‘Seeing Your World in Watercolor’

The cover of Art To You by Larry Frates. 

‘Seeing Your World in Watercolor’

By Thomas P. Caldwell

Larry Frates, artist-in-residence at Laconia’s Belknap Mill, has been teaching art to all ages since the 1970s, and now is venturing into new territory with a book-and-video project that aims to make the essentials of watercolor painting even more accessible.

The new book, Art To You With Larry: Seeing Your World In Watercolor, grew out of a collaboration between Larry, Chris Beyer, a writer and English teacher in Laconia, the Belknap Mill, and book publisher Kathy Waldron. Kathy’s company, Give a Salute, had published the book, Socks, The Belknap Mill Christmas Elf, based on the stuffed elf doll that appears in the Belknap Mill’s social media postings leading up to Christmas Eve. Beyer wrote the children’s book, using the elf to tell the history of the former textile mill-turned-museum, and Larry provided the illustrations.

Larry Frates with a display of his paintings. 

Having seen Larry’s work in that book, Kathy suggested that he consider sharing his knowledge of art in a book. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s see what we can do,’” Larry recalled. “I had to sit down and sort of sift through my brain and figure out the most important parts of watercolor that I’ve been talking to my students about in class.”

Kathy encouraged him to “just start writing” and, as he did, he started looking through photographs and other images that might supplement the words. Between January and the end of May, he worked with an editor and a graphics person to pull together his thoughts and place them in a layout that communicated the joy of painting.

Larry said the name of the book came from the online classes he had been forced to do during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Art To You With Larry.”

“I couldn’t have my classes, so we had to figure out other ways of keeping the classes going — keeping the adults that I had engaged in painting,” he said.

The videos were done as a series of four classes, with Larry providing instruction and listing the materials the viewers would need to create their own paintings.

“So I started looking at that and said, ‘Well, this is something that could work with the book,’” he said.

Larry is working with photographer/videographer Alan MacRae in creating videos that will accompany the print edition of his new book. By October, there will be 12 videos that supplement the book’s text and graphics.

“So what we’ve got now is a book with plenty of instruction, plenty of background information, some fundamental stuff with design and composition, a lot about watercolor; and we’ve got a supplement now where we’ve got this little Larry — the cartoon that’s on the cover of the book — with little versions of it inside and there are 12 of them” to correspond with the 12 videos, Larry said.

Larry Frates working on a watercolor. 

“So, as of October, the people who buy the book will have access to 12 instructional videos in addition to the book, so that way, they’ve got the pictures, they’ve got the words, and if that doesn’t make sense, they’ve got the action. They’ll be able to see it from different points of view, especially like brush strokes. Instead of just seeing a hand holding a brush, they’ll be able to see how much pressure I put on the brush or how I twist the brush,” Larry said.

The videos will be password-protected, so owners of the book will contact Larry with verification of the purchase in order to get their password to unlock the video. Or, he said, people may want to purchase the video alone, “which means eventually you’re going to want the book.”

“Ideally,” he added, “it would be nice to do an e-book.” That would allow him to link a photo in the e-book with the accompanying video. “But technology-wise, I’m not there yet.”

While all of the writing is Larry’s, he wanted to include some students’ work as well as some photographs that readers can use in creating their own watercolors. Seven local photographers contributed three photos each to serve as subjects for the readers’ own experiments with watercolor. Those pages are followed by examples of Larry’s and his students’ works to show how diverse the interpretations and use of watercolor can be.

Those interested in the book may purchase it directly from Larry at www.larryfratescreates.com, or at the Belknap Mill. Copies soon will be available at bookstores as well.

Another way to learn more about the book is to meet Larry in person at a series of gallery exhibits. The Lakes Region Center for the Arts in Meredith is organizing gallery shows at local libraries as part of its public outreach goal, and engaged Larry for an exhibit at the Wolfeboro Public Library, running through Thursday, Oct. 7. On the final day of the exhibit, there will be a Meet the Artist event at 6 p.m. Larry will talk about his new book and do a painting demonstration.

Larry has future exhibits planned at the Meredith and Moultonborough public libraries.

Larry said he chose Wolfeboro for his first exhibit in the series because he was not as well-known there. “It would be a whole new audience,” he said.

Having been associated with the former Artisans on the Bay in Meredith, as well as other art groups in that town, his name is well-known in Meredith. He also has conducted two watercolor classes at the Meredith library.

As for Moultonborough, during his teaching days, he had served as an art teacher at Moultonborough Academy from its inception until its art department grew to three instructors.

With his background in teaching, Larry likes to describe watercolors as being “the adolescent of all mediums.”

“It’s similar to working with middle school kids,” he said. “Oil is pretty predictable, acrylic is pretty predictable, pen-and-ink is predictable; and watercolor, just when you think you’ve got it, it does something, and it challenges you … and basically, that’s what happens with adolescents.” They seem to have grasped a lesson one day, and the next day, they seem to have left everything they learned at home, and the teacher has to try another angle to get the lesson across.

Watercolor painting. 

“I just think it’s a fun thing to do,” he said of watercolor painting. “It’s challenging, it’s simple, and in some cases it’s relaxing, and it will do what you know it will do. But then you reach a point where you want a challenge and so you try other things — it might be a different brush, it might be a new kind of paint, a new color. But I like the spontaneity of it, the challenge of it. It says what it has to say.”

The Belknap Mill is located at 25 Beacon Street East in downtown Laconia, NH; call 603-524-8813.

Diving in to Celebrate 70 Years on Winnipesaukee

Diving in to Celebrate 70 Years on Winnipesaukee 

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

When Alexis Wallace asked herself the question, “How does an arthritic, asthmatic, cancer survivor celebrate 70 years on Lake Winnipesaukee?” she already had the answer. 

Alexis Wallace waves and smiles before her Lake Winnipesaukee swim to raise awareness and funds for the Lake Winnipesaukee Association. Courtesy photo

By jumping in the lake and swimming.

With a self-deprecating sense of humor, Alexis has found the lighter moments amid cancer (she is now cancer-free), and the aches and pains felt as the years move on. But there is one thing she is serious about: Working to protect the water quality of Lake Winnipesaukee, a place she loves dearly. 

Thus, last summer, she decided to challenge herself to do a swim of two miles near her Wolfeboro home to raise awareness and donations for the Lake Winnipesaukee Association.

Alexis is aware of the problems Winnipesaukee may face in the future, from too much traffic to cyanobacteria to a score of other issues. She speaks with warmth for and admiration of the Lake Winnipesaukee Association (LWA) and their tireless work to ensure the lake is in good condition. 

Why is this so important to Alexis? She explains, “My parents summered on the lake in the 1940s and bought our place in Wolfeboro in 1953. I am from suburban Boston, Massachusetts, but we came up here in the summer and made great memories at our cottage in Wolfeboro.”

The cottage wasn’t large, but it fit the description of a typical 1940s to 1960s “summer camp” on the lake. Knotty pine paneled walls, a few bedrooms, and the lake nearby. The parents relaxed, hosted barbecues and the kids frolicked in Winnipesaukee and played outside every day. These were simple, innocent pleasures that built a lifetime of fond memories for Alexis. 

As an adult, Alexis was a New Hampshire public school counselor and had a private practice as a counselor. With this schedule, she continued to summer in Wolfeboro, and now retired, she and her family spend six months of the year at their beloved family cottage on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. 

From the first, Alexis was in the water, and the lake was a huge playground for her and her siblings. Being comfortable in the water started young, and she recalls, “My Dad taught me to water ski when I was five years old. It took about 24 tries, but I was finally waterskiing!”

Life on the lake gave a lot of freedom to Alexis, and she loved to swim. “I remember swimming across Winter Harbor to our neighbors’ cottage.

Perhaps that childhood swim set the stage for Alexis, as a retired adult, to challenge herself to another swim, this time to mark 70 years on Winnipesaukee.

The first fundraising swim for the LWA took place in August of 2020 was two miles from Keewaydin Point to Carry Beach. Alexis admits it was a rather quiet happening. She did not create huge fanfare but trained ahead of time and coordinated her swim with family and a few friends.

Alexis learned a lot from that first swim last year and used what she ascertained for her second swim, this year on Tuesday, August 24. She slipped into the water at 5:50 am from a boat with her boat escort encouraging her to complete the swim.

The August 2021 swim was in a different location. “I settled on Rattlesnake Island area for this year’s swim,” she explains. “I swam easterly towards Wolfeboro in the early morning. It was 2 ½ miles and it took me about 1 ½ hours; I was done with the swim by 7:20 am,” she says.

She identified ahead of time a point to start her swim near Rattlesnake Island and stresses she always stayed close to shore during the swim. It was remarkably quiet and peaceful on the lake at that early morning hour, and she assumed few people saw her but learned later, via the Everything Lake Winnipesaukee Facebook page that indeed someone had seen her swim.

Coordinating her swim meant getting a permit before the swim. Alexis got a permit from the NH Marine Patrol, who she credits with being incredibly supportive and helpful. 

Training for the swim with a coach from April into the summer, Alexis found that pacing herself would be important. Her coach, Maury McKinney, at Agiochoook Aquatics in Intervale, was helpful as Alexis trained and prepared for her August swim. 

Such a swim might seem daunting, but Alexis had a method of “crawl, backstroke, float” which worked well so she did not overtire. “I found,” she laughed, “that I wasn’t tired and could’ve kept going longer!” Being in the water is something Alexis is used to, and she swims almost every day. “If it’s cold, I wear a wet suit; I swim about ¾ of a mile daily. And I swim along the shore for safety in case I get tired,” she explains.

Certainly, this year’s swim was a bit more of a challenge than her first swim because she swam longer and in a new location vs. near her Wolfeboro cottage. But it was a success, and she plans to do another swim in 2022. 

At present, Alexis is scouting for a location for her summer of 2022 swim. She hopes to do a swim each summer from a different Lake Winnipesaukee town, and she says if anyone has a suggestion of a spot or town, she would love to hear from them. (See contact information at the end of this story.)

Although Alexis was “in utero” 70 years ago, it still counts for a 70-year celebration of her time spent on the lake. It was the start of her Lake Winnipesaukee residency, and she has always had a love of the lake. 

Perhaps that is why she wants to help raise awareness for lake quality issues and the important work of the Lake Winnipesaukee Association. 

Alexis adds, “When I was a child, I could look out across the water near our cottage and see a big rock in the water. But not now. Why is that? Because the water is cloudy and not as clear.”

It is a sobering statement, but it underscores the fact that the lake water has changed. It is the good work of the Lake Winnipesaukee Association that gives Alexis’s hope for the future of Winnipesaukee and other area bodies of water.

After her swim, Alexis climbed back in the boat and the group headed home. After getting warm and into dry clothes, she contacted the LWA to let them know she had completed her second swim, giving them her finish time. She adds, “The weather conditions were ideal, which is what I want for a swim. There was no wind, and it was very calm, and it did not rain. We watched the weather and picked a week that would be good.”

Alexis explains that her 2022 swim will probably be in August, and she is hoping to do the swim in a more densely populated area to raise greater awareness for the LWA. Perhaps a swim in the Moultonboro area or in Paugus Bay. “I would like to complete a three-mile swim challenge in 2022.”

The first year Alexis did the swim, she admits she was somewhat apprehensive, as one would be when doing something different. This year, she recalls, she was more excited and less apprehensive when she jumped in the water. 

On the LWA Go Fund Me page for her swim (Making Waves for Winni), Alexis is quoted as saying, ““I am at an age where I care deeply about future generations. This is our family's 74th year on the lake. Currently, the fifth generation of our family is enjoying Lake Winnipesaukee, and we want to make sure that the lake quality stays pristine for our children and grandchildren.” 

Alexis certainly brought awareness of lake issues and the LWA to her friends, family, and others and will continue to do so each summer with another swim. 

So how does a woman with some health issues celebrate 70 years on Lake Winnipesaukee when she cares deeply about the lake and the environment? 

For Alexis, it is easy: she just dives right in.

For information about the Lake Winnipesaukee Association, visit www.winnipesaukee.org. If you would like to suggest a location for Alexis’ 2022 swim, you can communicate with her via The Laker at pressreleases@thelaker.com and your message will be passed along to Alexis.

(Alexis would like to mention and thank those who participated in her swim: NH Marine Patrol; all who donated to LWA; captain of the escort boat during the swim: Barbara Weiss; observer on the escort boat: Jeff Wallace; Nick at Dive Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro for equipment and support; Maury McKinney, swim coach at Agiochoook Aquatics in Intervale and Bayside Nails for a blue nail polish pedicure for Alexis as a reminder to “Keep Winni Blue.”)

The direct link for the Go Fund Me page should you wish to learn more or make a donation, is https://www.gofundme.com/f/make-waves-for-winni?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet+spider2v&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer.

Golden Rule Farm Served as a State’s ‘Boys Town’

Boys of all ages received education and life skills at the Golden Rule Farm. (Spaulding File Photo)

Golden Rule Farm Served as a State’s ‘Boys Town’

By Thomas P. Caldwell

Stone columns and a historical marker on an abandoned road are the only physical remains of a unique program that aimed to prepare young men (and a few young women) for adulthood in the early 20th century, but the legacy of Franklin’s Golden Rule Farm lives on, meeting other needs, in the form of Spaulding Academy and Family Services in Northfield.

The intriguing story of the Golden Rule Farm actually begins 150 years ago with the establishment in 1871 of the New Hampshire Orphans’ Home, later known as the Daniel Webster Home for Orphans, on Elms Farm, the estate owned by Daniel Webster’s family and the place where New Hampshire’s famous orator and statesman grew up.

A young resident of Golden Rule Farm pitches hay. (Spaulding File Photo)

The Orphan’s Home was established through the efforts of Rev. Daniel Augustus Mack, who had been orphaned at age seven and who, as a chaplain during the Civil War, had received entreaties from dying soldiers to look after their children. The orphanage was established by an act of the state legislature in 1871, and the board of directors purchased the Webster farm that October.

