Our Annual Christmas Wishbook!
A Perfect SouP for Hunting SeASon
by Eric N Gibson
Feast Columnist
Pasta Fagioli Soup is comfort food. With origins reminiscent of a peasant dish, Pasta e Fagioli Soup is a simple yet delicious combination of ground sausage and beans stewed in a fragrant, smooth stock made of herbs, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Accented with a classic mirepoix (onion, celery,
and carrot) and finished with a few handfuls of pasta allowed to gently simmer until tender, this soup warms both body and soul. A perfect soup for autumn, like the season, it too is a classic contradiction unto itself, seemingly light but hearty, bold yet delicate, the flavor is, in my estimation, both delicious and unique. It is the ideal finish after a day of hiking game
trails, fields, or woods.
At one time in my life the thought of fifty years ago, say nothing of one hundred years ago, seemed like ancient history. However, with age comes perspective. Having lived for a little over a half century now, fifty years past does not seem as long ago as it once did. And, quite honestly, events of
“Stay Upright: Tips For Fall Free Living”
On Friday, December 13th, Cornerstone VNA will be presenting a seminar at the Community Church of Alton at 1pm.
The seminar titled “Stay Upright : Tips For Fall Free Living” is all about keeping your balance as we age. “Learn how to improve your balance and prevent falls. The presentation will include statistics on falls as well as contributing factors in the home environment and physical changes as we age.
Learn ways to prevent issues surrounding physical changes and learn simple modifications to increase home safety. A simple balance assessment will be provided for those who wish to be tested.” The seminar will be led by Karen Krause of Cornerstone VNA.
The Community Church of Alton is located at 20 Church St in Alton NH. Parking is available in the church parking lot.
The church is handicapped accessible. There is no charge to attend the seminar.
The seminar will begin at 1pm and will be followed by coffee and light refreshments.
Simple
ERIC GIBSON PHOTO
Paul Bunyan Comes To Washington, D.C.
To The Editor:
Does anyone remember the most famous mythical American hero:
Paul Bunyan. The tall tales of Paul Bunyan include how he fashioned Puget Sound, the Grand Canyon and the Black Hills. Even the greatest American poets – Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg – could not resist extolling the legend of Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox and his best friend, Johnny Inkslinger.
On January 20,2025, Paul Bunyan will return to the White House, as the 47th President of the United States. President Trump has a dark forest to dismantle, known as the Deep State ( the Washington D.C. bureaucracy). President Trump brings with him many Johnny Inkslingers whom he will unleash to make Washington, D.C. accountable again.
President Trump will make America patriotic again!
Charles Bradley Laconia, NH.
Navy Needs Ships
To The Editor:
My U.S. Navy continues to be over stretched across the oceans of the world against our potential enemies of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. Our 11 carrier strike groups (CSGs) should be deploying for about six months at a time;
but are now deploying to the world’s hot spots on the order of nine months or more on a regular basis. We have around 285 naval vessels, when we need at least 300 ships to project U.S. Naval Power around the world.
George Will in his recent editorial points out we have only 50 attack submarines, but we need 66 to complete missions. In addition to securing the needed funding, a major problem is the lack of adequate ship building and maintenance facilities in the U.S. to service our submarine forces and our surface Navy. We are short three drydocks and the workers needed to man them. Additionally, we are not meeting our goals to recruit naval personnel. An increase of Navy ships from 285 to 300 would probably require an additional 25,000 to 40,000 personnel. Our defense budget needs to be increased from 3% of GDP to somewhere around 6% or 7% of GDP.
Donald Moskowitz Londonderry NH
Restore Congressional Power To Declare War
To The Editor:
Americans ought to ask, who is pulling the strings of President Biden who has instigated war with Putin? Ruining our Thanksgiving by firing 6 American made missiles at Russia, all but one intercepted; that
one hitting a munitions target. Now, the threat of escalation looms.
What’s wrong with this? Are we to believe that the majority in Congress are ignorant of the fact that Article I, Section 8 gives them the sole power to “declare war?” After which, the president becomes the Commander-in-Chief. Unfortunately, Congress has either been ignorant of this fact or they knowingly usurp their duty and are obedient to the Deep State War Hawks who laugh all way to the bank. It seems Congress has chosen the latter pursuing a moblike loyalty to the Deep State and send other men’s sons to war throughout every Administration since WWII. Hundreds-of-thousands of soldiers, America’s finest youth have died while Congress has been derelict in their duty to declare war. Thus, betraying American moms and dads.
What if China supplied missiles to Canada and then provided the technicians with security clearances to know the code to fire the missiles at the United States? Would we not be up-tight about that? This is what President Biden has done. He ignored congressional power to declare war (as all of our presidents since Pearl Harbor have). He didn’t even follow his predecessors’ illegitimate path to war by crawling on his hands and knees to UN/NATO for a resolution to go to war. It seems the game
See MAILBOAT on 26
This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication. Locally owned for 30 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories of the people and places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff.
Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 24,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 60,000 people reading this newspaper.
To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 603-366-8463.
Exploring ThE lEgEnd & lorE of our graniTE STaTE
December in tHe nortH country in tHe olDen DAyS
by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. Contributing Writer
Much has changed in the Granite State in the last 150 years or so, a fact I found evident in reading a newspaper that is dated December 12, 1872. The publication was a weekly one called The White Mountain Republic, published every Thursday in Littleton, New Hampshire, by Henry H. Metcalf, editor and proprietor, located on the Union Block of Littleton, New Hampshire.
Henry Harrison Metcalf, Editor of The White Mountain Republic newspaper and others, and Founder and Editor of The Granite Monthly magazine.
I was looking in that December 12th issue for information that would tell me something about Christmas celebrations in the state a century and a half ago, but a visual search only turned up one reference to Christmas in the four page paper, even with close to a half of that consisting of advertisements. Much space in the North Country paper was given to a message that appeared to give the State of the Union from the then President Ulysses Grant,and the ads and the limited New Hampshire news revealed some of what life was like in those days, particularly in northern New Hampshire.
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cHecking out tHe moDelS
by Brendan Smith Weirs Times Editor
When I was a young fullblooded American boy, I enjoyed checking out the models.
Often they were on the pages of magazines that my mother or sisters happened to like, though the stories in these magazines weren’t of any interest to me. Still, I pretended, if I was busted looking at these magazines, that I was only really interested in the articles.
Of course, it didn’t matter to me if the models were European or North American, they were all fine with me, but I certainly would never let on that I was looking at them.
Today, as an older man, I still look at the models, but now with much more interest. In fact, I might prefer the European models one day and the North American models the next. It really depends on the day.
The models I now focus on as winter approaches aren’t in magazines, but on television. In fact, I will often gaze at these models intently, studying their every move, often with my loving wife by my side. She will study them as well. In fact, I know many other folks who are also very interested in these models and will admit loudly.
These models are, of course, the different scenarios of weather patterns that may or may not affect our lives over the next week. My appreciation for the North American or European models truly depends on the way they move.
I don’t pay as much attention to the models in the summer. It was only in that I began to pay attention again. The weather patterns had been fairly quiet but the local weatherman was
on the news, with both of his models and it was obvious that the season was here once again.
