Around Concord Spring 2018

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SPRING 2018 VOLUME 11, NO. 1 $4.95

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community• culture• lifestyle

IN THIS ISSUE: The surreal woodblock prints of Lyell Castonguay The sloppy bliss of mud season Angst and the evolving nature of adulthood

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CONTENTS

Around

|

SPRING 2018

CONCORD

VOLUME 11, NO . 1

44

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Features 44

To Craft with One’s Own Hands

BY JOHN GFROERER

Life as a blacksmith in the era of the Internet and gig economy.

54 Are We There Yet?

BY SUSAN NYE

On becoming a twenty-first century grown-up.

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CONTENTS

Around

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SPRING 2018

CONCORD

VOLUME 11, NO . 1

36 12 26

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26

Publisher’s Note

Home & Garden

10

36

Contributors

The Arts

12

64

Personal Essay

Calendar

BY LEAH WILLINGHAM

72

16 Life & Family

Last Word

BY TINA ANNIS , ESQ . AND

COVER PHOTO BY JOHN BENFORD

JEFFREY J . ZELLERS , ESQ .

20 Health & Well-Being

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

22 Neighborhood Profile

BY KATHLEEN M . FORTIN

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. . . we climbed down eagerly, trying not to trip over any loose roots or rocks on our way. page 12

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On the cover

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VOLUME 11, NO . 1

Around

CONCORD community • culture• lifestyle

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Around Concord wants to hear from readers.

Correspondence may be addressed to the publisher at 1 Monitor Drive, Concord, NH 03301. Or email the editor at: editor@ aroundconcord.com. Advertising inquires may be made by email to editor@aroundconcord.com. Around Concord is published quarterly by Monitor Publishing Company © 2018.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited. Around Concord accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, artwork, or photographs.

PUBLISHER ' S NOTE |

BY HEATHER MCKERNAN

Spring and Our

New Home E

ach spring, life truly does start anew. So, it seems fitting that we launch our first edition of Around Concord magazine with the spring issue. The Concord Monitor recently purchased the quarterly magazine from Kevin Boyarsky of New Hampshire Print & Mail, who had taken it over from founder Brit Johnson of Bow. Around Concord, which launched in 2007, fits seamlessly with our mission and vision.

Once a print-only newspaper publisher, the Concord Monitor is a thriving media company with robust digital platforms delivering news and information to readers in a variety of formats. We are excited about our newest edition, this full-color, glossy magazine.

Our company succeeds because of our readers, our advertisers, and our staff. In addition to our talented editorial professionals, we have a dedicated group of sales executives who help businesses reach their customers in our newspaper, through our digital channels, and, now, in Around Concord magazine.

Around Concord will complement our newspaper, give Concord Monitor staff a chance to stretch their talents, and offer advertisers opportunities to reach a new audience. Through stories and photos and advertisements, we’ll bring you the people and places of Concord and surrounding towns, introduce you to unique aspects of our region, inspire you to visit new places, and connect you with businesses that keep our local economy strong.

We know you are busy and hope you will welcome a chance to slow down and reflect on life in and around Concord. Please enjoy this and every edition of Around Concord.

Watch for issues in June, September, and November. And please send me a note and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading and thank you for your support.

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CONTRIBUTORS

TINA L . ANNIS AND JEFFREY J . ZELLERS

Tina L. Annis and Jeffrey J. Zellers are attorneys and founding members of Annis & Zellers, PLLC in Concord. With 15 and 25 years of experience respectively, they are trusted advisors to individuals and businesses in the areas of estate planning, businesses succession planning, and tax matters. Both are also committed to serving the local community.

Get more

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JOHN GFROERER

GEOFF FORESTER

John Gfroerer is the owner Accompany, a video production company based at the Capitol Center for the Arts. He has produced documentaries on topics ranging from a history of the New Hampshire primary to exploring life on an island off the coast of Maine.

He just finished a documentary about the restoration of the New Hampshire State House dome. His writing appears regularly in the Concord Monitor, Around Concord, and other publications.

Geoff Forester is enjoying his second stretch as photo editor at the Concord Monitor. He returned in 2014 after leaving in 1995 to become a picture editor at the Boston Globe. After leaving the Globe in 2002, Geoff started Forester Photography in Concord and has worked at four different newspapers over a span of 38 years. You can see more of his work at foresterphotography.com.

www.aroundconcord.com

LEAH WILLINGHAM

JOHN BENFORD

KENDRA FORD

Leah Willingham is a reporter for the Concord Monitor covering towns north of Concord. She has lived in Concord her entire life, except for four years studying at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She graduated in 2017 with a degree in English.

John Benford is a commercial photographer based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A visual storyteller, he creates powerful architectural images and honest, authentic portrait and lifestyle images for commercial and editorial clients of all sizes. See more of John's work online at www. johnbenfordphoto.com.

Kendra Ford was a baker after college, which helped her take the next steps in life—to study poetry and then ministry. She has been the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Exeter since the fall of 2001. She lives in Portsmouth with her husband and their four-year-old child. She dreams of building a stone oven in the backyard.

W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

PERSONAL ESSAY |

BY LEAH WILLINGHAM , PHOTOS BY GEOFF FORESTER

A Quiet

Brook

in Spring AN ODE TO MUD SEASON

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I always knew that spring had arrived when I heard the brook in our backyard roar. I was usually in the kitchen the first time I noticed it, washing dishes after dinner, or untying mud-soaked boots by the back door. I would pause at the familiar rushing sound, thinking for a moment a rainstorm might be coming.

The brook was most alive in spring.

In late summer and fall, our woodland stream wouldn’t move more than a trickle. In winter, the tiny rill froze over. But

by March and April, the brook would swell to three times its normal size.

In winter, the tiny rill froze over. But by March and April, the brook would swell to three times its normal size.

The neighborhood children and I didn’t waste any time preparing for play. The brook was at the bottom of a steep and muddy ledge behind my house, and we

Design

Form climbed down eagerly, trying not to trip over any loose roots or rocks on our way.

Function

IMAGINATIONS RUN WILD We moved to the house by the brook when I was 10 years old, and spring was always a special time for everyone in my new neighborhood. The brook in the backyard was full of wooded land with maple, white birch, oak, and pine trees, along with a world of possibilities.

My earlier years in downtown Concord were much different. Although we had a small flower garden in our back-

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SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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PERSONAL ESSAY

NEW ENGLAND SPRING WEATHER:

Predictably Unpredictable

E

ven when it was sunny outside, my mother used to say the same phrase to me before I left the house:

“Bring an umbrella.

If you don’t, it will rain.”

As New Englanders, we are bred not to read too much into weather forecasts. The weather can act in ways opposite to what we expect. On a day that’s forecasted to be rainy, it could be sunny. On a day when it’s predicted to be sunny, it might snow.

Sometimes, all those things happen at once.

You learn not to fool yourself into thinking you can predict or control the elements. But one thing you can do is make sure you’re prepared to handle whatever comes.

A friend of mine once said that there’s no such thing as harsh weather, just good gear.

That’s why when I’m going for a hike in the Whites on a warm day in March, I might wear shorts and a T-shirt, but I make sure to bring a jacket and rain pants, too. You never know what you’ll encounter along the way, or what you might find at the summit.

Of course, there are some days in early spring where even the most daring outdoorsman might not want to venture out. No one wants to experience the icy rain that seeps through your clothes to your skin. But a little snow and mud? No problem.

yard, there wasn’t much room to explore.

I spent most of my time playing on the aging swings at the old Kimball School, or drawing hopscotch patterns on asphalt in our one-car driveway.

That changed when we moved to the house by the brook on Fisk Road. The couple living next door had two young children around my age, a boy and a girl.

Their father built a treehouse in the woods where his daughter and I would bring our

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And in the wooded area behind our house, where hiking trails wound through the trees, people came from across town to walk their dogs.

dolls and pretend they were wizards and pirates on great adventures.

The melting snow in spring revealed what we left behind in the fall: clumps of matted leaves, a pair of gloves from a day of sledding, a baseball accidentally thrown too far. We used what we found to build houses for fairies made of sticks, bottle caps, and glass with softened edges that we fished out of the swelling brook.

Some days we created miniature boats

out of leaves and twigs to race downstream. We took turns crossing the brook, hopping from one slick, mossy rock to another. Once or twice I slipped and fell in, soaked to the skin and covered with mud.

My mother pulled me into the house, trailing footprints as I went, and got me into the tub. My sneakers sat on the radiator for a week to dry, but they never quite recovered.

A SPECIAL TRANSITION I loved the smell of wet earth and melting snow, and the slow transition to lighter clothes and longer days.

Each morning, I waited outside for the school bus, dressed in a T-shirt, excited to come home from school to find adventure in the backyard.

On these early spring days, ambiSRB-map-ArndConc-half0218.qxp_SRB-map-ArndConc-half0218

2/8/18 10:12 AM Page 1

tious bikers and joggers began to arrive after dawn and make their way up our hill. The most determined emerged in late March before the last patches of snow had even melted.

And in the wooded area behind our house, where hiking trails wound through the trees, people came from across town to walk their dogs. The leaves had not yet started to grow back, and we could watch their progress deep into the woods.

I didn’t know then how much those little moments would mean to me as I grew older. Now, as an adult, whenever I see fiddlehead ferns begin to unroll in the woods, when the days are lengthening and birds are returning to New Hampshire, I think back to growing up at the house on Fisk Road, sitting in our treehouse, watching last fall’s leaves tumble and disappear in the brook.

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15

LIFE & FAMILY |

BY TINA ANNIS , ESQ . AND JEFFREY J . ZELLERS , ESQ . GLAS

A Parent’s Final Act of

Love

ESTATE PLANNING IS MORE THAN FINANCES—IT’S BEING A GOOD PARENT AND FRIEND

Jane Concordian was an organized woman. She paid her bills on time. She maintained her tax records in a properly labeled file cabinet, and she balanced her checkbook every month. As Jane got older, she began to recognize her own mortality, so she did the responsible thing and signed a Last Will and Testament, leaving all her assets to her three beloved daughters.

Hers were modest assets, consisting of a home on Pleasant Street, two bank accounts, and an IRA she had saved over the years. Jane was tech savvy and frugal, so she

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Sound estate planning includes having a professional review your financial and family situation to make recommendations about how to structure things. downloaded a simple will from a reliable online source and signed it at her local bank. The tellers were happy to serve as witnesses, and they put Jane at ease by joking about how she was going to outlive them all.

Years later, Jane’s health declined. Her eldest daughter, Anne, lived close by and was willing to help. She visited her mother every day and helped with shopping, appointments, and the checkbook. Jane’s two other daughters lived in Florida and couldn’t visit as much as they would have liked.

When Jane passed away, her daughters sat down together to put their mother’s affairs in order. They knew

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LIFE & FAMILY

their mother had signed a will years ago, so they expected everything would be simple. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Jane’s daughters soon learned a difficult lesson about estate planning.

The two bank accounts went to Anne, to the exclusion of her siblings. The probate process tied up the house for a year and a half before the family could sell it to pay bills. Much to everyone’s surprise, the IRA went to Jane’s brother rather than her children. What remained was distributed among the sisters, who no longer speak to one another.

What went wrong?

Jane made the mistake of titling her bank accounts so that she owned them jointly with Anne. This allowed Anne to write checks for Jane during her lifetime. However, Anne also became the sole owner of the accounts after Jane’s death, effectively thwarting the language in Anne’s will stating that all assets should go to her daughters equally.

the assets are subject to a court proceeding known as probate. There is a common misconception that having a Last Will and Testament allows you to avoid probate.

This is not true.

In New Hampshire, the probate process involves a significant amount of paperwork and often takes a year or more to complete. A house intended for children may have to be sold to pay bills of the estate if there are insufficient funds to do so. If Jane’s bank accounts had been available to the estate (i.e., not jointly owned with Anne), the house might not have had to be sold. If Jane had understood the lengthy probate process that her daughters would face, she might have explored the use of a Revocable Trust instead.