Two stone gate posts are all that remain of the Golden Rule Farm in Franklin, forced to relocate when the Franklin Falls Dam was built. (Tom Caldwell Photo)

The Golden Rule Farm grew out of the work of another pastor, Rev. George W. Buzzell, who received a gift of the 100-acre Roberts Farm in 1901. It had been the home of Daniel Webster’s sister. Buzzell established a cottage-style housing arrangement for orphans and taught them life skills in what first was known as the Bradley Memorial Home. When, in 1914, it was joined to the Golden Rule Homestead, which increased the size of the property to 400 acres, it became the Golden Rule Farm.

Situated in the Pemigewasset Valley between the towns of Hill and Franklin, it gave orphans the opportunity to experience farm life. Ledgers from the early years contain entries about the children brought there from homes where there was an unwed mother or a widowed father unable to care for his children, or a child was simply left on the doorstep.

A sample entry: “a babe 8 months old — Husband gone — Child illegitimate.”

Golden Rule Farm adapted as the need for orphanages declined and the needs of urban children facing corrective situations grew, and the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents became a major focus. Golden Rule Farm began taking in troubled boys who had problems at home or run-ins with the law, giving the place the reputation of being New England’s Boys Town — a reference to Father Flanagan’s Boys Home where the priest offered an alternative to reformatories and other juvenile facilities.

Nurses care for some of the orphans in this file photo in the archives of Spaulding Academy and Family Services.

At a time when many such facilities abused child inmates or used them as slave labor, the Golden Rule Farm took a caring approach. The children were put to work, but the emphasis was on teaching them useful skills. They received an education, participated in group activities, and learned what they would need to know to make it in life. Records from Golden Rule Farm showed instances where the directors protected their charges from farmers looking to adopt a son with the likely intention of using the child as free labor. The administrators simply said no boys were available.

The work of Golden Rule Farm caught the attention of many people who would become supporters of the institution, including the actress Bette Davis, who had a residence near Franconia in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire.

Residents of the Golden Rule Farm learned skills they could use later in life, including working with electronics. (Spaulding File Photo)

When the Franklin Falls Dam was built in 1939, it forced the relocation of Hill Village and the residences within the flood control area, and Golden Rule Farm was one of places forced to find a new home. That new home was to be situated on the Boynton and Holquist farms in Northfield.

At the time, Boston Herald writer Bill Cunningham wrote of the home’s mission and its plight:

The Golden Rule Farm is a project in the rehabilitation of the American boy — maybe repossessing would be a better word. It’s not a reformatory. It’s not a refuge for the afflicted nor the feeble minded. It takes strong, sound, manly, potentially valuable American citizens whose family background has gone to smash for some reason, and gives them what every kid in this land has need of if he’s to grow up loving it and believing it and ready to stand squarely in the harness for it — a real, warm hearted and very personal home. …

It faces a crisis of sorts at the moment. It has to move. Its current premises near Franklin are exactly in the way of a flood control project ordered by the federal government, and although it’s taken what should prove to be a better location near Tilton, it needs to fit up the new place with the necessary buildings and all, and, in the days of Aid to Britain, Help the Chinese, Buy Defense Bonds, and all the mighty and clamorous rest, the thin, clear call of a boyish American voice is likely to be drowned in the general confusion.

The necessary money came through, and Golden Rule Farm had its new home. Then, in August 1941, there was a devastating fire that broke out in a hay barn. Again, Cunningham wrote of the problem:

The breeze threw the flames swiftly over the bunk house next door where some 30 of the young gentlemen were quartered and the whole thing went in a roar while the little fellows stood helplessly across the road, many of them in tears.

The Golden Rule Farm in Franklin. (Spaulding File Photo)

The Farm had insurance — all it could get — but you can’t get much on farm property completely away from fire plugs, and this was not only complete loss of quarters. It was loss of clothing as well. … That fine and friendly place has 50 boys to care for and at present it has accommodations for only 15. The rest are currently living in tents provided by the Red Cross and friendly people of Tilton and Franklin. … The neighbors and the kind folks of New Hampshire in general have rallied around in this way and that, but cold weather’s coming. Those kids need a couple of buildings. … How about some quick and real help for our very own?

Once again, supporters did come through, and Golden Rule Farm was able to remain in operation until 1958 when it merged with the Daniel Webster Home for Orphans and became Spaulding Youth Center. The merger had been talked about for years, and in April 1958, the boards of directors of both institutions appointed committees to work out the details.

Like its predecessor institutions, Spaulding Youth Center adapted to the changing needs of children. In 1970, Spaulding adopted behavior management as its major focus, reflecting the needs of children with emotional problems. In 1988, it completed construction of the Cutter-Wiggins Trauma Unit, aimed at helping those with traumatic brain injuries.

Troubled boys could find structure and friendship at the Golden Rule Farm in Franklin. (Spaulding File Photo)

In 2004, Spaulding began assisting with the placement of children needing foster care and it later would take on the training of people interested in becoming foster parents. In 2012, Spaulding opened a new, high-performance school able to provide specialized programs and services for children and youths, including those with autism.

The last couple of years marked a new phase for Spaulding when it opened a new cottage called Wednesday House in 2020, to provide a place for students whose homes were unsafe due to their parents’ drug use or neglect. The students are able to attend public school during the day but have a safe place to stay when school is not in session.

In short, from the time the New Hampshire Orphans’ Home opened, the institution now known as Spaulding Academy and Family Services has identified and responded to the biggest unmet needs in the state of New Hampshire. Golden Rule Farm was an important part of that journey, and those former residents who are still living today recall their time there with fondness.

Golden Rule Farm taught the young residents about farm life and gave them skills they could take into adulthood. (Spaulding File Photo)

Hawk Watch and Slim Baker Day in Bristol

Hawk Watch and Slim Baker Day in Bristol

By Lee Caldwell

On Saturday, September 18 from 10 am to 2 pm, the Slim Baker Foundation for Outdoor Education will host a combination Hawk Watch and Slim Baker Day at Slim Baker Lodge and Little Round Top in Bristol. This outdoor event is free and open to the public. No registration required.

In addition, their annual story walk is now on display. The title of the book is STARS by Mary Lynn Ray. Both the Hawk Watch and the Story Walk events are self-guided opportunities. There will be informational handouts and hawk educational displays along the Worthen trail hike up to the summit of Little Round Top (Inspiration Point).

Inspiration Point in fall courtesy of Slim Baker Foundation.

Slim Baker Day is a tribute to Everett “Slim” Baker, a dedicated and much-loved conservation officer with NH Fish and Game who died at age 43 in 1953. According to the organization’s website: “the Slim Baker Area is a 135-acre tract of conserved land in Bristol that was set up as a memorial to him as he had dreamed of setting up a ‘school for outdoor living’ in the Newfound Lake area. This area is the fulfillment of that dream. For over 6 decades, the foundation has adhered to the two goals of the organization’s original founding document:

1. To provide programs of outdoor recreation, nature study, and practical conservation for residents of the Newfound area and visitors.

2. To perpetuate the memory, ideals and ideas of Everett D. ‘Slim’ Baker, long-time resident and conservation officer of the area, and true lover of nature and mankind.”

“Slim” had a reputation of being friendly and helpful, but strict if necessary. He was beloved in the community, loved hunting and fishing, and believed in the wise use of natural resources. He was tall and lanky, hence the name “Slim” and when he became fatally ill, his friends in the community rallied around to help make his “school for outdoor living” dream come true. A beautiful tract of land was donated by Reba Hipson on Little Round Top, a site was cleared for the construction of a rustic lodge and a trail was cut to the summit. 

A retrospective/tribute of the life and legacy of “Slim” Baker will be on display of the porch of the Slim Baker Lodge for all to view.

Story walk photo courtesy of Slim Baker Foundation.

Little Round Top is the oldest hawk watch site in New Hampshire. It has a panoramic view of the valley that is ideal for viewing the annual fall hawk migration. NH Fish and Game states that the second and third weeks of September are peak hawk watching times as large flocks (or kettles) of broad winged hawks pass over. To conserve energy, they ride the big thermal air currents along ridge lines and river valleys (in this case central New Hampshire’s Pemigewasset River) on their way to Central and South America. 

According to the NH Fish and Game website: “hawks, falcons, raptors, and birds of prey are all terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. All have short, strongly hooked beaks and sharp, curved talons (claws.) Body size, wing length and shape vary, as do colors and patterns with different combinations of black, white, rufous, gray, and brown. Many have different color phases with juveniles appearing different from the adults. Females are typically larger than males. All prey on other species ranging from insects to other birds and small to medium size mammals. Some are seasonal visitors or travelers passing through during spring and fall migrations. Some are rare visitors seen every 3-5 years. They range in size from 9-33 inches long and have 20-72 inch wingspans and can be seem throughout the state.”

As many as 15 raptor species pass over New Hampshire during the fall migration (which typically runs from September through November.) Among them are the American kestrel, the Broad Winged hawk, the Cooper’s hawk, the Merlin, the Northern goshawk; the Northern harrier; the Red-shouldered hawk, the Red-tailed hawk, the Sharp-shinned hawk, the Gyrfalcon, the Rough-legged hawk, the Golden eagle, the Bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, and the osprey. Eagles do sometimes migrate, although adults tend to stay near their nesting territory as long as there is available food. The best hawk watch sites are high with an open view to the north/northwest.

Hawk- credit to Walt Keane, NH Audubon Society; photo provided by Slim Baker Foundation for Outdoor Education.

The Slim Baker Foundation encourages all to come on September 18, view the Slim Baker tribute, follow the Story Walk, and to “bring your binoculars, patience, and a sense of adventure while waiting to spot the movement of a hawk along the horizon.”

The Slim Baker lodge area is located in Bristol. From the downtown, take Rt. 3A south for a short distance, bear right onto High Street. At the crest of the hill, turn right onto New Chester Mt Road (at the sign for Slim Baker Lodge) and continue to the parking area. The trail to Inspiration Point for the Hawk Watch has some short, but moderately steep sections. 

For additional information see the Slim Baker Foundation website, www.slimbaker.org.

Food Truck Fun with Pours & Petals

Food Truck Fun with Pours & Petals

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

You might’ve seen the cute green and white vintage style food truck around the Lakes Region this summer. If you stopped to check it out on a hot summer’s day, you likely couldn’t resist ordering a refreshing drink made by the owner of the truck, Erin Doonan.

That eye-catching truck is called Pours & Petals and it is unique, offering hot and cold beverages, cider donuts, cookies and other treats…and also fresh garden flowers from Winnipesaukee Woods Farm. (Thus the name Pours & Petals.)

Lemonade from Pours & Petals.

“I opened the business on Memorial Day weekend of this year,” Erin says as she sets up on a recent summer morning in Meredith by Hermit Woods Winery & Deli (on Main Street). “It has gone very well this season, and I set up at various locations each week.”

Erin’s food truck has gained a following at the locations where she can be found each week. Should a customer want morning Wayfarer coffee, she has iced or hot coffee, and also Cider Bellies Doughnuts, which are very popular. There are also chocolate chip cookies and other snacks, including fresh berry parfait bowls, and summer salad.

Those who order coffee can choose hot or nitro cold brew iced coffee. And then there is the lemonade, handcrafted and popular on a hot summer’s day. You can choose plain lemonade, or add on natural flavors, such as blueberry lavender, cherry, strawberry, raspberry lime, blackberry mint, mixed berry, honey rose, strawberry basil, pomegranate, orange, green tea or black tea lemonade. Other iced drinks include iced chai, sweet or unsweetened tea, or green tea among others.

Why so many iced drinks, one might ask? Erin smiles as she explains, “I like iced beverages and I wanted to offer a menu that had things I have come to love. I drink iced coffee and I have made my own lemonade since I was a teenager.” (As a teen, Erin worked in the food service industry at an ice cream stand.)

Pours & Petals started when Erin and her boyfriend took on the ambitious project of renovating a 14-foot long 1960 Coleman Woodman camper. She found the camper online and once purchased, Erin decided to gut the vehicle. 

Pours & Petals food truck in Meredith by Hermit Woods Winery.

“I chose this particular camper because it is the perfect length,” she says. “And it is light weight at about 1,400 pounds.” Erin did not want a vehicle that would be too bulky to drive and she can manage the food truck, although it was a learning curve.

It had been used by the previous owner as a camper, and Erin found it when browsing on Craigslist. “We stripped it to the bare bones and replaced everything,” she explained. 

In order for the truck to be a fully-functional kitchen, it was necessary for Erin to do a lot of research for food requirements and codes. She learned that the process of creating her own food truck would not be a straight-forward effort. 

“It took eight months to renovate it and it sat in our driveway during the renovation,” she recalls. Not surprisingly, there was some water damage to the camper due to its age, and Erin was very thorough in gutting it and putting plywood on the interior walls and then adding a light tin back splash which makes the interior very bright and cheerful. They also did rewiring and added new custom Pella windows. (Some of the original 1960 windows remain as well.) The food truck has commercial refrigeration and four-tap kegerator for drinks.

The result, when finished, is an eye-catching and charming food truck with the Pours & Petals logo on the exterior. The truck is cream and green colored; the green sticker wrap was added by a graphics company. At one end of the truck, there are flower holders so Erin can offer bouquets of fresh flowers from Winnipesaukee Woods Farm. 

Once renovated, it was time to take the food truck, with its tasty menu and bouquets of fresh flowers, on the road. Erin says she has received nothing but great and enthusiastic comments from the public. Indeed, how can anyone resist stopping at the truck and smiling when seeing the menu, the flowers and the cheerful exterior of Pours & Petals?

Erin says the positive reception from customers pushes her to keep moving forward, because operating the food truck is a 24/7 business. “I just love the good reaction I have had!” she adds.

Originally from Massachusetts, Erin and her family spent many summers in the Lakes Region, and her love of the area is why she settled here permanently. After high school, she moved to the Lakes Region full-time and she has been here for six years now.

“I have a passion for event management,” she explains. “I always knew I wanted to do something with food and events.” It seems unlikely she dreamed of owning and operating a busy food truck, but the unique and fun business fits the bill for Erin and has offered something wonderful for the area.

Now that Pours & Petals is off and running, Erin is moving forward with private events and weddings. She says she can customize the truck for each customer’s needs, such as offering lemonade and a dessert service for an evening event, and for a morning gathering, coffee and pastries. 

Erin Doonan with her 1960 vintage food truck, Pours & Petals.

