REMINDER
The Pittsfield High School Class Of 1966 50th Class Reunion
will be held in the Pittsfield Congregational Church vestry on
July 23rd from 3-6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. If
you can attend call Pete Riel at 603-269-8861.
The Northwood Democrats will meet at
7:00 pm on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at the Northwood Community
Center, 135 Main St., Northwood Narrows. All are welcome. Please
call Tom Chase with any questions at 942-8940.
Letter To
The Editor
More Enthusiasm
I ran into Sally Aseltine at the
recent Strawberryfest at the Northwood Congregational Church.
She is the Dean of Student Services at Coe-Brown Northwood
Academy, and – full disclosure – her son and my daughter went
through 12 years of school together. More importantly, it is her
job to monitor the progress of students at Coe-Brown. And if
anyone should know how Northwood Elementary School students do
at Coe-Brown, in comparison to students from Strafford and the
other “feeder” schools, she should know.
So I asked her how they do. And she
said, “fine; just like every one else.” Which I paraphrased to
say, spread throughout the distribution. Some years a little
stronger. Some years a little weaker. But overall, just like all
the other kids.
So this isn’t Lake Wobegone, where
“all the kids are above average.” This is Northwood, where our
kids are fine.
I share this with you because of
recent letters that seem to hold the school and the educators
who work there in such contempt. Letters that would seem to
suggest that the school is actually making kids dumber.
So I hope that you find Ms. Aseltine’s
expert opinion reassuring, even as preparations for the start of
another school year move forward. And I hope that part of that
start will be a more positive and optimistic spirit. As Ralph
Waldo Emerson once said, “nothing great was ever accomplished
without enthusiasm.”
Tom Chase
Northwood, NH
Northwood
Bean Hole Bash
The 2016 Northwood Bean Hole Bash
(Northwood’s Old Home Day) is fast approaching, July 29th and
30th.
Craft and vendor space is still available, forms can be obtained
by emailing [email protected]
or the community bulletin board at the Northwood Post Office.
A 10x10 space is $25.00.
Please note the change of location to the Northwood
Congregational Church and Coe Brown Northwood Academy.
Free parking will be available in the parking lots across
Route 4 with free shuttle service to event locations. Handicap
and vendor parking will be in the parking lot between Coe Brown
and the Congregational Church.
Friday night will feature a free children’s movie
night,Crankpullers food trailer, country auction and the
important burying of the beans. Saturday will start with a
pancake breakfast followed by the XC race, children’s big games
and free picture book give away plus a book sale,
traveling zoo, touch a truck, craft and vendors in the
church parking lot, bake sale, Crankpullers famous food trailer
and much more. The first Northwood Bedrace is also in the
plans and do not forget the Police Association dunk tank-you
never know which town official will be willing to be dunked.
D.R. Dimes has generously donated a
heirloom quality chair to raffle, ticket donations are one for
$5.00 or three for $10.00, other surprise items will also be
included in the raffle.
Bring your appetite for the bean hole
bash supper starting at 5:00 pm featuring beans cooked under
ground overnight, corn on the cob, hot dogs, cole slaw and
beverage all for $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 and
under.
Please mark your calendar and join
your neighbors and friends for this family friendly community
event to celebrate the Town of Northwood and it’s citizens,
organizations and businesses.
Letter To
The Editor
I would like to say THANK YOU and
GREAT JOB and KEEP up ALL the GREAT WORK to all of the
professionals that work at the Northwood School. We have a
great, wonderful, dynamic and energetic group of professionals
that work in our town and I want to recognize them. Thank you
for willingly coming to work everyday and teaching our children.
Our children are our future and you do
a fantastic job of teaching them what they need to know with the
resources presented to you.
Thank you for smiling, even when it is
a hot day in the classroom with 20 plus kids and no A/C. Thank
you for thinking outside the box to make sure every child in
your classroom gets the lesson you are trying to teach. Thank
you for spending your family time correcting papers and putting
in grades.