Estate planning is rarely as simple as we would like it to be. The best course of action is to seek the assistance of a professional to ensure that your wishes will be carried out properly.

A WILL IS NOT AN ESTATE PL AN Estate planning is the preparation of legal documents to ensure that a trusted person can manage your assets and your health care in the event of your death or incapacity. Most estate plans include a Durable Power of Attorney, an Advance Directive for Health Care, a Last Will and Testament, and a Revocable Trust.

The proper designation of beneficiaries under retirement plans and insurance is also important. All these documents need to work together. Sound estate planning includes having a professional review your financial and family situation to make recommendations about how to structure things. Jane’s first mistake was thinking that the will would be sufficient and that she didn’t need the help of a professional.

THE RISK OF JOINT OWNERSHIP It is possible to own an asset as joint tenants with rights of survivorship with another person. In that arrangement, when one owner dies, the survivor becomes the sole owner. This works well for married couples but often creates problems—sometimes painful and difficult to resolve—for parents and children.

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Anne could have shared the bank accounts with her sisters but opted not to because she felt the estate should compensate her for the work she did for her mother while her siblings were in Florida. This is a common scenario for families in which one sibling bears most of the burden of caring for a parent. Using a Durable Power of Attorney or a Revocable Trust could have avoided this situation.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS Certain assets (such as IRAs and life insurance) pass automatically to the designated beneficiary when the owner dies. Too often, people name a beneficiary when they first create the account and then forget to update it. In Jane’s case, she named her brother as the beneficiary of her IRA years ago when her children were small. Her mistake was failing to review the beneficiary designation and thinking that her will would cover things such as this.

THE PROBATE PROCESS When a person dies owning assets titled in his or her own name (like Jane’s house),

THE SELECTION OF AN EXECUTOR An executor is an individual named in a will to handle the probate process. In Jane’s case, she made the mistake of naming all three of her daughters to serve as coexecutors. Many parents believe this is a fair thing to do. However, the difficulty with coexecutors is that reasonable minds can disagree. Jane’s daughters had different ideas about which real estate agent to hire and what the sale price of the house should be. These kinds of decisions can weigh heavily on siblings, and disagreements often result in hurt feelings and even litigation. Choosing one person to serve as executor is generally more efficient and promotes family harmony.

Estate planning is rarely as simple as we would like it to be. Even for an individual like Jane Concordian with modest assets and a desire to treat her children equally, there is work to be done. The best course of action is to seek the assistance of a professional to ensure that your wishes will be carried out properly.

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HEALTH & WELL- BEING |

I

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

|

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

. . . t fel

It woul d help me ...

Honey,

Can We Talk?

HOW CARING COUPLES COMMUNICATE Communication is the foundation of any healthy relationship, but it’s often the hardest thing for couples to do. Busyness and going in multiple directions distract us, and we fear that conflict is inherent in communication. Given the importance and challenge of maintaining healthy, respectful communication, it’s a miracle that it ever occurs, and that a little more than 50 percent of marriages survive.

Since we’re not really taught how to effectively commu-

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W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

I fe lt. . . u ld o w It ... e m help

nicate in loving relationships, I asked one successful couple I know, Mike and Fran, about how they communicate.

They’re in their midthirties, have a growing family of three, and have known each other since high school. I asked, “What’s your secret relationship sauce?” and “How do you keep it all together between family, home, work, and the community activities you support?”

It was pretty easy for Mike and Fran to answer. They are committed to mindful communication, purposeful connection, deep listening, offering gratitude, and a desire to understand each other. They also frequently stop to check in beyond the household duties and activities to support one another on an emotional level.

Knowing that each day is different, they take the viewpoint of curiosity versus assumption. Here are some guidelines they offered for healthy partner communication.

Set up a regular day and time (or even a time every day) when you won’t be interrupted or feel rushed. No kids or cell phones. Bring some flowers, a candle, or something beautiful to the setting to create a space that’s warm and inviting. Then spend a few quiet minutes just being together, letting the day go and breathing to settle into the moment. Holding hands or touching is wonderful.

Then, each person takes a turn having uninterrupted time for the following: The Sharer shares two or three things they appreciate and are grateful for about the other. These can be remembrances of things they did or said that were positive and nurturing. The Receiver receives these gifts of appreciation.

The Sharer shares one thing that did not feel as nurturing—perhaps an unthoughtful remark, action, or temperament. While we can often let the little things go, sometimes they fester in the background. Reconciling

With a calm body and mind, the Receiver expresses gratitude for the open sharing and curiosity if they need to learn more . . . them with understanding helps us to fully let them go. With this sharing, it’s important to communicate in a way that doesn’t instigate blame or wrongness. You can do this by using I statements. “I felt unappreciated when your dirty clothes were all over the bedroom floor after I spent three hours cleaning the house.” This is different than “You’re such a slob!” The Receiver listens deeply to the Sharer without defensiveness or reactivity, and with a desire to understand the other’s perspective.

The Sharer then requests support to relieve the pain or resentment. “It would really help me if you could put the dirty clothes in the hamper so we can enjoy a clean house together. I know you want to honor my efforts and this would help me greatly.”

With a calm body and mind, the Receiver expresses gratitude for the open sharing and curiosity if they need to learn more, as well as any insights and what they can offer for support in the way of correction and understanding.

When the sharing is complete, the Sharer expresses a few words of gratitude before switching roles.

Mike and Fran agree that this method of communication was not easy in the beginning, but once they made a trusting connection, slights and misunderstandings became a lot less intense. They feel truly supported in their partnership. Time and energy well spent, on a regular basis, have enabled their relationship to thrive.

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE |

BY KATHLEEN M . FORTIN

Kevin Martin stands at the base of the last remaining American sycamore near the Kimball Jenkins Estate.

Be on the Lookout for

Big Trees

A BOATBUILDER’S LOVE FOR THE SOURCE OF HIS ELEMENTAL MATERIAL

Until recently, I had not paid close attention to trees. I love nature, truly. I notice the emergence of leaves in the spring and then their colorful changes in the fall, but unlike Henry David Thoreau, I’d not “tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.”

Perhaps living in New Hampshire, in and among a diverse and immense forest that spreads unbroken from the coast of Maine to Lake Champlain, I came to take them for granted. No longer. I am not only more aware of trees but also becoming more interested in them.

First, I read an article about an Austrian study conducted over many years that found regular walks in the woods improve one’s health and happiness. As John Muir said, “I never saw a discontented tree.” Good, strike that, great advice.

Second, I saw a book on a similar theme.

In part, it said that nestling in a natural wood bed frame can help a person sleep better and live longer. I’m sure that Henry David Thoreau and John Muir would heartily agree.

Learn more 22

W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

Near the Kimball Jenkins Estate is one of only a few American sycamores in Concord. At 209 inches around (more than 17 feet) and 106 vertical feet, it’s a state champion.

Then, I went to the library for an evening talk

by New Hampshire author Kevin Martin. The topic was his book Big Trees of New Hampshire.

Though it was my husband’s idea to go, I was also eager.

THE EVOLUTION OF AN OUTDOORSMAN Kevin Martin’s demeanor made his talk immediately engaging. His voice is soft and measured, and listening to his native New Hampshire accent was almost meditative. He is a boatbuilder

extension.unh.edu/programs/nh-big-trees

by trade, and when I heard this, I wondered what drew him to writing a book on trees.

Wanting to learn more, I called Kevin a few weeks later and asked if we could meet. It was mid-January and he had just returned from an excursion through the woods to measure a reported big tree.

Measuring trees is part of what he does as a volunteer with the New Hampshire Big Tree Program.

A week later we met in Kevin’s workshop, located behind his house. We talked while the heat from a woodstove warmed us. I learned how Kevin evolved from an outdoorsman, carpenter, and woodworker to a boatbuilder, Big Tree volunteer, Big Tree state coordinator, and

author. As he spoke, a pattern emerged: Kevin’s interests and passions are related to conservation, preservation, restoration, and the use of wood.

A self-taught boatbuilder, Kevin’s 38 years of experience include not only the construction of fine wooden canoes and boats but

also expert restoration and reproduction.

During the library presentation I attended, he showed before and after slides of boats he has restored that reflect the skills of a master craftsman.

In his workshop, Kevin talked about two canoes he had resting on sawhorses.

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE

One of them is a 1950s’ 10-man war boat made in Canada that requires extensive repairs and painting. At 22 feet long, it is a huge canoe. He pointed out that the original boatbuilder used white cedar for the ribs and ash for the rails.

Kevin said he was restoring it and two similar canoes for a Boy Scout camp. The second project, a 16-foot torpedo boat, was for a customer who asked Kevin to build a 13-foot custom reproduction of it.

A record elm off Orchard Street in Concord.

A PASSION FOR HIS SOURCE MATERIAL S Wood and lumber are the essence of Kevin’s work. As he spoke, his knowledge reminded me of an early colonial settler who knew trapping or hunting like no one else. It is clear he has honed a craft he loves.

He is a purist and tries to use local lumber. He carefully chooses the wood varieties needed for each part of the boat, knowing some need to be soft and flexible, others hard and durable.

Since wood is such an important part of his work, it naturally follows that he’d develop an interest in his source materials: trees. The genesis was noticing several large trees along the Lamprey River, which led to successfully advocating for legislation to make that section of river part of the Lamprey’s Wild Scenic River designation by the National Park Service.

Like tipping dominoes, Kevin then became interested in the New Hampshire Big Tree Program, which seeks out and records

Kevin reminded me that trees have always been important landmarks, with expressions like, “Meet me under the linden tree on Main.”

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the state’s biggest trees. Started in the 1950s, the program is part of the national registry of big trees through the American Forests organization. States register big trees and then American Forests names the county, state, and national champions. A New Hampshire pine tree is currently in the running for a national champion.

I asked Kevin how our state’s program compares to other states.

“New Hampshire is very organized,” he said. “We have a coordinator for each county and many volunteers. So far, we have recorded a thousand big trees, while other states may have only 20.”

Kevin told me, “Identifying tree varieties can be challenging. There are many types of oak trees in New Hampshire.” The index to his book lists the popularly known spruce, oak, pine, and maple, as well as the less familiar black tupelo, Eastern hop hornbeam, and catalpa.

MEASURING —AND CELEBRATING —L ANDMARKS Measurement of a reported big tree uses a point-system method. Using a 25-foot flexible tape, a 100-foot measuring tape, and an instrument called a clinometer, a surveyor takes the following measurements: the tree’s breast-height circumference, the average width of the crown, and the tree height. The surveyor adds these numbers together to calculate the points. This

kevinmartin.wcha.org

methodology ensures a consistent means of comparing tree sizes nationally.

Kevin’s tree work goes on year-round.

He prefers measuring in winter because it’s easier to see the treetops, compared to when a tree is in full bloom and leaves crowd the crowns. Also, because a big tree must be alive, which is defined by having at least one leaf-bearing branch, spring and summer are also important seasons to locate trees and measure them.

Kevin’s knowledge of New Hampshire trees includes their histories. Municipalities planted many urban trees as saplings.

Importers brought some from far-off places, and some recognize important events. For example, Exeter planted a horse chestnut red oak in commemoration

of Abraham Lincoln’s visit to see his son at Phillips Exeter Academy. Portsmouth planted a horse chestnut tree to commemorate William Whipple’s return from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Kevin reminded me that trees have always been important landmarks, with expressions like, “Meet me under the linden tree on Main.”

Kevin wrote Big Trees of New Hampshire because he wanted others to appreciate our state’s treasures. His user-friendly guide is a compilation of 28 hikes that lead to 85 of the Granite State’s largest trees. He provides maps, trails, and GPS coordinates.

