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. Pell, Post 8 in Norwich decided it was time to recognize Norwich veterans who served in the post-1975 era. 1975, of course, is the year the war in Vietnam ended.

According to current Post Commander Lyle Favreau, former Post Commander Jim Harlow originally came up with the idea for this new monument. In January 2015, Favreau says a committee of five post members formed to plan the new memorial.

Favreau – who has served as post commander for the past three and a half years – says much of the committee’s early work was spent finding the names of residents who served, and determining who would be included on the memorial. The goal was to recognize active and reserve armed forces veterans, including those from the National Guard. Those whose names are on the monument must have received an honorable discharge to be included.

As of early 2018, the post received one bid for the project, with the cost of completion a concern. With a goal of completing the memorial in 2018, Favreau says he and the committee (which includes members Jim McGuire, Gary De Gasta, and Demosthenes Sofronas) began to draw up plans for going forward with the site work, and determining the best placement for the new monument. Favreau contacted Thad Goodwin, the town tree warden and a local contractor. After discussing placement of the stone monument, Goodwin inquired about who would be doing the actual site work. Favreau says Goodwin, an excavator, generously volunteered his time and labor on the project, and added he would inquire of local mason Ernie Parker about doing the cement work on the project. Parker then volunteered his time, as did Strafford resident Tom Root, who handled the electrical work on the project.

As tree warden, Thad Goodwin met with Favreau originally to discuss placement of the monument near an existing tree at the site. Goodwin says when he asked Favreau about the project, “He told me they were over-budget, and weren’t sure how they would complete it.”

Goodwin thought about the project’s importance, and decided to help, offering his excavating services. Goodwin did all the site prep work, including installing the new flagpole, and removing the old tree that was impinging on the site. He also recruited Ernie Parker and Tom Root, both of whom were happy to volunteer their labor, he says. “Ernie Parker was huge,” says Goodwin, not only in doing the cement work at the site, but also offering many ideas about completing the project.

What was the reason Goodwin decided to offer his services, and recruit the other contractors? “I did it for the vets,” he says.

Not only did the local professionals aid the project immensely, Favreau says the town of Norwich was instrumental in helping this come to fruition. “I can’t say enough about the town,” says Favreau. “They were very supportive of the project.”

The project included more than the installation of this new monument.  “We also cleaned and refurbished the old monuments,” says Favreau. As a result of the savings from the labor donated by Goodwin, Parker, and Root, they were able to hire a professional to clean the two existing bronze nameplates on the stone monuments, prepping them for the dedication. Additionally, the existing flagpole was removed, and a new pole installed.

The Rock of Ages quarry in Barre created the new stone monument, honoring the post-Vietnam vets. They delivered the monument to the site, and set it in place. Unlike the other two monuments, the names on this new one are etched into the stone. There are 74 names of Norwich veterans immortalized on the monument, with room to add more in the future.

The entire cost of the project, including the monument, flagpole, and the cleaning of the other two monuments, came to $16,000. The cost of the project was covered by individual donations and grants the Legion Post received.

The new monument was dedicated at a ceremony on November 12. American Legion dignitaries, town officials, and residents attended. “I was told there were about 200 people there,” Favreau says.

Now that the memorial is complete, what are their thoughts about it? “I’m very proud of it,” says Favreau. “It’s very professional.”

“And it looks really sharp,” adds Goodwin.

Community members who attended the Root District Schoolhouse Gathering on October 22, 2018, recalled fond memories of potluck suppers, movie nights, birthday parties, and dance classes spanning 50 years at the one-room schoolhouse on Union Village Road at Goodrich Four Corners.

This lively event was held at the Norwich Historical Society to envision the future of the building. The Root District Game Club Board elicited ideas and posted sticky notes on bright pink schoolhouse posters. Suggestions ranged from using the building as a venue for yoga and art classes to poetry readings and a winter tracking event.

The participants voiced a desire for the building to remain largely the same with its classic lines and its four large windows. The interior should still feel and look like a schoolroom with its blackboards, stage, warm woodwork, and refinished floors. This truly is an authentic and well-built example of a one-room schoolhouse, a rarity today.

Before it was declared unfit for public use in 2011 due to a crumbling foundation, the schoolhouse was used as a hunting club in the 1950s, a riding club, and then a community center into 2000. Many folks contributed, heading up the various committees and volunteer efforts to keep the building and its activities strong and viable.

Neighbors living near Goodrich Four Corners (recently nominated as a Historic District) made a concerted effort to raise money to replace the foundation and mitigate hillside drainage issues.  Fundraising and planning has taken over six years and the goal is in sight: the old foundation will be replaced in summer 2019.  If all goes well, the next gathering will be at the schoolhouse to celebrate!

On a cold, snowy late November night, a small crowd gathered in the Congregational Church on the Norwich Green. Representing four Upper Valley congregations, they had come to attend an interfaith Thanksgiving service to express their “thanks for the blessings we share.” Bidding them welcome, Pastor Mary Brownlow remarked that the universal theme of gratitude “calls for deep thoughts and sentiments, and draws us out of our narrow concerns into a larger, spiritual realm.” Setting the theme for the service, she said, “We’re mindful of family, friends, and strangers who surround us with neighborly love. May the companionship we share satisfy each hunger for community.”

