Around Concord - Summer 2019

Around

SUMMER 2019 VOLUME 12, NO. 2 $4.95

CONCORD ON SALE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

community• culture• lifestyle

ENCOUNTER: The 84th Problem

Summer Stock Theatre

The Lure of Tiny Homes

Finding One’s Bear

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CONTENTS

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SUMMER 2019

CONCORD

VOLUME 12, NO . 2

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PHOTO BY ELIZABETH FRANTZ

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Features 30 The 84th Problem

BY CHRIS HAGUE

36 44 Time to Go Tiny

36 A Health Care Revolution

BY MARK AIKEN

Dr. Eric Kropp: Changing how we view the economics of health care one patient at a time

BY RAY CARBONE

Why small houses on wheels are moving slow in the Granite State

54 Entertainment on a Summer Evening

BY SARAH PEARSON

There is no better place than New Hampshire for summer stock theatre

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CONTENTS

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CONCORD

VOLUME 12, NO . 2

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Editor’s Note

Health & Well-Being

10

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

Contributors

12 Poetry

BY SARA MATTHEWS

66 Calendar

72 Last Word

14

On the cover

Personal Essay

BY JOHN GFROERER

16 Neighborhood Profile

BY KATHLEEN M . FORTIN

22 Food & Spirits

BY JENNIFER SPELLICY

THE MOMENT THAT TIME STOPS AND LIFE BEGINS .

So much of what makes life interesting are the chances we take. page 14

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VOLUME 12, NO . 2

Around

CONCORD community • culture• lifestyle

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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 ©2019.

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EDITOR ' S NOTE |

BY JAMES BUCHANAN

Looking for

My Bear M

y mom passed away in January, but that’s not really what I want to talk about. I want to talk about finding my bear.

A few days ago, I had dinner with new friends. They are older than my wife and me, not by much, and eminently interesting. He is a luthier and she is a life coach, real estate agent, and all-round Renaissance woman. We talked about guitars and music, what it means to be a Quaker, and grammar.

“Do you believe in the Oxford comma?” he asked.

“Of course,” I replied.

“And do you split infinitives?”

“Of course not. I try to resist using adverbs,” I replied.

Then we talked about being stuck when life sends us spinning.

He told a story about losing a job at a time when his life was complicated and that he felt lost, unsure of himself, and perhaps a little defeated. Following a Thoreauvian impulse, he took hikes in the mountains—no trails, markers, or maps—to explore and let himself get lost. The story was thick with metaphor. On one of these bushwhacks—literal and metaphorical—he came upon a bear in a clearing. They were a mere 10 feet apart.

“The bear reared up. I reared up. The bear ran away. I ran away,” he said.

The experience left him freed and renewed. He wrote a book, found an agent, had it published, it was read by another fellow who had an interesting thought, and this led my new friend to a very fulfilling career. That bear—his bear—changed his life. “I need to find my bear,” I said.

Among other things, I’m editing a hiking guide to the White Mountains, so I’m doing a lot of hiking. On the hikes where I’m alone, thoughts of Mom are constant. It’s nice to be with her in the solitude of the woods. But I miss her and feel a little lost without her.

Perhaps I’ll find my literal and metaphorical bear.

This issue of Around Concord is dedicated to those of us seeking or who have found our bear, such as Laura Bryant, who provides a great summer to Concord’s kids. And then there’s John Gfroerer’s essay on what-ifs and no regrets. Or Susan Pearson’s piece on summer stock theatre and the pursuit of the art and craft of acting and producing. Oh, and then there are the tiny-home folks seeking to reinvent what it means to be home.

I hope you all can find your bear this summer.

JAMES BUCHANAN , EDITOR

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CONTRIBUTORS

LINDA DESSAINT

CHRISTINE HAGUE

SARAH PEARSON

Linda Dessaint is an artist who creates paintings from nature and life. Art affiliations include Signature memberships with the Pastel Society of New Hampshire and the Pastel Society of Maine, and she is a juried member of the Pastel Society of America. Linda’s paintings are on view in select galleries as well as in her own studio/gallery in Antrim, New Hampshire, and in her studio in Williamsburg, Virginia. Follow Linda’s work at LindaDessaint.com.

Christine Hague has been writing since childhood. In addition to directing a library and teaching, she was a stringer for a daily paper and has written columns for three weekly newspapers. Her stories and poems have been published in small magazines. She and her husband live in New Hampshire, where they and their cat enjoy the woods and fields.

Sarah Pearson is the features editor at the Concord Monitor, for which she won first place Arts and Entertainment section in the 2018 New England Better Newspaper Competition. She is a lifelong New Hampshirite and has been involved with the theatre most of her life.

Sarah graduated from Simmons College in 2015 with a degree in journalism. She lives in Concord with her husband Matt and dog Jax, and is expecting a baby boy in August.

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MARK AIKEN

JOHN GFROERER

SHANTI DOUGLAS

Mark Aiken is a freelance writer and ski instructor who lives in Richmond, Vermont. He is a trail runner, recreational hockey player, and around-the-campfire guitar player.

Married to an endurance athlete, he and his wife are participants in the ultimate endurance sport—parenting.

You can learn more about him at www.markaiken.com.

John Gfroerer is the owner of Accompany, a video production company based at the Capitol Center for the Arts.

He has produced more than 40 documentaries, which have been seen on Maine and New Hampshire Public Television stations. Currently he is working on a documentary about New Hampshire composer Amy Beach. He is also a writer whose work appears regularly in Around Concord magazine.

Shanti Douglas is a Mindfulness and Stress Resiliency Coach, corporate trainer, owner of 8 limbs Holistic Health, LLC in Concord, and author of Everyday Ease: Mindfully Moving from Burnout to Balance. Shanti’s mission is to share practices that create lasting ease, balance, and personal empowerment to each day, especially those that feel challenging. Learn more at www.8limbsholistichealth.com.

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POETRY |

BY SARA MATTHEWS

Blueberry Days Out of the mouths of birds

The only ones who do not seem alarmed

Do you not remember that

That’s what I’m thinking

Are several buzzing deerflies

I belong here too

As I pick

Orbiting my head incessantly

I walked these fields

They fly into the trees at my approach

I’m almost grateful for their generous

All summer long

And from their lofty seats

Acceptance

A barefoot child

They scold me anxiously

Their willingness to abide with me

I tramped through juniper

Oh, not the biggest

And their droning feels like music

And brambled undergrowth

Not the best

In the midday sun

And knew this berried pasture To my native core

A golden doe and fawn

I reach my hand right through a spider’s web

Have bounded to the thicket

Causing him an extra day of work

At my step

Another creature I’ve annoyed

And Mother snorts at me impatiently An interloper on their morning picnic

I’m one of you The heat wave overstayed his welcome And taxed the ripe fruit heavily

The berries drop into my bucket

So today I feel I must pick sparingly

And I have the feeling

And leave some blue upon the bush

A path of trampled grass

Of being watched from every quarter

For you

Tells me the wild turkeys

An unwelcome intruder

Made a hasty exit too

You let me pick here grudgingly

I wanted just enough to make a pie But I will be content with half a pail Enough for a cake or tart Come out from thicket Down from trees Retrace your way through grassy paths And gather what I’ve left for you The field is yours for you to roam I depart the feast reluctantly And my new friends The deerflies Politely see me home

FLOWER CHILD BY LINDA DESSAINT

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PERSONAL ESSAY |

BY JOHN GFROERER

A Summer

Hitch

OF WHAT-IFS AND NO REGRETS This is a short story about summer things, like adventure, romance, hitchhiking, and a little bit of hope to connect them.

It was late August in my 20th year. I was going to meet a girl in Rochester, New York, and together we were going to hitchhike to Chicago. It was a hastily made plan hatched a week earlier on a warm summer night under stars along Chautauqua Lake in Western New York.

I had never been to Chicago, she was worried about getting back to school— seemed like a match made in heaven.

In the intervening time I had hitched to Concord, making a surprise visit with my brother and his family. When the day come to head for Rochester, he

dropped me off at the Clinton Street exit of I89 just after dinner. Thumb out, I began heading west. There must have been some logic for leaving in the evening, but I can’t say what it was. What I can say is that a couple hours later I was stuck in a dark, empty town along US Route 4 in Vermont.

It was cold. Cars traveling Route 4 were nonexistent. The only option was to wait.

After what seemed a long time, an old pickup truck ambled up in front of me and stopped. There were three people inside, a man, a woman, and a young girl about my age, sitting between them. They rolled down the window and for a moment just looked at me. Then one of them asked how I was doing and where I was going.

“Well,” they said. They couldn’t get me anywhere right then, but they were planning to go into Rutland the next morning. Would I like to spend the night with them, and they would set me on my way the next day?

So much of what makes life interesting are the chances we take.

I heard a story once about former Governor Sherman Adams. Back in the

Thumb out, I began heading west. There must have been some logic for leaving in the evening, but I can’t say what it was.

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1920s, he and Henry Waldo would travel back roads in Vermont and New Hampshire looking for lumber that could be harvested by the Parker Young Company in Lincoln. When it got dark, they would just knock on the door of whatever farmhouse was nearby and ask to spend the night.

This wasn’t knocking on a farmhouse door, but it was close.

Without hesitation I said, “That would be great.” I jumped in the pickup bed and off we went.

The truck turned from Route 4 and headed up into the mountains. And up. And up. I sat in the back, looking at the stars, absorbing the bumps and wondering what I was doing and where I was going. The Dylan song “Motorpsycho Nightmare” came to mind and I started singing it to myself: I pounded on a farmhouse Lookin’ for a place to stay I was mighty, mighty tired I had come a long, long way.

Eventually we pulled into what looked like a farm and stopped.

I jumped out and we introduced ourselves. They were music professors who taught at Yale, and this was their retreat in the hills where they and some of their students spent part of the summer.

They gave me hot chocolate and we talked. They made up a bed

for me by the stove. Next morning, they fed me breakfast and invited me to stay a few days. But no, there was a girl waiting in Rochester.

They gave me food for the road, drove me down to Route 4, and dropped me off west of Rutland. Late that afternoon I got to Rochester and found the dorm room where I was supposed to meet the girl. A note with my name on it was taped to the door. Somebody had offered her a ride, so she didn’t need to hitchhike after all.

There was an address in Chicago, a phone number, and an invitation to come on out. But I never did. The day was getting late.

Home, and my bed, were just 60 miles farther down the road. Chicago felt too big, too far, too uncertain. And I knew, summer was coming to an end.

The problem with adventures and romances lived are the whatifs that linger when all is done. A person can spend a lifetime in fantasy and wonder about such things. In truth, it is the what was that is more important. If I had gone to Chicago, or stayed in Vermont, I would have missed the next adventure that was waiting.

And that was the adventure that set me on the road that ultimately moved me to Concord. What if may hang on and flash by every once in a while, but it will never have the same tight grip as no regrets.

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE |

BY KATHLEEN M . FORTIN

“My goal is to capture their attention so they have fun, get along, learn, and grow.”

Laura Bryant, assistant director of the Concord Parks and Recreation Department. Photo by Geoff Forester.

Laura Bryant:

Creating Summer Fun GROWING, DEVELOPING, CHALLENGING, AND MATURING AT CONCORD’S SUMMER DAY CAMP

“We’re serious about fun” is the motto of Concord’s Parks and Recreation Department, and Assistant Director Laura Bryant aims to provide some serious fun for kids all summer long. The department has extensive programming and events throughout the year, all of which require planning and organization, but its Summer Day Camp program is the most challenging. Laura is responsible for the operation of the camp, a project that is both daunting and exciting.

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For eight weeks each summer, she plans and schedules daylong activities for approximately 800 first through eighth graders. All the activities are designed to enlighten, educate, and excite kids ages 6 to 14.

The Stay and Play Camp is for first through fifth graders. Recreation Adventure Camp is for third through fifth graders. And Teen Adventure Camp is for sixth through eighth graders. Field days—where youngsters go hiking, visit theme parks, and learn kayaking—are held four days a week. A new Nature Camp starts this year, which will take place at Concord’s White Park. Children will explore nature rain or shine, and getting dirty is not only allowed but encouraged.

www.concordparksandrec.com

Clockwise from right: Campers enjoy a mini-golf field trip outing. The cardboard sailboat competition takes over the pool. Counselors organize a variety of games throughout the day to keep the campers engaged.

A LOVE OF THE OUTDOORS Laura joined Parks and Recreation nine years ago with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreational Management and Policy from the University of New Hampshire.

Laura says this field came naturally to her.

She cites her family’s love of outdoors and athletics. Her grandparents live near Lake Winnipesaukee and always hiked, walked, and swam. When they retired, they hiked the Appalachian Trail. They are both in their nineties now and Laura believes that their outdoor lifestyle has contributed to their longevity and good health. Laura’s mother enjoys similar physical activities and encouraged her children to be outdoors. “As kids, my sister and I had to play outside,” she says.

Today, children don’t get enough outside experiences, Laura says, largely because they’ve been replaced by their interest in electronics. One of the camp’s policies is that the campers can have a mobile phone, but they have to keep it in their backpack.

Understandably, parents want their children to be able to reach them, so smartphones are allowed; however, there is not much downtime at camp for campers to use their phones. Even the staff are limited in their cellphone use. The camp counselors have department-issued mobile phones, for use only in case of an emergency.

