Northwood Recreation Update

The Northwood Recreation Department has a variety of sports camps and activities for all ages to choose from this summer.

Adult Co-Ed Slow Pitch Softball – Are you considering registering a team to participate in the softball league this summer?  Don’t forget that the registration deadline is June 17th.  The cost is $195 per team.  Find 9 to 15 of your friends and register your team to participate in our adult softball league. Games will take place two nights a week during July and August.

Kayaking Club - Kayaking Club is a new program offered by the Northwood Recreation Department for adults.  This program is designed for adults age 60ish (give or take a few). The group will be planning trips on Wednesday mornings to a variety of local waterways.  All adventures will vary at the beginner level. 

Swimming Lessons - Northwood residents can register now for swimming lessons offered for free by the Recreation Department.  Lessons will are scheduled for July 7th – July 18th and July 28th – August 8th.  Day and evening lessons are available.  These lessons are for children 3 years old and older.  We are also offering a Parent-Child lesson for children 18 months – 3 years old, July 14th – July 17th. Register by June 27th. 

Visit www.northwoodnh.org for registration information and additional information about these programs.  Details can be found in our Brochure on the website. Or email the Recreation Department at [email protected] with questions.

Letter To The Editor

Memorial Day Clouds

There was a good turnout for Northwood’s Memorial Day observance despite the threat of rain, which caused some activities to be moved indoors.  The parade and the cemetery service went off without a hitch.

Another cloud hung over the event, however:  the expanding Veterans Administration scandal. Allegedly, many veterans died while waiting for care at VA hospitals in several states, some waiting as long as 10 months to see a doctor, while  wait times were falsified to make it appear that veterans were getting prompt medical attention. There are other charges as well. We don’t yet know the full truth or extent of the problem.

“Veterans continue to die waiting for their health care, senior VA executives continue to get their bonuses, and only after this is the secretary [Eric Shinseki] now pledging to fix what’s wrong,” said American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger. VFW Deputy Director Ryan Gallucci said. “The families of these veterans need justice and they need it quickly.”

Who could disagree? More than 52, 000 US soldiers have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan alone. Many veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, also need care, causing a huge backlog of cases.

Over 1,000,000 American soldiers have been killed in war, and many more wounded.  Joseph Stalin famously said, “The death of one man is a tragedy.  The death of millions is a statistic.” It would be sad if the tragic deaths and serious injuries of all these young men and women were seen as just another statistic.

Maybe if we always observed the Constitution by having a full Congressional debate and Declaration of War before sending Americans off to battle, we’d have fewer wars and fewer grievously wounded soldiers not getting the medical care we owe them on this Memorial Day.

Michael Faiella

The Veterans Corner

Submitted By Richard Doucet

Come to our Birthday celebration! We’re 40 years old….almost!

The Northwood Post of the VFW, now known as the Joseph J. Jeffrey  Post 7217, was chartered on Dec 11, 1974.  The day after Memorial Day, appropriately enough, I sat down with two of the founders of the post; Bob Bailey and Allen Holmes, both of Northwood, in Bob’s country home for coffee, English muffins and talk about how the  post came about. Bob served in the Army and Allen in the Navy towards the end of WWII.  They now sit in meetings with those “kids” who have served in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The oldest living member of the post is Mr. Elmer Tasker of Northwood.

Of the 32 original founders 21 have passed on. As original members Bob and Allen agreed to fill me in on how the post was established. 

The idea for a post in Northwood was presented by Walter Jackson, Stephen Gunther and Joseph  J. Jeffrey.  Originally the post was named the Northwood Post but was renamed the Joseph J. Jeffrey Post after Joseph was killed in a auto accident in April of 1975.  

Over the years the post has been involved in a number of national as well as local activities.  On the national level we are involved in the annual Poppy Drive, the Patriots Pen competition and the Voices of Freedom contest.  Locally our post holds a raffle in the fall with the funds being used to assist veterans in need.  At each meeting every member donates to one of the VFW’s least known, but most cherished, activities and that is the VFW National Home for Children in Eaton Rapids Michigan.  This program is the living example of the VFW’s motto of: “Honor the Dead by Helping Living“.  It is a place where the families of dead veterans as well as other military families can go in time of need to find help and shelter to keep the family together after the devastation of losing the main provider for the family.

The home was the idea of the Military Order of the Cootie at the 1923 VFW convention and was brought to fruition in 1924 by Amy Ross.  Amy had been working for a year to get jobs for vets in Detroit in 1923. Later she was able to get the donation of 472 acres of property in Eaton from millionaire cattle man Corey Spencer.  Though Amy did not live to see the home become operational in 1925, the home is a testament to the memory of her selfless devotion to veterans.

