Norwich Volunteers Take Active Role in Orchard Work

Some dozen volunteers from the town’s Willing Hands will once again be offering their time and labor this year at the Whitman Brook Orchard in Quechee. The Norwich-based non-profit serves people in need of all ages throughout the Upper Valley, having developed an efficient system for food recovery and distribution.

“We arrange for regular pick-ups with over 40 food donors and deliver to at least 58 organizations every week, all year long,” said Executive Director Gabe Zoerheide. “Together we provide one small but effective solution to a very big challenge.”

Many families and individuals in the Upper Valley struggle to make ends meet.… Read More

Nine years ago, one of the most damaging storms in Vermont’s history came roaring in, bringing the state to its knees, as some said, with more than 500 miles of state roads destroyed, 60,000 homes and businesses without power, and 200 bridges damaged or ripped off foundations.

One of those was the Norwich’s Kids Bridge over Blood Brook connecting Beaver Meadow Road and neighboring families to Huntley Meadow. Kids used the bridge to cross the brook on foot and bike to use the fields, playground, and continue on their way to school and town.

The wooden bridge, built by Eagle Scouts, was never replaced, despite an approved bridge design, necessary state and town permits, and approved site.… Read More

For Dr. Deborah Kennedy, food is not only what we eat each day, but also the key to good health. As a practitioner of nutritional medicine, Dr. Kennedy believes food has the power to transform our health for the better, and her upcoming textbook intends to expand upon that mission.

Dr. Kennedy’s life as a foodie started at the age 4 when she began learning how to cook, and led to her job as a cook and sous chef throughout high school and college. This passion for food eventually emboldened her to pursue cooking professionally and then to get her PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from Tufts University.… Read More

Editor’s Note: What makes a person a real hero is when they are the hero yet they sing the praises of others. Frank Orlowski is that kind of hero. I honestly could not get the Quechee, Lebanon and Norwich Times out to each community without his help. Not only does he persevere with kindness and patience while selling advertising space to our local businesses, he pitches in and writes many of the articles (often with little notice). And, when the paper is delivered to my office, Frank arrives in his pickup and slowly but surely loads the boxes of extras onto the truck to deliver them around town.… Read More

Monuments honoring veterans dot the landscape throughout towns in New England and the nation. From the likenesses of Civil War soldiers standing guard over the town square, to the solemn and emotionally inspiring Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, honoring those who served the nation in the armed forces is a national tradition.

Norwich is no different. For many years, two stone monuments dedicated to veterans stood in town in front of Tracy Hall. One honors those from Norwich who served from the time of the Revolution through the war in Korea. The second honors the Vietnam-era vets. A few years back, the members of American Legion Lyman F.… Read More

No one who lives in the Upper Valley needs to be told it was a fierce start to the winter. Extreme wind chills, double digit below zero nights, and damp cold days flourished in late December and January. As a result, fuel usage was at a max this winter.

Many area residents depend on firewood as a secondary, and primary heat source, and as those temps go down, so does the firewood pile. For some folks, ordering an extra cord of wood is not a problem. For others, however, the $250 or $300 for a cord is a financial hardship.

To meet the needs of those depending on firewood, and without the means to afford it, Norwich offers a community firewood reserve.… Read More

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.… Read More

When the historians finally compile the legacy of Norwich’s Dr. Dean Seibert, there may be a slight conflict when published. Will his distinguished medical career be in the forefront of that legacy or will his dedicated world-wide service to humanity take center stage? In both categories, Dean Seibert has become a living legend.

Perhaps we can take a hint from the man himself. During a visit to his Norwich home on a rainy spring morning, Dr. Seibert gave some insight into that issue. At age 84, he is still very active, both as a physician and for the last 25 years as a volunteer for the ACTS (Americans Caring Teaching Sharing) Honduras organization.… Read More

In the Upper Valley, members of various faith and secular communities have come together to form the Upper Valley Refugee Working Group. The Working Group focuses both on refugees coming to the immediate area, as well as helping the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program based in Rutland, VT. In January, The Upper Valley Refugee Working Group hosted Light the Way, a benefit for both the Upper Valley Haven and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.

Light the Way announced goals, “on a practical level, every household needs a lamp or two to brighten the home! …Light the Way will collect gently used table and floor lamps to be given to resettling refugee households to brighten the years ahead.”… Read More

Ever since Root Schoolhouse, a 1937 one-room schoolhouse located across from Hogwash Farm on Union Village Road at the intersection of Goodrich Four Corners Road, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, interest in this historic treasure has spread far beyond Norwich. This year, Boston-based Historic New England, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization, gave the Root District Game Club a $1,000 Community Preservation Grant to support its efforts to rebuild the schoolhouse’s deteriorating foundation and reopen the building for public use.

Every year, Historic New England distributes six awards to historic preservation projects in each of the six New England states.… Read More