The weatherman made a point in letting us know that at this point his two models couldn’t agree on anything.
The European model insisted we were in for a snowy, messy Thanksgiving and the North American model claimed that the European model did not know what she was talking about. The weatherman, most likely working from past experience, didn’t take sides, but decided to keep the peace by showed both points of view and claimed it “was too early to tell” which model was correct.
Depending on which model you were rooting for in this battle, it was more than clear that something was going to happen. It was obvious that some of us would be overcome with feelings of despair or celebration once it became more certain which model was correct.
Some folks were planning on traveling for Thanksgiving or having folks drive to have Thanksgiving with them were rooting for the North American model which was sending the storm away, while those who work in businesses that depend on good amounts of snow, as well as those anxious to get out their skis and snowboards, were rooting for the European model to prove her colleague wrong.
We watch the weather reports like they are election night returns; both parties waiting and hoping. Their reactions will differ dramatically over the end results. The anti- European model crowd throwing things at their TV screen when the latest update shows a probable direct hit, while the European model fans break out their Thanksgiving champagne early and proceed to do a happy dance and claim they really have nothing against the North American
model and her failure since they know full well that someday in the not too distant future they may have to switch camps and embrace her forecast while shedding their tenuous relation with the European model.
There have been the rare instances in the past when the anti-snow crowd went to bed feeling defeated that their preferred model would lose out, only to awake to find that some kind of weird jet stream that no one noticed (or so the forecasters will later claim) showed up at the last minute like a basket of mail-in ballots and that foot of snow that had seemed a sure thing was now to be no more than a dusting to an inch with the pro snow crowd claiming foul.
When the news that these two models were both approaching the area, both parties came to life in hoping for the best. No longer were other news stories of the day that important. This was the real thig
Now that it is over, it proved that neither of the models scored a decisive victory as some parts of New Hampshire went for the European model and saw significant snow, while other parts saw the North American model win out and saw no more thana dusting to an inch, or even just rain. Neither model was a clear winner. (As I write this some towns are still counting snow totals.)
But, like it or not, the season for checking out the models is here once again and I, like most of you, will hear of an impending snow event and will turn on the TV and follow the European and North American models as they make their way across the country, following their every step.
As far as which one I was rooting for last week, I thought that the North American model looked pretty good, and my wife agreed.
“I Really Only Did It For The SocksStories & Thoughts On Aging”
Order your autographed copy today for $16.99 plus $3 shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like.) Make out checks or money orders for $19.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to:
Socks Book c/o Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com (Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)
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Really Only Did It For The SocksStories & Thoughts On Aging”
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Order your autographed copy today for $16.99 plus $3 shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like.) Make out checks or money orders for $19.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Socks Book c/o Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com (Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)
Letters From God
QUESTION What Do You Think Of The Deportation Of Illegal Inhabitants
I have written of this problem before and this is a good time to revisit this massive problem with respect to the mass deportation of illegal inhabitants. I grieve at the suffering and death that has ensued since your President and his party unilaterally and illegally broke the laws established in your country with respect to immigration. “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone.” (Ezekiel 18:32). Unfortunately, there are further significant and painful consequences in order to deal with the problems created by this lawless and foolish policy. Dealing with mass deportation will have negative consequences for your lawful citizenry, who will bear the cost of this massive project. It will also adversely affect those who are illegal but worthy of legal status. On the other hand, it will have a positive impact by liberating your country from those who have entered your country with a desire to undermine or even destroy it. Bear in mind that the issue isn’t immigration but illegal immigration. It isn’t caring for the needs of others around the world but using this premise as a facade to break laws in order to advance one’s political power and capital, at the risk of harming your country. When motives are nefarious and laws are broken in order to advance a selfserving political policy, you should expect that the consequences will boomerang back on you and do great damage on all concerned.
Mass deportation is vital to weed out any and all who entered your country without being vetted. Your country has a history in which it produced a Constitution upon which you “constitute” or base your policies on values and laws essential for creating the general welfare of its citizenry. To not vet those entering illegally is to expose your country to millions who may not desire to follow those established values and even worse, those who desire to destroy them. Yet because they have entered without this vital process to determine their allegiance to your values, you have no idea whether they will enhance or destroy those values. When I established my chosen people, the Jewish people, to be those who would be privileged to bring my laws, values and even my son Jesus, the Messiah, into the world, it was imperative that they preserve those laws and values when faced with immigration of non-Jews. Every law I gave was “for their good,” because I know what brings life and what brings death. It didn’t mean no immigration but lawful and vetted immigration that was able to ascertain the legitimacy of those seeking asylum as well as their ability and desire to preserve the values I established with them. When they failed to follow my counsel, laws, values and goals, my people were polluted with values that brought death. Instead of being a people leading others to me and to life, they led them away from me and from life. At times they were so polluted with values that were anti-
Letters From God
thetical to my laws and values, I had to discipline and punish them by allowing attacks on their sovereignty and safety by warring enemies. (Read the book of Judges.) At other times I brought plagues and other natural disasters to cause them to cease and desist from practicing the lawless values adopted from the illegal inhabitants welcomed without being vetted. (Read the book of Joel.) At other times my people became so inundated with the godless practices of the unvetted inhabitants among them, that I called for other nations like Assyria, Babylon, Greece and Rome to sweep them out of their own homeland and into captivity. You could only imagine the devastating pain experienced by these ruthless forces as a result of assimilating with unvetted and illegal inhabitants who instead of adopting my laws and values, led my people to established ones that brought my judgment. (Read the books of 1st and 2nd Kings.)
When Nehemiah restored my values and laws to my people after returning from over 70 years of captivity in Persia, the people committed themselves to follow them faithfully (Nehemiah chapters 8,9). When he left to return to serve the King of Persia, unfaithful and lawless leaders allowed actual enemies of my people as well as large numbers of unvetted inhabitants to assimilate into Israel, introducing their laws and values (Nehemiah 13:1-5). Their practices became abhorrent to me and polluted my people with practices that were counterproductive to the
general welfare of the people. They began to practice the very things that led to their captivity from which they had just returned. When Nehemiah returned after years of being away, he discovered that all my laws and values were being broken and society was being torn apart. He faithfully moved to remove those who did not belong among my people and who brought values and laws that, if left unchanged, would lead once again to their demise (Nehemiah 13:631).
Your country is experiencing severe consequences for the illegal policies that have allowed your laws and values to be eroded and destroyed. Sadly, it has cost you economically, in the billions, your safety and security as untold numbers have suffered rape, destruction of property, violent acts, and even death, including fentanyl drug death, at the hands of unvetted illegal inhabitants. It is time to do the hard and painful thing and remove all who have not been brought into your country according to lawful standards and policies. Then, care for those around the world who need to be welcomed and bring aliens to build your vision established in history, according to your constitution and values. Then, ensure that they become an American citizen and not a freeloader, anarchist, criminal or lawless one, like your President, his party and their policies. I love you, God
These letters are written by Rev. Dr. Sam Hollo of Alton, NH
NH Area Contact: Andrew Blanchard 603-475-0497
A WorlD of leverAge ProPerty rigHtS
by Ben Shapiro Syndicated Columnist
President-elect
Donald Trump understands, better than any recent American president, one simple rule when it comes to dealing with the world: Leverage matters and ought to be applied to those who oppose American interests. Trump believes, for example, that tariffs ought to be used to threaten those who would close their markets to American products or flood America with fentanyl or manipulate the pricing system to their own benefit. He believes that maximum pressure ought to be unleashed on countries who seek to destabilize vital strategic
regions to their own ends. And he is correct.