One chapter describes the big trees folks can see in Concord as either a walk-

ing or biking tour covering several miles through the city. Near the Kimball Jenkins Estate is one of only a few American sycamores in Concord. At 209 inches around (more than 17 feet) and 106 vertical feet, it’s a state champion. On Green Street, an American smoketree is tied for national champion for that species.

Kevin’s new book project is The Big Trees of Northern New England. He is available for presentations, like the one I heard and am glad I did not miss. Folks can also reach Kevin through his website (kevin martin.wcha.org) to share information about a big tree or a special tree’s history. You can also nominate a tree or volunteer with the New Hampshire Big Tree Program.

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HOME & GARDEN

Beyond

the Catalog WHERE VISIONS OF GORGEOUS GARDENS ARE BORN

S

eed catalogs are a lifeline for intrepid New England gardeners, especially during our long, snowy winters. Thumbing through colorful pictures of everything from tulip bulbs to tomato vines, dreaming and planning a spring garden, is a ritual that’s as much a part of winter as shoveling the sidewalk.

Beautifully photographed or meticulously illustrated, these catalogs are a window of possibility into what a garden could be, whether

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BY DEBBIE KANE

it’s a raised bed of perennials or orderly rows of vegetables and lush shrubbery. Catalog creators often interweave nostalgia and humor as well as gardening advice. Seed and garden companies know what appeals to their customers and know that the catalogs will become a trusted resource and reference when it’s time to place an order.

"People like to take their time to pick and choose what they want. We get photos all the time from customers showing a glass of wine next to their Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog."

– GRETCHEN

KRUYSMAN ,

It’s part of the companies’ overall marketing to customers—and it works.

“People like to take their time to pick and choose what they want,” says Gretchen Kruysman, vice president of strategy and customer experience at Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine. “We get photos all the time from customers showing a glass of wine next to their Johnny’s Selected Seeds catalog.” Catalogs are just one of many ways garden companies entice their passionate customers.

WHAT ’S INSIDE Peek inside any garden catalog and you’ll notice some similarities: colorful photos (“Beautiful photography is a must,” says Gretchen), engaging descriptions, and advice.

Fedco Seeds, a seed co-op in Clinton, Maine, prints three different black-and-white catalogs selling fruit and vegetable seeds, trees, and seed potatoes. The lavishly illustrated catalogs feature growing hints, seed history, testimonials from customers, and even cooking tips. There’s humor

JOHNNY ’ S SELECTED SEEDS

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www.johnnyseeds.com

www.whiteflowerfarm.com

throughout, too, in the folksy product descriptions.

“People say a picture’s worth a thousand words.

Well, we like a thousand words,” says Heron Breen, Fedco’s trial coordinator.

The seed breeders have a sense of humor when they name the seed varieties as well.

Fedco features varieties like the Chicken Scratch Clucktion Collection (a mix of quick-growing tasty greens for chickens), Sugar Buns Yellow Sweet Corn, Rattlesnake Pole Beans, and Speckled Friz Chickendiva Endive, a hybrid of chicory, frisée, curly endive, and escarole. “I think part of the fun for breeders is naming the seeds, especially a name that resonates with people,” says Heron. “It also reflects how awesome the vegetable or fruit tastes.” The company also rates each seed and varietal to tell customers how they’re grown.

Glance at Fedco’s 2018 catalog and you’ll notice something besides humorous plant names and homilies to growing: a not-so-subtle political statement. The company’s founder, C. R. Lawn, has been at the forefront of agriculture issues like genetic engineering and seed industry consolidation for decades.

The hand-illustrated catalog cover, which encompasses the front and the back, pictures a lush garden intersected by a brick wall with barbed wire. “There’s a unique vision for each of our covers,” says Heron. “In this year’s catalog, we’re noting that walls are a human creation, but plants and animals still find a way to survive.”

Most customers don’t mind the message, though. “Our catalog layout is distinct,” Heron notes. “The black-and-white Fedco catalog just stands out among the glossy, four-color catalogs.”

Another description you’ll find in catalogs is “heirloom varieties.” There are two types of seeds: modern hybrids and heirloom varieties. Seed breeders create hybrid seeds by crossing two varieties, sometimes resulting in vigorous plants with a high yield. An heirloom variety is plant that has a history of being handed down through multiple generations of families or communities.

Heirloom plants are open-pollinated (pollination occurs by insect, bird, wind, human, or other natural means) as opposed to cross-pollinated by

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HOME & GARDEN

other nearby plants, so the seeds can be saved each year for the following year’s garden.

“There’s a trend to go back to these true heirlooms or the old standards of varieties that are open-pollinated from which seed is still available,” says Gretchen. “They just taste great.”

White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut, is world renowned for its English-style perennials.

Their classic flowers are experiencing a surge in sales. “There’s definitely a nostalgia for classic garden plants and a renewed interest in Victorian gardening as well as old varieties and heirlooms,” says Barbara Pierson, White Flower Farm’s nursery manager. “These plants have survived for generations because they’re strong and are naturally disease and insect resistant.”

TRIAL AND RESEARCH Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Fedco regularly conduct seed trials and research. Johnny’s, which

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"Our catalog layout is distinct. The blackand-white Fedco catalog just stands out among the glossy, four-color catalogs.”

– HERON

BREEN , FEDCO SEEDS

serves small direct-to-market farmers across New England and gardeners nationwide, has a trial-andresearch farm to study and evaluate varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and collect data to share with customers. The company also is part of the Culinary Breeding Network, which pairs farmers and growers with chefs to understand what’s

needed to make great food available in restaurants.

“We have a couple of varieties—for example, a cayenne pepper—that came out of that process,” says Gretchen. “We got the chefs’ feedback and went back to our growers to recommend they grow them. Our small, direct-to-market farmers and the farm-to-chef movement are tied together and to larger culinary trends.”

LOCATION, LOCATION A visit to White Flower Farm’s retail store and garden center is an event in and of itself. Located in Morris, Connecticut, it has some of the region’s most glorious gardens, from a stunning moon garden (planted with white perennials like phlox, white flower strawberries, and iris that glow in the moonlight) to the Lloyd border, a 300-foot herbaceous border designed by a British gardener.

Visitors can stroll through the rose garden, kitchen garden, greenhouses, and more.

Founded by William Harris and Jane Grant in 1950, the nursery and garden company has been a mainstay for gardeners for a generation. “White Flower Farm was really key to introducing British perennial gardening to America,” says Barbara.

“A lot of people walk around our display gardens and soak in that history. The property really hasn’t changed much.”

The farm is known for tuberous begonias, dahlias, and much more. All their plants are trialed at the farm, so visitors can see the newest iris or peony.

Whether it’s strolling through a garden or browsing through a catalog, there’s no shortage of inspiration for aspiring and experienced gardeners.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION (AND A FREE CATALOG), CONTACT: Fedco Seeds (207) 426-0090 WWW.FEDCOSEEDS.COM

Johnny’s Selected Seeds (877) 564-6697 WWW.JOHNNYSEEDS.COM

White Flower Farm (800) 503-9624 WWW.WHITEFLOWERFARM.COM

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HOME & GARDEN

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BY DEBBIE KANE

Community Gardens

Take Root S

tarting in spring, Concord’s Birch Street Community Garden hums with activity as gardeners of all ages tend more than a hundred plots of flower and vegetable gardens. It’s just more evidence that community gardening has taken root in the Capitol region.

Community gardens combine a chance for socialization and recreation with an opportunity to grow fresh food, as well as inspire self-reliance and community development. Our national resurgence of interest in local foods and agriculture has sparked greater appreciation for gardening of all sorts.

According to the University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension, there are at least 100 community gardens around the state.

Here are five of them in and around Concord that offer something different for anyone with a yearning to garden.

Birch Street Community Garden, Concord

(603) 271-2765 ROBERT.SPOERL@DNCR.NH.GOV

Birch Street Community Garden, Concord. Photo

by Stephen Arling.

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The Birch Street Community Garden is located off a dirt road on a site formerly owned by the New Hampshire State Hospital. According to Bob Spoerl, garden organizer and land agent for the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, patients used to use part of the land to garden and spend time outdoors. Now, about 150 gardeners of all ages tend the gardens and grow everything from corn, tomatoes, and squash to pumpkins and sunflowers.

Aspiring gardeners can rent three different sized plots—from 25 by 25 feet to 100 by 50 feet—for a small annual fee. “It’s a cool community,” Bob says. “Most people know each other and watch out for each other’s gardens.” There’s also a lot of trading fresh vegetables. “It’s great to see moms and their little kids tending the vegetables, getting dirty and pulling up weeds,” Bob says. “It’s a great clean-air activity.”

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HOME & GARDEN

Community Gardens Take Root Hollows Community Garden and Learning Center, Manchester Families in Transition VOLUNTEER@FITNH.ORG WWW.FITNH.ORG

Birch Street Community Garden, Concord. Photo

by Stephen Arling.

Boscawen Community Garden, Boscawen (603) 753-9188 WWW.TOWNOFBOSCAWEN.ORG

Operated by the town’s agricultural commission, the Boscawen Community Garden is located at the intersection of Corn Hill Road and Woodbury Lane. The garden was started to supplement offerings from the local food pantry and provide opportunities for residents to grow their own food. The plots are a bargain: a 12-by-12-foot space is $15. There’s also access to a shared herb garden.

Sycamore Community Garden, Concord WWW.SYCAMORECOMMUNITYGARDEN.ORG

On sunny days, you will hear the hum of several languages in the Sycamore Community Garden, which is tucked in a grassy field at NHTI in Concord. Women in colorful dresses tend to their individual garden plots while children play hide-and-seek among the 10-foot-tall African corn stalks. Sycamore offers recently arrived immigrants and refugees familiarity in a new place. Gardeners hail from 10 different countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Iraq, Burundi, Nigeria, and Somalia. “It’s truly what makes them feel at home,” says longtime community garden volunteer and former garden manager Cheryl Bourassa.

The organic garden, with 186 plots, connects new Americans to their homelands and gives them an opportunity to help feed their families by growing familiar fruits and vegetables. Designed to serve lowincome families, the garden is also accessible via the local bus line, an important consideration for aspiring gardeners who don’t have reliable transportation. Crops include African grinding corn, okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, kale, daikon radishes, African eggplants, beans of all kinds, and more.

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A primary goal of many community gardens is to help residents learn the importance of healthy eating and how to grow their own food.

That’s also the mission of the Hollows Community Garden and Learning Center operated by Families in Transition in Manchester. “The ultimate goal is to help provide families at our emergency shelter with fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Michele Talwani, vice president of economic development and marketing for Families in Transition. “We also want to teach kids living in poverty where foods come from and encourage healthy behaviors and self-sufficiency.”

Still under development, the garden is located on a half-acre lot in the center of the city, at the corner of Spruce and Massabesic Streets.

This spring, community members and volunteers will plant the garden for the first time. Residents of Families in Transitions’ family shelter will also pitch in. Long-term plans include a community center with a learning center and teaching kitchen as well as an area to sit and enjoy the green space.

New Hampshire Food Bank Garden, Manchester New Hampshire Food Bank (603) 669-9725, ext. 238 WWW.NHFOODBANK.ORG

Now in its eleventh season, the one-acre garden operated by the New Hampshire Food Bank grew more than 13,000 pounds of vegetables last year to supplement the organization’s efforts to feed New Hampshire residents in need. Servicing 430 agencies and food pantries around the state, the Food Bank’s production garden is one way the organization addresses food insecurity. During the growing season, volunteers from a variety of service organizations and the corporate community prep, weed, water, compost, and tend more than 130 different-sized beds.

“We grow everything from acorn and butternut squash, zucchini, and tomatoes to basil, eggplant, cabbage, and corn,” says Garden Coordinator Jason Rivers, who trains garden volunteers. “I like working with the public and introducing them to gardening. Plus, when you see it all come together and know that the work benefits others, it’s a good feeling.”

