Norwich’s Treasured Holiday Tradition and Its History

The winter of 1961 marks an important time in Norwich holiday history as the first year of a beloved community tradition – the Norwich Christmas Pageant. Before the pageant, Norwich children would often gather at the Grange to visit Santa and sit around a Christmas tree while enjoying some hot chocolate and candy. Betty Booth and several Norwich organizations and churches came up with a new idea to help celebrate such a significant holiday, and thus the Norwich Christmas Pageant was born. Now, the pageant has channeled the holiday spirit into something truly special – both a celebration of Christmas and a testament to community.

Over the years, the pageant has thrived thanks to the generous Norwich residents who give their time and skill to keep the tradition alive. As the founder of the pageant, Booth’s dedication to pulling the event off each year was vital to its success today.

One of Booth’s tasks was finding the perfect donkey to carry Mary to the stable in the story, which ended up being a white Sicilian donkey from Bethel, Vermont, whom she named Smokey. Smokey resided with Booth in her house on Elm Street which she’d lived in since 1950, where all the preparation for the pageant took place. Smokey’s ebullient personality made him the perfect fit for the important role right away, and he would often be rewarded for his good behavior during the performance with an Oreo cookie that Joseph would keep in his pocket.

While Booth was the main coordinator of the pageant for many years, she eventually passed the task on to her daughter, Laura Day Guest. Before she started managing the pageant, Guest was involved in the tradition from a young age. Along with her older sister, she had played the role of Mary, and her brothers had played Joseph. Though Guest passed away in March, the legacy she’s left on the community of Norwich and the Norwich Christmas Pageant is admired and felt by all.

Along with other volunteers who have helped keep the tradition of the pageant alive over the years, Norwich resident Ann Marie Smith has helped organize the pageant for 20 years and this year, she’s taken on Day’s role and helps oversee the whole production.

Guest was known by many as “Day,” and her friends described her as soft-spoken, calm, and humble. “Day was both shy and not religious, but she overcame her shyness and lack of religion to embrace the Christmas Pageant after her mother had died,” Day’s husband, John Guest, said. “Her heart and soul were always into it.”

Day wanted to honor her mother’s vision for the pageant and in doing so, she didn’t make any changes to how it was organized. “Day was a stalwart and protective steward of the pageant,” Smith said. “She had so many roles, but specifically always dressed Mary and Joseph, which might sound easy, but is not; she knew every fold of Mary’s blue robes and exactly how it all should be pinned together for that locally famous side saddle ride through town on what was sometimes a bucking donkey…”

Day brought the community of Norwich together in more ways than one through her work as a volunteer. Despite not being a particularly religious woman, she made everyone with different backgrounds feel included during the pageant season. “She had so many wonderful tales of the trials and tribulations of the pageant through the years,” Smith said. Day took on many responsibilities to keep the tradition going, which she kept as true to her mother’s original vision as possible. “We’d always be so glad [the pageant] came out so well and it always did,” John Guest said, who was also an involved member of the group that pulled the event together each year.

The energy in anticipation of the pageant each year was as exciting as it was stressful, but Day always made sure things ran smoothly and kept a calm composure throughout all of the planning. Her fun attitude and positive energy, and her dedication to including everyone in such a special tradition, created a cherished memory for those involved. “To me, she had a very wonderful ‘Yankee’ personality,” Smith said. “She always showed up and made sure the work was done; she was quiet but spoke up when things needed to be said or corrected; she stayed in the background and took care of the details not wanting any credit or glory, and at the end of the night, her big smile showed how thrilled and happy she was to see it come to fruition every year; she was grateful and appreciative of all who helped, and then off she went till the next year when the time to plan came around again.”

What makes Norwich’s pageant so unique is its presentation of a traditional story in a slightly less traditional way. As many witness each December, Norwich’s version of the pageant involves a live nativity “parade” – made up of pageant characters and audience members – that travels from scene to scene at several locations throughout Town. From the opening act in Tracy Hall to the Norwich Inn, and finally the Grange, the pageant is a magical spectacle.

High school seniors play the roles of Joseph and Mary in the story, while others from a range of age groups play the part of angels, shepherds, wise men, a narrator, a Roman citizen, and the innkeeper. Local livestock fill in to play the nativity animals, including sheep, oxen, and donkeys. The script for the pageant was written by Nick Jacobson, a playwright who lived in Norwich and also assisted Booth with directing the production.

In the early years of the pageant, baby Jesus was played by a doll, but later a real baby was used – either a boy or girl – to make the production even more authentic. The storyline is just one aspect of the pageant’s production. Audio equipment, costumes, and willing volunteers within the community all help to make it a reality. Microphones are provided by a Norwich resident, and robes for costumes are sourced from old graduation gowns or fabrics from the Middle East.

Not only does the Christmas pageant celebrate the holiday – it also celebrates the community of Norwich and brings everyone together to pause and feel the warmth of the season. It’s also a special opportunity for school-age children living in Norwich to reconnect with their elementary school classmates and relive childhood nostalgia.

Smith, who is currently working on organizing this year’s pageant, describes the annual event as a “beautiful, long-standing tradition that has been kept in place with the hard work of a lot of the original stewards of the pageant for many, many years,” she said. “When you grow up in Norwich as a child you watch it and get to come back as a senior and participate in it, and then you come back years later with your family. [It’s] a lovely community tradition.”

In 1770, only eight years after Norwich was founded, the infant twin Slafter boys, Asahel and Asaph, died and were buried in the Waterman Hill Cemetery. These were the first documented burials in Norwich, and this is the oldest cemetery in town. Lying north of the village just before the Pompanoosuc River and west up on Hemlock Road, the Waterman Hill Cemetery was a final resting place for many of Norwich’s early settlers, and a stroll over the grounds and an examination of the gravestones offer historical sketches into the challenges faced by the first residents. Diseases that are rarely mentioned today were fatal, infant deaths were common, and few lived to a golden age.