She also offers personalized catering with access to a full kitchen service and has taken on food requests for private events. The ability to sell flowers will add something extra to an event. Customers can hire the food truck for bachelorette parties, weddings, rehearsal dinners and business opening events, as well as neighborhood parties. One can only imagine how fun and popular the food truck will be at a wedding or party.

As we head into the autumn, Erin will be altering the menu to offer hot cider and hot chocolate, among other warming goodies for chillier weather. She also hopes to be at winter festivals and holiday events, and is currently looking at winterizing the food truck. 

Pours & Petals can be found at Hermit Woods Winery in Meredith, Gilford Country Store on Lake Shore Road in Gilford and other locations weekly, with her schedule posted on her social media and at www.poursandpetalsevents.com.

Her future goals for next year will be to continue to attend local farmers markets and craft fairs, as well offering personalized, private event services. This seems a sensible plan in the warm summer months when shoppers at these markets become hot and thirsty outdoors. 

Should you spot a charming vintage white and green food truck with flowers for sale, as well as a cheerful young woman serving customers who are ordering cooling lemonade or warm morning coffee, you have found Erin and Pours & Petals! 

For information about the food truck, email erin@poursandpetalsevents.com or visit www.poursandpetalsevents.com.

The Summer Fair - A Century Plus Tradition

The Summer Fair - A Century Plus Tradition

By Judith Buswell

(Editor’s note – the Gilford Community Church, located in Gilford village, will hold its annual summer fair during Gilford Old Home Day. The church fair takes place on Friday, August 27 at 4 pm and on Saturday, August 28 at 7 am on the church grounds on Potter Hill Road. The following is a look back at the activities and history of the fair by author Judith Buswell.)

 In 1922, the Gilford Community Church (GCC) annual summer fair was held on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon in the middle of the week. Why not Saturday? Perhaps the easy answer is that most women - the primary consumers, supporters, and organizers of church fairs - did not work outside their homes, meaning that these mid-week events would fit more comfortably within their household and farm duties. 

By today’s standards, this summer fair held in the Town Hall over two afternoons and evenings, was simple and modest. However, the real lure of this event came from the bountiful social connections involved and the chance to share patterns for homemade aprons and recipes for home-cooked food. The evening musicales drew in the men-folk and others for a long-awaited and memorable mid-summer gathering of friends and families. Who did all the planning for this fair? Promotional materials indicate that seven women and one man managed this one event! 

In contrast, by 1948 at the crest of the post-WWII surge in community energy, the Fair was organized and led by about 40 men and women. The event had been renamed the “Country Fair” and was held on a Saturday in late July so as not to conflict with the town’s yearly late-August observance of “Old Home Day”. Aprons and baked goods were still the major attractions, but this year the aprons were sold from the wrap-around porch and lawn of the Langill’s home right across the street, while the baked goods were the main attraction in the Town Hall. Other Fair venues included the Parsonage where a Fortune Teller consulted her crystal ball and ladies served late-afternoon iced tea, and the Archie McDonald Barn - part of the big white house next to the Town Hall - that provided shade and shelter for the Auction. Hungry fair-goers ate lunch in the Parish Hall and while the adults chatted, their children hustled upstairs for movies. Workers in the Grange Hall dished up a Baked Bean and Strawberry Shortcake supper, followed by a Square Dance with a live caller and an orchestra in the rustic hall at the Belknap Mountain Recreation Area. Scarcely a month later on August 21 before the ink had dried in the Summer Fair account books, the GCC ladies rallied again to run a homemade gift table as part of Gilford Old Home Day. The next day on Sunday, August 22, Rev. Paul Hostetter and the choir led a special “Old Home Sunday Family Service” in the GCC Sanctuary. 

In 1949, The GCC Country Fair featured the sale of the cookbook, “Gilford Cakes”, a project of the Women’s Circle that included favorite cake recipes from members and friends of the Gilford Community Church, illustrations by Ellie Lindsay, and lettering by Barbara Smith. Copies of this small, spiral-bound book are still cherished and used by current church members. 

In 1957, the summer fair was chaired by Seth Keller with co-chairs Fran Talbot
and Bob Hinds and some 24 committee
workers. Home-made aprons in an eye-catching display of color and fabric still captured the spotlight. 

The 1962 church fair, chaired by Larry Guild Sr. with Iva Phelps as co-chair, was built around a colonial theme and included a delightful children's parade that opened the Fair. The apron table was still a feature but was definitely no longer the star attraction. 

In 1971, Bruce Papps was Chair of the GCC summer fair. Earlier, town and church leaders had combined the church fair with the Old Home Day celebrations in anticipation of streamlined efforts and even grander outcomes. 

In these initial years of collaboration, the church fair delayed its opening until immediately after the Parade, allowing Fair personnel to stand along the route and cheer on costumed nieces, nephews and neighbors as they marched by. 

1971 was the rare year that Mother Nature interfered. Worried fair personnel had watched all week as Hurricane Doria slid up the eastern sea- board to arrive in New Hampshire just in time to swamp the day’s events, postponing everything until the following Saturday on September 4. Thus one week later than planned, the Fair was a success but the home-made aprons didn’t even rate a mention by the media, no doubt handily upstaged by the popular Chuck Wagon! 

In 1975, and apparently every year thereafter, the GCC summer fair and the Old Home Day Parade both started at 10am, causing some dismay as fairgoers could not watch the parade and pick-up interesting items at the Fair at the same time. 

Over the decades, the GCC fair with its differing themes, partners, dates, activities and venues has slowly evolved to reflect the current culture and priorities. Due to its numerous edits, this summer event continues to attract thousands of visitors from everywhere, all quite happy to spend the day and a few dollars in the charm of a country village. 

As is true of many churches, the one consistent thread through all these summer fairs is the strong and enthusiastic leadership and the months of preparation by many dozens of people. And as much today as it was yesterday, the GCC Summer Fair still generates income that over the years has helped to pay the preacher, light the furnace, stock the pew racks with hymnals, and of primary significance, serve the community. 

Horses Over America

Horses Over America

By Rosalie Triolo

Photo courtesy of Lt. Col. Gerry Scott

A man, a horse, a dog, and a commitment. Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Scott Retired US Army Reserve, and Infantry Officer, is the founder of the “Horses Over America” program. While serving in the US Army he was assigned to command one of its three horse units of 20 horses, 10 of which were Lipizzaner. 

Lt. Col. Scott describes his horse, Hercules, a 17.3 hand Friesian, as “100% Dutch, stunningly calm, sweet and stable.” Hercules was 7 years old when Scot brought him from the state of Georgia to his home in Saco, Maine. Retired from the Army for 28 years, he has owned seven horses of different breeds. He has had the honor of riding in a military exchange program with the Queen’s Household Cavalry and has ridden in burial ceremonies for America’s Fallen Heroes at the National Cemetery.

Aware of the increasing daily effects of hopelessness and helplessness on many members of our society, both the young and the old, especially during the recent pandemic, the increase in senseless shootings, suicides, drug overdoses, and for some the total feeling of loneliness, Scott believes horses are a therapeutic animal who can be and are effective in making a difference in people’s lives. He calls it “horse therapy.” With his horse, Hercules, and Molly, his Yellow Lab, Scott has visited nursing homes, veterans’ homes, hospitals, cancer treatment centers, schools in towns from Maine to New Hampshire and Vermont and has seen the growing need for mental health services. He doesn’t want people to think of him as someone “just riding a horse down a Main Street in their town with his dog running alongside. He wants people to see a man, a horse and a dog riding in harmony.” 

Scott has the foresight, sagacity, and the determination to put forth a plan. His goal is to develop a national partnership with police departments and police chiefs in the more than 15,000 municipalities across America with the help of the 2.1 million horse owners and 10 million horses throughout America. He has adopted 10 towns, which he regularly visits – Wolfeboro being one of them. But he is one man with one horse and one dog. He cannot do this by himself. Horses Over America is a non-profit 501c3 organization. Scott said, “If supported, we can reach between 50% to 75% of towns in America. I am maxed out with 10 towns and work six days a week for no pay.” 

Scott visits Wolfeboro quite often. He related a story regarding his visit to Wolfeboro’s Kingwood Middle School, which took place several weeks before school closed for summer vacation. “When I arrived, teachers brought out one group of students at a time for 20 minutes.” I asked, “How many of you have never been on a horse? Several children raised their hands. Those were the children I chose to put up on Hercules. It made those children who had never experienced sitting atop a horse remarkably happy as well as parents who were there. A little gesture to delight a child and make both children and parents smile. I don’t believe in magic if such a thing exists, but when riding down the street in a parade and sitting in a wheelchair on the side is an old gentleman looking up at me and my horse, I’ll look down at him and say, “My horse is looking for a girlfriend. That elderly face turns into a child’s bright smile. Every time I go to Wolfeboro, I make it a point to visit one little girl. The happiness it brings her to see and touch Hercules is worth the time.” This year many of you may have seen Scott riding Hercules with Molly running alongside in both the Memorial Day and Fourth of July parades.

Scott praised Pat Waterman, Wolfeboro’s Town Clerk. “She has been so supportive of the Horses Over America program and helps me in any way she can. She embraces the program. Parents have sent her letters asking when Hercules will be coming back to town.” Scott has visited Huggins Hospital on Main Street in Wolfeboro and said, “Fifty-percent of the employees will spend their lunchtime to come outside to pet Molly, admire Hercules and chat with me. Also, I plan on spending more time at the Genesis Health Care Center and am going back at some point in the near future.

“Recently, I rode Hercules right into a restaurant in Portland, Maine and tied him to the door in an open area. Since I know the owner, I was welcomed.” Scott went on to say, “The patrons could not believe their eyes and came up to me to talk about, my horse, and Horses Over America program.” 

Lt. Col. Scott has a goal and encourages horse owners across America to participate in this program, strongly believing it will make a positive impact on peoples’ lives. Horses Over America can be more successful than it already is when police departments and the chiefs of police are and will be equal partners with horse owners in this worthwhile effort. As he said, “This program will not only help those individuals with mental and emotional health problems but will strengthen and aid in police department reform programs by giving them an asset.” 

Horse owners who adopt a town, will only have to volunteer their time with a police department for eight hours a day between three to five days a year depending upon the size and needs of the town. It is an important way of bringing communities together to understand and address those in need of mental health services and to support and assist in police reform. Scott has adopted 10 towns and tries to visit each one of them, but he is only one person and cannot achieve the goals by himself. 

During 2021, Lt. Col. Scott visited Wolfeboro for the town’s annual Memorial Day Parade. Scott, his horse Hercules and his dog Molly were greeted by many of the townspeople and visitors. As Dean Rondeau, Police Chief of Wolfeboro, said, “Horses Over America has proved to be a great mental health program for the Town of Wolfeboro. Together we visited our schools, Huggins Hospital, our nursing homes, and the entire town were invited to meet them at the town docks where Scott’s beautiful horse Hercules swam in Lake Winnipesaukee and Molly did too. We will definitely want to continue this.” 

A few comments from several police chiefs throughout the State of Maine who are working with Horses Over America include: The police chief of Kennebunk, Maine said, “It would be a great asset to every police department if they could have a Horses Over America team to count on…” The police chief of Bath, Maine expressed his feelings, “The experience we had in Bath with ‘HOA’ was exactly what our community needed…” Brunswick, Maine’s police chief is pleased to have an officer who brought her horse, as did another community member. “We took three horses to visit several nursing homes, neighborhoods and most of the downtown merchants.” And in Saco, Maine a police officer has already been assigned to Horses Over America. She added, “It has a positive psychological effect on hundreds/thousands of people it can touch in one day.” 

For more information on “Horses Over America” visit www.horsesoveramerica.org. Photos in the media gallery of horses and trainers, or with police officers visiting the housebound elderly, economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (children and adults alike with smiles of joy). Horse trainers’ statements and the reaction of delight and happiness these magnificent horses bring to the young and those who are the young at heart. 

Part of Horses Over America’s mission statement is simple yet so appropriate. A quote from one of America’s most popular and beloved cowboys, Roy Rogers, “The best thing for the inside of a person is the outside of a horse.” 

And as Lt. Col. Scott added, “Outside of a horse means working with them every day which forces you to be outside.”

Newfound Lake Eco Tours

Newfound Lake Eco Tours

By Lee Caldwell 

Driving along the North Shore Road in Hebron, you pass the Grey Rocks Conservation Area. Here, at the north end of Newfound Lake, is where the Newfound Lake Region Association (NLRA) starts it EcoTours of pristine Newfound Lake. The EcoTour program is the flagship educational program of the NRLA. The tour provides passengers with a history of land uses in the watershed, insight into the local animal species and water quality monitoring demonstrations. 

Arriving at the pontoon boat launch, you might see children with nets catching bullfrog polliwogs, families picking wild blueberries, and kayaks and canoes being launched into the man-made inlet. There are also 1.5 miles of hard packed walking trails suitable for both adults and children. 

Captaining the 22 ft. - 90 HP pontoon boat on the August day was Scott Kresge who informed the boat passengers that the tour would take about two hours and follow the Newfound Lake Shoreline covering about 2/3 of the lake. He went on to say that Newfound Lake is approximately 4,300 acres, and is 6.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide running roughly north to south. The lake, he stated, is one of the most pristine (in the top 10) in the country due to low contaminants and excellent water quality. 

Once passengers were seated, he slowly motored the pontoon boat out of the inlet, pointing out painted turtles basking on rocks, a mother mallard duck and her ducklings, two beaver lodges, some Canada geese, and remarking that the inlet was a sanctuary for smaller fish hiding from the larger predatory fish. Scott also stated that it was not unusual to see loons and bald eagles (there are currently two nesting pairs on the lake) while on the tour, and that there are 22 species of fish in the lake, including lake trout and landlocked salmon. 

Leaving the inlet, the boat motored through a shallow, sandy area where the Cockermouth River empties into the lake. Scott explained that the sand was caused by soil erosion due to development upstream. He stated that two of the primary goals of the NLRA advisory board are minimizing storm water run-off and erosion control. He stated that erosion and contaminants are a constant concern and that the NLRA has seven water sampling sites in the lake itself as well as 42 water sampling sites in the streams, rivers, and creeks flowing into Newfound Lake which are manned by volunteers from the Youth Conservation Corp and Americorps. They test for a variety of things and have 22 years of data accumulated. The NLRA also encourages replanting of native species along the shoreline to help alleviate run-off and offers free consultation services. 

