Throughout August and continuing through September, White River Animal Rescue (WRAR) is running a campaign called the #50/50 Campaign. The #50/50 Campaign is based on the idea that a puppy born in the US has a 50% chance of survival, and that many rescues in the local area and beyond have a lot on their plates trying to pull dogs from the south as fast as possible. The goal is collaboration among rescues and shelters to save as many dogs’ lives as possible.

Amy Knight, the founder of WRAR, emphasized the need for collaboration among rescue organizations to take that 50% chance of survival and bring the number as close to 100% as possible.

Amy began rescuing dogs unwittingly seventeen years ago when she took in Shiba, a Belgian Malinois puppy who was about to be killed by the farmer who bred it. A teenager who was on the property managed to rescue one of the litter and brought it to Amy. While she intended on keeping this sweet, wriggly thing which showed up, Amy was concerned for the other pups that remained on the property. She called the neighbor, who turned out to be the farmer’s sister-in-law, and the woman collected the rest of the puppies.

Amy also didn’t know she ended up with a pure Belgian Malinois until she took the dog to the groomers. Shiba ended up being quite extraordinary and sadly passed away this previous winter.

When Amy moved to Vermont, she ended up on an email list for rescue volunteers where she was asked if she could help transport three dogs from White River Junction to Burlington. Once people have a line on you, especially from down south, they start calling.

All signs pointed to her need to be involved in animal rescue, so in 2009 Amy decided to start White River Animal Rescue. She also works as a college professor, teaching psychology part time. Her focus is on bringing dogs from dangerous situations in the south up here where they live with foster families with the goal of finding forever homes. Many of the dogs are pulled from overcrowded southern shelters with anywhere from 24 hours to 3 minutes to live, but some come from other places as well.

Amy and Justine at Revolution

Amy said, “We don’t only rescue dogs from shelters… Because not all dogs are in the shelters, some dogs are on the side of the road. Some dogs are way out in the country. Some people, they don’t want to bring the dog to the shelter, they dump them wherever, in whatever state. People say, ‘Oh my god! That dog’s not from a shelter?’ And I say ‘no, it’s from the side of the road or a ditch, or in a drainage culvert…’ But it’s still a rescue because they are living on the side of the road.”

Justine Kohr is a WRAR volunteer and self-proclaimed foster failure. She spends her days working as the assistant director of marketing and communications at the Tuck School as well as being a writer and editor. As a volunteer, Justine has utilized her work skills to assist with the marketing of WRAR. “Everyone who volunteers is a little bit involved in everything.”

She has worked with transports, new arrivals, and other aspects of the rescue, as well as training her rescue dog and previous foster, Pepper.

Justine is heavily invested in the #50/50 Campaign as well. In a prior interview she shared, “We know that other rescues and shelters have a lot on their plates and they have a lot of animals that they are bringing into their spaces, and we want to partner with them and help when we can.”

According to Amy, there are currently seven other rescues or shelters participating in the campaign. On the website, the first dogs highlighted are the ones who need the most donations to fight health problems. Then the list continues.

For WRAR they ask that the rescue or shelter send them a video, photo, and description of the dog in need and they will promote it. Half of the donations stay with WRAR, but all of any adoption fees go directly to the original rescue.

The final hope of the #50/50 Campaign is that rescues will continue to collaborate rather than trying to do everything individually. Helping each other, in the end, means helping more dogs.

If you’ve lived in Norwich, and especially in the Beaver Meadow area, you probably know Arthur. And if you know Arthur, you probably have had occasion where Arthur came to your rescue in an emergency. Known by some as the ‘gatekeeper of the Meadow’ as his house is situated at the corner of Beaver Meadow and Chapel Hill road, Arthur has been there when cars slid off the road during icy storms, repaired the bell on Beaver Meadow Chapel when it’s been rung too exuberantly by young churchgoers, or plowed out the schoolhouse or chapel when they were needed for an event or service.