When Rabbi Mark Malamut of the Upper Valley Jewish Community next sounded the shofar, it was intended both as a literal call to worship, but also, as he later explained, “To wake us up to those things we want to be grateful for and that we want to work on in our lives.”

Pastor Brownlow noted Thanksgiving’s roots as a national holiday which does not belong to any one religion. Indeed, it is appreciated by many as a refreshingly secular holiday, free from the religious connections of Easter and Christmas. Based on ancient rituals of giving thanks, it evolved from the apocryphal Pilgrim feast with the Wampanoag and Governor Bradford’s proclamation of “a day of thanksgiving toward God” into a New England harvest tradition. George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration as “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.” But the official federal holiday came almost a hundred years later, after decade-long lobbying by writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale for a patriotic celebration of autumn.

In 1863, a war-weary Abraham Lincoln concurred, proclaiming Thanksgiving Day to rally and unify a bruised nation around a common theme: a national rite of reconciliation and patriotic concord. Marveling at the progress made by the country in spite of the ongoing Civil War, he declared, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God […] It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens […] to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” Those heavy religious undertones for a supposedly secular holiday raised the hackles of freethinkers and proponents of church-state separation over the years.

A recent Pew study of “Where Americans Find Meaning” found that spirituality and faith came fourth after family, career, and money. But those belonging to a faith will likely agree with Pastor Brownlow’s observation that “all faiths have an element of thanksgiving in them, a universal feeling of empathy and compassion, particularly toward your community, great and small.”

“What if, today, we were grateful for everything?” ~ Charlie Brown

The Thanksgiving holiday may once have been intended as a gaudy celebration of patriotism and material abundance with a religious veneer, but times have changed. “In a new Gilded Age of massive income inequality,” wrote humanities professor Leigh Eric Schmidt a few years ago, “Thanksgiving has emerged anew as a time to amplify core progressive themes – to focus on the 99 percent over the 1 percent.”

Echoing this sentiment, Pastor Brownlow characterized the interfaith service as “a grounding exercise, a chance to reflect on simpler things, come back to the roots of community, the importance of belonging.” It is, she said, “a chance to be grateful for things that just ‘are’ – not necessarily deserved.”

Indeed, the reflections at the service focused less on material abundance, and more on gratitude for the simple things that make for a good life, for people, and for community. Rector Jan Hutslar of the United Universalist read from Mary Oliver’s poem It Was Early with the poignant line: “Sometimes, I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.”

In offering her words of thanks for community and work, rector Jenny Anderson of St. Barnabas invoked the common prayer’s overarching theme of gratitude for “the splendor of the whole creation; for the beauty of this world, the wonder of life; and the mystery of life.” Rabbi Malamut, in turn, reflected on the value in diversity as he expressed his thanks for citizenship and freedom, imploring all to “learn to see God in all men and women, and accept humbly and gratefully the gift that each person, no matter what, brings to our American life.”

As contributions were gathered for the Haven and 19 Days of Norwich and Beyond, the choir sang Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Thanksgiving Song: “Father, mother, daughter, son, neighbor, friend and friendless; All together everyone in the gift of loving-kindness,” aptly (and probably not coincidentally) invoking a key concept of compassion and empathy found in both Judaism and Buddhism.

Peace in a Time of Discord

At an interfaith Thanksgiving service in Chicago, a Lutheran minister observed, “We live in a time where anger and contempt reign throughout our political stratosphere – a time when respect has taken a submissive role to vitriol.” Rabbi Malamut echoed this sentiment, sensing a need for antidotes to the collective trauma of division.

Agreeing, Pastor Brownlow said, “People need more peace and harmony in their life. With all the terrible divisions and rancor in the world, they might appreciate having just 45 minutes or so at a service like this where there’s nothing you can disagree with anyone over.”

In her bio, Reverend Hutslar’s notes that as a Unitarian Universalist she “counts on the restorative power of community.” And an interfaith service would seem to be one way for our community to come together around common themes of peace and harmony. To sing Over the River and Through the Woods together, be silent for a spell, and reflect on a shared experience. To notice and appreciate the little things, instead of the ones we can all be miserable about. And then commit to doing better. Or, as Hanover High student, Gunnar Langhus, read from Fra Giovanni in praise of words of thanks between people: “No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant. Take peace!”

The New York Times has been given credit for using the following motto: “All the news that’s fit to print.” That definitive statement served as a source of pride for that publication in its masthead since the 1800s.

Today, the quotation has come into question as mainstream media often appears to have changed its mission and now reports and emphasizes sensationalist or ‘bad’ news, both in print and over the airwaves. Just what is fit to print these days? A lot of heated rhetoric surrounds this question.

