After a decade of closure and ongoing restoration work, on August 28th, 2021, the Root Schoolhouse reopened as a community space for events.

“It’s an exciting time!” exclaimed Courtney Dobyns, President, Root District Game Club (the schoolhouse Board of Directors). “The needs and visions of our supporters are so important to us as we get ready to move into this wonderful historic building and make this community venue come alive. The future of the schoolhouse will evolve as people come forward with their energies and special interests. We look forward to the collaboration.”

The project began in the summer of 2019 when the historic schoolhouse was jacked up from its crumbling foundation, the site was excavated, concrete was poured, the drainage issues were addressed, and the schoolhouse was placed back down on a new solid base. The finishing touches were wrapped up in the fall. But little did anyone know what lay ahead during 2020 while planning for the next phase in the building’s restoration. 

“We had just applied for several grants, only to be turned down for three in the spring and one more in the fall due to the immediate pandemic needs and stiff competition for grant funding,” Dobyns said. “It felt like the world had been turned upside down socially and economically. The Board saw that we needed to take a deep breath and evaluate our plan.”

Fast forward to the spring of 2020, when contractors moved forward on the occupancy permit requirements with a complete rewiring of the building, widening the back door for ADA access, building the ADA access ramp, and excavating for the special parking space near the ramp. Although all jobs were not completed, a year’s extension on the state occupancy permit was granted.

With deep determination to move forward despite the challenges, and with an anonymous donation of $30,000, the dedicated Root Schoolhouse board gave a big push to get the code requirements funded so the schoolhouse could open this summer. Forty-eight supporters generously raised $10,000. 

The Root Schoolhouse has gained significant recognition within the community, and Dobyns expressed her gratitude to all the volunteers who have stepped up to help. Some highlights of the evolution of the schoolhouse have included the first annual pie sale in October, holiday candles in the newly painted windows facing Union Village Road and receiving a special sign recognizing the schoolhouse’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Still left to do in 2021, is to erect the historical designation sign; hang and wire refurbished globe lights and kitchen lights; build ADA ramp, gutters, path, parking, and ADA portable toilet pad; install front step railings; repair the roof, finish basement insulation; mitigate poison ivy on property; and plant along the fence line.

Future projects to complete within three years include repairing the inside stairwell and main room ceiling; replacing the kitchen counter; finishing the backdoor to match other trim; repointing the chimney; cleaning and oiling the woodwork; painting the walls; tuning the piano; and repairing the slate blackboard ceiling.

“Beyond its historic preservation, our goal is to open the schoolhouse as a community space hosting educational and cultural events such as readings, musical gatherings, and maybe even collaborative events with neighboring farms for children and families,” said Dobyns. “There are limitless possibilities within our collective imagination. The enthusiasm expressed by our volunteers and townspeople makes the future look bright for this wonderful gem.”  

The celebration was held from 3-6 p.m, Saturday, August 28th; inside and outside the schoolhouse at 987 Union Village in Norwich. All were welcome. There were games, music, appreciations and refreshments. For more information about the Schoolhouse, contact vtrootschoolhouse@gmail.com or Courtney Dobyns at cdobyns1@myfairpoint.com.

Working with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont will study the social impact it has on the community and assist in refining a social impact tool for the museum field.

Thanks to a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, in partnership with Thanksgiving Point, had the opportunity to select museums across the country for the Measurement of Museum Social Impact (MOMSI) project. After a competitive application and review process, the Montshire was one of 38 museums selected for the study.

This study will measure social impact through strengthened relationships, health and well-being, continued education and engagement, and intercultural competency.

Working with the MOMSI team in Utah, the Museum will recruit and survey visitors from the local community. The data collected will inform Montshire on its social impact and will provide validated data about the museum field generally.

“We are deeply honored to be selected to participate in this national study,” says Jennifer Rickards, Montshire’s Acting Executive Director. “Although we’re confident in the value that the Montshire offers the community, this study of social impact will help us define, measure, and articulate that value more clearly and provide insights that will allow us to enhance the programs and experiences we offer.”

