Looking Ahead Through the Rear View Mirror

Grandchildren were my original passports to Norwich’s Montshire Museum of Science. Starting as toddlers with Andy’s Place, the Bubbles exhibit, Science Park, and then a few summers in the Museum’s outstanding camp program, all three of these kids not only had a great time but also developed a sense of curiosity and engagement with science that continues today. In fact for my granddaughter, Eliza, now 15, the Montshire was, without a doubt, an inspiration in her choice to enroll in a residential semester program in Freeport, Maine, where a primary goal is to support and enhance the education of young women in the sciences.… Read More

Their location may change, but their occupation is always animal health. Norwich residents, Dan and Jodi Kelly, founded the first Stonecliff Animal Clinic in Bradford, VT, in 1991. At the time, Jodi says, they had a “pretty historic” farm tucked under the cliffs north of Bradford, where they raised replacement heifers. Dan made farm calls as a large animal vet, and the Clinic began in order to care for the pets of these farmers.

The Kellys dreamed of opening an emergency hospital for animals, a service that was not then available; owners of seriously ill pets had to take them to Burlington or Concord, NH.… Read More

Have you hiked the Gile Mountain trail to the fire tower recently? If not, you will be surprised to see the upgrades taking place along the trail. On a recent beautiful, late summer August evening, my companion and I took the drive up Turnpike Road to the trailhead, to make the short 1.4 mile round trip to the fire tower and back.

The first thing I noticed upon arriving was the number of cars parked in the small lot, most of which with license plates other than NH and VT. Mid week, late in the day (but not sunset), late August, I did not expect this many fellow hikers, even on a near perfect late afternoon.… Read More

I like the day,” says Ned Redpath with his characteristic smile. “I’m up at 5. I like the people I work with – there’s a good energy in the office.” He should know: he’s shaped his business over 36-plus years in the Upper Valley, first as an independent office, then gathering a team of realtors into the Hanover franchise of the Coldwell Banker group.

Not many children would say “I want to be a realtor when I grow up,” but Ned became interested in the profession about as early as anyone. His roommate at St. Lawrence University was the son of realtors in Montclair, NJ, where Ned had lived for his last two years of high school.… Read More

For Scott Miller, the world is full of stories from many cultures, waiting to be told.  And he thinks that by sharing them, the world has a chance of becoming a better place.

“It started on a study abroad to Spain when I was in college,” Scott explains.  “While on the Iberian Peninsula I kept noticing the architecture, the mingling of influences.  In Cordoba I saw the La Mezquita Cathedral which was used by Muslims, Jews and Catholics – multiple faiths worshipping in different ways – in different sections of the same building, each section adorned with details from the others’ traditions. … Read More

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not fooling a soul.” – American Gods

Long-time Norwich residents may disagree with Neil Gaiman’s assertion, saying that Norwich’s career as a fine town antedates the arrival of the Norwich Bookstore, but who would not agree that the Bookstore improves the town? Not just books, but community-building ideas hatch at the Bookstore, such as the Book Angels program that provides donors an opportunity to give books to children at Christmas. And, through the energy of two booksellers, “The Book Jam,” a jazzy blog, was born in 2010 to spread news of good books.… Read More

None of them is Lance Armstrong, but these road warriors are committed and motivated to ride

Behind the windows of The Bike Hub on Route 5 South next to the Farmer’s Market in Norwich are all the sexy toys that makes the two-wheel spandex crowd go weak in the knees: acres of carbon fiber; curvy, other-worldly frame designs, seemingly inspired by the space shuttle. But the shop offers more than eye candy for the road biker – true to its name, it has become the nexus for a vibrant scene of recreational (if sometimes quite competitive) group rides several times a week throughout the summer and early fall.… Read More

The Rosemary Littledale Rieser Trail and Sample’s Woods Project

Just in time to savor sunlight filtering through the pine woods and hear the sounds of frogs and birds from a mossy bog and a rushing brook, Norwich will soon have a new trail for walking and observing nature. Thanks to the generosity of 105 members of the community, the Norwich Conservation Commission, and the Rieser children – Abby, Tim, Len and Ken Willis – a conservation easement and designated trail is being added to the 11-acre property that borders Blood Brook, Hopson Road, and nearby Pine Tree Road.

The Rieser family has been an important part of the Norwich landscape since the late Rosemary Littledale Rieser (pictured below) and her esteemed physicist husband Leonard first took up residence in the village of Norwich in 1953.… Read More

Over two years in the making, “Back to School: Lessons from Norwich’s One-room Schoolhouses” will have its long-awaited premiere this month, with a screening at Wilder Center on Sunday, June 28 at 7:00, and another screening at Marion Cross School in the multipurpose room on Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00.  The screenings will benefit Root Schoolhouse and Beaver Meadow Schoolhouse, with a suggested donation of $10 for adults, $5 for children, and $20 for families.

In the winter of 2013, Boston-based Historic New England, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization, and CATV, the Upper Valley’s local community cable television studio, agreed to make a documentary about the history of Norwich’s one-room schoolhouses. … Read More

Norwich locals behind initiatives bringing Upper Valley citizens together online.

Once the meeting house was the place where people would, well, meet, interact, and exchange news and information while discussing community affairs. Twenty odd years ago, along came the internet, enabling you to connect with a new, ethereal community. Remember dial-up? Your computer and landline joining forces, shrieking awkwardly in an attempt to establish a tenuous link that allowed you to exchange some brief messages with others far away? It was revolutionary and otherworldly, but slow and unreliable. And since the connection couldn’t be taken for granted, it was more novelty than productivity.… Read More