Along with Waterman Hill Cemetery, which closed in 1895, there are ten other known cemeteries in Norwich. They range in size from four graves to over 2,000. Some can be reached by foot from the Norwich Inn, others require a short drive, and for a few, you should prepare for a hike with a good map.

On the northern outskirts of Norwich at the intersection of New Boston Road and Norford Lake Road is the New Boston Cemetery. This cemetery was first used in 1790 for the burial of the infants of Elija and Lydia Baldwin. “The largest of the families buried here was the Sargents, who were known for being sawyers and owning large parcels of land.” It’s medium in size with 120 graves and is built on a hill like the majority of the town’s cemeteries. Its last burial took place in 1977.

The Union Village Cemetery, located adjacent to the United Methodist Church, opened in 1823. This is one of the larger cemeteries and it sits on land owned jointly by Norwich and Thetford. “This cemetery seems to attract large families of ‘C’s: Cambridge, Clark, Clogston, Cloud, Clough, Colburn, and Cook… but the Watermans are the largest group.” The cemetery has more than 500 graves and remains open today.

Located near the Waterman Hill Cemetery in the Campbell Flats area is Hogback Cemetery. One of the smallest in town, with only six known graves, it was opened in 1826 with the burial of four-year-old Hamlin Hubbard Jr. “Long after its closing in 1870, a new Sargent Cemetery was erected in 2000, and is attached to the Hogback lot. It is being used by the Sargent families today.”

To the northwest of Norwich village, two miles out on Turnpike Road, lies the Rogers and Hartshorn Cemetery, the second-smallest of all cemeteries in Norwich, with only five burials. It opened in 1844 and no known burials occurred after 1850.

A short drive west of the village lies the small community of Beaver Meadow. Paul Sample, one of Norwich’s most famous artists, created a painting of Beaver Meadow that included the hamlet’s chapel and to its left, the Beaver Meadow Cemetery. It closed in 1966 and holds 250 gravestones. The burial grounds were first used in 1795, to inter 41-year-old Roxalana Sawyer. “Luck was not on her side, as she was one of the two wives of Conant Sawyer and together they lost five infants.”

If you are looking for a challenge, the next two cemeteries might be worth the effort. But first, lace up your hiking boots. Located a 30-minute walk off Cossingham Road, not far from the Appalachian Trail in an area called Podunk, lies Parkhurst Cemetery. Again, the first burials in 1826 were for children, one only a month old and the other three years old. Tragedy seems to have plagued this area, for “among the eight different families buried here, 12 out of the 21 deaths were people younger than 25.” The now abandoned cemetery had its last burial in 1873. Nearby the Parkhurst cemetery is the Newton Cemetery, Norwich’s smallest burial ground. This one is named for the four members of the Newton family who were buried here between 1849 and 1885.

The third-oldest burial ground in town, Meeting House Hill Cemetery, lies off Union Village Road about a mile north of Norwich village. The old meeting house, where town business and the first church services were held, stood southwest of the cemetery. “In 1773, some tragic deaths led to the earliest burials: Peter Olcott Jr., age eight, and six days later a sibling, Pell Mills Olcott Jr., 10 years old.”

Fairview Cemetery, located a short distance from Main Street on Beaver Meadow Road, is the second-oldest cemetery in Norwich. It opened in 1772 and was once known as “The Norwich Plain Cemetery.” Remarkably, more than a thousand burials took place on this small plot of land. Many of the first resident families – the Burtons, Hatchs, Hopsons, and Wrights – are buried here. A large obelisk in the center of the cemetery is the resting place of Alden Partridge, founder of Norwich University. A garage at the west end of the cemetery once housed the town’s circa 1910 horse-drawn hearse. The hearse was restored in 1995 and now resides in the Norwich Historical Society’s barn.

The Hillside-Loveland Cemetery, also known as the Cemetery on the Hill, is the largest and newest cemetery in town, with more than 2,000 sites. Located off Hopson Road and up Hillside Road, the left-side cemetery is located on land that once held the Altow ski area, which operated in the 1940s and ’50s. The land was once owned by the Snite family, whose daughter, Betsy, participated in the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics. Paul Sample’s grave site in the northeast section overlooks the entire cemetery, with a wonderful view of the Congregational church and Baker Library at Dartmouth.

Along with the history that can be gleaned from a stroll around a town cemetery, the gravestones can also provide a glimpse into the art of the time they were created. In the four oldest cemeteries many of the headstones were created by Gershom Bartlett, one of the earliest gravestone carvers in the region. Bartlett moved from Bolton, Connecticut, to Norwich in 1773 after he purchased 400 acres of land in the Pompanoosuc area. He worked for the town as a highway surveyor, fence viewer, and lister. But Bartlett is best known for the nearly 350 stones he carved between 1773 and 1797 that can be found in cemeteries from Windsor, Vermont, to Orford, New Hampshire.

Bartlett used a chisel, a few mallets, and perhaps a compass to create his gravestone art. His carvings are original and in some cases bizarre to the modern eye. But his work is easy to identify, with their distinctive design of faces that look like clothing hooks. “The simple curved lines with which he rendered facial features on headstones earned him the moniker, ‘the hook-and-eye-man.’” Often the faces had turned-down mouths and bulbous noses. Pinwheels and four-leaf clovers were etched along the sides. The top of the stones came in a variety of patterns, some with a skull, some with a cherub ascending to heaven, and some with a willow tree and urn.

It generally took ten days for a carver such as Bartlett to create a stone, deliver it, and set it up. For his efforts, Bartlett received $8. But his work did not make him a wealthy man. When he died his “real and personal estate” was valued at only $481.62.

Gershom’s wife Margret died in 1778, leaving behind eight children. But even with a large family to tend to on his own, Bartlett continued to create gravestones until he died at the age of 75 in 1798. He is buried next to his wife in the Waterman Hill Cemetery.

