Chichester Library will be holding a Book and Plant Sale on
Saturday, June 12, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Drive to the back
entrance on Pound Road with your money in hand and stock up.
Happy Birthday to Jason Brudniak on June 12 and to Michael
McLaughlin on June 13.
The Chichester Youth Association (CYA) will be holding its
next meeting on June 13th at 6 PM in the selectman’s office at
the Town Hall. At this meeting we will discuss the upcoming
Softball Tournaments that CYA is hosting at Carpenter Park and
the upcoming Soccer Season. Also, the new By-Laws will be
presented and voted upon by the membership. If you have
children who enjoy the programs CYA puts forth, please do get
involved. We welcome the input and support. The board is
still in search of a Soccer commissioner and will be looking for
soccer coaches in the coming months. Please stop in,
introduce yourself and let’s keep these programs going strong!
Please contact Jaan Luikmil at 798-4987 by June 19th, if you
want to reserve a space at Carpenter Park on Old Home Day,
August 21, for informational or vending purposes.
Old Home Day is coming up on August 21. Please donate clean,
usable items for the Yard Sale under the tent. Proceeds go to
support future Old Home Days. Contact Stacy Luikmil at 798-4987
to arrange for pick up or drop off.
Chichester Grange will meet on Wednesday, June 16, upstairs
in the Grange Hall. Plans will be made for the July Eat-Out at
this meeting.
Chichester Grange would like to thank everyone who attended
the Memorial Day observance at the Veteran’s Memorial stone on
May 30th. With an attendance of over fifty people this year the
idea seems to be catching on. Special thanks go to Pastor Arthur
Savage for the opening prayer, the Cub Scouts for leading the
Pledge of Allegiance and presenting the wreath, and Alice
Hilliard for organizing the event. Thanks also to the Historical
Society for providing a reading about a Chichester Civil War
veteran and for opening their museum to those who wished to see
the Civil War exhibit.
The following DVDs were added in May to the shelves at the
Chichester Town Library: Faith Like Potatoes, 28 Days, To the
Ends of the Earth, Where’s Spot? And other stories, Murder 101,
The Happening, Miss Lettie and Me, A Bridge Too Far, Treasure
Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Jack Hanna’s Animal
Adventures.
Rose Alnora Warren of Chichester would like to thank her family
and friends for helping her celebrate her 100th birthday. Thank
you so much for all of the thoughtful presents and flowers. She
enjoyed several days of visiting well-wishers which included 2
birthday cakes and beautiful violin music.
Out of Your Attic Thrift Shop
June is upon us - bringing Father’s Day (June 20th)
Graduations and preparations for picnics and 4th of July
celebrations! If you have a limited budget, but still want to
present a loved one or friend with a token of appreciation and
remembrance, stop by the Attic and see what’s available.
There are mugs, steins, stuffed animals (for the graduates
who may need something to hug as they go off to school.)
For Dad, you may be surprised at what you’ll find just for
him. There are utensils and plates and table coverings for
picnics - may even find a football to toss around.
Stop by Tues., Wed., or Thurs., 8-4 or Sat., 10-4 at 345
Suncook Valley Highway in Chichester or call 435-9339.
Jessica Palmer Named To Champlain College Dean’s List
Jessica Palmer, a resident of Chichester, NH, has been named
to the Spring 2010, Champlain College Dean’s List for
academic achievements. Palmer is majoring in Applied Psychology.
Champlain College, a private baccalaureate institution,
located in Burlington, Vt., is a national leader in educating
students through its unique program that prepares students for
life beyond college with a mix of professional training,
academic enrichment and cultural immersion.
Chichester Grange
Chichester Grange met on Wednesday, June 2, upstairs in the
Grange Hall. The evening began with a chicken pie supper at 6
p.m. During the business meeting members signed up to fertilize
and water the flower tubs in Memorial Park this summer.
The Memorial Day observance on May 30 was very successful.
There were over 50 people in attendance, a substantial increase
over last year. The Cub Scouts added a lot to the ceremony by
leading the Pledge of Allegiance and presenting the wreath. The
new flag will have to be presented to the Selectmen at a later
time, as that piece of the program did not fall into place.
Thanks to Alice Hilliard for organizing the program and to Paul
and Rhoda Davis for the use of their public address system.
