Cover Stories – Page 37

Small acts of kindness

14 ways to spread a little happiness this Valentine’s season

This Valentine’s Day, spread the love without spreading Covid with these acts of kindness that you can do right from home (or just outside your home). From leaving a small gift in your mailbox for your mail carrier to giving the critters in your backyard a place to escape the cold, here are 14 ways to bring some joy to family and friends, local businesses, and people and animals in need, all from a safe distance.

By Matt Ingersoll & Angie Sykeny

Purchase a wish list item for a local charity

For a more personal way to lend a hand than just donating money, most charities in the Granite State will post a “wish list” accessible on their website, kept up to date with items of the greatest need. Some also provide a link to an Amazon Wish List page as well — items can be ordered online and shipped directly to that organization’s address.

Marguerite’s Place, for instance, a transitional living program in Nashua for women and children in crisis, is in need of basic home essentials like laundry detergent, towels, trash cans and storage bins. The full wish list is available to view on the website, according to director of development and public relations Christa Tsechrintzis, with an additional link to Amazon to help you choose the right product brands.

The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, office administrator Teri Gladstone said, is in the greatest need of boots, ski gloves, jackets and other hand, foot and body warmers.

“Due to Covid restrictions by the CDC, we can only accept brand new clothing items,” she said. Items can be shipped to its temporary location, at the First Congregational Church of Concord.

Pick up litter

Show some love to the environment by picking up litter around your neighborhood. “Picking up litter not only helps make the environment safer and healthier for people, but also for the plants and animals in the community,” said Kimberly McCloy of Litter Crew (littercrew.com), a group of New Hampshire residents who are working to make the state litter-free. “Even if you only spend five minutes a day, it will make a noticeable difference.” All you need is some gloves and a trash bag, she said, and beware of any litter that could be hazardous to you, such as needles or any items that have been in contact with bodily fluids. “You can contact your local authorities to come dispose of these items safely,” McCloy said.

Send a care package overseas

Make the day of an Army, Navy or other military branch member from New Hampshire who is currently serving overseas by assembling and sending your own special care package.

Deborah Luszey of Operation Care for Troops, a nonprofit based in Nashua, has worked to send care packages out to local troops since around 17 years ago, when her son was first deployed to Iraq.

She said the process starts with obtaining a flat rate shipping box — you can order military service kits online for free from the United States Postal Service and have them shipped directly to you. The kits include address labels, custom envelopes and enough tape for six boxes.

Many of the most requested contents you can fill your care package with may also be items you already have in your home.

“It’s usually very dry where they are, so a lot of times you can put some lotions or some hydration products in the box,” Luszey said. “Food is also a great thing, so things like protein bars, beef jerky, peanut butter, coffee [and] tea. We’ve done canned fruit. … Zip-lock bags can be good, because you can roll them up tight and oftentimes they’ll reuse them for other things.”

You could even include a handwritten letter, or puzzles cut out of newspapers or magazines.

“Anything you can do to just give them five minutes where they can be somewhere else from where they are,” she said. “You can get friends or your kids to draw pictures … and put that stuff on top so that it’s the first thing they see when they open it up.”

Although Operation Care for Troops organizes several bulk shipping events, the next of which is scheduled for late March at the Hudson Fire Department’s Burns Hill Road fire station, care packages can be sent at any time. More details can be found at octnh.org, or you can email Luszey directly at deborah@octnh.org.

Foster a pet

If you want to help a pet in need but don’t have the means to give it a forever home, consider fostering, which allows you to care for an animal at your home temporarily until it gets adopted or can return to the shelter. Since kittens cannot be sold or adopted until they are at least eight weeks old, according to New Hampshire law, foster homes are most commonly needed for pregnant and mother cats and their kittens until the kittens are old enough to return to the shelter and be put up for adoption.

“In order to provide for these kittens and nursing feline mothers, we need a strong cadre of foster homes ready and able to take these creatures into their homes,” says the New Hampshire Humane Society website.

Fostering protocol varies from shelter to shelter, but the most standard requirements are that you own your home or have permission from your landlord to foster a pet; any other pets currently living in your home are up to date on their vaccinations; and you have a space where you can secure the foster pets from other pets or young children in your home. Check with your local animal shelter to see if they have any pets in need of foster homes.

Buy Girl Scout cookies for someone

It’s Girl Scout cookie season, and this year for the first time you can also get Girl Scout cookies delivered through GrubHub. Go to girlscoutcookies.org, where you can enter in any street address for them to be shipped to.

“[The cookies] are $5 per package, with proceeds staying right in the troop you ordered from,” said Ginger Kozlowski, communications manager of the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

She said it normally takes anywhere between two and 15 business days for your shipped order to arrive at its destination.

The Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains also has a Gift of Caring program, which gives you the opportunity to buy cookies to donate to military service members and hometown heroes, like firefighters, police officers and EMTs. Visit girlscoutsgwm.org for details.

Knit for a cause

Use your knitting or crocheting skills to help someone in need. New Hampshire volunteer groups like Neighbors Helping Newborns, Stitching up the World and the New Hampshire chapters of Project Linus collect donations of handmade knitted and crocheted items like blankets, caps, scarves and shawls and distribute them to patients at local cancer centers, premature babies at local hospitals and children dealing with illness or trauma. “We’ve had people as far away as Arizona donate hats for cancer patients,” Stitching up the World’s website states. “We gladly accept completed items and will make sure they get to the proper destination.” If you need some inspiration, the groups also have a variety of patterns for knitted and crocheted items online.

Donate life

There are more than 5,000 people in New England waiting for a life-saving organ transplant, according to the Donate Life New England website. Registering to be an organ donor means that, in the event of your death, your organs could add years of life or provide a better quality of life to as many as 50 people. If you aren’t yet registered, you don’t have to wait until the next time you renew your driver’s license or go to the DMV in person; you can do it right from home in minutes online at dmv.org/nh-new-hampshire/organ-donorregistering. Not only could you be helping people in need of an organ transplant, but you could also, in a different way, be helping your grieving loved ones, said Susan Diggins, RN, Quality Management Coordinator of the Center for Quality & Safety at Southern New Hampshire Health. “We understand [a death] is a difficult time for family members,” Diggins said, “but knowing their loved one’s death may help another person brings some level of comfort to them.”

Leave a gift for your neighborhood mail carrier

Even though ethics guidelines prohibit postal employees from accepting cash from customers, or any gifts with a value greater than $20 per household, there are still all kinds of small gestures you can make to show your gratitude for your local mail carrier.

“We have seen a swell recently in homemade cards and window or lawn signs, sometimes created by children … to show their appreciation,” said Steve Doherty, strategic communications specialist for the United States Postal Service’s Northeast Region. “Around the holidays many people will reward their carrier with a small gift, such as a mug or tie, or a gift card to a local restaurant or coffee shop.”

If you know your neighborhood letter carrier personally, Doherty said, treats like home baked goods or store-bought candy can make good gifts. In the past year homemade masks, small hand sanitizer bottles and even rolls of toilet paper have become common, he said.

Talk on the phone to someone stuck at home

You can help someone who has experienced loneliness from the pandemic just by picking up the phone and talking to them — in fact, that’s exactly one of the tasks you can volunteer to perform through the CareGivers, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire that services clients over the age of 62 in the Greater Manchester and Nashua areas.

They’re known as reassurance calls, according to CareGivers executive director Jim Wilkie, and they’re one of several volunteer opportunities you can sign up for, in addition to sending birthday cards to clients, delivering groceries to their doorstep and driving them to medical appointments.

“With the pandemic, we’ve recognized the need to really reach out to our clients that have been stuck at home and feeling really isolated,” Wilkie said.

He said volunteers may be given a short list of phone numbers of clients who have expressed interest in receiving calls, talking once or a few times a week and building relationships.

“We always hear these little narratives … from people sharing their happy moments and just talking about their lives,” he said.

Have a meal delivered to a family member or essential worker

Give a relative, friend or essential employee the gift of delicious food right on their doorstep. Local Baskit in Concord is offering online options for gift meals to be delivered to local health care workers and first responders, as well as to tip delivery drivers — go to shop.localbaskit.com and click the “tipping/donation” tab for details. Owner Beth Richards said she’s arranged for meals to be delivered to employees at Concord Hospital and at Merrimack County Nursing Home in Boscawen, as well as to the local fire department.

“It can be either a meal kit or prepared food option from one of the selections that we have that week,” Richards said of the available meals.

Ding Dong Deliver, a ghost kitchen launched last year by Great New Hampshire Restaurants, provides ready-to-heat meal packages to all addresses in Manchester and Bedford.

“We’ve seen a lot of people with older parents who aren’t going out do dinner use Ding Dong Deliver, and even Realtors who gift the meals to new homeowners,” said Nicole Barreira, director of marketing and menu development for Great New Hampshire Restaurants. Deliveries are made on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, between 1 and 5 p.m.

Make backyard friends

Show some kindness to the critters in your yard by providing them with places to shelter. According to research by the UNH Cooperative Extension provided by Natural Resources Field Specialist Wendy Scribner, there are around 45 species of birds and mammals in New England that use cavities in trees and other wood materials and structures for denning, roosting and nesting. You can lay out some logs or brush piles, or install a birdhouse or bat house.Bats can be a bit picky, so if you’re new to bat houses, be sure to do some research first. (Scribner recommends Bat Conservation International as a resource for building, buying and installing bat houses; visit batcon.org/about-bats/bat-houses.) Making your property more hospitable to wildlife benefits not only the animals, Scribner said, but also yourself if you’re someone who enjoys having nature around. “There is joy in being able to watch wildlife, birds, and, yes, the squirrels too, and feel that you are helping them,” she said. “Most of all, you will enjoy the opportunity to see and appreciate the creatures with whom you share your land.”

Order a personalized gift basket

You don’t need a special reason to show a friend, family member or even your local mail carrier that you appreciate them. Caring Gifts in Concord takes orders for its own specialty or customized gift baskets and packages for all occasions, including “just because.”