A NEW SPACE TO LEARN AND PL AY The Parks and Recreation Department’s new building—the City Wide Community Center—opened last summer at the site of the former Dame Elementary School at 14 Canterbury Road. Construction began in 2017 to raze a portion of the former school and renovate a retained wing. The

SUMMER 2019 | AROUND CONCORD

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE

Building model rockets is a popular activity.

community center includes five multipurpose programming rooms; two rooms for exercise, dance, and aerobics; a lounge for senior citizen activities; a multipurpose auditorium; a gymnasium with two basketball courts, pickleball courts, and volleyball courts; and the Parks and Recreation administrative offices. And of course, it’s home to the Summer Day Camp program.

Open and spacious, the new lobby was designed to have a modern, campus-like feel. Outside the large windows is an expansive lawn. In the summer, Laura says it’s packed with campers enjoying snacks and lunches and running and playing.

Beyond the lawn are the pool, tennis courts, playground, and athletic fields, everything the campers enjoy.

While the camp is open to all Concord residents, it also allows nonresidents from other towns and states. This means that Concord campers get to meet a boy or girl who may be visiting grandparents from

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With the gym, classrooms, movie room, library, and supplies, there is an endless array of activities to do, both inside and outdoors.

New Jersey, for example. They may become friends for years. Campers also get to meet students from other elementary schools and then reconnect with them when they attend the same middle school.

Ninety percent of the campers’ parents work, so the camp is of vital importance to these families. Scholarships are also available so that everyone has a chance to enjoy this wonderful summer resource.

CAMP COUNSELORS Every summer, the Parks and Recreation Department hires 40 full-time lifeguards,

12 camp counselors, and 15 temps, making the department the city’s largest at 150 employees. The camp’s counselors— most of them ranging from age 18 to their early twenties—have the responsibility of being with youngsters and keeping them active and safe all day.

According to Laura, it takes a special young adult to be a camp counselor. They key ingredient? “They have to like being active and playful,” Laura says, but that’s not all. They have to have a temperament for being with young people—all day, five days a week—for eight straight weeks.

“Kids will eat you alive,” she jokes. Forty hours of training, including role-playing in counselor-camper situations, is required.

Throughout the summer, Laura works hard to keep the counselors motivated and happy. She recognizes that “After about four weeks, they may feel burnt out.” She will treat them to ice cream and other rewards to show her appreciation.

Some counselors return year after year,

www.facebook.com/concordparknrecdept

Design

A Canobie Lake Park trip is a highlight of the summer.

like Cassidy Emerson, who will return this summer for her fifth year. The position of camp counselor correlates perfectly with her college major; she is studying youth development and after graduation hopes to pursue a career in special education. For a young adult, Cassidy already has a wealth of knowledge about children, which includes understanding the value of being flexible. What works one day with a certain group of kids, she says, may not work another time. And while she handles a group of 25 to 28 kids at the camp, when on field trips, she and the other counselors split the group so that each has responsibility for approximately seven kids. Those outings are especially demanding, as they must keep a constant eye on each child.

Cassidy has learned to recognize key differences between the ages. While the youngest ones may not know about certain behaviors, the older ones may try to get away with pushing the boundaries.

Cassidy seems attuned to observing and reading children, as if her role as counselor is an extension of her college studies.

She enjoys watching children change and grow week to week, which she finds “the

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NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE

She feels rewarded when she sees a young boy or girl sweaty and smiling as he or she heads home at the end of the camp day. She loves to hear them say, “That was awesome.” coolest.” She also finds it cool to see older children step up to help the younger ones.

Unsurprisingly, Cassidy has developed relationships with some of the campers and has attended their sports games.

GET TING THE MOST OUT OF EVERY DAY Cassidy also regards the new building as truly fantastic. With the gym, classrooms, movie room, library, and supplies, there is an endless array of activities to do, both inside and outdoors. She says that Laura always has great ideas for how to get the most out of each day. Laura does research year-round for new activities. She looks at magazines and listens to parents’ recommendations. She has two young children of her own, so she also learns on the job at home.

Favorite activities with campers are tennis, soccer, bracelet-making, dance, and cooking. Laura is always thinking

about what will interest campers, and she has learned along the way what works—and what may not work. For example, the cooking class on making salads did not go over well compared to the fun of making Rice Krispie treats and strawberry shortcake. Laura’s goal is “to capture their attention so they have fun, get along, learn, and grow.”

When Laura hears a parent say, “My kid had a great day at camp,” it makes her day. She feels rewarded when she sees a young boy or girl sweaty and smiling as he or she heads home at the end of the camp day. She loves to hear them say, “That was awesome.”

When parents say they’re surprised their son or daughter did a certain activity—like climbing at Gunstock Adventure or kayaking on a river—Laura is so happy the camp experience exposed their child to something new. The activity may not be something a camper pursues for a

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lifetime, but many of these memories will certainly last a lifetime. In this way, the camp is about growing, developing, challenging, and maturing.

Last year, the camp held a cardboard sailboat competition. Each team built a cardboard sailboat and a race was held in the pool. The campers not only had fun but they were excited about competing.

While only one team won, the campers learned about teamwork. Laura likes to think that they experienced a bit of character building, too.

Paramount to Laura and the staff is the concern for the safety of all the campers.

“Head counts are critical,” she says. It is also important that the kids are mindful of how they treat the counselors. “Counselors take their job seriously,” she says.

“Their feelings can get hurt.” As the assistant director, Laura strives for everyone to get along. After all the careful planning and scheduling that goes into each sum-

www.concordparksandrec.com

mer season, she likes to see that everything pretty much falls into place. Most of all, she wants everyone to enjoy the experience.

One eight-year old boy has been to Summer Camp twice and will be returning this year. He has already decided he wants to join Stay and Play for half the summer and Recreation Adventure Camp for the second half. At the groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility, he was invited to cut the ribbon with a pair of golden scissors.

As we talked, I was impressed with his rapid flow of thoughts and creative ideas, not to mention his boundless energy, as he neither sat nor stood still for very long. He said he mostly enjoys the sports activities like soccer, basketball, tennis, and swimming. “What else do you like to do?” I asked him. Shifting his look to Laura, he said, “I think we should have a media and tech activity.”

“He loves computers,” his mother added.

Laura quickly answered, “I’ll have to think about that.”

Throughout the summer, there are stressful times and Laura has to remind herself, “We’re serious about fun.” When it’s all over, Laura enjoys the satisfaction that comes from feeling everything was a success. When she and the counselors say goodbye to the last of their summer charges, there are plenty of tears—from sheer exhaustion—and also from joy and sadness that it’s all done for another year.

As for the future, Laura’s goal is to maximize use of the recreation facility for Concord residents, from toddlers to seniors. It’s a goal that will continue to keep her almost as busy as she keeps her summer campers.

To learn more about the camp’s options, visit www.concordparksandrec. com. Like them on Facebook at www. facebook.com/concordparknrecdept.

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FOOD & SPIRITS

|

BY JENNIFER SPELLICY

BRUSCHETTA ROSA Serves 8 12 to 14 fresh, ripe plum tomatoes (about 1O lb) 2 Tbsp minced garlic 2 Tbsp minced shallots 1 cup fresh basil leaves 1 tsp fresh lemon juice Salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste L cup plus N cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, slivered 8 thick slices round peasant-type bread 1. Cut the tomatoes into N-inch dice and place in a bowl. Toss with the minced garlic and shallots.

2. Coarsely chop the basil and add to the tomatoes, along with the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and L cup olive oil. Set aside.

3. Heat the N cup olive oil in a small skillet. Sauté the garlic until golden, two to three minutes.

Discard the garlic and reserve the oil.

Molto Risotto

HOW ITALIAN TRATTORIA-STYLE COOKING FOUND ITS WAY TO MY NEW HAMPSHIRE KITCHEN

I

’m so crazy about Italy and its cuisine that I’m willing to go out on a limb and boldly state that there is no such thing as bad food in Italy. Yes, Italian art and architecture are exquisite, but Italian food cast a spell on me from my first bite of cicchetti.

My family and I had the good fortune to have visited many parts of Italy because we lived close by in the French Riviera. On more than one occasion while driving from France over the border into Italy, we stopped in tiny, I-can’t-remember-thename villages to eat lunch where we were always treated to extraordinary, yet simply prepared meals that exemplified Italy’s culinary genius.

Of all the fabulous meals I’ve had in Italy, it was years ago on my very first trip there with my husband that we had a dining experience that will be forever etched in our memories. The concierge at our hotel in Venice gave us detailed directions in her lilting Italian accent on how to get to Taverna al Remer, a casual but reputable trattoria.

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4. Cut each bread slice in half and toast or grill them.

5. Brush the garlic-flavored oil over each slice and place on serving dish or platter alongside the bowl with the tomato topping.

6. Allow your guests to spoon the tomato mixture over each slice of bread. The mixture should be served at room temperature.

Carefully following the directions, we walked for what felt like miles through the labyrinth of narrow, seemingly endless streets that populate the city of Venice. After quite a few missed turns, we finally found ourselves at the restaurant only to discover that it was not yet open. It was only 5:30pm and while our jet-lagged stomachs were screaming for food, we were forced to wait until the establishment opened around 6pm.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too long before we were welcomed inside to sit at the bar and enjoy an aperitivo—a predinner cocktail—with some complimentary cicchetti, bite-sized appetizers commonly served in Venetian bars during happy hour. We noticed that as local patrons trickled into the restaurant after a day’s work, they were all drinking festive-looking orange cocktails replete with straws and thick orange slices. Our server informed us that these drinks were the classic Venetian cocktail Aperol Spritz.

After trying a couple, my husband and I were devotees. Effervescent prosecco combined with a pleasantly bitter-orange flavor from the Aperol liqueur made the icy drink refreshing on a hot summer’s night.

Our cocktails also paired beautifully with the variety of cicchetti proffered by the restaurant bar.

At 8pm when it was deemed by Italian standards as the earliest acceptable time to eat dinner, we were seated at our table. Our server told us that the restaurant had lamb chops as a special menu item that evening that were prepared a scotta dita, which literally means burn-your-fingers style. These marinated lamb chops are so named because they’re eaten burning hot off of the grill with one’s fingers. We also ordered risotto, a northern Italian dish made with arborio rice and cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency.

A DINING EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER Our affable server, with whom we had become fast friends during our two-hour wait before dinner, asked if, while our food was being prepared, we would like to see the kitchen. Certamente! He walked us to the back of the romantic, candle-lit restaurant where we peered through a doorway into an antiquated but wellappointed kitchen. A couple of cooks were bustling around the stove, stirring away at an array of pots

PANNA COTTA Serves 8 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 1 Tbsp) 2 Tbsp cold water 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup half-and-half L cup sugar 1K tsp vanilla extract 2 cups mixed seasonal berries 1. In a very small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand about one minute to soften. Heat gelatin mixture over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Remove pan from heat.

4. Divide the cream mixture among eight K-cup ramekins and cool to room temperature. Chill ramekins, covered, at least four hours or overnight.

5. Dip ramekins, one at a time, into a bowl of hot water for three seconds.

2. In a large saucepan, bring cream, half-and-half, and sugar just to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring.

6. Run a thin knife around the edge of each ramekin and invert the ramekin onto the center of a small plate.

3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture and vanilla.

7. Place berries around each panna cotta before serving.

while a small elderly woman in a dress and apron bent over her wooden cutting board assiduously chopping up a large pile of baby zucchini and carrots.

She looked up from her work, smiled, and gave us a little wave, then went back to her labors. Our server, who as it turned out was also the proprietor of the trattoria whispered, “That’s my nonna, my grandmother.”

When our meal was served at last, we were delighted by the buttery tenderness of the seared lamb chops, which we obediently ate with our fingers, as was customary. While the lamb chops were delicious, the true star of the meal was the risotto primavera,

which was served steaming hot in a large stoneware bowl, family style. It tasted subtly of ParmigianoReggiano cheese with a hint of white wine and dotted throughout with coins of sautéed baby zucchini, sweet carrots, and peas. The texture of the risotto was just right. Silky with a bit of a bite to each grain of rice.

As if that wasn’t perfect enough, we punctuated our meal with a dessert of velvety smooth panna cotta, an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin.

Upon returning home from our trip to Italy, I wasted no time in attempting to recreate in my own kitchen all of the memorable food we had enjoyed in Venice.

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FOOD & SPIRITS FRESH AND LOCAL WITH A TASTE OF ITALY So much of the appeal of Italian cooking is that it emphasizes the use of fresh, local ingredients. In New Hampshire one can easily find beautiful produce at every farmers’ market and grocery store from June through September. Try making a risotto primavera by adding a combination of locally grown vegetables such as zucchini, summer squash, red peppers, or fresh corn.

This summer bring Italian trattoria-inspired dining into your home by starting your evening with an Aperol Spritz cocktail and some bruschetta rosa, an appetizer made with garden-ripe tomatoes, basil, and garlic on toasted bread. For dinner, grill some succulent lamb chops a scotta dita served alongside a creamy risotto primavera.

A bottle of Italian red wine like Sangiovese, or a dry Italian white like pinot grigio would pair beautifully with this meal.

For dessert, keep it simple by serving bowls of local berries and whipped cream or if you have extra time, make easy and delicious panna cotta.