The date for the July Eat-Out was moved to July 21. The
Secretary will arrange for a restaurant and plans will be
finalized at the June 16th meeting. Wildlife sightings included
a turkey vulture feeding on road kill, wild turkeys and Canada
geese with young ones, four deer, woodchucks, chipmunks,
cardinals, gold finches, hummingbirds, hawks, a snapping turtle,
a toad, and two eastern milk snakes.
Lecturer Hannah West led a brief program with one number for
each of the four letters in the month of June. J was for jumping
jacks, the low impact variety. U was the Unicorn Song sung by
Mary West. N was for numbers: a math problem, which, if properly
completed, resulted in an answer which equaled the participant’s
telephone number. E was a reading taken from the Book of Esther
in the Good News Bible, which shed some light on social customs
over the ages.
The next meeting will be at the Grange Hall on June 16.
Carolee Davison is in charge of the program, and Jean Farnham
and Ginny Azotea will bring refreshments.
School Of Art At The Kimball Jenkins Estate Awards
Scholarships For Summer Art Camp
The School of Art at the Kimball Jenkins Estate is pleased
to announce the awarding of scholarships for Summer Art Camp.
The awards, totaling some $2100, were made possible by School of
Art Supporters (SAS) fundraising activities and generous
contributions by local sponsors. These awards will provide
assistance to all seven applicants and make the dream of summer
art camp possible.
This six week Summer Art Camp program offers a variety of
educational workshops designed to help children unlock their
creativity through art. The workshops run daily from 9
A.M. to 3 PM and with weekly choices including: Cultures of
America; Animal Adventure; Fantasy Week; Cartoons, Manga and
Comics; Earth Week; and Great Artists of the World. The cost,
including materials is $200 per workshop. For an additional fee,
before and after camp supervision can be available to
accommodate working parents.
The SAS Board of Directors and dedicated volunteers are
committed to supporting the availability of a community art
school, promoting of the arts and creating an opportunity for
Concord Area school age children to develop their artistic
interests. SAS thanks the art teachers at Kimball Walker School,
St. John’s Regional School, Pathfinder Academy, Loudon
Elementary School and Chichester Elementary School, whose
thoughtful recommendations helped in the decision making
process.
Chichester Historical Society
Vanishing
Breed of Town Officials - Part 2
By Walter Sanborn
The last article was about the vanishing town positions of
the “Fence Viewer” and the “Hog Reeve.”
The next Act passed by the N. H. General Court was the
requirement that every town build and maintain a town pound and
appoint or elect a pound keeper to impound stray domestic
animals. In a previous article I have recorded the history of
the Chichester Town Pound.
Another law concerning the choice of town officials stated
that each town was required “to choose by a major vote” a Field
Driver or Hayward. No definition of his duties seems to be
included in the Statutes of New Hampshire. It seems his job was
to catch stray animals that were loose and drive them to the
town pound. An early Massachusetts law made it unlawful to
“rescue” an animal being driven to the pound by a Field Driver.
Many early farmers did not have enough land to pasture their
animals on and frequently drove them over the public roads from
pasture to pasture.
My grandfather mentions in his diary of 1879 in the Spring,
driving his cattle to pasture in Loudon and Epsom and in the
“fall” bringing them back home. Many farmers did not have
enough land locally to feed the animals on and owned or rented
pastures elsewhere.
Now cattle, sheep and hogs provided more than meat and milk
for their owners, and work for Fence Viewers, Hog Reeves, Field
Drivers and Pound Keepers. Animal hides were valuable
by-products of farming and provided work for another town
official “The Sealer of Leather.”
In the early 1800’s there were few horses and the carriage
business had not yet started so there was no need yet of harness
leather as harness makers were not needed. Most hides or leather
were made into clothing and boots and shoes.
Elijah Sanders was born in Epsom in 1799 and moved to
Chichester in 1824 and built a tanner building, bark house, bark
mill and tanyard near the brook by the Stone House on Main
Street by the Central School. He became the first leather tanner
in Chichester. More of this history of Sanders and his
mill can be found in the book on Chichester Articles.
In 1829 the position of “Sealer of Leather” was repealed and
an act which passed on to the manufacturer of leather the
responsibility for its quality and he had to stamp his name and
address on each piece sold.
Before the establishing of tanneries some men made their
living as trappers of wild animals and the selling of furs.
George P. Haynes was a fur trader and started a trading post in
1847 in North Chichester which has evolved into what is now the
Chichester Country Store.
As this article has been about
the vanishing town officials of the “Field Driver or Hayward”
and the “Sealer of Leathers” the next article will be about two
more vanished town officials.