Continuing along the less-developed north shore of Newfound Lake, Scott pointed out the grey granite cliffs from which the Grey Rocks Conservation Area gets its name and also the home of the McLane family who donated the land and who play an active part in the NLRA. The boat then passed the Paradise Point Nature Center run by the Audubon Society, who have hiking trails along the lake and who rent kayaks and canoes. 

Stepping back 25,000 years, Scott explained that Newfound Lake is a kettle-hole lake originally formed by a glacier 1-mile thick. As the glacier retreated 10,000 years-ago, the debris formed a natural dam. The deepest part of the lake is 182 feet. The total watershed area as encompassed by the mountains surrounding the lake, is 63,000 acres. 

Jumping to the 1800s, Scott described the lake in that era as a cesspool - a dumping ground for the industries of that time. The trees were cut so that sheep could graze, and there was a tannery and a kiln which where polluting the lake. Later, the farmers discovered that they could make more money providing services to travelers along the Mayhew Turnpike, a toll road costing from one to three pennies depending on the number of horses, (currently Route 3-A) so they shifted their focus to taverns and inns. 

As the boat went around the tiny house on Loon Island, a big black dog came out to bark. There were a number of boats moored nearby, the sky was blue with puffy white clouds, and the scene appeared idyllic. A little further along the shore, a loon did pop up briefly to the “oohs and aahs” of the boat passengers and then disappeared again under the water. This same loon or its twin appeared again at the end of the boat trip. 

As we passed by Pasquaney Bay, the passengers were treated to the story of the Stella Marion, a 50 ft. wooden steam boat that hauled giant rafts of logs on Newfound Lake, and carried mail and passengers around the lake for 50 years. It caught fire and burned at its dock in Pasquaney Bay in 1915 and its wreck lies on the lake floor. 

A number of summer camps around the lake also had their own stories or bits of fun trivia. Thomas Edison’s son, Theodore, was a camper at Camp Pasquaney and Edison himself was a frequent visitor to the area. President Obama’s daughters stayed at Camp Wicosuta. A water sampling site of the NLRA is near the camp and when the NLRA boat would stop to bring out the equipment for water sampling, the Secret Service would jump in boats and rush out to investigate. Scott pointed out that the camps which have extensive acreage around the lake are helping to prevent parts of the shorefront from being heavily developed, thus aiding in the fight against erosion. 

Wellington State Beach on Newfound Lake has the only public power boat launch on the lake. The NLRA maintains Lake Host Program Inspectors there to educate the public about aquatic invasive species prevention methods and to help boaters remove potentially invasive plants and animals from boats, trailers, and gear. Among those invasive species is milfoil, which has not spread to Newfound Lake. 

Returning along the west side of the lake, the boat passed the ledges, some of the deepest water in the lake. There is a microcline at around 30 ft., which is a popular feeding spot for lake trout and landlocked salmon. The water in the lake itself “turns over” twice a year when the surface water reaches 49 degrees. The surface water is at its densest at the point, it sinks to the bottom, and the deeper water rises to the top, thus re-oxygenating the water. 

The EcoTour has something for everyone: a beautiful boat ride with a grand tour of the lake; a chance to enjoy seeing amphibians, birds, and mammals in their natural habitat; interesting historical facts and trivia; and an important science and ecology lesson. 

Newfound Lake Region Eco Tours run Thursday through Monday, twice a day at 10 am and 1 pm. Tours last approximately two hours. The cost is $20 for adults and $15 for children. NLRA members have a 25 percent discount. They also offer private tours and charter tours. You can reserve online, or for information call 603-744-8689. 

Painting And Loving It

Painting And Loving It

By Thomas P. Caldwell

Gerri Harvey painting

Artists often never learn where their works end up, so they are always surprised when they hear from a buyer or the family member of someone who had bought a painting years ago.

That was the case for Gerri Harvey, a Laconia landscape artist who is currently working on a large commissioned painting for a woman in Texas who previously purchased one of her paintings online. Before online sales, when paintings sold mainly through galleries, the purchaser and destination usually remained unknown.

That was the case with her first sale, an 11x14 oil painting of birch trees by a stone wall.

“It was sold for $35 during an art association show at the Belknap Mill around 1982,” Gerri recalled. “I had entered it in the novice artist category. I had no idea who bought it or where it ended up.

“Last year, I got a contact via my art website from the daughter of the woman who had bought it while vacationing here from Connecticut all those years ago. Her mother was now deceased and the daughter told me her mother loved the painting and was sure I was destined to become a very good painter. She sent me a photo of the painting. I have come a long way!

Gerri's studio

“The daughter now owned the painting and wanted to come full circle and purchase one by me as a way to honor her mother’s memory and love of the Lakes Region where she often vacationed. She bought one she saw on my website and I shipped it to her during COVID. I sent it priority mail with tracking. It took five weeks to arrive because it went all the way to California before finally arriving in Connecticut.”

Gerri says that, over the years, she has heard from a few other people who inherited older paintings she had done. “In one case, a nice man delivered one of them to me that he had found in an estate sale, thinking I might like to have it back,” she said.

She estimates that she has sold hundreds of paintings over the years, and said that, last year, between sales and commissioned pieces, she sold around 50 paintings.

Some artists avoid trying to create a painting that reflects someone else’s vision, but in the case of the Texas woman mentioned above, Gerri said, “If the request is within the genre I like to paint, and the person already likes my painting style, I enjoy giving it a go.”

The client had purchased a smaller piece through an online art event and contacted Gerri about doing a larger piece that would represent her “dream” retirement place. Gerri worked from the woman’s description, creating two 8 x 10 studies as a starting point for the actual painting. One reflected an actual scene in Gilford and the other was a composite painting that Gerri created by interpreting the woman’s vision. She sent photos of the two studies so the woman could decide which she wanted to have done as a larger painting.

Gerri said she began painting in her early 30s. She took weekly group classes in oil painting with the late Loran Percy in his Gilford studio.

“My classes were ‘Mom’s night out’ when my children were small,” Gerri recalls. “Loran was an inspiring teacher and I was his student for about two years.”

Later, she took some group classes in watercolor with Laconia artists Larry Frates and the late Betty Jean Maheux.

“I was working as a registered nurse and raising a family, so I was only an occasional dabbler and hobby painter, but I enjoyed it, painting at home on my kitchen table,” she said.

When her children were grown, she decided “to see where I could go with my painting.” She took workshops with a few nationally known painters, including watercolorists Ted Nuttall and Stan Miller, floral oil painter Nancy Medina, and Tom Hughes, who does plein air oils. She also attended workshops locally with Dennis Morton and Carole Keller.

“I have a whole library of art books, too,” she said. “One of the joys of being retired is having the time to paint and learn, and I am still learning.”

A Fine Day

She has signed up for a three-day oil painting workshop with Vermont artist John MacDonald, scheduled for this fall.

Gerri has gone through several “art periods” — trying stained glass, quilting, silk painting, paper collages, fabric collages, rug-braiding, rug-hooking, jewelry-making, and clay.

“At one point, I decided I had to choose just one because who has the time or space to do it all?” she asked. “I chose to focus on painting because I love painting so much, and for the past 10 years since retiring, I have painted a lot. Well, I just picked up rug-hooking again, too, so I guess it’s really two.”

She has painted portraits, animals, and florals, but said she is particularly interested in doing landscapes and lake scenes.

“There is so much inspiration around me right here in New Hampshire,” she commented.

While she started with oils and watercolors, Gerri switched to acrylics when her daughter was little and wanted to paint with her mother. Painting with oil requires using solvents that can be harmful, while acrylics have a polymer base and are not only safer but also light-fast and permanent when dry.

“They look much like oils but handle quite differently in that they dry very quickly, unlike oils which take weeks, making blending and layering a longer process with lots of waiting time,” she said. “I like to paint right along, sometimes completing a painting in a day or two, so acrylics actually suit my painting style very well. I do still use oils and watercolors occasionally, though.”

Her daughter enjoyed painting so much that she majored in art at college, and today she is a successful watercolor artist living in western Massachusetts.

Four years ago, Gerri met pen-and-ink artist Steve Hall through an art group they both belonged to, and where they were gallery-sitters for an entire day. Both were widowed after long, happy marriages, and Gerri said, “it was the beginning of our friendship that became our chapter two love.” He wanted to learn to work with acrylics and took lessons from Gerri.

Reflecting On Summer

They both sold their respective houses and bought a new house together three years ago, sharing studio space downstairs.

Gerri said she carries her paints wherever she goes so she is prepared to capture a scene. She also takes reference photos and notes for later painting efforts.

“I have done painting off the coast of Rhode Island where I grew up, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, South Carolina,” she said.

“At the start of COVID, we bought a tiny camper so we could still go places to visit and paint,” she continued. “I am new to camping and, though it’s small, it has every convenience except space, so paint supplies go in the car.”

Gerri also gives art lessons — originally through VynnArt Gallery in Meredith as well as private lessons at her home studio.

“Since I don’t have an academic background in art, I teach by the ‘show-and-tell’ method, and I think it really appeals to adults,” she said. “It is how I learned, and how most painting workshops are structured. I am organized, patient, and encouraging as a teacher. I believe that most people can learn to paint reasonably well if the desire is there; you don’t have to be a Rembrandt to create a good painting, and the creative enjoyment itself is reason enough to paint.”

She also sold her own paintings through VynnArt Gallery. When that divided into three galleries under one roof in January, it became The Galleries at 30 Main: VynnArt Gallery, the Moreau Gallery, and the Ferreira Gallery.

“I stayed on,” Gerri said, “and now I am part of Moreau Gallery.”

Gerri also is part of the 15-member Fusion Gallery, an online gallery that makes her works available to collectors all over the world. She participates in an online sales event every other month.

“I started painting over 40 years ago and I am still learning,” Gerri said. “I feel pretty passionate about painting and look forward to my studio time. I paint a few days a week, sometimes only for an hour, sometimes all day. I still find so much challenge and joy in it, and I like helping others find that spark, too.”

View her works at The Galleries at 30 Main in Meredith, the gallery wall at Wayfarer Coffee Roasters in downtown Laconia, Fusion Gallery on Facebook, on her website, gerriharveyart.com, and by appointment at her home studio in Laconia.

Step into History at NH Boat Museum

Day Tripping

Step into History at NH Boat Museum

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

When you step inside the NH Boat Museum, you step into history. Each and every time I visit, I am surprised at the beauty of the antique boats on display – most of them wooden, sleek and breathtaking. 

While I have a passing knowledge of many things Lakes Region/New Hampshire, I am not particularly informed about the vast history of boating in the area. A tour of the NH Boat Museum, located on Center St. in Wolfeboro, always increases my knowledge, and this year’s exhibits and some new (to the museum) boats add to the enjoyment of a visit.

Nickerson rowboat.

This season, the exhibit is “Locally Produced” and it is all about boats and boating items produced in the area. Viewers are treated to the origins of boating and how it grew in the Lakes Region.

If you like old photos that show how people used the lakes area for boating, waterskiing and other pastimes, you will like the exhibit.

How did the museum come to begin and find a home in Wolfeboro? A love of antique boats and their history led to the formation of the museum in 1992. According to information at www.nhbm.org, “Originally the museum was called the ‘New Hampshire Antique and Classic Boat Museum’ and then modified in order to better reflect the museum’s mission. After moving around Lake Winnipesaukee for a few years, in 2000 NHBM found a permanent home in Wolfeboro in the former Allen ‘A’ Resort theater and dance hall.  The Allen ‘A’ hall, a large, barrel-round, Quonset hut style building built in 1954, cannot be missed on Route 28 north on the edge of town. Visitors can also experience the thrill of riding in a replica vintage boat in NHBM’s very own 1928-style Hacker Craft mahogany triple cockpit, the Millie B.”

I visited the NH Boat Museum on a steamy and hot mid-July afternoon, and an employee at the front desk greeted me and led the way into the museum with its high ceilings and at the far end, a stage area where bands once played for the Allen A guests. As I gazed into the room, I caught sight of the incredible wooden boats – one of which looked so charming I could barely wait to see it up close. (More on this later.) 

This is the second season for the fabulous “Locally Produced” exhibit and there are returning favorite items, as well as new things in the show.

The first display focuses on the early days of waterski manufacturing in the area. As a lover of all things old, I adored this portion of the museum displays. Information told that the increasing power and speed of boats on the lakes in the 1920s led to the idea of skiing behind a boat. It seemed like a rather logical – if perhaps at first daring – idea. The thrilling sport caught on; by the 1950s, waterskiing was one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the country. It also seems logical that New Hampshire and specifically the Lakes Region was front-and-center when it came to waterskiing. Two national brands of skis were manufactured in Laconia: AquaSport and Northland. 

One of my favorite posters in the exhibit was a large advertisement that told of the National Water Ski Championships which were held from August 21-23 in 1959. The Weirs Ski Club was involved in the event. 

An AquaSport Water Ski Rope Tow in its original box was a great part of the exhibit, along with old photos of local water skiers and water skis. 

NH Boat Museum executive director, Martha Cummings, joined me on the tour, and pointed out the Nickerson boat, which she told me was back at the museum. The Nickerson rowboat is a long wooden boat that was quite utilitarian, and used to carry passengers and luggage and deliveries of goods to the Winnipesaukee islands. It was also used often on Lake Wentworth.  According to exhibit information, Nicerkson Boat Works was located on Old Route 16 in Ossipee, New Hampshire. With a simple and sturdy design, the rowboats had flat bottoms so a person could stand up in them without capsizing. Although the boats were once common, today they are quite rare. Thus, the rowboat at the museum is quite interestubgm and those who are boating fans will want to see this gem.

Boat license plate display.

Martha smiled as she pointed to a wall of boat license plates nearby. “It is the collection of Doug Hamel, and is a complete group of boat plates from 1916 to 1988.”

The boat that had caught my eye when I entered the museum was next on our tour and Martha told me it was from the collection of a Sunapee area family collection. “We just got the boat at the end of 2020,” she explained. 

