For its 10th year, Manchester’s Studio 550 Art Center is hiding 100 clay monsters throughout the heart of downtown during its annual Monster Hunt. Kicking off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, the hunt features a whole host of perks and prizes in store for anyone who can find a monster.
The monster hunt is an event that values the unexpected, getting its start with little fanfare.
“The first year we did it, it was just for fun. We didn’t tell anyone we were doing it — we just hid monsters downtown,” Studio 550 founder Monica Leap said. “People started asking what was going on, and then started asking when the next time we were doing it was, and that’s how it began.”
Ten years later, the event at its core is very much the same. Today, Studio 550 has expanded the monsters’ reach and has incorporated a slew of extra events in partnership with local businesses. This year there will be a special kids’ hunt right before the real one, happening at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown at 9:45 a.m. Studio 550 will also host various monster-related events throughout the day on its campus, including a bookmobile with the Manchester City Library.
As for the business partners, there’s no shortage of monster fun. Bookery Manchester, for instance, will hold a monster book reading and monster booklist; Shadow and Soul is selling monster-themed vinyl stickers and enamel pins; and Beeze Tees will offer special monster games and monster merchandise. Even some Queen City eateries are joining in on the festivities — Cafe la Reine will serve a special monster-themed beverage, while Dancing Lion Chocolate makes “monster food” chocolate medallions. Other specialty themed treats will include a monster sundae from Granite State Candy Shoppe, a monster cupcake from Queen City Cupcakes, and a monster-themed doughnut and latte from Wild Orchid Bakery.
It’s all part of a larger goal to integrate the local community in the monster fun. The biggest part of this push comes in the form of monster murals, bringing together local businesses and the Manchester Citywide Arts Festival.
“We’re hiding 10 monster murals in local businesses downtown, all painted by local artists,” Leap said. “People can get a monster map and go to the businesses to find the murals, and if you find them all you’re entered into a raffle.”
After a decade of success holding the event, Leap has a simple answer to why the community loves the monsters.
“Well, they’re funny,” she said. “It takes hours and hours to make a hundred of these clay monsters. They’re all different, and they each have their own personality.”
But more than that, it’s also about adding some whimsy to Manchester.
“It’s fun to go to an ordinary place and find something so unexpected. It’s really imaginative,” Leap said. “We want people to have the chance to look at their everyday surroundings and be surprised, [and] that’s kind of beautiful.”
10th annual Monster Hunt When: Saturday, Aug. 27; hunt begins at 10 a.m., with ongoing festivities at participating businesses throughout the day Where: Multiple locations in downtown Manchester Visit: 550arts.com
Featured photo: Painting by Zoe Brooke. Courtesy photo.
Mini parks, lesser-known monuments, land trusts and other unexpected outdoor spaces
Rocks that rock
On the hunt for rocks with history
By Dan Szczesny
danszczesny@gmail.com
The following is an excerpt from NH Rocks That Rock: An Adventure Guide to Twenty-Five Famous Boulders in the Granite State by Dan Szczesny and his daughter Uma (2021, Hobblebush Books). See danszczesny.com, where you can purchase this and other books by Dan and find information on upcoming events.
New Hampshire loves its rocks. Though the state’s nickname, The Granite State, actually comes from a preponderance of 19th-century quarries, the casual visitor wouldn’t know it from how many famous, historic, named or identified rocks and boulders there are all across the state.
From the ocean to the south, to the river valley to the west to the grand White Mountains up north, the state is full of boulders with eccentric names such as the Old Man of the Valley, Nessie’s Humps, Big Bertha, T-Rex, Boise Rock, Glen Boulder and The BOB, just to name a few. There are Elephant, Dog, Frog, Sheep, Monkey and Wolf rocks. Take a ferry to the Isles of Shoals for Underhill’s Chair. And take a moment to puzzle out the state’s greatest love story, the Chicken Farmer I Still Love You Rock.
Some are boulders. Some are glacial erratics. Some are cleaved from cliffs and mountain walls. Others just happened to be in places of historic importance and have been labeled through time. Some are monuments to people or events. A few have signs, while many you’ll have to search for. Some are brand new. A few have been on the New Hampshire map since before New Hampshire was New Hampshire.
One weighs more than 5,000 tons and is one of the largest glacial erratics in North America. You can’t miss Madison Boulder.
During a short hike out to Frog Rock in New Boston, my 6-year-old daughter asked me what other rocks were named after animals.
A lot, it turns out. Oh, so very many!
So the idea for our field guide, hiking patch quest and certificate was born.
Chicken Farmer Rock, Newbury
Access: Right on the north side of Route 103 about two miles south of Newbury town center. Nearest address is 539 Route 103.
Of all the rocks in New Hampshire, all the great stone profiles, all the epic gravity-defying boulders and grand vista-facing cliffs, one rock stands above them all in popularity and fame.
We are, of course, talking about the Chicken Farmer I Still Love You Rock.
This painted, overgrown, weedy outcropping along a busy state route is so well-known Google Maps has it pinned as a Historical Landmark. Even Madison Boulder doesn’t get that.
But that’s accurate because the Chicken Farmer I Still Love You Rock is all about history, and that history more or less encompasses what it’s like to be from and live in New Hampshire, where love stories about chicken farmers are entirely relatable.
In short, local legend tells the tale of a hard-working Chicken Farmer and his wife who lived across the road. So hard-working to provide for his family was this farmer that the wife became upset at him for spending so much time away from the family. She lashed out, but instantly regretted her anger. And realizing how grateful she was for her husband, she painted the words on the rock, “Chicken Farmer I Love You,” as a love note and apology.