I know how to find the answer to this question. Take a few minutes out of your day and sit down with longtime publisher, Jen MacMillen, and have a chat. She may have to clear out a space for you to sit in her busy office, and you may have to wait for her to finish her daily multi-tasking duties, but you will come away convinced that there is good news out there. Trust me on this! If there is local news out there with a positive slant that emphasizes the good in people and communities, Jen will find it and bring it right to your doorstep – at no cost!

This talented and dedicated lady began her good-news-only publishing businesses when she started an employee newsletter for Gannett Outdoor billboard advertising company back in 1988. Today, the former Norwich resident publishes the Norwich Times, the Quechee Times, the Lebanon Times, and the ironically named Northeast Journal of St. Petersburg, Florida. The New England papers are published quarterly and are mailed directly to every resident in the communities they serve at no cost whatsoever to the readers. Local businesses, civic and non-profit organizations fund the publications through paid advertising space and content sponsorships.

As a longtime journalist/photographer, I was attracted to her work like a moth to a bright light. I quickly offered my editorial services, which she happily accepted. That was in 2013, right after the first issue of the Lebanon Times published. From then on, I have joined the crusade to emphasize the good-news-only concept. For me, being engaged with people in the community and reporting on the good things that happen here is the most rewarding contribution of my career.

Although it’s been an idea percolating for about 12 years, Jen is now ready to expand her mission and extend the concept to other communities across the country… to literally spread good news! As her dream comes true, everyone can share her passion and love of all things positive. Don’t take my word for it. Let me allow Jen to explain the details herself. (After all, she is the publisher!)

DN: What prompted the change of your business from Village Green Publishing to Greater Good Media? Have you revised your mission statement?

JM: I actually love the name Village Green Publishing. It evokes a wonderful image of a central community gathering place where citizens can engage in typical community building activities. New Englanders are familiar with this image and the positive feelings associated with it. However, I’m ready to expand and need a name and image that is more universal and captures what my true mission is.

Now that my daughters are essentially on their own (one in college and one recently graduated from college), I am ready to put into motion the idea I’ve had to help others spread good news in their own communities. One day while driving, the name Greater Good Media popped into my mind. That was it! I knew it was exactly the right fit for my bigger vision in that it perfectly describes what my mission is and is broad enough to include all forms of media. Don’t get me wrong, I love print and believe strongly that everyone still values a beautifully crafted, tangible piece. It’s like getting a present in the mail vs. an online gift card! As a business owner, I know I must keep pace with the times and see the tremendous value of other, more immediate, forms of media as an opportunity to spread farther and faster the good news themes that abound in my printed community journals.

DN: Going forward, what would be a ‘blue-sky scenario’ for your publications?

JM: I keep going back and forth between wanting to launch papers myself in communities I believe will receive them best, to serving as a consultant of sorts to others who want to ‘be the bearer of good news’ in their community. I love both ideas for different reasons. I like the idea of Greater Good Media acting as a central headquarters from which the model I’ve created can be used efficiently elsewhere. At the same time, I believe whole-heartedly that the way we will be able to make real, lasting, positive change around the world (that must happen in short order for a variety of obvious reasons), is to start at the community level. With that said, helping others establish their own good-news-only media, as they see fit, appeals to my core beliefs. Either way, I am excited to play a small role in creating a ripple effect of positive change farther afield.

DN: As you look back on the early days of getting these publications to become a reality, what kind of feedback have you received from the communities involved?

JM: The fact that my papers are still alive and kicking tells me that readers and businesses see the value in reading about the positive, everyday stuff that traditional ‘news’ outlets don’t always focus on. If all we read about is what’s bad in our community, it’s hard to shake that feeling. If, on the other hand, we get a shot of good news or receive public recognition for doing good deeds, we are more likely to take pride and ownership in our community and want to participate. New Englanders aren’t known for being effusive, but I’ve never received anything but positive feedback. My greatest reward happened when an elder woman from Lebanon called to thank me personally for publishing the Lebanon Times. She said she was mostly homebound and that this paper helped her feel connected to the community. My job is done! That one phone call made all of the incredibly hard work it takes to produce these papers absolutely worth it!

DN: As you face the future and look to expand your coverage areas, what do you anticipate will be your biggest challenge?

JM: Myself! As is the case with many small business owners, I get so caught up in the day-to-day details of producing the papers, while making sure the mission remains the guiding force, I don’t find the time to work on my dream. Because I am not trying to be a ‘newspaper,’ I can easily fit into any community without stepping on anyone’s toes. I’m all about collaboration and the principle that there is room for everyone. So, if I can get out of my own way, I’ll make it work and have a blast!

DN: Is there, indeed, ‘good’ news out there in these stressful times?

JM: Thankfully, yes! I have strong opinions about how humans are behaving in today’s world. However, if we really zoom in on our common denominator – that place that lives in all humans – we all want the same things: love, acceptance, and our basic survival needs met. When we operate with that as a guiding principle and incorporate an ‘abundance’ mentality into our everyday actions, then it’s easy to see the good in everything and everyone!