Trump has often been characterized as a bully, both publicly and privately. But the reality of the world is simple: Someone will be doing the bullying, and someone will be bullied. The only question is which party is which. It turns out that if America ceases to use leverage against its enemies, or to pressure neutral countries to align more solidly with it, our enemies will use their leverage to do what they want. China isn’t shy about its use of power in the world; neither are Russia or Iran. Xi Jinping has never apologized for his aggressive use of military threat against the Philippines or Taiwan; he has never shied away from the use of economic sticks and carrots against weaker
See SHAPIRO on 29
by John Stossel Syndicated Columnist
As we gathered this Thanksgiving, it was easy to take abundance for granted. Leftovers are practically guaranteed. It wasn’t always this way. For most of history, there were no Thanksgiving feasts. Hunger, if not starvation, was the norm.
Today, supermarkets are stocked with exotic foods from all over the world. Most of it is more affordable than ever. Even after President Joe Biden’s 8% inflation, Americans spend less than 12% of our income on food, half of what they spent 100 years ago.
ukrAine’S miSSileS
by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist
PARIS - There’s a strange unease in Europe. Part of it reflects the misplaced nervousness reacting to Donald Trump’s re-election as the American President. Naturally there’s the predictable political nail biting that a new virulent and assertive U.S. Administration will be tough on European trade deficits as well as not instinctively committed to writing blank checks for Ukrainian military aid. The wider strategic issue concerns Ukraine’s future and the crescendo of military escalation on both sides to step up, or decisively wind up the war before the end of the lame
duck Biden Administration.
Timing is everything. Now in the twilight of the Biden Administration, the White House is pushing and pressuring a last minute gambit to stabilize Ukraine’s teetering military fortunes. Biden has given the green light to Kyiv to use long range U.S. ATACMS missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russian territory. Equally the White House is pressuring the European NATO allies, especially Germany, to authorize sending Taurus cruise missiles to assist Ukraine.
Most European leaders are decidedly apprehensive during this political interregnum between the end of Joe Biden’s term and the start of a new U.S. Administration which promises to end the war in Ukraine. Thus both Washington and Moscow are feverishly postur -
Why?
Because free markets happened. Capitalism happened.
When there is rule of law and private property, and people feel secure that no thief or government will take their property, farmers find new ways to grow more on less land. Greedy entrepreneurs lower costs and deliver goods faster. Consumers have better options.
Yet today many Americans trash capitalism, demanding government “fixes” to make sure everyone gets equal amounts of this and that.
But it’s in countries with the most government intervention where there are empty store shelves and hungrier people.
In socialist Venezuela, affordable food is hard to find.
See STOSSEL on 28
of november
ing to strengthen their military position in Ukraine before the guns presumably fall silent. Presumably.
It took Trump’s reelection to focus on, if not jolt “peak level” support for Ukraine from the Europeans before the new American President assumes power in January.
But Biden’s characteristic indecisiveness in Ukraine is a culprit; indeed Washington has supplied billions in military and economic aid for embattled Ukraine. But each step was gauged to reacting to Russian military advances rather than shifting to an offensive mode. Washington’s endemic dilly-dallying over sending F-16 jets (from NATO states) to offset Russian air power, the vexing indecision over finally sending U.S. Abrams , German Leopard and British Challeng-
er tanks to counter Russia’s heavy armored advantage, underscore the fog of indecision. Now come the missiles!
The British and the French already wanted to deploy longer range missiles, but Washington called for refrain. That actually made sense given the risks in widening a war against a nuclear power. Germany hesitated too, but now Biden is pushing Berlin’s collapsed Social Democratic government to send cruise missiles to Kyiv’s arsenal. Too little, too late?
The French daily Le Figaro quotes a ranking French diplomat,“The Americans are now doing what they should have done at the beginning of the war, but the course of the war will not be changed by these missiles, it’s too late.”
WEIRS TIMES’ BEER FINDER
ACKERLY’S
Grill & Galley
83 Main Street, Alton
603.875.3383
Akerlysgrillandgalleyrestaurant.com
Stoneface - IPA
Moat Mtn. - Blueberry
Great Rhythm - Pale Ale
Baxter - Coastal Haze
603 - Amber Ale
COPPER KETTLE
TAVERN
At Hart’s Turkey Farm
Restaurant
233 D.W. Hwy, Meredith
603.279.6212
hartsturkeyfarm.com
Fiddlehead - IPA
Guinness
Tuckerman Pale Ale
Allagash - White
Shipyard - Pumkinhead
+6 More On Tap
D.A. LONG TAVERN
At Funspot
579 Endicott St N., Weirs
603.366.4377 funspotnh.com
Founders - KBS (2019 vintage)
Stoneface - RIS 2024 Release
Tuckerman - Winter Ale
Heavy Reel - Coastline
Concord - Squirrel Fights
Shipyard - Boatload
+6 More On Tap
FOSTER’S TAVERN
403 Main Street
Alton Bay, NH
603-875-1234
fosterstavernbythebay.com
Tuckerman pale ale
Aqua Vue Haze
Allagash white
Maine Lunch
Guinness
Stoneface IPA
+10 More On Tap
JOHNSON’S TAPHOUSE
At Johnson’s Seafood & Steak
69 Rt 11, New Durham
603.859.7500
eatatjohnsons.com/ newdurham
Lone Pine -Brightside
Widowmaker -Blue Comet
Shipyard -Smashed
Pumpkin
Jack Abby -Red Tape
Muddy Road -1762 Porter
Northwoods -Autumn Buzz
+30 More On Tap
MORRISSEYS’
Porch & Pub
286 S. Main St., Wolfeboro
603.569-3662
Morrisseysfrontporch.com
Morrisseys’ 20 Year Lager by Great North Smithwick’s
Guinness Harp
Concord Craft Safe Space +11 More On Tap
PATRICK’S PUB
18 Weirs Rd., Gilford
603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com
Patrick’s Slainte House Ale
Great North - Moose Juice
Guinness
Clown Shoes - Bubble Head
603 - Winni Amber Ale
Tuckerman - Pale Ale
+9 More On Tap
NEW BEER LOCATION!
PUB 23
6 East Side Drive, Alton Bay,NH
603-875-2110
Tuckerman - Winter Ale
Maine Beer - Lunch
Michelob Ultra
Bud light
Budweiser
Blue Moon
NEW BEER LOCATION!
THE WITCHES BREW PUB
At The Craft Beer Xchange
59 Doe Ave., Weirs Beach
603.409.9344
FB @craftbeerxchange
Jack’s Abby – Blood Orange
Wheat
Golden Rod – Mango Cart
1911 – Raspberry Cider
Kettlehead – Dreamstate
Able Ebenezer – Lady of the Lake Lager
Last Chair – Powder Bear
+30 More On Tap
by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer
Alert readers know this columnist spends a lot of time on the west coast, most recently Portland, Oregon, where last week’s Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated with extended family. Earlier columns on Portland’s Trail Blazers or the city’s women’s sports bar attest to my Beaver State cred.
