GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly sunny, showers likely this afternoon. It's what the weather folks call an "active" weather day: low pressure to the north, a cold front headed this way, and all sorts of air moving around those boundaries. The upshot: Once the fog and clouds clear we should see some sun, but there's also a chance and then a likelihood of showers starting up this afternoon, as well as a slight chance of thunderstorms. It's possible that bands of showers could hit the same spots, so watch for ponding on roads. Highs today in the mid 80s before we drop to the high 50s or 60 overnight.At an Enfield golf course, a paralyzed veteran walks again. For seven weeks this summer, John Bacon, a Navy vet who's been unable to walk since he suffered a spinal cord injury many years ago, was part of a group of 20 veterans working with golf pros through the PGA HOPE program at the Montcalm Golf Course. Photographer Lisa Lacasse was there last week for the final day. Bacon had always hit golf balls from a specialized cart, she writes. This time, "not only did he stand unassisted to hit his first fairway shot, he walked 22 steps to the green and back... There were a few tears shed, mine included, as he took his first steps." Lynn Luczkowski's writeup here.Quick action saves dogs, cats in WRJ fire. Just after noon yesterday, firefighters responded to a fire in a double-wide manufactured home on Lily Pond Road, just off Sykes Mountain Ave. It took about 15 minutes for the fire in the kitchen of Jamie and Sharri Therriault's home to be brought under control, the HFD says. Their two dogs and two cats were rescued by firefighters and bystanders—the cats, Jamie Therriault says in a followup FB post, are at SAVES in Lebanon. The dogs are "exhausted but seem to be okay." He adds, "It’s hard to believe that this could happen so quickly. With us just next door."Over just four years, $52,845 to fix Thetford's covered bridges. The Union Village Bridge and Tucker Hill Road Bridge have a problem, writes Li Shen in Sidenote: "While these bridges are revered by many, they are also abused by a few." In short, they keep getting hit by trucks. Four times in the last four years—and in three of those cases, the drivers fled. The bridges, of course, are historic: the Tucker Hill bridge is one of just two of its kind in the US; the Union Village bridge is the longest multiple-kingpost span in VT. Li details the destruction, including a box truck driving away "with timbers falling off its roof."SPONSORED: Jewelry and art consignments! For over 50 years, Wm. Smith Auctioneers & Appraisers has held an annual Labor Day Auction in Plainfield, NH. We now conduct this special live auction post Labor Day, this year on Wednesday, Sept. 4th. For the next two weeks we will consider additional consignments of fine Estate Jewelry and Artworks. If you would like your treasures to be considered, please contact Bill or Leon at 603-675-2549. A true gem in the New England antiques and fine arts world, we welcome you for previews Tuesday, Sept. 3 from 12-5pm. Sponsored by Wm. Smith Auctions.In wake of vandalism, Oxbow limits public use of facilities. The move comes after damage both last year and this to the Bradford VT schools' playing fields, writes Alex Nuti-de Biasi in today's Journal Opinion newsletter. In a statement Friday, the administration wrote that in order to keep fields safe for students, "we are temporarily limiting the use of our facilities and are unable to accommodate outside groups at this time to ensure we are able to move forward with pivotal games such as homecoming, cancer support games, and senior games. We remain committed to supporting the greater community..."In the Upper Valley, wool enthusiasm keeps growing. There are two new yarn stores—the Woolly Thistle in West Leb and a yarnstand at Meg Falcone's Five Sisters Farm in Plainfield. There's the Junction Fiber Mill, of course. There's a new crowd into knitting and crocheting: “It feels like crocheting is having its moment right now, at least in the younger generation," Norwich Knits' Cara Liu tells Elle Muller in the Valley News. And there's "a really vibrant growing community of people who are deciding ‘Yeah, I want to have some sheep,’” says Junction Fiber Mill co-owner (and sheep farmer) Peg Allen.A pair of restaurant reviews:
In the midst of last week's heat, Susan Apel took advantage of the Tuk Tuk Thai beachhead in old West Leb to avoid standing over a stove. In Artful, she writes that "they have done everything possible to turn this former Dunkin’ Donuts into a charming space." There's both Thai and sushi, she notes.
Meanwhile, in The Dartmouth, Katharine Bramante manages to find a seat at Still North Books & Bar and orders a meal. "From my first bite," she writes, "it was obvious that the staff put time — and most importantly, love — into what they make."
And a theater review. The Voloz Collective performed The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much, in Woodstock on Friday. It's hard to describe, but on his Upper Valley VT/NH Musings blog, Dave Celone pulls it off. "Think Mummenschanz meets Blue Man Group, but with the added delights of script and plot that twists and moves in rapid-fire succession from Harvard Square to Paris to Dallas to, surprisingly, a boat full of Norwegian fisherpeople rocking on a nighttime sea," he writes. The four-person troupe, which includes Hartland native Olivia Zerphy, will perform in Stockbridge Friday and Lebanon Sunday.The League of NH Craftsmen's fair goes on, but there's turmoil on the board. In particular, reports NHPR's Kate Dario, half the board resigned last month. In an email to league members, the organization said the resignations were “unrelated” to the fair. Dario was unable to get responses from any of the former board members, but new chair Zack Jonas, a bladesmith, tells her, "There was a small issue and it could have been resolved very quickly, but there was just a misunderstanding, and instead it kind of just was turned into a larger issue." Two of the five empty seats have been filled.The Monday jigsaw. "Before the Wilder Dam, there was another dam that served the Wilder Paper Mill, Hartford's only non-woolen mill," writes Cam Cross for the Norwich and Hartford historical societies. "It made newsprint for the Wilder Brothers, who owned a newspaper company in Boston." It was big!
Let's dosey-doe into the week with...Taj Mahal and Rhiannon Giddens. They were onstage together at the Newport Folk Festival nine days ago. And though Giddens didn't make nearly enough use of her banjo during their version of “Roscoe’s Mule”, she did go backstage to bring up Joan Baez so the two could dance along. Video could be better, but the tune'll put a spring in your step.See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Associate writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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