The home however, is not a handout to anyone who needs a place to “hangout”.  Families who are accepted have to show that they are willing to do what is needed to help themselves out of their hardships.  No one judges how they got there only on how they want to leave there.  Each family has a case manager and has to set goals.  While they strive to meet those goals they receive multiple levels of support to include a certified child care center. The home is a glowing example of how the “rich” of a capitalist society and dedicated volunteers do work together in an atmosphere that promotes self-help and discipline to help others succeed in dignity without the heavy hand of a wasteful, clueless, government bureaucracy.

So join us!  We will be celebrating our 40th birthday just a bit early at the Northwood Bean Hole Bash on July 26th.  Our post will have a tent and we invite everyone to come share in some birthday cake, meet other veterans of all services and all organizations. 

If you are not a member you can join.  If you have a question about the Veterans Administration (VA) for yourself or  your spouse we might be able to point you in the right direction.  There will also be  more information about the VFW National Children’s Home including how to donate.

Besides our cake we will also have a board of old pictures of local service members and pictures of VFW events over the years.  If you have copies, please no originals, of old pictures bring them down on Saturday morning and we will put them on our board.

We also hope to have an “I am looking for:” board where you can post a request to find former members of units you may have served in or people you served with.  My post will read: “ Looking for former members 162nd Air Assault, Phouc Vinh, 1966-67 reach me at (phone number)”

So, no matter what organization you belong  to, or even if you don’t belong to any, put on your cap, a service baseball cap, or any other garment that proclaims you served your country and join us for cake and camaraderie. You will also be supporting a worthwhile, family oriented, community activity. You don’t have to be a Northwood resident to join in on the fun…and “chow down” on some good ole baked beans and fixin‘s!

There are thousands of veterans in NH. In these times where veterans seem to be under covert attack on the one hand while our praises are being sung in public on the other hand lets remind those who will be running for office…in any party…this year just what a large voting block we are by wearing our colors proudly.

Lastly, a quick thanks to Bob and Allen for their help.

CBNA Junior Awarded The Rensselaer Medal

Coe-Brown Northwood Academy is pleased to announce that junior Benjamin Porter of Nottingham has been selected to receive the Rensselaer Medal Award. For more than 95 years, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in conjunction with high schools around the world has awarded the Rensselaer Medal to promising secondary school students who have distinguished themselves in math and science. The Medal, first awarded in 1916, has two purposes, first, to recognize superlative academic achievement of young men and women, and second to motivate students toward careers in science, engineering and technology. To be honored with this prestigious award, a student must be ranked within the top 10% of the junior class, demonstrate potential for success in a challenging academic setting, excel in math and science courses (chemistry, physics, and a minimum of four years of mathematics through pre-calculus) and exhibit significant involvement in extracurricular activities. Should the student choose to enroll in RPI for post-secondary education, a merit scholarship with a minimum value of $15,000 per year is guaranteed. Congratulations to Ben.

Letter To The Editor

Editor,

This morning, as I drove away from the Northwood Post Office and was waiting to enter traffic, I looked across the road and thought, as I always do, how lovely that sight is.

How fortunate we are to have such a place in our town. There is the big field, greening now, soon the first crop will be ready to cut. There is the cemetery with the wrought iron gate. There, through the trees, the houses of the Narrows. Behind it all, the gentle hills.

Now, though I couldn’t see it from where I sat in my van, I knew there was something new and shocking, right there beside the highway. A big sign. FOR SALE. COMMERCIAL.

Am I alone in wanting to save this field from development? Will we let it go, admit defeat before we’ve even tried to find a solution? I hope not. Won’t you give it some thought?

Joann Weeks Bailey

Northwood

Else Cilley Chapter D.A.R. News

Else Cilley Chapter D.A.R. member Margaret Franz presented an American flag to the Marshview Apartments, Rochester Housing Authority, on May 20th, 2014.

Present to accept it were Vietnam Veteran Steven Wogan, Korean Veteran Robert Valley, and Vietnam Veteran, Sam Peacock, residents of the apartments.

The flag was ready to be flown in tribute to Police Officer Stephan Arkell, for Memorial Day and every day thereafter.

Pamela A. Clark

Pamela A. (LaFrambois) Clark, 60, of Northwood, passed away Monday May 19, 2014 at the Epsom Health Care, after a long battle with brain cancer.

Pam was born in Exeter July 20, 1963 to the late Gordan and Mabel (Palmer) LaFrambois.

Pam was employed at Secure Care Products for several years.

Pam enjoyed going to church, fishing, her family, and bingo.

Pam is survived by her husband Richard Clark, of Northwood, two daughters, Teri-Ann Pierson, and husband Al Pierson, of Pittsfield, Tabatha Belyea, and husband Kenneth Belyea III, of Laconia, five grandchildren, Amy Yeaton, Micheal Tierney, Shawn Tieney, Russell Belyea,  and Bentley Belyea, a brother Robert LaFrambois of Deerfield, and a sister Mabel (Babe) Hall, of Pennsylvania, nieces, nephews and cousins. Pam also leaves behind her two dogs, Buster and Cheeko.

A graveside service will be held at a later date at the McClary Cemetery in Epsom.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nation Cancer Society.