GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Hard to believe, but it's going to be almost hot today. Like, highs in the mid or upper 70s under eventually sunny skies. Today's temps "are expected to be record breaking by a wide margin," the weather folks say (though after yesterday, let's believe it when we see it). On the other hand, there's another cold front approaching that's expected to come through tonight, bringing showers after midnight. Even so, overnight lows won't get much below 60.Toe of fog... Let's let Kyle Jones tell it: "I recently stayed overnight at Newfound Lake. Thanks to a weather front I decided to head out at daybreak to the beach on the southern end of the lake to see if any migrant birds had gotten stranded and were waiting for the first light in order to depart. As soon as I arrived, I heard a strange cackling from the fog. A stray Laughing Gull? A windblown goose? I stared into the fog with my binoculars and soon had my answer. Five paddle-boarding witches. Apparently, it's a thing."
And since it's Halloween, here's the highly creative use of skeletons that Windsor clearly needs to be known for, in photos from Phyll Perry; and here's a FB link to the full glory of Plainfield's Pumpkin People. Sorry, can't find a current page gathering Enfield's scarecrows.
It's time for Dear Daybreak! In this week's reader-submitted vignettes and short items about life in or related to the Upper Valley: An autumn haiku from Jane Masters and an ode to hiking above treeline by Lisa Sjostrom; a moment of kindness on a back road, from Kathy Christie; and heart-lifting views on two sides of the same Hartland road at the same time, from Sarah Stewart Taylor.And hey, here's an idea for Dear Daybreak: Tell us about the Upper Valley's unknown gems! Every town's got them: unusual small businesses or little-visited trails or favorite hang-out spots or much-loved town-wide events (or maybe even just much-loved features of town events, like the belt sander race at Canaan Old Home Day). But the Upper Valley's a big place, and lots passes under the radar. So if you've got a local favorite that won't get you shunned by your neighbors if you share it with us, send it in via the burgundy link. Be sure to tell us why you like it and how to find it.For Straffordites hoping to save Coburns' General Store, six months to raise $2 million. It's been over two years since Sue and Melvin Coburn announced their plans to retire and sell their store at the heart of S. Strafford, but no buyer has emerged. Now, a group of locals are pursuing the "community trust" model—and last week, the trust "formalized an option agreement with the Coburns for the potential purchase of the building and the business," reports Christina Dolan in the Valley News. The trust model—which relies on an operator to run the actual business—has been used successfully in a variety of towns. “We’re hoping it will fall into place comfortably,” Sue Coburn says.SPONSORED: Ten November comes to the Grange Theatre! "A wonderful mixture of music, historical research, and personal reflection." Inspired by the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, this docudrama is a compelling inquiry into the unanswered questions about that tragedy. The show runs from Nov. 8th - 17th at Artistree Community Arts Center's Grange Theatre in Pomfret, VT. Sponsored by Artistree.Grieving his mom's death, Bradford's Hunter Paye took off for the Mediterranean. Now he's got an album out about that time. Paye made his musical name out west, playing with Train and Michelle Shocked and logging countless miles on tour. But he returned here in 2018 both to care for his mom, Tish, and because of health issues that made touring difficult. "Songs just started pouring out of me," he tells Seven Days' Chris Farnsworth. "I'd get back from Dartmouth every day and reach for the guitar." Farnsworth talks to Paye about the downs and the ups and the album. There's more, with video, below.Stressed out? Stop reading Daybreak! Actually, please don't. But on the list of suggestions for finding calm in Erica Houskeeper's piece for DH's Living Better newsletter is this advice from Robert Brady, who runs DHMC's Anxiety Disorders Service: Stop checking the news every five minutes. "We need to be more tolerant about not knowing everything happening at this instant," he says. "Because knowing everything going on isn't going to help you. It's just going to feed the beast." Erica also delves into nutrition, breathing, and focusing on the here and now. And, of course, doing things you love, like belting out a song.SPONSORED: Dartmouth Skiway Early Bird Sale ends at midnight! Stoke levels are off the charts! Unlock winter fun and deep discounts on season leases, weekly lessons for kids and adults, and season passes. Prices increase tonight at midnight, so visit the Skiway website at the burgundy link or here before prices get spooky. Sponsored by the Dartmouth Skiway."If you question whether something you hear is true or not...find a reliable source so that you can educate yourself on what the truth is." And when it comes to rumors and misinformation about the elections process, NH Secretary of State David Scanlan wants you to know, that means asking your local elections officials. In a conversation with Rhianwen Watkins for the Granite State News Collaborative, Scanlan talks over what happened with the AI robocall imbroglio back in February, deepfakes, how AI can be harnessed for good, and why he believes it's up to voters to educate themselves responsibly.Why NH's interest and dividends tax is in the campaign spotlight. It's a point of contention between Democrat Joyce Craig and Republican Kelly Ayotte in their race for governor, so in NH Bulletin, Ethan DeWitt breaks down what it is and why they're talking about it. The tax on income from distributions, dividends, and interest tends to fall on wealthier taxpayers; the GOP legislature voted to phase it out in 2021—it ends entirely next year. Craig says she'd like to restore it. Ayotte says that would be raising taxes. DeWitt explains the tax's ins and outs and how much it's brought the state: $184 million in FY24.In WMUR's Granite State Debate, gubernatorial candidates stay on attack. Craig and Ayotte squared off last night in their tightly fought race to replace Chris Sununu—whose course as governor Ayotte said she'd continue, while Craig stressed her executive experience as mayor of Manchester while pledging to chart a more progressive course. The two laid out different approaches to abortion, homelessness, immigration and the northern border, affordable housing, and more. Link goes to the full debate and to debate segments by topic.A look at VT's contests for governor and lieutenant governor. A series of articles have just gone up, all of them intriguing.