Most important, remember that food always tastes best when enjoyed with family and good friends. As the Italians say, Mangia bene, ridi spesso, ama molto. Eat well, laugh often, love much. I couldn’t agree more. Buon appetito!

RISOTTO PRIMAVERA Serves 6–8

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 cup sliced small zucchini (N-inch thick) 1 cup diced carrots Salt and freshly ground pepper 4K cups (or more) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided 2 shallots, chopped 1O cups arborio rice or Carnaroli rice O cup dry white wine 1 cup freshly shelled small peas or petite frozen peas O cup freshly grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese, plus additional for serving

1. Heat one tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in pan. Add zucchini and carrots.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp tender, about three minutes. Set aside.

6. Add in sautéed zucchini and carrots.

Continue adding broth one cupful at a time and stirring until rice is almost tender, about eight minutes longer.

2. Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan; keep warm over low heat.

Melt one tablespoon butter with one tablespoon oil in heavy medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots. Sauté until softened, about three minutes.

8. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to bite and the mixture is very creamy, about two minutes longer. Total cooking time should be around 23 minutes.

3. Add rice; stir until the rice is translucent at edges but still opaque in center, about two minutes.

4. Add wine; simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about three minutes.

5. Add hot broth one cup at a time until the rice is about half cooked, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding next and stirring often, about eight minutes.

7. Add peas (if using frozen).

9. Remove from heat. Add O cup cheese and two tablespoons of butter. Stir until the cheese and butter melt. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing additional cheese alongside.

Note: To determine the risotto’s doneness, first take a look at the pot to ensure that the risotto is creamy and slightly runny at the edges. It should not be thick and clumped together. Take a taste. The rice should be mostly soft with a small bite on the softer side of al dente.

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LAMB CHOPS A SCOTTA DITA (BURN-YOUR-FINGERS STYLE)

APEROL SPRITZ Serves 1

Serves 4

1K oz of Aperol liqueur

4 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3 oz prosecco or other dry sparkling white wine

3 tsp minced garlic 5 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Splash of seltzer (I use orange flavored seltzer)

K tsp chopped fresh rosemary O tsp kosher salt

1 orange slice for garnish

N tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp water 16 K-inch to 1-inch lamb chops (it’s easiest to buy 2 racks of lamb and cut into 16 individual chops) 1. In a bowl, combine the Dijon mustard, garlic, vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper with one tablespoon of water. Whisk until incorporated.

2. Add the chops to the marinade and toss to coat evenly. Marinate the chops for one to three hours, covered and refrigerated.

3. Preheat a grill or grill pan to very hot.

4. Shake the excess marinade from the chops and grill two to three minutes per side for medium rare, or slightly longer for more well done.

Fill a white wine glass halfway with ice. Add the Aperol, prosecco, and seltzer and stir.

Serve with an orange slice and straw if desired. The drink can be adjusted for sweetness by adding more or less seltzer.

5. Transfer to a warm platter and serve.

No forks or knives necessary!

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HEALTH & WELL- BEING |

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

|

BY SHANTI DOUGLAS

Stepping Out of Comfort

STEP INTO THE UNKNOWN TO BUILD RESILIENCE AND SELF-WORTH My heart was pounding in my chest and I thought it was going to burst. But I knew I still had to do it. And so, I stepped into the void.

The world swirling dizzily 10,000 feet beneath me, what little I had in my stomach threw itself up into my throat, blocking my screams of fear and terror, but also exhilaration and the extraordinary sensation of YES! I had done it—

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jumped out of an airplane strapped to this person I didn’t know, giving up all sensibility in order to meet once again, face to face, my fear of heights. It was a challenge I was determined to take on so that I wouldn’t be crushed by some unknown determinant of what I could or couldn’t do.

In order to get more comfortable, I had to get uncomfortable.

Courage is living from the heart and embracing your dreams, pushing yourself to step beyond rote simplicity into experiencing life on a richer level.

BECOME VULNERABLE We spend a lot of our life trying to stay in a zone of comfort. Why not?

It feels good and safe to be there.

We know and understand the landscape, all the scents and textures,

STEP INTO YOUR POWER What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail or, better yet, what would you do even if you knew you would fail?

Getting out of your comfort zone—besides making you feel alive—builds resiliency and efficacy, strengthening that inner confidence and trust you have in yourself that you can do things you never imagined before. Stepping over the edge of discomfort, while often nerve-racking, gives you a sense of personal empowerment. It’s like stepping into our Amy Cuddy Wonder Woman pose (she is a psychologist well-known for a TED talk and book—Presence: Bring Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges—on power

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even if we don’t necessarily like it.

Reflect for a moment on that job you dreaded going to every day but somehow didn’t act to look for something else. Or that stretch of time before you finally initiated your divorce. Or the convincing voice that holds you back from going out on a Friday night even though you’re feeling isolated and in need of community. Even with unfavorable consequences, the saying “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t” rings true.

Getting out of your comfort zone requires you to be vulnerable.

• Vulnerable to not knowing what’s truly on the other side.

• Vulnerable to facing the wild imagination you have of everything that can go wrong • Vulnerable to the possibility of things not working out as planned.

But what is life without vulnerability?

When would you actually grow without taking a chance? Stepping into the unknown requires courage which—from its Latin derivative—means heart. Courage is living from the heart and embracing your dreams, pushing yourself to step beyond rote simplicity into experiencing life on a richer level.

27

HEALTH & WELL- BEING Y

SHANTI DOUGLAS

posing, a method for, among other benefits, increasing one’s self-confidence).

Even as the feeling fades and you move into the shadows of another moment of discomfort, your attitude and perspective will have changed. The habit of turning away has shifted a degree. There’s a little bit more boldness and courage in your stance.

While you’ve still got time this summer, what’s one thing you’d like to try—something that would have you feeling a rush of nervous but excited energy? What would have you saying, “Yes, I did it!” without attachment to perfection of the outcome, where the unknown was an acceptable variable?

In my recent nonscientific poll, some things people would like to do outside of their comfort zone include: • Zip-line • Run a 5K

• Do a live video on their social media business page • Tell someone they love them • Do a stand-up comedy routine • Participate in an activist gathering • Go on a dance retreat • Bike the rail trails • Forgive someone.

I’m inviting you to put down shyness, fear, trepidation, pure logic, and all the reasons why not and instead turn to face your aliveness staring back at you in the mirror.

See what’s behind the curtain of sameness.

Have some fun and stretch yourself to try something new and daring, do things differently. This is how you learn and grow.

Don’t wait for absolute clarity or confidence before you act. “To be born into the new, one must die to the old.” And remember, small steps are great. You don’t need to get pushed out of an airplane . . . unless, of course, you’re ready for that.

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SHORT FICTION |

BY CHRIS HAGUE

PHOTO BY EMILY HAGUE

The 84th

Problem

When the engine started to sputter halfway across Lake Neville, I should have worried. But instead, I gave the accelerator a kick and the boat jerked a bit then sped up, running smoothly again. The day was perfect. Overhead, an endless sky. On the water, light gleamed from every ripple.

I was taking Roz—short for Rosalind—to our family’s cabin for the first time.

The cabin was the only structure on the far side of the lake. It had been my grandfather’s and stayed in the family even as the surrounding woodland was put into conservation. When Granddad was too old to travel, my father abandoned the cart trail that led to the cabin, preferring to go by boat. He had an arrangement with the people at Tall Pines

Camp to use a rickety old dock at the edge of their property. On a day like this, boating was far more pleasant than hiking around the lake.

Rosalind sat in the bow, wisps of her ash blonde hair streaming from the knot on the back of her head, her eyes fixed on the approaching shore. Tall Pines was behind us, receding, as were the four outlandishly large summer homes just beyond the camp. Nothing could have been better.

Roz and I had moved in together in the spring and were still discovering each other. She was even-tempered, smart, and witty. And beautiful. I also believed that she had much finer qualities than I did. Nonetheless, I was determined to impress her.

As we approached the dock, the engine coughed again, and then stalled as we glided to a stop. I hoped Roz thought I’d planned that maneuver. I climbed out and tied up the boat, lifting the cooler and three jugs of water onto the dock. Roz handed me a tote bag full of clean sheets and towels my sister Connie had sent out. Connie had been at

As we approached the dock, the engine coughed again, and then stalled as we glided to a stop. I hoped Roz thought I’d planned that maneuver.

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the cabin the previous week. She told me not to drink the water. I wouldn’t have anyway. I hated working the rusty hand pump.

After we set our baggage on the porch, I turned to retrieve the key from its special place in the outhouse. “Wait for me here,” I said to Roz over my shoulder as I started up the path. In the summer, locking the door was a formality, or perhaps just a habit. Nobody came near this side of the lake. We mostly locked against snowmobilers. I had the key in hand when I heard a highpitched “Ow!” from Roz. I ran toward where she stood on the porch, holding her forearm.

“What is it?” I asked.

“A wasp. I’ve been stung. I was just brushing some leaves off that bench,” she said, motioning with her head, “and before I knew what was happening, I got stung.” There was pain in her expression.

“Let me see it,” I said, suddenly feeling a hot flash of guilt and apprehension. I had abandoned Roz to the predatory Hymenoptera residing on our porch. She lifted her hand to expose an angry red welt. “Let’s go inside. We need to take care of this.”

I unlocked the door. Roz followed me, looking more like a timid child than the Roz I knew. She flopped into an armchair while I rummaged for some baking soda. I should have known there wouldn’t be any. Even in the summer when the family was in and out of the cabin, we kept very little food, and what we had was locked up so bears couldn’t smell it.

I did manage to find a first-aid kit with some rudimentary tweezers. “I’m going to take the stinger out before this thing gets worse,” I said, holding her by the wrist. I had misgivings about my surgical skills, but apparently my uncertainty didn’t show. Roz sat obediently while I made several attempts, finally clamping onto the stinger.

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SHORT FICTION

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All I could think of was getting to the camp nurse.

We left everything on the porch and launched the boat.

“Now we need to put something on this.”

All I could think of was antiseptic and ice. I opened a foil packet and swiped antiseptic over the sting, which had now spread its swelling up her arm. What little I knew told me this was trouble. “There’s one of those little ice blocks in the cooler,” I said. “Let’s get it, and then let’s get you across the lake.

They have an infirmary at camp.”

When Roz stood up, she was a little wobbly. “You okay? Can you swallow?” I snatched the flashlight hanging by the door, and asked Roz to open her mouth. Although I was no expert on normal-looking tongues, hers looked slightly puffy. “How’s your tongue? Swallow for me.” Roz swallowed. “My tongue’s okay, just a little bit fluffy.” *** All I could think of was getting to the camp nurse. We left everything on the porch and launched the boat. This time, Roz didn’t scan the shoreline confidently. She held the ice block on her arm and kept her head down.

Before the boat was even at full throttle, the motor started to cough. I backed off on the gas. The engine caught and we were underway. Now the brilliant sun only felt hot and penetrating, and the fear of one who knows just enough to think the worst gnawed at the edges of the confidence I tried to show for Roz’s sake.

“You ever been stung before?”

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“Once, when I was little,” she answered. “I was playing under the apple tree. My father told me I was stung by a yellow jacket. He said they liked the fallen apples.”

“What do you remember about it?” I was afraid of the answer.

“Only that it hurt,” she said. I was relieved. Maybe this wouldn’t be the fatal sting; just a warning.

We were close enough to the camp to see a man walking toward the parking area when the engine coughed to a stall. I tried several times to restart it. At first, it caught but wouldn’t stay running.

Then it wouldn’t respond at all.

Frantically, I flipped through the directory on my phone, looking for the camp. Roz sat still, saying nothing even though we were adrift on the lake. When I found the number, under Pines for some reason, the phone rang until an answering machine picked up. I tried again.

My blood pressure rang the gong thumping in my ears and made my cheeks burn. I wanted to take charge of this incident. I wanted to solve the problem and be the cool, savvy one who intuitively did the right thing. I wanted to be Roz’s knight on a white horse. Instead, my fingers became clumsy as I dialed 911.

The dispatcher answered with a bored, “What’s your emergency?”

“I, well, not an emergency. We just need help.” I didn’t want to alarm Roz. “I’m in a boat on Lake Neville, almost at Tall Pines,

and the engine quit. We just need a ride to Tall Pines.”

“You’re in a boat? Is that why you’re calling?”

“No, it’s the insect sting.” I was beyond cool and I knew it. “I have a passenger who needs to get to Tall Pines so the nurse can look at a sting.”

“Oh. A bee stung you? In a boat?”

“No! I was driving the boat to get across Lake Neville so we could get help for a sting that had already happened. A bad one. Look, all I need is for you to try Camp Tall Pines. I couldn’t get anybody there. Or try someone on the lake. There are four houses there. Somebody has a boat. It’d take two minutes to get us ashore.”

“The fire department has a boat. Is that what you want?”

Impatience crept into my voice. “You can send Fire and Rescue, but by the time their boat gets here, this sting could have gotten

a lot worse. There are boats right here on the lake. Ask the police or the town clerk.

They’ll know who lives here. Get me a boat!”

Now I knew I had totally destroyed my image with Roz, but I didn’t care. This was about getting help before we drifted any further away.

The dispatcher changed her tone. “I am putting in a call for Fire and Rescue,” she said, “but please hold.”

I was doing this for Roz, but as I held the phone, I realized I had been ignoring her. “Roz, how’s your tongue? Can you breathe?”

