REMINDER
Pittsfield High School Class of 1984 Reunion
Attention All PHS Class of 1984 members- We are starting to plan for
our 35th High School Reunion!! (next year) Our first meeting
is on Wed., Sept. 19 at 6:30pm at Laurie Deane Vien’s house (132
Ingalls Rd). Please come to the meeting if you’d like to help.
We would like to hear from our classmates with ideas for the
reunion. If you can’t make it to the meeting, feel free to
call Andi Grainger Riel at 435-6346, email at
[email protected]
or find me on Facebook!
Fred Nutter Donates To Building Fund
Submitted By Larry Berkson
John
Fredric Nutter, born in the “Beehive” on Park Street, raised and
educated in Pittsfield, has made the first major donation the
Pittsfield Historical Society’s Building Fund. “Fred,” as he is
known to his friends, played baseball and basketball in high school.
He enlisted in the Navy during his junior year at the outbreak of
World War II. After training as a radio operator, he was stationed
in Berwick, Maine, flying over the Atlantic looking for German
submarines.
While
stationed there in 1944, he married Ada Emerson, a 1942 graduate of
Pittsfield High School. Subsequently, he was stationed at several
bases and then sent to Johnson Island in the Pacific where again, he
performed as a radio operator. Fred was discharged in July of 1946
and returned home.
He
worked in the area until 1950 and then moved to Manchester where he
worked for a wholesale drug company, first as a salesman, then as
plant manager, and finally as its sales and general manager.
In 1967
he joined a wholesale drug company in Boston. Later he became
president and CEO. Sixteen years later, in 1983, he established his
own company, Totalmed, selling nursing home supplies throughout
northern New England. He was president and CEO until he sold the
business and retired in 1998.
Fred is
a member of the Manchester Country Club where he served as a
director for six years, and its president for two. He is a past
director of the New Hampshire Cancer Society and was its national
delegate to New York for two years. He is a life member of the One
Hundred Club of New Hampshire, and a 60-year member of Peterson-Cram
Post #75 of the Pittsfield American Legion.
Fred
never returned to live in Pittsfield after 1950 but never forgot his
home town as is evidenced by the large donation which he has made.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you Fred, for the wonderful
contribution.
Three Strikes For Smokey The Bull
Submitted By Carole Soule
The destruction bulls can do in their passion to be with the cows.
Homer the Highlander Bull.
Washington the white Highlander Bull.
Smokey-the-Bull was in the wrong pasture again. He was supposed to
be in with the cows I wanted to be bred, but somehow he managed to
find his way into the heifers' pasture; these were the girls I did
not want to get pregnant, yet. Smokey is one of four bulls at Miles
Smith Farm.
We
usually castrate a male calf within six months, although sometimes
I'll leave a promising Scottish Highlander bull calf “intact”
(not neutered) as a potential breeder, he'll do his siring
elsewhere. A bull shouldn't mate with his half-sisters or other
relatives; inbred cattle tend to be inferior. So a bull born on this
farm usually must be sold away. We buy our talent from elsewhere.
The
best time for calves to be born is in the spring when the grass is
exploding from the ground and weather is cool, but not freezing. To
get the timing right, a bull must mate with a cow in July and
August; nine months earlier. I currently have four bulls-three
Scottish Highlander and one Hereford bull, and when they are done
breeding, I put the bulls together in their own pasture. But no
matter where I put the escape artist, Smokey, he always figured out
how to rejoin to the females.
My
bulls are all gentle. We are raising beef cattle here, not producing
ferocious contestants for rodeos or bullfights. Even though he
escapes frequently, Smokey is a lover, not a fighter. Washington, a
white Highlander bull, lets me put a halter on him and lead him, and
Homer, a silver Highlander bull currently leased to a farmer in
Vermont, is calm and easy to handle. Larry, the Hereford who is also
leased out to another farmer, likes to lick people. Apart from the
licking, the bulls respect people and have never charged or attacked
a human. If one of my bulls, or cows for that matter, shows signs of
aggression... well, into the freezer they go. I won't even try to
sell them; those aggressive traits must be removed from the gene
pool. No one needs a threatening bull in their pasture.
While
I've never been attacked by a bull, I have been charged and thrown
to the ground by a cow. Motherhood can make cows violently
protective. A friend of mine was allegedly killed by a Highlander
bull, but it's unclear whether the culprit was the bull or a cow
protecting her calf.
It's
easy to identify hostile intent. Cattle should scatter when you wave
your arms, and if they don't- you might have a problem. If the
animal lowers its head, stands sideways and looks at you with one
eye, get out of there. These and other signs give a view of the
animal's state of mind and should not be ignored.