Years later, in what was perhaps the greatest small town government mistake of all time, the message was covered, the town deeming it to be graffiti. Petitions were signed. Angry voices expressed outrage. And overnight, a new sign was painted, only this time the word “still”was added. And so it remains.
New Hampshire writer and storyteller Rebecca Rule said the original message and the update are two parts of the same message. “The original is a story of young love,” she said. “The revision is the story of unrequited and enduring love. Two beautiful stories; one rock.”
The chicken farmer endures.
The Train/Londonderry
Boulder, Londonderry
Access: We’re certain you’ve driven by The Train many times, as it sits on one of the busiest roads in one of the most densely populated areas, near Boston-Manchester Regional Airport. The rock, usually covered in graffiti, can be found jutting out of the embankment on Rockingham Road/Route 28 in North Londonderry near the intersection with Sanborn Road. If you’re heading south from Manchester, turn right on Sanborn Road and park in one of the office parking lots, then walk back. But of course be careful of traffic on this very busy road.
Of all the boulders on our list, The Train may have the richest pedigree as the slab that birthed the career of one of the best-known rock climbers in the world.
“I think I was maybe 14, driving back from soccer practice with my mom when I saw just one guy on that boulder,” said pro climber Joe Kinder. “I was obsessed with climbing but didn’t really have any outlets and I kept getting in trouble as a kid so my mom just stopped the car and told me to go say hi.”
Young Kinder hit the jackpot that day as the climber working the rock was none other than Brett Meyers, another pro most associated with developing routes on the Pawtuckaway Boulders.
Kinder already had a mentor at Manchester West High School, a guidance counselor named Gary Hunter, himself an amateur climber who encouraged Kinder to climb. But now, with a friendship with Meyers, Kinder’s destiny was set.
“Being from New England, it’s not easy to find the most profound places to climb,” Kinder told me from Las Vegas, where he now lives. “But that rock, in terms of rock quality, texture and accessibility, makes it special. It was like our little playground, a practice place where we could have fun and try new things. That place made me!”
Climb in the shadow of the greats, there on a busy state route in Londonderry.
Frog Rock, New Boston
Access: The rock that started it all. From Route 13 heading north through Mont Vernon go left on Francestown Turnpike, also known as 2nd New Hampshire Turnpike. Drive about 3 miles. The southern entrance to Frog Rock Road (now an abandoned access road) will be on your right, just after a long left turn with warning sign arrows. If you reach Hopkins Road, you’ve gone too far. Parking is available at the side of the road for perhaps two cars.
Photo courtesy of Dan Szczesny.
The dirt road path will reach some stone barriers at about 0.1 mile and a sign indicating that you are entering Frances Hildreth Townes Memorial Forest. Continue down the trail road for about 0.35 mile or so until you see a clear side path on your right. Take that 50 feet or so to Frog Rock.
It was Frog Rock that started it all. The list. The patch. The book you hold. Somewhere along the way, Little Bean wanted to find more rocks shaped like creatures. And once that door opened, there was no closing it.
And perhaps unlike many of the other rocks on this list, there’s very little debate over Frog Rock’s namesake. From a particular angle, the 10-foot erratic looks exactly like what it’s named after. So much so in fact that Frog Rock used to be a popular destination in the days of the grand hotels.
There were five grand (and grand-ish) hotels in the Mont Vernon area around the mid to late 19th century that drew tourists from the south as far away as Boston. The ladies and children would summer at the resorts while the men would work and come up on the weekends. That meant the hotels would need to keep their guests occupied, and one way to do that was to plan picnic excursions into the countryside. One of those resorts, The Grand Hotel, would send wagonloads of guests to visit what their literature called Bull Frog Rock.
Today the pasture land that once made up the area has been reclaimed by the forest, but through it all Frog Rock reigns supreme.
T.M.N.T. Rock, Auburn
Access: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Rock is a small, sometimes covered, waist-high boulder near the summit of little Mine Hill in Auburn. A section of the rock looks just like one of the cartoon ninja fighters. The trailhead and parking area are on Route 121, just about a mile south of the junction with Hooksett Road in the center of Auburn. Park at a pull-off at the shore of Lake Massabesic, immediately north of Shore Road. On the opposite side of the road, look for the sign Gate A21, Fire Road #42. That’s your trail!
Head up the fire road until you come to a large open field in about 100 yards. Stay to the right as the trail heads up into the woods. Continue up for about 0.4 mile, always keeping to the right, until you see a dilapidated set of steps built into the ground.
These are the old steps that led up the fire tower that used to be at the summit. The foundations of the tower and debris are still there. Climb to the top of the steps and make a right, keeping the No Trespassing signs to your left. At about the 0.5-mile mark look right into the woods and you’ll see TMNT Rock about 10 feet in.
This trail was the one Little Bean asked to come back to. Asked to bring her momma along. Asked if we could visit the rock again, to show off her find. This rock is all hers.
Our original intent was to climb the hill to find the tower, Little Bean being a fire tower buff. But the hike became more. We found a family of tiny mice, entrenched in their rotten log home. We found a dead porcupine and took home some quills, which Little Bean used to paint a portrait of that creature, creating a permanent record. And we imagined what it must have been like to be up in that tower, looking over the great Massabesic.
Certain trails leave a mark. Mine Hill is ours.
NH Rocks That Rock: Memorial Stones The following is from the prologue to Dan’s forthcoming book, NH Rocks That Rock: Memorial Stones. Find publication updates at danszczesny.com.