The Measurement of Museum Social Impact (MOMSI) offered the following information on the type of information they are collecting and how they measure impact:

Health and Wellbeing

This outcome is measured through statements regarding physical health, such as diet and exercise habits, along with mental and emotional health. It recognizes that museums are restorative spaces and are places of community activities.

Intercultural Competence

Visiting museums expands awareness of cultures and ways of life. This outcome is measured by understanding empathy, connection to community, personal strengths and limitations, and perspective of self and others.

Continued Education and Engagement

Learning occurs across various spaces and time, including in museums and through the programs they offer. This outcome is measured by understanding in what ways wonder, curiosity, and interest are stimulated in museum visitors.

Strengthened Relationships

This outcome strives to understand the positive interactions people have with others. It is measured through statements about social and family relationships, the bond between people, and the ways in which relationships are nurtured.

The Walk the End Alzheimer’s, the largest fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, is an annual autumn event in more than 600 communities across the country. This year, on October 2, the Walk is back with teams and individuals walking together in person and in purple. 

Why purple? Purple is the color of the Alzheimer’s Association, but other colors have significance too, as represented by the flowers people carry during the walk. A purple flower means you lost someone to Alzheimer’s; yellow means you are a caregiver to someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia; blue means you are living with Alzheimer’s; and orange means you support the Alzheimer’s Association. 

As the array of colors indicates, Alzheimer’s profoundly affects not only the six million people living with Alzheimer’s in the US, but also their caregivers and extended family. You are never far from someone touched by this disease of cognitive decline. In Vermont alone, 13,000 patients, and their 25,000 unpaid caregivers are living with Alzheimer’s. Norwich residents and businesses are teaming up to raise money, spread awareness and support them.

Laura Fraser got involved with the walk last year by supporting Team Andy in memory of Andy Harvard. Andy suffered from younger-onset Alzheimer’s and passed away in 2019, at age 69, after ten years battling the disease. Fraser’s partner, Pastor Dick Hodge had a close connection with Andy, and Fraser became good friends with Andy’s wife Kathy, a driving force behind Alzheimer’s awareness in the Upper Valley. Fraser enlisted Fairlee Community Church of Christ to sponsor Team Andy. The walk is about raising funds, but also about building awareness. Fraser and Hodge did both.

Hodge delivered a message about Memory and the Alzheimer’s Walk, while Fraser’s Sunday school class had a lesson built around it and made capes for the walk. Fraser works at Diane’s Casual Cuts (Norwich), which is among the many local businesses “going purple” during the week of the walk, with balloons and purple shirts. “It seems to be everywhere,” says Fraser, “so my goal is to get information and education into the community.”

In the heart of the community, Dan & Whit’s has participated in the Alzheimer’s Walk over the past couple years, “going purple” and displaying the event sign in their window. Less visible businesses show their support through sponsorship. “I’ve seen the devastating effect of the disease personally and on caregivers,” says Norwich resident Peter Carter, whose law firm sponsored the walk last year. Carter’s mother-in-law, Susan McClane, suffered from Alzheimer’s and died in 2005, at age 75. He describes seeing an incredibly intelligent, vibrant, engaged person waste away over a few years. McClane, who had been in the N.H. state legislature, was “very up front about her diagnosis,” Carter said. “She wanted people to know she wasn’t stupid. She had a problem.” 

McClane’s daughter, U.S. Representative Annie McClane Kuster, chronicled her mother’s decline through regular conversations, and the two co-wrote The Last Dance: Facing Alzheimer’s with Love and Laughter. Carter worries that Alzheimer’s is a ticking time bomb, and feels an urgency to fund more research, which is one reason he and his firm support the cause. 

The Alzheimer’s Association funds and drives research toward treatment, prevention and, ultimately, a cure. This research led to the recent release of Aducanumab, the first FDA approved medication to treat the disease. In addition, the Alzheimer’s Association provides advocacy and resources like a free 24/7 Helpline, no-cost education programs (accessible virtually), free care consultations for families facing a diagnosis and more. All of these services are fully funded by the money raised during the Walks and other fundraising events.