The Arthur we are talking about is, of course, Arthur Owen, a longtime member of the Upper Valley community who has had occasion to touch many of our lives with his substantial skills in problem solving and improvising to get us out of jam or ditch, get that well working again, or shore up that foundation. Arthur’s ability to save the day is legendary even to young children who have told their parents to call Arthur when a problem has them stumped because “Arthur can fix and build anything.” Arthur’s innate abilities and the skills he had acquired in his years of working for Dartmouth Buildings and Ground Department made him a go-to resource to resolve much of what comes with living in tough New England. Even if you don’t call Arthur for help in an emergency, he has a way of showing up at just the right time, analyzing the problem, and showing you what needs to be done.

It was with these moments in mind that friends and family of Arthur decided to hold a party to show appreciation for those many instances when he has touched our lives. Close to a hundred people gathered at the Beaver Meadow Schoolhouse in late August for a potluck dinner after a sing-along at the Beaver Meadow Chapel. With the schoolhouse filled to capacity, several people recounted stories of the times Arthur helped them in a moment of need. Some were funny and some ended with hardly a dry eye in the house, but all seemed to end with the mention of “pie.” It appears that the one payment Arthur appreciates for his many services is a good pie.

The last couple of years have brought some changes for Arthur. After his first wife, Shirley, also a legend of the Meadow passed, Arthur married again. He has since moved from Beaver Meadow and is now building a house in Newbury, Vermont, a decision he made so his wife, Carol, could be closer to her job. But he still holds on to his house here in Norwich, and is often seen in the dooryard working on his trucks or plowing through the last year. And now, Arthur has also had to fight against esophageal cancer, a disease that doesn’t yet know Arthur’s resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles. Upon receiving the news of the cancer, the Owens contacted the Beaver Meadow community for prayers and positive thoughts, and those seem to be working well. Arthur’s cancer has not metastasized. It has responded well to chemo and radiation, and the doctors are optimistic that with surgery, scheduled for September, he will be able to beat it.

The party at the schoolhouse was evidence of the support that Arthur has from the community, and assurance that neither distance nor the trials of illness put much of a dent in Arthur’s impact on Norwich, and for that we are grateful.

Norwich Residents Reach Out with Aid

We have all seen the bumper sticker and t-shirts carrying the Vermont Strong inscription.

Recently a group of Norwich residents proved that motto is not merely a fancy catch phrase by offering a shining example of how neighbors care for neighbors.

Vickie Seaver holds debris ironically emblazoned ‘Happiness Guaranteed’

On July 1 of this year, the property owned by Michael and Vickie Seaver on New Boston Road in Norwich was devastated by a sudden downpour that produced more than four inches of heavy rain in a mere few hours. The freakish storm wreaked havoc for the residents along the New Boston and Ladeau Roads. For the Seavers, it hit particularly hard, as Vickie explains.

“Our neighbors next to us have a fifteen-foot elevated driveway that runs over a gully. The rain filled a field by the driveway and the water pressure caused the driveway to collapse. All that water rushed onto our property and leveled our two-car garage. Also we had eight trees down and propane tanks were seen floating nearby. There was debris everywhere and the entire neighborhood had to be evacuated. It was devastating!”

Vickie went on to point out that their house did not have a basement and that saved them from further flood damage that would have compounded the situation. Everyone was safe, but not without a price.

“My 90-year-old father is a carpenter and he had many of his tools stored in that garage and they were washed away. Our vehicles were not in the garage and that was a relief,” Vickie said.

As the Seavers looked out at the carnage in their yard, the first thoughts turned to just how would they cope with this disaster? They had no flood insurance and their homeowners policy would not cover the damage. They did not have to stress for very long however. Norwich residents sprang into action to help their neighbors.

Chainsaw work

“Meghan Wilson, who lives on Ladeau Road, organized a cleanup event for us to help clear out the debris from our flooded garage. The water had run down to Ladeau Road, as well, and the brook behind our house had risen. We have many neighbors in Norwich, and we were the fortunate ones who feel truly honored to have folks that didn’t even know us help us out. It was incredible!”

Garage debris

“All of a sudden we had about 35 people in our front yard,” Michael Seaver stated. “There were people with tractors and a dump truck, and everyone started pitching in to remove all the debris and to cut up the fallen trees. Many of those people we met for the very first time. It was unbelievable!”