“People can call or email us … and we ask them how much they want to spend, or maybe they give us a dollar amount, and then we go from there,” shop co-owner Donna Mark said. “We can ship nationwide and we deliver within the greater Concord and Manchester area.”

The shop has several of its own themed baskets and packages to choose from that will often feature foods or personal care items — a movie lover’s package, for instance, features a jumbo popcorn box filled with caramel corn, chips, candy and cookies, while others can include wine bottles, crackers, bath gels, soaps and more.

“We recently did one for a corporate gathering where we shipped small bottles of sparkling cider or Champagne and different snacks … and they enjoyed them during a cocktail party they had over Zoom,” Mark said, “so they really can be for any occasion.”

The Manchester Craft Market, a store located inside the Mall of New Hampshire, features all kinds of locally made items that can also be shipped as gifts, according to owner Jessica Moores, including cookie mixes, jams and jellies, teas and coffees, maple products and more. Sellers post details on their items to a public Facebook group, which can be accessed through the shop’s website. Pop-up Facebook live sales are often featured too.

Make a mask

What better way to show someone you care during a pandemic than with a homemade mask? Seacoast Mask Makers, a group of New Hampshire volunteers who made masks for medical facilities and essential businesses when masks were in short supply, has written instructions and photo and video tutorials on its website for simple, pleated, and nose-fitting cloth masks. With some super basic sewing skills, you can make a simple mask with just a nine-inch by 12-inch piece of cotton fabric in a color or design you think your recipient would like, and a seven-inch-long piece of rope elastic or flat elastic. (For a pleated mask, you’ll need an eight-inch by 14-inch piece of fabric, and for a nose-fitting mask you’ll also need some flat plastic twist ties.) Visit seacoastmaskmakers.org/get-involved/#mask-making for the full instructions and tutorials and other mask-making information and resources.

Cherish memories

Send someone you’re missing this Valentine’s Day a personalized photo card or gift. “We are oftentimes reminding our customers that many photos they have on their phones … of friends, children, and events are memory makers that can make wonderful gifts for family and friends,” said Michael St. Germain, owner of Concord Photo Service. Through Concord Photo Service and other local shops that offer photo services, you can place an order online to turn your digital photos into a print, collage, canvas wall art or photo book, or have them printed on mugs, jewelry, T-shirts, calendars, ornaments and even face masks. “Items as simple as a custom card with a photo on the front can tell a story that we have forgotten,” Germain said.

Local animal shelters with foster programs
• New Hampshire Humane Society (Laconia, 524-3252, nhhumane.org/adopt/foster)
• Salem Animal Rescue League (893-3210, sarlnh.org/foster)
• Pope Memorial SPCA (Concord, 856-8756, popememorialspca.org/volunteer)
• Humane Society for Greater Nashua (889-2275, hsfn.org/get-involved/volunteer)
• Manchester Animal Shelter (628-3544, manchesteranimalshelter.org/fosterform)
• Greater Derry Humane Society (434-1512, derryhumanesociety.com/we-need-volunteers/fostering-a-rescue-animal

And for your sweetheart…
There may still be time for you to get your Valentine’s Day reservations or takeout orders in – visit hippopress.com for our annual dine-in and takeout listings at local restaurants, candy shops, bakeries and more. Be sure to call or visit a participating eatery’s website directly for the most up-to-date availability.

Knitting and crocheting charity groups
• Neighbors Helping Newborns (serves southern New Hampshire, 382-8504, neighborshelpingnewborns.org, donations will be held until March due to pandemic)
• Project Linus (projectlinus.org; facebook.com/nhseacoastprojectlinus; facebook.com/projectlinussouthwestnewhampshire; drop-off locations in Candia, Derry, Raymond, Concord, Goffstown, Henniker, Hooksett, Manchester, Milford, Nashua, the Seacoast and other parts of the state.
• Stitching Up the World (based in Candia, 587-0603, candiawomansgroup.org/stitching)

Photo prints and gifts
• Concord Photo Service (31 N. Main St., Concord, 225-5891, concordphotoservice.com)
• Hunt’s Photo & Video (4 Vinton St., Manchester, 606-3322, huntsphotoandvideo.com)
• Chris Digital Photo Print (346 Merrimack St., Manchester, 264-6205, chrisdigitalphotoprint.business.site)
• EverPresent (99 Rockingham Park Blvd., Salem, 435-2202; 1301 Elm St., Manchester, 819-5182; 800 Islington St., Portsmouth, 967-4385; everpresent.com)

Downsized nuptials

Elopements and micro weddings are the next big, er, small thing

Dreams of elaborate weddings with hundreds of guests were dashed for many brides and grooms in 2020. As the pandemic took hold, social distancing restrictions made large gatherings impossible. And while some couples postponed their vows altogether, others reined in their plans and slashed their guest lists, opting for either an elopement, with no guests, or what has become known as a micro wedding, which usually includes about 15 people or fewer.

“Micro weddings definitely became a lot more popular [during the pandemic],” said Lauren Ingle, a wedding planner based in Manchester who ended up planning more than three dozen elopements and micro weddings last year and has 12 booked so far in 2021. “It’s definitely … the new norm at this point.”

“When Covid hit, a lot of people realized they didn’t want to postpone their wedding,” said Tatiana Cicuto, a justice of the peace and co-owner of Top of the Ridge Farm in New Durham, which just opened last spring and has since hosted several micro weddings and elopements. “Some decided, let’s get married now and have a [bigger] celebration later.”

For every wedding that was downsized that Ingle and Cicuto were part of, the end result was overwhelmingly positive.

“In my experience so far, [all of the couples] have been very happy to have something small and private,” Cicuto said.

“All of my micro weddings have been just as special and beautiful,” Ingle said. “Honestly, they seem even more intimate and beautiful.”

Elopement vs. micro wedding

“I think a lot of people have different ideas of what a micro wedding is,” Cicuto said.

To her, an elopement is two people and an officiant, and a micro wedding is, well, small.

“What that small means, the number, is really subject to interpretation,” she said.

She thinks of micro weddings as 10 or 15 people, though some venues in New Hampshire that offer micro weddings will include up to 25 people.

Ingle, who offers packages that range from elopement to extravagant, agrees that an elopement is typically just the couple and the officiant.

“It’s usually just exchanging of the vows and then the couple goes out for dinner, or goes up to a cabin up north [for the night],” Ingle said.

She said elopements can include elements like bouquets, a photographer, an arbor and Champagne so it “feels like something more than just going to town hall.”

Micro weddings, on the other hand, include almost all of the elements of a larger wedding but on a smaller scale — think sweetheart cake rather than a four-tier cake, appetizers rather than a four-course meal, and an amp that plays preloaded music rather than a live band.

Micro details

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to micro wedding details, though — if the couple still wants a live band or a four-course meal for their small group, that can be arranged.

Cicuto likes to work closely with couples so their micro weddings are exactly what they want them to be.

“This couple who got engaged, they decided to get married three weeks later,” she said. “They came to us and said, ‘We know it’s crazy, but can we get married [in three weeks]?’ … They wanted it outside on a Tuesday in July. … We said, ‘Yes, of course we can get it done!’”

Cicuto said the couple was very flexible and understood that in three weeks they couldn’t get, say, blue tulips in the middle of July. She worked with them to plan their music and their flowers and set up vignettes around the property, like an antique tub filled with ice and drinks. The couple brought in their own caterer and photographer.

“It was a very collaborative approach,” Cicuto said. “There were some things they chose not to have … but otherwise it was a normal wedding. It wasn’t missing anything critical.”

Likewise, Ingle created exactly the wedding that Rachel and Steele Hudson wanted (that’s according to the bride herself — see her wedding story on p. 22), even though they had to downsize from a 100+-person wedding in Jackson to a micro wedding with 12 people.

“She ended up not getting many deposits back from some vendors, so it had to be pretty small and affordable,” Ingle said.

Ingle was able to take the elements of the Hudsons’ original wedding and scale it down.

“It was the most magical day,” Ingle said.

Less stress, less money

One of the benefits of a micro wedding (or an elopement, for that matter) is that it’s usually a lot easier to plan than a large wedding — for the couple who wanted to get married in three weeks, anything bigger than a micro wedding would have been next to impossible for Cicuto to plan in that amount of time.

Cicuto herself enjoyed a stress-free micro wedding last month, marrying Gino in December at their B&B with just an officiant and their two kids, who were holding up phones so friends and family around the world could watch.

“We had been together for such a long time, and my now husband said, ‘You know, 2020 has been such a crap year, let’s end it on a good note,’” Cicuto said.

They made sure the kids could come that Sunday and made a cake the day before.

Rachel Hudson wanted even less involvement in the planning of their micro wedding.

“She was sick of planning,” Ingle said. “She didn’t want to deal with the stress of re-planning a whole wedding.”

So Ingle and Hudson’s maid of honor took over and left her out of everything — including where the wedding was going to take place.

“She was actually blindfolded on her way up to the venue,” Ingle said. “She didn’t have to lift a finger.”

Aside from less planning, the day itself is less stressful too.

“It was seven minutes and done,” Cicuto said of her nuptials.

Hers may be an extreme example, but both Ingle and Cicuto have found that micro weddings have fewer high-blood-pressure moments.

“[The couple] can sit back and relax and enjoy their friends and family, as opposed to having to say hi to 150 people,” Ingle said. “[That] can be overwhelming. … With a smaller wedding, it’s just so laid back and relaxed.”

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of eloping or having a micro wedding is how much less expensive it is, mainly because you’re not providing food and entertainment for a huge group of guests, but also because the fancy, costly details are less important when you’re not trying to impress that huge group.

“A lot of couples have come to terms with the fact that some things are not needed,” Cicuto said.

Ingle said a lot of the couples she worked with were relieved once they transitioned to an elopement or a micro wedding.

“I’m saving so much money now, and I’m not having to invite all these people and plus ones that I’ve never met,” Ingle said. “Moving forward, I think these smaller weddings are going to be more popular.”

