at the Annual Meeting of the Windham World Affairs Council of Vermont on Friday, June 20, at 7:30 PM, at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro.
The title of his talk will be Must Democracy Continue to Retreat in Postcommunist Europe/Eurasia?
Ambassador Basora also serves as Past President and Trustee of Eisenhower Fellowships, actively participates in an EF global leadership network that includes the former President of Turkey, the new Vice President of Taiwan,and over 100 past and current cabinet ministers, plus several hundred other leaders such as CEOs, university rectors, NGO heads and media directors in over 50 key countries.
Basora is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a trustee of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and an Independent Director of the Quaker Investment Trust. He holds an MPA in International Affairs from Princeton University and undergraduate degrees from Fordham University and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.
There will be a short business meeting beginning at 6:30 PM, coffee with the speaker at 7:00 PM, and the talk beginning at 7:30 PM. Free and open to the general public.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday evening, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. in Town Hall for the Walpole Grange Awards Night. It's an important event honoring Walpole citizens that have made major contributions to the town in the last year. Also, there will be an interesting program featuring Sharon Wood of Claremont, NH. For full details, call Gwen or Kathy Yardley at 756-3677. CCB
Ed. Note: Words are inadequate to express the shock and the sadness we feel with the loss of Cathy Boas in yesterday's tragic accident. She and Ray have been selfless, steadfast and generous friends of Walpole and all the people in it since they've been here. We know everyone in town will join in caring for and supporting Ray through this miserable and difficult period. We also wish Mr. and Mrs Jeffrey Jones of Bellows Falls a successful and speedy recovery from their injuries suffered in the accident. Chuck and Sue Bingaman
The following Eagle Times story from October, 2005 the illustrates the loving, positive spirit that was Cathy Boas...
10-11-05
Walpole Residents Take in Thankful Alstead Survivor
By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer
As Walpole resident Cathy Boas told it Monday morning, "I was leaving [St.
Joseph's] church on the Common yesterday morning, and I overheard an
usher talking about rescued people in pajamas over in the town hall."
"I went over and I was approached by a man was desperate to learn about his
wife and children. He knew they had been evacuated but he didn't know where
they were. Another gentleman was barefoot and he was soaking wet from
his knees down. I ran home--just next door-- got a pair of my husband, Ray's,
shoes and fortunately the shoes fit!"
But the Boases had just begun to help.
Cathy continued, "In the early afternoon Ray went back to the town hall to
see what we could do. Everyone had been placed with friends or family except
for Jack. We invited him over to watch the news on television. He was
hungry for news!"
So Jack came over for the afternoon. He spoke to the Alstead Fire
Department by telephone and learned that his house had been washed away by
the flash flood. As Cathy, put it, "We realized then that Jack needed to be
part of our family for as long as he needs to be." The Boases only learned
John Cochrane's full name Monday morning after he had spent the night.
As Jack Cochrane told the Eagle times Monday, "I live a few houses east of
the Route 123 and route 12A intersection a short way east of Alstead
village, just above the intersection of Cold River and Warren Brook. I work
for Johnson Matthey Pharmaceuticals in Andover, Mass and I commute down
there several times each week. I'm a chemical operator. My job is to
follow the instructions of the chemists and work in the production end of
it."
Cochrane came home from work late Saturday evening. As he told it
Monday, "Sunday morning at 5:30 the police knocked on the door and told
me to evacuate. They didn't tell me a time, but I took my cell phone and
packed like I was going away for a week's vacation, washed up a little bit
and off I went to the evacuation center which was the fire station in
Alstead. The surge of water came and I started to see the debris flowing
across the downtown area that is the 12A bridge.
From there they said, "You've got to go. So we went to the [Walpole] town
hall. And we spent the day there and tried to get whatever information was
available. They offered me some breakfast, and I tried to get my wits about
myself. Just tried to get organized mentally. By the time I got to
Walpole, all the radio was reporting was people calling in and saying 'I see
this floating by my house.'"
As Cochrane understood it, "What happened was there was some sort of
retaining water area below the dam and that's what let go. I grew up in CT
where dams had some sort of release that would let the pressure off dams-a
valve system for water pressure. I never heard any issues dealing with the
lake or the retention pond or a culvert when I bought the property."
Cochrane found out Monday morning that he had no insurance for his house or belongings. "I thought by saying yes to all other coverage but the one about my swimming pool I had coverage, but evidently, they attached even the start money to
flood insurance. So as far as starting over again, there isn't any money.
"I took a quick look before I left. It looked like you could go white water
rafting in the ravine below my house. But I said to myself, 'this is just
an exercise in safety and I'll be home in a few hours. Everything will be
calmed down.'"
"My house could be down in Bellows Falls by now. I started writing again a
few years ago. I wrote about 40 poems and started my passion [for poetry]
again. I lost a lot of things that my family had cherished and passed along
to me. I know they weren't first editions of Nancy Drew and things but they
were 2nd or 3rd editions that I lost. I lost-I know people in their 60s
will appreciate this-I lost all my records albums from the people like the
Beatles, the Temptations, Simon & Garfunkel, and so forth. All my jazz and
whatever is all gone, I gather. The priceless stuff like my father's gold
watch that he gave me before he passed away. Pictures-they just discovered
some pictures of my grandfather that I never knew. I had some copies of
them and they were priceless to me."