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We also want to teach kids living in poverty where foods come from and encourage healthy behaviors and selfsufficiency.”

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HOME & GARDEN

|

BY JERRY KINGWILL , PHOTOS COURTESY OF COBB HILL CONSTRUCTION

The Life Cycle of a Home MAXIMIZE THE VALUE AND ENJOYMENT OF YOUR HOUSE THOUGH EVERY STAGE OF LIFE

S

ome young homebuyers view their first house as a starter home—an inexpensive place to hold them as they grow their family and finances. Then they seek out the next house and begin a process of purchasing homes to meet their family’s growth, and eventually downsize as kids and life move on. Others view their first home as a living organism—a place that’s alive with possibilities and has the potential to accommodate each stage and change in life. Whether a series of houses or a lifelong nest, homeownership evolves with a family’s needs as well as changing tastes, desires, and aesthetics.

As you transform a space to meet your current needs, whether a new build or existing home, you need a reliable partner. Some individuals take on multiple partners—an architect, a designer, individual tradesmen, etc.—while others work with a design/build contracting firm that provides or manages these subcontractor relationships for you. Fortunately, homeowners have a variety of opportunities available at every stage of ownership.

YOUR FIRST HOME The thrill of buying your first home can sometimes distract you from choosing a functional and affordable house for you and your family. First-time homebuyers are often willing to take on at least some renovations and upgrades—some even see themselves as HGTV or This Old House types who are willing to take on large projects based more on a vision of what could be, as opposed to what it is.

Whether a series of houses or a lifelong nest, homeownership evolves with a family’s needs as well as changing tastes, desires, and aesthetics.

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www.cobbhill.com

Owners in this demographic are typically in their more agile years—renovations are more adventures than chores. But they also tend to be in their financially lean years.

When looking for that first home, there are a few big-ticket items to consider. Be sure there are enough bedrooms for current and future family members, a space for the family to gather, a functional kitchen, private space for young parents, and an outdoor area for relaxing and for kids to play. Inside the house it’s typical to want an updated kitchen and bath, an open floor plan, energy-efficient appliances, and a home workspace, all of which should be low maintenance.

Also consider whether you want to be near shopping and family entertainment or desire quieter, more rural surroundings. Finding a good school district in a community where you feel safe and comfortable is important, but you should balance these with other factors that will influence your happiness.

A Pembroke, New Hampshire Montessori school for students age 3 to 15 ~ Since 1976 ~ When approaching renovations, consider a phased plan. This can help spread costs while changing the aesthetic and functionality of your living space. Any form of home construction or renovation will require a mix of trades. Some homeowners will want to manage the project themselves—contacting and scheduling multiple professionals, negotiating the scope of work and cost, and developing and sticking to an overall budget. But in many instances, having a partner that can manage these details while ensuring the work is done to plan and budget will streamline the process, eliminate cost overruns, and allow the homeowner to be as involved as they want or need to be.

EMPT Y NESTERS For 18 or 20 years you’ve improved and likely increased your living space through purchasing a new home or by renovating an existing home. And now the kids are out of the house. Hallelujah.

What are you going to do with all that space? You may notice that many of the rooms in your home look worn or outdated. Revamping these spaces could be as simple as a fresh coat of paint, refinishing the floors, and decluttering and streamlining furniture pieces, or you may opt to open up walls to create a better flow through the house.

These updates increase the value of your home and make it easier to sell if you ultimately decide to downsize or relocate. It’s important to note that not every renovation increases the value of your house; some may even hurt the resale value. Your contractor and real estate agent can help you avoid these mistakes.

Some empty nesters are more ambitious. They see an opportunity for a larger home office (or new home office), private sitting rooms, a workout area, a master suite, or some other dreamed of space with new functionality. Many of these projects require additional building or increasing the loadbearing capacity of walls and ceilings as well as custom millwork, built-in cabinetry, functional furniture, and more. For example, the conversion to a master suite can be an intense remodeling project including customized closets, sitting areas, a larger bed, and even a hot tub in the

master bath. Each new feature requires different trade skills, structural needs, and design.

Here’s where a partnership with a design/build contractor comes into play. For example, what your house can structurally support, what is a workable budget, who the best subcontractors are to perform the detail and finish work, what zoning and other municipal approvals are needed, and how the work can be completed on the most efficient and accommodating schedule are all questions a contractor can answer. A contractor will ensure each piece of the renovation is carried out to plan and budget as well as help identify areas where you can employ some DIY elbow grease to cut costs and add to your personal satisfaction when the renovations are complete.

DOWNSIZING For some, downsizing is a dirty word. But it shouldn’t be! Downsizing is all about reducing the time and financial demands of your home, so you can do more with your life. You can choose to live in some groovy modernistic house near a culturally active community or the quiet gardens of a small cottage in the woods. It’s your dream, and it’s time to live it. And if you’ve kept up with home maintenance and improvements, your biggest asset should be ready for its next owner while at peak market value.

Now, smaller does not mean cramped. Consider a new home or renovations designed to maximize your sense of space. We are amid a design renaissance when it comes to innovative ways to get the most out of small spaces while making them feel open and roomy. The tiny house movement is overflowing with incredible concepts to help people get the most from every square foot without feeling cramped. Not that a tiny home is what you want, but it’s a wellspring of great ideas.

A general contractor is much more than the hammer and nails portion of your project. By consulting a contractor at an early stage, they can bring an architect and designer together to help you create an easier to care for, wonderful, innovative, and aesthetically pleasing dream home.

A Montessori Learning Center

Montessori offers a unique curriculum for students, along with Special programs & Family Events Preschool Summer Programs After School Programs www.greenvalleyschool.com 389 Pembroke St., Pembroke (603) 485-8550

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THE ARTS

|

BY LAURA POPE

Birds of a

Different

Feather

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I

magine a hand-wrought John James Audubon illustration of a colorful bird in nature composed with the sensibility of artist Edward Gorey. The image that most likely comes to mind is of a realistic yet distorted, somewhat allegorical polychrome print of a bird. This image comes close to the large-scale color

woodblock prints composed by artist Lyell Castonguay. To say the least, his work is reminiscent of Audubon and Gorey, but singularly his own.

Lyell earned a degree in illustration at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2010. The Newmarket-based artist then furthered his woodblock artistry

www.lyellcastonguay.com

Above: Messenger.

while working for a print studio in Western Massachusetts. There he developed his skills with a largeformat press, which led him to purchase his own portable largeformat press.

Freed from the studio, Lyell used a van to travel with his press

www.bigink.org

to art centers, galleries, museums, and anywhere else he could practice and share his skills. This naturally led to the creation of BIG INK, the name of his mobile workshop, with fellow NHIA artist and now life partner, Carand Burnet.

The two Johnny Appleseeds of woodblock artistry routinely select up to 16 artists months in advance of each scheduled two-day BIG INK printmaking collaborative. This gives the guest artists time to create their own woodcut that they finish and print under the guidance of Lyell and Carand on the workshop days. Sizes can be as big as 40 by 96 inches. Each artist also donates one print to the BIG INK archive that now contains more than 200 works.

Lyell and Carand have held these events across the country and typically create two or three workshops each year. “Woodcut prints are labor intensive, and the large size magnifies problems,” Lyell says of the medium, adding, “as visual artists presenting our work, we took this lifestyle choice and

developed it into a career.”

McGowan Fine Art is featuring Lyell’s bird prints alongside the works of other printmakers—Karen Dow, Sara Emerson, Mark Johnson, Judy Lampe, Nori Pepe, Vicki Tomayko, Sheri Tomek, and Bert Yarborough—in an exhibit titled Impressed. The show is free and open to the public. It begins on April 17 and runs through May 25.

“Lyell is a young, emerging artist whose large-scale colored block prints I find really interesting,” notes Sarah Chaffee, McGowan Fine Art gallery director and owner. “He uses birds as charismatic imagery, a wonderful jumping-off point, and very free in interpretation with what a bird is. His works are unusual because of how large they are; the largest at 48 by 43 inches.”

Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet will give a presentation about BIG INK that includes details about largescale woodcut block printing and the workshop’s creative business model at the Capitol Center for the Arts on May 19 at 7:30pm.

Above: Painted Guinea.

Left: Two Minds.

TO SEE AND LEARN MORE: Portfolio: www.lyellcastonguay.com BIG INK: www.bigink.org McGowan Fine Art: www.mcgowanfineart.com Capitol Center for the Arts: ccanh.com

Learn more

www.mcgowanfineart.com

ccanh.com SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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THE ARTS PHOTO BY ALLEGRA BOVERMAN

Miriam Carter

A Maker and Wearer of Hats

I

t’s a well-known adage that to juggle the myriad demands of running a thriving organization requires wearing many hats. In the case of Miriam Carter, the new executive director—since January—of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, this idiom is both figurative and literal. The Dublin resident is

The Mad Hatter. Photo by Ralph Gabriner.

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The Step Beret. Photo by Ralph Gabriner.

a fourth-generation felt maker whose luxe line of clothing and accessories includes hats.

“To be successful as a craftsman for decades, you must wear many hats in the sense that every aspect of creating, promoting, and selling your work and growing your business is paramount. This sensibility transfers well into my new position,” Miriam says.

“The fact that I also make hats is ironic,” she adds with a laugh.

This holistic vision of what it means to be a craftsperson may be the reason that Miriam, ironically enough, is the second craftsperson to hold the executive director position in the League’s 85-year history. Over her 30-year career as a single, full-time fiber-arts artisan, Miriam has developed an innovative felting process that brings national attention to her contemporary work. Further, her crafting genes have

Learn more

deep roots. “My great uncle, Alfred Dolge, made piano felt in the late 1800s. My father is a weaver who also worked as a manager in a textile woolen mill, and my mother is a couture seamstress.

“Living the life of an artisan is truly an act of faith so when I took the executive director position, I asked the board of directors to take a leap of faith with me, to invest their expertise in all aspects of the organization in moving forward, including fundraising, development, and membership.” She considers the uptick in attendance at last summer’s League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair—close to 24,000 visitors—as a sign that delegating tasks, cost cutting where necessary, partnering with private and public organizations, zeroing in on the local audience, and undertaking a social media campaign go far in educating the public, especially young people and

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families, about crafts and craftspeople.

It is also good news that the League is experiencing a renaissance. “There is a resurgence of interest in membership among well-established craftsmen as well as the next generation makers. We are working to raise the profile of the organization within the state and beyond and embracing social media and other ways of connecting with a growing and diverse audience.”

One of the oldest and most recognized craft organizations in the country, the League grew out of efforts during the Great Depression in the mid-1920s to promote craft. Mary Coolidge opened a crafts shop in Center Sandwich and A. Cooper Ballentine started craft classes in Wolfeboro. They joined forces to sell locally made handicrafts to support the local economy. By doing this, they ignited a craft movement that swept the state, and in 1931, Governor John Winant established the New Hampshire Commission of Arts and Crafts (now the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen), making New Hampshire the first state in the nation to support crafts.

The League maintains eight affiliated Fine Craft Galleries located in Concord, Center Sandwich, Hanover, Hooksett Welcome Center (Northbound), Littleton, Meredith, Nashua, and North Conway.

The League Fine Craft Galleries exclusively feature crafts handmade by juried League members.

Most of the galleries offer a year-round schedule of demonstrations, exhibitions, and classes and workshops for all ages. For more information, visit www.nhcrafts.org.

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THE ARTS

Art as Propaganda in New Hampshire Historical Society Poster Exhibit

I

n the first half of the twentieth century, posters were an effective, creative, and cost-effective means of mass communication, especially during wartime. For example, few Americans haven’t seen some version of the “I Want You” poster with Uncle Sam’s emphatic finger pointing at the reader. It was a powerful recruitment tool during the first World War and has since entered the popular culture.