Rocks endure, and thus memorials on rocks endure. Such is the thinking anyway. Unlike a stand-alone sign, or wooden marker, or even one of those dark green metallic state historic markers, bolting a sign against an enormous slab of granite provides some authority to the person or place being honored. Memorial stones are designed for authority and permanence. And you may not realize it, but they are everywhere, in traffic circles in busy Manchester streets, and tucked away near popular sandy beaches, and hidden behind curious enclosures. Memorial rocks in New Hampshire (not to be mistaken for town veteran memorials or individual tombstones) commemorate a wide variety of people and events, many now lost to the fogs of time. In Newport you can visit a boulder with an attached cannonball memorializing Civil War hero George Eugene Belknap. In Auburn you can try to puzzle through a way-finder obelisk that served as an 18th-century street sign, and up in Sugar Hill, near a popular waterfall, one of the most famous Hollywood celebrities of her time paid tribute to her long-lost love with a memorial stone that’s simply signed as being from “A Grateful One.” After the success and thrills of big boulder-hopping through our first field guide, my daughter decided something more personal, more intimate, would be best for a follow-up — these small moments of rock history, tiny tributes set in stone to epic humans and events. We decided to find the memorial stones to reconnect with history and bring some of these stories back to life. If our first book was about grand epochs of geology, our second would be about individuals. We were going to memorialize the memorial stones.
History on display
War monuments at parks show how the Granite State honors those who served the country
By Katelyn Sahagian
ksahagian@hippopress.com
In the shade of Victory Park stands a statue to remember the first World War. The symbolism shows an angel watching over a group of soldiers, and a cloaked figure holding a plaque thanking those who died in the Great War.
This statue is one of the last made to be a grand depiction of the suffering of war, said local historian Kathleen Bailey.
“After World War I, you get a more streamlined effect,” Bailey said about the design of statues. “It’s almost as if World War I was the last straw and we weren’t going to romanticize war anymore.”
Bailey, a veteran journalist from New Hampshire, is the coauthor of the book New Hampshire War Monuments: The Stories Behind the Stones with her daughter Sheila Bailey. The book looks at war monuments across the state.
Bailey said it’s much more common for statues to be erected in memory of the soldiers who fought and died. The trend began after World War II but became the custom when memorializing the efforts of soldiers in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Monuments like this exist in many parks in New Hampshire, but they aren’t all confined to parks. There is one such monument farther north in the state that is a grave marker for Derek Oxford, an enslaved man who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War and made his home in Plainfield, Bailey said.
A World War I statue topper at Victory Park in Manchester. Courtesy photo.
Another is the Brigadier General Harrison Thyng Memorial. Thyng, who was born in a one-room schoolhouse in Pittsfield, became one of the five flying ACEs to serve in both World War II and the Korean War before becoming a Brigadier General.
Bailey said that she and her daughter were stunned when they came upon the memorial. She said that it seemed to pop out of nowhere.
“But this is fascinating because you’re going down this dusty back road in Pittsfield,” said Bailey. “There’s nothing there but auto repair shops and little frame houses, and then you come upon this and it’s something that looks like it belongs on the National Mall.”
Bailey said that New Hampshire has a way of remembering its sons and daughters, no matter how long they stayed here. While some memorials are dedicated to soldiers like the Five Guardsmen, a group of five young men in the National Guard who were all from Manchester’s West Side and who were all killed on the same day, some honor people who only lived in New Hampshire for a short part of their lives.
“New Hampshire loves its veterans and takes care of its own,” Bailey said. “Jed Barker did not live in Franklin since he was 6 years old. And the town still put up a plaque for him. He died in Vietnam. New Hampshire loves long and hard.”
Barker was a marine who was killed while suppressing explosives during the Vietnam war, and he saved a fellow soldier’s life.
Bailey said that one of the things she noticed the most during her research was that more modern memorials are less slabs of granite and statues and more places, like gymnasiums, or fundraiser events people can participate in.
“The other thing we noticed was not only did the complexion and design of the monuments change, but starting at the tail end of Vietnam, people started honoring their war dead in more creative ways,” Bailey said. Many people have now chosen to do charity fundraisers, like golf events, or to have recreation centers or town pools named after them.
Bailey said that this only changes the way society recognizes people who fought in wars. Instead of having just monuments memorializing the dead, there are places remembering the sacrifice of those who survived as well.
War Monuments All the following monuments and memorials, as well as longer descriptions of them, can be found in local historian Kathleen Bailey’s book New Hampshire War Monuments: The Stories Behind the Stones
Amoskeag Bridge Amoskeag Brg, Manchester This bridge is dedicated to all New Hampshire soldiers who died in Vietnam, including the five National Guardsmen from Manchester who were all killed the same day.
Brigadier General Harrison Thyng Memorial Next to Floral Park Cemetery, 30 Barnstead Road, Pittsfield The monument recognizes one of the few flying ACEs from both World War II and the Korean War.
Derrick Oxford Gravesite Coreyville Cemetery, Plainfield Originally, Oxford’s grave was marked with a plain stone. The Plainfield Historical Society found his grave and erected a gravestone with his name.
Jedh C. Barker Memorial Monument Across from Franklin High School, 115 Central St., Franklin This monument was erected in 2022, more than 50 years after Barker’s death because Barker is the only Medal of Honor recipient from Franklin.
Merci Train Boxcar 136 Reed St., Manchester This memorial was given to Manchester by France to honor all the soldiers from New Hampshire who died in France during World War II.
World War I Monument Victory Park, 91-139 Concord St., Manchester The monument symbolizes the loss and mourning felt after the first World War.
