REMINDER
Suncook
Valley
Soccer
Club
Registration is now open for the Fall 2018 Season!
Visit
suncookvalleysoccerclub.com or our facebook page to sign up.
Registration ends 8/1.
From
The Farm: Allergy To Farming?
Submitted By Carole Soule
Author
Carole with her Oxen Team, Topper and Stash, at the N. Haverhill, NH
New England Ox Teamsters Competition in 2017.
Hair
fell in piles as I pushed the clippers through Stash's matted hair.
Stash, one of my working oxen, was long overdue for a haircut.
Scottish Highlanders are cattle that grow long, shaggy coats; great
for protection from the cold, but brutal in the summer heat. Some of
my cattle shed their hair naturally - most don’t. So, starting in
early May, we pull out the clippers and cut off their coats. We clip
the cows first, then the yearlings and lastly, the older oxen.
While
the clippers buzzed over his back and down his sides, Stash (also
known as Moo-Stash) lowered his head and, except for the occasional
tail swish, did not move a muscle. He loves being clipped, not just
because it removes his winter coat, but because the gentle vibration
of the clippers on his skin is soothing. He may enjoy being clipped,
but I knew I'd pay a big price the next day as hair and dander flew
into my face.
Several
years ago during the summer, I developed an unexplainable rash on my
face and arms. After many trips to the dermatologist and $1,000
worth of tests, they said the cause was cinnamon. They were wrong!
Three years later, I have concluded that I have an allergy to sun,
hay, heat and, sadly - cow hair; all of the ingredients that make a
farmer. Rather than give up farming, I cover myself from head to
foot and wear gloves all summer leaving only my face exposed. I
often look at my friends in shorts and t-shirts thinking how
comfortable they appear… but I know better as I tuck my
sometimes-gloveless hands into my sleeves.
Sure
enough, the day after clipping Stash, my eyes got puffy and my hands
were itching…. but Stash was happy which made me happy. Stash was
one of a pair of working Oxen. I started working Stash when he was
three-years-old and paired him with Topper, an experienced ox I had
trained since he was a baby. Both are now age seven and work
together as a yoked team. I've taken them to the Hopkinton and
Deerfield Fairs as well as Strawbery Banke and Shaker Village. They
respond to both voice commands and body language as directed to pull
a cart, a stone boat, or drag a log. I am always in awe when “My
Boys,” (who weigh over 1,400 pounds each with horns “out to here”),
do what I ask.
Because
my boys give me so much, it's only fair that I return the favor and
do my best to make them comfortable. Topper is next on my clipping
list. I wonder if I can get one of those Haz-Mat suits? Maybe
someday they'll make a “farmers version” out of breathable cotton
for those of us with allergies to farming?
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, NH. She can be
reached at [email protected].
Pittsfield Old Home Day – Annual Cook-Off
Pittsfield Old Home Day is Sat, July 14 – Mark your calendars!!
The theme of the day is “Once Upon A Time, Favorite Fairy Tales.”
The
Cook-Off for the Pittsfield Old Home Day this year will be “ANY KIND
OF BREAD” (think….Hansel & Gretel left breadcrumbs to find
their way home….) We would prefer that you submit Loaves of
bread (not just breadcrumbs!) – any kind you’d like (flavored quick
breads, squash bread, zucchini bread, etc…)
This
event is sponsored by the Victory Workers 4-H Club. Anyone and
everyone is invited to submit their BEST loaves of bread and bring
them to the 4-H Booth at Dustin Park by 9am on Sat, July 14.
The winners will be selected by the public by popular vote.
CASH prizes will be awarded: 1st- $75, 2nd- $50 and 3rd- $25.
The First 10 people to call or email will be registered.
Please contact Andi Riel at 435-6346 or email at
[email protected]
to register.
News
And Concern For American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Submitted By Merrill A. Vaughan, Adjutant
American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75
Memorial Day and has come and gone for another year. However,
you should not forget to remember those who gave us our rights and
freedoms that our members of Post 75 continue to be contributed to
our Community, State and Nation; in times of war and peace.
Our small post did not happen overnight. It took a group of
dedicated World War I veterans. In February 1920 we received
our charter. Our post now has veterans from World War II,
Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, and the Gulf War.
Why am I listing all these wars? Because of one thing, they
should all be members of The American Legion. Each and every
one of us may not know each other, however we have all been there
and made it back home. However, all this might be erased on July 2,
2018.
Attention for members of The American Legion Peterson-Cram Post 75,
there will be a special meeting of the Post on July 2, 2018 at 7:30
pm. You will need to show your 2018 Post 75 Membership card or
verified by the Post Adjutant that you have paid your dues for 2018.