She replied quietly, “I’m breathing, and my tongue is still fluffy. I’m okay. Really.”

She swiped at stray hairs brushing against her cheek.

After an interminable few minutes the dispatcher returned. “I am sending an ambulance to Tall Pines. The fire de-

partment will be there with the boat if you need it. Now tell me, is this person breathing regularly?” I answered with a frustrated yes. What good would an interrogation do?

“Hives? Swelling?” I looked at Roz. “Yes.” I was just about to say something about silly questions when the whine of an approaching engine distracted me. A speedboat approached so fast I thought it would ram us, but just as it neared us, the driver cut the engine and slid his boat alongside mine. Roz and I stared at him as he hung bumpers over the side. He was blond, probably bleached, I thought, sun-bronzed and well-muscled.

A distant siren caught my attention next.

I knew it was the ambulance. The young man in the boat held out his hands. “I’ll take the lady,” he said, “and I’m going to toss you a line so I can tow your boat to the dock.”

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SHORT FICTION

He scooped Roz aboard his boat, and the line landed next to me with a thwack. I tied it to the bow and with a low rumble his boat moved slowly forward. “I’m Eddie,” he called over the stern of his boat. “From up there.” He gestured toward the summer homes.

The ambulance had backed almost to the beach, where the camp director paced. Eddie slipped his boat up to the dock expertly. He and the camp director hoisted Roz out and supported her as she wobbled toward the waiting EMTs. I tied up my boat and undid Eddie’s line.

There was at least one knight on a white horse on scene, but it wasn’t me.

As I walked off the dock, Roz was strapped to a folding gurney, and deftly lifted into the ambulance. The doors slammed shut, and the boxy vehicle bumped its way over tree roots and hummocks, back toward the road. I walked behind it, headed for my car, when I felt Eddie’s hand on my shoulder. I had forgotten to thank him.

“Dude,” he said, “you’re gonna need a ride back out to your cabin to button it up. Whenever you’re ready, just come see me. Fourth house down the road.

Long driveway. It has no name on it, but there’s an iron gate, and a granite post engraved with ‘The Lodge.’ Anytime, man. I’ll be right there.”

I thanked Eddie and told the camp director I would move my boat before sunset. “That’s okay,” he assured me.

“This is change weekend. Last month’s kids left yesterday. Most of the staff is in town doing laundry and shopping.

The next batch of kids comes tomorrow afternoon. I’m sorry I missed your first call.”

When I reached the emergency room, I found Roz propped up in bed in one of those little bays surrounded by curtains.

“I thought you might want this,” I said, holding out her purse, which had been locked in my car. Roz nodded. “Thank you. They asked me for my insurance card, but we’ll have to take care of that

her wrist. “Roz, I’m sorry. Very sorry. This should’ve been a beautiful afternoon by the lake. I got you into this. I shouldn’t have left you alone in an unfamiliar place.

I didn’t think about things my family might take for granted there, but you didn’t know. And the boat, I didn’t realize . . .”

Roz opened her eyes and looked directly at me. “Don’t apologize,” she said. “That’s the 84th problem.”

“The what?” I shot her an uncomprehending look.

“The 84th problem. It comes from an old Buddhist story. Everyone has problems. At least 83 of them.” Her voice was soft, her expression dreamlike. “These, they can’t do anything about.”

I nodded, wanting her to think I understood.

“The 84th problem,” she said, “is that you don’t want to have any problems.”

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when they unhook me.” She was referring to the monitor taped to her chest, and the blood pressure cuff on her arm.

As I stood there the cuff made a chuffing sound, visibly tightened, then let go with a sigh. Roz began to nod off. “They gave me a shot of epinephrine and an antihistamine. The antihistamine’s making me sleepy, but the epi has turned my heart into a kettle drum, booming away.” Her eyelids lowered. Hives covered her arms and crept toward her face. I felt helpless.

A nurse swept into the room, looked at Roz’s monitor, and patted her on the shoulder. “You’re doing alright, kid,” she said, and left.

All at once, I thought about retrieving my boat, locking the cabin, finding a mechanic, and somehow redeeming myself in Roz’s eyes. I reached for her hand, which I had forgotten was clipped to an oxygen monitor. I laid my hand on

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A Health Care

Revolution DR. ERIC KROPP: CHANGING HOW WE VIEW THE ECONOMICS OF HEALTH CARE ONE PATIENT AT A TIME

BY MARK AIKEN

L

eading up to last year’s midterm elections, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found health care to be the most important issue to voters. The opioid crisis, skyrocketing insurance costs, and millionaire hospital executives fill headlines. While everyone agrees that the current health care system is broken, few agree on how to fix it—and instead of solutions, we get rhetoric, outrage, and politicking.

In such a climate, how will anything ever change? In such desperate times, setting the situation straight will take nothing less than freedom fighters, giant slayers, and boatloads of courage. In other words, people like Dr. Eric Kropp.

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Probably never one to consider himself a freedom fighter or giant slayer—and probably the first to admit that some of his life decisions have been scary—Dr. Kropp is a family physician. His practice, Active Choice Healthcare in Concord, uses a model known as DPC, or direct primary care.

In DPC, patients pay an affordable monthly fee that includes routine and preventative visits, checkups, and urgent and chronic care.

According to Dr. Kropp,

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“Did you know,” he asks, “that as much as 30 to 40 percent of a physician’s day is spent on administrative duties?” He adds, “I spent all that time interacting with a computer and not with patients.” when primary care operates the way it should, it can address 90 percent of a patient’s needs.

No third parties, no premiums, no deductibles. Sound revolutionary? “Really, it’s trying to make it about patients and

their doctors—nobody else,” Dr. Kropp says.

A PHYSICIAN’S EXPERIENCE Dr. Kropp’s interest in medicine began as a teen. “I loved

studying the sciences,” he says.

With his love of science, he developed a fantasy of a country doctor like in the old days.

Back then, doctors knew their patients, they were accessible when needed, and they took

A Health Care Revolution time to get to the bottom of patients’ ailments.

He attended medical school at St. Matthews University in Grand Cayman and completed a New Hampshire Dartmouth

Family Medicine residency before practicing in a traditional family health care clinic for six years. As he cared for and treated patients—and managed the overflow of related paper-

work—he came to a startling realization. “Did you know,” he asks, “that as much as 30 to 40 percent of a physician’s day is spent on administrative duties?”

He adds, “I spent all that time

“Many doctors have 1,500 patients,” says Dr. Kropp. During his time in the traditional practice, he would see patients, then enter into hours of paperwork. “I’d get home at 8pm,” he says. “It began to take away from my ability to care for myself and my family.”

interacting with a computer and not with patients.”

These duties, among other things, include documenting and justifying treatments and interventions for third-party payers (i.e., public and private insurers). It was a far cry from the country doctor daydream of his youth.

Meanwhile, despite the paperwork, a physician’s patient load doesn’t get smaller. If anything, physicians working in traditional insurance-based practices must see more and more patients. Have you ever

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Wait, you say. Chuck is texting with his doctor? He didn’t sit in the waiting room? And he was out in 15 minutes?

looked at your medical bill and noticed that your insurance company pays only a fraction of what your provider charges for a service? Well, that is correct. Insurance companies dictate to medical practices what they pay for services, not the other way around.

Meanwhile, have you ever

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wondered why you sit in a waiting room for an hour only to see your doctor for five or six minutes? “Many doctors have 1,500 patients,” says Dr. Kropp.

During his time in the traditional practice, he would see patients, then enter into hours of paperwork. “I’d get home at 8pm,” he says. “It began to take

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

away from my ability to care for myself and my family.”

Dr. Kropp says the morale among physicians is low, and it’s not hard to imagine why.

“For me, it wasn’t burnout,” he says. “It was moral injury.” He simply didn’t feel good about the care he was providing as a result of the system around

him. And he didn’t feel good about his own self-care. Something had to give.

MAKING IT RIGHT Fast-forward to the present day.

Chuck Cosseboom of Deerfield recently had an infection in his foot. “I texted Dr. Kropp at 7:15am,” Chuck says. Dr.

A Health Care Revolution Dr. Kropp doesn’t employ a whole office staff because he doesn’t need a staff to deal with paperwork associated with insurance. “Direct primary care is the alternative to the fee-for-services model,” he says.

“The patient pays a flat fee and you’re free from third-party involvement.”

Kropp—not a secretary or office worker (Dr. Kropp only has two employees; one is an RN and the other is his wife)—responded at 7:20 telling him to come to the office at 9am. “At 9:15, he had seen me, and I was walking out with the antibiotics to fix the infection,” Chuck says.

Wait, you say. Chuck is texting with his doctor? He didn’t sit in the waiting room? And he was out in 15 minutes?

Dr. Kropp has 500 patients.

His wife manages his practice, which opened in 2016. If you call, you’ll get one of them. Dr. Kropp doesn’t employ a whole office staff because he doesn’t need a staff to deal with paperwork associated with insurance. “Direct primary care is the alternative to the feefor-services model,” he says.

“The patient pays a flat fee and you’re free from third-party involvement.”

Like a cell phone with its a monthly bill rather than paying by the call, DPC patients pay the same amount each month regardless of the number of visits. “I see some patients once a year; I see some once a month,” Dr. Kropp says. He adds that his familiarity with patients often allows him to pass on low-yield, high-cost tests that a more traditional clinic would likely order.

He also does as much of his own lab work as possible, often at a lesser cost to patients.

The decision to open one’s own practice would be big on its own. But to open an insurance-free practice in an insurance-obsessed country? “It was scary,” Dr. Kropp admits,

noting that the DPC model was not covered at medical school.

This means that any doctor seeking to open a practice on the DPC model would have to learn to fly without many re-

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sources available to help guide them. When one considers the amount of medical school debt doctors take on . . . scary, indeed. And Dr. Kropp, who doesn’t have a business degree, does have a wife and three kids.

When he opened his practice, there were even fewer resources available to doctors about the DPC model than there are today, despite the fact that DPC numbers were and are growing. In fact, a few years ago at a conference for regional health care providers, a number of New England physicians in attendance who were interested in learning more about DPC held their own informal “un-conference” to share what they knew about DPC. The meeting spawned the New England Direct Primary Care Alliance (NEDPCA). The revolution had begun.

A SLOW TSUNAMI As far as revolutions go, this one is pretty snail-like. After all, we’re talking about changing the culture of health care one physician and one patient at a time. “It’s a slow tsunami,” says Jeffrey Gold, MD, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, another DPC physician who attended the original unconference and became—along with Dr. Kropp—a founder of the NEDPCA. Nationwide, the number of DPC practices have gone from 500 to 1,000 in two years.

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“I’m not competing with insurance,” he says. Also, he points out preventative care is an investment against more expensive treatment for a preventable illness. “For every dollar you invest in primary care,” he says, “you save $15 later.”

Twenty-five states have passed legislation defining and legitimizing DPC practices.

There is currently a similar bill in committee in the New Hampshire legislature. The legislation—titled HB 508—declares that primary care doctors providing direct primary care under a primary care agreement (DPC models) are not subjected

to insurance laws in the state.

Basically, this codifies DPC models and eases their availability to patients as long as they meet certain criteria. As of press time, the bill passed the House and Senate and is under consideration by Governor Chris Sununu.

“I would just like for the DPC model to be a well-understood

model,” says Dr. Kropp, who also sees DPC as a positive alternative for businesses that provide health care benefits.

However, in an insurancedominated system, many people get frightened off by a practice that doesn’t work with insurance. “DPC can coexist with insurance,” he explains. You wouldn’t use your auto insur-

A Health Care Revolution ance to pay for an oil change.

Rather, you use insurance when your car gets totaled. Dr. Kropp suggests DPC combined with a larger deductible (and therefore less-expensive) policy for catastrophic injury or illness could make for a good mix.

“I’m not competing with insurance,” he says. Also, he points out preventative care is an investment against more expensive treatment for a preventable illness. “For every dollar you invest in primary care,” he says, “you save $15 later.”

“I’d like to work with insurers,” says Dr. Gold. “Not for them.”

A revolution is happening at a small, single-doctor practice in Concord, New Hampshire, and at similar practices across the country. History is being made, and giants are being challenged.

“How do we get people to realize that change doesn’t happen at the top?” Dr. Kropp asks.

Change starts at the bottom, he says, where people who are just as important as those at the top make one decision at a time to do the right thing.

“We’re trying to make health care about the patients, not the rule makers,” says Dr. Gold.

And in the end, when you make that 3am phone call to your primary, who’s going to take care of you—your senator?

The CEO of an insurance company? “Of course not,” says Dr. Gold. Your doctor is.

A revolution is happening at a small, single-doctor practice in Concord, New Hampshire, and at similar practices across the country.

History is being made, and giants are being challenged.

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Time to Go Tiny WHY SMALL HOUSES ON WHEELS ARE MOVING SLOW IN THE GRANITE STATE

BY RAY CARBONE

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T

hey are a secretive group. One woman lives in her daughter’s backyard, hiding in a kind of freestanding in-law apartment. A senior-citizen couple fled our cities for the woods outside Plymouth. They believe they’re safe from authorities for now, but they won’t say exactly where they are. And a young couple that started life on the Seacoast—and may have been in Warner for a few months—are now simply up north. Like the others, they will not name the town they’re in.