A grassy oasis
Southern New Hampshire’s smallest city parks
By Matt Ingersoll
mingersoll@hippopress.com
There is so much to discover in local parks — even the smallest ones that serve as grassy oases within major New Hampshire cities and towns. Some offer sweeping waterfront views or adequate tree shade perfect for a picnic, while others are home to statues honoring prominent figures in local history. No matter its size, every one of these mini parks has a story to tell.
“We are incredibly fortunate … to have such an extensive and diverse network of parks,” Mark Gomez, Chief of the Parks, Recreation & Cemetery Division for the City of Manchester, said in an email. “In an urban environment, the benefits of parks to both physical and mental health cannot be overstated.”
Nearly half of all 47 of the Queen City’s parks are under 5 acres in area — of these, several can be found within walking distance of the bustle of downtown. Many offer a wide array of amenities and are popular destinations for all kinds of community events and gatherings.
Arms Park in Manchester. Photo by Tristan Collins.
Arms Park, for instance, offers a mostly tree-lined walk along the waters of the Merrimack River, which directly faces to the west. It’s also known for being home to “Baer Square,” featuring a memorial statue and bench of Ralph Baer, a longtime Manchester resident widely considered to be “the father of video games.”
Wagner Park, which encompasses the block between Maple, Oak, Prospect and Myrtle streets, is also commonly referred to as “Pretty Park” due to its lush setting. It’s easily identifiable by a Greek-style temple monument in one of the park’s northern corners.
At the intersection of Hanover and Beech streets is Bronstein Park. Its features include an open grassy area, a scattering of trees and plenty of benches lining the sides.
“Bronstein Park … also has a bike FixIt station, which is pretty cool,” parks project manager Kate Waldo said. “We partnered with the Queen City Bike Collective, so if you’re riding your bike through town and you go through that park, [the FixIt station] has little attached tools to it that you can use to make repairs right there. So that’s a really cool, unique element you’ll see.”
According to Waldo, every feature of even the smallest park is maintained, from grass that’s mowed and trees that are pruned on a regular basis to benches and stone tables that are monitored for repairs. Other maintenance needs are commonly addressed, like trash receptacles to maintain a park’s cleanliness and light posts to improve its safety.
In Concord, there are a total of 21 parks and the vast majority of them are within a 10-minute walk of a residential area, said David Gill, the city’s Parks and Recreation director. Small parks like Bicentennial Square and Eagle Square, for instance, are located directly in the hub of downtown Concord’s business district and feature uniquely placed picnic areas and fountains. Fletcher-Murphy Park, which is adjacent to the Concord Community Music School, has its own open area facing the building where visitors can enjoy outdoor concerts and other events.
“Although they do not have the [visibility] or high use like … White Park or Keach Park, they are still very important as they provide space for the community to gather, relax and have fun,” Gill said of some of the Capital City’s smaller parks.
Downtown Nashua is similarly known for having several mini parks within walking distance of its center. Among them is a memorial known as Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française, which was dedicated in May 2001 by the City to its French Heritage Committee. It has the distinction of being both the first full figure erected in the Gate City in a century and the first sculpture in New England to honor Franco-American culture.
Mini parks
Here’s a list of where you can check out some of southern New Hampshire’s smallest parks within major city and town limits. Features include everything from commemorative statues to playgrounds, picnic tables and benches, gazebos, basketball courts and more. Sources: bedfordnh.myrec.com, concordnh.gov, derrynh.org, manchesternh.gov, milford.nh.gov and nashuanh.gov
Bedford Muller Park North Amherst Road This park features just over 3 acres of conservation land that’s great for hiking, picnicking, and various scouting and camping activities.
Waterfowl ParkBeech Street Waterfowl Park features a scenic area with a ¼-mile walking trail located off Beech Street. The site is ideal for walking, hiking and bird-watching.
Concord Bicentennial Square1 Odd Fellows Ave. This park is located in the hub of downtown Concord’s business district, with uniquely placed picnic areas, a fountain and electrical access.
Eagle Square3 Eagle Square Just below the historic Clock Tower on Main Street in downtown Concord, Eagle Square is a great place to enjoy a local concert, a stroll or an afternoon lunch break. Like in the Capital City’s Bicentennial Square, there are picnic areas and electrical access.
Fletcher-Murphy Park28 Fayette St. Directly adjacent to the Concord Community Music School, this park is known for its open area facing the building where you can enjoy outside concerts. It also features a basketball court and a playground.
Kiwanis Waterfront Park15 Loudon Road Behind the Douglas N. Everett Arena is Kiwanis Waterfront Park, situated on the banks of the Merrimack River. It’s a perfect area for a shady riverside picnic, and Concord’s local skateboard park is also located there.
McKee Square8 Broadway St. McKee Square is a small triangle-shaped park found at the intersection of Broadway, South and West streets. It’s easily identifiable by its gazebo in the center.
Reed Park105 Hall St. Named after the Concord-born Corp. Robert Wellington Reed, this park is nestled just below Interstate 93, featuring a softball field and playground. It’s also the site of youth and adult flag football leagues in the fall.
Riverside ParkTanner Street Overlooking the Contoocook River in Concord’s Penacook neighborhood, Riverside Park is a great place for picnics due to its shady setting.
Derry Hood Park4 Rollins St. Located within walking distance of Broadway in downtown Derry, Hood Park features amenities like basketball courtes, outdoor floor hockey and shuffleboards and a waterfront area.
MacGregor ParkEast Broadway Directly adjacent to the Derry Public Library on East Broadway, MacGregor Park is known for hosting several special events throughout the year, like the town’s summer concert series, Memorial Day observances and Derryfest.