Wedding Packages

Large wedding
Average total cost: $30,000+
People: 50+
Usually includes:
-Venue
-Rentals
-Floral
-Band/DJ
-Photo & video
-Hair and makeup
-Wedding planner
-Officiant
-Transportation
-Lodging
-Catering
-Food & beverages
-Cake
-Attire
-Stationary

Micro wedding
Cost: $5,000-$12,000
People: Usually 15 to 25
Usually includes:
-Venue
-Rentals
-Food & beverages
-Floral
-Hair and makeup
-Music
-Photo
-Wedding planner
-Stationary
-Lodging
-Transportation
-Attire

Elopement package
Cost: $500-$1200
People: The couple only with officiant, no guests
Usually includes:
-Location
-Arbor
-Bridal bouquet(s) /
Boutonnière
-Dinner for two at a local restaurant
-Local lodging accommodations for the couple
-Champagne for 2

A 2020 wedding story

Rachel and Steele Hudson and their wedding party. Photo by Novae Film and Photo.

Rachel Hudson (formerly Prescott) shares her experience of being a bride in 2020. She and her husband, Steele, got married Dec. 18.
I had always wanted a winter elopement, just the two of us, and then … a big party with friends and family after the fact. He wanted a summertime wedding with as many people … as possible. We ended up compromising and decided on a big winter wedding [at the] Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield. … Then Covid hit.
Over the months more and more guests dropped out. … It got to the point where I started to dread the wedding. I had nightmares about an empty ballroom and an even more empty dance floor. … When we got down to about 25 guests — including the wedding party — we decided to cancel. The venue couldn’t lower the minimum guest count any further, [and] too many of our closest friends and family couldn’t be there. We were desperately holding on to the few shreds of the big fun wedding we wanted, and we knew no matter what happened we wouldn’t be able to save it. … We canceled it nine days before the wedding.
[A day later] my maid of honor contacted Lauren and frantically put together a plan to save the wedding, without my knowledge. Lauren … found a venue that was willing to take us in on such short notice and made sure it was somewhere that was similar to what I had originally wanted. She worked … with my maid of honor and my photographer/videographer, Grace from Novae Film & Photo, to create a surprise wedding from scratch in a week.
[Meanwhile], I was researching a sad courthouse wedding. I was eventually told that there was a rescue effort and that I should still plan on a wedding. My husband and I agreed to it on one condition: We wanted to be completely kept out of the loop. We had already spent so much time, effort [and] money … [on] our original wedding that we literally couldn’t bear to make another one. …
I was blindfolded and brought to the location. My maid of honor dropped off some decorations and Lauren took off decorating while I was blindly escorted to a room to get ready. … I had never seen the spot; we never had a rehearsal. The first time seeing the area, the aisle, everything, was during the actual wedding. It was surreal.
It was perfect, every detail. Everything was heartburstingly perfect. Lauren found the best ceremony spot I could ever hope for [I later found out it was Lakeview Inn in Wolfeboro] and decorated it exactly how I would have wanted. It was tucked into a wooded circle, surrounded by fresh snow-covered pine trees. … The arch was simple and rustic, decorated with evergreens, antlers and juniper berries. There were lanterns with real candles lining the aisle that wound through the woods. There were only 11 of us total, which ended up being better than expected — just our closest friends and family. The reception was inside the Inn, and it was decorated like a big family dinner on Christmas, with a large single-family table and intimate lighting. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. The Inn is family-run and they cooked for us and served us, their dogs and cats coming in and out for some pets and scratches. It felt so warm and cozy, fireplace going, wine pouring and conversation that you could actually hear and participate in.
It was better than anything I could have hoped or planned myself. Instead of compromising and making cuts and downgrading a big wedding repeatedly, they created a new micro wedding that wasn’t desperately trying to be something it wasn’t. … Being able to sit back and not plan or worry about the wedding took so much of a weight off my shoulders. … My husband and I will have a big party in a year or two so we can throw on the fancy clothes again, have a dance party like we wanted and invite everyone who missed out, but there is honestly nothing I regret about my mini wedding.
My dream wedding was a small winter wedding elopement; I was lucky enough to get that. My husband’s dream was a big summer wedding party, and now we get to plan that too. We both get to have the elements of our weddings that we wanted without having to sacrifice anything.

Featured Photo: A previous Winter Fest in downtown Concord. Photo by Steven Lipofsky.

Downtown renaissance

Two decades of revitalization in Manchester, Concord and Nashua’s downtowns

When the Hippo started in 2001 with the intention of highlighting Manchester’s culture, well, there wasn’t nearly as much going on then as there is now (or was, pre-pandemic, and will be again, soon…). In the first of a month-long series looking back at some of the subjects Hippo has covered over the years, former Mayor Bob Baines, real-estate developer Dick Anagnost and Mint Bistro owner Tim Baines look back at what they call the “renaissance” of downtown Manchester, while Tim Sink of the Concord Chamber of Commerce and Michael Herrmann, owner of Gibson’s Bookstore, talk about how downtown Concord has changed, and Dan O’Donnell of Nashua’s Great American Downtown shares his decades of experience in the Gate City’s downtown.

Bob Baines

Bob Baines was the principal of Manchester West High School for 20 years, then served as mayor of Manchester for six years starting in 2000. He’s worked at Southern New Hampshire University and was president of Chester College for six years, and he continues to do education reform work, most recently with a program called Steam Ahead at West High School and McLaughlin Middle School. He’s been on the board of the Palace Theatre for many years and is on the board of Manchester Public Television, and he recently joined the board of the Community College System of New Hampshire after serving eight years on the board of the University System of New Hampshire.

How would you describe downtown Manchester 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

During that time, when I became mayor there wasn’t much going on in Manchester at all. We had suffered through hard times in the ’90s and downtown was practically deserted. … The city was in tough shape, and I was fortunate enough to get the support of the aldermen to do a lot of things with economic development downtown. … When I was mayor there wasn’t even any place to go to lunch in downtown Manchester. … On Elm Street there were a lot of vacant buildings, a lot of rundown buildings, there wasn’t any housing. … Manchester is a totally different city than it was 20 years ago. … The Palace Theatre … had closed and went bankrupt. … Manchester was not a destination — there really was no place to go. There was one restaurant on Lowell Street called Richard’s Bistro, and that was about it.

Bob Baines on the Hippo
I go back to when Hippo Press started … Jody [Reese] and Dan [Szczesny] came to see me about this idea of launching this paper and they said it was going to be called the Hippo. I was sort of puzzled about the name; I remember when they left my office I … called Jody and said, ‘Are you sure you want to call it the Hippo?’

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

The three key kingpins of the economic renaissance of the city were the Palace Theatre [reopening], the Verizon Wireless Arena [now the SNHU Arena]… and the [Fisher Cats] baseball stadium. … [Those three things] really put Manchester on the map. … During that time period there was a lot of excitement about the Manchester public schools [too]. The buildings hadn’t been touched in decades. … There were so many issues. When I was high school principal, I was one of the big complainers … saying we’ve got to spend some money to fix our schools. … At that time they were renovating City Hall and committed to building an arena and I said that’s all well and good that you’re doing that, but our students deserve better, and we got the support of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to get a $1.5 million bond passed to renovate all the schools in the city of Manchester, so that was a really big deal. Unfortunately as the years have gone on, the proper amount of money has not been invested into teaching and learning and technology and professional development. … I’m very involved in an organization now called Manchester Proud … and we’ve raised over a million dollars to develop a strategic plan for the district, and we’re an active group still raising money to advance education in the city.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

I think good times are ahead despite the quagmire we’re in right now. … I hope [downtown is] still a vibrant part of the city. I think you’re going to get more and more people looking for opportunities to live in the downtown or live in the millyard. … They’re still creating housing units in the millyard. I think downtown still has a lot of possibilities for other development … to provide the kind of housing that people are looking for, especially young people. … Young people who work in all these tech companies, a lot of them want to live downtown because they don’t want cars. … I think the future looks bright in the next 20 years. … I think the biggest challenge is to get people to invest in the city, and I’ve always said you can’t have a great city without a great public education system, and I think that has been the challenge for decades in Manchester. … We should have the very best public schools in the state of New Hampshire. … I hope our city fathers recognize that we have to invest in our schools.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

The thing that surprised me when I was mayor was the willingness of local developers to get involved, people who grew up in Manchester, people like Dick Anagnost and [Arthur] Sullivan and his partners. A lot of the great things that happened in Manchester were the catalyst of people who grew up in Manchester and went to schools in Manchester. … It was certainly indicative of the Manchester spirit that people who grew up in Manchester and are now doing well helped revitalize our city, and they continue to do it.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

[Laughing] Mint Bistro! [Ed note: Mint Bistro is owned by Baines’ son, Tim Baines, who was also interviewed for this story.] … We really miss being able to go there. It’s like not being able to see family. … That’s our favorite place, and hopefully in the not so distant future we’ll be able to go back.

Dick Anagnost

Dick Anagnost was born and raised in Manchester and has been involved in real estate development in Manchester for decades; in the past 20 years alone, he estimates that his company has renovated nearly 40 buildings, put up close to 600 units of housing and created approximately 400,000 square feet of new commercial office space.

How would you describe downtown Manchester 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

It was a raceway. Most of the commercial buildings were boarded up and abandoned, there was nobody living there. … The kids used to race up and down the streets and the police were tasked with trying to catch them. Downtown Manchester was pretty well abandoned. … That was about the time that the City decided that they needed to do something to bring back our downtown and millyard. … I received tons of cooperation from the City and actually joint ventured a number of buildings with the City. The first renovation downtown was a building called the Chase Block, where Margarita’s is. … That was actually a joint venture with Anagnost and the City of Manchester.

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

The City and I began moving down the street, so from [the Chase Block] we went to the next corner south, which is 1015 Elm, we went to 844 Elm, we participated with Paul Smith at the corner of Amherst and Elm. I took on parts of south Manchester, so I had Market Basket [brought in]. Murphy’s Tavern was another one of my deals. We started in the millyard with 33 S. Commercial St. … that whole development down there, Southern New Hampshire University is all me. We began marching through the rest of the city together and at about the same time Brady Sullivan started to see our success, and they started with the old gas company building and then they did a number of buildings downtown. … They have a huge stake in the renovation and renaissance of downtown as well. It all started with the Chase Block, and about parallel with the Chase Block was the Verizon civic center decision. The civic center was a key player, the construction of the ballpark, the southern side of the millyard was a key construction project.

