Suncook Valley
Sno-Riders
Ham &
Bean Supper
Saturday, November 11
5-7 PM
Barnstead Parade
Fire
Station
Queen
Aggravain dotes on Prince Dauntless while King Sextimus reacts in
The Pittsfield Players’ production of Once Upon A Mattress which
runs at The Scenic Theatre, 6 Depot St., Pittsfield on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, November 10, 11 and 12 and again on Friday and
Saturday, November 17 and 18. For tickets, call 435-8852.
A Simple Magnet Can Save A Life
Submitted By Carole Soule
How can
a magnet save a cow’s life? Here’s how. While our cattle were
grazing in a leased pasture in Gilmanton, the farm owner replaced
the barn roof by tearing off the existing roof and tossing shingles
and nails next to the barn which is also the pasture. The owner
cleaned up but may have missed a nail or two. Stepping on a nail is
bad, but a bigger concern is that the cattle might eat a nail and
get “hardware” disease.
Several
years ago I’m pretty sure one of my calves died when she ate some
metal. Without an autopsy, I’ll never know for sure. When the cow
arches her back, moves reluctantly or slowly and groans when lying
down and getting up, hardware disease might be the culprit. In dairy
cows, there is often a decrease in milk production.
The
cure is a magnet. A magnet is swallowed by the cow and attracts
stray metal keeping the metal in the cow’s stomach. If the object
leaves the stomach it can pierce the reticulum and cause
inflammation or death. This is not just any magnet, but a special
“cow magnet” that is administered with a special tool called a
“balling gun.” One magnet can work for the life of the cow and, if
she is processed for beef, the magnet can be recovered and re-used
after her death.
I
fenced off the area where the “hardware” might be hiding and I’ll
check hooves for stray nails when the cattle return home. But
meanwhile, I hope my cattle are smarter than the average cow and
don’t eat any hardware. Just to be safe I’m going to give them each
a magnet. I wonder if I’ll be able to post reminders on them like I
do on my refrigerator? Now that would be a sight.
Carole
Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, in Loudon, NH, where she
raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs and other local products.
She can be reached at [email protected].
Show Us Your Holiday Spirit!
The
Greater Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a House
Decorating Contest in the spirit of the season. Any address in
Pittsfield, NH: home or business, that wishes to participate may
enter by mailing in an entry form. Entry forms are available for
printing at
www.PittsfieldChamber.org or on Facebook: The Greater Pittsfield
Chamber of Commerce (@GreaterPittsfieldChamber).
Entry
is free and the Prize is $100! As this is the first year of this
contest, we are limiting to Pittsfield addresses; if you live or
work in another member town and are interested in participating next
year, please contact us so we can plan to expand to other towns next
year.
A
Google Map link will be posted for the December 20th Judging date so
that others may enjoy the decorations and lights as well.
Judging
will take place 12/20/17, from 7-10pm, weather permitting. Any
weather changes will be posted on the Chamber Facebook page in a
timely manner.
Judging
will be by committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the
Greater Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce.
Questions? Email [email protected] or message
us through our Facebook page The Greater Pittsfield Chamber of
Commerce
Give
Thanks At Thanksgiving Eve Service
Join us
for a community-wide Thanksgiving Eve service, Wednesday, November
22, 6:30 p.m. All are welcome at the First Congregational Church, 24
Main Street, Pittsfield, to celebrate and give thanks. Special music
provided by Linda Stasiak, soloist, and the JuBellation Handbell
Choir. Everyone is invited – come as you are. Parking and wheelchair
accessible entrance are available at the rear of church (Chestnut
Street). For more information, call the church office, 435-7471.
St.
Stephen’s Crafting the Holly Fair
The
talented ‘elves’ at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church have
been working overtime to offer our customers the quality and variety
of handmade items that bring people back to shop year after
year. This year we have added angels and fir trees
to our rustic collection of birch items that incudes our popular
birch reindeer. The reindeer come in a variety of
sizes to grace your mantel, a table or an outdoor display. These birch items make a New Hampshire country Christmas theme easy
and affordable to give as a gift or to decorate your own place.
We also
have a selection of wreaths for indoor and outdoor use. Many
of these wreaths are decorated with faux greens and have full
festive bows attached. All you need to do is choose where to
put them up. There are table arrangement made in
vintage containers and other items with a modern vibe. Birch
candle logs decorated for the season will be on sale complete with
the candles and lanterns large and small.
Our
knitters and sewers have been busy too. Placemats, table runners,
napkins and table cloths are part of the mix along with warm mittens
and scarves. There are always a few surprise items that are
offered at the craft table.