I could imagine the lucky family that got to ride in such a wooden boat, with its glass windowed cabin and sleek driver’s area. Built by FW Johnson, the boat is a gorgeous vessel. FW Johnson was the son of an Alton, New Hampshire blacksmith and was a carriage builder. Later, FW turned to boat building at his property, the FW Johnson Launch Company on Gold St. in Lakeport, New Hampshire. He was best remembered for his building of “Laker” style launches so popular in the early 1900s.

Next to the first boat, a huge old wooden boat is a shining thing of beauty and it did not take much imagination to dream about the days when this boat plied the waters of Winnipesaukee with a driver at the wheel and a party of genteel folks with picnic baskets lounging on board as they moved over the water.

The beautiful Regina wooden boat.

The boat is called the Regina and it is part of the NH Boat Museum’s permanent collection. It was constructed by Goodhue & Hawkins in 1913 and is only one of six of this type: long-necked launches commonly known as Lakers. Five of the ultra-elegant boats still reside on Lake Winnipesaukee; the location of the sixth of unknown.

“If you stand here,” Martha suggested, indicating that I stand facing the very front of the boat, looking down the length of the Regina, “you will see my favorite view.” Indeed, when one stands with feet firmly placed on the floor and gazes down the length of the boat, you are treated to the sleek lines and artistry of the Laker’s construction. It has a “cut water” that Martha loves and one can easily imagine the grace as the Regina cut through the waters of the lake.

The Regina was a donation to the NH Boat Museum from Howard Newton and the gift was an incredibly generous one. (Fun fact: it is believed the boat was originally built for the estate of Lydia Pinkham, known as “the Queen of Patent Medicine.” The boat was built after Lydia had passed away, and was kept in her Alton Bay property until obtained by a boat enthusiast.) A charming exhibit of Lydia’s patent medicine and her story are also on display.

The quest to locate and own the boat is one of the examples of just why the NH Boat Museum is beloved to so many – the understanding that these old boats are a huge part of the country’s recreational history.

A large part of the story of boating in the Lakes Region cannot be told without focusing greatly on Goodhue & Hawkins, whose business in Wolfeboro in the early 1900s led to the popularity of boating. 

A time line display of the business tells us that Goodhue & Hawkins opened in 1903 when Nathaniel H. Goodhue and Chester E. Hawkins began operations on Sewall Road in Wolfeboro. They offered a wide range of services, including boat repair of steam and gasoline yachts and launches. Soon, the business was building custom wooden speed launches to carry passengers, as well as renting boats. Between 1903 and 1933, they were building Goodhue Lakers, the long deck launches. The hulls were framed and planked at a boat yard on Clark Point and floated to Sewall Road, where their engines were installed and the craftsman-style finishing woodwork was completed.

The history of the company and also boating in the Lakes Region takes the visitor through the years and all the types of boats to the present-day Goodhue Boat Company.

Before I was done viewing the Goodhue & Hawkins timeline area, I studied the unique, original blueprints that are on display. They are the original drawings for the Laker boat.

The Locally Produced exhibit also offers a look at boats built at the Laconia Car Company. Originally, the company built passenger and freight railcars and trolleys. Later, they built boats. The original production debuted at the 1928 New York Boat Show. Information in the exhibit tells us two boats were offered by the company: a 12 ft. Speedster and a 16 ft. Sportser. The wooden boat named Zip is on display and another part of the history of boating in the Lakes Region.

On the museum stage area, there is a massive amount of information and delightful displays and photos pertaining to rowing. The exhibit is titled “Who’s in the Boat?” and it begins with a wall-sized display of the 1852 Harvard vs. Yale first intercollegiate rowing competition. The rowing event was held on Lake Winnipesaukee in Center Harbor and 1,000 people cheered on the competitors. 

Three very long and thin boats for rowing sit in pride of place and one, a donation from Wolfeboro’s Brewster Academy, was found and pulled from the school’s lakeside area. The museum repaired the bow and it is yet another piece of area boating history.

The rowing exhibit runs deep and follows Women in Rowing and also Diversity in Rowing.

When last I talked to Martha, the NH Boat Museum was working on a campaign for fundraising for a new permanent home for the facility. "We hit $1.1 million and we own the land on Bay Street in Wolfeboro,” she said. “We are now pushing forward with fundraising to break ground with a goal of spring, 2022.” 

As we finished the tour, I also enjoyed a display of flotation devices, ranging from a Cork Life Jacket that reminded me of the ones worn in the movie Titanic. The jackets were made until 1913, followed by the Kapok Vest until the 1940s. Also on view is a 1943 Kapok “Horse Collar” life vest in the orange color most of us are familiar with; other vests are on display.

And, not to be ignored, on the main floor, there is also an extensive exhibit about the M/S Mount Washington (after all, no exhibit on Lakes Region boating would be complete without a history of this major player of boating on the lake).

There also is a children’s area with activities, so that no one in the family is overlooked when it comes to boating.

Martha adds, “We are open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday we are open from noon to 4 pm. We are closed on Mondays,” she explained. (The NH Boat Museum is open until mid-October.)

I encourage you to visit and dream about the days when millionaires and hard-working boat builders took to the waters of area lakes, and left us with so much history and those wonderful boats for all to enjoy today.

For information on the programs and membership and riding on the Millie B, call 603-569-4554 or visit www.nhbm.org.

A Dream to Create

NH Wildlife exhibit at The Libby Museum; courtesy photo.

A Dream to Create

By Rosalie Triolo

Photo Courtesy The Libby Museum of Natural History

A “Renaissance Man,” is how Catriona Lennon, director of the Libby Museum of Natural History in Wolfeboro, describes Dr. Henry F. Libby. “He was a dentist, naturalist, painter, writer, and sculptor. In 1908, Dr. Libby designed and helped build the Libby Museum. Perplexing engineers, he used whiskey barrels filled with cement for the foundation. No beams were used in the construction of the ceiling, which is held up with tie rods. And to this day there is no central air conditioning, yet the inside of the museum is cool. The air is circulated through vents located on the lake side front of the building. The cooling winds from the lake are sucked into the vents and carried up through a false wall in the back of the building. The completion of the museum was four years later in 1912.” 

Dr. Libby led a fascinating life. His skeletal collection of Puma, Bear, Orang-outang, and humans is displayed in a glass case on the side wall to the right of the large moose. He details, “The anatomical structural comparison of these creatures is for the purpose of awakening the mind to further pursuit of the study of evolution and possibly to help strengthen the arguments of use and disuse of types of teeth.” His Treatise on the Neglected Phase of Dentistry promoted preventive dentistry and the removal of wisdom teeth. 

As you wander through the museum, Dr. Libby’s fondness, and passion for all aspects of nature is evident in the number of his collections of animals, birds, and artifacts. When you walk in the front door of the museum, a large Moose with an impressive rack upon its head is probably the first thing you will notice created by Steve Jandreau, Taxidermist. 

Not far from the Moose exhibit is a New Hampshire Wildlife exhibit by Steve Berry, Taxidermist. Showcases filled with various samples of minerals, for example, Dark, Light, Yellow, Red and Orange pieces of Granite which is composed of Quarts, Feldspar and Mica and quarried here in New Hampshire – thus the state’s name - “The Granite State.” 

Ms. Lennon noted, “Dr. Libby is credited with the invention of the original white gypsum plaster plaques which meet the essential needs of natural history mountings, since they do not shrink, crack, swell, warp or discolor. The handwriting on the plaques is that of Dr. and Mrs. Libby. Also take notice of the twin flowers on the lower corner on many of the plaques, which symbolizes their love for each other.”

One of Harvard University’s most valued and irreplaceable treasures in the world today is a one-of-a-kind exhibit - the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of plants, specifically the “Glass Flowers” Exhibit. Dr. Libby’s creation of the white gypsum plaques upon which to mount the glass flowers continues to be used at The Agassiz Museum’s Glass Flower exhibit at Harvard University.

The events at the museum this summer include “Wildlife Encounters” Live Animal Shows, Wednesdays at 2 through August 11. The event is free. “Wildlife Encounters” Live Animal Shows are taking place outside this year. The variety of wildlife includes, reptiles, mammals, birds and more.

A remarkable collection exhibit of oils and watercolors by Rebecca M. Fullerton of Scenes of New England and White Mountains began in June and can be viewed through the end of July. Fullerton resides in the hillside town of Bethlehem, New Hampshire, where parts of the town are within the White Mountain National Forest. She concentrates on landscape painting in the realist and impressionist traditions of the New England mountains and the White Mountains in particular.

Photographs by wildlife photographer, Joseph Callanan, will run from August through September to Columbus Day. Joseph (Joe) Callanan is an avid wildlife photographer and naturalist. He spends much of his time working healthy habitats in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts where he photographs wild animals going through their daily routine. His wildlife presentations are fascinating and educational as he relates stories of his encounters with Bald Eagles Owls, Loons and Hummingbirds and on the wilder side Black Bears and Moose.

Regrettably, Children’s Programs will not be available this summer.

Dr. Libby was born in 1850 on Tuftonboro Neck. He married Hattie E. Horne in 1875. They had one child, a son, Arthur Allen Libby. Dr. Libby passed away in 1933, at which time the Museum and surrounding land was bequeathed to his family with the stipulation that the Museum be opened each summer to visitors. When the family could no longer manage the costs and care of the Museum, the Town of Wolfeboro became the stewards of its care. In 1998 the Museum’s building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The restoration of the Libby Museum continues, and so too does the need for fundraising via an online “Go-To Fund,” and the Friends of the Libby Museum, Inc. which was established by the descendants of Dr. and Mrs. Libby. 

Individual contributions by local residents of the area that are interested in continuing the restoration of the Museum’s building are most welcomed. Other projects are the replacement and repair of glass cases and casters, the continued support of the “Live Animal” shows, and the restoration of the Carder Antique Fan Collection. What is involved in restoring antique fans? It takes hours of tedious diligent work. First the fan is removed from the frame, then cleaned and damages repaired, and lastly backdrops replaced.

The Libby Museum of Natural History is located at 755 North Main St., Wolfeboro, NH. Contact 603- 569-1035, visit thelibbymuseum.org., or thelibbymuseum.com. For contributions, The Friends of Libby Museum can be reached at www.friendsofthelibbymuseum.org. 

Dr. Henry F. Libby’s dream was to create a place to “flash before the eye, the mystery and drama of life…and appeal to the imagination.”

A Unique View – the Paintings of Jane E. Pappe

A Unique View – the Paintings of Jane E. Pappe

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

There is something about Jane Pappe’s paintings that make the viewer want to see more. If you see one of her colorful landscapes while browsing through social media, you simply have to stop and take a second, and a third look. 

“That scene looks familiar,” you might think when gazing at an oil painting done by Jane of a roadside field or a barn or a view of Newfound Lake. The paintings pull you in due to the color and Jane’s unique vision of each area she chooses to interpret in paint.

The road to Plymouth, NH

A resident of the Newfound Lake region, Jane spends her summers in her area home, painting, painting and painting for hours the various scenes she loves. Some might wonder why Jane, originally from the Boston area, would choose to spend her precious summer months in a rural, rather isolated home. “I love it here,” Jane says with a laugh, explaining the woods and the quiet are highly enjoyable and conducive for her work.

Interior of antique shop on Newfound Lake

Jane also relishes the chances to drive around the Lakes Region and all over New Hampshire, where she often stops and takes photos of scenes she sees. It could be a field, a barn, a cottage (she adores the little summer cottages seen all over the area, tucked among a stand of pine trees or by a lake or pond), and an old wooden boat on the lake or an exterior of a country store in a quiet village. Things others might pass by and not look at twice cause Jane to stop and take a photo to add to the many pictures she keeps as references for her oil paintings.

“I drive around, take some photos, and take more photos as I go,” Jane explains. “In the future, I might see one of those images as a painting.”

Jane started painting about 30 years ago and says her mother always valued creativity and encouraged Jane and her sisters to make things when they were growing up. Working in Boston as a secretary and with a family, Jane might have been busy, but she never abandoned that urge to paint. 

When visiting friends in the village of Hill, New Hampshire, Jane and her husband fell in love with the area and decided to look for a house or property to build a summer home. The idea was to spend summers in the Newfound Lake/Bristol area and take their motor home to Texas in the winters. They found land in Alexandria, New Hampshire and built a summer home there.

“We liked the idea of being in the woods,” Jane says. “And we met great people; our neighbors helped us find people to build our house here.”

Boat scene

Living in the area, Jane inevitably was drawn to the places we now see in her paintings. “I like lake houses, and as I painted scenes and cottages and posted them on Facebook, others saw the paintings. Now and then, a photographer would send me a photo of a scene and give me permission to use it for a painting.”

Painting, Jane discovered, is a great creative outlet for her. “I go around Newfound Lake and take photos and use then as a reference for paintings I do later at home.” Sometimes, Jane paints on site, but when the weather is not cooperating or the scene is too close to a busy road, for example, she takes photos and paints a scene later indoors.

A specialty for Jane is her love of lake houses and when she posts them on a Newfound group page, they are eagerly and positively received. 

When Jane was driving around the Newfound Lake area and headed a bit north, she discovered the Rumney Village Store and was captivated by the rural charm of the exterior of the shop. She asked the owner for permission to do a painting of the shop and gifted it to the owner when it was completed. The owner asked her to do more and she now sells Jane’s paintings in the shop. “I just dropped off some paintings at the store,” Jane says. “The paintings are of animals: two bear pictures and a pig and chickens.”

Although Jane is largely self-taught as an artist, she takes art workshops from others and names Carol Marine as an she has studied with and admires. Jane is unafraid to take workshops and always wants to learn new painting skills. She also says she studies You Tube art videos. All these things have increased Jane’s skill as a painter and her vision of the world around her is unique and captivating.

Jane paints every day, and says while she loves to paint outdoors, the ticks have made it a challenge. Always busy, when this interview took place, Jane was working on a painting of two Adirondack chairs and flowers and the lake. 

A captivating scene from the lake_n

In her travels, she has captured such unique things as an antique car parade in the Newfound area and there are the views we all recognize from our own travels here, there and all over the area. 

Her favorite subjects these days are cottages, landscapes and animals. 

Generous with her talents, Jane has donated a beautiful painting for the Newfound Lake Association’s raffle, which will be held in September The scene is of red buildings and a river in autumn. It is titled Newfound River and it is a beautiful area landscape. Visit www.newfoundlake.org and go to the Raffle page to view the work and purchase tickets.