Which brings us to the University of Oregon football Ducks.
The Ducks entered the final weekend of the 2024 regular season as college football’s lone unbeaten team.
Going into last Saturday’s regular season finale with Washington, Oregon was 11-0 for the second time in program history, with a second consecutive 11win season. The Ducks remain the Number 1 ranked team in the nation, having earned the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings all year. Oregon clinched a spot in the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game with its win over Wisconsin on Nov. 16.
I thought of trying to get to Autzen Stadium in Eugene last Saturday for the Washington game, but the stadium only holds 54,000 and was naturally sold out.
As a former Sports Information Director and a sports columnist, I considered contacting the OU SID for a pass.
oregon DuckS
After all, the Trail Blazers did tender me credentials for a Chicago Bulls game. But I opted not to ask. I’d feel like a front-running fish swimming in water reserved for the Ducks and their fervent followers.
I checked the Duck roster for any possible Granite State connections, but most of the players were from out west. Of course. The closest football Duck to N.H, was a player from Harlem.
But not that long ago there was a strong N.H. connection to the Eugene football factory. Manchester’s Chip Kelly was Oregon head coach from 2009-2012, leading the Ducks to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. Kelly went on to coach the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-15 and then the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. Then in 2018 Chip returned to the college ranks to coach UCLA for six seasons before becoming Ohio State’s offensive coordinator this year.
(Note: Kelly’s Ohio
State offense was averaging 42 points per game going into last Saturday’s rivalry game with Michigan. Earlier, in an October battle of undefeated teams, Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 in Eugene.)
During the late 70’s Kelly played ice hockey and basketball at Manchester’s Central High School. From 1981-84 he was a defensive back at UNH.
Anyway, before flying back to New England, I considered acquiring some Oregon Duck swag. Could I jump on the Duck bandwagon?
Everyone loves a winner, and N.H. doesn’t have a Division 1A FBS team. The closest such program is Boston College’s, and for some reason I’ve never been all that into the BC Eagles—except for Doug Flutie’s senior year. But truth be told I’ve always been a “subway” alum of Notre Dame. Switching to Oregon and abandoning the Fighting Irish would be akin to switching from being a Patriots fan to a Bills
fan.
So I returned to N.H. “swag-less.”
But as a part-time Oregonian, when it comes to the FBS teams playing for a national title, there’s no doubt who I’ll be pulling for.
Go Ducks!
Sports Quiz
What Oregon State basketball player led his team to the 1963 NCAA Final Four right after winning the 1962 Heisman Trophy? (Answer follows)
Born Today
That is to say, sports standouts born on December 5 include 1970 Heisman Trophy winner and former Patriot quarterback Jim Plunkett (1947) and Hall of Fame football wide receiver Art Monk (1957.)
Sports Quote
“Eugene is located in western Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything.” –columnist Dave Barry
Sports Quiz Answer Terry Baker
State Representative Mike Moffett was a Sports Management Professor for Plymouth State University and NHTIConcord. He co-authored the award-winning “Fahim Speaks: Between Two Worlds: A Hollywood Actor’s Journey as a U.S. Marine Translator through Afghanistan” which is available on Amazon.com. His e-mail address is mchlmoffett@ yahoo.com.
8
bretton WooDS
firSt oPen for Skiing & SnoWboArDing
Becca and I met at Bretton Woods just after lunchtime. It was Bretton Woods’ opening day, Saturday November 16th. Bretton Woods was the first ski area to open in New Hampshire this season.
Their snow report said that the Learning Center Quad and the Zephyr High-Speed Quad would be spinning. Each lift would provide access to one trail.
We rationalized it would be good to show up later than opening bell because we wouldn’t have to be part of the frenzy of getting first tracks. Most people that start early quit by noon on the first day.
I really do like being there when the lift opens but I didn’t really have my act together to make it for the first tracks. We both spent the morning dusting off and gathering up our equipment.
The snow made a stripe down the mountain on the Range View Trail that stretched between the snow guns to the Zephyr- chair’s lift towers. Skiers and snowboarders looked like moving colored sprinkles against the white backdrop.
Inside the lodge there seemed to be more people inside than outside. Some were taking off their boots and others were putting them on.
Opening Day at Bretton Woods. Becca on her snowboard heads down the Range View Trail. Lots of man-made snow covers the slope to make it possible for us to go skiing and snowboarding. Hopefully Mother Nature is going to add a lot more snow to add to the base and make it possible to open more trails. The Omni Mount Washington Resort’s annual “Say Goodnight to Hunger” food drive offered a lift ticket discount to skiers and riders that donated canned goods--a lot of food was collected for local food pantries. Check out the Skyway Gondola--it isn’t just for skiers and snowboarders. All are welcome to ride the gondola to the Rosebrook Lodge (be sure to dress warm for winter weather) and enjoy the grand mountain vista while enjoying good food and beverages. BrettonWoods.com
We went to the customer service desk. The resort’s annual “Say Goodnight to Hunger” food drive offered a discount on the lift ticket price in exchange for a can of food. On the table there was a good collection of non-perishable items.
Becca added our cans
of chicken and corned beef hash to the pile.
Bretton Woods is now using RIF ticketing. The cards issued are reloadable on-line. Buying passes on-line early now makes it easier to get the best price. First time users are then able to get their already loaded RFID
card at a Pick Up Box kiosk.
We put on our boots and headed to the lift. I noticed that over at the Learning Center Quad that a ski lesson was taking place. Impressive that some hotel guests were learning to ski on the first day
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Strange But True
by Lucie Winborne Syndicated Columnist
* As part of David Hasselhoff’s divorce settlement, he kept possession of the nickname “Hoff” and the catchphrase “Don’t Hassle the Hoff.”
* The fuller your refrigerator, the more energy-efficient it is.
* Dr. Seuss coined the word “nerd.” The term originated in the 1950 book “If I Ran
the Zoo.” The sentence goes: “And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Ka-Troo. And bring back an IT-KUTCH, a PREEP and a PROO, a NERKLE, NERD, and a SEERSUCKER, too!”
* Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr was given a perpetual supply of beer piped into his house.
* Between 1848 and 1850, the population of San Francisco grew
See STRANGE on 11
from 900 to 35,000 people thanks to the Gold Rush.
* During his World War II service, LBJ was due to fly in the observation seat of the B-26 bomber Wabash Cannonball. However, he was replaced when he had to go to the toilet before takeoff. The Wabash Cannonball was shot down during that flight over New Guinea with no survivors.
* A Chinese millionaire sold canned air to people on the streets to raise awareness of air pollution and then donated the money to charity.
* Newborn babies can only see in black and white for a few months.
* Seventy percent of the dirt on your clothes is invisible.
* In “The Empire Strikes Back,” an extra can be seen running with what appears to be an ice cream maker. The character became legendary among fans, and was eventually given a name (Willrow Hood) and a backstory.
* Some scientists believe that dogs can tell when you’re coming home by how much of your scent is left in the house.