The
café elves are making “New England Holidays” the theme for
their offerings of homemade Corn Chowder, Roasted Tomato soup,
and Butternut Squash soup. We reach back to the 1930’s for
the rustic Italian meatball sandwiches offered in New England
since that time. We toast our rolls to crisp the bread and
melt the cheese. Desserts? We
have more than a few; Indian Pudding with cream or ice cream,
Pumpkin Spice Cake, Grapenut Pudding, warm Gingerbread and
something chocolate. If these do not tempt you,
choose something from the bake table.
We hope
to see you on Saturday, November 19th from 9AM – 2PM in
the undercroft of the church at 50 Main Street, Pittsfield, NH for a
day of shopping, silent auction bids, and food. We support 6
food pantries in Pittsfield and surrounding towns, the Pittsfield
Youth Workshop and their food closets at the center and at PMHS, and
other community projects with money earned from our fairs. Bring a
friend or a loved one, have some fun and help your neighbors!
Inside
Once Upon A Mattress –
Prince
Dauntless and Princess Winifred
This
week the Pittsfield Players will kick off their 50th Anniversary
season with the hilarious musical comedy, Once Upon A Mattress. The
show opens Friday, November 10 and runs Saturday and Sunday,
November 11 and 12 and again next weekend, Friday and Saturday,
November 17 and 18. Tickets, which are $17 per person, can be
purchased on line by visiting the Players’ website,
www.pittsfieldplayers.com and
clicking on the TicketLeap button, or you can reserve seats by
calling 435-8852.
Prince
Dauntless is looking for a bride, and nobody in the kingdom can get
married until Prince Dauntless ties the knot. But Queen Aggravain
doesn’t feel that any princess is good enough for her son, so, alas,
Dauntless remains brideless. Barnstead resident Christopher Dudley
is playing the role of Prince Dauntless and he’s bringing his
considerable talent to create the role. Christopher has been in
various productions throughout the area since he was 13. He
was last seen on the Scenic stage in the Kid’s Theater Workshop
version of Singin’ In The Rain, playing the role of Cosmo. He also
appeared in this year’s Shower of Thanks. Besides his singing and
acting abilities, Christopher is also an accomplished fiddler and
musician.
Princess Winifred is looking for a prince, and she’s not shy at all
about making that clear. When Sir Harry ventures out to Princess
Winifred’s swamp kingdom looking for a bride for Prince Dauntless,
she’s ready to literally jump into the fray. Taking on the role of
Princess Winifred is newcomer Meredith Imbimbo. Meredith is excited
to be in her first show with the Pittsfield Players even though
she’s no stranger to the stage. Recently, she has performed with The
Players Ring in Portsmouth in Living Through as Liz, One Light
Theatre in Big Fish as Jenny Hill, and with Streetcar Company in
Laconia as Ulla in The Producers. If you ever happen to be in Rhode
Island on a Friday night, you can see her performing with the
three time award winning improv group Bring Your Own Improv.
Meredith works as a paraprofessional at Belmont High School, and she
shines as Princess Winnifred in this show.
The
cast and crew are ready to go and looking forward to presenting this
wonderful comedy to our audiences. Get your tickets now and don’t
miss this great show!
Chichester, Epsom, And Pittsfield Libraries Memory Café
Caregivers and folks living with memory loss are invited to come and
savor supportive socialization at the Chichester-Epsom-Pittsfield
Libraries Memory Café. At 2:00pm on Monday November 13th at
the Epsom Public Library enjoy music, food, and simple activities to
evoke Memories of Thanksgiving.
Through
January 2018 the café will continue to meet at the Epsom Public
Library on the second Monday of the month at 2:00pm. On
December 11th we will celebrate holiday generosity. People can
make a Cheerio garland for our feathered friends and/or an orange
and cloves pomander ball. Come, be creative and enjoy
refreshments and good cheer!
On
January 8th caregivers will have an opportunity to talk the Concord
Regional Visiting Nurses Association’s Jen Brechtel and plan
personal goals for 2018. During Jen’s discussion people will
have the option to enjoy a short movie and refreshments.
Letter
Select
Board meeting 10/31/17- We had a special meeting for the purpose of
setting the tax rate. The good news is that on the municipal side of
the total tax bill, all the scrimping and saving the board has
insisted on has paid off. With nearly all departments cooperating,
and dealing as best they can with reduced manpower and vigilance in
spending, while still providing the services we really need, we have
a healthy general fund. The board voted 4-1 to use $400,000 of that
balance to reduce the tax rate, thereby lowering the town’s
portion $1.06 below last year’s $10.95 to $9.89. This leaves our
resources at a level slightly above the $1,000,000 generally
accepted rule of thumb. We feel this amount is a responsible figure
in case of any imaginable catastrophes, and exceeds the ratio of
emergency resources most families are able to have available.