They call them “Kindness Rocks.” Small (usually), smooth (for ease of painting), brightly colored (mostly) painted rocks people make and leave for others to find. Painters create an image or upbeat message hoping to cheer the person who finds the rock. Locally, a big fan of the project is Christine Tullgren, the owner and operator of Little Feet Children’s Center in Thetford.

The project started with Megan Murphy, a Cape Cod resident who wanted to increase kindness and inspiration in the world by putting encouraging messages on beach stones. Now there are Facebook groups where people post messages or photos of placing rocks somewhere. Christine has been hiding rocks – “probably several hundred” she estimates – since July. She started a Rivendell Rocks FB page. “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the rocks,” she says. “It’s fun when someone finds one and takes the time to post.”

Christine’s daycare children painted rocks. One boy, Bryce, was somewhat reluctant to hide his rock – he really liked that rock! – but did leave it near a favorite tree in a Danville campground. Two little girls found it and sent a picture to the FB page; later one of them left the rock on a beach.

Some people feel that leaving more human traces in wild places is littering, even when the intent and the offered messages are kindly. “I realize that people who are participating in this have the best of intentions,” says Laura Friesen, writing on the Hike Like a Woman website. “They’re looking to form a community and brighten someone’s day. Which is great! But if you’re looking to make the world a more positive and kind place, there are many ways you can do this without infringing on [the principle of Leave No Trace]: Smile and hold the door for someone. Buy a coffee for the next person in line. Donate to your favorite charity. Help out with a trail cleanup project. Shop locally and get to know the business owners. Participate in a community garden project. Shovel your neighbor’s sidewalk. Volunteer. The possibilities are endless.”

“I’ve thought about this,” says Christine. “I haven’t had any negative feedback, but sometimes I wonder. I try to be mindful where I put them. I would not go to a mountain top and leave one.” She has seen a post of a message sprayed on top of a mountain, a nice word, she says, but an inappropriate place. National parks and even Disneyland have forbidden rock placements.

Still, Christine and others find it hard to abandon the pleasure of creating hopeful messages, thinking all the while of who might find them and how they might be cheered. And stories from rock-finders egg on the rock-hiders. Christine tells of a post that gave her goosebumps. A woman had lost a beloved nephew who would have been 13 years on a day she took an unusual zigzag route through the parking lot, and found a beautiful butterfly rock. Hmmm…

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ~Albert Einstein

There is no doubt whatsoever that spending time chatting with 84-year old Norwich residents, Dottie S. Dorion, and her 89-year old husband George, will give you an entire new perspective on aging.

Over those 84 years Dottie has gained international fame and worldwide acclaim as a Humanitarian, Athlete, Educator and most lately, renowned Artist. The key element in that last statement is that Dottie is a long way from resting on her laurels. Slowing down to enjoy conventional retirement is not even an option and it never was.

When pressed to choose of those categories to describe herself, Dottie only paused for a moment before answering with a warm smile.

“Humanitarian!” she exclaimed. “I have always wanted to take part in projects that make the world a better place. Always giving back because when you give, you receive in return.”

Running a close second as her choice was that of an amazing athlete that carried right into her 80s. She has traveled all over the world to compete in swimming and triathlon events representing USA Triathlon and the International Triathlon. Dottie also disclosed she was a fierce and talented competitor in tennis, as well. Bear in mind, after her recovery from recent knee replacement, she will continue with her athletic endeavors as soon as possible.

“I have always wanted to be a role model. I really love it when young people come up to me in the gymnasium and state that when they grow up they want to be just like me! I stay in shape and feel better at my age than I ever had. These days I worry a little bit about these new millennials. They have a whole different lifestyle. I feel that often they don’t have time to stay in shape. I believe in listening to your body. If you are having a bad day, simply go do something else!”

As a humanitarian, Dottie has excelled on par with her athletics and then some. Her career choice was nursing and she graduated from Columbia University School of Nursing and earned her Masters in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State with Certification in Teaching at the University of North Florida. It was in the Sunshine State that Dottie made a huge impact.

“Back in 1978 when they started developing the Hospice Program, I really became intrigued with the concept. It was just what I had been looking for – a program that could offer a better way to die. I dove into that concept and ended up helping with establishing the Hospice Program in the State of Florida.”

These days, Dottie is receiving rave reviews from the artistic world for her skill as a photographer and painter. She is a member of the National Museum of Women in The Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and the Museum of Contemporary Art – Jacksonville, FL. Her early works concentrated on still life, trees and landscapes painting with acrylic and oil. These days, the talented lady is enjoying an “Abstract Phase” and they have been displayed literally all over the entire world. She often sells her artwork to benefit charitable causes.

Dottie and George have lived in their Norwich home, with a scenic view that will take your breath away, for 30 years alternating with their home in Florida. Dottie has her roots in the Green Mountain State, however. Her parents were Vermonters and she indicated that she spent her summers at her Grandfather’s farm in Lyndonville, Vermont.

The future outlook for Dottie? Full speed ahead!

“I always keep a positive outlook, always! I constantly look for ways to improve the betterment of mankind. That will never change regardless of age.”