Any veteran who has served in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air
Force or Coast Guard and is not a member but wishes to join to keep
us open are more than welcome to attend. You are more than welcome
to join. Bring a copy of your DD Form 2014 with you to verify
that you served on Active Duty during any of the war periods
identified above, other than training. Again, we need to fill
the positions of Commander, Adjutant, and Finance Officer. If
we can do this, then we can stay open. If not, there will no
longer be a Veterans Service or animation in Pittsfield to properly
do Memorial Day, Flag Day, POW/MIA Awareness Day, Veterans Day and
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
Before
the discussion of keeping open or closing, the Post and Post
Adjutant will present you with the past years. Once that is
completed, District 5 Commander Todd Connor will take control of the
meeting. Once the meeting is at the end, the 50/50 drawing
will take place.
Time is
running out to participate in The American Legion Peterson-Cram Post
raffle. We will draw the lucky winner of the 50/50 drawing at the
end of the meeting on July 2nd. There is still time to enter.
The drawing will be to provide funds to pay off all debts if the
Post closes. If we stay open, this will begin or road back to
healthy activities to include The American Legion Peterson-Cram Post
75 Robert O. Moulton Scholarship to a Pittsfield Middle High School
Senior. You DO NOT need to be a member of The American Legion
or a resident of Pittsfield to participate. For more
information on membership, the meeting, or the drawing, please
contact Post 75 Adjutant, Merrill Vaughan at 603-340-1375.
Josiah
Carpenter Library July News
Libraries Rock! the summer reading program for children is in full
swing. Throughout the summer we’ll enjoy a fun-filled journey of
reading and music. Activities for preschool aged children will
be held on Thursday mornings at 10:00am, older children will gather
on Tuesday afternoons at 3:30pm. In addition we we will be
visiting the Drake Field recreation program on alternating
Wednesdays. Special activities include a messy art day at the
town pool on Saturday July 28th from 1:00 to 3:00pm, and the
children will perform in a concert on Tuesday July 31st at 5:00pm in
Dustin Park (rain location the High School lecture hall).
The
Teen Book Worms will gather on Monday July 2nd at 5:00pm; they will
enjoy a light supper and discuss July It’s Kind of a Funny Story by
Ned Vizzini. The Pittsfield Writer’s Circle will meet at the
library on Monday the 16th at 5:00pm. The adult book club will
meet to discuss KooKooLand: A Memoir by Gloria Norris at 10:30 am on
Tuesday June 24th at the Pittsfield Senior Center. Everyone is
welcome to join our ongoing activities at any time.
On
Monday July 11th at the Chichester-Epsom-Pittsfield Libraries Memory
Café will enjoy a picnic and croquet at noon at Webster Mills Park
in Epsom. Local caregivers and folks living with memory loss
are invited to come and enjoy socialization in a comfortable
setting. Refreshments will be served.
St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church Scholarship
Submitted By Marylee Johnson
Megan
Callicoat, Marylee Johnson, and Cameron Darrah.
I am
very happy to announce the establishment of a new scholarship
program here in Pittsfield through St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
Our program exclusively benefits graduating PMHS seniors entering a
two- or four- year accredited college, university, or
vocational/technical program.
From
its earliest beginnings, the Episcopal Church has had a long history
of community outreach. We at St. Stephen’s take an active role in
supporting the Pittsfield Youth Workshop, several area food
pantries, especially the “food closet” at PMHS, as well as many
other local projects, so for us, it is an exciting new expression of
love and support for our community of Pittsfield to establish a
scholarship program that we hope will grow and prosper enabling the
number and size of scholarships to grow over time.
St.
Stephen’s scholarships are awarded annually based on any or all of
the following criteria: financial need, academic promise,
volunteer activities in school or community, or work history,
letters of recommendation, scholarship application essay, and
personal interview.
This
year, we presened two scholarships. Each award was in the
amount of $2000; one thousand for the freshman year, renewable for
an additional $1000 for the sophomore year, providing renewal
criteria are met. There is no requirement to re-pay these
scholarships. They are a gift to each recipient. Having said
that, we hope that years from now when recipients are established
and successful in their chosen careers, they too might want to reach
out to help a student realize their dreams of higher education.
The
very first recipient of a St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Scholarship
was a young woman who is passionate about a career in graphic
design. She has already accumulated twelve college credits and
will continue her studies at Southern NH University.
Congratulations, Megan Marie Callicoat.
Our
second recipient was passionate about basketball and will be
attending Plymouth State University to study business administration
….and play basketball…. After graduation, he hopes to return
to Pittsfield to become a productive member of the business
community. Congratulations, Cameron John Darrah.
Pittsfield Rotarian Stan Bailey presented the highest award of
Rotary International to Joe Darrah, the Paul Harris Fellow. Joe
exemplifies in every sense the Rotary motto of “Service About Self.”
Fallon Reed was
presented a beautiful Ballon Rally afghan by Laura Okrent. Laura
recounted only a few of the many endeavors that Fallon contributes
to insure the success of the annual Balloon Rally. Fallon confessed
that it is a labor of love and promised that the 37th annual rally
on August 3-5 will be the best ever.