Thanks to Lauren Pidgeon for her work creating a walking tour of Hillside Cemetery this summer: www.norwichhistory.org/hillside-cemetery. All quoted material comes from Norwich, Vermont: A History and was written by Bill Aldrich. The Cemetery Commission, Norwich Public Library, and Norwich Historical Society have access to most of the cemetery maps. The Norwich Historical Society has an updated record of most occupants of the cemeteries.

The Norwich Times covers for the partial years of 1997 and 2022 can be found on the cover of this current issue, and the 96 issues in between are highlighted here.

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You didn’t ask for it, but you’re getting it anyway: a resident’s top 25 reasons Norwich is a good spot to be in 2022.

1. Quick: when’s the last time you locked your house?

2. Fifty-degree temperature swings in 24 hours. Better to love it than hate it!

3. The publicly funded portion of the library’s budget passed with more than 90% of the vote last March. What a nice way to answer the question, “Are we for or against reading?” 

4. Admit it: during the Norwich Fair, you kind of feel like you, personally, are part of hosting a party in your town.

5. Both Hazen and Huntley Streets are horseshoes. Giddyup.

6. King Arthur Baking Company has got your last-minute gift, cup of coffee, and artisanal bread all in one spot.

7. When you live here, you learn to navigate the Farmer’s Market with a local’s skill: secret parking spots, free samples from your favorite vendors, knowledge of where your food comes from and what to do with it.

8. The bird’s eye view of the autumn foliage from Gile Mountain fire tower is tough to beat.

9. When you walk the block, you are guaranteed to wave to people you know. Every time.

10. A pizza pulled fresh and hot from the community oven bursts with cooking’s two most important ingredients: patience and love.

11. Sample’s Jump: You either know what that is, or you don’t, but regardless, it’s cool to have in your town.

12. Ever heard someone say, “I hate having a locally owned bookstore in my town.”? Didn’t think so.

13. Main Street festooned with flags on a holiday.

14. Nearly New Sale, 19 Days of Norwich, concerts on the Green, pancake breakfasts, ice skating parties, Bike to School Day, the Pageant, Lego Tuesdays, Town Meeting, Citizen of the Year galas, the Turkey Trot…a scratch for every itch.

15. Carpenter Street on Halloween will deliver your annual fix for ghosts, goblins, and ghouls.

16. Seeing people in black tie on a Saturday afternoon in September, gathered in the center of 05055, nerves and passions aflame, and having the wherewithal to realize that those people had chosen to come HERE to the place where you LIVE to celebrate LOVE. Cue the tissues.

17. We name our important spaces after the people who educate our children: Milton Frye Natural Area, Girard Field, Partridge Hill, Bill Ballard Trail.

18. No matter if you are on the busiest road or on 100 acres, respect of and for privacy are the norm, not the exception.

19. The real fountain of youth is right over there, at the Montshire.

20. Honestly, is it normal to know the names of the people who work at the Transfer Station? Well, when you do, a chore becomes an opportunity to make a human connection. One of them even speaks French! Seems like a good trade.

21. There is an excellent chance we will count a United States Senator in our midst next year.

22. Have you ever noticed how you are friendly with both life-long locals and new arrivals to town? Something ain’t broke.

23. Mother Nature and an army of volunteers have blessed us with stress-relief all over town: Cossingham, Parcel 5, Brookmead, Heyl, Converse Loop… a trail to improve every mood!

24. Apparently, there’s a halfway-decent general store in the village.

25. You. Yes, you. You live here and make this place vibrate with life, optimism, and beauty. Thanks for reading and making so much of the above possible. Here’s to another 25 years of the Norwich Times!

I’m not going to say it because it’s just too cliché. However, it does feel like yesterday when Wendy McMillan Kenyon and I were working on the Quechee Times together – she was my graphic designer at the time – and we began toying with the idea of starting a Norwich publication modeled after the Quechee Times. Her daughter, Maddy, was just three years old and my older daughter, Dewey, was just 18 months and we both worked with and around our daughters by our sides many a day or night!

I had only been publishing the Quechee Times for about a year and thus harbored a helping of self-doubt and fear highlighted by my inexperience. So, I asked my cousin who was an extremely well-loved and respected community member and local attorney, Garfield (“Field”) Miller of Miller and Candon, what he thought of the idea. He, of course, in his reserved way (with a slightly noticeable twinkle in his eye) said “Yeah, sure. Go for it!” He even agreed to write one of the first articles!

So, before I continue to ramble on about how awesome Norwich is and about what a privilege it has been to share its good news stories with everyone in the community, I’d like to dedicate this 25th anniversary issue to my late and beloved cousin, advisor and under-the-radar supporter, Field Miller. All who knew him loved him dearly and anyone who enjoys the Norwich Times can thank him in memoriam.

Why Just Norwich?

One of the age-old questions I get asked about the Norwich Times is why I didn’t start a Hanover/Norwich paper. From a business perspective, it would have made all the sense in the world. At the time, Here In Hanover didn’t exist and there really were no other publications that served these two communities except Upper Valley Life and the Valley News. The Norwich Happenings newsletter was a wonderful mainstay for town and civic organization news. But, the Norwich Times, I believed, would serve to complement it by presenting more longform, human-interest profile pieces.

Sometimes I kick myself because it would have been much easier to get advertisers and therefore more revenue had I been able to offer to reach both communities. However, I knew in my gut that Norwich needed its own publication that focused solely on Norwich people, places and events that made Norwich such a deeply special place. Somehow, it just felt like the right thing to do and, to this day, I still feel strongly about how wonderfully intimate we can keep the content without having to serve multiple audiences. I hope you all agree. Please feel free to share your thoughts!

Recurring Themes That Just Fit

While Norwich is home to so many interesting people and goings on, it’s not always easy to come up with new story ideas. Unless you hear people talking on the playground or at Dan and Whit’s or at a soccer game, you don’t necessarily know what cool and unique tidbits are just waiting to be told. So, sometimes certain themes would repeat themselves over the years as tried-and-true fan faves!

