Agriculture has always been an important component of the commerce of the Upper Valley. Dairy farms, cornfields, and orchards have long dotted the area’s landscape. Though these well-known farm landmarks still are common, there is a new and thriving area of agricultural commerce now found in our area – the small, local, independent food producer.

Shopping local for food products, as well as other types of goods, continues to grow in popularity. With the concern about additives in food products, both nationally and internationally, knowing the source and maker of the foods one buys is of greater concern than ever. Nothing seems to put one’s mind at ease more than buying what you eat from your neighbor.… Read More

The holidays can get crazy. Lots to do, never enough time. It can all easily degenerate into a Stress Odyssey. The Norwich Times asked around to find out how people manage to keep the JOY in the holidays (and hold the stress at bay).

Artist Kate Emlen lives on Elm Street. “I don’t necessarily go out looking for joy,” she admits, “but it snuck up on me yesterday while I was vacuuming my kids’ rooms and singing along with my headphones on. The kids will both be home, to be joined soon after by my three quirky brothers and families. Doesn’t get any better than that and I get a clean house as a bonus!”… Read More

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

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

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

You probably know that the Lions Club runs the Norwich Fair each year, complete with rides, cotton candy, the dunk tank, a pig roast and even a Meadow Muffin competition. But you probably don’t know how many businesses help out behind the scenes, or how many local charities benefit from funds raised at the event.

It may surprise you. Over the past year, the Lions donated about $22,000 to nearly 30 charities ranging from the Red Logan Dental Clinic to Holiday Basket Helpers to the High Horses Therapeutic Riding Program. Well over 100 companies and individuals from the area made donations to help make last year’s fair one of the most successful ever.… Read More

Did you know the Norwich Business Council (NBC) was  started over a decade ago? Sally Wilson and other local business leaders felt there was a need for the business community to come together, providing an avenue of community outreach, business networking, and supporting each other as good neighbors. During the early years, these leaders began the tradition of making holiday decorations for the downtown light posts.

The NBC has come a long way since its early days. It is a vibrant and relevant piece of the Norwich business community. Although it no longer makes holiday decorations, the Norwich Business Council’s support of local endeavors is far reaching.… Read More