I could go on and on but just a THANK
YOU for becoming a teaching professional and willingly working
in a job where you don’t always feel the support of the town
around you. THANK YOU!!!
Barbie Hartford
Northwood, NH
This
Weekend’s Lrpa After Dark Feature:
1938’S “The Lady
Vanishes”
Join Lakes Region Public Access
Television at 10:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday night (July 15
& 16) for our “LRPA After Dark” presentation of 1938’s early
Hitchcock thriller “The Lady Vanishes,” starring Margaret
Lockwood, Michael Redgrave and Dame May Whitty.
In “The Lady Vanishes,” we meet young
Iris Henderson (Lockwood), vacationing in Europe and traveling
back to England via train. She and her fellow passengers, an
interesting and mysterious group of people including a young
musicologist named Gilbert (Redgrave), are delayed by an
avalanche and must spend the night at a local inn. In doing so,
Iris befriends an elderly woman named Miss Froy (Whitty). The
next morning, while assisting Miss Froy with her luggage, Iris
receives a blow to her head. Miss Froy helps her on the train,
where they share tea and lovely conversation. Iris falls asleep
across the compartment from her new friend, but when she awakes,
Miss Froy has disappeared – and her fellow passengers claim that
no such person ever existed! Was she a figment of Iris’s
imagination? A result of her blow to the head? No one on the
train will take her seriously or help her look except for
Gilbert, and even he, while becoming smitten with the lovely
Iris, has his doubts.
“The Lady Vanishes” was Alfred Hitchcock’s last film shot in
Great Britain before he made his move to the United States. It
was triumph with critics and movie audiences alike, and was in
fact the most successful British film of its time. Upon its
release in the U.S., it received the New York Film Critics Award
for Best Director and was named one of the ten Best Pictures of
1938 by the New York Times, whose critic Frank S. Nugent wrote,
“If it were not so brilliant a melodrama, we should class it as
a brilliant comedy.” Most film critics consider it to be
the best of Hitch’s early (pre-1940) films. It was a favorite of
many directors, including Orson Welles, Peter Bogdanovich and
Francois Truffaut, and is included in the book 1001 Movies You
Must See Before You Die by Steven Schneider. Be sure to watch
for Hitch’s trademark cameo appearance; hint, it’s near the end,
in the Victoria train station. No wonder this is a must-see!
Grab your popcorn and join LRPA after dark for this glorious
thriller from the past.
You can’t find television like this it anywhere but LRPA TV,
MetroCast Channel 25. Not a subscriber? Then log onto Live
Stream through our website (www.lrpa.org)
where you can catch all the fun.
Else Cilley Press Release June Meeting
(Left to right) Glenna Dunphy of Danvers, MA and Raymond,
Regent Katherine Fernald of Nottingham, Lynne Sweet of
Newmarket, and Peg Franz of Rochester admire Civil War
memorabilia during June meeting of the Else Cilley Chapter,
NSDAR.
The Else Cilley Chapter, National Society Daughters of the
American Revolution, recently met at the chapter owned
Nottingham Square Schoolhouse. Delicious refreshments and
a program presented by member Glenna Dunphy highlighted the
meeting. Mrs. Dunphy shared her collection of Civil War
memorabilia and a quilt honoring Revolutionary through the Civil
War patriots. Glenna shared stories of artifacts received
from her father including buttons recovered from the field at
Gettysburg, a powder horn, and a Kepi, which was a rain cover
worn over soldiers’ caps. Mrs. Dunphy read excerpts from
letters written by Civil War soldiers back to loved ones at
home. She shared a canteen, an ID tag made from a coin,
and a Unit citation medal listing battles fought during the war.
Glenna then shared a quilt that was in her father’s house that
was made by local women to raise money for a Civil War Monument
in Raymond in 1910. The quilt included names of soldiers
and the dates served. Pictures were taken.
