Have you been considering becoming a Realtor? We are looking for a few
good agents!! EXIT Reward Realty and EXIT Realty Great Beginnings will
be hosting a real estate pre-licensing class! November 4, 5, 6 and 11,
12, and 13. You will complete the course in 2 weekends! Hours are 1pm to
5pm Friday and 8am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Classes will be held in
Concord. Please email Sandy Kelley to register,
[email protected] or call 435-7800 ext. 201.
The Maple Street Church located at 96 Maple Street, Center Barnstead NH
is pleased to introduce the WIFI CAFÉ Music HOT SPOT. Every 3rd
Wednesday of the month, please join us in a community gathering to share
a meal and share music at our new WIFI CAFÉ Music HOT SPOT! Starting
October 19th from 6:00 to 9:00p.m all are invited to share a meal,
good conversation and Music. Bring your voice or instrument of choice,
or come to listen or just relax in our café! This is a FREE event! For
more information, please contact Lori Mahar at 603-269-2329 or Pastor
John Hooper at 603-998-4102, or visit the Facebook Page
www.Facebook.com/MapleStreetChurch.
CRAFTERS/VENDORS WANTED for Holiday Fair on November 19, 2016, from 9am
to 3:00pm and located at the Maple Street Church. The Barnstead Farmers
Market is pleased to sponsor the first Annual HOLIDAY FAIR! We already
have several crafters and vendors signed up, however we are seeking
more! DEADLINE is November 1st. For an application, please contact Lori
Mahar at 603-269-2329 or email: [email protected].
Interested in Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts but
missed the sign up night? It is NOT TOO LATE!! Meetings are Tuesdays at
the Barnstead Parade Fire Station on Parade Road.
Cub Scouts (Grades K - 5) are at 6 -7 PM Boy
Scouts (grade 6 - 18 years old) are 7 - 8:15 PM
Contact:
D E Williams at 435-7054 or
[email protected] or just
show up.
Letter To The Editor
Words of support for NH representative
candidate BRUCE MARRIOTT, Barnstead.
Bruce visited us during his door-to-door,
house-to-house trek to meet folks of his town.
He’s quiet, laid back, listens and responds
thoughtfully to questions and comments put to him.
He served a number of years as a small town selectman and worked at UNH
as an agricultural specialist. His love for New Hampshire history has
been shown in his many years as a tour guide at Shaker Village.
Bruce is a devoted family man who, with his wife Theresa, understands
the needs of small businesses. He understands Barnstead’s values
and needs and will step across the aisle to get the job done.
Vote for BRUCE MARRIOTT, representative for
Barnstead on Nov. 8, 2016.
Peer and Brandee Kraft-Lund
Pioneer Clubs
Do your kids know what their talents are? What are they good at?
What abilities and interests do they have? You may have been
looking for a Christian alternative to Scouts or 4H to provide your
child with a rich experience that expands their horizons. Good
news: Pioneer Clubs has arrived in Barnstead NH!
Our typical Pioneer Club meeting include: Games, Scripture Memory,
working toward your Skill Awards, Bible Study, and Songs. Who will
have more fun: the kids or the leaders? Club Members have matching
tee-shirts and a workbook to accompany their Bible Study lesson.
Awards are proudly displayed in the Club Meeting room until the end of
the year. Goofy things also happen at Pioneer Club, and you will
see some silly costumes that go with our fun themes. Pioneer Clubs also
provides opportunities for kids to do Service Projects, so watch for us
around town when we are helping our community.
We meet on Wednesdays from 6pm to 7:30pm at the Center Barnstead
Christian Church, located beside the Barnstead Town Hall. Family
Prayer Meeting is held simultaneously. All kids, Kindergarten to
6th grade, are invited to join! For more information, please call the
church at 269-8831.
First Of Its Kind Beginning Farmer Fellowship
Launches Fundraising For New Hampshire’s Food Future
By Sarah Brown
Barnstead N.H. -- A first of its kind farmer fellowship has kicked off
fundraising in what could offer a new paradigm in New Hampshire’s
sustainable food security. The Willow Brook Farm Beginner Farmer
Fellowship is in motion and the inaugural fellows in place, beginning to
work the land. But in order for this intrepid non-profit to
flourish, financial support will be needed.
Taylor McGuinness and Austin Coad seem to be the very embodiment of a
new cultural trend; the young and ambitious, hungry to return to
traditional farming in a way that produces tangible results for their
communities. Standing in the doorway to Willow Brook Farm & Art
Center’s tidy yet rustic Barnstead farmhouse, you feel the excitement
these two have for working the land and producing sustainable food for
New Hampshire. But they won’t be able to accomplish this
without the support of local farm enthusiasts chipping in to realize
this vision. “It has been a long and well thought out path to the
launch of Willow Brook’s first fundraising phase,” says non-profit
founder Tim Gaudreau. “We are hoping those who believe in our
goals will visit www.willowbrookfarmnh.org and
give us a monetary push.”