There is indeed something about Jane’s paintings that make you want to see more. Her vision of scenes and cottages, flowers and animals evoke a feeling that we have indeed come home to New Hampshire and its most comforting places.

For information and to see more of Jane’s work, visit her Facebook page at Jane E. Pappe. She also posts some of her work on the Newfound Lake Community Facebook page.

Richie Clyne’s Bungalow Bar Ice Cream Truck

Richie Clyne’s Bungalow Bar Ice Cream Truck

By Rosalie Triolo

Photos courtesy Richie Clyne

Remember back to those summer days in the 1950s and 1960s, when as a child, you eagerly waited for the clanking bells which would herald the approach of the ice cream truck? 

Bungalow Bar Ice Cream Truck

Richie Clyne has fond memories of growing up on Long Island, New York, and the Bungalow Bar Ice Cream Truck. The “Ice Cream Man” used to come through the streets of New York City and its boroughs once - and sometimes twice - a day. 

Clyne recalls, “I loved Bungalow Bar Ice Cream but most of all the truck with its picket fence door, and the brown shingled roof with a chimney that actually had smoke coming out.” 

Clyne recounts a story, “Years ago I had been looking for a Bungalow Bar Truck to restore, and I found one still in use belonging to an ice cream man out on Northport, Long Island, NY. Wanting to buy the truck, I spoke with him several times. Each time he told me he was leaving it to his son.” 

Twenty years ago, Clyne received a call from the ice cream man’s son, asking if he was still interested in the truck. Clyne acquired the 1957 Chevrolet three-quarter ton truck with Bungalow Bar Ice Cream body; self-contained with compressor on board which had been used until 2000. 

For many years now, when residents celebrate Tuftonboro Old Home Days, Clyne dresses in his Ice Cream Man attire, then arrives at Davis Field on Rt. 109A next to the Tuftonboro Elementary School in his white Bungalow Bar Ice Cream Truck and distributes complimentary ice cream bars to kids of all ages. 

As a young boy, Clyne was (and still is) a passionate antique and classic car enthusiast. He said, “My father always wanted an old car to restore. When I was 12, I found a ‘For Sale’ ad for a 1930 Model A Ford. Borrowing money from my parents, we drove to Maryland with a trailer to pick up the car. What seemed like a million pieces covered the floor of my parent’s one-car garage. I slowly began putting the pieces together, restoring my first car. If I needed help with a door hinge, I’d run inside and ask my father what parts I would need. He’d tell me and I’d run back out to the garage and hunt for the pin or other pieces to complete the assembly.”

Clyne has been extremely successful with many noteworthy accomplishments. There is one which deserves particular attention and acknowledgement. With his knowledge and expertise for restoring antique and classic cars, Clyne, in the early 1990s, was instrumental in initiating a program for inmates at the Nevada State Prison in Indian Springs, Nevada. Inmates, who didn’t necessarily have prior mechanical experience, were trained in the art of antique and classic car restoration. He interviewed them finding the “right fit” for those men who were interested in and willing to learn the many aspects of the restoration process. Clyne paid them the Federal Minimum Wage, a segment of which was repaid to the Federal Government towards their housing and board while in prison. A portion of those wages were deposited into a savings account for each inmate for when they returned to their lives on the outside. He also set up a Victims Crime Fund where a percentage of the wages were distributed. Those inmates fortunate enough, reliable, and trustworthy were given an opportunity to become employable at a trade they could use when released.

Also, the inmates at the Nevada State Prison meticulously and effectively helped with the restoration of a 1934 Diamond T Fire Truck. (The Diamond T Company which produced cars and trucks was founded in 1905 by C. A Tilt in Chicago.) During its years in service, from 1934 until 1963, the Diamond T Fire Truck responded to small fires around the Federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island, also known as “The Rock.” Today Alcatraz is a museum, and part of the National Park Services Golden Gate National Recreation Area. On museum tours, visitors are given a look at how the restored 1934 Diamond T Fire Truck pumps water. 

Driving approximately 184 miles north on US-95 from Las Vegas to Goldfield, in Esmeralda County, Nevada is the Goldfield Firehouse Museum owned by Richie Clyne and Buck Kamphousen. On display are antique fire equipment and memorabilia and a restored 1926 Ford Model T Calliope, and an original Goldfield Fire Truck #3 and several other noteworthy historic fire engines and ambulances. In the early 1900s, gold was discovered in Goldfield. The era of the “Mining Boom” took hold. Population increased. Goldfield became the largest city in Nevada and the Goldfield Firehouse was built. Between1923 and 1924, two devastating fires rampaged through Goldfield, leaving it in ruins. Fortunately, the firehouse was built of locally quarried ashlar stone and is still standing over these 100 plus years. The Goldfield Historic Fire Department is now classified as part of the Goldfield Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Las Vegas, 1996, was the opening of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip. Imaginative and resourceful, Clyne founded and helped create a race car track designed in the shape of a Colosseum with the façade resembling a casino. Seating configuration is defined by the names of the various Las Vegas hotels with seats for over 100,000 fans and parking areas with the capacity to accommodate approximately 65,000 cars. If fans are staying at one of the hotels on the Strip, there are transfers from the hotel to the complex. And in keeping with one of the notable reasons couples visit Last Vegas, a Wedding Chapel was added to the facility. Two years later, Clyne sold Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Speedway Motorsports. 

The marvelous Ice Cream Truck

In the year 1981, The Imperial Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada added a new attraction, “The Auto Collection,” an Antique and Classic Auto Collection. Eighteen years later, Clyne and his partner, Don Williams, were given the opportunity to direct operations and management of the museum offering vehicles for sale or trade.  

For many years Clyne has maintained a repair shop in Melvin Village, NH, a Mecca for antique/classic car aficionados. He returns in early summer after having spent months of traveling from city to city attending car shows and auctions, and in some instances internationally to buy, restore, sell and at times to rebuy and resell antique or classic cars. During the winter months Clyne resides in Las Vegas where he stores and shows his cars, as he likes to call them, his “Stable of Cars.” He affectionately remarked, “Every car has a different story. I love them all.” 

The Status of Bald Eagles in the Lakes Region

The Status of Bald Eagles in the Lakes Region

By Mark Okrant

Few elements of our nation’s wildlife population have attracted the public’s attention to the same degree as the majestic bald eagle. From the very beginning of this country’s history, the great bird’s status has been a matter of controversy. At that time, many felt the bald eagle was the obvious pick to be the United States’ national bird. After all, it was beautiful, had a large wingspan, and soared to great heights. Furthermore, its range was exclusive to the North American continent. However, not everyone was ready to anoint Haliaeetus leucocephalus as our national bird. Even Benjamin Franklin waded in on the debate. Franklin and others made reference to the eagle’s scavenging and kleptoparasitism (tendency to steal food from other birds) as reasons to rebuff its selection. Finally, in 1782, the bald eagle was chosen ahead of the wild turkey and other candidates.

Eagle’s nest; photo by Peter Gray, courtesy NH Audubon.

Both male and female bald eagles possess unmistakable features. Each has a body consisting of elegant brown feathers, white tail feathers, a bright white face and neck, a yellow beak and talons, and piercing yellow eyes. Eagles in the wild have an average lifespan of 20 years, but can live decades longer. Adult males will grow to be three-feet long and weigh approximately 10 pounds. Their wingspans are between six and seven and one-half feet. Of interest, female bald eagles are one-third larger than males. 

Pairs bond for life. The same pair meets during breeding season, and builds or reuses a nest. Bald eagle nests are huge; they may be nine and one-half feet in diameter, 20 feet deep, and weigh as much as one ton. Sitting in their nest, very high above the surface below, a pair raises from one to three young per breeding season, while sharing all aspects of parental duties. When they are not breeding, adult eagles tend to live solitary, independent lives. 

Some people may be unaware how close the country came to losing bald eagles forever. Sixty years ago, chemistry, technology, and nature had conspired to dramatically reduce the population of bald eagles. Beginning in the 1940s, production of a synthetic insecticide called Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (or DDT) had a disastrous effect on the raptors’ eggs, therefore drastically reducing the population of healthy offspring. Meanwhile, technological innovations such as the deadly combination of roads and speeding automobiles were causing the premature death of scavenging eagles. In addition, a number of bald eagles were lost to the ravages of nature, in the form of attacks by older/bigger chicks on their younger siblings, nest collapses, violent weather bursts, and predation by mammals and other birds. Consequently, the population of bald eagles during the middle of the 20th century was reduced to approximately 400 nesting pairs nationwide.

Here in New Hampshire, the go-to authority on bald eagles is Chris Martin, senior wildlife biologist at the Audubon Society on 84 Silk Farm Road in Concord. Working frequently with Dave Anderson, senior director of education for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, as well as officials at New Hampshire Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others, Martin has responsibility for bald eagle monitoring and management programs within the state. Clearly, efforts by Martin, Anderson, and numerous others to protect eagle populations have been successful. This is evidenced by the fact that bald eagles were removed from the state’s Endangered Species list in 2008, and from the less severe Threatened list in 2017. 

By 1980, bald eagles had nearly disappeared from New Hampshire. During his tenure at the Audubon Society, Martin’s monitoring duties have included documenting bald eagle populations and their success at breeding. He reports that there were 76 territorial pairs of bald eagles in New Hampshire in 2020. By counting numbers of incubated eggs, hatched young, and fledglings, Martin determined that, coincidentally, 76 young living bald eagles were produced in 2020. Credit for achieving this level of success is the responsibility of the raptors themselves; however, the eagles received a significant assist from Martin and others who work at mitigating successful reproduction. These people are ever vigilant during reproduction season, monitoring nesting sites with the intention of preventing nesting failure. This is accomplished by some tried-and-true techniques such as ‘sheet metal wrap’, wherein wide metallic bands are wrapped around trees that house nests. This procedure provides protection against potential predators that attempt to climb up to nests. 

Today, there are an estimated 10,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the U.S., with habitats in 49 of the 50 states, Hawaii being the exception. Martin points to the situation in New Hampshire with considerable pride. Twelve years ago, there were 20 pairs of nesting bald eagles in the state; six years ago, that figure reached 40 pairs. The number of bald eagles is approximately 80 at present. This represents a doubling of the bald eagle population in New Hampshire every six years. While this year’s eagle census has not been completed, Martin estimates that the population will have increased by at least five percent since one year ago. According to Martin, “We are getting close to the state’s carrying capacity for sustaining eagles.”

Like elsewhere in New England, bald eagles generally remain here in the Lakes Region throughout the year, including the winter season. Juvenile eagles will leave the nest during the late summer or fall, but won’t travel more than 100 miles afield. For anyone hoping for a bald eagle sighting, there are presently more than 12 nesting pairs living within the Lakes Region. The Department of Fish and Game will be traveling around New Hampshire counting chicks as well as fledgling eagles, the name given to young birds that are just beginning to fly. 

If you are one of those people who have not seen a live bald eagle, a visit to New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center is highly recommended. At the center, a number of injured, non-releasable raptors are available for the visiting public to view. This includes one 25 to 30 year old bald eagle. The raptors can be visited on Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11 am to 4 pm. 

For more information about the center’s schedule, visit www.nhaudubon.org. 

Chocorua Lake Conservancy’s Adept Balancing Act

Chocorua Lake Conservancy’s Adept Balancing Act

By Mark Okrant

Throughout the history of this nation, forward-thinking individuals and organizations have exhibited a strong concern with maintaining environmental quality. In 1964, passage of the Wilderness Act launched a period of federal conservation legislation. This was followed in 1965 by enactment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, and approval of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Trails Act in 1968.

Closer to home, during 1968, a volunteer-led, nonprofit land trust organization, the Chocorua Lake Conservancy (CLC), was formed in New Hampshire. At that time, the CLC made Chocorua the only major New Hampshire lake with protection measures for its entire shoreline. That program predated similar efforts within the state as a whole. 

Beautiful Chocorua Lake and Mount Chocorua view from Narrows Bridge.

What is the Chocorua Lake Conservancy, and how does it function? The mission of the organization is, “to protect the scenic and natural resources of the Chocorua Lake Basin and its surrounding area through a series of measures. These include conservation practices, land protection, easements, maintenance of land for public access, and the development of a community of support.” 

At first glance, one might think conservation is as simple as posting a number of signs around Chocorua Lake. In reality, conservancy is considerably more complicated. The reader is advised to look closely at two elements of the organization’s mission statement: protection of scenic and natural resources versus public access. As conservators of natural spaces have learned, many visitors can be cavalier in their treatment of the locations they visit. Public land managers must contend with people hiking off-trail, driving or parking off-road, trampling vegetation, not packing out trash, abandoning campfires, and overcrowding areas that have limited carrying capacities. 

In its effort to be protectors of local lands, lake, forests, and historically important buildings, the Chocorua Lake Conservancy is armed with an effective toolkit. This toolkit contains conservation covenants, conservation easements, education and outreach programs (i.e., events), and a phalanx of dedicated volunteers, members, and donors.  

A conservation covenant is a voluntary agreement between landholders and an authorized body, such as the CLC. Its purpose is to protect the natural, cultural, or scientific value of the effected properties. Examples of restrictions within covenants are: minimum lot sizes, building height and setback restrictions, as well as prohibitions of billboards, commercial extraction of sand and gravel, altering natural drainage, and clear cutting within 150 feet of the lake. To date, the CLC has protected three thousand acres of land through 74 conservation covenants. 

Conservation easements are legal agreements that restrict development or specific other uses on private property. The landowner retains ownership, but gives up the right to conduct certain other actions, including creating subdivisions. These rights are donated to the land trust. Easements are granted in perpetuity, meaning all future owners must honor the uses presented within the document. In some towns, owners who grant easements may benefit by being taxed based upon the restricted land use of the property, as opposed to fair market value which can be considerably higher. Easements are responsible for protecting hundreds of additional acres on more than 100 properties within the Chocorua region. 