* In 1674, the Women’s Petition Against Coffee claimed the beverage was turning British men into “useless corpse[s]” and proposed
a ban on it for anyone under the age of 60.
* Eugene V. Debs ran for president in 1920 while serving a prison sentence in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for his protests against
World War I. He still captured nearly 1 million votes.
* Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your mouth
BIRDS For The
New England’s Wild Birds & Their Habitats
A rAre SigHting
by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer
My usual walk at a park near my home starts with a slight downhill trail abutting a huge field. The trail soon branches off in two directions: right leads into the woods, and left takes you along a wide trail with brushy habitat on either side.
Nine times out of ten, I take the trail to the left. The brushy habitat is home to a greater number and variety of birds than the narrow trail through the woods. While the left trail is rather wide, approximately 15 feet, the brush on either side is tall and thick and blocks the view of what lies immediately on either side.
out of that six-foot gap in the brush.
There is one spot along the trail, however, where the brush is matted down, exposing a crumbled rock wall and an expansive view of the field. For the adventurous, this spot also offers a chance to gingerly walk on the matted-down brush, step on some of the fallen rocks from the wall and jump down into the field on the other side.
The opening is maybe six feet wide. So, along the entire length of the trail, there is a six-footwide gap to see into the field. Most of what happens in the field, therefore, is invisible to those on the trail − unless one gets lucky and something happens as they walk by that tiny
gap in the brush. Last week, the stars aligned on my walk, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement in the field about 50 yards away. Like most parks, this one is popular with dogwalkers and many of them let their pets run off leash. My immediate reaction was that it was a large- or mediumsized dog happily running through the field. It didn’t take long to realize it wasn’t a pet but rather a coyote trotting through the field. Coyotes are fairly common throughout New England, but it is rare that I spot one. I hear them more often than I see them. My window for photographing the coyote was short and closing fast as the impressive animal trotted from right to left and was about to disappear
I didn’t have time to adjust settings or fiddle with the camera at all. I took off the lens cap, extended the zoom as far as it would go, put my faith in the autofocus and shot a few frames. The opportunity to photograph the animal lasted about five seconds. Then, I stepped through the matted brush and onto one of the big rocks from the wall and watched as the coyote disappeared into the distance.
The results of the photos were not great, but I was satisfied considering the few seconds I had to get the shot. I was also thankful to have the opportunity at all. What are the odds that the coyote would be running through the field at the
same time I got to that small gap in the brush along the trail?
The experience made me wonder what I miss in the field when I’m flanked by tall brush along the majority of the trail. So much of amateur wildlife photography is timing and luck. Professional photographers can spend days or weeks or months studying their quarry and camping out for the right shot. Amateurs, like me, take the opportunities to get out there when we can between job and family commitments.
I’m not saying it’s all luck for us. Certainly, knowledge of wildlife behavior, basic camera skills, and putting in the time to get to know local parks are important components, but a little luck never hurts either.
A coyote runs through a field in New England last week.
cArter mountAin brASS bAnD cHriStmAS concert
Kick off the Christmas season with Carter Mountain Brass Band’s “’Tis the Season…”, Friday, Dec.13th at 7:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Gilford. Conductor, Debbi Gibson, has chosen a program that features music from the Classical period to the Contemporary, including traditional Christmas carols. Also included is the popular audience-participation sing-along. As an extra bonus, the music will be interspersed with Christmas poems and stories making for a lovely evening of music and mirth.
Named for Carter Mountain in New Hampton, NH, this band reflects the rich heritage of brass music from the 16th century through the 19th century and into the present day’s modern music.
Based in Gilford, NH,
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the Band presents a series of summer concerts each year as well as a fall concert and Christmas concerts. They have appeared on bandstands throughout New Hampshire, as well as in Maine and Boston.
Following the concert a special dessert will be served in the church’s Fellowship Hall. A donation of $10 (Students free) is requested at the door. The church is located at 18 Wesley Way (off Rt 11A) near the 3-11 bypass in Gilford NH. Church phone (603) 524-3289.
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mix cASH & cAnS
Mix 94.1fm presents its 38th annual Cash-and-Cans money and food drive for the holidays now through December 13. The fundraiser, started by Mix 94.1fm’s Fred Caruso in 1987, raises food and money for a number of central New Hampshire charitable organizations, from food pantries to soup kitchens to toys-fortots programs.
Sunday December 8th, it’s the annual Funspot Token Gift Card Fundraiser at Funspot, Weirs Beach from Noon-3pm. “We’re very excited to have Funspot and the Lawton Family involved once again with year’s Cash & Cans campaign. They are always there to support so many community events,” Caruso said. For a minimum ten dollar donation to Cash & Cans, you’ll receive a ten dollar Funspot gift card; donate twenty dollars, get a twenty gift card; donate fifty, get fifty, and there’s no limit! “It really is a winwin for everyone. Funspot gift cards make great gifts and stocking stuffers and your donation benefits Cash & Cans.”
During the Cash and Cans campaign, Caruso and morning co-host Amy Bates will be accepting monetary and non-perishable food donations with 100% of the proceeds remaining here in our central New Hampshire community. “We live in a wonderful area, neighbors helping neighbors, friends helping friends, people helping people they’ve never even met. That’s
what Cash-and-Cans is all about,” said Caruso. A complete Cash and Cans broadcast schedule is available at www.mix941fm. com. Donations can also be made through the mail. Please make checks payable to Mix Cash-and-Cans and mail to Mix 94.1fm, PO Box 99, Franklin, NH 03235. Or Venmo, @
Mixcashandcans. For more information about the Cash & Cans program email Caruso at fred@mix941fm.com. Mix Cash & Cans is a public service of Mix 94.1fm, a locally owned and operated Northeast Communications radio station.
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one hundred years ago too have lost some of their “distance”. Add to this the amount of photographs, artifacts, articles, and keepsakes that have survived from the dawn of the twentieth century and history becomes a much more vivid, tangible, reality in comparison to centuries past.
If we take a moment to ponder, before the turn of the twentieth century outdoor photography was left to the pioneers of the medium. People like Matthew Brady traveled with cumbersome wagon loads of equipment, chemicals, and glass plates in an attempt to capture history as it was made. Too, during this period, studios dedicated to the art of capturing peoples images were cropping up in nearly every city and town. From the dour statesmen to the celebrated hero, and even the commoner
dressed in their best suit of clothes; all were immortalized in sour repose. The reason for such conservative expressions? Perhaps a testament to poor dental hygiene? More likely due to their extreme discomfort of having been “hobbled”, “trussed”, or otherwise restrained in some manner while awaiting a lengthy exposure time, their image burned onto a negative plate for all eternity.
With the dawn of the twentieth century came innovation. In 1900 Eastman Kodak introduced the Brownie camera. With a little black pasteboard cube, nary bigger than a soup mug, fitted with a simple lens and trip mechanism, “Kodak” put affordable photography in the hands of the neophyte. Some claim that it was so easy to use, the Brownie, at the cost of $1.00 (about $37.00 in 2023), was actually marketed to children.
But the Brownie was far from a toy and the results were anything but child’s play. With a Brownie along for the adventure, the average person was now capturing everyday life as it happened.