"I'm not going anywhere for a few days. Then I'm going down to Connecticut
for a few days. They want to see me and give me a hug. I have an uncle who
has offered to come up with his waders to go looking around and see if we
can salvage anything out of it. That's really nice to have family support
in a time like this."
"And please tell your readers about the Boases," Cochrane said. "They
appeared like angels just when I needed someone the most. They've been
wonderful to me!"
“I’ve always had this love affair with railroads,” Walpole’s Joe Dion confessed at the Walpole Historical Society annual meeting last week. “I just like to hear them around!”
With that disclosure, Dion entertained the Society with a short history of railroading in Walpole featuring the Cheshire Railroad that served the town—and the area—for nearly 110 years.
“Railroads once held a much bigger place in our society than they do now, although they may well make a comeback,” he noted. “Railroads made it possible to sell things we made here at places all over the country and around the world. They were the ‘high technology’ of the day.”
“Railroad fever” grabbed the entire country in the 1830s and 1840s, according to Dion, when it became obvious that trains could provide economical passenger and freight hauling in the rapidly growing nation with few good roads.
Several Keene, New Hampshire businessmen chartered the Cheshire Railroad in 1844 and construction began in 1845. The original line was to run from South Ashburnham, Massachusetts to Bellows Falls, Vermont, a distance of 54 miles.
Service from its Massachusetts origin to Keene, NH began on a regular basis in the summer of 1848 and reached as far as Bellows Falls the next year. Along the way stations were built in 15 towns including Fitzwilliam, Troy, Keene, Westmoreland—two stations there!—and Walpole at mile 50. Dion noted that it was unusual for a 54-mile long railway to run through three states.
The Walpole railway depot was, Dion said, the “nerve center” of the town. “That's where the telegraph was, where the big news of the day first arrived, and where you met friends and family members traveling from far away. The station agent was an important and highly respected town official and often served the town for many years.”
Walpole’s station sat at the bottom of Westminster Street near where the current bridge spans the Connecticut River.
Rail service in Walpole grew steadily from the beginning. By the 1890s ten-passenger trains per day passed through Walpole, most going to and from Boston. Some of the trains had their own names, including the “Mt. Royal” that went as far north as Montreal, “the Green Mountain Flyer” that traveled as far northwest as Rutland, Vermont, and the Yankee Flyer, one of the first streamliners. An even larger number of freight trains added to the traffic on the rail bed that still serves hikers, bikers and snowmobilers in the town.
With the advent of family cars and, later, popular air travel, passenger trains declined in usage. By 1954, only 5 passenger trains per day passed through Walpole, and passenger service ended altogether in 1958. Following an accidental derailing that obliterated the Walpole Depot building, train service to the town came to an end.
But it’s not forgotten! Walpole resident and Historical Society member, Jerry Galloway, recalled that he and friends, as children, took the train from Walpole four miles north to Bellows Falls for a nickel, attended the movies for a nickel and road the train back to Walpole afterward for another nickel. “It was a great night out,” he said!
Ed. Note: A note from Lucy Weber, chair of the Friends of the Walpole Town Library Plant Sale held yesterday...
The 2008 Plant Sale for the benefit of the Walpole Town Library is now history, and I hope all who helped out will soon be recovered from the aching backs. And, I hope all who bought plants will enjoy them for a long time to come. I am very happy to report that we raised just over $2100, which is over $500 more than we raised last year.
Many, many thanks to all of you who donated your beautiful plants. Thanks also to all who contributed plant pots and dirt, and who contributed your time digging, lugging, potting up plants, getting out publicity, putting up signs and making the sale itself run smoothly. I am amazed every year by how many people put an effort into this fundraiser.
A final note--we can always use more recycled plant pots 4" in diameter or larger. If you have any you no longer need, please call 756-4338 to arrange for delivery or pickup.
Walpole’s Karri Makinen, an academic leader in her senior class at Fall Mountain Regional High School, has earned the Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting.
Makinen, daughter of Ron Makinen and Tammy Vittum of Sand Hill Road,Walpole, enrolled in Daisy Scouts 13 years ago when the family lived in
Charlestown, and she's been an active Girl Scout ever since. Now 18, Makinen is in Senior Troop #3005 that is led by her mother and Judy Trow of Walpole.
Earning “the Gold” meant a great deal of preliminary work, earlier projects and recognitions such as the Silver Award, and a major community project within the strict qualifying rules of the Girl Scouts USA.
Makinen managed to meet all the Gold Award requirements, despite having to adjust to major changes in the Gold Award requirements made by the Girl Scouts while she was completing them. “I don’t give up on things easily,” she laughed in a recent interview. “My mom was always there to encourage me. And my project advisor, Virginia Carter, sent me encouraging emails and helped in many other ways!”