Dick Anagnost on the Hippo
Every time I needed help persuading the aldermen to do something, Jody and the guys, you know, Jeff [Rapsis] … and Dan [Szczesny], all jumped in and wrote things to get support and public opinion on my side. I have a long relationship with them; I was there when they went into business. … You could actually attribute the Hippo to a lot of Manchester downtown’s growth. They were the ones writing about the opening of Margarita’s and the opening of this restaurant and the Palace Theatre renovations and all those things. They were pointing out all of the good things that were going on in Manchester. … They were a break from reality. … They thought outside the box. … They brought forth the whole concept of, these are the things that are going on, these are the things you can do, that helped downtown particularly go through its renaissance. … You asked a question, what were the most significant changes? One of them was HippoPress.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

The upper stories are still underutilized. When I was growing up the upper stories were filled with offices and residential tenants and all kinds of things, so the buildings were all full. We still have not addressed the issue of trying to make buildings from the 1800s meet the codes of this millennium, and until that happens the upper stories will remain sparsely occupied. I mean, I was able in my buildings to renovate the upper stories by coming up with innovative methods to coordinate and … find different solutions to [meet] the codes. For instance, when we did Paul Smith’s building at Amherst Street, which [probably had] the best, most preserved original historic finishes from the 1800s, we … came up with a way to … [make] what was essentially a sprinkler system that created a safe corridor for people to get out of without having to tear out all of the historical things. At 1015 Elm St., which is where Baked is, we creatively put retail on the first floor, office on the second floor, residential units above it, but there was a fire egress issue … they allowed us to put a double-wide staircase in the rear and keep the smaller historic granite and marble staircase in the front. … It’s cost-prohibitive to renovate the upper floors, but we’re in such dire housing need, the upper floors of downtown would be the perfect opportunity to put in workforce type housing. We’ve now grown into a college town … and they’re always in a deficit for student housing. We could easily turn the upper floors … into student housing and workforce housing. That would be the key in my opinion to bringing back downtown 100 percent to its most vibrant point, because those people wouldn’t need vehicles, but … because downtown is such a walkable area, they would be able to service and support all the businesses located in downtown. Which is how downtown used to be in the ’60s and ’70s when I grew up.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

I think it’ll look a lot like it is now. You still have the traffic generators. When I started working in the millyard, it was 5 million feet with 90 percent vacancy and 10 percent occupancy. Your millyard today is probably 4.8 million feet and it’s 93 percent occupied, so the millyard is a significant generator. The Verizon is a significant traffic generator. The ballpark is a significant traffic generator. All of the new housing that’s coming in downtown, like the ones that are at the ballpark. The one finishing touch would be to [bring] the upper stories … back to their usefulness, to making them mostly residential. … There’s a huge demand. Vacancy in the city is about 1 percent. That would be an easy place to put a whole lot of housing. … [The biggest challenge will be] the codes. … In order to be code compliant, you need to spend too much money, more than [the] economic value of the property.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

My office, because I have to come here every day and I spend a significant amount of time here, so we’ve made it comfortable enough for us to hang out in for long periods of time. … I’ve always kind of put my money where my mouth is, so I was one of the first people to move my main offices, first into the millyard when we were redoing the millyard, and then into downtown when were redoing downtown, and this [1662 Elm St.] is one of the buildings I renovated.

Tim Baines

Tim Baines was born and raised in Manchester and is the owner of Mint Bistro on Elm Street, and he announced on Dec. 21 that he and two business partners will be opening Elm House of Pizza in January at 102 Elm St. Baines also served as alderman for Ward 3 for one term.

How would you describe downtown Manchester 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

Downtown Manchester 20 years ago was in a tough place (much of it abandoned) but there was hope on the horizon. The civic center, as it was referred to at the time, was a hotly contested issue in 1999 and 2000. It ultimately prevailed and was a part of a renaissance of sorts. There was probably one fine dining establishment and a few bars. There [were] a few solid anchor retail stores that brought people to the downtown on weekends, but it certainly was not a destination for most. Very few people were looking to live … downtown at this time.

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

Over the past 20 years there has been strong leadership that has realized what a thriving downtown can do for a city, the tax base and the quality of life. Whether it was ensuring that the Palace Theatre stayed alive through tough times or [because of] investments [that were supported by] the government but executed by the private sector, Manchester’s downtown grew and became a place that people wanted to be a part of. The condition of a downtown can truly make or break a city and we have had leadership over these 20 years that [has] fostered this and understood this. With good governance comes private citizens and investors believing in it, and we have seen amazing investments in our downtown.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

I believe in my heart that leaders in this community will step up and make sure that all of our progress continues. I hope it’s more walkable, I hope that businesses can control their sidewalks and I hope that we have more retail. It truly will come down to leadership and I am hopeful there are enough people out there that know that bringing people together is the way to make many of these things happen. Smart, common-sense and decisive leadership will go a long way. The biggest challenge will be how we handle the issues of the day that are squarely in front of us. No successful or thriving city has all of the resources available for those suffering in the downtown. We have an obligation to help people and we need to, but attracting those suffering to an area with the temptations that our downtown has to offer continues to send us down the wrong path. A facility away from the downtown that offers services, counseling, detox [and] hope, and one that is well-funded, will go a long way. This will take political courage.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

It’s a community. With a few glaring exceptions everyone cheers for each other and knows that the others’ success is part of their own success. It’s a beautiful thing. As far as surprising, I would have to say the lack of understanding by government officials as to what it takes to survive in the private sector. It has been discouraging to see leadership not understand the fundamentals of how A affects B and affects C. It has demoralized people.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

[They don’t exist yet, but I would like to see] a few things: a movie theater, a beer garden and a community event that rivals what Riverfest used to be.

Michael Herrmann

Michael Herrmann has been the owner of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord since 1994, and he has served on the boards of Intown Concord and the Chamber of Commerce.

How would you describe downtown Concord 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

Concord has always been blessed to have a thriving downtown, and even 20 years ago it was an attractive place to visit, with many interesting shops. It was starting to look tired, but there was a real community of shop owners and regular visitors, and it was fun to be part of it.

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

For the downtown, certainly the Main Street redevelopment of 2016, and also the expansion of the downtown south of Pleasant Street.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

The rise of internet commerce has put all retail at risk, but I believe that people will continue to want to shop local and support institutions that make our city unique. The biggest challenge for downtown is to have businesses that are sufficiently capitalized so they can weather crises like the one we’ve seen this year.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

So many banks — some of my best friends are bankers, but these locations are like dead zones. The ground-floor spots on Main Street should be devoted to retail.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

I can’t wait to spend too much money at all the restaurants downtown. For now, I’ll just be buying gift cards and doing takeout.

Tim Sink

Tim Sink has been the president and CEO of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce since 1992; for the last 10 years he’s worked at its office on Main Street. He’s lived in Concord for about 35 years and raised his family there.

How would you describe downtown Concord 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

Twenty years ago downtown Concord was in the beginning of a renaissance. Capitol Center for the Arts had just opened, Capital Commons was going up with a much needed parking garage and downtown festivals like Market Days were growing more vibrant. The downtown was starting to wake up.

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

The redevelopment and redesign of Main Street, Red River Theatres, Capitol Center for the Arts, Bank of New Hampshire Stage, expansion and relocation of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and Gibson’s Bookstore, more public art and greater cultural diversity have all contributed to a much more vibrant, destination downtown.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

The boundaries of what we now consider downtown Concord will expand east [and] west and further south. The main gateway at Exit 14 will be vastly improved.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

The creativity and resilience of the retail, hospitality and dining sectors.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

Bicentennial Square

Dan O’Donnell

Dan O’Donnell is the president of the Executive Board for Nashua’s Great American Downtown. He was born and raised in Nashua, spent 40 years as an educator in the Nashua School District before retiring in 2015, and is now a Realtor with Keller Williams Gateway Realty in Nashua. He has been a member of numerous organizations in Nashua, such as the Jaycees, Masons and Lions Club. Though he now physically resides in Hollis, he continues to tell people he “lives” in Nashua and always will.

How would you describe downtown Nashua 20 years ago? What was it like as a destination, as a place to work and as a place to live?

Nashua’s downtown has always been a great place to dine and shop. Back in the ’80s as more and more box stores and big malls opened on the outskirts of Nashua, people drifted away to experience that newfound convenience shopping, but it always lacked the character, charm and personal service that downtown offered. Since then the City of Nashua, Downtown Merchants Association, Great American Downtown and numerous volunteers have spent enormous amounts of time, energy and capital in revisioning, revitalizing and recreating what I would call the rebirth of downtown Nashua. Today’s downtown Nashua is a much more warm and inviting environment. It is once again the heart of the city and a special gathering place for residents and visitors … [and] has the highest-quality restaurants, unique and specialized shopping venues, art galleries, live music venues and an upcoming Performing Arts Center.

What do you think the most significant changes were over the last 20 years?

I believe that the most significant change is that people realized the most important part of any community is its people. We live in an unbelievably fast paced, instant gratification world. Malls and box stores are sterile environments and have no socially redeeming benefits. Downtowns provide far more social interactions, give us personalized service, which we have been missing, and they provide a connection with our friends and community.

What do you think the downtown will be like 20 years from now? What will the biggest challenges be over the next 20 years?

We are currently in a new phase in Nashua where we are experiencing significant growth in inner city housing starts. As this continues we will see further growth and opportunities in downtown Nashua.

What has been the most surprising thing about the way downtown has developed?

The most surprising thing about the development of downtown Nashua has been the pace of the growth and outstanding support from the community at large.

What is your favorite spot to (eventually) hang out in downtown?

My favorite future spot will be the new Performing Arts Center as it is a long overdue need for our community. I think it will be a huge draw in the further rebirth and revitalization of our Great American Downtown.