Their lives are simpler, quieter, smaller than their neighbors’. But they’re not illegal aliens, off-the-grid survivalists, or members of a strange cult. They’re New Hampshire residents who live in tiny houses.

TINY HOUSES ARE BUILT WITH TRADITIONAL BUILDING MATERIALS AND DESIGNS AND CAN LAST AS LONG AS ANY OTHER HOUSE. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY NATURALLY PRODUCE INNOVATIVE AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL SPACE-SAVING CONCEPTS, AS WELL AS A GREATER CONSIDERATION OF VERTICAL LIVING SPACE.

Built-in steps, storage, and appliances increase livable space and reduce clutter in tiny homes.

Photo courtesy of Tiny House Northeast.

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Tiny homes combine form and function through creative use of built-in storage.

Photos courtesy of Tiny House Northeast.

It’s a peculiarity of our day. In the Live Free or Die state, where traditional and libertarian values combine to make a culture of healthy tolerance, tiny homes— those cute, creative miniature housing units that are the stars of numerous cable television series, podcasts, and best-selling books—are basically illegal. And we’re not alone.

All over the country, living year-round in a mobile tiny house (a.k.a. tiny house on wheels, or THOW) is largely unpermitted, disallowed by outdated zoning regulations and the fears of potential neighbors. One exception, tiny houses on foundations (THOF)

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NOW, THE TWO WARNER MEN ARE TOGETHER ON LEGISLATION THAT WOULD MAKE LIVING IN A THOW ON A YEAR-ROUND BASIS ALLOWABLE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. “IF WE DO THIS, WE’D BE THE FIRST STATE IN THE NATION WHERE TINY HOUSES ARE PERMITTED,” JOE SAYS. “IT WOULD BE NATIONAL NEWS.”

are allowed if they comply with local zoning regulations, such as minimum size.

Joe Mendola of Warner knows the problem. Last year Joe, who works in commercial real estate, asked his hometown planners if he could develop a small colony of tiny houses.

They turned him down. At a roundtable event held at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in February, Ben Frost, the chairman of the Warner planning board, explained why his board rejected Joe’s plea.

“There is no building code for tiny houses on wheels,” he said.

Now, the two Warner men are together on legislation that would make living in a THOW on a year-round basis allowable in New Hampshire. “If we do this, we’d be the first state in the nation where tiny houses are permitted,” Joe says. “It would be national news.”

Tiny home bedrooms accentuate floor space to balance out the need to sacrifice headroom.

Photo courtesy of Tiny House Northeast.

“When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself . . . I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach . . . I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life . . .”

—From Walden by Henry David Thoreau, 1854 BACK TO THE GARDEN The tiny house movement started in the late 1990s, inspired partly by the bucolic musings of Thoreau, the popular 19th century New England

essayist, poet, and philosopher, and partly by the increasing size and costs of American domiciles. There is no formal definition, but tiny houses are generally described to be 500 square feet or less—although THOWs typically measure about half that—with a height of approximately 12 feet. Their dimensions are within the requirements for traveling down a public road.

Beyond measurements however, the tiny house movement promotes prudence, ecological responsibility, and a more thoughtful approach to daily life, say its fans. And while there are no age limits, most

owners are younger people who enjoy making their own living space, traveling, and using their money on nonhousing-related expenses (i.e., a mortgage or heating bill).

In addition, most tiny house residents love the outdoors— hiking, kayaking, and so on— and eschew sedentary pursuits like Netflix and chill. “They think of the outdoors as their living room space,” says Isa Bauer of Tiny House Northeast of Wakefield, New Hampshire, the only construction company in the state that focuses on the diminutive domiciles.

Some people think of tiny houses—especially THOWs,

which are constructed on trailer frames—as simply smarter looking manufactured homes.

But tiny houses are not campers or manufactured homes, Isa says. They’re built with traditional building materials and designs and can last as long as any other house. At the same time, they naturally produce innovative and multifunctional space-saving concepts, as well as a greater consideration of vertical living space.

MEET YOUR TINY NEIGHBORS Kyle Carey and Carmine Colajezzi are building a tiny house in the Lakes Region. In many

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Kitchen work space and storage are maximized utilizing compact and eco-friendly appliances.

Photo courtesy of Tiny House Northeast.

ways, they’re the typical tiny house fans. They’re creative millennials (she’s a musician, he’s a carpenter) who want to live a modest lifestyle. They love the outdoors and have designed their new home with a rustic look. They’re also hoping to save some money by living in the 220-square-foot home for the next five-to-seven years.

They then want to purchase a standard residence. “At that point, we can either sell it or rent it out,” Kyle says of the new place. “But even now, it economically makes sense for us. I’m still paying off a student loan. That and the fact that Carmine and I want to pursue

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MOVING INTO THE MUCH SMALLER SPACE CALLED FOR SOME PERSONAL REFLECTION. “WE HAD TO ADJUST TO OUR IDEA OF WANTS VERSUS NEEDS,” JUDY EXPLAINS. “I DON’T THINK WE KEEP A LOT OF KNICKKNACKS. WE KEEP THINGS THAT ARE MEANINGFUL. MIKE SAYS THAT EVERYTHING WE HAVE HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST THREE PURPOSES.” our artistic passions are what have promoted us to go tiny.”

The couple has done a ton of research, Kyle explains, looking at everything from condensation issues—many tiny home residents say it’s an ongoing issue—to creating adequate insulation both around the structure and below for the

foundation or trailer. “And if you want to be off the grid, like we do, there’s a whole other can of worms you have to get into.

There’s gray water, black water, composting toilets, the solar panel system, water tanks . . .”

Still, their biggest concern is where they’ll put the place once it’s completed at the end of the

summer. They’re considering a nearby town that never adopted a local zoning code. There are about a dozen of them in New Hampshire, most located in Grafton County. But the couple is nervous, especially after learning that state zoning regulations could still create problems for their handmade

CAN TINY HOUSES MAKE IT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE?

T

o Joe Mendola, the issue of allowing tiny houses on wheels in New Hampshire is personal. Joe, who lives in Warner, has been in the real estate business for more than 40 years and now works as senior vice president and advisor with the NAI Norwood Group. Like other business people, he’s concerned about young people leaving the state to start their professional lives elsewhere.

There are also the many young out-of-staters who are attracted to the state’s lifestyle but can’t find the economic opportunities and affordable housing here that is available in other states.

Without these talented young employees, businesses won’t locate here and those that have, may leave to find the employees they need to succeed.

This does not bode well for the state’s economic future, he says.

One day, Joe’s wife urged him to sit down and watch a popular cable television program about tiny houses. He had an epiphany. What Joe saw was a lot of creative, independent young people choosing to go tiny. He saw that these smaller abodes naturally promote a simpler lifestyle, more outdoor and social activities, and a modest carbon footprint that many millennials favor.

Most tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) are built They’re relatively inexpensive to live in, which allows people to save money for more to follow standard RV width and height. a permanent home. And because tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) are mobile, they’re Photo courtesy of Tiny House Northeast. especially attractive to young professionals who may change jobs 10 or more times during their careers.

At first, Joe tried to develop a small tiny house park in Warner, but his planning board turned him down.

Then he asked the members to reconsider his proposal under the federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations governing manufactured home parks.

But Ben Frost, the board’s chairman, rejected the idea. The problem, Ben told Joe, is that there are no zoning regulations specifically designed for living in a tiny house on wheels. And when Joe dug deeper into the research, he realized that there is no state in America that has yet worked out the problem. plating buying their first home Around the country, there are thousands—perhaps a million or more—mostly young people who are together, living tiny looked like living out of sight (and sometimes off the grid) due to the unresolved zoning barrier. a good option. They considered So, Joe got together with Ben, whose day job is serving as director of legal and public affairs for buying a finished product from the state’s Housing Finance Authority. (Ben did this on his own time. The authority has not taken a company like Tiny House any stance on tiny houses). The pair came up with a bill that would allow THOWs in small parks Northeast but finally decided throughout the state. to follow the lead of other tinyState Representative Dave Testerman of Franklin sponsored the idea in HB 312, which, according to house enthusiasts and build Joe, would allow New Hampshire towns to permit THOWs. If passed, the state would become the first their own. The 225-squarestate in the nation to allow THOWs. “That would make national news,” Joe says.

But there were still some unresolved questions. If a tiny house is abandoned, who is responsible for foot finished product, which it, the owner or the property owner? What about tiny house fans who want to build their own THOWs? cost them about $3,000, has How about building a single THOW on a private lot? Are there relevant environmental issues? dormers and gables. “It’s not In March, Representative Testerman altered his bill just before it was presented at a public hearing traditional, but that’s what I like to the House Committee on Municipal and County Government. Instead of a law that would require about it,” Judy says. towns to accept THOWs under certain specific conditions, the amended law would create a study Moving into the much committee to examine the full range of issues related to tiny houses. smaller space called for some The legislature approved the idea in the spring and the governor is expected to sign it. personal reflection. “We had The committee is expected to complete its work by November 1 and report back to the legislature in to adjust to our idea of wants time to create new THOW legislation for the 2020 legislative session.

place. “We’re making a $60,000 investment on something that’s still, legally, in a little bit of a gray area,” Kyle confesses.

Retirees Mike and Judy Burnett say they’re reasonably secure in their tiny home, mostly

because it sits on five acres that they own. “We now live on a quiet dead-end road in Grafton County with the mountains all around us,” Judy says. They met on Mount Monadnock 15 years ago and were married at

the same spot six years later.

A few years ago, they were approaching retirement age and growing tired of living in a rented Manchester apartment while craving the outdoors.

When they began contem-

versus needs,” Judy explains.

“I don’t think we keep a lot of knickknacks. We keep things that are meaningful. Mike says that everything we have has to have at least three purposes.”

Along the way, the Burnetts dealt with problems they probably wouldn’t have had in a

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The tiny home lifestyle doesn't mean owners need to disregard personal style and belongings.

Photos courtesy of Chloe Barcelou.

standard home. Early on the hose that served as their main water supply kept freezing.

Mike still has to wipe condensation off virtually everything in the place each morning. “And it gets dirty easy,” Judy says.

“We’re always vacuuming and sweeping. I think it’s because it’s such a small space and we’re surrounded by grass and dirt, so we’re always bringing it in on our clothes and shoes. But it takes no time, maybe five minutes.

“The hardest thing is when we both come home at the same time,” she adds. “You have to say what you’re doing: ‘I’m going over there’ or ‘I’m

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“BUILDING OUR TINY HOUSE WAS FAR FROM EASY BUT THE FREEDOM OF CREATIVITY, THE AUTHORITY TO INCLUDE ANY IDEA, NO MATTER HOW WHIMSICAL, AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WOULD ONE DAY FIND OURSELVES SHELTERED BY OUR OWN CREATION WAS AN EXPERIENCE WE CAN ONLY COMPARE TO THE BUILDING OF TREE FORTS IN CHILDHOOD.” going to the bathroom.’ We can walk by each other, but we have to do it sideways.”

Although their town has no zoning, the couple keeps a low profile. Their few neighbors are considerate, and a few town officials have stopped by without voicing any concerns. But without specific rules regulating

tiny houses, their place could be considered a recreational vehicle, Judy says. “And you’re not supposed to live in an RV 12 months a year.”

When they first got to town, she thought about calling the town hall with specific questions about their situation, but a real estate agent advised

against it. “A lot of the problems that tiny house people have are complaint-driven, by other people,” she explains.

TINY, TO GO If economics was the chief appeal for Kyle and Carmine and the great outdoors attracted Mike and Judy, creative issues

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drew Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder. The young couple owns B&C Productions, a set, costume, and prop design and construction business that services movie companies, photographers, and other media organizations. Chloe is also the fashion editor at New Hampshire Magazine and a model while Brandon works as a carpenter and NE-269645

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TINY HOUSE CONNECTIONS Kyle Carey and Carmine Colajezzi are building a tiny house in the Lakes Region. You can follow their progress at www.kyleannecarey.com or, reach out to Kyle at kyle@kyleannecarey.com.

WWW.KYLEANNECAREY.COM

Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder own a distinctive tiny house that’s been featured in a variety of television programs, magazines, and more. Learn more about it at their company website www.productionartanddesign.com, or follow Chloe on Instagram @ChloeBarcelou.

WWW.PRODUCTIONARTANDDESIGN.COM

Tiny Living Spaces of Henniker can be reached at tinylivingspaces.com. A video feature about Lil’ Blue, one of their tiny houses, can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUFlSsMQjgM. TINYLIVINGSPACES.COM

The only construction company in the state completely focused on tiny houses is Tiny House Northeast in Wakefield, tinyhousenortheast.com.

Media coverage of tiny home living has grown, including profiling NBA star and Concord native Matt Bonner on FYI network's Tiny House Nation.

TINYHOUSENORTHEAST.COM

Joe Mendola, a Warner resident and commercial real estate broker, is trying to make tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) permitted in New Hampshire. Follow his progress on his Facebook page entitled Warner Tiny Homes.

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/WARNERTINYHOMES

You can try out living in a tiny house while on vacation. Tuxbury Tiny House Village in South Hampton has six different units available. Visit tuxburytinyhouse.com.

TUXBURYTINYHOUSE.COM

American Tiny House Association posts information about tiny-house issues around the county at americantinyhouseassociation.org/category/state/new-hampshire.