Simply put, the first-ever Willow Brook Farm Fellows can’t wait to get
started. Juvenile ducks have arrived and already begun laying;
young pigs are rooting, tilling and naturally fertilizing the main
garden. Seedlings adorn the windows of the warm, wood-heated farmhouse,
their delicate, green heads poking from indoor soil squares. The
goats come soon and the new saw mill that will be used to make their
enclosure from trees felled on the property stands in a cleared field.
A beautiful NH-style weathered wooden barn is ready for receiving hay
and supplies and the tractors are in good working order.
McGuinness and Coad are over-the-moon at having been chosen as the
pioneer fellows for the Beginning Farmer Fellowship at Willow Brook Farm
& Art Center. The novel non-profit farmer incubator had many
applicants, so competition was stiff. And why not, for what Willow
Brook Farm had to offer two talented and idealistic growers, was nothing
short of a golden ticket to farm; ample fertile and cleared land, a
farmhouse to live in, a small stipend, all the tractors and farming
equipment needed and mentoring to boot.
Willow Brook Farm Fellowship founder Tim Gaudreau says the fellowship
application was demanding for a reason. “There’s much on offer
here and we’ve worked hard to make this happen. My family and frankly,
New Hampshire, has a lot riding on this fellowship doing what it was
designed to do; make a real contribution to more sustainable, local,
food production. There are so many young people aching to get into
farming, but how can they afford the start-up costs? How can they
get those important first years of growing, and experimentation vital to
keep a farm financially viable? Most importantly, where will they get
the capital to buy suitable land to farm with New Hampshire’s
astronomical land prices?”
The Beginning Farmer Fellowship at Willow Brook Farm & Art Center hopes
to overcome some of the major barriers for novice farmers and act as a
training ground and spring board for the region’s finest and most
dedicated. Taylor and Austin knew the moment they came across the
fellowship, that it would be the experiential, farming boot-camp they so
yearned for, and desperately needed. Currently 21 & 22 years old,
both fellows graduated from Exeter High School in 2013; knowing even
then that theirs would be a different path to success.
“Taylor was hit by a car senior year and nearly died,” explains Austin,
“from then on we both knew we were going to do something meaningful.
It didn’t take us long to settle on farming; it holds so much promise.
To create something tangible and educate ourselves about how to do it
best and bring our products to market knowing that people enjoy what
we’ve grown and it’s healthy, sustainable and needed. This
fellowship will bring us that much closer to having what it takes to
launch a successful farm and viable business that contributes to our
home state’s food security.”
Their journey to farming is very much a deliberate and self-taught one;
something that Willow Brook Farm founder Tim Gaudreau says drew him to
their application. Deciding to work their way to knowledge, the
two rejected the traditional college route, but employed extensive
research, reading and test-and-learn projects along the way.
Self-taught growers, they first set off together to work and learn in
exchange for room and board in Hawaii where they say their passion for
farming really solidified. There they learned how to harvest and
roast coffee, farm pineapples, avocados, bananas and grapefruit with
mentoring they describe as invaluable. Then the two came back to
NH and tried their hand growing vegetables in Stratham on a plot of land
loaned at no cost. The couple enjoyed two tireless but successful
years selling everything they grew at the Newmarket Farmers Market.
“It was a particular joy selling in our own community but we began to
understand the difficulties of the land situation and also realized we
still had much to learn before leaping into the gravity and investment
of our own farm. Affordable, farmable land located near a consumer
population that wants home-grown products – that’s tough to find,”
explains Taylor.
While farming veggies in Stratham they experimented with a concept
championed by organic gardening guru Paul Gautschi which centers on
using manure and wood chips in just the right quantities to fortify the
soil for maximum yield. They also studied and built a Jean Pain Mound --
a compost water heater which can significantly extend the growing season
especially in the frigid northeast. Both of these approaches they
hope to tinker with and perfect while in residency at Willow Brook Farm.
Next the two apprenticed with a self-styled survivalist in the rural
wilds of Pennsylvania. “We were very far from any civilization
which was perfect for honing self-sufficiency skills,” adds Austin.
“We learned about fully living off the land. We grew and raised
everything we ate, we canned and built and repaired. It was
survival skills 101 and beyond and those are skills we bring to our next
phase of farming instruction here at Willow Brook.”
Both Taylor and Austin agree the Willow Brook Farm Fellowship will be
their final and most influential training phase before purchasing land
and officially starting their own agricultural enterprise. “It’s
like getting a Masters in farming,” explains non-profit farm founder
Gaudreau. “My hope is that by taking many of the most debilitating
stressors out of the way, beginner farmers can realize their full
potential so that when they launch a business they’ll have the tools and
knowledge to contribute to NH’s food stability, and agricultural
preservation. Farming has always been an essential part of the New
England experience and we are watching it slip through our fingers as
the cost of farming becomes more and more out of reach for most.
If Willow Brook Farm can see Taylor and Austin off into the world to
farm successfully, we will have fulfilled our mission.”
And a robust mission it is. Willow Brook boasts a 75-acre
homestead with easy access to both the Seacoast and Concord farmers’
markets and restaurants. As inaugural fellows Taylor and Austin
will farm both a market garden which will feature everything from
tomatoes to squash to watermelons, leeks and beets, and a homestead
garden for their own consumption. The unique fellowship allows the
farmers to explore their own farming plan in a low risk setting for two
years, keeping all their market income to put toward the purchase of
their own farm. Taylor and Austin are particularly excited about
raising goats for milk and yoghurt and hope that their diversified
offerings will provide insulation from the ups and downs of the market.