But this wasn’t the first or only piece of art turned persuasion tool used by the United States government during World War I. Posters were an important means for influencing, inciting, and educating the public during that and following wars. And they appeared in every state

in the union.

To reveal the simple, direct, and powerful effect of this art form at stirring the nation to action, the New Hampshire Historical Society is hosting a display entitled Making the World Safe for Democracy: Posters of the Great War in New Hampshire.

The hand-illustrated posters on view, chosen from the New Hampshire Historical Society’s collection, mark the centennial of America’s entry into World War I on April 6, 1917. American troops did not reach the Western Front in France in large numbers until the spring of 1918. Already, the war was a horrific global conflict that sparked genocide, revolution, and the deaths of millions.

One can only imagine what the American soldiers found as they arrived on the battlefield.

Nonetheless, the government used visual propaganda across America during these tumultuous years to advocate support of the campaign. This included appeals for enlistment in the armed Columbia Calls/Enlist Now for U.S. Army (1917). Lithograph designed by Frances Adams Halstead (1873-1951), original painting by Vincent Aderente (18801941). Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

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Food Will Win the War (1917). United States Food Administration poster shows the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants to New York Harbor. The text, in English, exhorts immigrants to preserve the freedom they sought in America by conserving wheat and other food items for the Allies. Painting by Charles Edward Chambers.

Courtesy of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

forces and Red Cross, buying Liberty Bonds, rationing food, and saving raw materials. Talented artists working within the government’s Division of Pictorial Publicity, a section of the Committee of Public Information, created the posters.

The mass-produced and -distributed posters not only helped support the war effort but they also displayed the unique talents of these artists, who created enduring patriotic avatars that stirred nationalistic fervor, shaped public opinion, and mobilized American citizens to fight a distant war.

Rousing emblems of American honor

nhhistory.org

and integrity rendered in the exhibited posters include eagle motifs as well as fierce female icons such as Columbia (Uncle Sam’s feminine counterpart who personified America) and heroic Red Cross nurses. This illustrates the pinpoint demographic messaging undertaken by the government to engage all Americans in the war effort.

The exhibition is on view through October 27 at the New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park Street in Concord. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30am to 5pm. For more information, visit nhhistory.org.

REMEMBERING ONE OF CONCORD’S WWI VETERANS

O

ne can only imagine what Concord resident William Dean (left center) felt and thought in the late summer of 1918 as he approached a series of trenches in Northeastern France, the heart of the Western Front. He was one of twenty thousand New Hampshire men and women called to duty by his country in World War I. Will, as he was known to friends, was a member of the Mechanic Company M 309th Infantry of the 78th Division. Soon after arriving at the front, Will and his American comrades launched an offensive from Saint-Mihiel with the goal of taking the fortified city of Metz.

The attack succeeded beyond expectations. The Americans then participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that began on September 26 and lasted until the Armistice of November 11, 1918. To date, it was the largest offensive in the history of the United States military.

Will survived the fighting to come home, though 697 of his New Hampshire comrades did not. This included Lucy Fletcher and Teresa Murphy, both Concord residents serving as nurses, who died during the fighting.

In 1921, Will married Gertrude Anderson and the couple had two children, David and Donald. He became the first caretaker at Wellington State Park (Newfound Lake) in 1931 and spent three summers there with his family. He later worked as a silver finisher at Towle Manufacturing Company in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Will passed away in 1956 at age 79.

The photos and details of Will’s service and story were provided by his grandson, Brian W. Dean.

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THE ARTS

Fiddling Around F

iddle music and bluegrass are mountain music. Yes, both have strong southern roots—Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass, was a deep Kentuckian—but bluegrass and fiddles are just at home here as anywhere else. How do we know? Our very own New Hampshire Fiddle Ensemble has grown from 85 members a year ago to 100 this year and features fiddlers and other acoustic instrumentalists ages 8 to 88.

At its heart is Nottingham resident Ellen Carlson. “For audiences, and me as well, it really is a thrill to see the whole traditional music and culture passed forward from one generation to the next,” she says.

Ellen is a music teacher, bluegrass fiddler, and director and band leader of the Fiddle Ensemble, and she’s a member of the lauded acoustic roots band High Range. In the past, she played with the award-winning country band the Blue Hill Kickers and was an original

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W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

member of the all-female swing trio Sweet, Hot & Sassy. Beyond bluegrass, Ellen performs swing, country, Irish, and square-dance music.

The whole music thing started, Ellen says, after seeing the Triple Ranch Gang play at a local square dance when she was 11. “My parents”—she says her mother can sing like Anne Murray—“were friendly with the fiddle player, so I took a couple lessons from him. I wanted to play bluegrass, so I took what I’d learned and then taught myself or picked things up from other talented musicians.”

Along the way, she and her brothers— Darrell, guitar and vocals, and Bruce, pedal steel guitar—formed their own band and still play together. Ellen has featured Darrell and Bruce on her latest CD, and she and Darrell will play with Jim Prendergast and a member or two of High Range at the Stone Church in Newmarket on May 12 at 6pm.

Mixed in with her desire to perform a

www.ellencarlson.com

“There’s nothing that matches the feeling you get when you play music with others.”

Above: Ellen Carlson. Photo by Amanda Kowalski.

Below: Shelby Smith Hula-Hoops while playing fiddle for the New Hampshire Fiddle Ensemble.

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CAPPIES* WINNER EVERY YEAR SINCE 2005! wide range of musical styles is a love of teaching and sharing this music with others. “I believe everyone should be playing music,” Ellen says. “It’s communicating on a different level. When younger kids and older folks play together, they have such a good time.”

It’s this ethos of bringing generations together around a shared love of music that is the body and soul of the Fiddle Ensemble. The ensemble is a community training orchestra that teaches the basics of performing and musicianship in the traditional manner, which means learning by ear and via sheet music. The music is arranged as different parts for different levels, so musicians of all abilities can play together happily and in harmony.

Beginning each fall (November through March), the ensemble members meet for eight small-group rehearsals at six locations, four in New Hampshire and two in Maine. “They also get together in each other’s homes to practice,” Ellen says.

Following the rehearsals are a series of concerts held in April that benefit local charities such as New Hampshire Children’s Trust and the Franklin Opera House. “The concerts amount to community members coming together to raise money for an excellent not-for-profit,” Ellen says.

The first of this year’s concerts were at the Star Theatre in Kittery, Maine, on April 7 and Grappone Toyota in Bow on April 8, but you can still see them on April 14 at the Exeter Town Hall, April 15 at the Franklin Opera House, and then on August 7 at the New Boston gazebo. You can also keep an eye on their website (www.fiddleheadscamp.com/nhfiddle-ensemble) for any impromptu performances.

The Fiddle Ensemble is also connected to the Fiddleheads Acoustic JamCamp in Contoocook, which is in its twenty-first year and co-run by Ellen and Kathy Sommer (Zimpfer). “Fiddleheads is where mostly adults and some kids learn how to jam with other musicians and perform in different styles such as blues, bluegrass, jazz, and more,” Ellen says.

“There’s nothing that matches the feeling you get when you play music with others.”

The camp runs from September 7 through 9. To learn more, go to www.fiddleheadscamp.com.

To learn about Ellen's upcoming gigs, go to www .ellencarlson.com or www.highrangeband.com.

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BY JOHN GFROERER PHOTOS BY JOHN BENFORD

Life as a blacksmith in the era of the Internet ÿ d gig economy

/

To Craft w h One’s

Own Hands |

E

very strike of the hammer moves the hot metal closer to its final shape. Like words on a page, each percussion should be decisive, clear, and move the story along to a conclusion.

The plot is simple: take this piece of metal and coax it into something beautiful and functional via forge and aesthetics.

The author of this story is blacksmith Garry Kalajian, who simply says, “I aspire to make things that look nice and work well.” For 25 years, Garry has forged metal into art at his shop, Ararat Forge, in Bradford and, for the past few years, shared his craft with students at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon.

“I ˜ ° re to m˛ e t˝ ngs th˙ looˆ ˇ ce ÿ d work well.”

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Following a Calling Blacksmithing full time was a later-in-life decision for Garry.

First, there was a degree in music as a voice major and choral director. Then there was a master’s degree in environmental education followed by work for a nonprofit youth program that brought him to New Hampshire. Throughout his somewhat meandering journey, there were thoughts of hammers and anvils and the transformative effect of heat on metal. “It was just a fond dream,” he remembers.

But there was a seed to that dream. His introduction to blacksmithing came when he was an assistant teacher in Northwest New Jersey in the 1980s. It was an alternative school meant to offer students a wider breadth of curriculum, and basic blacksmithing was one of the offerings. Intrigued, Garry joined in and learned to turn out simple hooks with his students. At that time, a career as a blacksmith seemed impossible, but the clang of the hammer against fire-softened metal sparked a nascent desire within him. And there it rested, almost hiding, as Garry pursued the life he had trained for at college.

Ten years later, Garry was living in New Hampshire directing a nonprofit, but not happy. He loved New Hampshire (of course), but his work, while important and valuable, wasn’t fulfilling. He started thinking about blacksmithing, which led him to read up on the subject and then buy some tools—the smithy slippery slope—and dabble a bit. An artist was born, and the thought of making a career of a craft that had its heyday at the beginning of the last century started to appeal to him.

In 1993, Garry left the security of his nonprofit job to become a craftsman of metal arts. You could call it a jump from one kind of nonprofit to another. The metaphor and potential for humor could take several interesting directions, but suffice to say, being a blacksmith isn’t exactly winning a golden ticket. It’s a calling.

Garry set up a shop in a shed behind his home in Weare. He found a mentor, David Court, who helped him learn the trade.

He joined the New England Blacksmiths, which is the local chapter of the Artist Blacksmiths Association of North America.

Though he underestimated how long it would take to become established, he stuck with it.

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“I think the essence of creativity involves using one’s intuitive sense to bring about what one wants to do with a piece of art.”

\

“It’s like playing a musical instrument,” says Garry. “If you want to play the piano or anything else, you just have to spend the time sitting at the keyboard, learning from your mistakes.”

And that’s how he became a blacksmith. His keyboard was an anvil. His music became the rhythm of hammer strikes on hot metal. Not quite choral music, but then, it may just depend what kind of vocalists you are working with.

The Art of Blacksmithing To the casual observer of a blacksmithing demonstration at an old home days celebration or the annual Craftsmen’s Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort (which, by the way, Garry often does), the process seems simple. You heat up a piece of metal, then hit it on an anvil with a hammer, cool it off in some water, and there you have it. Like all creative disciplines, it is that simple, but . . .

Iron was the original metal that blacksmiths used, and there was a reason. Iron has a wide transition from solid to liquid. In the blacksmith business, this is known as the forging range— the temperature at which a piece of metal is malleable. That range for iron is between 1,000 and 2,300 degrees. The wider the range, the longer it takes to cool. This lengthens the time a

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No, No, No . . .

Not Horseshoes

B

lacksmith stereotypes all carry a familiar line: they are big, burly guys with dirty leather aprons and a bit of black ash rubbed on their forehead. Beards are not uncommon, and if not a beard, perhaps a fancy mustache.

Then there is what they make: horseshoes. Everybody knows that blacksmiths make horseshoes. Well, at least they used too. Today, very few blacksmiths make horseshoes. It’s actually a farrier who makes shoes for horses. Yes, they use a forge, an anvil, and a hammer, but they also have some of the skills of a large-animal veterinarian.

So, beware. If you ask a blacksmith about horseshoes, you will probably get a polite answer to the negative. But they will keep their true thoughts to themselves.

|

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blacksmith has to work on a piece before it goes cold. The metal’s color tells the blacksmith where it is within its forging range.

Steel is more common today, but color is still the key temperature measure. Bellows—electric fans, mostly—pump air across the coals to create intense heat in the forge. Garry explains, “As the bar becomes hotter, it changes color from a dull red to brighter red to orange, and then yellow. When it starts to turn white, you shut down the air and take it out.” The metal is then ready for Garry to shape it.