Thirteen years ago we adopted a puppy. ‘Baxter’ was a hypoallergenic dog that an acquaintance, who suffered from allergies, paid one thousand dollars for at a pet store. She quickly learned that hypoallergenic was more of a word than a guarantee, so Baxter became ‘Noodle’ and, sight unseen, became ours.

Noodle was an ugly puppy. Noodle, a Schnoodle, did not have much hair rather he had patches of gray fuzz covering small portions of his pink skin. The largest amount of his hair oddly dangled from his nether region, making urination akin to dragging around a wet mop. As far as we were concerned, Noodle’s penis string was just another peculiar physical characteristic that we grew to adore about this strange looking dog. At Noodle’s first grooming appointment, neither one of us had the courage to ask to leave it in tact, so snip snip it went.
We moved from the big city of Boston to Norwich and quickly realized our semi-hairless twelve pound dog did not fit in with the Labs, the Goldens, and the other big burly Vermont dogs. I sheepishly admit to feeling elf-conscious walking around town with my little guy, in a coat (him, not me), while the other dogs with two layers of fur would come bounding out at us, stopping short at the sight of strange little white flags. The Norwich dogs did not know what to make of Noodle and the neighbors were equally perplexed. We have been stopped many times with the question, “What is THAT?” with the question trying to address his species, not breed. The guesses have ranged from sheep to Wookie to porcupine. Porcupine has always been my favorite guess, and unbeknownst to the in-town guesser, he is like a celebrity in our house.

Noodle quickly adjusted to life in Norwich, as did we. Noodle found other small dog friends. We learned about long underwear and Yak Trax. Noodle became a big brother to a human girl. The human girl grew more hair than him and they became best pals. The girl eventually realized Noodle was not her brother when she noticed friends had pets, not brothers. We overestimated our toddler’s ability to see through our hipster irony.

Our canine-human family ebbed and flowed, as life does. When we split up, Noodle served in probably the most crucial role in that family transition. He stayed with our daughter, going from mom’s house and back to dad’s house. A custody dog! Having that consistent and familiar friend gave a little bit of ease and warmth to our daughter in a time of grief and reconfiguring. She liked knowing that where she went, he went.

In spite of the bumps in the road, we redefined our version of family, centering around the girl and Noodle. Noodle always provided a source of levity, silliness, and ball chasing – no matter the weather, the moods, the house. He reminded us all that throwing a slobbery tennis ball heals everything.

This past spring, Noodle, the girl, and the dad were at a public swimming hole enjoying a hot June afternoon. Noodle was on his leash scuttling around having a great time, but avoiding the water. Water is wet, a definite downside to water according to Noodle. A small, off-leash dog approached Noodle and barked at him. Noodle reciprocated the welcome and barked back. In a flash, a mastiff, one-hundred-thirty pounds, attacked Noodle locking his jaws into his torso. The dad tried unsuccessfully to pull the mastiff off of Noodle – the dog was powerful. But in a strange stroke of serendipity, he recalled having a conversation that very morning about what to do in a dog attack. He quickly pulled the mastiff’s hind legs off the ground, which startled the dog to disengage from Noodle.

The next thirty minutes were a blur. The dad and the girl scooped up a severely injured Noodle and rushed to the car. Noodle bit down hard on the dad’s finger, breaking the nail bed and skin. In his thirteen years, Noodle has never shown aggression, never mind biting someone. Our little dog was so scared and in so much pain, he was panicking, and his body was going into shock.

We all met at S.A.V.E.S. Animal Hospital in Lebanon and waited. We sat together holding hands, crying, and supporting each other. “Why did this have to happen?” asked the girl. We had the same question, reflecting on this little dog who brought so much joy into our lives and enhanced our family.

Noodle was in the hospital for four days at which point the good vets there suggested he go home, because, at that point they were only providing pain management. Noodle suffered a puncture wound on his back and had severe internal bruising. He also had fractured ribs, and worst of all, had a spinal injury that caused paralysis in his hind legs. We cycled through four different vets during Noodle’s stay and all but one suggested he would never walk again. So we latched on with desperation to the hope that one vet provided for us and we brought Noodle home. We hoped, in time, that the swelling on his spine would go down and he would walk again.

The first week at home was devastating. Noodle was in a lot of pain, albeit temporary because he was healing, but suffered nonetheless. We felt helpless watching our little dog just lie on his side, unable to move. We fed him by hand and brought him outside regularly for bathroom breaks. The vets taught us to squeeze his bladder to get him to urinate. We were peed on, pooped on, and sleepless. All for a dog? Yes, indeed.
Our hope waxed and waned. The dad crafted a harness which lifted Noodle’s lifeless legs allowing him to walk around the yard, kind of like a marionette. We discussed euthanasia daily. It was becoming clearer with each day that Noodle was not showing any sign of recovering. With full-time jobs, we were unable to keep up with the 24-hour care. Our hearts were broken and we were spent.