To keep
Smokey from getting in the with heifers, husband Bruce and I took
him to a remote pasture, along with an amiable steer for company.
But Smokey won't be with us much longer. He'll soon be related to
too many cows on this farm (strike one); his small stature (strike
two); plus his fence-jumping impulses (strike three) mean that it's
time for Washington, the white Highlander bull to take over.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, N.H. She can be
reached at [email protected].
Fall Updates At The Pittsfield Youth Workshop
Submitted By Paula Martel, Program Director
After a
fantastic, fun-filled summer - with unpredictable weather - PYW is
back to our regular school year schedule. We are open Monday-Friday
from 3-6PM; and 1PM on Early Release Wednesdays.
On
Early Release Wednesdays, we will be offering several great
activities, and extended Drop-In hours. On No School Days, we also
have some amazing trips planned. In early October we will be apple
picking and mountain biking; Columbus Day will be spent Outdoor Rock
Climbing, and on Veteran’s Day we will be visiting the Currier
Museum of Art. We also have a trip planned to Funspot on November
16th (parent teacher conferences). If you are interested in any of
these programs please sign up early - trips fill up very fast!
On
Thursdays we will be playing, and learning new board games; and on
Fridays we will have many fun Arts & Crafts Projects planned. On
some Fridays we will hold High School Only Night for students in
grades 9-12. A couple of these nights will be Drop-In at PYW
(6-9PM), while other nights we will be bringing them on a trip
out-of-town.
In
addition, we will be holding the Annual Haunted House on Wednesday,
October 31st, Halloween Night, and our Annual Thanksgiving Family
Dinner on Tuesday, November 20th.
In the
past PYW computers have been shut down and we worked together on
Service Learning Projects in and around Pittsfield. Once a month we
will be offering opportunities for the youth to lend a hand and give
back to their community. Youth will need to sign-up in order to
participate in these community service days. During the year we hope
to continue offering Service Learning Projects and our hope is that
all youth who come to Drop-In participate fully in the activity we
have planned! This is also a great way to earn your community
service hours toward graduation!
Please
feel free to contact Paula Martel or Zach Powers at
[email protected]
with any questions or to make a donation. Make sure to check out our
website www.pittsfieldyouthworkshop.org
to see all the programs we will be offering this quarter and our
Facebook page
www.facebook.com/pittsfieldyouthworkshop for our calendar of
events or the latest pictures of what the youth have been
doing!
On
Thursday, September 12, 2019, the Pittsfield High School Alumni
Association drew the lucky winner for their annual 50/50 raffle.
Ted Mitchell, president, and Andi Riel, secretary, drew the name of
Paulette Wolfe as winner of the raffle. Ms. Wolfe will be
presented with a check for $256. The Alumni Association would
like to thank all of the many generous contributors who visited the
Alumni Association table during Old Home Day and National Night
Out.
Letter
To The Editor
To the
Editor,
I would
like to thank the voters of Pittsfield and Epsom for supporting my
candidacy in the recent primary election for House District 21.
I am honored by their confidence in me, and pledge to work hard
toward success in the general election.
I would
especially like to thank Pittsfield’s voters for their strong
endorsement of the collective bargaining agreement with the
municipal employees. These people work diligently every day
for the good of the community and well deserve the support you have
shown.
To the
people of Epsom; I look forward to getting to know you better and
pledge to work hard for both our communities. Together we will make
the entire Suncook Valley a better place to live and work and raise
families.
Again,
thank you for the privilege of your vote.
Sincerely,
J. C.
Allard
Letter
To The Editor
This is
a letter of thanks to the farmers and landowners who own farmland
for their valuable contribution to the aesthetic countryside and
agricultural productivity of our local community. Thanks for keeping
your land! Thanks for farming it or allowing others to use it for
agricultural purposes.
New
Hampshire, generally speaking, is one of the least agricultural
states in the nation, due in part to much of our soils being poor
and rocky. Prime quality farmland is a premium here. We need
to keep the land/farms we still have open and in ag use. We don't
have numerous acres of expendable open land like other parts of the
country, it's a limited commodity here.
Thank
you for having regard for the scenic splendor of the Granite State
and keeping large and small parcels of land open and undeveloped.
Farmers have land to use for hay, corn, pasturing animals, orchards,
or other produce. They appreciate it and we all benefit from the
views.