This story was possible with the generous financial support of Hippo readers. Hippo is very grateful to have the support of its readers. If you haven’t contributed yet, please consider a small contribution. Your contributions allow Hippo to write more stories and gets you access to additional stories and columns.

We’re 20!

A look at Hippo’s beginnings in 2001 and at Hippo in 2020

Once we committed to publishing our first issue on January 4, 2001, we had to figure out the nuts and bolts of publishing: what would we include in that first issue, how to design it, how to organize the ads, how would we make sure there were as few errors as possible. The whole process of publishing, we were learning that first year. (See my Granite Views column on page 2 for more on the Hippo’s pre-print origins.)

DAN SZCZESNY (Hippo editor at the time and co-owner) Oh man, that first issue. What’s easy to forget looking back is that we were all pretty new to Manchester. In January of 2001, I had only been in New Hampshire for two years, in Manchester for less than that. But things were happening. The hockey rink was getting built, anchor businesses like Margaritas were starting to turn the downtown vibrant. It just felt like Manchester was on the move. So, deciding on that first cover and cover story, “Morning in Manchester,” was a pretty easy call.

We didn’t have a whole lot of space in those early days. Maybe 16 pages? So, the story was just a collection of things that made the city special, including some off the beaten path highlights. I remember writing about the Merci Boxcar up on the West Side, a block from where I was living.

We rented an office that was really just a closet in a downtown Manchester building. It was so small many of our meetings spilled into the hall. We placed two $500 desktop computers, loaded with a borrowed publishing program, next to each other so we could easily coordinate as we laid out the first issues. I think it’s fair to say we weren’t really ready to publish that first issue. So that second one came up on us fast. Jeff had an idea.

JEFF RAPSIS (Associate Publisher) I had just seen a year-end news story about an etiquette expert who ranked America’s 10 most polite cities. I was all about how good manners meant good business, especially in terms of visitors and conventions. So, with the new arena under construction and Manchester preparing to welcome more visitors, I suggested a light-hearted look at how the Queen City’s manners stacked up. With the clock already ticking for next week’s deadline, no one said no. So the next thing I knew I was at Manchester Airport with a photographer friend named Al Belote, us both pretending to be clueless tourists trying to get a cab to 1000 Elm St. to see how we visitors were treated. The cabbie was very helpful at our inane questions, but the big moment came when he asked for the fare. As a test, I handed him five $100 bills. He immediately handed back four of them and then carefully counted out $85 change, thus passing with flying colors. Also, because etiquette includes helping others in need, we staged a stunt where I filled up a giant satchel with paperback books, and then I repeatedly dumped the whole load in the middle of an Elm Street crosswalk to gauge the reaction.

That got us through week two, but during the first year there were more than a few cases of a planned cover story falling through at the last minute, and I’d be dragooned into writing something. It was a wild time when we were doing anything we could think of to keep the paper compelling.

Being a shoestring operation we couldn’t afford to hire reporters, so a lot of that first year was cajoling people to donate their time to write stories. The challenge with that is that publishing requires planning and deadlines and it’s, understandably, hard to get people who are volunteering their time to do either.

RAPSIS What is startling to me is how much came to be just on a whim. You and Dan were looking for content… so I suggested rather than fill it with traditional news or traditional opinion, you package perky insider commentary under a “Quality of Life” index, where we could quantify whether something was good or bad by adding or subtracting points. I’d seen a similar feature in one of the Philadelphia weeklies. And I remember this big serious discussion about how this would possibly work: who says start it at 50? Who decides how many points?

Roles in that first year were more blurred than they are now. In mid February 2001, I wrote a cover story about the dilapidated Valley Cemetery, which I lived across the street from at the time. It was and still is a beautiful example of cemeteries as a place for the living to enjoy. That story prompted a community group to form and raise funds to repair parts of the cemetery. We felt by telling these stories we were advocating for the city.

RAPSIS Another surprising, and gratifying, thing was to see a rich and vibrant city in the process of discovering itself. Few people realize that population-wise Manchester is the largest city in northern New England — much bigger than Burlington, Vermont, or Portland, Maine, or any other city north of Boston. And for years it had been home to a vibrant food and art scene that really hadn’t been covered or pulled together in any way. Even the small scale of what Hippo did at first was enough to really open people’s eyes to Manchester as a place that mattered. A lot of stuff was going on, all just waiting to be showcased in a publication intended to do just that. So for a while we ran extensive restaurant listings, just because that itself seemed newsworthy. And we’d hear about people like attorneys at Devine Millimet going on “Hippo lunches,” visiting places they’d never heard of that were listed in that week’s paper. Eventually, we started hearing from people who moved to Manchester in part because Hippo gave them confidence about the community’s quality of life. To think that the Hippo could have that much impact on people, and the region as a whole, is really rewarding to contemplate and makes it all worthwhile.

Through all that, the Hippo we know today started to take shape.

RAPSIS Even the paper’s name was a work in progress during the first year. It was originally called “HippoPress Manchester” (what a mouthful!) for most of the first year, then shortened to “HippoPress.” But quickly people (including us) began naturally referring to it simply as “The Hippo.” So in the fall of 2001 we changed the name on the front page to call it exactly that: The Hippo. So in a way, the community helped us find the publication’s true name.

We wrote about local rock bands, the city’s diners, neighborhood markets, places to hike, visual arts at the Currier, a new skate park, community singing groups, writer groups and anything else that told the story of Manchester.

RAPSIS It may seem unbelievable now, but at the time we started Hippo, Manchester was home base for not one but two full symphony orchestras: the professional New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, and the New Hampshire Philharmonic, which gave talented amateurs a place to perform. (We also had two opera companies!) These institutions had been maintained for years by many of the city’s leading families: long-established professionals and business owners who would give generously to support outposts of high culture in the old mill town. As a classical music fan, I always thought this was a pretty cool aspect of the Queen City that was underappreciated. So in Hippo’s first month, when we were still scrambling to find and pull together stories worthy of the cover, it turned out one of the orchestras was seeking a new conductor. So I put on my classical music hat and dove into the scene, attending pre-concert receptions in the North End homes of supporters such as David and Barbara Stahl, hobnobbing with the musicians, and generally meeting with disbelief that a publication called “HippoPress” was doing a story on classical music in Manchester. It was the cover of our fourth issue, and it caused enough of a stir to establish Hippo as the source of classical music info in Greater Manchester. (Not that this was too hard.) But it showed us the value of taking the art scene seriously, as this added readership, which added to our credibility with advertisers. It wasn’t long before classical music became a regular beat in the early Hippo, which I covered like a sportswriter would cover the local baseball team — especially the New Hampshire Symphony’s search for a new conductor, which became like a slow-motion reality show. It was enough to push me back into making music myself: first, as a stunt, I joined the chorus of a local production of the opera Carmen, which resulted in a cover story showing an insider’s look at staging an opera at the Palace Theatre. To me, it was extremely gratifying to see Hippo’s classical music coverage find an audience and be appreciated by local musicians. Eventually, the paper’s coverage gradually broadened to include balanced coverage of all arts. We still report on classical music, but alas, the scene has changed: the New Hampshire Symphony and Granite State Opera closed in 2008, while the New Hampshire Philharmonic moved to Salem. Of the big four, only Opera NH continues to give local productions.

Though we focused on arts, food, entertainment and events, we also wanted to cover news that had fallen through the cracks of other media coverage. Jeff did this with a story on the Manchester Transit Authority.

RAPSIS This was one of our first actual attempts at “investigative” journalism, which showed clearly that each year Manchester’s city government was leaving hundreds of thousands dollars of federal public transit money on the table — instead of bolstering Manchester’s sorry bus system, it was going to North Country transport services because Manchester’s aldermen were too cheap to kick in the 20 percent seed money for the 80/20 match that covered urban transit subsidies. Funny thing was, this wasn’t intended as investigative journalism, but just as a look at the city’s neglected bus system and how to get the most out of it. Instead, once I started research it was so glaringly obvious that Manchester was turning up its nose every year at big money, we just had to go with that angle. I think the Mike Flint painting used for the cover was pure genius: an MTA bus careening out of control, with dollar signs exploding out of its exhaust pipe—that told the story better than any writer could do.

Back then if you wrote for Hippo you also probably delivered issues. Everyone was out delivering papers Wednesday night and Thursday. This lasted for years until we could finally afford a professional delivery staff. In the early days, John Fladd, an early Hippo writer, and current cocktail columnist, and friend, would help me with the downtown Manchester distribution. To do those deliveries you really needed two people — even in 2001. One would drive the car and count out the papers and the other would run the papers into the delivery location.

FLADD I jump out of the car and jog not-very-enthusiastically to the door of the bar. I go in and look around for a table near the back, without anyone sitting at it. I take three or four steps and drop the pile of papers on the table.”HIPpo Press!” I announce, then turn to leave the bar, which has gone momentarily silent. “We love you guys!” a man shouts from the other side of the room.

As the weeks went on in 2001 it got easier for us to publish. We were developing ways to handle all of the information that went into each paper. We got ahead enough to create a college guide and to plan a photo essay. We still struggled with deadlines and my personal health suffered as the paper took over every bit of my life. I think I gained 30 pounds that year and got very little sleep. But it was really fun.

After that first year, the paper grew, changed over the years, added professional staff — but to some extent the focus stayed the same: covering arts, entertainment and quality of life. In our 20th year we suddenly found ourselves back in a situation like 2001 — almost having to start from scratch with what we were covering and how we covered it. By the middle of March the very things that we cover, arts, entertainment, theater, music, restaurants, and events, had ground to a halt. How do you publish an arts and entertainment magazine when there aren’t a lot of arts and entertainment?

ANGIE SYKENY (Hippo’s arts reporter) On March 11 of last year, I emailed my editor to let her know that an event I was covering for the upcoming paper had been canceled out of caution about this “coronavirus thing.” I hope this isn’t going to become a trend. If things keep getting canceled, what am I going to write about? Within a week, all manner of routine had gone out the window, and I, the arts writer, found myself writing less about art and more about community health, emergency relief funds and remote education.