For Darcy Bagley, Alzheimer’s is both professional and personal. As the Bereavement Program Coordinator at Bayada Hospice’s Norwich office, she and her coworkers help manage Alzheimer’s patients’ care daily. “We see the illness and also the aftermath with the families,” says Bagley. Bayada also has many staff with personal experience with Alzheimer’s, Bagley among them. All four of her grandparents passed away from Alzheimer’s. 

Bayada sponsors the Upper Valley Walk and others across the state and helps with planning and volunteering. Among the volunteers are families of patients. “Families want to stay involved after their loved one passes,” says Bagley. 

Each year, one or two patients come out and walk as well, wearing blue, just as Andy Harvard did for as long as he could. The walk is a visual reminder that Alzheimer’s is still out there and that there is much work to do.

“That’s why we wear our purple, and go purple and carry flowers,” says Bagley. “It is just as important that people in the community see us and are aware that we are working to find a cure.” The first person to be cured will carry a white flower.

How to Lend a Hand

This year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s kicks off Saturday October 2, 9:30 am at Hanover High School. Here are all the ways you can support the community effort:

• Register a team or walk on your own (registration is free but all walkers are encouraged to fundraise and support the work of the Alzheimer’s Association)
• Volunteer the day of the event 
• Donate to a team or a general donation to the event
• Encourage your business to Go Purple leading up to the Walk or to display a poster.

For information, visit https://act.alz.org/uppervalley.

When two local companies team up to better our community, magical things can happen. JAG Productions based in White River Junction is partnering with King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich. While a theater company and baking company seem an unlikely pair, together they are co-producing a beautiful series of performances, “Theatre on the Hill.”

“Theatre on the Hill” will take place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings between August 13 – September 12 on the grassy hill behind King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich. Preceded with food and drinks provided by Upper Valley favorites such as Munchie Rollz, Griddle and Groovy, and Wolf Tree, “Theatre on the Hill” is an outdoor theater series featuring an array of performances from workshop productions to concert musicals, to staged readings. 

Jarvis Green, Founding Artistic Director of JAG, spoke of his desire to give audiences, “a hybrid of all the many ways in which we are thinking about producing theater.” Suzanne McDowell, King Arthur’s Vice President of CSR and Sustainability, wrote about supporting Green’s vision. “The idea of Theatre on the Hill was born out of the natural link between food and art and the potential for King Arthur Baking to offer a vibrant, living stage for JAG’s work.” 

JAG and King Arthur Baking Company first came together through JAG’s ambassador partnership program in which organizations or businesses interested in promoting marginalized voices and adopting anti-racist policies can find creative ways to partner with JAG and support their work. This particular program came about after a year of building a relationship between the two companies and through Green’s desire to create in-person programming for the community before heading back into the theater in the fall. Luckily for all of us, this manifested in an outdoor theater experience not to be missed. 

So, what can we expect to see at this event? A little bit of everything. Starting off the series will be a workshop production of a play that was first featured as a staged reading at JAGFest 4.0. JAGFest is a yearly new works festival that invites up-and-coming Black playwrights from all over the country to stage their new pieces here in the Upper Valley. The play a curious thing; or superheroes k’aint fly by Jeremy O’Brian, a “90-minute queer romance… exploring the universal question of parenthood in a world laden with danger,” was the hit of the 2019 festival. 

For the following two weekends, Green himself is directing a concert version of Next to Normal (Yorkey & Kitt), a Pulitzer-Prize and Tony-Award-winning musical that explores mental health and a family dealing with crises. “You’re going to get that sensation of artists connecting to a score and singing beautifully… but you’re also going to be rooted in truth and in reality.” Green speaks of the stigma surrounding mental health and how presenting these stories in a fashion that evokes empathy, such as musical theater, can help normalize dialogues around difficult subjects. “As someone who has family members and friends that have struggled with mental health,” he said, “I think that’s the crux or foundation or root of why I wanted to do this piece.” 