Clearly, we love our local farms and farmers. We live here because we are privileged to have such incredibly high-quality food grown or raised in our backyards. As such, you might have read many articles about farms, farming, farmers and the landowners who donated their land to keep local farming viable. In my opinion, the topic never gets old!

Another theme that I selfishly created was the Gap Year Kids series. When my daughters were in middle and high school, I was intrigued by the many adventures Norwich young people embarked on between high school and college. I personally believed in the benefits of trying out a new culture or volunteer stint or perhaps an apprenticeship before just automatically going straight to college. In order to give a voice to these young people, I encouraged many to tell their tales. This served a variety of obvious purposes. I also hoped that other young people would be inspired to investigate their own options and possibilities. If you were inspired by reading about your contemporaries, please share which stories were particularly compelling and what you ended up doing as a result!

Education is another community priority that Norwich residents value a great deal. Since the longtime MCS principal, Milt Frye, retired just as the Norwich Times launched, we featured the many principals that followed his tenure. Mrs. T, Tracy Smith, Mr. G and other longtime and beloved teachers often appeared in our pages, as well. The May Day celebration was always a welcomed photo opp as it captured so well the spirit and values Norwich holds dear when it comes to educating its children.

I also particularly enjoyed our Elder Profiles. Norwich has an amazing mix of those whose families have been here for generations and the newly retired transplants who come back after their long-ago exposure to our special place during their Dartmouth years. Not only were their life stories fascinating, and their words of wisdom worth their weight in gold, the fierce commitment these elders made to aging in place was a testament to Norwich and to the community support. It was an honor to capture their spirits in our pages.  

Thank you, Norwich

When we think about the saying, It takes a village to raise a child. I can’t think of a better village to raise this “child,” the Norwich Times, from birth to now, as it turns 25. I am deeply grateful to have been able to share your personal heart and soul stories and to provide a vehicle through which neighbors can connect and even meet each other. To overhear someone in Dan and Whit’s say, “Oh, I recognize you from reading about you in the Norwich Times…” is my greatest reward. To know that people connect, inspire, teach, share, open up, invite and just plain give of themselves to each other through our pages, and have for the past 25 years, is what gives me the hope that we can uplift humanity through the power of positive press. Thank you, Norwich, for making it so easy.

And, last but not least – as these pages would not exist without our co-collaborators – our advertisers, sponsors and contributors. We truly could not exist without local businesses that believe in the power of good news and in supporting their community nor could we feel Norwich’s heart and soul if we didn’t have such tremendous writers who capture the essence of what makes Norwich so special. Thank you all for your ongoing loyalty, support and for translating our subjects’ values into messages of hope and inspiration.

We thank you all!

Upper Valley residents in search of a physical challenge paired with a meaningful cause have, for years, relied on The Prouty to fulfill both. As we approach another Prouty event, the 41st annual, area roads are busy hosting cyclists training for Prouty weekend. Norwich is always well represented with Prouty participants cycling, walking, golfing, rowing to raise money for cancer research.

Norwich resident Stuart Richards is one example of a longtime Prouty veteran who has logged many tough miles on his bike raising money for the annual event.

“My participation goes back to 1986 when I rode my first Prouty Century Ride (the 100-mile course).  The weather was difficult that day with temps and humidity in the mid to high nineties.  This was a tough initiation to a wonderful event. It was a wonderful experience riding with so many like-minded people. Since then, I’ve ridden a number of centuries as well as quite a number of 50-mile and 25-mile events.”

 Much has changed since that first Prouty experience, says Richards. “If I remember correctly, there were a few hundred riders, not the thousands of participants we see today, and I don’t recall that you could participate in ways other than riding your bike.”

The various challenges encountered while riding over the years always keeps cyclists and organizers prepared for the inevitable miscues.

“Many years since that first century riders, I remember additional centuries, 75-milers, 50-milers and 25-milers. Other years I remember one of my friends riding too close, grazing my back wheel, going down hard and needing medical assistance. Then there were the unplanned flat tires and mechanical problems that Prouty volunteers were so wonderful in fixing,” recalls Richards.

To keep mechanical issues to a minimum, Prouty volunteers in repair vehicles are very evident on the cycling routes, fixing bikes when needed.

“The many people who participate and selflessly contribute in making the Prouty the meaningful and terrific event that it is,” says Richards.

Those people – the volunteers, sponsors, participants, and the organizers of The Prouty – give the event a feeling of goodwill and camaraderie few other events can match.

“Over the years, the Prouty has become an event for thousands of participants who are coming from near and far,” says Richards. “My family and friends participate as many times as we possibly can to support a cause that hopefully may bring Dartmouth Health closer to the breakthroughs that we’ve all been hoping for. When I ride with my wife, my son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and friends there is such a feel-good feeling that we share that we will always continue to support this noble effort.”

These feelings of goodwill, determination, togetherness, and positivity felt at The Prouty all result from the cause – the reason so many come together – the fight against cancer.

“The ravages and heartache that individuals and families suffer from cancer are well-known,” says Richards. “Anyone who has had cancer or had someone who is near and dear to them know what I’m talking about, and that’s most of us. Chemotherapy is no joke. It may prolong your life but there are severe consequences. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, lung, ovarian or any of the many other forms of cancer.”

Playing a part in this fight, by raising money for research and patient services, gives a sense of well-being and hope to all involved.

“We all can play a part in participating in trying to find better treatments and cures for this terrible disease,” says Richards. “I very much look forward to riding again and playing my small part in trying to help. This year my grand-children may ride with me. I know that many of you out there will be joining me and I look forward to seeing you.” n

This year’s Prouty event takes place on July 8 and 9, with the starting point and festivities once again held at the Richmond School in Hanover.