From the forge, the heated bar goes to the anvil where “the primary work, at least in the initial roughing-it-out stages of the bar, is done directly by hammer blows on the anvil.” The blacksmith has as much time to work on the bar as it stays hot. But of course, as soon as the metal is removed from the heat, it starts cooling. The window to work could be 30, maybe 40 seconds depending on the thickness of the metal. Once it cools down to dark red, it must go back into the fire. The process is repeated again and again until the blacksmith hammers the metal into its desired shape.

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Water is Quicker,

But Not Better

B

een there, seen it—the blacksmith demo at . . . well, anywhere. The blacksmith heats up the metal. Once it’s red hot, he or she pounds on it with a hammer. Then it sizzles as the smithy thrusts it into a bucket of water.

But truth be told, when a blacksmith is alone in the shop, the water part of the performance is set aside. It’s better for the metal to slowly cool. Garry Kalajian usually puts his work on the floor to cool down. As he notes, “That’s better for the material. It’s more inclined to return to a normalized state, whereas the rapid quenching in the water can negatively affect the physical properties of the metal. It can make it more brittle.”

Personally, I like the sizzle.

|

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For those “

First Place 8 Years Running

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Garry notes, “You don’t have the luxury of thinking or analyzing.”

Instinct is the force of creativity. With each hit of the hammer you just have to know, and feel, and take a calculated risk every once in a while. If you stop and think, the bar cools and no longer accepts the intention of your blows.

“I think the essence of creativity involves using one’s intuitive sense to bring about what one wants to do with a piece of art,” Garry explains.

And yet, Garry sees himself as more contemplative than impulsive. Part of his skill must derive from finding the balance between these two forces: contemplation without thought, intuition without impulsivity.

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Garry stands with his students at Sanborn Mills Farm. Left to right are Dave Ross, Kayla Greenrod, Garry, Dan Lyford, and Tim O’Donnell.

Once Garry hammers the metal into its final shape he cools the piece, and he sometimes does what he calls cold work. This might be with a belt sander or a file. It brings a final level of finish to the piece. The last step is to put on a sealant for finish. Garry uses a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax. “It’s a very good finish, and with few exceptions, it does not rust.”

Garry’s repertoire is wide—candle holders, door latches, hinges, candelabras, fireplace accessories, towel racks, napkin rings, even cooking utensils, and the list goes on. If you don’t see what you want, he will take commission work. His biggest piece so far is a gate for a wine cellar.

The constant in all his work, as he has said, is the collaboration of art and functionality. What he makes performs a task, but he intends his designs to impart on the viewer a sense of creative admiration. They are beauty begat by the perfect blow of a hammer on white-hot steel.

The seriousness of his sense of craft does not preclude an occasional piece lower in function and higher in just, well, fun.

“For example,” Garry says, “I made a magic hat, which was

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Garry is serious about teaching his students the basics and then mastery of the craft.

\

commissioned and given as a retirement gift by a woman who said her boss was always pulling rabbits out of a hat.”

Back to Teaching You might say Garry’s life is coming full circle. He started out as a teacher, and teaching introduced him to blacksmithing.

Now, having mastered the craft, he has returned to teaching to share the secrets of a blacksmith. It means less time in his shop, but he finds teaching is easier on his body. So, he toler-

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As with his work in his shop, Garry is serious about teaching his students the basics and then mastery of the craft. His classes run from April until November at Sanborn Mills Farm in Loudon. And they fill up fast.

Perhaps Garry is the wellspring of a blacksmithing renaissance. With robots set to take over an ever-larger number of jobs and functions and people addicted to the amorphous world of cell phones and online experiences, something visceral of heat and steel is a human calling that we cannot ignore.

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BY SUSAN NYE

Are we there yet?

ON BECOMING A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GROWN-UP

M

aybe it was simpler for my parents’ generation. The signs of adulthood were easy to identify. The first job followed soon after graduation and then, once settled, marriage to the love of your life, often a high school or college sweetheart.

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I’m stuck SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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Entry-level job

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r e n w o e Hom

Living on own They may have been young but their path, regardless of twists and turns, potholes and pitfalls, was well marked.

My mom and dad no sooner announced their engagement than material proof of their new adult status began to pile high. Family and friends showered them with toasters, pots and pans, pot holders, and dishcloths. Next, gifts of china, glassware, and silverware arrived wrapped in shiny paper and silver ribbon. Before long, eight identical sets of everything were ready for their first dinner party, itself an initiation into adultness.

In the ultimate rite of passage, the happy couple marched down the aisle beautifully dressed in ivory satin and a morning coat. Their nearest and dearest watched teary-eyed as they promised to love each other forever. A celebration with champagne, a towering cake, and dancing sealed the deal. After the wedding, they packed up all those wonderful presents.

Then, with a promise to return on alternate Sundays for dinner, they each left their childhood home and moved into a rented apartment. As if to confirm their coming of age, a scruffy little dog wandered into the apartment and adopted them. Okay, that didn’t happen to all newlyweds. Some went to the pound and rescued a dog.

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Too many young adults have garnered labels like boomerang generation and failure to launch. Certainly most, if not all millennials would like to launch.

They bought a car. The handsome new husband learned to make a mean jug of whiskey sours. The beautiful new bride learned to make chicken divan and seafood Newburg. With these newfound gastronomic and mixology skills perfected, they set the table with their new china, glasses, and silverware and entertained other young couples.

In a few years, they had a baby. They became the proud owners of a tiny Cape in a neighborhood filled with kids and swing sets. They bought a second car.

They had another beautiful baby who just happened to be me. Some of their friends went so far as to have five or more babies. There’s a reason they called it the baby boom.

My mother and father grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. They were barely 21 and 23 when they marched down the aisle. They may have been young but their path, regardless of twists and turns, potholes and pitfalls, was well marked.

Then the culture changed and turned the world upside down. Some might blame Pincus and Rock, coinventors of the birth control pill.

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Mon–Thu 9am–7pm, Fri 9am–8pm Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 10am–5pm

Tue–Thu 11am–5pm, Fri 11am–6pm Sat 10am–3pm, Closed Sun & Mon

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2

1

YOU REALIZE IT’S TI ME TO GET OFF MOM AND DAD’S CELL PHONE PLAN. YES, YOU CAN KEEP YO UR NUMBER. YOU STOP PROCRASTIN ATING AND MAKE THE SWITCH.

3

H UR OWN HEALT YOU HAVE YO N OU’VE HUNG O INSURANCE. Y Y T YOU FINALL FOR YEARS, BU A EDIATRICIAN GIVE YOUR P U Y GOODBYE. YO SA D N A G U H BIG R R OWN DOCTO SCHEDULE YOU S. APPOINTMENT ST I T N DE D N A

4 EE YOU MIGHT SHARE IT WITH THR YOUR OWN OR FOUR PEOPLE, BUT YOU RENT DREAM OF APARTMENT. YOU WATCH HGTV AND AND, WHILE GETTING A PLACE OF YOUR OWN. E OFTEN, YOU COULD AND SHOULD DO IT MOR AND DUST YOU RUN A VACUUM OVER THE RUG FROM TIME TO TIME.

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YOU HAVE A JOB THAT REQUIRES WORK CLOTHES. YOU OWN WORK CLOTHES.

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6 YOU PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME. YOU HAVEN’T OVERDRAWN AT THE BANK FOR MONTHS AND MONT HS. SAME GOES FOR YOUR CAR IF YOU HAVE ONE. YOU HAVEN’T RUN OUT OF GAS IN THE MIDDLE OF TH E NIGHT IN AGES.

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T. IT G AT NIGH N PI EE SL E TROUBL ENDING YOU HAVE WORK, A P T A CT E J RO P TIONSHIP COULD BE A ANTIC RELA M RO A R O VISA BILL, CHECK YOUR ONALLY, YOU SI A CC O D. HELL, GONE BA EEKEND. OH W E H T N O IL IN THE WORK E-MA TIME, EVEN E H T LL A YOU DO IT THE NIGHT. MIDDLE OF

YOU CALL YOUR PARENTS BECAUSE YOU LOVE THEM AND WANT TO CATCH UP, NOT TO ASK FOR MONEY OR ADVICE.

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YOU CAN HAVE AN YTHING YOU WAN T FOR DINNER BUT LOOK ING DOWN AT YO UR PLATE YOU FIND A PRET TY GOOD REFLECTI ON OF THE HEALTHY FOOD PYRAMID. (OKAY, W HEN PUSH COMES TO SH OVE, IT’S AFTER EI GHT AND YOU’VE BEEN GOING SINCE DAW N, POPCORN IS A MO RE-THAN-ACCEPTAB LE DINNER. MY FRIE ND ANGELA ALWAY S PAIRED IT WITH BEER, BUT I CONTEND THAT CHARDONNAY IS TH E BETTER CHOICE .)

1ˆ YOU OWN EIGHT MATCHING DINNER PLATES AND EIGHT MATCHING WINE GLASSES. YOU NOT ONLY HAVE SILVERWARE, YOU KNOW HOW TO SET THE TABLE. HEY, YOU HAVE ENOUGH POTS AND PANS TO COOK UP DINN ER FOR EIGHT AND YOU KNOW HOW TO ROAST A WHOL E CHICKEN. YOU ARE WILLING TO SPEND A FEW BUCKS ON A NICE BOTTLE OF WINE FOR PEOPLE YOU LIKE.

7 YOU HAVE A CREDIT CARD IN YOUR OWN NAME. YOU CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE.

8

YOU KNOW WHAT A 401(K) IS AND YOU HAVE ONE. 9 YOU FLOSS, TAKE VITAMINS, AND CAN ONLY WISH YOU HAD TIME FOR A NAP ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON.ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

1ˇ YOU ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF HAVING AN IN-DEPTH CONVERSATION ABOUT THE ECONOMY, IMMIGRATION, AND FRENCH COUNTRY VERSUS URBAN CONTEMPORARY FOR THE LIVING ROOM.

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1˜ YOU NOT ONLY HAVE A JUNK DRAWER BUT ITS STASH INCLUDES BOTH AA AND AAA BATTERIES AND BAND-AIDS.

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YOU DO YOUR OWN LAUNDRY. HECK, IT MAY BE SECONDHAND, BUT YOU OWN A WASHER AND DRYER. SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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Concord Regional VNA’s

Passion for Caring Wednesday, May 9, 2018 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Company C | 102 Old Turnpike Road Concord, NH Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments $50 per person ❊ Make your reservations at www.crvna.org or by calling (603) 230-5664

❊

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Proceeds benefit Concord Regional VNA

Special thanks to Leadership sponsor The Prescription Center/Northeast Pharmacy Services Respect sponsor Cambridge Trust Company of New Hampshire Excellence sponsors Atlantic Charter Insurance Merrimack County Savings Bank

Lˆtˇs˝f˛cˆ ˜t˘it’s hard to be a grown-up when you are back in your childhood room.

For an online quote visit: www.able2insure.com Current clients: have you downloaded our app?

603-225-6677 | 130 Broadway, Concord

Alan’s of Boscawen 133 No. Main Street, Rte. 3, Boscawen, NH (603) 753-6631 | www.alansofboscawen.com Alan’s of Boscawen, a family-owned restaurant, has been a local favorite in the Concord area for over 25 years providing great food, catering, and dining experiences.

Featuring live entertainment Fri & Sat 8:30pm–12am.

Open daily, including breakfast Sat & Sun.

Celebrate your Wedding, Shower, or Graduation with us. Call for details!

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Without the fear of pregnancy hanging over them, young adults spread their wings and delayed marriage. They found jobs, teamed up with friends, and entered the rental market. Somehow or other they managed to set up house with little or no ceremony and without the benefit of shower gifts and shiny boxes.