A century ago (1924) my grandparents, along with my great aunt and great uncle, were in the hospitality trade. They traveled the east coast from New Hampshire to Florida working in a number of resorts and grand hotels. My grandfather was a chef, “Uncle Andy” a jack of all trades, and the sisters (Stella and Eva)
worked as domestics or waitstaff. With roots here in the northeast, the two couples would take their vacation, a few weeks during hunting season each fall, before traveling back down the eastern seaboard. Renting a cabin in Pittsburg NH, several of my grandmother’s twelve siblings, coming south of the border from New Brunswick, would meet their sisters and their beaus. The eldest sister, a spinster, was always sent along as a chaperone for the younger siblings. At that time it was still frowned upon for young single females of proper upbringing to
A photo of my grandmother, Stella Gibson with her bird and 28ga.
left alone in the presence of mixed company.
During the week or two spent in the woods of Pittsburg all manner of game was taken, much of it for the daily table. For both the “boys” and the “girls” a good day was to rise early and face the day ahead with a mug of strong black coffee and perhaps a filling breakfast of beans, bread, bacon and griddle cakes. With bellies full, an apple, a wedge of cheese, and a hunk of bread were wrapped, tucked into a pocket of their hunting coat and each would head out for a morning hunt. The boys, rifles in hand, were after deer. The girls, with their shotguns, were to bag small game for the dinner board.
Family lore dictates that my grandmother and at least one of her sisters were cracker jack shots. Old photo’s show Grammy, dressed in period hunting attire, looking all business with sleeves rolled back, long pants tucked into knee high wool socks and high laced boots. Her single shot 28 gauge was in one hand and a game bird was in the other. Not to be outdone, her baby sister Eva, using her 20 gauge, would take two birds with one shot. “I had only seen the one in the foreground”, she told me, “but when I went to retrieve the partridge I found two dead birds.” With these birds added to the larder, Bill (my grandfather) was sure to place a feast upon the table.
In the early 1980’s I remember my Great Aunt Eve began the monumental task of cleaning out her
PASTA e FAGIOLI SOUP
SERVINGS 8-12
Portions TIME: Varies WIth Cooking Method
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Ground Mild Italian Sausage
1 Medium Onion diced
2 Lg. Carrots diced
3 Stalks Celery diced
10 cups chicken stock or broth
1 can Tomato Paste
1 can Diced Tomatoes (op -
tional)
2 cans Red Kidney Beans
1 tsp. Salt (less if using salted stock or broth)
½ tsp. Black Pepper
2 Tbsp. Mixed Italian Seasonings
2 cups Dilettante Pasta
PREPARATION
- In a large stock pot brown the mild italian sausage, separate fat from the meat and hold a tablespoon of fat in reserve in the pot.
- Add the diced onion, carrot, and celery to the fat in the stock pot and saute until fragrant. Do not brown.
- Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, stir to combine and add the salt, pepper, and Mixed Italian Seasonings. Add the beans and diced tomatoes (if desired) and bring to a simmer.
- Add the pasta and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked through and tender.
- Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
- Serve hot with warm crusted artisan bread or rolls.
* This can be done in the slow cooker on a low setting. Add the pasta about one hour before serving and turn up the temperature to ensure the pasta is cooked through.
house. Uncle Andy had recently passed away and the home was filled with a lifetime of memories. She momentarily disappeared into a side room and came back with a shotgun, her shotgun (a 20 gauge), held by the barrel straight up, just as she had held it, posing for pictures of 60 years before. She handed it to my dad, asking him to take care of it for her. “With my hunting days well behind me, I will not be needing it any longer.” At my young age, the finality of her words were lost on me.
Sold as utility grade firearms of the time, both of their shotguns were no frills, working class, game getters that served a purpose in capable hands. Even today, at over one hundred years old, neither are considered valuable or desirable on the
collector market. Like most centenarians, they were retired decades ago, and now serve as docents, tangible links in preserving the past.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup is the perfect indulgence after a long cold day in the woods. It is the kind of soup that does equally well when started in a skillet and then left on low in a crock pot before going out the door. Or, upon your return, prepared in a stock pot on the stove. With ground sausage meat browned and your trio of vegetables sauteed in a few teaspoons of the sausage fat, this is combined with beans and the makings of a hearty smooth broth. If using the crock pot, in the afternoon, chilled to the bone from your day in the woods, as you walk in the door the aroma that awaits you can -
not be surpassed. A bouquet of Italian seasonings: sage, marjoram, oregano, mixed with that unmistakable smell of chicken stock and tomato just whets the appetite. You need only to toss a few handfuls of pasta into the crock pot and set it to high. With the coffee brewed, the gear put away, and you have cleaned up from your day afield, dinner is ready.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup, I think you will agree, is at its best when served on a cold autumn eve with a heaping full of favorite stories: people, places, and memorable pastimes. Or perhaps it is ideal for just reminiscing over the Simple Feast.
Enjoy!
The one clear indication in the Dec. 12th newspaper that Christmas Day was near was the news that the Village Library Association would hold a Christmas Festival in Union Hall on the evening of December 25th. The proceeds of the Festival were to go towards purchasing books for the library, which operated under the direction of a private corporation.
The newspaper, while noting the value of the library, recommended that the establishment of a free public library would be an asset to Littleton’s young people, not only providing good books for them to read, but also “a pleasant and suitable place of resort in the form of “a large and well-furnished reading room.”
The paper opined that such would “ do more than anything else to properly direct and shape the character
of the rising generation in our midst,” and contribute “to the work necessary to keep our young people in the way they should go.”
The 1872 news contained items of people moving to western areas of the country. S.H.
Gordon of Landaff was selling his property at auction “preparatory to moving west.” In Bath, “the village choir gave a festival for the benefit of their leader, Mr. J.C. Walker, who was about to move West with Iowa as his
ton, Frank H. Palmer, advertised that he was opening a shop where he would paint carriages and sleighs “in the very best manner, and at the lowest living prices, on short notice.” Lumbering operations were said to have had big plans for the winter with the snow expected to remain to facilitate those activities.
In that December of 1872 the fishing schooner Addison Gilbert brought a one hundred pound seal that had got caught in its trawl line into Portsmouth. Portsmouth also had cases of small pox among its population,
chosen destination. Winter was in progress with large quantities of snow having fallen in a few days, blocking the roads. In Lisbon, a Mr. Foster Hall was driving his horse drawn sleigh with his little daughter as a passenger near the train depot, and his horse was frightened by the train cars and ran away. Mr. Foster and his daughter, though unhurt, were thrown out of the sleigh, but the horse smashed the sleigh and itself against a blacksmith shop with such force that the horse suffered a fatal injury.
A painter in Little -
and all diseases of the throat and lungs,” Dr. C.C. Toplift of Fisherville, NH, sold his trade mark Syrup of Tar.
North Country folk were not enticed by the words “Christmas presents” in the newspaper they read two weeks before Christmas, but 1872 items for sale included sewing machines like the Elias Howe sewing machine sold by E. Flint on Main Street in Littleton, and the Home Shuttle Sewing Machine, sold by Ana Hildreth in Sugar Hill, which was advertised as “the cheapest machine ever offered the public and as good as the best.”
as did Franklin.