While at S.A.V.E.S., one of the vets suggested physical therapy for Noodle. He was not sure if it would work with Noodle’s injuries, but “stranger things have happened.” That unpromising-but-hopeful statement was our last-ditch effort. We were close to empty in our tank of hope.

Judy, a canine physical therapist, came to the house to suss out what we affectionately called our pet pillow – a weak attempt at humor by a very sad sack of people. Lying on his side, not able to get up, Judy squeezed and bent and stretched Noodle’s skinny legs. With a warm smile, she proclaimed he could be walking in four weeks. Huh?! As emotionally exhausted that we were, we were back in the game and committed.
The next week had all of us providing physical therapy on Noodle’s legs, consisting of tapping and massaging and poking, trying to stimulate his nerves. It felt unlikely that these strange exercises would do anything, but we were willing to try. Noodle lay on his side and endured it. Along the way, we had tiny successes. He could sit up without immediately flopping down! He could control his bladder and bowels! He barked at a squirrel! (And then would wince in pain because of his rib injury. And then bark again.) As more days passed, more success. Noodle could stand up on his own! He hustled around the yard when attached to the marionette harness!

Exactly three weeks after returning home, the “stranger things have happened” happened. Noodle was lying on his side in the living room, as he always had been while dinner was being prepared in the kitchen. Noodle pushed himself up into a seated position and just walked over to the kitchen.

The dawg walked!

The girl came home from camp and Noodle ran to her, very clumsily, but ran with all four of his legs. She sobbed. We all sobbed. All this for a dog? Yes, indeed.

Noodle continues his physical therapy and Judy still marvels and praises his progress. We are deeply grateful that we get this bonus time with this strange-looking dog who fills our hearts. We are also deeply grateful that this dog continues to deepen our bonds with each other as we experience changes as a family.

Dog ownership has been an education of life lessons. We have learned how to trust, when to be cautious, how to be hopeful when odds are stacked against us and – most importantly – to laugh with each other. And Noodle, resilient as ever, wags his little nub of a tail every time he sees his best dog pals, not harboring resentments from one bad experience.

Hartford-Norwich Holiday Basket Helpers

Making a difference in the local area is very important to me and when I was asked to help deliver Senior Fruit Baskets, I jumped at the chance to help and brought my two young children. I think my kids were 8 and 6 at the time and they still remember the faces of some of the seniors when they opened the door. I do! Pure joy and gratitude. The next year, I was asked to organize the Senior fruit baskets and the rest is history! I love helping our Seniors and organizing people who want to help our Seniors, too! Many Norwich families have contributed Raisins through MCS, sorted the cans, filled the bags and helped deliver the bags. The combined community efforts make the whole program successful year after year. Thank you, everyone, who has ever volunteered, sponsored or contributed to the success of HNHBH.

~ Megan Brendel, Norwich

As long as anyone in the organization or those who came before them can remember, Hartford Norwich Holiday Basket Helpers has been helping to bring joy to the children and seniors in these communities. HNHBH works to provide support for families, seniors, and individuals in need during the holiday season by seeking donations and sponsors to buy presents for children whose families may have trouble purchasing gifts, and donations to create ‘baskets’ for seniors and individuals who may otherwise be forgotten at this emotional time of year.

Every Fall, HNHBH receives referrals of children from schools, religious and other community groups from Norwich and Hartford. Their parents are asked to list three clothing items and two toys that their children would enjoy. A volunteer sponsor then makes the tax-deductible purchases, which HNHBH organizes and gets to the family, ensuring that the youngsters have presents for the holiday.

“It really is rewarding to know that you’re helping a child in your own community,” Clare Forseth, one of the HNHBH volunteers, said in a telephone interview. “Because you are helping Norwich and Hartford families, you know this is someone right in your neighborhood going through a very difficult time financially,” Forseth said. “It is a way for volunteers to help and for parents to ensure children will have gifts for the holidays.”

Last year, 108 kind sponsors, together with the many enthusiastic members of the Quechee Elves and the Riverbank Church, provided gifts for 427 children in 184 families during the holiday season. Thanks to our generous 88 donors, HNHBH was able to provide a food card to each family. Our organization also provided ‘baskets’ to 158 Hartford and Norwich Seniors: each “basket” filled with non-perishable canned fruit, collected by the local elementary schools each November. Fresh fruit that is purchased using donated funds is added, as is a handmade card, ornament (often made by local girl scouts and church groups) and a generous grocery food card so they can enjoy a holiday meal.

Ensuring that our neighbors are helped and not forgotten requires months of preparation and effort by a small group of only 8 full-time volunteers. The volunteer numbers grow exponentially each year during drop off week, with dedicated people who return year after year to help organize the countless gifts and donations. Each year there are more and more families who seek help, finding enough sponsors for all the children is the most difficult piece to accomplish. For the past three years, the Basket Helpers have been overwhelmingly grateful by the outpouring of support from the Norwich and Hartford communities. For the first time in its history, ALL the children on the list were sponsored. HNHBH dearly hopes this trend will continue, but needs ongoing support. According to the volunteers, knowing that the efforts they put forth in order to provide the joy a local child or senior receives during the holidays, who would otherwise go without, is the greatest gift of all. It is the true spirit of the season.

