Daybreak Tuesday, 10/13/26

A cool, showery day. We’ve got this cold front coming through, plus a fast-moving area of low pressure that happens to be carrying what’s left of Tropical Storm Rachel, and it’s going to let it all loose today. We’re basically looking at a bleak wet day, with temps in the 50s all day and night (today’s high is at midnight). Slight chance of thunderstorms tonight.

So we could probably use some color in our morning. Three photos of the fall landscape from on high: Looking out from the Gile Mountain fire tower in Norwich, from Susan Ellison; the view out over the NH hills from Patch Orchard in Lebanon, from Janice Fischel; and the miles-long view from above Lake Willoughby, from Robin Osborne.

Peanut butter, pickled mushrooms, and bread. Picking up in Lost Woods where DB Johnson left off last week, Auk and Eddie raid Henry’s refrigerator. And it turns out you can make a sandwich from those ingredients. One note: You’ll notice a new format that lets you scroll left to right. “I've always felt that it made more sense to read comics from left to write rather than up and down...didn't we give up reading from scrolls several millenia ago?” DB Johnson writes. You may need to clear your browser cache to get the right experience; if you’re on a cellphone, just rotate the phone to landscape orientation for a full panel.

Fairlee’s Samurai Soul Food closes its doors. On FB late yesterday, owner and co-founder Kelden Smith announced that the nine-year old restaurant has shut down. Known for its knows-no-bounds menu, casual feel, and rotating crew of cats—the model they set out to create was “date night for families”—the restaurant attracted a following well beyond Fairlee. “We know how upsetting this will be, trust when I say that our hearts are broken as well,” Smith and crew wrote in their announcement. “We just wanted to take a moment to tell you all, how incredibly grateful we are for your support over the years.” Smith, the post says, will be delivering mail in Thetford, Amy and Jazz are moving to Bradford’s Little Grill, Starsky will be pressure-washing.

“I just want the phone to ring and for them to say it was a mistake, knowing darn well it wasn’t.” That’s Ryan Cutter’s mom, Doreen, talking to the VN’s Molly Hughes about her son’s death last month; the Hanover native was one of two helicopter pilots killed in a crash while battling the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park. “His feet weren’t meant to be on the ground from when he was a little guy,” Doreen tells Hughes: He started ski jumping when he was 5, and went on to ski backcountry, BASE jump, paraglide, and wingsuit. Hughes talks to two of his closest friends, including Toby Huggett (of the E. Thetford Huggetts) and details his zest for adventure—and for flying.

Hanover also loses Nigel Leeming. Leeming, 70, was best known—along with his wife, Liz—as the creator and owner of Murphy’s pub. A serial restaurant opener, he died at home Friday “surrounded by the sounds of his family and friends who were sharing stories of his life,” his obit reads. He also owned Impasto, in the space where TukTuk now resides, and—less in the limelight—worked as a VP at Appcast, the high-tech job ad exchange based in Lebanon. Born in England, he moved with his family to New Zealand when he was 3, then to the US as a high schooler. “Nigel loved bringing people together at Murphy’s,” his obit reads. “It brought him such joy to know all of the names and faces of the community.”

SPONSORED: 🎃 Get Tickets for Spooky Science at the Montshire! This (not so scary) event is designed especially for families with children through age 12. Enjoy a night at the Montshire, in costume, with tricked-out exhibits, spooky science activities, a jack-o-lantern trail, and a costume contest! Friday, Oct. 23, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Sponsored by the Montshire Museum of Science.

In latest numbers, Valley News reverses circulation decline. Publishers are required to print their certified figures once a year, and last week, the VN did just that, showing 5,355 paid print copies and 2,376 online subscriptions at the end of September, for a total of 7,731. That’s up noticeably from the 6,800 combined circulation it notched early in 2025, at the time publisher Rich Wallace took over. For comparison, the Concord Monitor stood at 6,007 combined, while the Union Leader leads the group at 13,809. It’s not comparable, because Daybreak doesn’t charge for subscriptions, but as of this morning Daybreak had 15,190 subscribers.

“Piloting” a trishaw in Lebanon. In all, writes Susan Apel in Artful, Leb’s Cycling Without Age program—part of an international effort—has 13 certified “pilots” for its single e-assist trishaw, which it got in 2022. Over the last year, they’ve taken people with mobility issues on some 200 rides. One of those pilots is Eszter Pattantyus, a retired TomTom engineer, whose parents left Hungary in 1956; she took up her some-time retirement gig in part to help them keep traveling the Rail Trail as walking became more difficult for them and in part to “give back” to the Upper Valley, which she tells Susan is “a community that deserves it.”

SPONSORED: Help us learn how children perceive faces. Adults consistently looks to a particular position on the face, but we don't know if kids do, too. Dartmouth's Social Perception Lab is seeking families of children ages 6–14 for a lab-based research study with eye tracking. Children will view faces and decide whether they are male or female. Participation is voluntary and takes 30 minutes. Children will be given a $15 Visa gift card. Parental consent required. Please hit the burgundy link or here to learn more and sign up, or email [email protected]. Sponsored by the Social Perception Lab at Dartmouth College.

“A good, good way to acquire some sort of role without actually having to do anything.” That’s serving as weigher of coal, which Noa Younse did in Richmond, VT. His position of civic responsibility is not one of the Goliaths of public office, as VT Public’s Sabine Poux puts it, but one of “the Davids, the little guys,” and in this latest episode of Brave Little State, she explores them: the fence viewers, the high bailiffs, the justices of the peace. Weighers of coal used to do just that (Younse even volunteered his electric scale when he applied); fence viewers settled disputes between neighbors—and 40 percent of VT towns still have them and, from time to time, call on them. Then there are the JPs, who “do the grunt work of democracy,” as one puts it….

