All Entries in the "Community and Arts Life" Category
Left in Andover: Warp, weft and spinning a life
By Susan Leader ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In the late 1960s and 1970s, when I viewed “dropping out” as a viable career option, I wrestled with what version of the Age of Aquarius would be right for me. I toyed with creating my own clothes, the goal being to make myself independent of the exploitation […]
Chester Chatter: A farm wife prepares for winter
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC On the farm, there was always something to be done. Come fall, it was time to button up for the winter ahead. Inside the farmhouse, the kitchen smelled of pickles and other canning of late vegetables, which was going on with the big pressure cooker making its noise. […]
Joyous, tragic, exuberance of WPTC’s ‘Indecent’
By David Lampe-Wilson 2019 © Telegraph Publishing LLC Weston Playhouse finishes its season with Paula Vogel’s Indecent and it is safe to say that they have saved the best for last. Indecent is a gem of a play that encompasses a host of ideas as it challenges its audience to keep up with diverse themes. […]
Henry Homeyer: Don’t fall behind on fall lawn care
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I have to admit that I don’t pay much attention to my lawn. I mow it as needed, but don’t fuss about dandelions, which I consider cheerful. But I realize many gardeners do care about their lawns, so I will share with you a few tips for the […]
Left in Andover: An oasis in our food deserts
By Susan Leader ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC My father Herbert Leader (1917-1988), self-described “Bennington boy,” recollected driving out to the surrounding countryside as a small child with his father: “Pappa used to take the horse and wagon around the countryside, a rabbi from Slonim looking out for his flock. Sometimes he’d take me along and […]
Chester Chatter: In a stew over two tom turkeys
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC A chicken coop extended from the garage out back of our house. One year, Uncle Kenny decided to raise two tom turkeys. He named them Thanksgiving and Christmas. I liked to sneak into the shed to watch them. I felt sorry for Thanksgiving because he was getting larger […]
Henry Homeyer: 6 trees ready to find roots in your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I recently spent an afternoon walking around the UMass Amherst campus with Mike Dirr, my favorite tree authority and author. I already had several of his books, which I depend on before buying a tree. I purchased his terrific new book entitled, The Tree Book: Superior Selections for […]
Grafton Cheese features mural by Chester artist
© 2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Chester artist Amy Mosher has completed a bucolic mural for the Grafton Village Cheese Co.’s viewing room at its facility at 533 Townshend Road in Grafton. The 340-square-foot mural portrays Vermont’s rural landscape complete with the cows and sheep that provide milk to make Grafton’s cave aged cheeses. Mosher had […]
Bulb sale at Chester Fall Fest; Grafton Fall Fest seeks crafters; Springfield Band looking for musicians
Chester Townscape selling bulbs at Fall Festival Chester Townscape volunteers will be in front of the Fullerton Inn on Main Street in Chester selling spring-flowering bulbs during Chester’s Fall Festival from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Sept. 21 and 22. All bulbs are top quality, hardy, easy care, deer resistant, and expected […]
Left in Andover: Apple picking plants seeds for lifetime of growth
By Susan Leader ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In 1978 my mother, Miriam Leader, wrote, “I search the reddened cheeks of a Northern Spy, my daughter’s cheeks rosy as she picked it … I am becoming greedy of those times.” I have no desire to reprise my time as a professional, seasonal orchard worker throughout my […]
Chester Chatter: That clear beautiful tragic day
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC It was a beautiful clear day. Fall was on its way. The sky was blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. I was angry that I was sick and called into work that I would not be coming in. I wrapped up in a blanket, turned on the TV […]
Henry Homeyer: getting the most out of your veggie harvest
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Want to maximize the output of your garden? Now is the time to act. Here are a few things you can do that will help. Brussels sprouts: Have you had trouble getting full-sized sprouts? These plants need to be topped in the fall to get the tiny sprouts […]
Chester resident’s quilt places 3rd in Billings Farm People’s Choice awards
Chester resident Linda Diak took a third place award in the small to medium category for quilt Circle #1 at the Billings Farm & Museum‘s 2019 People’s Choice awards during the 33rd Annual Quilt Exhibition. More than 15,000 visitors viewed the recent exhibition and nearly 1,000 ballots were cast for favorite quilts. The results: FULL […]
Left in Andover: The Coolidge connection
By Susan Leader ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC As a young child I used to hike up Weston Road with my mother to Middletown Cemetery, where we enjoyed trying to figure out the stories behind the gravestone inscriptions. What triple misfortune befell the Chandler family, summers end, 1839? Even the ministrations of Dr. Charles Chandler, husband […]
Chester Chatter: Diary of a left-handed kid
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Picture what a first grade classroom looked like in 1946. Now you have an idea of what I had to deal with as a left-handed little girl. Students had to enter the desk from the right side and the inkwells were on the right side as well. There […]
Henry Homeyer: fall color in the flower garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Big yellow buses are growling as they lumber down country roads, delivering their children to school. Soft serve stands are warning of imminent closure. Favorite flowers are finishing their blooms; fall is here. But don’t despair as there are plenty of colorful plants to fill vases and warm […]
Community & Arts events: Sept. 7 – 10
For a full listing of upcoming events, click here for The Chester Telegraph Calendar. To find out how to become a Calendar Partner, email or call Cynthia Prairie at cprairie@chestertelegraph.org or 802-875-2703. To be included in events briefs, email calendar@chestertelegraph.org. Photos welcome. No PDFs, please. Notices must be received by noon on Fridays to be […]
Derry Rescue Squad offers medical responder course
The Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad will be offering an Emergency Medical Responder course beginning in late September. Classes will meet from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays from Sept. 25 through Dec. 19. at the Rescue Squad Building, 6068 Route 100 in Londonderry. State testing will follow. EMRs are often the first medical personnel […]
Left in Andover: A bit of Hetty Green in Weston
By Susan Leader ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC In 1966, I inherited my older sister’s job as a housekeeper at the newly rebuilt Weston Playhouse, designed by architect and esteemed native son Ray Austin. What I most dreaded was cleaning the toilets. Luckily for me, all the bathroom fixtures in the upstairs actors’ quarters were still […]
Chester Chatter: When it was time to grow up
By Ruthie Douglas ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Summer had come to an end. I was sad and yet excited to see my friends once again now that school had started. I had a couple of new outfits to wear as I was starting the 8th grade. The first day was a bit scary. I was […]