Now
the bad news. The school budget saw an increase of $2.28, which
wipes out the municipal reduction and requires an overall increase
of $1.22 in the final tax rate. The school did return $78,000 to the
town which was unused from the past year and helped the overall
health of our finances. Other than to report the result of the
school rate as it relates to the overall tax bill, we won’t attempt
to explain school costs or spending, other than to acknowledge that
they have many state and federal mandates that are unfunded. The
Board of Selectmen has no oversight of school costs or function.
The
BOS would like to thank ALL town employees who have joined us in the
effort to double down on doing all we can to control the cost of
living in Pittsfield. Things could have been worse and we ARE seeing
results.
Carl
Anderson
Fantastic Fair
Come
one, come all to the Christmas Fair and Bake Sale at the First
Congregational Church, 24 Main Street, Pittsfield, Saturday,
November 18, from 9 to 2. Sponsored by The Dorcas Guild, this fair
is nothing short of fantastic.
There
are many handcrafted things: kitchen items, aprons, mittens, hats,
artwork, jewelry, toys and special gourmet and baked goods. Don’t
forget the “Unique Boutique” for outstanding values and the “Silent
Auction” for those special gifts. Final silent auction bids are due
in by the close of the fair, 2 p.m., November 18. The successful
bidders will be notified at that time.
Come to
shop and stay for a low-cost corn chowder and sandwich lunch with
homemade pies. One of New Hampshire’s great church fairs, this one
is not to be missed. Parking and wheelchair accessible entrance at
rear of church, enter at Chestnut Street. For more info, call the
church office at 435-7471.
Local
Pittsfield Artist, Bill Boudreau, Is November Artisan Of The Month
Bill
Boudreau - Stained Glass Creations
Bill
has donated this lovely stained glass piece for the November Artisan
of the month raffle. So please stop by Valley Artisans and check out
all of Bill and Sandy’s pieces and enter the drawing.
Song
Bird Studio is located in Pittsfield, NH at Bill and Sandy’s
home-based studio where they started doing stained glass and mosaics
in 2002.
Bill
retired from the florist business after 50 years as a Master Floral
Designer and Sandy is retired after a career of 30 years in banking.
They now work together as Stained Glass Artists doing stained glass,
mosaics, and fused glass creations.
Their
work has been purchased by people throughout the U.S., Canada and
overseas.
In the
years past they have won numerous First and Second Place and
Honorable Mention awards for their work in local art shows.
Bill
and Sandy will be celebrating their 54th Wedding Anniversary in
September 2018.
All of
us at Valley Artisans wish them well and many more years of creating
their beautiful stained glass together.
We have
three rooms filled with 50 local crafters’ items for your shopping
pleasure. December 2nd and 3rd we are hosting a Holiday Open House.
Come see all the Fall and Christmas creations.
Valley
Artisans of Epsom is now open 7 days a week from 10AM - 6PM
The
Third Grade Garden of 2017
Written
By: Aidan Casey, Noah Wittenberg, and Hannah Smith
To
plant the garden we had to do math by finding out the area and
perimeter of the garden.
The
next step was to get permission from the Deans and why we
wanted a garden. Some parents and other helpers who were around the
school worked with us to build the garden. People Like Aidan’s Dad
and Noah Wittenberg who helped and brought in gardening tools. The
food is feeding dozens of homeless people who need food.
Obituaries
Leha G.
Varney
Pattersonville, NY - Leha G. Varney, 81, a former Pittsfield NH
resident, died October 29th in Schenectady, NY following a brief
illness.
She was
born in Ipswich, MA, the daughter of Lawrence and Lois
(Clogston) Gwinn. She was the widow of Robert Watts and later of
John B. Varney.
She
worked at NH Savings Bank as a teller for several years prior to
retiring. She has been living with her niece, Carol Jacobson, in
Patersonville, NY. She was a member of the Pittsfield Congregational
Church and active in the Dorcas Guild and other church
activities.
A
Memorial Service has been scheduled at the Congregational Church on
Wednesday, November 29th, at 11:00 AM. The Rev David Stasiak, Pastor
will officiate. A collation in the church vestry will follow. An urn
Burial will be in her first husband’s, Robert Watts, lot in
the Riverview Cemetery, Barnstead at the family’s convenience.
In lieu
of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to The Pittsfield
Congregational Church “Bell Choir” Main St., Pittsfield, NH 03263.
The Waters Funeral Home, Concord, David Pollard Director, assisted
the family with arrangements.
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