AMERICANTINYHOUSEASSOCIATION.ORG/CATEGORY/STATE/NEW-HAMPSHIRE

Many other websites, blogs, podcasts, and cable television programs also deal with tiny house issues, including tinyhousetalk.com.

TINYHOUSETALK.COM

Concord’s Matt Bonner, who played in the NBA for years, is a big fan of tiny houses. His project was featured on the Tiny House Nation cable television series.

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=2URCCI4CILE

Millennials are not the only ones attracted to tiny houses. So are single women and senior citizens.

Watch this feature about seniors: mymodernmet.com/tiny-homes-senior-living.

MYMODERNMET.COM/TINY-HOMES-SENIOR-LIVING

writer. “We’re freelance artists so we’re always going job to job,” Chloe explains. “But we’re just starting our careers so there wasn’t enough time and money.

A tiny house freed up a lot of time and cut our expenses.”

The couple roughed out a 300-square-foot design in 2015

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and began building on an 18foot trailer in a friend’s yard on the Seacoast. But they took a unique approach. “We’re very esthetic people as artists so we thought, why don’t we make it a portfolio item?” Chloe recalls. They were inspired by gypsy wagons, old railroad cars,

and clipper ships. They began collecting overstuffed comfy chairs, antique desks, vintage throw rugs, and other eclectic items. “The recycled materials came off film sets that we were hired to design and build,” Chloe explains. “After the movie would film, we’d tear things

down and, instead of throwing the materials in the dumpster, we used them as the building blocks for our tiny house.”

They created a cheerfully cramped environment that combines the modern conveniences (like a microwave and computers) with a funky American style (including a Crock-Pot lid serving as a shower door window). Then they added the kind of side pop-outs usually found on a camper. Now when they set up at a location production site, the tiny house expands to 300 square feet with separate work areas and windows for Chloe and Carmine.

“Building our tiny house was far from easy but the freedom of creativity, the authority to include any idea, no matter how whimsical, and the knowledge that we would one day find ourselves sheltered by our own creation was an experience we can only compare to the building of tree forts in childhood,”

Tiny home designers are often tasked to not compromise bathroom space and functionality.

Photo courtesy of Tiny House Northeast.

Brandon wrote on their tiny house blog. “It felt natural, freeing, even primitive.”

The distinctive design cost about $20,000, and it soon caught the attention of friends and colleagues. As a result, their tiny house was featured in several regional magazines, on blogs, and on television design programs, including HGTV’s popular Tiny House, Big Living.

“To have a home, a place that’s comfortable and mortgage-free,” Chloe says, “our

quality of life went way, way up. And that’s great when you’re only making $5,000 a month. There’s so much more money to do things like buy health insurance, go out with friends, buy clothes, or to have a pet.” (The couple’s cat, Mr. Nose, enjoys free range of their place. He even has his own space.)

Anne Mellin and Sue Schoenfeld of Henniker have chosen a different approach. The self-described “chronic homeimprovement junkies” don’t live in a tiny house, but they’re drawn to the creative design and construction challenges it presents. Working with local

builder Seth Murdough, they formed Tiny Living Spaces in 2016 with the goal of making custom-made tiny houses for individual clients.

The women wanted to make units that would last longer than many homemade tiny houses with the look and feel of a traditional home. “A tiny house you can actually live in,” is the company’s motto. “People come into our houses and say, ‘this feels like a home,’” Anne says. “It’s all top-end stuff,” says Sue. “Granite countertops, nice tile floor in the bathroom, wood floors. And special touches, like a TV that pulls up to reveal a nice window.” Anne

adds, “Ours have metal roofs that are done by a roofer who only does metal roofs.”

The company’s tiny houses have gained attention from various media organizations, including the H&G cable television network.

However, the state’s lack of zoning for tiny houses has crimped their work.

“There’s no place to put them,” Sue says. “You wind up going to the town hall, trying to explain it, but people don’t want them in their backyards.

“It’s ironic,” she adds. “You can be homeless and live in your car, but you can’t live in one of these.”

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Talia Suskauer (as Jo March) rehearses a scene inside the set of Jo’s attic from Little Women, the musical, at the New London Barn Playhouse. Photo by Elizabeth Frantz.

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BY SARAH PEARSON

t n e m n i aa Enterton

SUMMER EVENING THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE THAN

NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR SUMMER STOCK THEATRE

Tucked away on country roads, in small villages, and o˜ various beaten paths, summer stock theatres are not the easiest to stumble upon but are definitely worth the trouble of seeking out. For nearly a century, professional actors have entertained townies and tourists alike on stages in New Hampshire.

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Rebecca Brinkley, Jack Koenig, Troyer Coultas, and Ryan Alexander Jacobs appear in The Peterborough Players’ production of The Drowsy Chaperone in August 2018. Photo

by Will Howell.

Peterborough Players 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough WWW.PETERBOROUGHPLAYERS.ORG

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“One of the things is, you find theatres like ours in very unexpected places,” says Keith Stevens, managing director of the Peterborough Players. “We’re at the end of a dead-end road,” adds Beth Brown, Peterborough Players’ advancement director. “Three miles north of a really small town,” says Keith.

Most of the places that fall under the “summer stock” label are in smaller towns near seasonal vacation spots: mountains and lakes that draw city dwellers away from the hubbub of their normal lives. It’s a chance to see high-quality performances by professional actors just about as far removed from the glitz of Broadway as you can get.

“It’s just picture-postcard perfect,” says Bob Shea of the Barnstormers Theatre. “We’re off the beaten path; even though Route 15 and Route 25 go through a section of the town, Tamworth Village is about three miles off the main roads. So, people oftentimes find it’s an adventure to find Tamworth Village. But when people find it, they just can’t believe that it’s there.”

From the outside, most summer stock theatres don’t look like typical theatres, further adding to the adventure of finding one. Three are in renovated barns—like in the 1950 Judy Garland/Gene Kelly film Summer Stock—one was a former livery building for the sale of livestock, one is on the site of an old doll factory, and another was founded in a paper mill before moving to a new building just a few years ago.

THE BEGINNING OF A MOVEMENT Some of New Hampshire’s theatre companies date back to the beginning of the summer stock trend of the 1930s, the Little Theatre Movement. “There are summer theatres in other parts of the United States, but it was invented here. It’s like maple syrup and lilacs. It’s just part of our cultural landscape,” Bob says.

Barnstormers Theatre 104 Main Street, Tamworth WWW.BARNSTORMERSTHEATRE.ORG

Shayna Vercillo, David Makransky, and Buddy Haardt in the Barnstormers’ production of Laughing Stock, Charles Morey's comedy about summer stock theatre. Photo by Diana Evans.

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New London Barn Playhouse 84 Main Street, New London WWW.NLBARN.ORG

New Hampshire was one of the first four places in the country to have a summer stock theatre. The Manhattan Theatre Colony came to Peterborough in 1927, before it moved across the border to Vacationland to become the Ogunquit Playhouse. But Peterborough wasn’t without a theatre for long after Manhattan Theatre made an exit state right.

Edith Bond Stearns bought a farm with an 18th century barn on Hadley Road and turned it into the home of the Peterborough Players. It will have its 86th summer this year. Edith ran the company for about 25 years before handing it off to her daughter for the next two decades. After that, a family friend ran the Peterborough Players for more than a dozen years. Keith and artistic director Gus Kaikkonen have run the company for the last 24 years. Beth, a granddaughter of Edith’s, recently joined the Peterborough Players in the new position of advancement director.

“The other point of differentiation: in 86 years, the Peterborough Players have been under just four managing directors,” Beth says. “When you think about anything that’s nearly 90 years old, to only have had four leaders is quite significant.”

As for the oldest still-active theatre company, that goes to a venue sandwiched between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. The Barnstormers Theatre began touring in 1931 in the White Mountains and settled into a permanent home in Tamworth in 1935. “We are the oldest professional summer theatre in the United States, and probably the world,” Bob says of the Barnstormers.

Francis Cleveland—the youngest son of President Grover Cleveland—founded the company and was a Broadway actor. Tamworth had been the summer White House for President Cleveland, so Francis, who was five when his father died, was raised there by his mother, also named Francis, a philanthropic patron of the arts.

“He grew up there with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Maxfield Parrish, all these amazing people and famous writers who would visit with his mother,” Bob says of Francis Cleveland. “He was always in love with Tamworth. So he and a group of his friends from New York, and his young wife,

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came back to New Hampshire and founded the theatre company in 1931.”

The New London Barn Playhouse near Lake Sunapee will see its 87th summer season in 2019. “We like to say we’re the longest continually operating summer theatre in the state of New Hampshire,” says Keith Coughlin, executive artistic director of the New London Barn Playhouse. The New London Barn Playhouse technically opened a year after Barnstormers Theatre, but Barnstormers went on hiatus during World War II and screened movies instead of staging plays.

A NEW WAVE OF THEATRE After the rush of new theatres in the ’30s, things slowed down a bit in New Hampshire and became more spaced out. The other still-operating summer stock theatres were all founded in the ’60s or later, though there were other companies, like the Lakes Region Playhouse, that came and went over the years.

Weathervane Theatre in Whitefield is among that next wave of theatres, founded in 1966. Like the older summer stock theatres, it’s housed in a renovated barn off the beaten trail, about a 45-minute drive to the nearest city.

In 1987, community members and business leaders in Lincoln got the ball rolling to renovate a former mill building into a theatre and cast four shows. And thus, the Papermill Theatre Company and Jean’s Playhouse were born. The Papermill Theatre building was torn down in 2009.

“The old building was just not going to hold up,” says Joel Mercier, producing artistic director for Jean’s Playhouse. “Unfortunately, they had to let it go because the cost to get it to where it needed to be was going to be too much money and not worth it. At that point, that’s when they decided to spend a few years at the Governor’s Lodge at Loon Mountain while they capital campaigned to build their own building.” In July 2012, the new stage with state-of-the-art facilities held its premiere on the site where the mill once held audiences watching plays from folding chairs.

The Seacoast Repertory Theatre was founded in 1988 after the Theatre by the Sea closed. It was originally a performing arts academy and added a professional theatre company later, says Brian Kelly, director of marketing and development at the Rep. All Seacoast Rep shows—30 of them on two stages in two states—are produced from script to stage by professionals from around the region and a little beyond, Brian says.

In the current millennium, the state has seen the creation of two

more theatres. One is the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, founded by a pair of siblings and their spouses in 2004. In 2001, Neil Pankhurst, who is now the producing artistic director, decided after 15 years teaching about theatre in the United Kingdom that he wanted to work in theatre’s professional world. His wife, Lesley, was a West End actress.

The couple ultimately decided to move to New England, where Lesley’s family lived. Teaming up with Lesley’s brother, Bryan Halperin, and his wife, Johanna, the four founded the playhouse, first at Weirs Beach in Laconia and then moving to Meredith. “All of us had always liked the arts,” Neil says. “We were all, in some way, shape, or form, involved with theatre.”

Also in Meredith, the Interlakes Theatre began in 2008 and is a tenant of the Interlakes Community Auditorium (which it shares

Jean’s Playhouse 10 Papermill Drive, Lincoln JEANSPLAYHOUSE.COM

The IMPACT Children's Theatre, a community-based youth theatre company at Jean’s Playhouse, perform Peter Pan and Wendy : A Musical! Photo courtesy of Jean’s Playhouse.

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Kelley Davies, Lindsey Bristol, Will Wilder, Alex Gagne, and Nolan Baker appear in Charley’s Aunt, which opened June 2018 at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse. Photo

by Matthew P. Lomanno.

with the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra, the school, and other groups).

“I’ve worked all over the country at many different theatres and I’m always impressed at how much professional summer theatre we have in New Hampshire,” Joel says. “You don’t necessarily think of New Hampshire in the same boat as Boston and New York, and yet, we have so much summer theatre.”

SUMMER ON STAGE Despite the name of summer stock, it takes more than just a summer to put together the shows that will entertain crowds for weeks. After a deep breath in the fall to recover from the crush of the summer season, planning for the next year typically begins.

“What may be not be clear to anybody who comes to see a show in, say, August, is that the organization of that had started probably back in November of the previous year,” Neil says. “That’s when you start putting the teams together, getting your directors, getting your designers on board, and

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then having discussions to make sure the ideas of the designers and the director are feasible.”

There are plays and musicals to be selected and dates to set. “Our planning is kind of like flower arranging. Every summer we have five unique and distinctly different plays, but there’s something complimentary about the selection of those five,” Bob says. “From an individual point of view, we really want them all to be artistically interesting and artistically important in different ways.” By the time the planning is done, it’s nearly summer again.

New Hampshire summer stock theatres generally have four to six shows during the season. On average, they run for two weeks opening mid-week, like Wednesday, through the next weekend, usually a Saturday night or Sunday matinee. Some venues have a mix of one-week and two-week shows or twoweek and three-week-run shows. The Weathervane Theatre has the most unique arrangement of an alternating repertoire, where there is a different show nearly every night with the plays having staggered openings throughout the summer.

While there is some overlap of employees, some plays can

PROFESSIONAL SUMMER STOCK THEATRE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

H

ere are the places in New Hampshire that offer stage shows performed by professional actors primarily in the summer and the offerings you can catch in 2019.

Barnstormers Theatre Damn Yankees (June 27–July 6), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (July 11–20), The Man Who Came to Dinner (July 25–August 3), Spider’s Web (August 8–17), and Things My Mother Taught Me (August 22–31).