About five months ago, Paul Foster of Norwich received a shocking text. Marcel Jean, director and manager of the Tysea Orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti, was reaching out to Foster to let him know the funding the orphanage relied on to operate, was suddenly about to disappear. Their main benefactor was pulling out and the orphanage would have to close.

Foster had met Jean five years prior and gotten involved in Tysea by helping with educational costs; now Jean was reaching out to see if Foster might be able to assist him raise the funds to save the orphanage. Foster was immediately ready to help prevent the closing of the orphanage: “I couldn’t let that happen, I wouldn’t let that happen,” he said. 

The Tysea Orphanage was founded in 2013 in the Carrefour neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Tysea is an acronym for the creole phrase “Timoun Yo Se Espwa Ayiti” meaning “Children are Haiti’s Hope.” Tysea is now home to over 30 children, providing them with a safe home, regular meals, clean water, access to education and recreation, and dental and medical support.

Answering Jean’s call, Foster sprung into action. In addition to grassroots fundraising, Foster formed a non-profit, Partners for Global Change, to help him in this mission to save the orphanage. Foster and his team have already raised $12,000 with many of the donations coming from Norwich and Thetford, but they still have a ways to go.

“I’m going with the idea of the Upper Valley adopting the orphanage,” Foster says, “I hope to make the Tysea Orphanage a household name in the Upper Valley.” There are already indications Foster’s work is paying off; he recalls being stopped in Dan & Whit’s by fellow residents to talk to him about Tysea.

Important to Foster is creating sustainable funding for the orphanage. The project had a lot of momentum to begin with, he says, but now it’s time to use strategy to figure out how to sustain this with ongoing support. In addition to looking into grants, Foster has built a weekly donation plan that he feels can be taken on by residents of the Upper Valley. With different levels of sponsorship, donors are able to give between $10.00 and $40.00 from their paycheck directly to the orphanage. “If a person can give a certain amount each week such as the cost of going out for one meal, it really can save the life of a child in Haiti. It is really going to help the child,” Foster says.

The situation is desperate in Haiti, Foster says, after facing serious unrest in 2021. The orphanage already had to make the move from Port-Au-Prince, where it was no longer safe, to Jacmel. Foster initially had plans to visit and considered setting up a Dartmouth medical school students service trip, but has been unable to due to the safety restrictions. “It’s hard not to visit, and I would love to meet the kids, play with them, and be a part of the community,” he says. This unrest also affects the orphanage’s ability to get support from their government; absolutely no funds are currently available to them.

Foster has spent nearly all of his life involved in community work. It was his first trip to Africa at age 17 that started his passion for helping communities in need around the world. “I fundamentally believe every child in the world deserves clean water, education, and a roof over their head. It’s at the core of who I am,” Foster says.

A native Englishman, Foster found his way to Norwich alongside his wife 35 years ago. Being a resident of the Upper Valley has also influenced Foster in building Partners for Global Change. “A lot of people in the Upper Valley are creating their own non-profits,” he says, “It’s a very empathetic community, very open to these kinds of projects.”

His hope is to sustainably fund the orphanage, improve current facilities, and ultimately have the home become a family support center. Some children have living family members who aren’t able to care for them for a number of reasons. “Ideally the children could be back in their community with support from the center, ultimately reducing the number of children in the orphanage. That feels like the right goal to have,” Foster says.

Foster has hope that Partners for Global Change will be able to take on more projects like this in the future, connecting Upper Valley residents to projects throughout the global neighborhood, all over the world. 

Friends of Tysea plans to have a stall at the Lebanon and Hanover Farmer’s market selling Haitian art products, Haitian food, and Support Tysea T-Shirts and hold a Haitian Art Auction.

Readers can donate at PartnersinGlobalChange.com or send a check to Partners in Global Change, 108 Academy Rd Norwich VT05055. Those interested in volunteering can email savetyseaorphangehaiti@gmail.com.

Partners for Global Change offers levels of support & readers can sponsor a child:

Gold Sponsor $40 per week

Silver Sponsor $20 per week

Bronze Sponsor $10 per week

Sustaining member one time gift of $100-500

Psyanky, or egg-writing, was the last lesson Shannon Wallis of Norwich taught as an elementary school teacher some 23 years ago, though she did not know it at the time. Teaching art to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Hanover Street School and Seminary Hill in 1999, Wallis was ordered on bed rest while pregnant: “I took a leave of absence and then didn’t go back to teaching art, so that was the last unit I taught,” she said.

A coincidence that now feels fateful, Wallis is a full-time pysanky artist creating intricate designs on delicate eggs. Wallis first learned this Ukrainian artform while training to become an elementary school teacher about 30 years ago. Ten years ago, Wallis introduced some of her friends to pysanky during Easter and that June: “They called me up and said, ‘We’re gonna egg, do you want to come over?’ and we started getting together once a month.” This turned into a year round activity and Wallis has now been making a living as a pysanky artist for 5 years.

The word pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word “to write,” hence why the art form is referred to as “egg-writing.” “Often people think about writing a story while they’re working on their eggs,” Wallis says, “The story may be a prayer, it may be symbolic, or it may be for the recipient.” Traditionally, the pysanky eggs hold a cultural meaning – they have been planted in fields to ensure a good harvest or placed in the cow barns to enhance milk production. In Spring, Wallis says, girls would write an egg and give it to the boy for whom she held affection. “There’s a story you’re putting on the egg, that’s why we say ‘to write.’”

The action of the art itself reminds Wallis of writing. The artist uses a teeny bundle, called a kistka, filled with beeswax that has been melted over a candle or electrically to write on the egg. The egg then goes into a dye and the eggs become colored wherever the beeswax is not present. This may sound familiar to many of us; Wallis says the process is similar to using a white wax crayon on an Easter egg – albeit with a much finer point! The alternate wax and dyeing process continues with as many color layers as the artist wishes to add. “For every color on an eggshell,” Wallis says, “there’s that many layers of wax and dye.” The pysanky artist doesn’t know what her egg will look like until the final step when all the wax is then melted off the egg. Sometimes the final design can be quite a surprise.