Manchester Arms ParkBetween the Merrimack River and Commercial Street This tree-lined riverside park features scenic views of the waters of the Merrimack River to the west. It’s also known for being home to “Baer Square,” featuring a memorial statue and bench of Ralph Baer, a longtime Manchester resident widely considered to be “the father of video games.”
Bass Island Park Second Street, between West Hancock and Cleveland streets Located on the Piscataquog River on Manchester’s West Side, Bass Island Park is a peaceful park within a congested area of the city, with a vessel boat ramp and granite stones that provide access to the river’s edge.
Bronstein ParkHanover and Beech streets This park is named after Ben Richard Bronstein, who was the first man from New Hampshire to die during World War II. The park is within walking distance of Manchester Central High School, with an open grassy area, a bicycle FixIt station, a scattering of trees and plenty of benches lining the sides.
City Hall Plaza, Manchester Elm Street, adjacent to City Hall Manchester’s City Hall Plaza features several park benches and tables just outside the City Hall building on Elm Street.
Harriman ParkCorner of Lake Avenue and Hall Street to the corner of Hall and Central streets Originally named East Side Park, this park was renamed in 1922 in honor of Lt. Lynn H. Harriman, who served in the 101st Infantry in World War I. The park includes a memorial, a playground and a basketball court.
Kalivas ParkLake Avenue, Spruce Street and Chestnut Street Located directly behind Manchester’s SNHU Arena, this park is named after Christos N. Kalivas, the first Greek-American from Manchester to be killed in action during World War I. A monument and plaque honoring Kalivas faces the park’s center.
Lafayette ParkNotre Dame Avenue At just over 2 acres on Manchester’s West Side, this park features a statue of Ferdinand Gagnon, widely considered to be “the father of Franco-American journalism.” The park was dedicated by the Franco-American Memorial Commission in 1957.
Martineau ParkMontcalm Street and Dionne Drive Martineau Park is a small triangle of land spanning less than a third of an acre between Montcalm Street and Dionne Drive on Manchester’s West Side. It’s named after Albert R. Martineau of Manchester, who served in the Army during World War II. It features benches, a cobblestone walkway and some tree-shaded grass.
Oak Park Oak and Maple streets Accessed from Oak, Maple, Brook or Harrison streets, this park features several benches in a mostly tree-covered setting.
Pulaski ParkBridge and Pine streets Named for Casimir Pulaski, a Polish immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War as a general and one of George Washington’s right-hand men, Pulaski Park has his statue in the center and is surrounded by lush grass fields as well as a basketball court.
Sweeney ParkSouth Main Street Sweeney Park is named after Private Henry John Sweeney, the first soldier from Manchester to die during World War I. Amenities include a memorial, a children’s playground and a basketball court.
Veterans Memorial ParkElm Street, between Central and Merrimack streets Veterans Memorial Park is a popular destination for outdoor concerts and festivals, featuring a large covered stage that’s generally open from the spring through the early fall. In 2009, a World War II monument was erected inside the park.
Victory ParkBetween Concord and Amherst, Pine and Chestnut streets This park is dedicated to Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon, who fought on Iwo Jima as a member of the Marine Corps. It’s a popular destination for family events throughout the summer months, courtesy of the Manchester City Library.
Wagner ParkMaple, Oak, Prospect and Myrtle streets In 1944, a woman named Ottilie Wagner Hosser granted the entire city block where her house stood to the city to be used as a park. It was modeled after a small park in Paris across from the League of Nations that she loved to visit. Amenities include park benches, a gazebo and a Greek-style temple that stands in the park’s northern corner and serves as the centerpiece.
Milford Emerson Park6 Mont Vernon St. The parcels of land that today make Emerson Park were donated to the Town of Milford in 1947. The park is uniquely adjacent to the Souhegan River, just off the Milford Oval, and is the site of Milford’s widely attended summer concert series, which takes place every Wednesday night from 7 to 8:30 p.m., from early July to late August.
Kaley Park448 Nashua St. Like Emerson Park, Kaley Park’s location is directly adjacent to Milford’s Souhegan River. Its amenities include two multi-purpose playing fields, a softball diamond, a canoe launch and a conservation area.
Keyes Memorial Park 45 Elm St. This park was originally farmland that was owned by members of the Crosby family. It was sold in 1957 to the Arthur L. Keyes Memorial Trust, which then gave the land to the Milford School District for athletics fields and a playground. A public swimming pool was added in 1965, followed by tennis courts in 1974.
Nashua Deschenes OvalMain Street Named after Amedee Deschenes, who served in World War I, this park is located in the heart of downtown Nashua, commemorating several war heroes from New Hampshire who gave their lives.
Le Parc De Notre Renaissance FrançaiseWater Street This Water Street park, which overlooks the Nashua River, commemorates local Franco-American immigrants. Dedicated in May 2001 by the City of Nashua to its French Heritage Committee, the featured sculpture is both the first full figure erected in the Gate City in a century and the first sculpture in New England to honor Franco-American culture.
Natural treasures
What land trusts are and where to check them out
By Hannah Turtle
hturtle@hippopress.com
When it comes to finding natural treasures in and around the local community, the role of a land trust is paramount. Land trusts are often nonprofit organizations with the goal of aiding in land conservation.
“We’re all about conserving special places,” said Liz Short, executive director of Five Rivers Conservation Trust, based in Concord. “It really boils down to sustaining the ecological, social and community benefits that nature provides.”
Photo courtesy of Five Rivers Conservation Trust.
Five Rivers, like many of the other land trusts in the area, focuses on helping community members protect their land through various conservation efforts. Through those efforts, the land often becomes a place that’s open for hiking and recreation, with a whole variety of natural landscapes to explore. Land trusts also play a role in engaging and protecting the community at large.