Of local interest was the visit of one of Brigham Young’s wives, formerly Harriet Amelia Folsom, to her former home city of Portsmouth. The Mountain Republic had a number of ads for pills and elixirs for one’s ailments,including Pike’s toothache drops promising to cure in one minute, and “the best physic known,” a substitute for castor oil, that “children cry for,” Pitcher’s Castoria. And for those who needed something to cure “coughs, colds, croup, bronchitis, asthma, spitting of blood, consumption,
Speaking of cheap, the newspaper reader was invited to “Buy Groceries Cheap” at A.E. Watson’s on Mill Street, or visit Parker’s “Cheap Clothing Store” for Fall and Winter wear. Alonzo Weeks from Main Street in Littleton advertised that he would sell everything in the boot and shoe line from the heaviest men’s boots to the smallest children’s slippers at the lowest living rates for cash. Most of the advertisers didn’t list prices, but Strauss Brothers from Concord was selling all wool men’s cassimere suits for $12, men’s heavy double-breasted overcoats at $5, undershirts and drawers for 50 cents, and brown duck overalls for 65 cents. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, an organization for the importing of teas direct from the place of growth, was advertising for agents in that December of 1872.
On December 7th the Board of Agriculture met at the town hall in Plymouth with Col.
From the White Mountain Republic.
Ad from the White Mountain Republic, Dec. 12,1872.
David Clough of Canterbury giving a speech about his method of farming, and how he cleared 20 acres of land and raised 2,000 bushels of ears of corn. I find elsewhere that Col. David M. Clough was known as the “Corn King.” Mr. Kidder of Manchester spoke of raising potatoes and the use of commercial fertilizers. Dr. Mason of Moultonboro predicted that someday granite rocks from New Hampshire would be ground up and sent to the western area of the country as fertilizer. Meanwhile, it was
reported that cock and dog fights were taking place in Claremont. But my search for something Christmas in the December 12, 1872 issue of the White Mountain Republic , except for the lone Christmas Festival and a few “holiday” words, like the note that Congress probably wouldn’t do much until after the holidays, came up empty. I didn’t read all of President Grant’s speech, but I don’t think he talked about Christmas. In miscellaneous items I read that Daniel Boone’s sister was living in South Carolina and
was 85 years old, that the city of Lawrence had doubled its police force out of fear for fires, and that a physician in Kansas had swallowed some type of chemical to prove to his patient that it was harmless. “It didn’t hurt the patient any but it killed the doctor.”
Expect something about Christmas in next week’s article.
Ads from the White Mountain Republic, Dec. 12,1872.
All these steps are naturally guided but cautioned by the sober reality that expanding and escalating the war in Ukraine, now going on for more than a 1,000 days since the Russian invasion, has a chance of spilling over into a nuclear conflict or a Third World War. Considering the personalities in the Kremlin, this is not a farfetched possibility.
The French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot added, “There are “no red lines” when it comes to supporting Ukraine.” President Emmanuel Macron assured Europe will help Ukraine, “As long as it takes.” But such political bluster may be a bit too late.
Europe is of course divided, deeply dependent on American munitions and support, and lacking sufficient military power of its own to seriously confront Russia beyond its own ad hoc entanglements.
France and Germany
still don’t even allocate the requisite NATO 2 percent of GDP for defense spending but yet are assuming disproportionate commitments and risks. Britain which does support sufficient defense spending, has nonetheless massively overcommitted its resources and munitions to Ukraine.
But Russia has its own missiles and has been blasting Ukraine’s power grid and civilian targets. Russian hyper-sonic missiles struck fear into Ukraine and the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin stated he was, “ready for all scenarios.” Moscow is now supported by North Korean shock troops thus underscoring the globalization of this war.
Thus while the Europeans are preparing to “Trump proof” their significant trade relations with the U.S., and equally face-off Moscow in Ukraine, the stark reality remains that the European Union alone,
without American military support, doesn’t hold the strategic balance to change the battlefield in Ukraine. Thus peace negotiations become inevitable.
Naturally a bigger issue remains will President elect Trump really be able to coerce or conclude a ceasefire between both Ukraine and Russia to be followed by a peace accord between Kyiv and Moscow?
In the meantime the missile deployments on both sides buy time until it’s time to talk.
John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China.
MAILBOAT from 2 plan aggressively promotes the escalation of the Ukraine/Russian war because the Deep State fears President Trump will end the conflict.
We the people on November 5th gave ourselves a special Christmas gift, the promise to keep us out of war. During the approximately 60 days until President Trumps second term we are in a dilemma. Our defense must come from the wisdom of our Founders, the check and balance of power written in the Constitution. We must demand that Congress come out of their cage of non-committal and demand they overrule the president usurping their power. We must flood them with emails and phone calls to stop this agenda to start a third world war. For they are duty bound to obey the Constitution.
Russ Payne Merrimack, NH.
ment would do for us but not to us!
Government
Of And For The People, Not In HB
1002
To The Editor:
This bill is anti-citizen and anti Right to Know what your government is doing to the citizen.
As history is told upon emerging from writing the Constitution in Philadelphia, a woman in the crowd shouted to Benjamin Franklin, “What form of government have you wrought?” Benjamin Franklin answered, “A Republic madam if you can keep it.”
This meant the people would make decisions of what govern -
Seems there are more than a few representatives in favor of charging a $10 per hour fee for any citizen asking for records in the town or city offices under RSA 91-A! The law already allows a per page copy charge to be set by the town or city. A bill introduced by Representative Katelyn Kuttab, Windham now wants $10 per hour for town or city employees to research and find the pages to copy. Problem is no provision for the citizen to do their own search and make copies and further to monitor the employees time. . But as a taxpayer I already paid for the equipment and employee to be at the office to serve all citizens. Further the law even allows cost charges for the towns or cities to get the required data. What the law doesn’t answer is rather the employee is a quick worker or a slowpoke, so we have a case for uneven charges. I would have thought these legislators would have realized that not all people work at same speed or ability so is the poor citizen to be charged for an employees efficiency or inefficiency? While I maintain the law already allows for charges to citizens who make overly broad RSA 91-A requests, it’s quite apparent that two legislators, at least don’t bother to read the existing laws. I rather think they would like to make the citizens lose the freedom of knowing what their so-called local government does for the citizen but rather make it easier to have employees do to the citizen. Unfortunately for Rep. Katelyn
Kuttab and Rep. Lynn and others the laws already exist and HB 1002 is another waste of citizens tax dollars used by uninformed legislators. Of course if local officials would, hire personnel who do not want to search it out for citizens. then hire and train the office workers properly they would understand how to tell a citizen that wants information that the law doesn’t require them to do more than make a copy of the requested information. Of course it requires good office filing of records!
As a Right to Know advocate I enjoy going through the minutes, contracts, documents and finding my own documents and then asking for a copy, only thing the employee has to do is work the copy machine. There is misunderstanding about what the law requires and some citizens need to be trained in doing research and then asking for copies they want at their expense. Also some town/city governmental employees need training in offering the citizen the right to see and review records they may want copies of. I suggest the legislature does not need changes to H B 1002, they just need education in existing law! Further the legislator sponsoring HB 1002 apparently doesn’t research well or if she read the Right to Know law it allows for charges for costs to retrieve information in a Right to Know request.