Wallis loves creating pysanky because of the geometry of the egg: “It’s different at the equator than it is on either end,” and that it allows her to vary her designs with her interests. “Whether it’s a design or a color pattern or a color scheme, I can play around with things.” When being juried into the League of NH Craftsmen, Wallis was worried the group wouldn’t see enough of a cohesive theme but they liked her collection all the same.

Although Wallis herself is not Ukrainian, she has met a number of pysanky artists who came to the artform through their Ukrainian or Eastern European heritage, and Wallis says they are always glad to have more people practicing the art form. “It’s a the-more-the-merrier feel,” she says.

This appreciation for people taking up the artform comes from the fact that it was at risk of being lost in Ukraine. “I’ve learned Ukrainian culture was suppressed in Ukraine,” Wallis says, “They weren’t allowed to speak their language or practice their arts, so some of it went underground but a lot came with the immigrants to North America.”

The artform making its way to North America with the large Ukrainian diaspora has been essential for the form’s survival. There are many people of Ukrainian heritage across Canada and the northern United States and Wallis feels lucky to have tapped into the network. She has Ukrainian-American friends from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania with whom she zooms once a week, and they assist Wallis with Ukrainian cultural and language questions. This May she attended a 5-day pysanky retreat in the Catskills at a Ukrainian cultural heritage center where she both taught and attended classes.

Wallis also participated in Pysanky for Ukraine Day on April 1st. A Canadian pysanky artist started this tradition in 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula as a day for artists to get together and write. “It was like, ‘What can I do from here?’” Wallis says. “Let’s get together and pray and write and let people in Ukraine know that we’re with them in spirit.” This year over 150 people attended the virtual event where three Ukrainian pysanky artists spoke, including the head of the Pysanky Museum in Ukraine. Wallis herself has an egg over in Ukraine now that was intended to be part of an exhibition of Pysanky in North America. This has been put on hold and the eggs have been moved to another location after several cultural areas were bombed in central and eastern Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has unsurprisingly affected and inspired Wallis’ work. She’s recently purchased eggs from and taken a Zoom masterclass with a Ukrainian pysanky artist, Tetiana Konoval. Wallis ended up being the only student in the class and laughs recalling neither Konoval or Wallis spoke the other’s language and had to type to each other with Google Translate. Konoval explained to Wallis her recent designs, which are in the style of traditional village scenes but now feature tractors pulling tanks, Ukrainian flags, or the Mariupol iron plant, with people hiding underground at the bottom of the egg and soldiers around them defending the plant. “It just gives you chills to look at these eggs,” Wallis says, “She’s making statements about the war and is really very much writing the story.”

Currently, Wallis says, she, and many of her friends have also been creating a lot of blue and yellow eggs in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. She has also been working on a number of eggs with traditional designs from five different areas in Ukraine that all were directly affected by bombings or invsaion for the upcoming Day for Ukraine fundraiser at La Salette Shrine in Enfield on June 11th. Wallis will be demonstrating her art at the event and have plenty of eggs for sale as well. The writing process can take Wallis anywhere between one and four hours so she plans on having a number of nearly finished eggs at the event so people can watch the big reveal at the end. Wallis hopes the participants not only get to learn about pysanky, but also come away with a greater understanding of Ukrainian culture. She notes that she has learned it is best to refer to the country as “Ukraine” and not “the Ukraine” as adding “the” can be offensive to some folks who feel that makes the country seem to be only a region. “I want to make sure people understand that Ukraine is a sovereign country with a real cultural heritage and that these people are really fighting for their sovereignty,” Wallis says.

Wallis recently held her own fundraiser for Ukrainian relief, donating 25% of her sales to World Central Kitchen during the four weeks leading up to Easter. This combined with donations made through her fundraiser page totaled over $3,000.00. She also participated in a Ukrainian relief fundraiser with the Library Arts Center in Newport, NH and donated 10 eggs to Long River Gallery in WRJ; all eggs have sold with proceeds going to World Central Kitchen.

Even the act of writing pysanky can help, Wallis says. She’s shared designs on social media and people currently in Ukraine have written to express their appreciation for her writing eggs. Wallis shares an old legend from western Ukraine that tells a tale of a monster chained up in the mountains who, every spring, sends his minions out to the villages to see if people are writing pysanky. If they are, his chains tighten; if fewer people are writing his chains loosen. If no one at all is writing pysanky, then evil will be free to rain terror. Wallis mentions she has always read that folktale at the beginning of her classes, but feels it’s taken on new meaning with the war.

Wallis is grateful to continue creating pysanky with her global community and sharing this artform with a new group of people at the Day for Ukraine: “I truly feel really honored to be an ambassador of the art form.”

The Day for Ukraine fundraiser will take place on June 11th, 2022 at the La Salette Shrine in Enfield, NH. Please visit La Salette’s website for more information on the day: www.lasaletteofenfield.org. Shannon Wallis can be found on her site: www.shannonwallisdesigns.com.

On a typical day at the Norwich Public Library, Lucinda Walker might find herself checking in with the library staff, responding to patrons’ questions about how their phones work, listening to a student talk about her day at school, loaning out an energy meter, managing the library budget, buying the latest books and media for the library collection, greeting enthusiastic library volunteers, and considering an innovative idea for a new library activity from a patron. And we used to think a library was only about books!

Celebrating 20 years as the Director of the library, what Lucinda has come to appreciate most are the positive relationships with the people who come to the library not only to check out books and media, do research, or play in the backyard, but to enjoy the sense of community Lucinda and her team have created for Norwich residents and guests.

Lucinda credits the Norwich community for making the library the dynamic place that it is today, and is humble about her role in navigating the many changes in library services that have evolved over the two decades of her tenure. “I cannot believe it’s been 20 years. I feel so fortunate to be embraced by the community and the professionals and volunteers at the library. It’s so nice to go to work each day and be challenged and have an impact.”