“Our mission at our core is land conservation, but we try to do that in a way that’s respectful of the need for housing, because it’s all part of a really important network,” Short said. “It’s what goes into making New Hampshire a great place to live, work and play.”
This goal is in part what drives the community events offered by land trusts in the area. Five Rivers, for instance, is hosting a free evening yoga class outdoors on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at Dimond Hill Farm in Concord. Piscataquog Land Conservancy, another trust in the local area, hosts the Rose Mountain Rumble, a non-timed gravel bike ride, on Saturday, Aug. 27, which will begin at Center Hall in Lyndeborough. Details on these events are available on the land trust websites, and more opportunities are available through the New Hampshire Land Trust Coalition’s website.
While land trusts endeavor to serve the community, there are also a multitude of ways for the community to get involved in land conservation.
“We have a lot of volunteer opportunities,” Short said. “Every year, we have volunteers help us with our annual monitoring of conserved lands.”
Five Rivers sends volunteers to all their protected lands to check on the conservation efforts, walk the grounds and take pictures.
“We offer training for that, so it’s really great for someone interested in learning more about conservation, and someone who wants to get out into the woods and learn to use a map and compass,” Short said. “We’re also always looking for new ideas on how to engage new members of the community … We really want to listen to what folks in this region care about, and how we can work to create more recreational opportunities and provide more access. A great way to help out and get involved is to join that conversation.”
Local land trusts with public access hiking trails and recreation Here are some local land trusts with opportunities to check out hiking trails, parks and more. To find a land trust near you, visit nhltc.org.
Bear-Paw Regional Greenways Deerfield, bear-paw.org • Burbank Woods Preserve: 25-75 Coffeetown Road, Deerfield • Great Marsh Preserve: Old Chester Turnpike, Hooksett • North River Preserve: 128 Stage Road, Nottingham
Five Rivers Conservation Trust Concord, 5rct.org • Chichester Town Forest: 130 Hutchinson Road, Chichester • Dimond Hill Farm: 314 Hopkinton Road, Concord • Marjory Swope Park: Long Pond Road, Concord • Winant Park: 11 Fisk Road, Concord
Piscataquog Land Conservancy New Boston, plcnh.org • Benedictine Park: 333 Wallace Road, Bedford • Educational Farm at Joppa Hill: 174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford • Ferrin Pond Nature Preserve: Ferrin Pond Road, Weare • Florence M. Tarr Wildlife Sanctuary: 83 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford • Tuthill Woodlands Preserve: Tucker Mill Road, New Boston
Featured photo:Ralph Baer statue and memorial at Arms Park in Manchester. Baer, a longtime Manchester resident, is widely considered to be “the father of video games.” Photo courtesy of the City Of Manchester’s Parks and Recreation Division.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office will host training sessions for local election officials in preparation for the New Hampshire state primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 13. According to a press release, the sessions, open to moderators, clerks, selectmen, supervisors of the checklist and inspectors of election (ballot clerks), will provide a detailed overview of election law and the processes to be carried out by election officials before, during and after the state election. The sessions will be held in person in Atkinson, Campton, Colebrook, Conway, Gorham, Haverhill, Keene, Manchester, Newport, Portsmouth, Rindge and Wolfeboro, though on-demand training webinars will also be available for election officials who cannot attend the in-person sessions. Visit sos.nh.gov/elections/elections/election-officials.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office also announced that it will offer the Accessible Electronic Absentee Ballot system for the 2022 state primary, which will enable New Hampshire voters with print disabilities to securely request, receive and mark absentee ballots electronically from their own homes. According to a press release, “print disability” is defined as a physical disability that prevents a voter from marking a ballot or completing election forms using pen and paper. Voters using this system will then mail or deliver their marked absentee ballot to their town or city clerk; no votes will be sent or processed over the internet. Applications to use the system for the upcoming election can be downloaded at sos.nh.gov/elections/voters/register-vote/absentee/accessible-voting. (Applicants are permitted to type their name for their signature on the application and email the completed application to their local clerk.)
Dept. of Ed news
The New Hampshire Department of Education is partnering with Tutor.com to provide 24/7, unlimited access to free online tutoring for every middle and high school student in the state to help students recover from missed learning due to the pandemic. According to a press release, more than 100,000 students attending New Hampshire public, private and charter schools as well as students enrolled in home education and Education Freedom Account programs will be able to use the service anytime, anywhere and from any internet-connected device. The tutoring is offered one-to-one for test preparation and homework help, with support available in multiple languages. Students can interact with their personal tutors through their preference of communication method, which may include two-way text or voice chat. All tutors recruited by Tutor.com are vetted and undergo background checks. “This tutoring will not only facilitate and enhance learning, but serve as a tremendous resource for students hoping to enhance their educational experience, or those students in need of individualized instruction,” New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in the release. “This partnership will also support teachers in their ongoing efforts to assist students who may be struggling and seeking additional guidance.”
The New Hampshire Department of Education has also formed two additional partnerships to promote and strengthen literacy among students in the state. A partnership with Lexia Learning Systems, based in Concord, Mass., gives eligible New Hampshire educators access to Lexia’s Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) professional learning programs. According to a press release, the programs are designed to provide early childhood educators, elementary educators and education administrators with a deep knowledge of literacy and language instruction and the science behind reading, including phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and written language. A partnership with Güd Marketing, based in Lansing, Mich., has been established to launch a new statewide reading campaign. The campaign will include advertising, marketing and social media efforts as well as a video series, according to the release.