During
a time of remembrance at the Suncook Valley Rotary Club’s Changing
of the Guard, Laura Orkent passed the Paul Harris certificate of
Lois Farnswoth on to her daughter, Nancy Yeaton. Lois was the leader
of the Women of Rotary’s float in the Pittsfield Old Home Day
parade. She also hosted many Women of Rotary Christmas Parties at
her home. Lois and Cal were great examples for fellow Rotarians and
their spouses to follow.
Donna
Keeley of the Suncook Valley Rotary Club presented Adam Gauthier
with a Paul Harris Fellow Award during the Changing of the Guard
event held at Pleasant View Gardens. Adam is the current president
of the club and will continue on for another year.
The
judges of the Suncook Valley Rotary 2018 Youth Essay Contest, Art
Morse and Donna Kelley, presented the $300 prize and certificate of
recognition to first place winner, Taylor Ahearn. Taylor, only 12
years old, captured the whole community essence of the Ballon Rally
in her winning essay.
Pittsfield Community Garden
Did you
know that Pittsfield Listens has a community garden behind the town
hall? This is the 2nd year PL has planted a garden to help support
the food pantry, Senior Center, PYW and individual families. Even
though this is the 2nd year, our garden is bigger than last year and
we are hoping to increase the size every year. With a larger garden,
help is always needed and appreciated. Whether it is watering,
pruning or harvesting, the community would greatly benefit from
volunteers time. Not only is this a great way to volunteer and
support the community, it ensure that members of our community will
receive healthy, fresh food!!! Whether you have a green thumb or not
and are looking to become more involved in your community, please
consider volunteering some time to help your community garden grow.
It would be a great opportunity for younger children to help care
for the garden or middle-high school students looking for community
service hours.
Or
maybe you would like to plant some vegetables of your own! If you
do, there are some empty plots just waiting to be turned into a
bountiful garden.
To take
advantage of this fantastic opportunity please get in touch at
[email protected]
The
Pittsfield Clothes Closet, 2018
Submitted By Phyllis Conway & The Volunteers of The Pittsfield
Clothes Closet
Because
of all the donations that we received this year, we made enough
money to give back to the community of Pittsfield.
As of
right now, we have given to the Pittsfield Youth Workshop, Pittsfield
Food Pantry, Pittsfield Area Senior Center, the Hanging Plants fund,
F.B. Argue Memorial Pool, Pittsfield Middle High School Booster
Club, and The Clothes Closet Scholarship for a graduating senior,
and it's only June.
So,
with all the help we are getting from donations, we are having a
great year! You can see the money we make goes back to Pittsfield to
help somebody.
Thank
you for helping us, and we, The Clothes Closet, are helping someone
else.
Letter
To The Editor
Governor, you are denying certain residents of our great state an
equal education.
Governor, you are denying certain residents of our great state an
equal property tax rate.
You,
and certain State Representatives, mine included, are cloggin up the
system.
Either
work to keep certain towns from going bankrupt and giving its
citizens the resources to fund their schools, or get out of the way.
You are
going to force us to march on Concord. And I'm not talking busses
here. Clear the roads.
Dan The
Stoneman
On
Monday June 18th, Pittsfield Listens hosted their Annual
Appreciation Celebration at the Pittsfield Main Street Grill to
recognize and give thanks to Pittsfield Listens leaders and partners
in the community and its schools. Parent Leaders with the
Family and Community Engagement Committee (FACE) and Youth Leaders
with Pittsfield Youth Voice in it Together (PYViiT) were recognized
for their leadership over the past year. In addition, awards
were presented to Tara Pinto- Parent Leader with FACE, and Courtney
Butler- Youth Leader with PYViiT in appreciation for always digging
in. The 2018 Pittsfield Listens Volunteer of the Year Award-
presented to PMHS English Teacher and Pittsfield Listens Board
Chair- Jenny Wellington.
Pittsfield Listens encourages the power of youth, parent, family,
and community voice on issues and policies that directly affect
their education and their life, with a specific focus on engaging
those who have historically been underrepresented. We support
emerging youth and adults leaders through education, training, and
participatory leadership development so that students succeed in the
Pittsfield schools and beyond. For more information, visit
pittsfieldlistens.org or
contact [email protected].
TOPS
News
During
a recent TOPS chapter meeting we were honored to have the Penacook
121 chapter visit with us.
The
Pittsfield, Bow, and Penacook chapters had a challenge earlier in
the year. The chapter which lost the most weight would have
the losing chapter present a program. They presented a very
informative program on the benefits of drinking water. We were all
challenged to drink more on a daily basis to maintain good health
and to lose weight.
At
another meeting, Pat Smith read an article on “Sugar Blues.” A
discussion followed about our cravings and what to eat instead.
We
would love to have those who are interested, come by for a visit on
Tuesdays 6:30 at The Joy Church, 55 Barnstead Rd. If you have
questions, please call Pat 435-5333 or Beth 435-7397.
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