To sign up to be a family sponsor, make a financial donation, to help us this Fall, or to learn more about the organization please visit www.holidaybasketsvt.org.

In 1824, Edwin Ferry Johnson, a young cadet at Alden Partridge’s military school, hiked up Norwich’s Prospect Hill, plunked himself down and drew a detailed pen and ink sketch of Norwich with Hanover in the distance. The drawing includes the South Meeting House, which later became the Congregational Church, and Alden Partridge’s American, Literary, Scientific & Military Academy, which became Norwich University in 1834. Johnson’s sketch shows a prosperous village that had seen its population grow from 1,158 in 1790 to 2,316 in 1830. Wool production, apple growing and farming were fueling the growth. A toll bridge to Hanover was built in 1796. A year later, Jasper Murdock built his elegant home that was both a stagecoach stop and tavern near the corner of what is now Beaver Meadow Road and Main Street. A post office opened in 1805.  The village was thriving; into this development stepped the Emerson family from Westfield, Massachusetts.

From the day they first arrived, Elihu, Joseph and Thomas Emerson and their cousin, John, worked in the community as merchants, speculators, smithies, farmers, builders and town officials. Acting singly or together, the Emersons invested in many properties, including a 100-acre lot of two thousand apple trees.

Elihu Emerson, the oldest of the Emerson men, headed from his family home in Westfield, Massachusetts to seek his fortune in Norwich in 1792, soon after he turned 21. Westfield is not far from the Connecticut River, so it’s possible Elihu paddled upstream to Norwich. But, alas there is no record of how he first journeyed to his new home. Shortly after he arrived, Elihu, who was a blacksmith by trade, set up a shop. In 1794, he built just south of his blacksmith shop what many believe was the earliest brick house in Norwich. The house at 332 Main Street still stands today, opposite Beaver Meadow Road. In 1798, Elihu and Thankful Grant were married and raised six children together. The large family may have prompted him to build a larger home next to his first home which is known today as the “The 1820 House.” The exterior of the house looks much as it did when it was first constructed, only a projecting porch now covers the front door.  “The interior is noteworthy,” explained The Early Houses of Norwich, Vermont  “for the beautiful treatment of one of the main rooms on the second floor… there is a paneled fireplace and on either side of it recessed alcoves with seats, the alcoves being spanned by graceful arches.”

Mr. Emerson was a sturdy New Englander.  He outlived his first wife and then also his second wife who died when she was eighty.  According to one story, Elihu, who was considered quite agile his whole life, placed his hands on his horse’s back and mounted “thereon from the ground on his seventy-first anniversary of his birth.”  Elihu died at his daughter’s home in Leicester, Mass in 1873 at the “advanced age of over one hundred and two.”  His remains were returned to Norwich and placed in the Fairview cemetery near his brother Joseph’s grave.

Joseph Emerson followed Elihu to Norwich and, in 1796, purchased land on “the highway leading from Dr. Joseph Lewis’s house to the Meeting House.”  Around 1815, Joseph built a house on his land “at a time when he was in his middle forties and just beginning his active career as a builder in Norwich.”  The “1815 Emerson House” still stands on the east side of Main Street. The building to the north, which now houses the Ledyard Bank, was once his workshop where he made a living as a builder and a hat maker.  According to The Early Houses of Norwich, Vermont the house was “almost a twin to Elihu’s house…and the decorative treatment is unusually rich, and would lead us to suppose that Joseph was fond of all kinds of carved detail, panelling, etc.”

Joseph was “engaged considerably as a builder”—and considerably is the word.  Following the construction of his own home he built “The Partridge House” on Main Street. Now a B&B, the house is an impressive brick structure. Next time you walk by, take a look at the doorway and the triple window above the door which is “…itself treated like a doorway with sidelights and elliptical fanlight.” Joseph also built the third brick house on the left as you enter Norwich and probably had a hand in the building of his brothers’ homes.

One of the striking features about the brick houses built in Norwich between 1810 and 1830 was the beautiful color of the brick described as “a warm soft red, almost a salmon-pink.” These bricks were made in a brickyard located on Blood Brook near the intersection of Main Street and Route 5. In all probability, the Norwich brickyard was the earliest brickyard in this region.

Thomas, the last Emerson brother, arrived in Norwich in the early 1800s. Thomas “was bred a merchant” and “parlayed an inheritance from his great-grandfather Pratt, a Boston banker, into a fortune.” In 1807, Thomas moved to Detroit, Michigan where he formed a partnership with Stephen Mack. The firm Emerson, Mack & Conant, “kept a general assortment of dry goods, groceries and hardware.” They traded with Native Americans and the American military and had a very lucrative business until Detroit was surrendered to the British in 1812. With this “interruption of business, Mr. Emerson withdrew from the firm and retired to Vermont where, with ample means, he entered upon a more public and notable career.”