According to Lynne Flaccus, Stewardship Director of the CLC, the organization receives a great deal of support from the surrounding community to achieve its mission. Hundreds of volunteers, members, and donors make this possible. As part of its membership drive, the organization reaches out to surrounding communities’ schools and libraries. While emphasizing the positive impact that is derived from conservation efforts, Flaccus stresses that the CLC does much more than protect property. Because these protected lands are available for public access, residents and visitors are reminded about their responsibility to care for the natural world contained within these spaces. 

In this regard, the Chocorua Lake Conservancy has much in common with land trusts throughout the country. In each instance, it is essential that visitors join local residents to “do their part to make the experience better for everyone involved.” For example, according to the www.alaskacenters.gov website, visitors must do more than watch wildlife. They also need to respect the land they walk upon—leaving no trace and treading lightly. 

During the pandemic, the Chocorua area experienced a considerable influx of visitors, as people were desperate to get outside, away from quarantining at home. With Route 16 passing alongside Chocorua Lake, many more people than is typically the case tried to access the beautiful view of Mount Chocorua. This meant that the small parking lot was stretched beyond capacity, as were the picnic area and boat access points. In an effort to minimize what could have proven hazardous, the CLC increased the amount of signage and supervision to ward off traffic accidents, litter, and damage from compacted natural surfaces.  

Planned events have a substantial role in building a sense of community while spreading the CLC’s message. There are two categories of events—public and social. Flaccus’ favorite events are organized walks. As a trained naturalist, she enjoys taking groups of 15 to 20 people on exploratory hikes. Always, as they walk, she encourages people to investigate their surroundings. In this way, an appreciation for conserving nature is fostered. Social events consist of picnics, wherein volunteers, members, and landowners have an opportunity to share viewpoints. (Events that were not cancelled during the pandemic were conducted as Zoom sessions, rather than in person.)

During the summer of 2021, Flaccus estimates there will be nearly 50 events. While a substantial portion of the in-person events had been cancelled during the pandemic, she hopes to conduct a majority without having to rely on Zoom. This will allow the Conservancy to focus on its stewardship activities, wherein members and volunteers will engage in planting, weeding, and how to address invasive species. 

As is true of other land trusts throughout the region, the Chocorua Lake Conservancy will maintain a balance between its primary mission as protector of natural spaces, while encouraging people—residents and visitors alike—to partake in the beauty of the environment. The vital message that our environment can be used without misuse is being delivered most effectively.

For more information about the stewardship efforts of the Chocorua Lake Conservancy, and to donate or learn how to become a CLC volunteer, email Lynne Flaccus, Conservation Stewardship Director, at lflaccus@chocorualakeconservancy.org.

Remembering the Women of World War II

Day Tripping

Remembering the Women of World War II

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

Poster from the Wright Museum exhibit

Perhaps the pandemic has made me overly emotional, although I doubt if anyone visiting the Wright Museum of World War II on Center Street in Wolfeboro would not experience some strong feelings. 

When I recently visited, it was to see the current exhibits titled “WASP: The Untold Story” and “Women and the War Effort: Recruiting Posters of World War II”. Both exhibits are on view until June 10.

I did not get out much during the 2020/2021 pandemic, and like many people, I felt a bit isolated. And so I decided to revisit the Wright Museum, one of my all-time favorite places. With parents who were just married during World War II, they talked often about that time in their lives. I recall hearing the names Truman, FDR, Hitler, and the the words “the bomb”. I never realized, until I felt the fear and confusion brought on by the recent pandemic, how the times we live in can affect us for the rest of our lives. 

Because I had World War II-era parents, I have always felt an affinity for the Wright Museum. It takes me back, in a sense, to the time my parents lived through. And so, a chance to view the exhibit, which focuses on the many contributions made by American women during the war years, was of interest.

Entering the museum on a weekday in mid-May, I was eager to see the exhibit. First, I chatted with a museum employee and a volunteer; both were welcoming and knowledgeable. They told me a bit about what was planned for the upcoming season and then invited me to go through the war vehicle room. (To call the huge space a “room” seems wrong because it is full of actual World War II jeeps and other vehicles…and a plane extended from the ceiling.)

This is where my emotional feelings started, and it came from glancing up at the doorway to the exhibit. “Oh how sparkly!” I thought to myself when seeing an area of silver hanging above. Curious, I looked at it more closely and realized the silver curtain was actually dog tags. I felt sad from the impact those hanging tags had on me. I read information on the wall that told me the 1,203 blank dog tags were a “stark visual reminder honoring the bravery and sacrifice of the servicemen from New Hampshire who never returned from WWII. The dog tags have no names on them and you can’t discern what race they were or whether they were Democrats or Republicans, or Jews or Muslims, Protestants or Catholics – the one thing that is important to remember is that they were all Americans united in common struggle to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today.” It was a powerful visual and I challenge anyone who sees these tags to not become emotional. 

On the second level, I entered the large exhibit room, where the women in the war posters and photos is on display. First on my tour was the WASP: The Untold Story exhibit, curated by the National WASP Museum, Sweetwater, Texas. (WASP stands for Women Airforce Service Pilots.) Information tells the viewer something we probably already assumed: World War II changed so much for women. Prior to the war, women were not allowed to join the military except as nurses. After the U.S. entered the war in 1942, Congress passed a law allowing women to serve in certain military roles, although they were not drafted. Women could, at that time, fill non-combat roles, which freed men for overseas duty. 

The Women’s Army Corps (WACS) and the Navy and Marine Corps as well as the Coast Guard, all formed in 1942. But at that time, the Air Force did not accept women into its ranks. However, when men were overseas and planes needed to be delivered from the factories to military bases, the most sensible way was to fly them to the bases. Without male pilots available, the Air Force turned to women to pilot the planes. The idea was that if a woman had a private pilot’s license, she could receive further training from the Air Force to fly various military aircraft. In 1943, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (or WASPs) was formed. 

After initial training, the women lived at and got more training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. The exhibit shows us the sometimes difficult conditions and such facts as at first, the females had to wear men’s military clothing and use men’s equipment. The public and military could also be sexist, and WASPs felt the sting of being treated poorly at times. 

Among the many photos in the exhibit, one I found particularly poignant was a black-and-white image of two women with their backs to the camera, gazing over a Texas field as the sun set. One could feel their loneliness and all the emotions the uncertainty of war and being away from loved ones could cause. 

The exhibit shows us the strength and courage of these female pilots, the things they did to pass the time and how they lived in Texas.

 You can see the closeness of the women, as they played games, socialized and worked together. These women also were very skilled pilots, and their war time contributions should never be overlooked. 

In the museum I also found the poster exhibit to be fascinating. This was the stuff of World War II public relations and the posters were a sort of news method to get the word out about aiding the war effort. A colorful array of posters promoted war nurses and the WAVES. One poster of a little girl with a headline of “wish I could join too” as she gazes at a photo of a female officer, urged the viewer to “Serve your country in the WAVES.”

Another poster invites the viewer to “become a nurse” with a delightful color photo of a young woman with her nurse’s cap being straightened by someone with American flag cuffs.

The war-era posters told us, through their brightly colored, eye-catching photos, to become a nurse, or join the WACS. 

As I toured the exhibit, I was reminded of all these people endured. Our recent pandemic worry has given me but a taste of living through tough times. I glanced at other museum goers, mostly the elderly and wondered what their remembrances might be. One men, dressed in a crisp white shirt and his military hat, was wheeled around the museum exhibit by a woman and I felt tears come into my eyes when I heard him tell her, “this was the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

 A visit to the Wright Museum might be a pastime for some, but for those who served in a war, it is much more than a mere visit. If you go to the museum – and I recommend you do – take your time and see everything from the time tunnel to the military vehicles to the exhibits taking place. If you happen to overhear the comments or remembrances of a veteran touring the museum, be prepared to feel some emotion, the biggest of which will be gratitude for their service.

The past year with its pandemic worries has been a long one. But as I finished my tour of the Wright Museum, I realized it was not the pandemic that made me emotional. It was instead the things I saw, the service of the veterans and average American citizens, like my parents, that made me realize all they sacrificed, as Memorial Day will soon come around, 

The Wright Museum is open daily until October 31 from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday to Saturday and from noon to 4 pm on Sunday. The museum is located at 77 Center Street in Wolfeboro. Call 603-569-1212 or visit www.wrightmuseum.org. for information and a list of events. 

(The next exhibit will be “WWI in America” on view from June 16 to August 11.)

Gypsy Carver Brings Ideas to Life

Gypsy Carver Brings Ideas to Life

By Thomas P. Caldwell

Homeowners looking for something unique to place in their yards have someone to turn to in Mike Thomas, a chainsaw artist operating as Wicked NH Carvings in Bristol.

“If you can show me an idea, I can carve it,” says Mike, suggesting that potential customers check out his work on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/carverit), then Google images of what they’re looking for. “Send the one you like the best,” he says. “Customers can ask for anything.”

Also a freehand artist, Mike says, “If they can make me understand what they’re looking for, I can sketch it for them. Give me a broad idea and I’ll show 20-30 examples.”

While he has operated Wicked NH Carvings for just three years, Mike says he has been carving most of his life — ever since his uncle bought him a Dremel, a handheld rotary tool with a variety of attachments and accessories.

“I come from a family of gypsies,” he says. “I was born in 1972 in Lincoln, Maine, but my family traveled everywhere. I grew up in Laconia, but we traveled all over the place, to every state except Hawaii and Alaska.”

He picked up and improved upon his carving skills from the people he met on his travels, as well as seeking out videos on YouTube. Among those who provided inspiration was Peter Toth, a Hungarian-born artist who created wooden sculptures to honor Native Americans in every state, including the 35-foot “Keewakwa Abenaki Keenabeh” or "The Defiant One” in Laconia’s Opechee Park. (That 12-ton red oak sculpture was removed in 2019 after rot made it a hazard.)

“I love doing anything Indian-related, and do a lot of reading on Abenaki tribes,” Mike says. He also does motorcycle carvings, including custom Harley bars for houses. His own mailbox is in the form of a motorcycle.

Most of the work is done with a chainsaw, but he uses a die grinder with special bits to do the more intricate parts of the sculpture.

Before establishing Wicked NH Carvings in 2018, he had worked at a variety of jobs, including as a tattoo artist. (He also has operated a detail shop and a skateboard shop.) Then, eight years ago, he broke his spine.

“Once I broke my back, I couldn’t do anything,” he says. “To this day, I can’t do tattoos because you’re leaning over a chair.”

It took five years after the accident for him to carve again, but he found it was a great way to become active once more.

Origins

Woodcarving is a form of art dating back centuries, to soon after early man started shaping wood to make primitive tools by using sharp rocks and bones. It didn’t take long to combine art with function, with the earliest examples often used for religious purposes.

Knives and chisels would provide the most common means of shaping wood, but, according to lore, a logger named Joseph Buford Cox noticed a timber beetle larva chomping through a log in 1946, and noted that the creature cut both across and with the grain of the wood. He decided to duplicate that motion in a steel chain, and the modern chainsaw was born in 1947.

Just six years later, “Wild Mountain Man” Ray Murphy used a chainsaw to carve his brother’s name in wood for what is perhaps the earliest example of chainsaw art. Then, in 1961, Ken Kaiser created the Trail of Tall Tales in Northern California, carving large redwood logs in shapes on a Paul Bunyan theme.

By the 1980s, there were traveling chainsaw carvers who used their trucks as galleries, and chainsaw carving shops started appearing along the roadsides. Chainsaw artists appeared at country fairs and carving contests began to appear.

In the 1990s, chainsaw carving gained popularity as an art form.

For Mike Thomas, “that carnival gypsy blood” in his family made the house on Route 3-A South in Bristol the perfect spot for a business. “I love that the house is right on the road,” he says. “I have 978 feet of road frontage and that makes my business that much more successful.”

Mike says that, when he and his wife first got together, they got an apartment in downtown Bristol. “We always said, if we bought a house, we’d come back to Bristol to do it.” Nine years later, they did just that, coming back to New Hampshire from Massachusetts where he had operated the skateboard shop. Now, traffic passing by will salute him.

“Loggers know me, and they honk the horn. People at the factory in Franklin are used to seeing me out there carving, and when they see a carving in the back of a truck they pass on the freeway, they’ll say, ‘I saw your carving go by.’”

Having coached T-Ball at the Tapply-Thompson Community Center in Bristol, local people have come to know him, which also has helped as he built his business. He is known for his support of local charities such as the Franklin Animal Shelter. He said he donates to 10 charities in the area each year.

Working Through COVID

Word of mouth has helped him while other businesses have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic. Mike says last year was his best year yet, and he has had a hard time keeping up with orders.

Working with heavy logs was a problem until a local welder built a log crane, which allows him to stand logs up for carving.

He prefers using seasoned white pine for the sculptures, buying the wood from Brett Robie’s sawmill in Alexandria, as well as from other local millers. “I like white pine,” he says, “because of the ease of carving. And if it’s seasoned right, any cracking is very small — what are called hairline character cracks. They’re only small cracks, so it makes for easy maintenance.”

He will carve hardwood by special order.

He said that 80 percent of his work is done on-site, but he is willing to go out into the community to carve on people’s property if they wish, and hopes to do more of that. An example of the custom work he has done is a nine-foot cross that a Browns Beach Road customer ordered in memory of a granddaughter who had died. The sculpture, which overlooks Newfound Lake, features the girl’s spirit walking behind and emerging in front with a cat. He also carved a large eagle with wings spread, sitting on a perch.

Carvings have included weasels, crows, and rabbits — just about every animal, he says. “I’ve done I don’t know many eagles and bears — hundreds if not thousands.”

He also has done a lot of carvings for veterans, including for Wounded Warriors, featuring soldiers and symbols such as a flag or an eagle.

Mike says he can block out and put hair on a bear in about eight hours, while the painting and staining can take a couple of days.

“I typically do four or five carvings at a time,” he says.

Because he does not have the overhead that many chainsaw artists have, he said his prices tend to be lower — about $250 for a three-foot-tall bear and $1,000 for a six-foot bear. “It depends on the complexity,” he says.

His carvings have gone to seven states, including New York and Connecticut. He has a request to do a 16-foot-long center post for a log cabin in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, that would feature bears and owls, and he hopes to do some carving along the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin where the city is developing a whitewater park. “I would love to volunteer to do that; I would love to jump on the river and carve along it,” he said, noting that the park is seen as a key to Franklin’s revitalization.