SPONSORED: Celebrate the Hood Museum’s fall exhibitions! Join us this Friday, October 16, from 5:00–6:30 pm for gallery exploration, reception, swag giveaways, and raffles. This free event is part of UV Arts For All, an Upper Valley Arts Alliance initiative connecting community members with dozens of free and low-cost arts experiences throughout the region. Capacity is limited, so please register for the event here. Sponsored by the Hood Museum.

“I’m like, how have you confused a 50kg bomb, which is the size of a fire extinguisher, with a 250kg bomb, which is the size of a hot water tank?” Well, because two WWII bombs were discovered on the same day in the UK county of Devon. The Guardian’s Samira Shackle delves into the science of defusing bombs, how teams train for both modern terrorist devices and decades-old, corroding ones, and whether, after 80 years, a Luftwaffe bomb is still an act of war. Germany dropped 60,000+ tons of bombs on Britain, many of which are showing up now and will for years to come. “The last person to die from an unexploded bomb dropped in World War II probably hasn’t been born yet,” says one researcher.

Hanging out up high with maybe the world’s nosiest bird. And definitely the only alpine parrot. New Zealand’s kea are notorious for their curiosity: They pry into backpacks, check out climbing gear, strip seals from parked cars, move traffic cones around. A couple weeks ago, a group of hikers high on a mountainside snowfield got to watch that curiosity in action.

The Tuesday Crossword. Just a light tap on the gas pedal to get your morning off to the right start, from Laura Braunstein.

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.

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HEADS UP
Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center hosts retired NH Supreme Court Justice Jim Bassett. Bassett, a ‘78 graduate of the college, “will discuss his journey from Dartmouth to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, including his twenty-seven years working as a trial lawyer and appellate lawyer, the landmark cases he argued, and his thirteen-year term as a New Hampshire Justice.” 4:30 pm in Hinman Forum and livestreamed.

Dartmouth’s Dickey Center hosts the CIA’s Michael Ellis for “Intelligence in an Era of Strategic Change.” Ellis, an ‘06 Dartmouth grad, is deputy director of the CIA. He’ll be talking with government prof Daryl Press about a wide range of issues affecting the current state of intelligence, from regional threats to AI. 5 pm in Filene Auditorium, tickets are required and it won’t be livestreamed or recorded.

Jeff Belanger with “Wicked Strange New England” at Sunapee’s Abbott Library. On his podcast and tv series, Belanger “seeks out history, folklore, ghosts, monsters, and legends all over the world and in your backyard.” He’ll telling stories from his book, Wicked Strange: Your Guide to Ghosts, Monsters, Oddities, and Urban Legends from New England. 6 pm.

An Evening at Rauner Library: In Which Pooh Turns One Hundred. Dartmouth libraries research specialist Rachel Starr dives into the Hundred Acre Wood, with a chance to view first editions of Winnie-the-Pooh and to learn about early influences on A.A. Milne, his life, and career. You’ll need to register, and there are a few spots left. 6 pm, and be prompt (the Rauner’s doors will be locked and staff will let you in).

The League of Women Voters for the Kearsarge-Sunapee region hosts NH Secretary of State David Scanlon. Scanlon gets into the nitty-gritty of “How NH Protects Your Right to Vote,” talking about the history of voting machines and optical scanners, including those now in use, the Dominion machine debacle, and how electronic poll books work (and why). 7 pm at the Kearsarge Professional Development Center (former middle school) at 114 Cougar Court in New London.

Miciah Bay Gault talks over The Nobody Code with Sarah Stewart Taylor at the Norwich Bookstore. Gault’s second novel tells the story of a woman “who leaves her marriage to uncover who’s been punishing her for the crimes of her adolescence, when she was part of a band of vigilante teenagers who called themselves ‘Nobody.’” 7 pm.

Hop Film screens Fritz Lang’s Metropolis with live organ accompaniment. Set in the unthinkably distant future of 2026, Lang’s 1926 film about the wealthy above and the workers keeping Metropolis going below, “fixed for the rest of the century the image of a futuristic city as a hell of scientific progress and human despair, and inspired countless narratives from Star Wars to Blade Runner,” the Hop writes. With live accompaniment on the Rollins Chapel organ by Peter Krasinski. 8 pm.

And anytime between now and Sunday, you can check out the Norwich Lions Club’s silent auction, which raises funds for community organizations in Hartford and Norwich. This year, the club’s provided more than $26K in grants to 37 Upper Valley organizations for educational materials, aid to those who are food insecure, and more.

The Tuesday Poem.

A gang of crows was chasing off
a hawk. The little stream was laughing
and shushing itself. The hawk’s reflection
briefly blurred a pool of water
and then the pool went back to waiting
for nothing or the next reflection.
The maple trees were yellow and red,
but redder farther up the stream.
I wanted especially to share
the cloud of redder leaves upstream
with the little girl I had with me,
but she was sleeping. Walking home,
I thought the willow trees around
the pond were standing up like brooms
to sweep the sky. That was the voice
in my head describing the willow trees
as brooms, a thought to stop the world
for a moment’s moment. She might have thought
the willows looked like lashes winking
around a deep-green eye,
but as I say, she was asleep
for this excursion in the world.
And she hasn’t told me yet about
the voice inside her head. For the moment
that voice is learning how to listen
to its own mysterious silence. I expect
it’s like a sanctuary in there
with a candle glowing at the back of the room
and violets dotting the grass outside.

— “Violets in the Fall” by Maurice Manning.

See you tomorrow.

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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt      Poetry editor: Michael Lipson    Associate Editors: Jonea Gurwitt, Sam Gurwitt

Thank you!