Mahida’s Extra Key to Heaven (June 19–30), How I Became a Pirate, a Second Company show (July 22–July 20), Gertrude Stein and a Companion (July 3–14), Morning’s at Seven (July 17–28), She Loves Me (July 31–August 11), Cindy Reilly, a Second Company show (August 17–24), Dumas’ Camille (August 14–25), A Doll’s House Part 2 (August 28–September 8), and Rose (September 11–15).

Interlakes Summer Theatre

Seacoast Repertory Theatre

104 Main Street, Tamworth

WWW.BARNSTORMERSTHEATRE.ORG

1 Laker Lane, Meredith

125 Bow Street, Portsmouth

Funny Girl (July 3–14), Ragtime (July 17–28), Mamma Mia! (July 31–August 11), and Saturday Night Fever (August 14–18).

West Side Story (June 13–July 20) and Evita (July 25–August 24).

Jean’s Playhouse

389 Lancaster Road, Whitefield

INTERLAKESTHEATRE.COM

10 Papermill Drive, Lincoln JEANSPLAYHOUSE.COM

The Hound of the Baskervilles (June 20–29), Titanic the Musical (July 11–27), Cinderella (August 1–17), The Fantasticks (August 21–31), and Almost, Maine (September 5–14)

New London Barn Playhouse 84 Main Street, New London WWW.NLBARN.ORG

The Pajama Game (June 12–23), Peter and the Starcatcher (June 26–July 7), The Odd Couple (July 10–14), Grease (July 17–Aug. 4), Catch Me if You Can (August 7–18), and The Marvelous Wondrettes (August 21–September 1).

Peterborough Players 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough

WWW.PETERBOROUGHPLAYERS.ORG

SEACOASTREP.ORG

Weathervane Theatre WWW.WEATHERVANETHEATRE.ORG

Weathervane’s unique signature is an alternating repertory schedule; see a different show almost every night.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (opens July 9), Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (opens July 10), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill (opens July 13), Spring Awakening (opens July 22), The Drowsy Chaperone (opens July 23), Bright Star (opens August 1), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (opens August 12), and Sister Act (opens August 21).

Winnipesaukee Playhouse 50 Reservoir Road, Meredith

WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

On Golden Pond (June 12–22), Moon Over Buffalo (June 26–July 6), Avenue Q (July 11–2), Chicago (July 25–August 10), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (August 14–24), and California Suite (August 24–September 7).

have a completely different cast and/or crew from the next. Typically, set builders, most costumers, and technical crews will stay for the whole summer. Directors will be hired for one specific play, sometimes a few. Set designers may be hired for one or two plays out of a season.

Two of the summer stock theatres in the state are full union playhouses: the Barnstormers and the Peterborough Players. Under Actors’ Equity contracts, a certain number of the professional actors must be cast in multiple shows. Bob estimates

Winnipesaukee Playhouse 50 Reservoir Road, Meredith WWW.WINNIPESAUKEEPLAYHOUSE.ORG

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that about half the Barnstormers cast were there for more than one show. Other theatres aren’t required to have actors stay for multiple shows, but many do anyway for logistical reasons. In all, that’s a lot of positions to fill for just four months of performances.

ASSEMBLING THE CAST AND CREW “One of the biggest challenges is hiring,” Joel says. “I have to hire almost 75 people a year who either come in for the whole time or for partial time between essentially four months.” He adds, “When you’re hiring, there are these wonderful things that exist all over, they’re sort of like job fairs for actors, called cattle-call auditions.” He continues, “Most theatres, not just in New Hampshire but certainly all over New England and sometimes far beyond, go to these cattle-call auditions. What’s tricky is when you’re hiring actors, you’re sort of competing for them as much as they’re competing for you.”

At the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, for their six summer shows, Neil says he’s looking to hire about 100 people.

The acting intern company of primarily college theatre majors makes up most of the cast at the New London Barn Playhouse, and they remain all season. Meanwhile, a few seasoned professional actors are hired for individual shows.

“We do an extensive search for both our performing interns and technical interns,” Keith Coughlin says. “I audition nearly 1,200 auditions to look for 14 or 15.”

Peterborough Players and Jean’s Playhouse both have simultaneous training programs for young theatre professionals who present shows geared toward children and families in addition to their professional casts. Peterborough’s Second Company writes and presents two plays during the summer at their home theatre, while Jean’s IMPACT Children’s Theatre tours various locations around the state with musical tellings of fairy tales. (You can catch the IMPACT Theatre locally at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Tuesdays).

MAKING IT ALL COME TOGETHER Despite all the logistical challenges of planning for summer stock theatre, the most resounding challenge is time. “We like to think we’re creative people, so most shows that we want to do, we can find a way to make the dollars and cents in terms of the budget work, and we can find a way to make it fit in our space,” Keith Stevens says. “The thing we don’t have is time. Time is the most precious resource we have.”

With five to seven shows a summer, each running a couple weeks, there is no break. It is back-to-back-to-back rehearsals and shows for more than a dozen weeks. “Our actors are rehearsing during the day for the next show and performing that night for the current show,” Beth says.

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The Happiest Dysfunctional Family You’ll Ever Meet

BY JAMES BUCHANAN

E

ver wonder what it’s like to be a professional summer stock actor? We did, too. So, we got in touch with Landon Shaw— an actor, director, playwright, and member of the Actor’s Equity Association with more than 25 years of professional experience—and asked how he got his start and what it’s like.

LANDON: I was born and raised in Chicago and broke into the Chicago theatre scene there and worked for a lot of great companies there. But one of the things you are taught early on— and I am 45—is that the business is always evolving. No matter where you are in your career, it’s key to find a way to work with different theatres and specific directors and artistic directors and playwrights that you are drawn to and appreciate their work.

And when you focus on that, you will find that you have more opportunities than holding out for one theatre or a Broadway show and all the rest.

For me it has always been about being a working actor and taking the working piece seriously. With that in mind, I wanted to get into New England because you have a lot of networking, you have a lot of contacts, and theatre as a whole is a lot stronger with an incredible history behind it and connections to theatre even beyond New England. It’s just so wonderfully associated with the theatre community.

I am consistently looking for new markets and directors and new exciting theatre companies and when I came upon the Winnipesauke Playhouse—and have subsequently done tours all along the East Coast—I’ve found there is a great attitude and savvier theatre goers that appreciate actors, directors, playwrights, and companies that are willing to take risks.

I sought it out. It wasn’t something that fell in my lap. I want to be in that area. I want to be where theatre is always evolving.

AROUND CONCORD: And you found all of this in New Hampshire?

LANDON: Yes. Absolutely. Just this past spring at Winnipesauke Playhouse I did a play that was for all intents and purposes making its East Coast debut. I think this is true of everything from the Ogunquit Playhouse to the Winnipesauke Playhouse and all the many regional theatres. Because of their subscription base and audiences and because of the proximity to Broadway and theatre in general, we are able to take real artistic risks, push ourselves, and not be quite so commercial as in other places.

Theatres in New England and New Hampshire are doing new works and taking the classics and asking how they can spin this around and challenge themselves and engage a new audience. So it is attractive to those who want to be challenged and are looking to push themselves and be part of a true artistic expression.

AROUND CONCORD: There must be some downsides.

LANDON: Ultimately for me, number one is that I have to leave my family. I have a wife and a home, and I’m established in the

Landon Shaw starring as “Joseph” in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat produced

by Ozark Actors Theatre and directed by Landon Shaw. Photo courtesy of Ozark Actors Theatre.

Midwest, and so that’s a dance in itself. Also, I am not a known name in New Hampshire, so I don’t have a network or an audience base that knows me like I do in Chicago or St. Louis.

In a sense I’m starting over again. But at the same time, that’s very exciting. I really get to challenge myself and do things I wouldn’t normally get to do.

AROUND CONCORD: Waiting for Godot got its start by being persistent, even being performed in a prison.

LANDON: Yes, absolutely. And in New England you have a lot of great regional theatre companies and there is a nexus of artistic directors, directors, playwrights, producers, and others who are paying attention. You can be seen and appreciated by these people who are working to move this art forward and grow the audience for theatre in general and get to act in specific plays that are first developed in these smaller theatres.

AROUND CONCORD: Is there an anecdote that sums up what it’s like to work summer stock?

LANDON: Mine is that summer stock theatre—no matter how old you are—is, for lack of a better word, like summer camp. Truly.

You are put together with a bunch of people with whom you have one thing in common.

This summer I’m going to be put together with a bunch of theatre artists and we are going to live together, eat every meal together, do crazy things together, and ultimately there will be stress. There may be tension and we might get on each other’s nerves, but you become a family very quickly and learn to respect each other very quickly. Each summer when you leave you can’t believe it’s over, even though you may have driven each other crazy. You become this dysfunctional, really fun family at theatre camp.

There is everything you can imagine that comes with the stress of pulling together a fully formed professional theatre production within 13 days. We’re mounting one show and immediately starting rehearsals for the next show, and the minute that show starts we immediately start rehearsals for the next one.

At any given time, you have two or three shows in your head. There is no rest or a chance to breathe. You are working nonstop.

AROUND CONCORD: So the stereotype of building car as you drive it is true?

LANDON: Yes. There is definitely some truth to that. But god forbid something happens, as it

always does, we are trained professionals and able to plug that hole or fix whatever needs to be fixed. The show must go on is more than just a saying. There’s a lot of truth to it.

AROUND CONCORD: Broadway calls. Do you give up summer camp in New Hampshire for Broadway or stick with it?

LANDON: Honestly, at this stage and where I am in my career, it would have to be something really, really worthwhile. Broadway is nice and I love it and it definitely has its positive aspects, but sometimes the most incredible artistic experience and most powerful show can happen in a church basement with very little lighting and very little set.

Money does not always make for the most artistic masterpiece. Broadway is so about the money that they don’t take a lot of risks.

They tend to stay with actors that are known quantities and shows that they feel sure are going to sell tickets. This doesn’t mean there isn’t art happening there, but you can find amazing art being produced in places such as the small theatres in New Hampshire. As much as Broadway is what everybody tries for, I want to be challenged by something and I want something that I find value in and that pushes me.

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Who was Mary Baker Eddy?

Author. Preacher. Teacher. Healer.

Come and see the homes where one of New Hampshire’s most famous women lived and worked!

Concord • Groton • Rumney www.longyear.org for hours and directions

NE-281398

LONGYEAR MUSEUM

Longyear Museum is dedicated to advancing the understanding of the life and work of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer, Founder, and Leader of Christian Science.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 21 Centre Street, Concord NH (603) 224-2523 www.stpaulsconcord.org

Seven days a week of service, fellowship, learning & worship Outreach programs including food pantry, thri shop & clothing bank Fellowship opportunities such as parish meals, gardening & cra ing Learning through service, study & discussion series

A place to belong, whoever you are, just as you are Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12:10 pm: A Lunch Break Worship Service Saturdays at 4:30 pm: A “Simple Saturday” Worship Service Sundays at 8:00 am: A Quiet & Reflective Worship Service Sundays at 10:00 am: A Worship Service with Choir & Music NE-280305

St. Paul’s Church is an open and affirming faith community.

          

 

          64

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“Because we only run Memorial Day to Labor Day, we try to fill it with as much activity as we can,” Keith Coughlin says.

“There really isn’t a day when there isn’t something happening, whether it be in rehearsal or performance or sometimes both.”

It’s the same for every company. At night, the lights go up on the latest performance. The next day, you’re rehearsing for next week’s show. It’s the ultimate hallmark of summer stock theatre.

“We will start rehearsing at the end of May,” Neil says.

“Fairly early in June, a couple of weeks later, the first show will go up, which will be On Golden Pond, and while that show is in performance, the next show—sometimes by the same actors, by the way—is being rehearsed. When the first show comes down, which for us is a Saturday night, you then have to put away that set, put up a new set, redo the lighting, redo the sound. Then by the Wednesday of that following week, three or four days later, you have another completely different show that goes up.”

The whirlwind time frame is likely why summer stock theatre isn’t everywhere. It’s tucked away in little pockets, old barns, and unexpected places, waiting to be discovered. “When I think of summer theatre, I think of a really fast-paced season, where we sort of grab all these people from all over the country who show up in little old New Hampshire for a few months to come together and put on these amazing shows,” Joel says.

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EVENT CALENDAR

|

THEATER

•

MUSIC

•

DANCE

•

LECTURE

•

ART

What's Happening In & Around Concord

June 28–30

Humans by Circa Australian circus’s heart-stopping show of body, space, force, and balance.

The Moore Theater, 8pm Fri & Sat; 3pm Sun HOP.DARTMOUTH.EDU

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www.aroundconcord.com

June 15 June 15

Herb & Garden Day Enjoy a full day of workshops for all levels of skill and interest, plant identification walks, and demonstrations. The Herbal Market and Plant Sale features a unique collection of local herbalists, farmers, crafters, gardeners, artists, and environmental and agricultural organizations.