Harriet E. Cady Deerfield, NH.
Bretton Woods Ski Patroller, Stu, taking a seat and has a watchful eye at the top of the Zephyr High-Speed Quad chairlift. We didn’t see the Patrol having to use the sled while we were skiing but we knew they’d be ready if an emergency response was required. Ski Patrol was busy adjusting lifttower padding, marking obstacles and were happy to assist and provide information to guests.
and yours truly enjoying our first chairlift ride of the season
Bretton Woods Range View Trail on Opening Day. Bretton Woods has 10 lifts including the SkyWay 8-Passenger Gondola and four high-speed quad chairlifts, 63 trails/35 glades and 1,500 vf drop. Ski Magazine and its readers have recognized Bretton Woods this year as #1 for the Best Snow & Grooming in the East and as the top resort in New Hampshire.
A week later it was sunny and nice and it is easy to see why this trail is called Range View. Mount Washington and the Presidential Range mountains will fill your eyes!
under my skis. Becca really liked the conditions for snowboarding too.
er steep section near the bottom. The snow was great and our legs and bodies felt like we should take a break so we headed back into the lodge.
Feeling refreshed we headed back to the slope. There were now even less people out skiing. It was nearing the last hour. We rallied for three more runs before calling it quits. It was a great first day.
of the season.
The RFID gate scanners were not set up at the lift line so a pass checker was using a hand-scanner on our cards before we were allowed to pass through to board the lift. There was little to
PATENAUDE from 9 no lift line so we moved quickly. Before loading the Zephyr chair there was a handwritten sign that read, “Welcome to our First Day, No Beginners Terrain.” It was a good warning because the beginner terrain was at the other lift.
Becca and I both giggled with glee while we rode our first chairlift ride of the season. The temperature was almost 40 degrees at the bottom and the sky was dark with low clouds.
The snow was nice and soft and felt good
The clouds hid the top of the highest mountains across the valley behind the Hotel. Nearby Mount Deception stood out looking deceptively closer than the long hike that it really is. On a clear day Bretton Woods’ vista of Mount Washington and the highest peaks in New Hampshire is very fine
indeed. But this day we enjoyed the limited views of the mountains that the clouds allowed us to see just the same. We went up the lift and down the trail, again and again, making six runs in a row. Sometimes we would stop half way down and sometimes we went straight to the bottom. I liked making quick turns in the bumps that had formed on the steep section at the top and on the oth -
I count my blessings for any skiing in November. The following weekend Bretton Woods was still the only ski area open in New Hampshire. Check out SkiNH.com for conditions and to see what ski areas are open. As I sit here typing away the forecast is calling for a big snowstorm. I sure hope it comes true.
Have Fun.
Becca
at Bretton Woods
In Cuba, government was going to make everything plentiful. But people suffered so much that, to prevent starvation, the Castros broke from communist principles and rented out state-owned land to private capitalists.
Millions still go hungry around the world. The cause is rarely drought or “income inequality” or colonialism, but government control. Corruption, tariffs, political selfdealing and shortsighted regulations block food from reaching those who need it most.
This week, we celebrate the Pilgrims, who learned this lesson the hard way.
When they first landed in America, they tried communal living. The harvest was shared
equally. That seemed fair.
But it failed miserably. A few Pilgrims worked hard, but others didn’t, claiming “weakness and inability,” as William Bradford, the governor of the colony, put it.
They nearly starved.
Desperate, Bradford tried another approach. “Every family,” he wrote, “was assigned a parcel of land.”
Private property! Capitalism! Suddenly, more pilgrims worked hard.
Of course they did. Now they got to keep what they made.
Bradford wrote, “It made all hands very industrious.”
He spelled out the lesson “The failure of this experiment of communal service, which was tried for several years, and by good and
honest men proves the emptiness of the theory ... taking away of private property, and the possession of it in community ... would make a state happy and flourishing.”
Fast forward 400 years, and many Americans have forgotten what Bradford learned.
I see why socialism is popular. The idea of one big, harmonious collective feels good.
But it brings disaster.
Family dinners already have plenty of disagreements -- children fight; adults bicker. Imagine what that would be like among millions of strangers.
Collectivist systems encourage dependency, stifle initiative and waste resources.
The same communal conceit that nearly
starved the Pilgrims destroyed lives in the Soviet Union and led to mass starvation in China.
When everyone is forced into the same plan, most people will take as much as they can and produce as little as they can get away with.
Economists call it the “tragedy of the commons” referring to a common plot of land, controlled by, say, sheep owners. Each has an incentive to breed more sheep, which then eat the common’s grass until all of it is gone, and everyone goes hungry.
Only when the commons is divided into private property does each owner agree to limit his herd’s grazing so there will be enough for his sheep to eat tomorrow.
These same principles apply to many aspects of our lives: We thrive when individuals have a deed to their property and are confident that they can keep what they create. Then they create more.
That’s what the Pilgrims learned: Incentives matter. Capitalist ownership is what creates American abundance.
Every Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for free markets and private property.
They are the ingredients of prosperity.
Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”
THE CLASSIFIEDS
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countries. Vladimir Putin is fully willing to invade his neighbors and cut off oil supply to his enemies. Iran has spread its terror proxies across the Middle East, cudgeling entire governments into doing its will.
So why wouldn’t America pursue similar tactics?
This is, for some odd reason, a mysterious insight to members of the Biden administration, who seem willing to apply leverage only to America’s allies and who seem to think that conciliation and tepidity
somehow achieve victory against America’s enemies. Perhaps they are of the Noam Chomsky-esque view that the world’s only country with actual agency is the United States, and that everything else is “blowback” -- a common but foolhardy view rooted in a form of selfcenteredness that ignores the fact that every country has its own interests and pursues those interests with alacrity. China does not threaten the South China Sea because of America’s naval presence; were America absent, China’s threats
would simply be far more successful. Russia did not invade Ukraine because of Western influence in Ukraine; were that influence missing, Russia simply would have treated Ukraine as an outpost like Belarus long ago. Iran does not spread terrorism because of Ameri! can presence in the region; it spreads terrorism because that is the best way for it to foment control over areas outside its purview. America has interests in the world. Those interests are worth muscular defense, particularly in economic terms.
And Trump instinctively understands that. Geopolitics is not a place of laws and regulations, enforced by neutral arbiters. It is a jungle, and the laws of the jungle apply. The best hope for the world is that the strongest also happen to be the best. But if the best refuse to be the strongest, someone else will be.
The world will be more stable with Donald Trump at the helm than Joe Biden. That much is obvious. And in quieter moments, world leaders often acknowledge that reality. But it should be remembered
just whythat is true: because the unapologetic American, confident in the interests of his country, is the best option for stability and growth in a cruel world. That does not make America the world’s policeman; American interests are not(END specious “global interests.” But the pursuit of American interests has generally beneficial externalities. And American refusal to pursue those interests leaves the world in the hands of those who would tear it apart, piece by piece.
Ben Shapiro’s new col-
lection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and cofounder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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PUZZLE CLUE: NOT A SINGLE SPOT
Answers on Page 28
The Winklman Aeffect by John Whitlock