The inaugural fellows also have an extensively researched farming plan
which includes a substantial number of longer term projects they hope
will build on offerings to future fellows. “We look forward to
fortifying the soil with the mulch and manure technique and building an
animal enclosure, John Pain Mound and greenhouse; all which will add to
the value of Willow Brook for those who come after us,” says Taylor.
“We’d also like to try our hand at perennial crops such as peaches,
apples and berries – products that we can help invest in and strengthen
now but which will continue to give back to the Fellowship for decades
to come.”
Gaudreau smiles as he listens to the pioneer fellows’ detailed plans for
building up Willow Brook. Only a few weeks into their fellowship,
they are already anxious to leave their mark on an experience that will
most certainly benefit them. “They get it,” he adds. “This
is what we wanted to create here -- a program that catapults the fellows
to the next level of farming readiness and ultimately contributes to a
lifetime of successful and sustainable farming in New Hampshire, one
farmer at a time. We are hoping that others believe in the
importance of small, local, sustainable farms and will contribute in
their own way via the fundraising effort.”
Learn more, support or apply for the Willow Brook Beginner Farmer
Fellowship at www.willowbrookfarmnh.org
Oscar Foss Memorial Library News
Friends of the Library
The Oscar Foss Memorial Library is excited to celebrate National Friends
Appreciation Week! During the week of October 17th-22nd the Friends of
OFML will be having a membership drive, starting with their meeting on
Monday the 17th. The group meets on the third Monday of each month at
7pm at the library. There are a number of ways that members can
participate to help the library. Anyone interested in joining the
Friends Group and volunteering can visit the library anytime during the
week for more information.
Children’s Programs
Our Toddler Time and Story Hour programs have
begun at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library. Toddler Time is Tuesdays at
10:30am for children up to 3yrs and Story Hour is Wednesdays at 10:00am
for children 3yrs and older. These programs run weekly throughout the
school year, with some exceptions during holidays. Please check our
online calendar at oscarfoss.org for a full schedule. Come join us for
some stories, music & movement, and arts & crafts fun!
Please call the library (269-3900) or visit
our website (oscarfoss.org) for more information about these or any of
our other programs or events. There is always something happening at the
Oscar Foss Memorial Library! Library hours are Mondays from 2 to 8 p.m.,
Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 5 to 8
p.m., Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Obituaries
Roger V. Nelson
NORTH BARNSTEAD- Roger V. Nelson, 85, died
peacefully on October 2 at Concord Hospital. Born in Brockton, MA on
November 12, 1930, he was the son of the late Gustaf R. Nelson and A.
Marion (Van Cott) Nelson. Roger graduated from Oliver Ames High School,
North Easton, MA in 1948 and went on to graduate from Northeastern
University, Boston, MA with a degree in Business Management in 1953.
Roger married Beatrice Alden at the Pilgrim
Congregational Church, Duxbury, MA in 1952 and began his lifetime career
in data processing, working with Univac 1 for John Hancock Mutual Life
Insurance Company as project leader in 1956. Roger and his family moved
to Chichester, NH in 1960 where he was employed as data processing
manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Concord, NH. He started work with
American International Group/CIGNA In 1975 as senior systems analyst,
working in NH, NJ, then CT before his retirement and return to NH in
1992.
Roger was a charter member of the Pittsfield
Area Arts Council and served as treasurer in the formative years. Roger
also served as a committeeman for Troop 84 of the Pittsfield BSA and was
a member and past chairman of the Chichester School Board.
Roger is predeceased by his brother Richard
Nelson, sister Joyce (Nelson) Devine, and daughter Jan Nelson. In
addition to his wife of 64 years, he is survived by his son Craig and
his wife MJ McLauchlan with children Nicole and Josh and his wife Toni
(Gould), son Scott and his wife Gail (Webster) with children Erik and
Katie, and daughter Sally Nelson Kallgren and her husband James Kallgren
with children Abby and Emily, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Roger loved traveling to European countries,
Canada, and St. Barthélemy, spending family vacations at “Camp” on
Curlew Pond in Plymouth, MA, all Boston sports teams, and playing golf.
He will be remembered for all the fun parties he and Bea hosted which
included his famous Fish House Punch, his amazing pumpkin pie for
Thanksgiving, and Christmas celebrations with his homemade Swedish Korv,
Sill, and Spritz cookies.
In 1976 the Nelsons moved to a treasured old
family home In North Barnstead where Roger served on a school study
committee and was a deacon and enthusiastic promoter and supporter in
establishing a year-round status for the North Barnstead Congregational
Church, U.C.C. Anyone wishing to honor his memory may contribute to
North Barnstead Congregational Church, PO Box 2, Center Barnstead, NH
03225.
A memorial service will be held at North
Barnstead Congregational Church, 504 North Barnstead Rd, Center
Barnstead, NH on Saturday, October 15 at 2:00.