Local food vendors will serve breakfast and lunch.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 9am–5pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

Judy Collins The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 21

Eaglemania The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM June 21

Tiffany Jenkins: This Show Is Awkward AF Tiffany Jenkins is a wife, mother, author, content creator, and recovering addict. Best known for her blog, Juggling the Jenkins, and hilarious Facebook videos, Tiffany speaks shamelessly, openly, and honestly about her past as well as her struggles with depression and anxiety.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

June 15

Turning Point Center of Dance: The Wizard of Oz Audi, 2pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG

June 22, July 13, August 10

Hatbox Performance Lab

June 15–16

Little Shop of Horrors Seymour Krelborn is a meek floral assistant at Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists with a crush on his coworker, Audrey. One day, after a total eclipse of the sun, he stumbles across a new breed of plant life, which he affectionately names “Audrey II.” Prepare to be immersed in a vibrant and powerful production that will use various scale of puppetry and movement, as well as shadow, projection, and other multimedia effects to bring Skid Row to life!

Hatbox Theatre, 2 & 7pm Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM June 16

Father’s Day Tours Castle in the Clouds WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

June 20

Silent Film: Safety Last The Flying Monkey, 6:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM June 20–22

Absinthe & Opium Burlesque: Once Upon a Time As summer is upon us, it’s natural to feel nostalgic and sentimental, feelings of bittersweet longing for childhood and the books we read on summer days. These are the fairy tales, nursery rhymes, poems, and so much more that make up the inspiration for the all new production of Once Upon a Time.

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

Hatbox Theatre’s educational series for theatre artists and the public looking to explore the theatrical arts and expand their capabilities. Each month we hold a two-hour (plus!) workshop on different topics including lighting, sound, projections, costumes, design, acting, improv, directing, publicity, and more.

Hatbox Theatre, 2pm HATBOXNH.COM June 22

Jefferson Starship The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 16

Dance Inspirations Annual Recital Audi, 12pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG June 19

50th Anniversary Gala & Auction Canterbury Shaker Village, 5pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG June 19

A Walk Back in Time: The Secrets of Cellar Holes Castle in the Clouds, 7pm WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

August 23

Los Lobos The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

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CALENDAR SHIFT 2019

June 28

Rodrigo Amarante with Opener Cornelia Murr Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM June 29–30

Traditional Craft Days June 29

Recycled Percussion The Flying Monkey, 2:30 & 6:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 22

Ed Balloon Ed Balloon is a Boston-based performer with a unique blend of R&B, electronic, pop, and hip-hop combined with Nigerian roots.

Capitol Center for the Arts, 10pm CCANH.COM June 23

Dancesteps Etc. Dancing Through the Generations Audi, 1pm WWW.CONCORDCITYAUDITORIUM.ORG June 23

Learn about and participate in traditional arts and crafts! There will be vendors and demonstrators showing off their craft in woodworking, weaving, rug hooking, broom making, oval box making, letterpress printing, and much more.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 10am–4pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

Join QCI as they perform a night of goofs, gaffes, and laughs through a never before seen show every night! Improvisational theatre is made up on the spot, which means the games are planned but the scenes stories are not!

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm HATBOXNH.COM

Castle in the Clouds, 10am WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

A one-act play inspired by the true story of a California woman who bought a painting for a few dollars in a thrift shop and thought it could possibly be a lost Jackson Pollock masterpiece worth millions.

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

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Sing for the Earth Spaulding Auditorium, 8pm June 26

Tyondai Braxton and John Heginbotham on Their Creative Collaboration Top of the Hop, 6:30pm June 26

Dance Heginbotham and Alarm Will Sound The Moore Theater, 8pm June 27

International Ocean Film Tour

Foreigners Journey

Spaulding Auditorium, 8pm

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 29

Inuksuit The Bema Outdoor Amphitheater, 3pm

July 14

Samantha Fish

June 29

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

Dartmouth Musicologist Ted Levin on Iris DeMent’s Place in American Music Top of the Hop, 6:30pm

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

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A Portal to the Sky: Cinema and Space June 25

Bakersfield Mist

Lettuce

Castle Car Show

Moby Dick, Gare St. Lazare Players

Loew Auditorium, 8pm

July 5–7, 12–14

July 16

July 6

June 22, 23

June 24

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

July 13

Queen City Improv

Spaulding Auditorium, 8pm

Jordie Lane with Opener Tristan Omand

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 27, July 27, August 22

Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles

The Moore Theater, 8pm Sat; 3 & 8pm Sun

Aimee Mann

The Flying Monkey, 6:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

June 21

June 29

July 6

Postmodern Jukebox

Across the globe, humans struggle to find balance in our relationship with nature.

How can a quest for dominance transform into a sustainable collaboration? The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College launches its second annual SHIFT festival, a 10-day suite of live events, arts, film, and discussions that explore the push and pull of the human/nature bond.

HOP.DARTMOUTH.EDU

June 29

Iris DeMent Spaulding Auditorium, 8pm

www.aroundconcord.com

Dining Out In & Around Concord

DINING GUIDE

Alan’s of Boscawen

Moritomo Sushi Bar & Japanese Steak House

Granite Restaurant & Bar

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

32 Fort Eddy Road, Concord, NH (603) 224-8363 www.moritomonh.com

Alan’s of Boscawen, a family-owned restaurant, has been a local favorite in the Concord area for over 35 years providing great food, catering, and dining experiences.

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

Open daily, including breakfast Sat & Sun.

Established in 2001, Moritomo has been voted the best of the best sushi and hibachi for 15 consecutive years in the Concord area.

We continue to be one of the best restaurants in New Hampshire, attracting countless sushi and hibachi lovers from all around.

Come and enjoy our authentic food and enthusiastic service.

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.

Revival Kitchen & Bar

Constantly Pizza

Vibes Gourmet Burgers

11 Depot Street, Concord, NH (603) 715-5723 www.revivalkitchennh.com

39 S. Main Street, Concord, NH (603) 224-9366 www.constantlypizza.net @ConstantlyPizza

25 S. Main Street, Concord, NH (603) 856-8671 www.vibesgourmetburgers.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.

Great food at great prices and selection can’t be beat!

Specializing in catering – office parties, rehearsal dinners, showers, anniversaries, retirements, special events, and more. Check out our website for our full menu.

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

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

SUMMER 2019 | AROUND CONCORD

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CALENDAR July 6, August 3

The Woodwright’s Apprentice

July 11

This workshop, great for a parent (or grandparent) and child, begins with learning to identify the trees commonly used by woodwrights, discusses how those trees were turned into lumber, examines the properties of different species of wood, and discusses the safe use of some basic hand tools. The workshop concludes with each team assembling and finishing a stool (which they get to take home) using no glue or metal fasteners.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 9am–4pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

Rob Schneider The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYING MONKEYNH.COM

August 3

Soule Monde Featuring Ray Paczkowski & Russ Lawton of Trey Anastasio Band Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM August 3

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

July 18–21, 25–28

July 26

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Rock ’n Blues Summit

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

August 10

An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents (played by adults) vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories from their home lives, the tweens spell their way through a series of (potentially made-up) words, hoping never to hear the soulcrushing “ding” of the bell that signals a spelling mistake.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm Thu–Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM

Tab Benoit

July 26

Daby Touré with Opener Senie Hunt

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

August 10

Parsonsfield

August 1

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

Arrival from Sweden – The Music of ABBA

August 16–18, 23–25

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

July 19

Edwin McCain The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

Next to Normal

August 1–4, 8–11

Constellations

July 20

Jonathan Edwards and Liz Longley The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

One relationship. Infinite possibilities. Nick Payne’s Constellations is a two-person romantic comedy that explores the limitless possibilities of love in the multiverse.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm Thu–Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM

July 20

In this rock musical, we get an unflinching look at a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness.

Hatbox Theatre, 7:30pm Fri & Sat; 2pm Sun HATBOXNH.COM August 17

New Hampshire Permaculture Day An annual gathering for gardeners, homesteaders,

Oompa Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM July 23–August 3

Arts Week Visit with our artists in residences in their own studio spaces within the Village’s historic buildings, wander the grounds and experience contemporary outdoor sculpture, sign up for a variety of workshops, and more.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 10am WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

July 19

The Suitcase Junket with Opener Zak Trojano Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

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www.aroundconcord.com

back-to-the-landers, farmers, conservationists, environmentalists, natural builders, local food lovers, neighbors, allies, and curious minds.

Canterbury Shaker Village, 9am–5pm WWW.SHAKERS.ORG

September 6

Amythyst Kiah Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

August 23

Wallis Bird Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM August 24

Blue Oyster Cult The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM August 29

Ryan Montbleau Band

August 31

September 3

Vic DiBitetto

Stargazing with the New Hampshire Astronomical Society

The Flying Monkey, 7:30pm WWW.FLYINGMONKEYNH.COM

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.COM

Castle in the Clouds, 8pm WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

September 2

August 31

Mushroom Foray Castle in the Clouds, 10am WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

Labor Day Fun Run/Walk

September 5

Castle in the Clouds, 8am WWW.CASTLEINTHECLOUDS.ORG

The Ballroom Thieves

ADVERTISERS INDEX A&B Lumber/Belletetes..............................Outside Back Cover

Gondwana & Divine Clothing Co. ............................................65

Alan's of Boscawen ......................................................................69

Granite Restaurant & Bar ...........................................................69

Alliance Audiology .......................................................................29

Hotel Concord ...............................................................................35

Amish Homestead .......................................................................65

HR Clough .......................................................................................51

Annis & Zellers..............................................................................34

Hudson Quarry ................................................ Inside Back Cover

Better Hearing Center .................................................................23

Johnny Prescott Heating Oil & Propane ................................... 2

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

Landforms ...................................................................................... 19

Budget Blinds ..................................................................................31

Laurie A. Rosato, DMD ................................................................. 5

Canterbury Shaker Village .........................................................28

Longyear Museum ...................................................................... 64

Casa Dei Bambini .........................................................................33

Merrimack County Savings Bank ............................................... 8

Centennial Hotel ...........................................................................27

Moritomo Japanese Steakhouse ..............................................69

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

Pine Rock Manor............................................................................21

Concord Antiques ....................................................................... 64

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

Concord Imaging Center .............................................................13

Ruedig Realty .................................................................................34

Concord Orthodontics .................................................................. 3

Rumford Stone ................................................ Inside Front Cover

Concord Pediatric Dentistry ....................................................... 11

Saint Paul's Church Episcopal .................................................. 64

Constantly Pizza ...........................................................................69

Speer's Fine Jewelry......................................................................31

Currier Museum of Art ................................................................21

Sugar River Bank ...........................................................................25

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

Tasker Landscaping ........................................................................ 7

FW Webb .......................................................................................27

Upton & Hatfield ...........................................................................15

Goldsmiths Gallery ......................................................................35

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

Capitol Center for the Arts, 8pm CCANH.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 call 603-369-3212.

SUMMER 2019 | AROUND CONCORD

71

LAST WORD |

BY JAMES BUCHANAN

Respect

Fresh Berries MAKE COLD FRUIT PIE

F

or two summers I worked at a restaurant on Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. I worked six days a week, lived in a small unheated cabin, and loved every minute of it. I have so many wonderful memories, but the one that stands out best—and that I can make for my wife and kids—is the cold fruit pies we served.

A cold fruit pie is simply fresh berries placed in a precooked pie shell that is held together with the light addition of flavored glaze and refrigerated for about three hours.

Such a pie is simple, tastes of summer, and beautiful. Making this pie is also a form of therapy. You will smile. You will be loved.

Add a little vanilla ice cream and there is no better food on the planet. You could eat this as your only meal and live happily to 104. Guaranteed. (Almost.)

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Here’s the recipe: 1.

Prebake a pie shell (homemade or even store bought) and allow to cool in the fridge.

2. Pick, buy, or barter for more than enough fresh berries—strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries—to fill the pie shell.

3. Make a glaze by crushing 2 cups of berries for their juice and then add cold water to make 2 cups of juice/water mixture (feel free to juice more berries so you need to add less water). Pour the juice/ water mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and let simmer to reduce for about 3 minutes. While stirring, slowly add 1 cup of sugar.

Let thicken to a syrup as you stir. If it doesn’t thicken adequately, add a little bit of cornstarch. And if the liquid runs low, add a little more water.

4. Cool the glaze. It needs to be cold, which will also help it thicken further.

5. Pour the fresh berries into a mixing bowl. Add the cooled glaze (2 tablespoons at first and increase until all the fruit is glazed) and gently mix it into the berries so as not to damage them.

6. Fill the pie shell.

7. Allow to cool for an hour or so.

8. Serve with a dash of vanilla ice cream or whipping cream or whipped cream and perhaps a sprig of mint.

One of the Largest Landscape & Masonry Supply Yards in New England! Now has 2 locations!

NOW OPEN IN ALLENSTOWN!

Hudson Quarry, One of the Largest Landscape & Masonry Supply Yards in New England Has Expanded to the Greater Concord/Manchester Area!

78 Turnpike St. Allenstown, NH 603-485-4400 6 Candy Ln. Hudson, NH 603-882-5700

Paving Stones • Retaining Wall Block • Natural Stone Cultured Stone • Fire Pits • Granite & Decorative Stone Brick & Block • Landscape, Masonry Tools & More Since 1989, we’ve been dedicated to providing home-owners and landscape and masonry professionals a variety of quality materials at competitive prices.

Visit our indoor and outdoor displays where trained professionals will help you visualize and plan your next outdoor project.

Ask About Our Grand Opening Specials in Allenstown!

www.HudsonQuarry.com

Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 4:30pm • Saturday: 7:00am - 12:00pm

Around Concord One Monitor Drive Concord, NH 03301

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