While
from some perspective the economic benefits may seem minimal, the
reality is, fields are a wealth that is measured differently. This
land, cleared centuries ago by hand and animal power, adorns our
communities, making them pleasant places to live, drive by, walk by,
etc. The beautiful countryside, with plenty of unbroken fields, is
an important part of rural living. Let's not take it for granted.
Tony
Matras
Matras
Farm
Pittsfield and Northwood
What’s
New?
Submitted By John Freeman, Pittsfield Superintendent of Schools
Well,
the new school year, new students, new families, new staff, new
program offerings: lots of new things in our Pittsfield
schools this year. Here’s my Top 12 answers to the question
What’s new in the schools this year:
1. New
Students and New Families. We welcome many new students and
families to our Pittsfield Schools learning community. At this
point, we have been joined by twenty new PES students and ten new
PMHS students; so glad to have you newbies with us!
2. New
Staff. New staff members include six teachers, two special
educators, two nurses, and our school psychologist. We also
welcome a number of new paraprofessionals, but are still in the
process of filling all our positions. We’ve believe that we’ve
hired very well again this year. (We’ll introduce new staff
members in an upcoming notice.)
3.
Positions Eliminated. Due to budget restrictions, a number of
positions that have contributed significantly to our students in the
past have been eliminated this year; these include our community
liaison, our extended learning opportunities coordinator, our
foreign language teacher, our technology education teacher, and a
PES office staff member.
4.
Rosetta Stone. Foreign language students are receiving
instruction through the widely-known program Rosetta Stone. Students
can earn up to two credits through this approach.
5.
Project Lead the Way. Our woodshop has been closed due to staffing
cuts, but we now offer our middle school students Project Lead the
Way, which places an emphasis on math and technology as students
learn important workplace skills.
6.
Playworks. Playworks has become a focusing feature of our PES
before-school and recess times; our teachers have learned about this
positive approach to recess-time fun and our students are now
learning and practicing healthy social and emotional skills through
play.
7. PES
FLEX. This new program offers a personalized and flexible
learning program for students who may be experiencing behavioral
challenges. Our PMHS FLEX program supports our middle and high
school age students, and we’re pleased to be able to offer this
option to younger students.
8. Life
Skills Kitchen. Thanks to the Foss Family Foundation, a new kitchen
is being installed in our PMHS life skills classroom. The
kitchen will provide real-life experiences that will support
independence for students who are members of our life skills class.
9.
Universal Design for Learning. Initiated last year, UDL
provides a planning process intended to increase access to the
curriculum for all students. This district-wide program is
receiving a major emphasis this year as we seek to strengthen our
academic program for all students.
10.
Multi-Age Grouping in Middle School. Our middle school grades
(7 and 8) are now organized in multi-age groupings. This
mirrors our successful multi-age groupings at PES and strongly
supports our commitment to personalizing learning for all students.
11.
Early Release Wednesdays. Both schools will dismiss early on
Wednesdays this year to allow for additional time for professional
development of our staff. This time is essential in support of
continuous improvement of our programs and is particularly relevant
due to our high staff turnover rates.
12.
Vision, Mission, and Priority Development. It’s been nearly six
years since our last review and restatement of the district’s vision
and mission. Having begun last winter, this process will
conclude before the holidays. We thank community members who
have been involved in last spring’s sessions and encourage community
members to look for opportunities to lend your voices to the
conversations as we schedule several events for this purpose
throughout the fall.
Each
new school year brings changes, both positive changes that provide
stronger programs and options for students and negative changes that
limit what we can offer our young people. About 2500 years
ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus observed that change is the
only constant in life. Guess we have to acknowledge that he
had it right, don’t we?
Obituaries
Justin Earl Lee
Justin
Earl Lee, 32, of Manchester, formerly of Pittsfield, passed away on
Friday, September 7, 2018.
Born on
July 30, 1986, in Concord, he was the son of Gene Lee of Pittsfield
and Maryanne (Amazeen) LePage of Portland, ME.
Justin
attended Pittsfield High School and later went on to work at Burger
King. He enjoyed riding dirt bikes and playing sports, especially
soccer in his younger years. He was known to his family and friends
for his great ability to draw and write poetry and loved dogs.
Besides
his parents, he is survived by his paternal grandmother, Marcia Lee;
his son Landon Lee of PA, his siblings, Ryan LePage of Concord and
Meaghan Dukette of Allenstown; his aunt, Bonnie Beaudet as well as
several cousins.
A
Celebration of His Life was held on Saturday, September 15, 2018 in
the Advent Christian Church, Pittsfield. The Still Oaks Funeral and
Memorial Home in Epsom is assisting the family with arrangements. To
share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit
www.stilloaks.com
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