MEGHAN SIEGLER (Hippo’s managing editor) I remember going to your office on March 12 to tell you that I was starting to have concerns about events being canceled. How were we going to fill the paper if everything we wrote about was no longer happening? Things quickly went downhill after that conversation. The sheer number of “emergency!/help!/new plan!” emails flying back and forth between myself, Amy and our reporters and freelancers between March 12 and March 17 was insane. I sent one to my reporters that Saturday with the subject “Good news and bad news.” It was a detailed plan of all the changes we needed to make for the March 19 paper. The “good” news was that they could stop working on pretty much anything they had been working on. The bad news was that we needed to, very quickly, create content with the most up-to-date information — but that information was changing constantly.

AMY DIAZ (Hippo’s executive editor) On the morning of Friday, March 13, we were working on an issue with a cover story that involved different out-of-your-comfort-zone activities, all at venues out in the world. By the end of that day, a day full of canceled events, closed venues and notices of school closings, we realized that the entire paper, which by Friday is pretty close to being what you see when it hits stands the next week, would have to be redone. Even stories that could still run had to be reworked to acknowledge that a performance had been postponed or that an event was moving online.

SIEGLER The March 19 paper was essentially created in two work days. We came up with a “Viral NH” cover story that included pieces like “Social distancing and beer” (from Jeff Mucciarone) and “Self-isolation blues — and other local music to listen to at home” (from Michael Witthaus), plus a gigantic list of events that had been postponed or canceled that we had to keep adding to right up until we sent the paper to the printer.

MATT INGERSOLL (Hippo’s food reporter) Our annual coverage of New Hampshire Maple Weekend was the lead story in the Hippo’s food section when, seemingly overnight, the effects of the pandemic began to overspread the state. I received an email from my event contact on a Monday morning, the day before we were to go to print with that week’s issue, that Maple Weekend had been canceled. A complete rewrite of my story became necessary, with the focus switching from going out to enjoy a tour at your local sugarhouse to fun things you can do with local maple syrup in the safety of your own home kitchen.

Our advertising team faced the same challenge. We were past deadline when Gov. Chris Sununu issued a shutdown order that closed nearly 70 percent of the businesses, nonprofits and events that typically advertise. We started calling all of our advertisers asking them what they wanted us to do.

CHARLENE NICHOLS (Hippo’s advertising manager) It was the strangest feeling … one minute I’m selling and building ads and the next I’m killing them. It seemed to happen all at once. As a consultant, I felt desperate to help my businesses, whether to rewrite their messages and plans or to pull their ads completely. I was so worried about how they’d survive and then, later, as a salesperson, um, what’s going to happen to me? The Hippo?

DIAZ I am extremely proud of how everybody at the paper, the editorial and production staff but also our colleagues in advertising and distribution, came together and worked so hard through that first anxious weekend to produce that “Viral NH” issue.

On the ad and revenue side it was a pretty big hit — 65 percent of our revenue disappeared instantly. I wondered, can we even keep publishing? Should we shut down? But the more I thought about and sought out counsel, the more I realized that if we could we must publish. We had a job to do and our readers needed us to continue.

DIAZ As a paper whose primary mission is to help you find things to do and places to go, what do we focus on when everything is canceled and nothing is open? I thought that, whatever we did and however we went with the flow of events, our core should continue to be connecting readers to the scenes that have always been the most important to our coverage — the visual and performing arts, classical and popular music, books and the literary scene, nightlife, outdoor activities and the local food scene. And food — restaurants and their survival — was about to become one of the biggest stories, not just locally but nationally, of the economic impacts of the pandemic. I think it’s fitting that after that first Covid issue, our next two issues —“Keep Calm and Carry Out” and “Meanwhile, on the Farm” — focused on the adaptations of different aspects of the local food economy.

INGERSOLL Food-focused events scheduled for April, May and into the summer were being canceled or postponed one by one, having a dramatic effect on our coverage. In place of a weekend food festival or a restaurant grand opening, I’d instead write about a virtual or stay-at-home event, or I’d be covering the fallout of restaurants.

SIEGLER It hasn’t been all bad. Having a smaller staff has forced us all to redefine our roles to some degree; for me, that means that for the first time in years I’m doing some writing. Over the summer, for example, Amy asked if I’d be willing to write a cover story about running, and at first I said no. I read words and I fix words, but I had my doubts as to whether I could still write words. But Amy knows I’m kind of obsessed with running, and she probably knew that I’d eventually say yes specifically for that reason, which I did — and I kind of loved the whole experience. As it turns out, I’ve missed writing. So while the past year has taken me out of my comfort zone, I definitely don’t regret experiences like that.

Like many organizations out there the pandemic made things that had been routine much more difficult. On the distribution side, the folks that get out the Hippo each week, many of our drop locations were suddenly closed. My distribution manager kept calling me and saying we have a real problem here. He put a plan in place in a few days that shifted more copies away from the closed restaurants and cafes and into the supermarkets and our street boxes.

I can look back on 2020 and say that was a really horrible year, and it was. We say our revenue declined 65 percent and we had to lay off wonderful people. But I also look at it and say we survived and I’m so very grateful that our staff kept focused on putting out the best Hippo we could. This was also the first time in our 20 years that we asked readers to help financially contribute to Hippo either through a membership or donation. And they did and have continued to do so.

I don’t know if I’ll be here for our 40th anniversary, but someone will be. Southern New Hampshire continues to need professional independent food, news, arts and entertainment coverage. And we at Hippo will continue to provide that with the support of our staff, our community and our readers.

Feeding neighbors

Helping families keep their pantries stocked and more ways Granite Staters are supporting each other

This year’s need for volunteers has been next-level, with shelters, food pantries, healthcare facilities and other nonprofit organizations dealing with increasingly higher numbers of people seeking not only the basics, like food and housing, but also masks and other personal protective equipment, plus in-home services due to stay-at-home orders and quarantining. Meanwhile, nonprofits have had to get creative in order to provide those services safely, and to continue raising the money that supports their programs. Gretchen Stallings, executive director of Volunteer NH, said Granite Staters have really stepped up. “Volunteers quickly engaged, helping with tasks such as distributing food and checking on neighbors during the pandemic,” she said. “Organizations across the state acted nimbly, mobilizing technology and establishing safety protocols.” Here, we asked some all-star volunteers — several of whom will be honored with Volunteer NH’s 2020 Spirit of NH awards during a virtual ceremony on Dec. 9 — to tell us via email what they’ve been doing, how the pandemic has affected their work, and what you can do to help.

Jennifer Kidwell

Meals for Manchester, Fuel Our Families

What is your role in the organization?

As a volunteer, I helped distribute over 93,000 meals to the Manchester community during the spring of 2020, and 19,500 meals in summer and fall of 2020 to families in Manchester with the Fuel Our Families program.

What kinds of things do you do?

With the Meals for Manchester program, I helped pack buses with food and milk at Southern New Hampshire University first thing in the morning, and then would distribute the lunches to Manchester families in person at the Manchester Police Athletic League and at different locations across the city. I help pack fresh fruit and healthy nonperishable items for the Fuel Our Families program that are distributed by different organizations to families across the city of Manchester.

Why did you get involved?

My colleague, Steve Thiel, helped create the Meals for Manchester program in the spring of 2020, and I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer and connect with members of the Manchester community. My favorite part of volunteering was being able to personally meet Manchester families, talk with them and make sure they were doing OK, and give them healthy and delicious lunches. I am currently volunteering with the Fuel Our Families program, a collaboration between SNHU, Granite United Way, Granite YMCA, and the Manchester School District, packaging up fresh fruits and vegetables as well as other healthy nonperishable items to be delivered to families this fall and winter.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

The opportunity to volunteer and give back to the Manchester community in the midst of a pandemic has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Volunteering fills up my heart and soul, and I was shocked and honored to be awarded the Chairman’s Award/Volunteer of the Year from the Granite YMCA last week.

What can others do to help?

Donate by texting ‘Manchester’ to 41444 and see if your company is able to donate, too!

Isabel Povey

Seeds of Hope, based in Hampstead

What is your role?

I am the president and founder. [She’s also a 17-year-old junior at Pinkerton Academy.]

What kinds of things do you do?

Seeds of Hope is a nonprofit organization that works to end hunger on both a local and global scale. We provide vegetable seeds to schools, churches and orphanages overseas to serve as a reliable source of nutrients. Here in New Hampshire, I work every weekend in various food pantries throughout the state and focus on keeping their shelves stocked for those who need it. One example of this would be the ‘Povey Power’ virtual 5K I organized back in April, which raised enough to feed nearly 9,000 New Hampshire families after just a few days! Aside from eliminating food insecurity, it is my biggest goal to spread hope and ignite change in others, as noted from the Seeds of Hope motto, ‘From the smallest of seeds grow the mightiest of trees,’ because we all have the power to make a difference!

Why did you get involved?

I have been working to end hunger since I was 7 years old, after giving my dinner leftovers to a kind homeless man. Immediately after I met him, I was determined to help others who were struggling and visited my local soup kitchen. There, I was turned away for being ‘too young’ to help, so instead I decided to go home and decorate placemats with positive messages for everyone getting served! I then began initiating food drives and it wasn’t too long until I watched this simple hobby turn into a passion, then ultimately my true purpose. I decided to start my own organization with the goal to help more people and make change everywhere.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

As soon as there was talk at school of a potential shutdown, I started spending my lunch periods in our campus food pantry, preparing take-home bags for the kids of food-insecure households. Then, once the switch to remote was announced, I immediately spearheaded a food drive to help out another local school take-home program and continued to work hard to keep multiple food pantries stocked. … Now, every Saturday I work at a mobile food pantry and we serve more than 350 families right in Manchester, and I am always helping with other organizations throughout the state. With the unprecedented need that surfaced along with the Covid pandemic, this has truthfully been the busiest I’ve ever been!

What can others do to help?

Food insecurity can impact anyone; it might be your friends, neighbors, or even family members who must decide between paying the bills or paying for groceries. It is incredibly important that we work together and share our strength especially after we have all been through so much this year. For information on how to help those struggling around you, visit isabelpovey.com. Giving back means so much more than raising thousands of dollars. It can be as simple as holding the door for someone. Sharing a meal, a smile, an hour, or donating some of your allowance to a food pantry … it all helps.

