All Entries in the "Community and Arts Life" Category
Henry Homeyer: beyond the perennials, unique ways to make your garden your own
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC My garden is the place I go in times of sadness, worry or stress. It makes me feel better. I took a few moments one morning recently to really look at what was in my garden to see what made it so special. I saw that in addition […]
Chester quilter among winners at Billings exhibit
Linda Diak of Chester has been chosen as one of several winners of the Juror’s Choice Awards during the 34th Annual Quilt Exhibition of the Billings Farm & Museum, 69 Old River Road in Woodstock. She and other winners were announced during the exhibit’s opening reception on Friday, July 17. The Quilt Exhibition, which runs […]
Beautification group keeps Derry blooming
Londonderry’s Beautification Commission and Friends of Main Street overcame all obstacles from Covid-19 to ensure barrels and bridge boxes were planted and distributed throughout town. The planters are filled with colorful, thriving flowers to brighten the community, providing a great lift to residents and visitors during this most challenging time. Covid-19 guidelines restricted the annual […]
Left in Andover: Home in the hills of Vermont
By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Due to the pandemic, scores of non-resident property owners have worked remotely from area ski and vacation homes. Many will choose to remain as full-time residents. And even more will continue to find their way here as air travel becomes increasingly problematic. I believe future leaders of our […]
Chester Chatter: Air conditioning ushered in changes
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Growing up I did not know anyone who had air conditioning in their homes. This was the 1950s. No one had air conditioning in their car, either. We had one big fan that we moved around from room to room, whereever we were. Often we sat on our […]
Henry Homeyer: A Midsummer Night’s Flowers, Shakespeare’s lesser known work
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC It is mid-summer now, and my garden is full of gorgeous flowers, some finishing up their display, others just beginning. Here are some I love and what I do to make them happy. The first flowers I see when I walk out my front door are poppies. Annual […]
Left in Andover: The gift in the rituals of death
By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Four women, members of the local chevra kadisha burial society, arrive to perform the ancient rite of tahara, or washing the body of the deceased, upon my mother. As I cross the dimly lit funeral home lobby on my way out to grab a soy latte, they reach […]
Chester Chatter: A softball league of our own
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Green Mountain Softball League is celebrating 41 years of playing on its field off Route 103 in Chester. It all started in Londonderry with an idea from a few young boys. Alan Benson of Weston helped get everything started. Neil MacKenzie of Chester donated funds to help. […]
Henry Homeyer: your humor may be dry, but your garden shouldn’t be
By Henry Homeyer ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC June, for most of us, was a very dry time. When weeds and established perennials started to droop, I knew it was time to water, and I did. But watering done well takes time. And watering done poorly wastes a lot of water, or doesn’t do the job. […]
Dr. Barbeau, founder of Neighborhood Connections, honored with car parade
By Bruce Frauman ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC .Nicole Wengerd, the new executive director of Neighborhood Connections in Londonderry, introduced founding member Delores Barbeau by saying doctors told Barbeau that she should not be alive. Barbeau has Stage 4 cancer and was not expected to live beyond May. Wengerd then joked, “What do doctors know?” The […]
Left in Andover: Waters in the heart
By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC A hundred feet into the woods off my front porch is a shallow well hand dug in the 1950s by a hermit who lived in the cabin which is now my pottery studio. We dubbed it Hammy’s Well after our daughter’s hamster met its demise there many years […]
Chester Chatter: My not-so-older sister
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC My sister Marie and I were what is known as Irish twins. We were 10 months apart as well as being born in the same year. That meant that we started 1st grade together. But still, Marie was my big sister who helped me climb out of my […]
Henry Homeyer: Roses are red and… easier to grow than you think
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I love roses, but avoided planting any for a long time. They had a reputation for being fussy. I thought they would attract Japanese beetles, and carry black spot and other diseases. In recent years I have been enjoying growing roses and find that modern breeders have come […]
Water quality testing underway in area rivers
Summer is in full swing with hot days, thunderstorms and lots of swimming. And with summer comes water quality testing for harmful bacteria. Sample bottles, thermometers, coolers, and paperwork in hand, Susan Brace and Frank Kelley headed out early Wednesday morning to collect samples. The goal of the water quality program is to monitor the […]
Stone table and benches complete Chester park
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC In March 2018, Chester voters approved a bond for $25,000 to construct a “pocket park” at the end of School Street by the suspension bridge over the Middle Branch of the Williams River. The park was one of the first ideas that came out of the Village […]
Grace Cottage to hold 70th Fair Day virtually
Grace Cottage Hospital’s 70th Annual Hospital Fair Day is going virtual this year as it seeks to raise $34,800 for technologically advanced hospital beds that will provide increased comfort and safety for patients and nurses. Donations of new or used items of high value including jewelry, cars, trucks, snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles, and boats are greatly […]
Left in Andover: Vegetarians in meat-filled world
By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As a hyper-sensitive vegetarian child in the 1950s I avoided close-up contact with the chickens my family kept for eggs. Obscured underneath their pretty feathers, my X-ray vision detected dead poultry as displayed at the supermarket. My little brother, on the other hand, enjoyed picking them up and […]
Chester Chatter: A time to get organized
By Ruthie Douglas ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC Stop everyone. Take a minute and don’t make comparisons between the Depression and how we are living right now. Back in the 1930s, many people didn’t have a telephone, a radio or a car. This year as we have been told to stay at home, we at least […]
Henry Homeyer: first steps in designing your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Let’s say you have just purchased a house and want to create beautiful gardens. How should you begin? I recently visited Gordon and Mary Hayward, both garden designers, at their home in Westminster West, Vermont. Their gardens are as nice as any private gardens I have seen, and […]
Left in Andover: Between Chester and home
By Susan Leader ©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC As a child in the 1950s, I developed my home town identity attending Peaseville School in Andover. The other kids and families who lived scattered among the surrounding hills were my world. Their names, faces and home places are forever etched in my brain like points on a […]