At 25, my mom and dad had two kids and a mortgage. What about 20-somethings today? Millennials, like my niece Kaela, grew up with rapid technological change, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, campus lockdowns, and school shootings. Throughout her childhood, the economy was up and down. Prosperity and growth mixed with major and minor recessions, including a dot-com boom and bust and a housing bubble and crash.

Unlike their grandparents, millennials do not tie the knot early. Most

25-year-olds are single; first-time brides and grooms average 27 for women and 29 for men. Nor do they tend to own tiny little Capes in neighborhoods filled with swing sets.

One of the most deeply held beliefs in the United States is that a good education is the great equalizer. It is our path to the American dream. Urban poor, rural poor, middle-class drudge, it doesn’t matter—an education is the escape plan. The only trouble is, the cost of a decent education has grown more than two-and-a-half times the inflation rate. The skyrocketing cost of a college education has crippled too many millennials with debt.

Making matters worse, starting salaries and income inequality rival the Gilded Age of Vanderbilt and Carnegie.

My dad was horrified to learn that Kaela’s starting salary at her first job was not far from what he had paid an entrylevel sales rep 30 years ago. Thankfully, she quickly moved on and up.

A graduate of a top university, Kaela is one of the lucky ones. Employed and doing well, she shares an apartment with three or four friends, can roast a chicken, can host a dinner party, and bikes to work. Too many young adults have garnered labels like boomerang generation and failure to launch. Certainly most, if not all millennials would like to launch. Unfortunately, economics forced many to return home after graduation.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to be a grown-up when you are back in your childhood room. Nothing but nothing says not a grown-up louder than sleeping in bunk beds beneath a Justin Bieber poster.

And so here I am, the generation in between, a hinge that connects two versions of transformation from youth into adulthood. One I view with a sense of reverence and sentimentality, the other with some worry, but also a faith that they are only at the beginning their story.

PROFESSIONAL, RELIABLE, TRUSTED AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR

Family owned & operated. Expert vehicle maintenance, servicing all makes & models.

Providing expert Volvo service since 1993.

7 Old Suncook Rd., Concord ~ off Manchester St. Behind Greenlands

603-228-8302 • JBAUTOSERVICECENTER.COM

SUBSCRIBE

Bring the splendor of Around Concord directly to your home!

Share the wonder of our beautiful area and the latest news all year long with an Around Concord gift subscription.

Be sure to order a subscription for yourself too!

Send a check for $19.95 for one year (4 issues) to: Around Concord One Monitor Drive, Concord, NH 03301.

Or purchase online at www.aroundconcord.com.

SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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EVENT CALENDAR

|

THEATER

•

MUSIC

•

DANCE

•

LECTURE

•

ART

What's Happening In & Around Concord

May 3–September 2

Spring and Summer Exhibit Featuring painters Mike Howat, Debbie Kinson, Patrick McCay, Alice Spencer, and Gretchen Hill Woodman, and indoor sculptor Michael Alfano.

Opening reception May 10, 5pm.

Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden THEMILLBROOKGALLERY.COM

Love In Bloom by Michael Alfano.

Discover more of what's happening 64

W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

www.aroundconcord.com

Through April 13 April 7

Exhibit: Sandy Wadlington: East & West

Pitch! A College A Capella Concert Join some of the best New England college a capella groups for a concert of great sounds. Entertaining for the whole family!

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 2 & 7:30pm WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM

April 11

Free Walker Lecture Event: Travel the World Free April 9

Lincoln Financial School Series: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Bedtime is approaching, and this team of construction vehicles needs to get their rest.

But Crane Truck is getting cranky, Cement Mixer takes too long with bath time, and Dump Truck just isn’t sleepy!

Capitol Center for the Arts, 10am & 12pm CCANH.COM

Through April 15

Kid Cult Cosmology The boys saw something crazy in the sky that night at TJ’s after-school cryptozoology discussion club. Now TJ, Robby, and Aaron have done the obvious—they’ve created a UFO spacereligion. Will their new religion help them meet girls? Will Overlord (Principal) Healy and the PTA allow such blasphemy? Who are the true believers, and who is just along for the ride? A surrealistic ode to the power of geek knowledge, preteen cheerleaders, and the resident weirdos of middle school.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM

The unbelievable adventure of award-winning comedian Michael Wigge as he travels from Europe to Antarctica without any money.

Audi, 7:30pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG April 11, May 9, June 6

revolution in consciousness paves the way to both personal and national renewal.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm CCANH.COM April 15

The Bolshoi Ballet in HD: Romeo and Juliet Capitol Center for the Arts, 3pm CCANH.COM

Andrew Pinard: Discovering Magic Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

April 16

The MET Live in HD: Luisa Miller

April 12

Capitol Center for the Arts, 6pm CCANH.COM

Marianne Williamson: The Love America Tour

April 17–May 25

At a time when fear and hatred have been turned into a political force, is it possible to harness the powers of love and decency for political purposes as well? Marianne Williamson will discuss how a

Opening reception April 20, 5–7pm.

McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM

Exhibit: Impressed – Printmaking Now!

April 10

The Cashore Marionettes: Simple Gifts Simple Gifts is a series of touching portrayals and poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by such composers as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven, and Copland. The original vignettes provide an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm CCANH.COM

April 8

Daughtry Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm CCANH.COM

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CALENDAR

SINGLE SOURCE PROVIDER OF EXPERT ENVIRONMENTAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND EMERGENCY WORLDWIDE EM MERGENCY ERG GEEN G E Y SERVICES WOR WORL LDWIDE

April 14–15

EMERGENCY RESPONSE • INDUSTRIAL • REMEDIATION WASTE MANAGEMENT • MARINE

I Never Saw Another Butterfly The Winni Players’ annual staged reading in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 7:30pm Sat; 2pm Sun WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

April 18

NATIONAL RESPONSE CORPORATION 44 LOCKE ROAD CO1CORD, NH 03301 603-410-1150 24-HOUR EMERGENCY: 800-899-4672

Free Walker Lecture Event: Ivory & Fox – The Musical Duo www.nrcc.com

Audi, 7:30pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG April 19

NATIONAL RESPONSE CORPORATION 44 LOCKE ROAD CONCORD, NH 03301 603-410-1150 24-HOUR EMERGENCY: 800-899-4672

Music Out of the ’Box: Danika & The Jeb Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM April 21 1270192

Concord Community Concerts Association: Jay Daly & the New England Brass Audi, 7:30pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG

II

ITALIAN KITCHEN

Operated by George Georgopoulos and family, Veano’s II offers all the traditional Italian favorites you love plus seafood, pizza, and more. Serving lunch and dinner, and now breakfast from Mon–Fri 7am–11am, Sat–Sun 7am–noon. Stop in for superb customer service, great food, and a warm friendly atmosphere— and don’t forget to check out our daily dinner specials!

30 Manchester Street, Unit 1 Concord, NH | (603) 715-1695

Come experience the joy of artful living!

April 21

Theater Sports Improv Theater Sports is a type of improv where two teams compete in rounds to win points. The teams are given parameters and one minute to huddle before they present their scene. At the end of two scenes, the audience votes.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM April 22

Capital Jazz Orchestra – Porgy and Bess and other Gershwin Classics Audi, 4pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG April 25–29

Same Time, Next Year A humorous yet touching comedy about lasting love.

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 7:30pm Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat; 2pm Sat; 5pm Sun WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10am to 6pm • 856-7825 25 N Main St, Concord • chickadeelaneinteriors.com 66

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April 27–May 13

8 by Eight A comedic cocktail of cowboys, mobsters, housewives, truckers, aliens, and time travelers.

Eight actors portray more than 30 characters in eight sketches from the mind of award-winning playwright G. Matthew Gaskell. Buckle up for a night of fast-paced, gut-busting, cheek-aching, mascara-smudging comedy.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM

Merrimack County ServiceLink 2 Industrial Park Drive PO Box 1016, Concord, NH 03302

April 28

The MET Live in HD: Cendrillon

Learn About Medicare at our Monthly Medicare Workshop

Capitol Center for the Arts, 12:55pm CCANH.COM April 28

Community Cleanup and Potluck

1-866-634-9412 603-228-6625

Join us as we get ready for opening day!

Canterbury Shaker Village, 9am–1pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

info@bm-cap.org

April 29, May 22

www.servicelink.nh.gov

The Bolshoi Ballet in HD: Giselle Encore Capitol Center for the Arts, 29, 3pm; 22, 6pm CCANH.COM

We bring the universe to you

Travel to distant galaxies in a world-class planetarium, explore the Earth and space with cool exhibits at New Hampshire’s memorial to Christa McAuliffe and Alan Shepard.

May 1

National Theatre Live in HD Rebroadcast: Julius Caesar Capitol Center for the Arts, 6pm CCANH.COM

Discovery Center

1268802

I’m safety first, science second, and customers all the time.

Sarah Geromini champions the trees, landscapes and property investments of the customers in her care. And she’s one of the many reasons we’ve become the premier scientific tree and shrub care company in the world.

April 28

Juston McKinney New Hampshire’s own Juston McKinney returns with lots of new material!

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

Contact us at 603-225-0404 bartlett.com/Hooksett-NH SARAH GEROMINI Arborist and Bartlett Champion

EVERY TREE NEEDS A CHAMPION.

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CALENDAR May 5

Heifer Parade Celebrate our opening day by welcoming a parade of heifers back to the village! Heifer Parade activities will run from 10am to 2pm with the parade beginning at approximately 11am.

Canterbury Shaker Village WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

Granite Restaurant & Bar 96 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH (603) 227-9000 www.graniterestaurant.com A popular dining and socializing spot among Concord locals, our awardwinning Granite Restaurant & Bar is a beautifully styled, modern eatery.

Our talented culinary team brings creative sensibility to a sleek dining space enhanced with contemporary spirit and warm service. Using locally sourced ingredients at every opportunity, Chef Daniel Dionne infuses New American cuisine with French, Mediterranean, and Asian influences.

May 4–6

May 12

Community Players of Concord: Shakespeare in Hollywood

16th Annual Perennial Exchange

It’s 1935 and Shakespeare’s Oberon and Puck magically appear on the set of Max Reinhardt’s classic film, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Audi, 7:30pm Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG May 8

New Hampshire Preservation Alliance: Honoring Preservation Achievement The NHPA honors the best statewide efforts to save and revive parks and communities.

Audi, 4:30pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG May 9

Wednesday’s Wisdom Pot Luck Kathy Lowe Bloch will speak about music, poetry, and how she is influenced by the natural world.

Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden, 5:30pm THEMILLBROOKGALLERY.COM May 10–13

Split and swap your perennials, plus an affordable annuals raffle.

Audi, 8am–12pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG May 12

11th Annual Canterbury Shaker Village XC5k Registration opens at 8:30am.

Canterbury Shaker Village WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

May 18

William Shatner Live Featuring a screening of The Wrath of Khan and a Q&A session.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7pm CCANH.COM

The Government Inspector When small-town officials mistake an inventive clerk for an undercover inspector sent to root out corruption, the whole village flies into a tailspin.

A comic web of bribery, lies, and rampaging selfdelusion entangles everyone in chaos.

The Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 7:30pm Thu, Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

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May 15–October 14

21st Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden THEMILLBROOKGALLERY.COM May 16

Cabaret Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm CCANH.COM

Constantly Pizza 39 S. Main Street, Concord, NH (603) 224-9366 www.constantlypizza.net @ConstantlyPizza Great food at great prices and a selection that can’t be beat!

We specialize in catering – office parties, rehearsal dinners, showers, anniversaries, retirements, special events, and more.

Check out our website for our full menu.