What are you doing to take care of your own well-being during this crazy time?

Like so many others, I have been taking advantage of our beautiful state and spending lots of extra time outdoors! I have been hiking a lot and am on my way to climbing all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers. I even incorporated a new project I like to call ‘Kindness Rocks’ and have left painted rocks with inspirational messages on each peak.

Jillian Schucart

Representing the volunteers of St. Joseph Community Services Meals on Wheels in Nashua

What is your role in the organization?

Assistant program director

What kinds of things do you do?

I assist the Program Department in overseeing the daily operations of multiple sites throughout Hillsborough County. I love that each day is different in my role. A core aspect of my position is to oversee our volunteer program. I spend a lot of my time recruiting and onboarding new volunteers, which includes conducting driver trainings. I also follow-up on client concerns, and sometimes I have the opportunity to deliver meals to our homebound clients, which is definitely a highlight!

Why did you get involved?

I joined the Meals on Wheels team in 2018 when I was looking to make a career change. I knew I wanted to work for Meals on Wheels when I learned of the significant difference that the agency makes in the lives of our clients. Not only do we provide clients with nutritious meals, we also combat social isolation through our friendly visits and wellness checks!

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

The biggest change has been the transition from our traditional hot lunch program to providing all frozen meals to our clients. Our administrative team has been working remotely when we can, and of course we are socially distancing and wearing masks when we are in the office or at nutrition sites. I am proud that our agency has continued to deliver meals throughout the entire pandemic. We could not do it without all of our staff and volunteers! We are taking the necessary precautions and screening processes to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible. The pandemic has definitely impacted the way we think about everything we do.

What can others do to help?

Help us deliver meals to homebound individuals in Manchester and Nashua! If you are interested in learning more, call me at 603-424-9967 or email volunteer@sjcsinc.org.

Sarah Heard

Concord Coalition to End Homelessness

What is your role in the organization?

I am a weekly volunteer at the Resource Center.

What kinds of things do you do?

I serve coffee, snacks and supplies to guests; I monitor shower, laundry and computer use; I sort, distribute and sometimes help decipher mail, and I try to provide an open ear for guests.

Why did you get involved?

I got involved shortly after moving to Concord because I wanted to get to know my new community.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

The pandemic has really just moved my daily volunteer routine from inside to outside. The staff at CCEH have adapted the Resource Center remarkably well. I know it’s taken a lot of work on their part to make the changes seem so smooth to me and to guests, and it gives me confidence that the Resource Center will be able to weather the winter months.

What can others do to help?

CCEH is working to end homelessness by creating more affordable and supportive housing. Their website, concordhomeless.org, suggests a number of ways we can work toward that goal, including volunteering our time, donating specific supplies, and, of course, financial support.

Christina Melanson

Friends of the Manchester Animal Shelter

What is your role in the organization?

I am a cat care volunteer, and also help the vet tech in the clinic once a week.

What kinds of things do you do?

Volunteers are given an orientation, then choose from a variety of duties they are comfortable with, including dog walking, cat or dog care and feeding, adoptions, restocking, cleaning, handling donations or simply spending time keeping the animals company and playing, the fun part! I chose to volunteer one morning a week, and what I do is feed the kittens and cats waiting for adoption, clean and sanitize their “houses,” provide each one the opportunity for some free-roaming exercise and play, restock, sweep and mop their rooms. We make sure there is classical music playing to help soothe them. There are several spaces housing cats; the adoption room and community room are open to the public, an intake room where strays await being medically evaluated by the veterinarian, and an additional building housing cats in isolation being treated for illness, plus two large rooms housing cats that may be free-roaming but not ready for adoption. There are always blankets and bedding to be laundered, donations to organize and put away, participating in fundraisers such as the annual plant sale, dog wash days, auctions, golf tournaments and fun runs. One Saturday we installed engraved memorial bricks in the courtyard commemorating beloved pets. Groundskeeping is also a need. We also get guinea pigs, rabbits, parakeets, even roosters and snakes from time to time! I’ve volunteered 327 hours since 2018.

Why did you get involved?

On retirement, I knew I wanted to give back to my community in some way. My background is surgical and post-anesthesia nursing, but I was burned out with hospital work. The Volunteer NH website listed the shelter, and as I am animal-lover, this was a good fit. What is especially important to me is that this is a no-kill shelter, and every animal that comes through our doors is spayed or neutered to further zero-population growth of stray and abandoned animals; they are also vaccinated and microchipped, placed for adoption here or at PetSmart and Petco, or if socialization is not an option such as for feral cats, tagged and placed in available barn housing in the warm weather or released back to a neighborhood with feeding stations. Abandoned kittens too young for neutering are cared for by ‘foster parent’ volunteers. Also impressive is the Fix-a-Pit program. Plus, it was obvious the staff care deeply about what they do.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

Our hours have been arranged to minimize the number of people in the building at one time, and masks are required. From March through the summer, only staff were allowed in the buildings and handled all the work. Adoptions are presently by appointment only. Personally, I actually had a mild case of Covid-19 in April, and my mother in law, also infected, passed away while living with us. So we have postponed our planned visiting our grandchildren on the West Coast and annual backpacking trips and are acutely aware of the guidelines.

What can others do to help?

Visit Friends of the Manchester Animal Shelter website, discover all this organization offers, and investigate the opportunities to get involved. Ask how you might contribute. Help is needed every day of the year. There is currently such limited space, I would say badly needed is an updated facility for a city of this size; donations are always welcome.

Jay Schumacher

Granite United Way

What is your role in the organization?

I serve on the Community Impact Committee, as a Community Grant Reviewer and volunteer with various other projects.

What kinds of things do you do?

As one of several Community Impact Committee members, we meet monthly with staff members of Granite United Way to receive program … updates that the organization has undertaken or is considering. We are fortunate to hear directly from community leaders with organizations such as the Friendly Kitchen, the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, the Concord Police department, Health and Human Services and Concord Hospital. They share insight regarding trends, challenges and success that they are experiencing and how these are impacting our greater Concord residents. Often during these meetings we are asked for our input and ideas, as well as brainstorming and vetting of the action plans GUW is considering for action.

Why did you get involved?

Several years ago I wanted to provide more volunteer support within the Concord area. Granite United Way has been a longtime partner with my employer and it seemed like a natural fit when one of the GUW representatives asked if I would like to participate with the annual Grant Review Committee process. After that initial experience I was hooked! … The organizations seeking funding during these times are truly doing all they can to support residents in every corner of our community. … It’s nice to be able to offer some of my time to this imitative in particular because I can quickly understand and see the results of our efforts, helping these wonderful organizations help our community members in our local area.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

Very quickly we shifted to all remote for meetings and … have taken strides to find creative work-arounds for all of our volunteerism. We recently took on a part of the Concord Reads initiative to build and install several Little Free Libraries with Granite United Way providing leadership. Several of us met virtually, discussed and planned the required actions and who would take on each one. Normally we would have gathered in person for these sessions and we probably would have assembled the libraries together as a team. Instead we have all worked remotely and in very small groups of only two or three people. This is surely different than normal, but nonetheless I believe we have been effective, installing our first of four Little Free Libraries just recently.

What can others do to help?

The best suggestion I can offer is to visit the Granite United Way website at graniteuw.org … [which] provides quick links to how anyone can give, advocate or volunteer. A little help from everyone goes a long way and the information from within these links provides several ways that we can all contribute!

Ajay Rana Bhat

Everest Centennial Lions Club, based in Nashua

What is your role in the organization?

I am the secretary for the Club.

What kinds of things do you do?

I communicate the mission and the success of the club, and I help with projects, including two recent Covid-19 projects that I coordinated: masks for health care workers and public workers, and one month of food for youth affected by Covid-19.

Why did you get involved?

After the tragic earthquake in 2015 Nepal, I got myself super active in helping the needy and poor, from building shelters to distributing medical supplies. … My volunteering services were not just limited in Nepal but when I moved to the United States in 2019 I immediately joined the Everest Centennial Lions Club as secretary and began contributing my time for the needy.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

To be honest at first we were confused on how and what we should do during this pandemic but after we knew more about this virus and the guidelines, it helped us make a path to help the needy. The Everest Centennial Lions Clubs provided masks for health care workers and public workers, and one month of food for youth affected by Covid-19. … We were able to distribute 1,000 masks for health care workers of Rochester Manor Nursing Home, some staff of the National Visa Center and needy families. We also distributed 100 pieces of medical safety glasses during this project. … We have [also] delivered … groceries for 20 international students from different countries and two national students of the different states of the U.S.A. who came to study in New Hampshire who are in a tough situation and having a hard time meeting needs. … I took a challenge to deliver a one-month grocery [supply to] their home with help of Umesh Koirala and Alina Karki.

What can others do to help?

You could help in your neighborhood, online or in other countries. To start helping you’ll need a passion as well as time, and don’t expect anything back.

What are you doing to take care of your own well-being during this crazy time?

We need to have strong mental health, and since I have experienced a similar situation during the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, I made sure that … I kept myself engaged with different activities and didn’t give enough time to myself to think about this pandemic. In my free time, I made sure that I listened to the news once a day, practiced yoga, gardening and photography.

Terri McGrew

Representing the volunteers of YMCA of Greater Nashua

What is your role in the organization?

Volunteer coordinator

What kinds of things do you do?