In Seven Days, Anne Wallace Allen profiles Democrat Esther Charlestin, her uphill campaign against incumbent Republican Phil Scott, and her journey from being the oldest of five kids born to Haitian immigrants in Bridgeport, CT, to the Middlebury Selectboard, to jumping into the governor's contest despite a lack of policy and political experience.
And in VTDigger, Sarah Mearhoff profiles Scott, whose father died when he was 11 and whose mother took off for Florida when he was 16; Scott and his oldest brother decided to stick around in Barre. Mearhoff traces his political rise through the state Senate and as lieutenant governor, his tangles with the Democratic-controlled legislature, and why he said at a recent debate that he thinks the state is on the wrong track: He blames the legislature, while legislators argue he's been missing in action on the state's biggest challenges.
Meanwhile, Seven Days' Kevin McCallum takes a look at the contest between incumbent Democrat David Zuckerman and Democrat-turned-Republican John Rodgers for the lieutenant governorship. As McCallum notes, "both have spent a significant part of their adult lives as Democratic politicians, with similar views on marriage equality, reproductive freedom and cannabis regulation." He profiles each, as well as a campaign that has "gotten unusually personal, with each lobbing attacks about the other's honesty and integrity."
And in the latest news on that race, Shaun Robinson reports in VTDigger that three VT governors have endorsed Rodgers. Two of them are no surprise: Phil Scott and and Jim Douglas are both Republicans. The third, though, is former Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, who tells Robinson, "You won’t find a more dedicated, logical individual who understands working Vermonters better than John Rodgers." Zuckerman's got his own gubernatorial endorsement: former Democratic Gov. Madeline Kumin.
For hundreds of miles along the Appalachian Trail, trees down "like toothpicks." The damage, of course, stems from Hurricane Helene last month, and with the first northbound thru-hikers hoping to set out from Georgia next March, the Washington Post's Allison Salerno set out with an AT Conservancy crew as they assessed the damage. They made it 3 1/2 miles along one section in Tennessee before reaching "a spot where fallen trees stacked on top of one another made the trail impassable." It's like that in pockets all along the trail, which will take expert sawyers to clear. Salerno sketches where things stand.Bees, monarchs, snakes, bugs, slime mold, and a baby wallaby, all very up close. The shortlist for the Close-Up Photographer of the Year is out, and My Modern Met's got a selection of 20 of the photos—sized dramatically larger than you'll encounter on CUPOTY's own site. It's a tour through the incredible beauty and complexity of the natural world, with eye-stopping images, including lamproderma slime mold that has to be seen to be believed. On CUPOTY's page, you can check out all the categories, from animals and insects to slime mold and fungi to landscapes and arachnids.
Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
we
know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
That's thanks to Dartmouth organist Henry Danaher,
who, as the publicity goes, "will share some truly ghoulish organ music for Halloween. The pipe organ at Rollins Chapel, an instrument of 3,937 pipes...is one of Dartmouth College's hidden treasures, and this Halloween, it will be at its most fearsome!
" 4:30 pm, no tix needed—just show up and be transported.
Ives, who teaches at Brown, is the author of
Life Is Everywhere: A Novel
and, most recently,
An Image of My Name Enters America: Essays,
which grew out of her experience of pregnancy and childbirth at 40. 4:30 pm in Dartmouth's Sanborn Library.
Pence is on campus as a Rockefeller Center fellow and will be in conversation at 5 pm in the Hanover Inn Ballroom with a trio of political deep-divers: Dartmouth political scientists Russ Muirhead and Herschel Nachlis, and Emma Wolfe, chief of staff to the president of NYU. The in-person version is sold out; register for the livestream at the link.
With its screenwriter on hand. Philip Kaufman's 1978 update of the original classic stars Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, and Jeff Goldblum, and, as the Hop writes, "plays on fears that are timeless—and yet it feels eerily relevant in an age where conspiracy theories about the government being taken over from the inside run rampant." The screenplay was written by W.D. Richter, Dartmouth '68, who'll be on hand for a conversation about the film afterward. 7 pm.
. One collects Maynard Goldman's lectures on this year's presidential contest—the candidates, key issues, and strategies shaping the race without partisan bias; the second is David Bisno's opening lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his exploration of historical claims, religious ties, and the challenges facing everyone involved; and the third is a high-level conversation on the media and mis- and disinformation with ProPublica founder Dick Tofel, NBC reporter Brandy Zarodzny, and CUNY media analyst Joel Simon.
And for today...
We're going to get a look at the first single off Hunter Paye's new album,
Blueprints for Flight.
The album explores his grief at losing his mother (and his own health) and what Paye calls "Phoenix songs," written after his return from a four-month sojourn in the Mediterranean. As
Seven Days'
Chris Farnsworth writes, the Bradford musician's health challenges make it hard to play live—"It's tough for me to say I can give a good performance next Thursday, because I don't know how I'll feel physically on next Thursday," Paye explains—and so he's releasing videos for the album's songs one by one.
Next one's due out soon—
And here's the VN's Alex Hanson
See you tomorrow.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music?
Want to catch up on Daybreak itself (or find that item you trashed by mistake the other day)? You can find everything on the Daybreak Facebook page
, or if you're a committed non-FB user,
.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! Subscribe at no cost at:
Thank you!