Staying true to its mission to “…serve as a community center for the town providing traditional and innovative resources for all patrons and offering library experiences that support education, imagination, and community engagement,” Lucinda feels fortunate to have started working at the library when it had just been renovated. “With a brand new building, the community really embraced the library – it became the place to be after school. The community room was booked every night by local organizations, and still is. We went from a quiet library to a busy, vibrant community space.”

In fact, in 2020 the Library Journal designated the Norwich Public Library a ‘star library’, one of only three in Vermont, and 260 nationwide. The ranking is measured by circulation data, library and program visits, and public internet computer use. Lucinda notes, “We’ve been able to keep pace with trends, and the town has been amazing in its support.”

Stepping into the Director’s role in 2002, Lucinda followed Sylvia Fraser, the previous librarian, who oversaw the early library renovations. “Sylvia was a tremendous creator of collections. She applied for many grants that allowed for new shelves and additional staff for the library.” When Lucinda was hired, the Board supported her ideas for building on Sylvia’s efforts, and she was able to add a youth services assistant, fully staff the children’s area, and hire a programming person. “The additional staff meant we could expand children’s and adult programming. We also Increased the collection by buying DVDs, where we previously relied on donations, and expanded our audiobooks collection.”

Originally from Windsor, VT, Lucinda remembers talking with her high school guidance counselor about college. “He threw out the idea that I should become a librarian because I liked to read. I was incensed because the librarians I’d run into through most of my childhood were difficult people. They didn’t have much of a sense of humor, and didn’t really direct my reading.” Lucinda’s love of reading and research led to working in a library for a business newspaper in New York City. “This was the ’80s, before the internet, so you spent a lot of time at other libraries in Manhattan like the New York Public Library. I love untangling the puzzles I was given in that job.” Lucinda’s opinion of librarians took a 180 degree turn. “Librarians in college were amazing people.”

Lucinda earned a Master of Library Science at Long Island University and her library career was off and running with jobs at the Brooklyn Museum of Art Library and the San Francisco Mechanics’ Institute Library. “The Mechanics Institute Library was a technical institute created after the gold rush to keep people in the city – that’s when I got my real love of working with people.”

After moving back to Vermont, Lucinda explored many of the libraries throughout the Upper Valley. “At the time, it seemed like librarians were staying forever. In all honesty, I wondered if I was seasoned enough. When the Norwich position opened, I visited the library to get a sense of the place. I went in on Saturday, and saw Lisa Milchman, who was wearing Tevas with wool socks. I immediately felt like these were my people and that this was the spot for me. I was delighted and astonished that I was hired.”

Many of the highlights of the past 20 years for Lucinda revolve around her interactions and relationships with people. “I’m wired to take risks in the library world, so when people come to me with a new idea, I like to help them achieve that idea. Being able to help shepherd people’s ideas forward makes the library a community-based institution.” Professionally, Lucinda has advanced her own creative ideas to improve communication and networking among librarians throughout Vermont. She co-founded the Green Mountain Library Consortium in 2007, which was successful in bringing the progressive notion of ebooks and audiobooks to Vermont. And, as of February 2020, the Norwich Library no longer charges fines for overdue items. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Fines are a huge barrier to access, and eliminating them helps ensure that everyone can have equal access to the library.”

Lucinda’s leadership style is one of collaboration and listening. “I do my best work with a collaborative leadership model. Today’s libraries are community centers, and we take care of people at their best and sometimes their worst. We learn to become empathic by hearing other people’s stories and the library has to be a place where that can happen.”

During the 2008 financial crisis, Lucinda heard stories from fellow librarians in the Vermont Library Association about patrons sharing their stories of financial hardship. “I created a presentation about librarians as social workers, because people are often sharing very intimate parts of their lives with us.” This has been true as society begins to emerge from the pandemic. “Many consider this time ‘The Great Unraveling.’ We’ve all been isolated, scared, and grief stricken, and people are unburdening. We need to take care of each other during this time. We want every action we have with a person to leave them feeling better.”

Lucinda is excited to return to the time when libraries are the community places where you can pick up your dry cleaning, CSA share, and access the food shelves. “We’re happy to hold things for people to come and pick up. We rent electric bikes. We host Kindergarten Clean Ups for Earth Day. Community members host meetings here and can use the library as a work space and get tech help. Our WiFi is available 24/7.” Lucinda believes libraries are only successful if the staff and volunteers are able to connect with people and track down what they need. Much of the librarian’s day is spent troubleshooting and problem solving.

Along with curiosity, perceptively reading situations that arise, and extreme multitasking, communication and collaboration are all in a day’s work for Lucinda Walker. “Word of mouth continues to expand the use of the library. I want to shout out to the fact that a successful library is a wonderful reflection of the community it’s serving. Norwich is filled with remarkable people, and the Friends’ group is pivotal. We’re only successful because of our relationships with other people.”

Every individual matters.

Every individual has a role to play.

Every individual makes a difference.

~ Jane Goodall

It’s unusual for a small Vermont town like Norwich to be featured on the CBS national news because of its citizens’ goodwill. But that’s exactly what happened in early December when Dan & Whit’s general store owner Dan Fraser put out a plea for help due to the statewide worker shortage. Every position needed to be filled or the store would close. That’s when community members stepped forward and volunteered to stock the shelves and run the registers. Remarkable as the turnout has been, and it has been an amazing event, this is far from the first time the people of Norwich, sometimes as a group, sometimes as individuals, have stepped forward. It seems to be a town tradition. At the top of any list of community caretakers must come Elsie Sniffin, whose good works and selfless devotion to Norwich spread over nearly 50 years.

Elsie was born on August 25, 1915, in Norwalk, Connecticut. Her father was a member of the Masons and as a girl, Elsie joined the Rainbow Girls Club, an offshoot of the Masons that taught leadership training through community service to young women. According to the club’s literature, “The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls believes that through helping others, we truly help ourselves. The benefits a young girl can gain from performing acts of kindness are endless.” The club’s message had a large impact on Elsie. When she turned 21, she became the leader of her local Rainbow Girls club, making her the youngest person in Connecticut ever to hold that position.  