The next meeting of the Else Cilley Chapter will be held on
Thursday, July 14th, beginning at 1:30 pm in the Nottingham
Square Schoolhouse. All are welcome to attend the meeting,
which will include a program entitled “The Citizenship
Test-Would you Pass?” Women interested in joining the DAR
are always welcome to chapter meetings. For further
information, contact Regent Fernald at
[email protected] or
Assistant Registrar Marshall at [email protected].
Chesley Memorial Library News
Book Discussions
Summer reading is here so maybe you’re
in the mood to pick out a book you feel like talking about
instead of reading a book someone else picked out for you! If
so, the Afternoon Book Discussion Group will meet at the Chesley
Memorial Library on Wednesday, August 3, at 2:00 p.m. to discuss
“Garden Spells” By Sarah Addison Allen. Or maybe you feel like
reading an old favorite…if so, the Evening Book Discussion Group
will meet at the Chesley Memorial Library on Wednesday,
September 7, to discuss “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret
Mitchell. It’s a long book but we have all summer to read it!
New members always welcome!
Senior Café
Summer heat is here and it may be hot outside, but it’s cool in
the library so meet your friends and neighbors at the Chesley
Memorial Library! The Senior Café meets every Monday from
1:00-2:30 p.m. Would you like to enjoy some home baked
goodies and a glass of lemonade or iced tea while you socialize?
How about singing some old time favorite songs accompanied by
Boni Hibbard playing the ukulele? You can experience it all at
the Senior Café!
Museum Passes
We have some new museum passes available and some returning
favorites so make plans with your family to spend the day doing
something fun! You can visit: Boston Museum of Fine Arts,
Children’s Museum of NH, McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, New
Hampshire Farm Museum, Seacoast Science Center, or SEE Science
Center! The Strawbery Banke is still available until July
31 but that pass will not be renewed. Each pass works a little
differently…some let you in free while others provide discounted
admission. Call the library at 942-5472 for updated
information regarding passes. We can also provide you with
information on when to visit the Currier Museum of Art in
Manchester for free admission.
Lego Club @ Your Library
LEGO fever continues throughout the summer at the Chesley
Memorial Library! Maybe you will want to come in and play with
LEGOs to enjoy the cool air inside when it’s hot outside.
Or maybe you will want to find something to do inside if it’s
raining outside…whatever the case, LEGOs are out every Wednesday
from 12:00-6:00 pm for your enjoyment. We have LEGOs for all
ages so drop in and let your imagination be your guide. LEGO
creations will be on display until the next session so bring
your family and friends back to see your masterpieces!
Junior Book Club
Readers ages 8-12 are invited to join Chesley Memorial Library’s
Junior Book Club! The club will meet on Thursday, July 14, from
5:00-6:00 pm to discuss “A Mango-Shaped Space” by Wendy Mass.
Stop by the library to pick up a copy to read, then come back to
discuss the book and enjoy some light refreshments.
Movie Tuesday
Movies for kids: families can join us on Tuesday, July 26, at
11:00 a.m. to watch “Space Jam” on a large screen.
“Swackhammer, owner of the amusement park planet Moron Mountain
is desperate get new attractions and he decides that the Looney
Tune characters would be perfect. He sends his diminutive
underlings to get them to him, whether Bugs Bunny & Co. want to
go or not. Bugs Bunny is forced to trick them into
agreeing to a competition to determine their freedom. Taking
advantage of their puny and stubby legged foes, the gang selects
basketball for the surest chance of winning. However, the
Nerdlucks turn the tables and steal the talents of leading
professional basketball stars to become massive basketball
bruisers known as the Monstars. In desperation, Bugs Bunny calls
on the aid of Michael Jordan to help them have a chance at
winning their freedom. “ Movies for adults: why let the kids
have all the fun? Adults can join us that same day (Tuesday,
July 26) at 3:00 p.m. to watch “The Age of Adaline” on our large
screen. “Adaline Bowman has miraculously remained a
youthful 29 years of age for nearly eight decades, never
allowing herself to get close to anyone lest they discover her
secret. However, a chance encounter with a charismatic
philanthropist named Ellis Jones reawakens Adaline’s
long-suppressed passion for life and romance. When a weekend
with Ellis’ parents threatens to expose the truth, Adaline makes
a decision that changes her life forever.”