Debris cleanup

The dedicated volunteer laborers quickly cleared the debris working through the day on a Sunday. Once the damaged garage was removed, the group then constructed a brand-new storage shed on the slab where the 24×24′ structure had stood.

“I think we will place a container garden and a patio on the back part of that concrete foundation. That way we can sit out there in nice weather and watch the brook flow by,” Vickie added with a smile.

As they look back on the experience, the Seavers remain overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and concern by their neighbors.

“We still can’t believe it!” Vickie exclaimed. “I will give an example. I approached one gentleman in his vehicle as he was working. I told him we would offer as much financial help as we could. He rolled up his window and said he could not hear me!”

It appears as if we need a new bumper sticker that reads Norwich Strong.

Elisabeth Bilar and Meghan Hewitt pitched in.

It was truly a whole group effort. A lot of people also helped out during the week leading up to the neighborhood clean-up that I helped organize. (Price Campbell was putting up trash bags and collecting debris from the stream throughout the storm, Ashley Lang picked up a ton of debris, and I know there were countless others.) I wanted to help, but knew that I couldn’t move things in the stream… so I just chose a day at a gathering of Ladeau residents that worked for most. I was communicating with Vicki and Mike about what they would like to have done, and let them know that Sunday from 12 to 3pm was the time where people would be helpful. Vicki then had a day that she could tell all of her friends and family to come out and help, and Liz put the message out to the town. There was a lot of support from Ladeau, and a lot of support from Vicki’s connections in actually doing the clean-up. I wasn’t doing heavy lifting, instead I was playing dressup with the neighborhood kids while others were cleaning up the road. We also helped out Peter and Vicki’s neighbor… and they in return helped us out.Cheers, Meghan Hewitt

There’s an old saying that goes if you find a job you truly love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Nothing could be truer for Norwich’s Jay Avis. He is a mechanical engineer by training (although he’ll tell you that he’s been “fighting it all along”) and has managed to couple those skills with his interest in primitive living and passion for helping others. From working as an outdoor educator and leading wilderness expeditions, to volunteering for Hospice and providing compassionate respite care, Jay has never lost sight of finding problems and helping people solve them. “It is a labor of love,” he says.

Jay and Amanda

Jay and his wife, Amanda Burns, came to Norwich in 2012 from the suburbs of Boston. Amanda had found a teaching position at the Lyme School. “She’s an inspiration as far as what someone who is truly a perfect fit for their job looks like,” Jay tells us. “The Lyme School is the reason we moved up here, and she and the school have been the most perfect fit since day one.” In Norwich they’ve found “everything we need – and nothing we don’t need,” Jay explains. With wilderness spaces to explore, Jay and Amanda are keeping up the nature connection they bonded over when they first met as wilderness trip and environmental educators in Wiscasset, Maine with the Chewonki Foundation.

When they moved to Vermont, Jay tapped into his love of the outdoors and primitive living skills with a new business venture. He combined the primitive life skill of foraging – searching and gathering foods found naturally in our environment – with engineering. The foraged food in question? Acorns! Born out of his hobby of making acorn flour for friends and family, Oaklore LLC was founded in 2014. Jay works out of his heated garage space at home with the help of two hired workers who also share his passion for primitive living. Together they harvest and process acorns to produce a high-quality acorn flour which is sold to specialty stores, restaurants, and other niche markets.

Why acorns? Jay explained that acorns are a ‘staple food,’ one that is “high in nutrients, can be gathered in abundance, and stores well for a long period of time.” They are unique in that they are high in fat and starch, but unlike many other baking flours, are gluten free. They are also high in protein and monounsaturated oils that help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. For centuries, cultures around the world have enjoyed the benefits of this staple food. Jay has studied the way Native Americans have used the acorn and he has used his own technical skills to modernize production. “The wild foods I’ve consumed here in New England are varied, but I have a particular interest in the staple foods that sustained our ancestors.”