Next up, Life in Sepia: Vermont’s Black Burlesque Revue, will take the stage. This piece builds a narrative around the history of Black burlesque in America through a variety of performers including our own local Golden Mystique. The revue will be “femmeceed” by duo Kia Warren and Liza Colby who will weave the story of American Black burlesque through eight performers, each taking on a decade in this historical burlesque journey. 

Closing the series will be a staged reading of For the Love of Jazz by playwright Raven Cassell, another JAGFest alumni. First performed as a radio play during JAG’s 2020 COVID-restricted festival, this “jazzical” follows the story of a young woman navigating life and love during the Harlem Renaissance of the ’20s and ’30s. Green lauds Cassell’s work, “She’s written this really beautiful contemporary play that’s also rooted in classic American theater.”

With this partnership in mind, where does the intersection of baking and the performing arts lie? “Baking, it’s a collective experience,” said Green. “Baking allows for conversation and storytelling. When I grew up, I was always in the kitchen with my mom and my grandmother. I remember so vividly the stories they used to tell as they would bake. Baking just allows for folks to connect in a way that removes boundaries because of this shared experience.”

“I hope that during ‘Theatre on the Hill’ series, people will shop at King Arthur and then while they’re [cooking or baking], have an experience about the work and what they saw and have conversations with their families about some of the themes we engaged with them on during the series.” McDowell agrees. “Just as art does, food tells stories, evokes emotions, and activates our senses,” she said. “The act of connecting food and art has powerful potential to promote diverse voices, experience, and perspectives.” 

Green is incredibly enthusiastic about this work. Green speaks of theater as he speaks of baking, focusing on its ability to connect people. “I want to lead with storytelling because that’s where we connect as human beings,” said Green. “How do we tap into your heart? That helps us be the change that we want to see. And I think that’s the power of theater.”

Also evident is his deep love of Vermont and of our community. “I love Vermont. I love the beauty of Vermont. I feel like [the Upper Valley] is full of vibrant, community-driven folks.” Green is looking forward to this series continuing JAG’s relationship with the community and bringing new faces into the mix who will want to become a part of making this theater happen and join in helping ensure this work becomes a part of our community for years to come. 

Green is also hoping this is the first of many community-based collaborations. King Arthur Baking Company is not the only local group that has helped make this project come to life. Speaking with Green, it became clear that this is truly a community project that has involved collaboration from several well-known local businesses such as Northern Stage, the Center for Cartoon Studies, plus an army of local volunteers. “I think this series is going to speak to the power of partnerships. We don’t have to live in isolation about how we’re supporting each other’s work. It doesn’t just have to be JAG doing this. It takes all of us. I think it will be kind of an entry point for people to lean in and say yes, I like what you’re doing, how can I support? I feel like there can be some cool partnerships and I hope that a big institution like King Arthur gives people more permission to lean in. I want to diversify what partnership looks like.” 

Overall, Green hopes that this series is “a reminder that you can have the beauty of gathering again and enjoying glorious theater that’s rooted in reminding us of what happened and where we need to go. This is an opportunity for hearts to mend and to come together.” McDowell seconds this notion. “In our relatively small community, theater makes a powerful impact,” she said. “It can engage individuals from all backgrounds, creating a shared experience that still allows for diversity and difference to blossom, and JAG is a perfect example of that.” 

What else can we look forward to from JAG? Green is optimistic to see an outdoor summer series return in the future, and this fall and winter, readers can catch more of JAG at Juke Joint, JAG’s annual fundraising dinner-theater cabaret in November and at JAGFest 6.0 in February 2022.

In the meantime, pull up a picnic blanket, cushion, or any of the provided seating and come take in one (or more!) of the wonderful performances this August and September at JAG and King Arthur Baking Company’s “Theatre on the Hill” on Route 5 in Norwich. n

Tickets are $25.00 and available at www.jagproductionsvt.com/theatre-on-a-hill. The event will be wheelchair accessible, restrooms are in the KABC facility, and parking is available in both lots. Seating is first come; first served and local food and beverage will be offered beginning at 6:30 PM. Performances will begin at 8:00 PM. See you on the hill!