When Thomas returned to Norwich to join his brothers, the Emerson community spirit kicked into high gear. In 1817, Thomas and his brothers pledged almost 50% of the funds needed to erect the South Meeting House which later became the Congregational Church. Joseph became the builder of the Meeting House. Half of Thomas’s $600 pledge paid for a Revere Bell that he had carted to Norwich by oxen from Massachusetts. Although it is not mentioned in any history, a simple yet elegant weather vane atop the South Meeting House was almost certainly crafted by Elihu Emerson, the first known blacksmith in town. That same year, the Emersons backed Alden Partridge’s desire to build a military academy on the Plain. Today this is the village green. In 1819, Joseph Emerson was awarded the contract to build the Academy. He finished the South Barracks in 1820 and completed the North Barracks in 1832. In 1820 Thomas became involved in politics and represented the town between 1824-1829 as a Jackson Democrat. “Mr. Emerson was a good representative, in his day and on a small scale… was a good example of a political ‘boss.’”

In 1820, Thomas Emerson bought a lot from Cyrus Partridge and built his own house diagonally across from “his” meetinghouse in 1822. Today, the house holds the post office and is known as the Emerson House. Not to be outdone in the 1820s, John Emerson, Thomas’ cousin, built a large house on Main Street, just beyond the Main Street-Beaver Meadow intersection and opposite the Grange Hall. “Originally this house was entirely heated, of course, by fireplaces, but in 1889 or 1890 the first furnace and the first bathroom in Norwich were installed.”

The Emersons left their mark on Norwich in more ways than one.

Today, if you have the time to stroll down Main Street you can still see many of the structures that Edwin Johnson sketched in 1824. If you look closely at the drawing, you can pick out Elihu Emerson’s blacksmith shop and the home he built in 1820. And, further still, you can spot Joseph’s home on Main Street and Thomas’s home which is on a diagonal from the South Meeting House. With a savvy eye for style and sturdy building, the Emersons set the standard in Norwich for home construction. Their legacies are with us today, two centuries after they were constructed.

The image of a livestock guard dog that comes to mind for most people is that of the Great Pyrenees, and it isn’t wrong, but there are more of those fluffy white breeds than you might have known. The Kuvasz, Komondor, and Maremma all have similar looks but slightly different personalities.

Maremmas are becoming increasingly common as farmers re-discover their wonderful traits and smaller size. Maremmas get along with a wide variety of animals, large and small, including cats and other domestic pets, and they are known to be very affectionate with their families and children.

Eva Smith* of Norwich, VT researched the breed heavily before investing in her first puppy when she was still living out west. In her research, some of the most critical things Eva found were that they bark less, roam less, and are more accepting of visitors. They may remain aloof but not aggressive. Sentinel “Senti” came to her from Texas in the spring of 2016 and went straight to work.

One of the ways to raise livestock guard dogs is to put a separate pen inside the sheep pen so that the puppy and the sheep get to know each other first. Senti ended up at the mercy of two sheep who coveted his food and broke down his fence many times. However, it sent him patrolling early.

“I was losing sheep like crazy to coyotes out west. He was the best investment I ever made,” Eva noted.

Eva described the Maremmas’ personality as having wolf-like independence and ability to make decisions. They aren’t dogs for the obedience ring! While they will follow the commands of their leader, these dogs aren’t likely to listen to anybody else.

That’s an instinctual trait bred into these dogs over centuries. A shepherd would need to be able to trust that his dog would only listen to him and not a potential thief, the dog needs to trust its instincts and make decisions at the moment, and the human needs to make sure that the dog is always set up to have positive experiences from the beginning.

Eva decided to move back to Norwich, VT in late summer 2016 and brought – along with her children, house pets, home furnishings, and the rest of accumulated stuff from 12 years of life out there – 16 sheep and Senti in a trailer.

Sheep aren’t the only animals Eva and her family have, of course. She also has two alpacas, a mini horse, goats, and chickens. Last winter, she acquired a second Maremma, Ginger, who is driven to be with the lambs. Eva now summers her sheep at Sweetland Farm in Norwich, VT.

Right now, while the lambs are being born, Ginger is in with the alpacas and the mini horse as she is just about to turn one and still in training. Ginger does make daily visits to see “her” lambs and sheep, though.

Senti, on the other hand, still hates being inside, but seems to enjoy being a family farm dog. He loves his family and protects the area around the house, the sheep in the winter, and the other animals in the summer. Unlike their neighbors, Eva and her family haven’t had a single bear problem at their house, though Senti will bark for much of the night if a bear is around.

Later this summer, Ginger will get her chance to actively guard her flock, when Eva’s lambs are old enough for the sheep to move to a different pasture at Sweetland Farm. It will be a good move for all involved. Sweetland Farm will get a new pasture grazed, allowing the older one to come back, the sheep will have fresh grass, and Ginger will be out and able to do her job. When small agriculture works cyclically like this, even if it means involving a few farmers, we get back to a more environmentally friendly agricultural system, one that has been practiced for centuries.

*Name has been changed by request