Opioid settlement
New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and attorney generals from other states have reached a $450 million settlement with Ireland-based opioid producer Endo International and its lenders. According to a press release from New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella, Endo makes generic and branded opioids, including Percocet, Endocet and Opana ER, the last of which was withdrawn from the pharmaceutical market in 2017. The states allege that Endo used deceptive marketing for its opioid sales, downplaying the risk of addiction and overstating the benefits of opioids. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy protection last week. In addition to the $450 million payment, the agreement in principle — pending final documentation and Bankruptcy Court approval — requires Endo to turn over millions of opioid-related documents for publication online in a public document archive and pay $2.75 million for the archival expenses and bans Endo from marketing opioids. “This settlement continues our efforts over many years to hold opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers responsible for their role in fueling the opioid crisis in New Hampshire,” Formella said in the release. “That crisis continues to wreak havoc in our communities and results in significant numbers of drug overdoses and deaths.” New Hampshire’s funds from the settlement will be dedicated to opioid treatment and prevention programs in the state.
The New Hampshire State Forest Nursery in Boscawen has continued to see record-breaking seedling sales this year. According to a press release, the total number of orders increased by 37.6 percent, income increased by 52 percent and the total number of seedlings lifted, sorted for quality, packaged and sold increased by 50.8 percent from 2021. Each year, the State Forest Nursery grows three million seedlings and has 20 acres dedicated to seed orchards and testing areas.
The New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition and Rights & Democracy Institute will host the Concord International Overdose Awareness Day Vigil on Wednesday, Aug. 31, which is International Overdose Awareness Day. Attendees are invited to gather at City Hall starting at 4 p.m., from where they’ll start walking to the Statehouse at 4:30 p.m. At the Statehouse starting at 5 p.m. there will be a program with music and speeches, culminating with the candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Visit overdoseday.com/activities-2022.
The Bedford School District is faced with around 75 positions still left to fill before the school year starts. According to its website, paraprofessionals, custodians, food service workers and bus monitors are needed. Informational meetings will be held in the district’s SAU Boardroom (103 County Road) on Friday, Aug. 26, at 9 a.m. and Monday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m.
At a family picnic this summer we gobbled salads, pulled pork and pies. Lounging in the shade of a giant maple, we admired my cousin’s picture-book perennial garden and a flock of orioles flitting above. Later we cooled off in the swirling water of the Connecticut River. All the while, we swapped family news and stories, only once drifting over the line into politics. An idyllic afternoon.
Imagine my surprise when our host emailed me how disappointed she was in her teenage grandchildren. They were perfectly capable of conversation, she said, and hadn’t even tried. At one point, inexplicably, they had all marched out of the house, stood in a row holding pieces of bread, and intoned, “We found the toast.” (More on that later.) She had a mind to speak to them.
My advice: go easy. Their willingness to even show up at a family reunion testifies to the tug of kinship in a disconcerting world. While Boomers can draw on the confidence instilled in us when things seemedto be headed generally in the right direction, younger people have had vastly different inputs. Millennials grew up in the shadow of 9/11, war and recession; Gen Z in the slow burn of climate change and Covid-19. For better and worse, they are all digital natives. The pandemic has exacerbated normal anxiety and distress, and provoked serious mental health challenges.
All of these factors impact social behavior. The rules and skills used to interact in society are not inborn. They have to be identified, modeled, practiced. Expectations vary, but at the core are respect and empathy. Saying please and thank you are basic. Being able to engage in conversation in a way that shows attention to the other person and awareness of interesting events is more advanced.
Long before the pandemic, civility itself had been eroding. In 2010 Jim Leach, then chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, visited New Hampshire on a 50-state “Civility Tour.” Leach sought to raise awareness about the danger of inappropriate public discourse and behavior. “Little is more important for the world’s leading democracy in this change-intensive century than establishing an ethos of thoughtfulness and decency of expression. … If we don’t try to understand and respect others, how can we expect them to respect us, our values and our way of life?” he asked.
About that toast: It turns out the teenagers were reaching out. One of this summer’s trends on TikTok is “#RaiseAToast.” Inspired by a scene from The Little Rascals in which Alfalfa toasts his would-be sweetheart, it focuses on celebrating the people and things you love the most.
We grown-ups were the ones who missed the social cue.
It’s understandable to mistake Bella White’s debut album, Just Like Leaving, for a mid-20th-century episode of Louisiana Hayride. With its layers of honey, hardscrabble and harmony, it’s a throwback that’s only missing the crackle and hiss of a big table radio.
The bigger surprise is it’s coming from a Canadian urbanite who was barely 20 years old when she recorded it at a rustic studio in the Green Mountains. Exposed to bluegrass at an early age by a touring musician father, Bella White became a natural at the genre, and her talent continues to grow.
She deftly draws from the hill country music that captivated her as a youngster, while staying aware of the dichotomy of it and her Calgary, Alberta, upbringing. “I was growing up going to public school in the city, taking the C train … this very urban kind of lifestyle,” White said by phone recently. “Then singing all of these really troublesome, ‘woe is me’ songs; I always found it really interesting.”
That said, she can evoke the pain of her own lived experience. “Broke (When I Realized)” recalls the dissolution of her parents’ marriage when she was a child. It’s devastating, as she recounts overhearing her father deliver the news and thinking it’s a bad dream, only to have a dawning awareness: “I’d yet to fall asleep.”
White can also express romantic longing with startling maturity. “Now I’ve chased your love ’cause I thought it might feel woolen/like a dram on a damn cold winter’s night,” she sings on Just Like Leaving’s title track. The line, oft-quoted by admiring writers and critics, would be at home on an early Joni Mitchell album.