Open Mon–Thu & Sat 11am–10pm, Fri 11am–11pm; Sun Noon–9pm

Dining Out In & Around Concord

DINING GUIDE II

ITALIAN KITCHEN

Alan’s of Boscawen

Veano’s II Italian Kitchen

133 N. Main Street, Rte. 3, Boscawen, NH (603) 753-6631 www.alansofboscawen.com

30 Manchester Street, Unit 1, Concord, NH (603) 715-1695

Alan’s of Boscawen, a family-owned restaurant, has been a local favorite in the Concord area for over 25 years providing great food, catering, and dining experiences.

Featuring live entertainment Fri & Sat 8:30pm–12am.

Open daily, including breakfast Sat & Sun.

Revival Kitchen & Bar 11 Depot Street, Concord, NH (603) 715-5723 www.revivalkitchennh.com @revivalkitchennh Casual upscale dining with farm-to-table influence. Reviving Old World classic dishes using local meats, produce, and dairy. Unique and classic cocktails and every wine available by the glass.

Open Tue–Thu 4–9pm, Fri–Sat 4–10pm; closed Sun & Mon.

Operated by George Georgopoulos and family, Veano’s II offers all the traditional Italian favorites you love plus seafood, pizza, and more.

Serving lunch and dinner, and now breakfast from Mon–Fri 7am–11am, Sat & Sun 7am–noon. Stop in for superb customer service, great food, and a warm, friendly atmosphere—and don’t forget to check out our daily dinner specials!

Makris Lobster & Steak House Route 106, Concord, NH (603) 225-7665 www.eatalobster.com An experience you wont forget! Enjoy fresh seafood and steak at an affordable price. Comfortable setting for all ages.

Banquets and catering available!

Open Tue–Sun, 11am–9pm (8pm on Sun)

The 19th Hole at Beaver Meadow 1 Beaver Meadow Street, Concord, NH (603) 228-8308 Serving golfers and general public alike in a casual atmosphere with mouthwatering pub-style fare. Enjoy open-air dining and a full-service bar with a large craft beer selection. Banquet facility and catering is available, call us for more information!

Mon–Sat 10am–10pm, Sun 10am–6pm with expanded summer hours

Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse/Sushi Bar & Lounge 118 Manchester Street, Concord, NH (603) 223-3301 www.ichibanconcord.com Ichiban features 12 hibachi grills where meals are prepared in front of you, a Japanese sushi bar, and the Koi Lounge with HD TVs. Happy Hour is Sun–Thu 4–6pm with $2 drafts, half-price appetizers, and cocktails!

Vibes Gourmet Burgers 25 S. Main Street, Concord, NH (603) 856-8671 www.vibesgourmetburgers.com Our handcrafted burgers start with Open Prairie Natural Angus®.

Raised on ranches and 100% vegetarian fed, this fresh, premiumquality beef contains no added hormones, antibiotics, or artificial ingredients. Our signature brioche buns are baked fresh daily.

Mon–Thu 11:30am–8pm, Fri 11:30am–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–6pm

Arnie's Place Homemade Ice Cream, Burgers & Bar-B-Que

164 Loudon Road, Concord, NH Arnie's has the largest selection of award-winning homemade ice cream! We also strive to make our mouthwatering Bar-B-Que even more mouthwatering every day in our in-house smoker!

Join us for a Tuesday evening Cruise Night and find out why we are the local fun spot!

Sun–Thu 11am–8:30pm, Fri & Sat 11am–9pm Our hours may change, please call for closing hours for that day!

SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

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WE PROVIDE

24|7

EMERGENCY AND CRITICAL VETERINARY CARE Helping Pets and their People with Emergency Veterinary Care for over 16 years!

CALENDAR

CAPITAL AREA VETERINARY EMERGENCY AND SPECIALTY

Specialties include:

• Internal Medicine • Dermatology • Cardiology • Ophthalmology • Behavior • Advanced Diagnostic Imaging • i-131 Radioactive Iodine Therapy • Critical and Intensive Care • Diagnostic/Lab Services

1 Intervale Road, Concord, NH 03301 NH Toll-free: 877-929-1199 Phone: 603-227-1199 Fax: 603-227-0666 Like us on Facebook facebook.com/cavesnh AU987@VCA.com www.VCACAVES.com

BETTER HEARING CENTER, INC.

May 24

Lincoln Financial School Series: The Gruffalo

❖

HERBERT J. HODGDON, II, BC-HIS, PRESIDENT

Audiology | Hearing Aids | Service & Accessories 2 Industrial Park Drive, Concord, NH

betterhearingnh.net

603-224-9043 1270197

Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood. Searching for hazelnuts, Mouse meets the cunning Fox, the eccentric old Owl, and the party mad Snake. Will the story of the terrifying Gruffalo save Mouse from ending up as dinner for these hungry woodland creatures?

Capitol Center for the Arts, 10am CCANH.COM

ADVERTISERS INDEX May 17

70

McAuliffe-Shepard

A&B Lumber ......................... back cover

Concord Orthodontics ........................ 11

Able Insurance .................................... 62

Concord Pediatric Dentistry ............... 7

Discovery Center ..............................67

Alan's of Boscawen ..................... 62, 69

Concord Regional VNA ..................... 62

Merrimack County Savings Bank ......8

Amish Homestead ............................. 58

Constantly Pizza ................................. 68

Merrimack County Service Link.......67

Annis & Zellers.....................................39

Cowan & Zellers ..................................53

National Response Center ............... 66

Arnie's Ice Cream ............................... 69

Music Out of the ’Box: Decatur Creek/Bradford Bog People Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

Detailed Stained Glass .......................59

Nicole's Greenhouse...........................39

May 19

Art Plus, Inc...........................................59

Endicott Furniture ...................................1

North Country Tractor........................33

Lyell Castonguay

Banks Chevrolet ....... inside back cover

Goldsmith's Gallery, LLC ...................59

Pats Peak Ski Area ................................31

Bartlett Tree Experts ...........................67

Granite Restaurant & Bar ................. 68

Pembroke Pines.................................... 71

Better Hearing Center ....................... 70

Green Valley School ............................35

Prescott & Son Oil ................................. 2

Bow Plumbing & Heating ...................51

Hilltop Consignments.........................53

Revival Kitchen & Bar ........................ 69

Capitol Area Vet Services................. 70

HR Clough .............................................33

Rumford Stone .........inside front cover

Capitol Craftsman ........................ 51, 58

Ichiban Japanese

Serendipity Day Spa............................27

BIG INK is a New Hampshire–based company that brings together creative thinkers focused on carving, printing, and promoting the art of large-scale woodblock printmaking. Directors Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet will share how their passion for art and writing has helped them establish a creative business model.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm CCANH.COM

Caring Gifts ...........................................59

Steak House ............................... 63, 69

Stonehenge Masonry ........................ 43

Celeste Oliva.........................................59

Inn at Mill Falls ..................................... 21

Sugar River Bank .................................. 15

Centennial Hotel .................................. 19

JB Automotive Service Center .........63

Tasker Landscaping ............................... 3

May 19

Century 21 The Destefano Co. .........23

Joe King's Shoe Shop ..........................59

The 19th Hole at Beaver Meadow .. 69

Charter Trust ..........................................9

Landforms ..............................................13

Upton & Hatfield ................................. 19

Chickadee Lane Interiors .................. 66

Laurie Rosato ........................................ 17

Greg Boggis Presents Standup Comedy

Valpey Financial Services .................... 5

Cobb Hill Construction ..................... 29

Lavoie Pools ..........................................35

Veano's Italian Kitchen .............. 66, 69

Concord Antique Gallery .................. 43

Ledyard Bank ........................................25

Vibes Gourmet Burgers .................... 69

Concord Aviation Services .................31

Lilise Designer Resale.........................59

Vintage Kitchens ................................ 29

Concord Eye Center ............................27

Makris Lobster & Steak House ....... 69

What's In Your Closet Resale

Concord Imaging Center ................... 41

Marshall's Florist .................................53

W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

Boutique..............................................59

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

May 20

Tom Rush Capitol Center for the Arts, 7:30pm CCANH.COM

May 19

Dennis DeYoung: The Grand Illusion 40th Anniversary Album Tour

May 31

Lincoln Financial School Series: My Heart in a Suitcase Anne Lehmann and her family no longer feel safe in their Berlin home. Life in 1938 Germany is deteriorating quickly for the Lehmanns and all Jews living there. In order to protect their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Lehmann may have to say goodbye to her forever.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 10am CCANH.COM

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

June 2–3

May 20

There will be vendors and demonstrators showing off their craft in woodworking, stone wall

Hallelujah! Leonard Cohen: Songwriter, Poet This unique salute to Leonard Cohen will feature the Vintage Vocal Quartet and guests who will be rendering their musical adaptations of some of Cohen’s greatest hits and well-remembered classics.

Audi, 4pm CCANH.COM

Traditional Craft Days

building, weaving, rug hooking, broom making, oval box making, letterpress printing, and much more! Visit with an artisan, participate in handson activities, enjoy music and food, and find out where you can learn to make the crafts that interest you.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 10am–4pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG June 5–July 27

Exhibit: John Bonner Opening reception June 8, 5pm.

McGowan Fine Art WWW.MCGOWANFINEART.COM

June 1–2

Absinthe & Opium Burlesque: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Absinthe & Opium Cabaret and Burlesque, central New Hampshire’s premiere cabaret troupe, will present a lighthearted frolic through love, lust, whimsy, and dreams with their tribute to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

Play 3 Great Golf Courses for the Price of 1!

All 2018 memberships include the following benefits at the home course: • Unlimited golf for the 2018 season, based on membership type • 10% off all apparel, shoes and equipment • Eligibility for all member tournaments • 7 - days advance tee time reservations • GHIN Handicap included

Sandwiched between the historic towns of Concord and Manchester with natural landscapes and stunning views of the Central New England Region.

A golf retreat truly worth taking. Beautiful, tranquil, and relaxing public access course in the region.

Lakes Region’s Premier 18-Hole Championship Golf Course

42 Whittemore Road Pembroke, NH 03275

15 W Rd, Canterbury, NH 03224

258 Governor John Wentworth Hwy Moultonborough, NH 03254

603-210-1365 Ext 12 www.pembrokepinescc.com

783-9400x12 www.canterburywoodscc.com

(603) 476-5930 www.ridgewoodcc.net SPRING 2018 | AROUND CONCORD

71

LAST WORD

This Is How Bread Rises

BY KENDRA FORD

a cluster of grapes, a bowl of old apples is remembered for a hundred years a jar of this fermenting fruit is shared turning in the mixing bowl dough moves against the direction of the clock, like all things that grow the ocean, or our own blood nothing’s right without the salt someone remembers the dough is shining in its bowl slowly opening spaces inside itself as with any good dancer you must forget who’s watching and move by feeling, the gentle urging at your back, in your hand hands shaping a loaf form a wingspan, thumb to thumb so hands can learn to fly handled and small the loaves rise again simple things, stretching in their skins.

SUBMIT YOUR WORK We are looking to showcase the talents of local photographers, artists, poets, and creative souls who call the greater Concord area their home. Submit your work for consideration for this page in a future issue.

editor@aroundconcord.com 72

W W W. A R O U N D C O N C O R D . C O M

REAL PRICES. HUGE INVENTORY. ALWAYS IN STOCK.

THE ALL-NEW 2017

CHEVROLET SILVERADO

BANKS CHEVROLET 137 MANCHESTER ST. CONCORD, NH 603-229-4176 BANKSAUTOS.COM

Around Concord One Monitor Drive Concord, NH 03301

PRSRT STD US Postage

PAID

Manchester NH Permit 792

Every Home Waits To Be A

MARVIN HOME Find inspiration at your local, independent Marvin dealer today.

Pembroke, NH 129 Sheep Davis Road

224.7483

Sunapee, NH 21 Sargent Road

Andover, NH 24 Ten Penny Lane

735.5544

www.belletetes.com

763.9070

LU M B E R B A R NS Division of BELLETETES, INC.

Moultonborough, NH 121 Whittier Hwy

253.4404