Following the completion of a two-year business course in 1935, she became a salesperson for H.L. Green Co., a nationally known variety store. In a year she became a cashier and office supervisor, in 1942 assistant manager, and in 1948, Elsie became the first woman in the company’s history to be promoted from store ranks to executive offices as assistant to the personnel director of the company. In this position, she created and developed training programs and manuals for store personnel in the company’s 140 stores.

In 1959 Elsie and her friend, Ruth Peet, bought 150 acres of land in Beaver Meadow on the western edge of Norwich and visited the property in the summers. When H.L. Green was purchased by a larger firm in 1961, Elise and Ruth moved to the area permanently. According to the town report of 2008 that was dedicated to Elsie, “The road to Norwich was mostly dirt and old Charlie Hodgdon was convinced that ‘the girls’ (as they were affectionately known) would not last that first winter!” They did.

Elsie found work right off the bat as a secretary in the Department of Sociology at Dartmouth and worked there for 13 years. In 1974, she left the academic life to begin her third career as a lister for the town of Norwich, a position she held for sixteen years. “The town office personnel were like one big family,” said Deb VanArman whose mother, Janet Pierce, was the town clerk at that time. “They celebrated birthdays together and socialized together.”

Beyond her jobs, Elsie found time to bolster the spirits of her neighbors. “She was a one-person welcoming committee,” said Donna Wheeler, a Beaver Meadow neighbor of Elsie’s. “When you moved into the area, she stopped by with a card and a small gift.” If someone was ill, Elsie would visit or bring over a meal. “She was so caring and tried to keep the community strong. And she was so organized she could do it.” In addition to her efforts on the individual level, Elsie worked hard to revitalize the spirit of the community, whether it was in Beaver Meadow or Norwich. No better example of her civic spirit can be shown than the work she did for the Beaver Meadow Chapel.

The history of Beaver Meadow Chapel began in October of 1915, when Margaret Kerr, a retired teacher from New York, bought a small farm in Beaver Meadow. Early on, she described her neighbors as “very poor, a good deal of drinking and rough everywhere.” Kerr felt that a chapel could help “raise the standard of living.” The idea was approved by her neighbors and land was donated for the chapel. Men in the village volunteered to build the structure and several women along with Miss Kerr visited business leaders and asked for donations. A druggist in Hanover, L.B. Downing, donated a Bible and the first sermon was given by a Dartmouth student on December 19, 1915.

When Elsie and Ruth arrived in Beaver Meadow, the chapel needed repair and was rarely used. So, Elsie went to work. She “retrieved the chapel organ from the town historical society where it had been kept for safekeeping” and talked with her neighbors about starting services again. Her good name and friendly approach encouraged people from the area to support the project. As Wheeler noted, “She had a way about her that made it easier to say yes than no to her.” Elsie’s efforts paid off and the chapel, with a new roof, reopened. The congregation met on the third Sunday of each month from March to December. In recent years services have been trimmed to the third Sunday of each month from May to December.  

From the start, Elsie felt the chapel, with its small steeple and white clapboards, built in a hollow between two hills and tight to the road, was a New England treasure that needed to be preserved. So, she and other members of the community went through the lengthy, but successful process to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Using the writing and research from the project, Elsie organized a book about the chapel and the Beaver Meadow community, The Good Men Do which was published in 2003.

According to the biographical notes attached to her funeral program, Elsie’s hobbies “included writing, reading, cooking, and beekeeping.” But when anyone examines the number of organizations that claimed Elsie as a member, it’s hard to imagine she had time to eat and sleep, let alone time for beekeeping. Through the years she was a trustee of the Norwich library, board member and treasurer of the Norwich Senior Housing, and director and treasurer of the Beaver Meadow Chapel Association. She was also a member of the University Grange, the Norwich Historical Society, the Women’s Club, and the Congregational Church. But, according to the program, her favorite hobby was “loving and caring for her family and many beloved friends.”

When people who knew her are asked about Elsie, they acknowledge her community achievements, but then enthusiastically detail the warmth and care she showed to others. Once, a neighbor, recently widowed, needed housing, so Elsie provided her with a rent-free condo for two years. “She was the kindest person and just revered,” said Deb VanArman. “When my mother was failing and about to die, Elsie visited her every day. When she couldn’t visit, she called.” According to VanArman, Elsie helped her community in so many ways. “Elsie was the first person to reach out to those in need. She’d give a ride to anyone in the Meadow who needed a way to get to ‘town,’ provided food for the sick and needy, and shared the history of the Meadow with anyone.”  

In 2004, well into her 80s, Elsie helped organize an art auction to fund the Norwich Historical Society’s move from its Church Street location to the Lewis House on Main Street. Over 50 artists donated works and the auction raised more than $10,000. According to a NHS tribute, Elsie was a visionary board member, who “championed the purchase of the Lewis House not only as the home of the Historical Society but also as a community center. She saw the move bringing us all together for the greater good, something for which she worked tirelessly all her life.”

In 2005 Elsie was awarded a Vermont Public Service Award by the Vermont secretary of state for her lifelong service to the town of Norwich. In 2006 she was made an honorary trustee of the Norwich Historical Society.

In her final years, Elsie had discussed with friends how she planned to celebrate her 100th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the Beaver Meadow Chapel in the summer of 2015. She wanted to hire a horse and carriage and ride neighbors by the chapel and around the Meadow. But, alas, this was one goal Elsie did not reach, for she passed away in 2008. Yet her contributions live on today throughout the area, as does the memory of her goodwill and friendship. As Nancy Osgood, a past president of the historical society, noted shortly after Elsie’s death, “I don’t think that I will ever enter the Meadow without thinking of her.”