Jay’s outdoor education students learn about wild food gathering

The process that Jay uses to make his flour has been updated, of course, but he is reluctant to bring the process fully into the modern age. He could, for example, employ the use of ovens to speed up acorn drying time, but he uses his radiant heat floor instead which adds weeks to the process. It is part New England frugality and part historical reverence that has kept him from automating his process. “I am a problem solver. I like doing something unprecedented on a budget.”

Acorn flour

Jay calls upon the community quite regularly during harvest time. (The best time to harvest acorns is September through early December, when they fall off the trees.) If you’ve spent any time on the local Listserv, you’ll have seen his request. He seeks healthy, well-maintained, pet-and-pesticide-free lawns for acorn collection. One simply needs to contact him and he and his helpers will descend on your lawn to collect your acorns. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved. I get my acorns and the homeowner gets a clean lawn.” Oaklore uses acorns from Northern Red Oak trees, which are the most prevalent in the area.

His passion for primitive life skills comes into play during the harvest. He often challenges himself by asking, “how simply can I live? Is what’s outside enough to live on?” Interest in primitive skills and foraging can be traced back to his childhood in Maine when his parents sent him to summer camp. While there, he discovered wild foods that could be collected in the forest. (His first find was the Indian Cucumber or Medeola virginiana.) Fast-forward to his adult years and this curiosity is stronger than ever.

One would naturally assume that the founder of a unique company like Oaklore would be a specialty food connoisseur. On the contrary, Jay explained, “I’m not a cook. I’m not a foodie. I’m a problem solver!” His natural curiosity, successful networking, and hard work have made Oaklore a success. Help from the Vermont Small Business Administration and S.C.O.R.E. was essential as he was getting started with this first business. He was connected with a mentor, Sally Wilson – former owner of the Norwich Inn – who provided what he considered to be the most valuable piece of advice: “Focus on the flour. Don’t try to add to your product line now with specialty mixes [like muffins and pancake mix.] Do what you do best and the product will do the rest.” The advice paid off and now Jay is producing a niche product that is low volume, small scale, and handcrafted.

Gathered acorns

The business has put him in contact with a variety of people – restaurateurs, fashion designers, celebrities, film makers, brewers, and local news stations, just to name a few. His biggest celebrity client was Francis Ford Coppola who opened an American-Native-themed restaurant last year in Geyserville, California called Werowocomoco. Jay attests that specialty farm-to-table restaurants are his best customers. Another unique client was a brewery in Denver, Colorado that used his acorn flour to produce a specialty brew. While it was only a one-time exchange, it reminds us of the versatility of his product.

Despite the energy and enthusiasm Jay has for Oaklore, his curious mind has him on the lookout for the next adventure. He is currently seeking a buyer for his acorn flour business. “I’d love to find someone who has a passion for the concept and has some physical space they could devote to processing.” Jay said. The perfect buyer would be someone with “a variety of talents – from a love of physical labor for gathering and processing, to a desire to market the product.”

What’s next for this passionate, problem-solving engineer? He explained with a warm smile that he is most happy when he’s making other people happy. It should come as no surprise that his next venture directly involves focusing on people’s problems and helping them overcome them. He is interested in ‘bias reduction.’ He is going to explore the field of sociology as he finds a way to help individuals overcome their personal biases. This may indeed seem like a tough nut to crack (pun intended), but one that is necessary in our ever-changing world. He wants to create bridges between people, help diffuse tough situations, and humanize them. “I want to help people create a new way of looking at things.” He will certainly be calling upon his past experiences to bring success to this new enterprise. He’ll also be calling on you to explore more ideas as well. “I’m a networker and love connecting with people. I’m always looking for people to explore new ideas with.”

If you are ever out and about exploring the wilds of Norwich, be on the lookout for Jay and Amanda. They are an engaging couple with a great love of the outdoors to share. If you stop and chat a while, you’ll be sure to learn a thing or two about our natural environment and perhaps explore other perspectives.

Acorn waffles

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If you are interested in learning more about foraging edible, wild plants, Jay suggests checking out Nature’s Garden by Samuel Thayer. For hands-on education you can also check out the R.O.O.T.S. School in Corinth, Vermont for information on wild food cooking and foraging classes. You are welcome to visit his website www.oakloreproducts.com to learn more.