I recruit volunteers to share their time and talents at our three local branches located in Nashua and Merrimack to support our staff members and enhance our membership experiences and our community partnerships. Our volunteers help advance our mission and they make an important contribution in our communities.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

Our Program and Policy Volunteers started the year strong with nearly 400 individuals contributing 6,100 hours of volunteer service before the Covid-19 statewide shutdown in March caused us to pause our volunteer opportunities. As the YMCA opens more programs and activities at our branches our volunteers are returning to share their time and talents with our community. At the start of our year the YMCA offered over 50 different volunteer opportunities, including fitness instructors, coaches, early childhood education helpers, homework helpers and YMCA Togetherhood volunteers. … To address the Covid-19 pandemic and offer assistance to local families, we partnered with the United Way of Greater Nashua to provide volunteer drivers for a Covid Relief Food and Produce Distribution Program. The YMCA provided volunteer drivers Monday through Thursday to pick up food and produce at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and deliver it to eight different outdoor pop-up pantries around Nashua. The YMCA volunteer drivers delivered food and produce to 6,675 clients through the end of October. As the winter months and colder weather set in we transitioned to delivering food and produce to two indoor pop-up pantries located at the Nashua YMCA and First Church in downtown Nashua in early November. … Another proud accomplishment is the contribution our Annual Campaign Volunteers make to help raise money during the pandemic for the Y Cares program to provide scholarships to local children and families in need so they can experience Y programs and services such as child care, day camp, dance and arts, sports, swimming and more. The Y Cares Financial Assistance Program provided $456,000 in financial assistance in 2020 to ensure the Y is accessible to all.

What can others do to help?

Individuals and families can share their time and talents at the YMCA of Greater Nashua and make a fundamental difference in many lives. Check out our website for current volunteer opportunities at nmymca.org

What are you doing to take care of your own well-being during this crazy time?

Having a wonderful position at the YMCA and being an engaged volunteer with the Brookline Lions Club and Camp Allen is very rewarding and keeps me busy. I always remember there are many opportunities to help others and make a difference in the world.

Jaimie Adams

Seacoast Medical Reserve Corps/Central New Hampshire Medical Reserve Corps

What is your role in the organization?

My role in the organization is to respond to requests for help as a licensed EMT or any other duties that fall under my scope of practice, whenever available.

What kinds of things do you do?

A request was put out asking for LNAs to work in an Assisted Living Care Facility for a couple weeks with the possibility of being extended, as they had active Covid cases within the facility. I volunteered to help out, with the agreement that the State could get me housing so I didn’t pass Covid on to anyone else in the event I became infected. I worked anywhere between 8- to 12-hour shifts, filling the role of an LNA and helping out wherever I could. At times I had to jump into EMT mode as residents started to destabilize and the nurse and I would do everything in our power to get them stable again.

Why did you get involved?

I got involved because I have skills and training that were in high demand (and still are) and I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. I believe in leading by example and I hope my actions will inspire others to do the right thing, even if it’s scary. I am a stay-at-home mom with a 2½-year-old, at the time, and my mother was able to take care of my daughter while I was gone and my husband worked. I try to take care of people and help out whenever I can — it’s just who I am.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

The pandemic has taken a normally slow organization, business-wise, and increased the workload exponentially. There are limited amounts of people to help and a lot of help is needed right now so resources are thin. I started out early in the pandemic volunteering for the Metropolitan Medical Response System, conducting testing, and training others on how to do the testing. I did this before I began my work in the nursing home and also a few times while working in the nursing home. Being gone for so long had a negative impact on my daughter, which has been [difficult] to overcome. I just pray as she gets older she will understand what I did and why I did it. I was a hospice volunteer and volunteer firefighter prior to the pandemic and I have had to give everything up because I simply do not have the time any longer. This was tough for me because I absolutely loved volunteering in both organizations.

What can others do to help?

Others can help by signing up for NH Responds and see if you have any of the skills that are desired: doctors, nurses, LNAs, paramedic, EMTs, the list goes on. Even if you don’t have any medical background you can still be an active member in a support role. If you have the time, please take that step because everyone is already exhausted and we are just hitting wave 2.

What are you doing to take care of your own well-being during this crazy time?

I am just trying to keep a toddler alive, entertained and learning and support my husband as much as I can as he works long hours. My well-being? Sleep would be nice but I will just enjoy whatever life [my toddler] throws at me day by day. I met some amazing people through this, and for that I will always be grateful.

Team Bronze Award Project

Ginger Koslowski, representing the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains

What is their role in the organization?

This is a team of Girl Scout Juniors (those in grades 4 and 5), who stepped up to provide personal protective equipment and other items to help out during the pandemic. A team of 103 Girl Scouts, 67 of them from across New Hampshire, formed the team to work on this project. It is called the Team Bronze Award Project because each girl earned Girl Scouting’s Bronze Award, the highest achievement for a Girl Scout Junior, for participating in this effort.

What kinds of things do they do?

The Girl Scouts chose to make face masks, ear savers, face shields, hand sanitizer and care packages. They also created websites and tutorials on how to make PPE and the best way to wear a face mask. They worked remotely but together.

Why did they get involved?

Girl Scouting is all about making the world a better place, and as soon as the pandemic hit girls got busy trying to help. Our council decided a team project would make a significant impact.

How has the pandemic affected your efforts?

The pandemic has definitely forced changes in the way Girl Scouts meet and conduct activities, but our girls are resilient and determined, and they always find a way to meet new challenges.

What can others do to help?

Girl Scouting is open to any girl — and adult volunteers — and provides many ways to not just help during the pandemic, but to make their community a better place in which to live at any time. See girlscoutsgwm.org.

David Crespo

Manchester Rotary Club

What is your role in the organization?

President

What kinds of things do you do?

Rotary is the largest nonprofit organization in the world. Our club is focused on children. Every year we hold the Cruising Downtown car show, which draws 30,000 people and 1,000 cars and we raise about $70,000. Every dollar is put into programs through organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, MPAL, Camp Allen, YWCA, Catholic Charities, Manchester Mental Health Center and Waypoint, to name a few.

Why did you get involved?

I was a single dad raising two daughters; my whole life was about providing for them and raising them to be good and successful people. I learned that many of their friends did not have the foundation I had provided and many did not have the means. I wanted to help in a small way at first and joined Rotary. During my time here I realized that I can do so much more. With all the crazy in the world it’s great working with good people who just want to help make a difference. Our motto is ‘Service Above Self.’

How has the pandemic affected your efforts, both personally and within your organization?

Unfortunately as a club we were not able to hold our big fundraiser, which was heartbreaking but we knew it was in the best interest and we also know that we will adapt and overcome. Like many organizations we have gone virtual and recently [have had] hybrid meetings. We have done many service projects such as renovations at Camp Allen, working at New Horizons feeding the homeless, making face masks for Amoskeag Health and are in the process of a renovation project at Girls Inc. We held a Mask Up program in April and handed out about 30,000 face masks to the general public. In conjunction with Rotary International we put together grants for PPE and distributed checks to YWCA, Manchester Mental Health Center and Amoskeag Health. Personally my biggest challenge is making sure for the safety of my children — as a dad you never outgrow that!

What can others do to help?

I believe that you need to find something you are passionate about! One of my biggest passions is homeless veterans. As a veteran I understand the challenges returning home so I wanted to get involved with The Liberty House. Once you find that passion go and volunteer. Many people do not know that Rotary International cured polio. We now have a clean water initiative. Maybe you want to help internationally — there are so many opportunities out there just waiting for a few good people to make a difference and you could be one of them!

Handmade holidays

Where to see and shop for art throughout the season

Find all kinds of unique handmade items by local artists and craftspeople at these holiday-inspired art shows and events, some offered in-person, some offered virtually and some with both options.

• The Warner Historical Society has a virtual holiday shop online now at warnerhistorical.org/store, with curbside pickup on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Upton Chandler House Museum (10 W. Main St., Warner). The shop features hand-painted holiday ornaments, calendars, mugs and drinking glasses, T-shirts, books, jigsaw puzzles and more, plus a holiday raffle. Call 456-2437 or email info@warnerhistorical.org.

• Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen) presents its annual “Sleighbell Studio” exhibit now through Dec. 12. It features a curated collection of fine art and crafts affordably priced for holiday gift giving. Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com or call 975-0015.

• Two Villages Art Society and the Hopkinton Historical Society present “Home for the Holidays: an Art Show & Sale” now through Dec. 20 in Contoocook and online. The show will feature all kinds of art, including oil and watercolor paintings, ceramics, tapestry, woodworking, wearable art, book making and more, created by local artists and artisans. The show will be held in person at the Bates Building (846 Main St.; masks required) on a drop-in and by-appointment basis and virtually at shop.twovillagesart.org. Show hours at the Bates Building are Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with extended hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. Visit twovillagesart.org.

• The Seacoast Artist Association presents its holiday exhibit, “Big Gifts in Small Packages,” now through Dec. 26, at 130 Water St. in Exeter. The exhibit features a variety of artwork priced under $100 for gift buying. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. Visit seacoastartist.org or call 778-8856.

• Creative Ventures Gallery in Milford presents its annual holiday exhibit, “Small Works — Big Impact,” virtually now through Dec. 31. The exhibit features small works of art in various media, priced affordably for gift buying. Visit creativeventuresfineart.com or call 672-2500.

• The Craftworkers’ Guild’s Holiday Fair will be held virtually from Friday, Nov. 27, through Tuesday, Dec. 22, with curbside pickup at the historic Kendall House (3A Meetinghouse Road, Bedford) daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fair will feature seasonal decor, photography, fine art and prints, cards, gourmet treats, woodworking, fiber and fabric, stained and fused glass, mixed media, jewelry and more by more than 40 juried artisans and craftspeople. Visit craftworkersguild.org.

• Wrong Brain (55 Third St., Dover) will have its ninth annual “Holidaze Bizaare” alternative craft fair from Nov. 27 through Dec. 30, with fair hours Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. There will be art, apparel, jewelry, ceramics, stuffies, candles, candy and more by dozens of emerging local artists. Virtual shopping with curbside pickup will also be available. Call 834-9454 or visit wrongbrain.net.

• The New Hampshire Art Association hosts its holiday exhibition, “This Merry Moment,” online and at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) from Dec. 2 through Jan. 2. The exhibit and sale will feature a variety of artwork and greeting cards created by NHAA members. Gallery hours are Monday and Tuesday by appointment; Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. An opening reception will be held virtually on Zoom on Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. Call 431-4230 or visit nhartassociation.org.

Featured photo: Hand-painted ornaments for sale in the Warner Historical Society’s virtual holiday shop. Courtesy photo.

Category: Cover Stories

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