The Barnstead Parade Congregational Church will be holding their Annual Indoor-Outdoor Plant Sale at the Church in Barnstead on Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 9 to 11 am. Come and find your favorite flowers and shrubs to add to your gardens. There will also be a display of garden ornaments and other items for sale to enhance your gardens. This sale is for our Special Missions.

The Strafford County Genealogical Society invites you to share with seasoned researchers the Pros and Cons of doing your family research on-line. Meeting will be held in the Trustees room at the Dover, NH Library on Saturday, June 1st starting at 10:30 am. Meeting is free and open to the public. Visit straffgen.org or call Hal Inglis at 603-664-9080 for more details.

Congratulations to Alexandria (Lexie) Phillips who graduated with a BA in Creative Arts in Therapy, Summa Cum Laude from Russell Sage College.  Lexie was Class of 2013 Valedictorian and was also named a Kellas Scholar.

The Barnstead Girls 6/7/8 Softball team finished their undefeated season (14-0) with a win over Allenstown in the Suncook Valley League Championship 13-0.  Brianna Burley pitched a complete game shutout with 10 strikeouts to finish off an amazing 3 year career.  Ali Brown led the offense with 3 homeruns and 5 RBI.  Maddie Chase, Megan Chase and Bekah Wheeler also drove in runs for Barnstead.  The Championship team included 8th Graders - Brianna Burley, Megan Chase, Mickenna Leitner and Melissa Stowell; 7th Graders - Ali Brown, Anna Brassaw, Leah Dunne and Tiffany White; 6th Graders - Bekah Wheeler, Helen Johnson, Maddie Chase and Lanni McGrath.

Local Students Graduate From Keene State College

On Saturday, May 11, Keene State College’s Commencement honored its biggest-ever graduating class. A total of 1,219 degrees were awarded to 1,146 students.

This year’s graduates included the following local students: Summer Gerry of Northwood earned a BA, Alexandra Couch of Barnstead earned a BS.

Story Hour Ends For The Summer And Thanks To Dawn

Story Hour at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library has ended for the summer. Be sure to watch the newspaper for information in the Fall regarding the start-up at that time.

The Staff and Trustees would like to take this time to acknowledge and thank Dawn McCartney for her 13 years of dedication to running the Story Hour. Many years ago, Dawn approached me (Susan Conrad, soon to be retired Library Director) and volunteered to organize and run the Story Hour. Dawn started when her children were very young (two of them hadn’t been born yet!) and continued week after week, year after year to provide an educational and fun-filled hour for the preschoolers of Barnstead. Many moms and caregivers had their lives enriched by this hour of bonding at the Library.

Dawn has worked very hard to provide a great environment for the children of the Town, starting in the basement of the old library and advancing all the way through the building process and the new meeting room. Dawn will now be turning over the reins to a new person in the fall. So again, all of us at the OFML want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to you, Dawn McCartney. Job well done!

Watch the papers for ongoing news about the Summer Reading Program activities and we hope to see you all. Library hours are: Monday 2-8 pm, Tuesday and Wednesday 10-5, Thursday 5-8 pm, Friday 2-5 pm and Saturday 9-noon.

Ladies’ Night Out

Ladies, join us at the Center Barnstead Christian Church this Monday, June 3rd at 7:00 pm for a fun night out! The theme for this month is “Plant and Seed Swap.” Bring any plants or seeds that you no longer want or would like to share, and be prepared to bring some new ones home.  There will be games, food and lots of laughs!  All are invited. The Center Barnstead Christian Church is located on Route 126, next to the Town Hall.

For more information, please contact the church at 269-8831.

The 7th grade Granite State Lady Spartans AAU Basketball team capped off their season with an undefeated run at the Zero Gravity tournament at Keene State College May 18th and 19th. Congrats to all the girls and coaches, Marie and Luke Lafreniere, for all their hard work, passion and dedication this season. Girls are from left to right: Coach Lafreniere, Alise Friel, Kelly Wagner, Brittany Lapolla, Ryley Marston, Mackenzie Burke, Katie Slock, Tiffany White, Elizabeth Jewett, Emilee Riel, Lauren Roy, Coach Lafreniere (missing- Julia Valotto)

David E. Dewhurst

David E. Dewhurst, a life long resident of East Bridgewater, died  peacefully in his vacation home in Barnstead, NH on May 17, 2013. He was 71 and was born in Brockton, MA son of the late Beatrice (Repetti) and Ernest Dewhurst. 

David was raised and educated in East Bridgewater and graduated from East Bridgewater High School. Mr. Dewhurst was the owner of Dewhurst Lumber in East Bridgewater and retired in 1999, was a Navy Veteran, a talented woodworker, avid trout fisherman, NASCAR fan and enjoyed splitting time the past 20 years between his home in East Bridgewater and his home in Barnstead, NH. 

Husband of Marjorie E. (Jones) Dewhurst. Father of Gregory D. Dewhurst of East Bridgewater and Jeffrey E. Dewhurst and his wife Laurie of East Bridgewater. Brother of Donald A. Dewhurst and his wife Desa also of East Bridgewater. Grandfather of Luke, Brett, Sydney, Grady and Austin. David is also survived by his step mother, Constance Dewhurst of East Bridgewater, lifelong friend David Cavanagh of East Bridgewater, the Tiede’s of Barnstead, NH and many other friends in NH. 

Donations in memory of David may be made to the charity of your choice. For guestbook and online directions please visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com

Basil B. Beck

Basil B. Beck, August 5, 1915 - May 7, 2013, moved to Berlin NH from Nova Scotia in 1929. He attended MIT and received his diploma in Mechanical Engineering in Aviation. He got his pilot license in 1936, was hired by North East Airlines in 1939, and flew mail and material across the North Atlantic from Labrador to Scotland for the US Army Air Corp.

At the end of the war, he got his commercial pilot license with North East Airlines, flying from Bangor, Maine to Boston, where he flew over Barnstead and fell in love with Upper Suncook Lake. He returned with his float plane and bought lake front property from Dutch Graham in 1947. He retired from Delta Airlines in 1974, sold his last float plane in 1995, giving up his love of flying at the age of 80.

He made countless trips to Florida and across the country in his motor home he shared with his beloved wife, Phyllis, before their last excursion in 2007.