“Nothing’s really difficult,” he said of his work, “it’s just a challenge. The most difficult one is the one I haven’t done yet.”

The Belknap Foodshed: Making a Difference That Matters

The Belknap Foodshed: Making a Difference That Matters

By Mark Okrant

These are difficult times. Everyday, we learn about peoples’ struggles to earn a living and to put nutritious food on the table. We cannot help but wonder, in one of the Earth’s most advanced nations, how to ameliorate the process of making quality food available to our residents. Every now and then, an idea comes along that provides a pathway toward solving that seemingly complex problem. 

Mary and Gavin Macdonald, operators of The Belknap Foodshed

Charged with addressing the availability of quality food in central New Hampshire are Mary and Gavin Macdonald, operators of The Belknap Foodshed. The pair established Genuine Local, a shared-use kitchen and food accelerator to fill the gap created by a lack of access to commercial production facilities by providing business development and production assistance, as well as co-packing services. In simple terms, Genuine Local was designed as a business incubator for producing consumable goods with a ready market to increase growers’ value-added. 

Unfortunately, on the way to the successful implementation of their idea, the operators ran head-long into the COVID-19 pandemic. Once COVID hit, many of the small food businesses and farms they worked with ran into challenges with market access. However, it soon became apparent that the demand for fresh, quality produce was alive and well. This led to the launch of a sister company, The Belknap Foodshed, an online farmers market that connects local food with surrounding communities. In the process, the Foodshed brings fresh, safe/healthy, locally grown and produced food to the people of New Hampshire.

The Belknap Foodshed dates back to 2018, when the Macdonalds were approached about developing a plan for utilizing the former Laconia State School property on Route 106 in Laconia, New Hampshire. While plans to develop an extensive food production and distribution scheme at the school were not completed due to COVID, that situation led to the early launch of the aggregation and distribution components of their plan. 

From its central collection point on 5 Winona Road in Meredith, the Foodshed takes deliveries from an average of 24 producers each week to fill customers’ retail and wholesale orders. The network produces approximately four hundred items in total, with an average of two hundred and fifty items available each week. Each producer registers with the Foodshed and indicates what they wish to sell through the organization. The product range includes: granola, assorted vegetables and fruit, various types of honey and maple products, as well as dairy, meat products, and eggs, condiments and seasonings, breads, fresh fish, and numerous others. 

At present, the Foodshed has 227 registered customers. However, this figure is misleading, as a number of these are wholesalers whose impact on the food community is considerable. Customers register to shop by creating an account, thereby joining the Foodshed’s email list. Orders can be placed anytime between Saturdays at 7 am and Wednesdays at 12 noon. To receive orders, customers utilize one of five pickup spots within the region.

Friday pickups:

• curbside at 5 Winona Road in Meredith

• in the Pleasant Street municipal parking lot in Laconia

• curbside at the Gilford Community Church

• curbside at the Tilton Senior Citizen Center on Grange Road

Saturday pickups:

• at Purely Wholesome Farm on Upper Ridge Road in Loudon

Otherwise, door-to-door deliveries are available in Meredith and Laconia, for a modest charge. Additionally, by participating as a producer with the Three Rivers Farmers Alliance, Belknap Foodshed products are available in the southeastern corner of the state. Finally, a special relationship exists with local restaurants, stores, and institutions who register as customers. For these people, the Foodshed provides access to products at wholesale prices.

So, what does a business entity—one that has been established to link agricultural and other primary producers with consumers—do for an encore? The next phase is utterly exciting. The Macdonalds foresee The Belknap Foodshed continuing to grow in numerous ways. Access to local food will expand as production extends beyond the Lakes Region. By working with the New Hampshire Food Alliance and other food hubs, the relationship between producers and customers will operate as an ecosystem for creating food supplies. Their ambitious effort will fortify food systems by strengthening linkages among farming, product sales, shelf-stable food preparation, distribution, on-site restaurants, retail, and education. The impact will be felt statewide, as the Foodshed will make linkages among food hubs and distribution efforts within the Seacoast, Monadnock, and North Country regions.

Elements of this food ecosystem include: 1. cultivating food and preserving open agricultural land; 2. aggregating, distributing, and creating access to retail markets; 3. incubating local food companies; 4. fostering business development and job creation; 5. creating educational and training opportunities; and 6. establishing “locavore” retail and restaurant facilities. 

Through these interrelated elements, local land will be farmed with the goal of targeting crops to create a sustainable supply of ingredients for people and institutions within the region. Next, utilizing the Foodshed’s central geographic location, existing connections will be expanded and created to distribute local food products statewide. Further, farmers and food companies will have the opportunity to, “access the retail market directly at The Belknap Foodshed, and to have their foods featured in on-site restaurants.” 

Another element in the Foodshed’s system is providing the necessary equipment and training to expand the number and capacity of food producers to navigate the food production system. This will increase the diversity of local food offerings. By swelling the ranks of resident farmers, the Foodshed will enhance the local food system through business development opportunities, small plot intensive farming, on-site retail and restaurant entities, and other methods that generate value-added opportunities. Creating new educational and training opportunities will be an essential component of the entire process. 

According to the Macdonalds, the ultimate goal for systematic production and preparation is to deliver clean food into the community. Fresh produce, flowers, and herbs featuring locally made food and other items will be available at an on-site retail space and two restaurants that feature locally produced resources. In this manner, the future of a robust population of “locavores”—people whose diet consists principally of locally grown or produced food—will be assured.

For more information on this innovative, forward-looking program, contact Mary or Gavin Macdonald at 603-279-8600, or by email, connect@belknapfoodshed.com. Be certain to visit their website at www.belknapfoodshed.com. 

WinniOpoly:

WinniOpoly:

The fun and colorful new game was the idea of Kathy Tognacci. 

How About A Game Of WinniOpoly?

By Thomas P. Caldwell

The game of Monopoly is one of the most familiar board games, dating back more than 100 years, to The Landlord’s Game, designed by Elizabeth Magie. Its modern version, credited to Charles Darrow and now owned by the Hasbro company, appeared in 1935. The game’s popularity has spawned several modifications and updates over the years, with Hasbro announcing in March that it is looking for consumers to help determine new Community Chest cards for yet another version, to be released this fall.

WinniOpoly

Meanwhile, local versions of the game, typically designed as fundraisers for towns or chambers of commerce, have been produced over the years, including 1985’s Follow The Mount — a Lake Winnipesaukee version based on the ports of call of the flagship MS Mount Washington. With Follow The Mount no longer available, there was an opening for a new local game, and Kathy Tognacci, who owns three gift shops in the Lakes Region, came up with WinniOpoly.

Kathy says she got the idea for WinniOpoly after seeing a Facebook posting about the old Follow The Mount game. “Something just clicked, and I said, ‘Why wouldn’t we have something current?”

Kathy did an online search to find out who makes custom Monopoly games and settled on a company in Georgia that would help her figure out how to set one up.

“It’s just going to be a fun game, featuring Lake Winnipesaukee, and my goal was, let’s get a really cool map of the lake in the middle of the Monopoly board and then all around the board, put all the fun local businesses,” she recalled. “So every morning I would get up with my cup of coffee and I started laying [it] out.”

She needed to secure permission from each business on the board, and started contacting them by email. “The people I picked were people that show up at our stores, people I knew, and businesses that do good deeds in the area, like, for example, Patrick’s” which raises money for the Lakes Region Children’s Auction. “I said, obviously, I would love them on the board; they’re across the street from me [in Gilford] and they bring me a lot of business year-round, so that started the whole process.”

Gathering the commitments and laying out the board took about three months. The game board included such places as Kimball Castle in Gilford, Funspot in Laconia, and the Yum Yum Shop and Molly the Trolley in Wolfeboro. “Molly the Trolley was an awesome fit for one of my railroads,” she said.

In place of “utilities” on the board, Kathy put in two books by Andy Opel, “The Weirs: A Winnipesaukee Adventure” and “The Witches: A Winnipesaukee Adventure.”

“I really made it custom to the lake and made it really fun,” she said.

“So then the board is coming together and I’m thinking the middle of the board, it really, really has to be something that stands out, so it had to be a picture of the lake, and I was trying to do it so it would be fun and colorful.” Her search led her to a Yankee Magazine article on the “magic wonders of Lake Winnipesaukee” which featured a map of the lake by Ryan O’Rourke, a freelance illustrator and associate professor of Art and Design at New England College. She ended up purchasing rights to his lake illustration. “It really makes the whole board,” she said.

In purchasing the rights to Ryan’s map, she also obtained large, signed copies of the illustration that she could frame and sell in her shops. “It’s a great little map and it’s fun,” she said.

It took three months to put the game together, and she decided to upgrade the playing pieces from plastic to pewter “to make it a bit nicer, because we weren’t going to make a cheap game,” she said.

O October 29, after she signed off on the final proof and placed the initial order of 500 games, she thought she had better gauge the public interest. “So right before I closed the store, I shared the proof of the WinniOpoly game on our Facebook page built for the Gilford Country Store. And I said, ‘Coming soon — Who wants one?’ So people were like, ‘Oh, my God, I love it!’ and I just said, ‘Reserve one here.’ … So that was at 6 o’clock. By 6 o’clock in the morning, when I woke up the next morning for my coffee, and I looked at our social media, we had sold all 500 of them in 12 hours.”

While most of the comments about the game were positive, there was one negative comment that “kind of stuck out to us. … ‘How come Alton Bay isn’t on the map?’”

The town had not been included on Ryan’s original map, but Kathy quickly realized what an important omission it was. “So the next day I reached out to Ryan …. ‘What would it take for you to take that map and just put those two words in that spot?’ ” He agreed, and when she ordered the next 1,000 games, Alton Bay became part of the board.

It took 12 weeks of production time for the games to arrive — too late for Christmas — so for those who wanted to give them as gifts, Kathy had small versions of the WinniOpoly board printed and placed them in gold boxes “like the Willy Wonka gold ticket.”

Kathy said, “People came and pre-bought hundreds of games to put in the stocking and give to people.”

She noted that the omission on the first 500 copies of the game made them more valuable to collectors, prompting her to set aside 50 of them for that purpose. Meanwhile, 2,000 games now have commitments and she has shipped WinniOpoly to 20 states.

The game is available at Kathy’s three stores: Gilford Country Store, across from Sawyer’s Dairy Bar on Rt. 11 in Gilford; Nahamsha Gifts at 63 Main Street in Meredith; and Live Love Lake at 15 North Main Street in Wolfeboro.

Maple Sugaring: A Family Affair

Maple Sugaring: A Family Affair

By Lee Caldwell

The art of maple sugaring at the Eldridge Family Sugar House and Ice Cream Shop in Tamworth is very much a family affair.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by young family members Greyson and Rylee Theriault who then made a mad dash to summon Terri Eldridge, Scott Eldridge, and Erica Theriault for the interview. Having done his duty, Greyson returned to playing with his trucks, later disappearing into a back room.

Other family members include Brandon Eldridge, Matt Theriault, Brittaney Eldridge, Adalynne Eldridge, and Bodie Eldridge.

With Terri, Scott, Erica, and Rylee all chiming in, they began to recount the story of how, in 2015, the father-and-son duo of Scott and Brandon Eldridge began boiling maple sap with a custom-built barrel stove in the backyard. In 2016, they built their first sugar house, with a wood-fired 2-foot by 4-foot evaporator. In 2017, they had 400 taps. In 2019, they purchased a 2.5-foot by 8-foot oil-fired evaporator, and in 2020 built their new building, which has expanded to have an ice cream shop and a retail area.

Scott is the contact person for all things related to maple sugaring. He states that the sugaring season is unpredictable, usually 5 to 6 weeks between the end of February and into March, but it can be “different every year” as it requires a specific combination of warm days and cold nights.

Because the season is short, it requires a lot of hard work and the entire family pitches in.

Using blue tubing (in lieu of the traditional sap buckets), the family taps 500 trees in Tamworth, 1,100 in Moultonborough, and 500 in Ossipee. (Over Maple Weekend, they do tap a few trees with the traditional buckets.) After boiling the sap (typically 40 gallons of sap makes 1 gallon of syrup, but it can vary), the Eldridge family produces around 430 gallons of syrup. Syrup is then graded into classifications as golden, amber, and dark.

Erica stated that many people are not familiar with the maple sugaring process. She goes on to add that the strangest question she was asked involved the blue tubing used to carry the maple sap from the trees. “Is that what you use to collect the honey?” Dumfounded, she explained that honey comes from bees, not trees.

Erica and Terri describe Brandon Eldridge as “the big idea person” in the family. While working together, all the family members bounce ideas off each other, and Terri describes the family camaraderie as her favorite part of the mad rush during the maple sugaring season. Erica states that the maple syrup grading, using the Hanna scale of light transparency, is her favorite part of the process. “You never know what you are going to get,” she said.

Rylee then stated that her favorite part is “eating the maple ice cream.”

In addition to serving maple-flavored soft-serve ice cream, the Ice Cream Shop has 30 other flavors of ice cream. Over the past year, the kitchen has been expanded to include maple-related “grab-and-go” items and a 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. cafe for breakfast and lunch. Hours and days change according to the seasons.

Plans are in the works to expand their store to create a “one-stop shop for campers.” In addition to carrying maple products, they plan to carry camping items and “lake” items, US-made products from local vendors, small batch/small business items, and local meat and eggs.

The Eldridge/Theriault family also is dedicated to helping the community. They have done school tours with Rylee as a guide, have donated syrup and baskets for fundraising pancake breakfasts, contributed to school supply drives, and have participated in Thankful Thursdays, where non-profit organizations donated a percentage of the sales.

Maple Weekend 2024 is slated for March 16 and 17. Visitors to the Eldridge Family Sugar House and Ice Cream Shop will be able to view the entire process, from tree to evaporation. There will be guided tours. Sap will be boiling on the evaporator. Offered will be a tasting of warm syrup, sugar on snow, maple products, maple-flavored soft-serve ice cream, and maple cotton candy.

The Eldridge Family Sugarhouse and Ice Cream Shop is located at 183 Plains Road (Route 41) in Tamworth. The phone number is 603-252-7125, the website ishttps://www.eldridgefamilysugarhouse.net/. Hours and days vary with the seasons.