Of course there will be popcorn too,
so relax and enjoy a movie at your library.
Night Owl Story Time
Night Owl Story Time (an old favorite from years ago!) is back
at the library on Wednesday evenings. Join Miranda for stories,
rhymes, and crafts. This is a drop-in family story time best
suited for children five years and under. Please call the
library or check the web site (www.chesleylib.com) for
program start time as we are still determining the time that
works best for young families. Pajamas welcome!
Talking Books Services
Marilyn Stevenson from the New Hampshire State Library’s Talking
Book Services will be here at the Chesley Memorial Library on
Monday, July 25, at 1:00 p.m. The Talking Books
Program meets the reading needs and interests of New Hampshire
residents who are physically unable to see, handle or process
printed material comfortably. Examples of physical
problems that may be eligible: arthritis of hands & wrists,
blindness, cataracts not ready for surgery, dyslexia, epilepsy
not fully controlled, full body cast, head injuries, macular
degeneration, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, stroke
aftermath, and Stryker frame.
Knitting/Crocheting
Do you want to learn how to knit or crochet? Do you need help
with knitting or crocheting projects? Join local artisan
Norma Heroux at the Chesley Memorial Library on the first and
third Wednesday of every month from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
No registration required, all ages welcome. If you are
interested but can’t make it on Wednesdays, please let a library
staff member know what days/times would be convenient for future
consideration.
From The Desk Of The Northwood Town Administrator
On July 6th I
celebrated my 1-year anniversary as Northwood Town
Administrator. I wanted to take this opportunity to
reflect on the last year, reminisce about the Town’s progress
over the past 365 days and most importantly, thank the Town for
allowing me to serve them.
A few achievements I’m most proud of are: the baseball diamond
is under construction and the field will be completed this year
(we still need a backstop but we are working on that now); the
roads are improving because of advanced planning and constant
monitoring by the Highway Department; and the Recreation
Department is taking credit cards now and we will be expanding
the acceptance of cards to other departments over the rest of
2016. The success I’m most proud of this year, however, is
the elementary school being awarded a 3-year, $194,000 grant
which will bring 20 tutors and hire a staff member to manage
those tutors to Northwood School. My wife Bree and I
worked for months writing the grant and are very pleased
Northwood received the award.
Northwood, however, runs on Volunteer Power and nothing in Town
gets accomplished without the tremendous dedication of Northwood
volunteers. Specifically, I’d like to recognize Lance
Benson, Mike Brieger, Heather Heigis, Steve Bailey, Jim
Vaillancourt, Greg Bane, Hal Kreider, pretty much the entire
Bassett family, the Peases, Sandy Priolo, Scott Bryer, Rick
Wolf, Bruce Hodgdon, Tim Jandebeur and the rest of our town
volunteers. These folks spend nights and weekends away
from their families working and volunteering for any number of
committees just because they love the town they live in and want
to see it improved. Thank you all for your dedication and your
help, it has been a privilege working with you.
Life, however, is not always puppies and rainbows. There have
been bumps in the road over the past year and, I’m sure, there
will be more in the years to come. But honestly, this is to be
expected; we’re all human and life gets in the way of our best
laid plans. I strive to improve personally and professionally
and those bumps are just learning experiences. If you would like
to provide feedback on how things are going, how I’m doing, or
just want to talk about Town business shoot me an email at
[email protected],
give me a call at the office 462-0456, or just stop in Town Hall
for a chat.
So, Residents of Northwood, thank you for a wonderful first
year. It has been a pleasure getting to know you and to serve
you as the Town Administrator.
I’m looking forward to another successful year.
Joe