The likening delights White. “That means a lot, she’s my favorite,” she said, adding, “we’re both from the Prairies.”
The characters in many of White’s songs are on the move, a state that often mirrors her life. At 19, she came to Boston after hearing about the city’s roots scene. “I kind of just took a leap of faith,” she said. Settling into a dorm-like, musician-filled dwelling called Brighton House, she gained a Berklee education by osmosis, auditing the music college’s American Roots class and jamming whenever she could.
Better still was hanging out with many others who were close to her in age. “I wasn’t really exposed to that growing up; I felt like I was always the youngest person at the jam,” White said. “I started to meet people through going to bluegrass festivals who went to Berklee…. I thought, how funny that there’s this mecca for old-time bluegrass and country music in Boston, of all places.”
She hung around New England long enough to make her first serious record — a studio recording done in her teens remains unreleased — at the urging of old home country friend Patrick M’Gonigle. The multi-instrumentalist, known for his time in the Lonely Heartstring Band, produced, and led her to Guilford Sound, a facility built into a southern Vermont hill.
Fortune smiled when they entered the studio just as lockdown began in mid-March 2020. “We were in this little box in the woods, kind of oblivious to what’s going on,” she said. “It created this really interesting dynamic … the best quarantine I could have ever asked for. Definitely some divine intervention or something.”
White then decamped to Nashville, keeping a home base there while touring a lot. She’s opened for Sierra Ferrell, Molly Tuttle and others, while becoming a steady presence on the festival scene. One day after her show at Portsmouth’s newly renovated Music Hall Lounge, she’ll be at the Green Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Manchester, Vermont.
Lately she’s been “kind of just quietly” staying in Victoria, British Columbia. “I’ve lived in Nashville kind of on and off for the past three years or so, but have been mostly in Victoria these days,” she said.
Ahead of a run that continues through mid-September, White released a new single. “The Way I Oughta Go” finds her voice with a Lydia Loveless edge as she rambles from city to city. It’s part of an upcoming album done with Jonathan Wilson, a producer who’s worked with Father John Misty, Billy Strings and White’s friend Erin Rae, among others.
A big fan of the country music history podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones, White sees herself evolving beyond her bluegrass roots into something a bit more raucous.
“In the fall, I plan on having some electric guitar and maybe some pedal steel coming into the mix,” she said. “There are so many other elements of country music that are not acoustic, that are electric … that’s a huge part of the history as well. It’s really fun to broaden your horizon and play with it all, you know?”
Bella White When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m. Where: The Music Hall Lounge, 131 Congress St., Portsmouth Tickets: $15 advance, $17 day of show, $25 premium seating at themusichall.org
Featured photo: Bella White. Photo Credit Morgan-Mason
Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival returns to Manchester
By Jack Walsh
listings@hippopress.com
For the past 50 years the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival has taken place at Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church in Manchester. The three-day event returns from Friday, Aug. 19, through Sunday, Aug. 21, and will feature a variety of authentic Middle Eastern items to order.
The festival is a celebration of Middle Eastern culture — primarily through Lebanese food, as Our Lady of the Cedars Church was founded by Lebanese families. Rev. Thomas Steinmetz of the church said that the event has greatly evolved over the past 15 or so years and continues to grow.
Scenes from the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival. Courtesy photos.
“It used to be smaller,” he said. “On a Sunday afternoon we’d do it behind our old church, the little church that we had on South Beech Street. … When we moved to our current location, it allowed us to expand the festival, and it’s been much larger for the past 15 or 16 years.”
Options at this year’s event will include lamb and chicken kebab dinners, tabbouleh salad, traditional Lebanese pastries and more. In addition to a wide variety of food there will also be a bar, along with Middle Eastern music and traditional cultural dances. For the kids, there will be a section full of activities and games, as well as a petting zoo and a bounce house.
Marylou Ashooh Lazos, head of the festival’s food production, suggests people order their food ahead of time online in order to make sure that they get their chance at grabbing some of the more highly anticipated dishes. The threat and impacts of Hurricane Henri during last year’s festival forced its cancellation on the final of the three days. But despite this, Lazos said, event organizers sold out of all their prepared food.
According to Lazos, the lamb shawarma, prepared in a wrap with tahini sauce, parsley, tomato and pickles, is the most popular meal at the festival.
“It started with the meat that was left over from the lamb kebabs that couldn’t be skewered neatly,” she said. “We used to cut them into shaved ribbons, so it’s very tender meat, and we trim off all of the fat.”
There will also be available options for vegetarians, such as falafels made with chickpeas and fava beans, as well as lubyeh, or green beans cooked in a garlic and tomato sauce and topped with seasoning. This will be on each prepared plate — or you can order a lubyeh dinner, featuring the green beans served over rice pilaf with bread.
A meal making a return is mujadara, a meatless dish made with lentils and rice that’s also gluten-free.
“We used to make mujadara the traditional way with cracked wheat, but we switched that to respect our gluten-sensitive people,” Lazos said.
Desserts, meanwhile, will include a lighter version of baklava known as baklawa, as well as ghrybe (almond butter cookies with powdered sugar) and coosa pita, a creamy custard made with eggs, milk, sugar, cream of wheat and coosa (a summer squash, similar to zucchini) that’s layered between sheets of phyllo dough.
While this is a fundraiser, Steinmetz and the church aims to make this a weekend event of fun to bring families together within the community.
Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival When: Friday, Aug. 19, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 20, noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 21, noon to 5 p.m. Where: Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church, 140 Mitchell St., Manchester Cost: Free admission; foods are priced per item Order online: mahrajan-nh.com
Featured photo: Scenes from the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival. Courtesy photos.
