Category: Q&A

Bedford author’s debut explores coming-of-age

For four years, Bedford resident Gigi Georges, who lives part of the year in Maine, followed the lives of five young women growing up in rural Maine. She shares their stories, providing an intimate look at the contemporary female rural experience, in her debut book, Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America.

What is Downeast about?
It’s a work of narrative nonfiction that explores the lives of five young women … in Washington County [in Maine]. Maine is actually the most rural state in the nation — it’s incredibly isolated and challenged in terms of poverty and the hardships that often come with economic difficulties — and Washington County is one of the most rural and isolated parts of Maine. … I spent essentially four years reporting on this [community] and following these young women from their late high school years into their early college and work years.

What sparked the idea for this book?
I’m a city kid, originally from Brooklyn, New York. I spent most of my life in urban places. … until about 15 years ago, when my husband and I decided to move to northern New England, ultimately [settling in] Maine and New Hampshire. As we raised our daughter in significantly more rural places than either of us had ever lived, we began to see something different from what we had been hearing and continue to hear … about rural America. Much of today’s narrative about rural America in the media and the broader popular culture is one of hopelessness and despair … but I was seeing a more hopeful story of young people, particularly of young women. … I wanted to dig deep and understand that dichotomy between what we often hear and what we were seeing.

What was the process of your research and writing?
A good friend of mine … introduced me to the school superintendent and principal there, and they allowed me to sit in and have some informal discussions with the young people at the high school. … From there, I found these five young women, who I believed were broadly representative of life in this rural and isolated place. For four years, they allowed me to follow them. … I ended up spending countless hours with them. … I’d make the trip from Southwest Harbor, which is about an hour’s drive, or the five-hour trip from Bedford. … I started by simply interviewing them [and] recording the conversations. They allowed me into their homes; to go with them to their favorite places, out on the lobster boats, out to the blueberry farms; to speak to their family members, friends, teachers and mentors; and to really immerse myself in their community.

Have you done this kind of writing in the past?
No. I come from a background of politics and public policy … and working in urban education issues. I had done some writing … but all academic. … This was my first foray into journalistic reporting and narrative nonfiction writing. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but until I met these extraordinary young women and [saw] this community that is thriving in the face of so many challenges, I hadn’t had that moment where I knew that this was the book I was meant to write.

Is Covid part of this story?
Yes. The book takes the reader up to late last summer, during Covid. It was an interesting time to write about a rural place. … I think it made the findings of the book stronger. … I thought about urban areas … and how isolated they became… and how rural places that are geographically isolated were anything but [socially] isolated, because they have a tremendous sense of social capital and strength of community. I thought that, in the time of Covid, it was even more important to point that out.

What would you like readers to take away from Downeast?
It’s important to see beyond the stories of hopelessness and despair about rural America, and equally important to listen to the voices of contemporary young women, which, until this point, has been largely absent from the accounts we’ve had in recent years about rural America. These voices are worth listening to because, in many ways, they represent the future of places like Washington County.

What did you gain from the experience personally?
I gained a tremendous appreciation for the resilience, self-awareness and fierceness … of the young women in Washington County. … I’ve often reflected that if my young daughter, who is now 9, has half of the qualities that are seen and portrayed in these young women, I’ll be a happy mom.

Do you keep in touch with the women in the book?
I do. We text fairly regularly, and we even have a group text [chain] going with me and all five girls. I’ve learned to be a really good texter; they’re bringing me up to speed!

Is there anything else you’re interested in writing about?
I have been asked to and have thought about one day writing something about the young men. I think they have their own story to tell.

Featured author photo credit: Vanessa Lyn

Merrimack resident judges at Westminster dog show

Merrimack resident and retired dog handler Mark Threlfall headed to Tarrytown, New York, earlier this month to serve as a breed judge at the Westminster Kennel Club’s 145th annual Dog Show — his third time judging the all-breed purebred conformation competition. It’s the longest nationally televised live dog show and second-longest continuously running sporting event in the U.S., following the Kentucky Derby. Threlfall, who handled the Best in Show winning dog at the show in 1993, talks about what it’s like to work with top dogs.

What did you do as a judge at the WKC dog show?
I was one of probably about 40 breed judges. [Breed is] the first level of judging: Dogs compete with other dogs of their same breed. We select one dog as the Best of Breed winner, and that dog goes on to compete in his variety group. I did sporting dog breeds — they’re what I judge the most, and I enjoy them — like Irish setters, German wirehaired pointers, German shorthaired pointers, Gordon setters and black cocker spaniels. I [chose] one [dog] in each of those [breeds] to come back that night and compete in the sporting group. It keeps narrowing down from there in a process of elimination; four dogs [in the group] would be placed and the dog that wins first place would go on to compete for Best in Show.

What is your experience with dog shows?
My first job in high school was a job in a kennel in Amherst, and from there, when I got out of high school, instead of skipping off to college, I went to work for the handler who showed the dogs for that kennel. It was supposed to be just a gap year, but that turned into four years of working for him. Then I went on to work for a couple who were handlers and very famous people in the sport in Southport, Connecticut, for five years. After that experience, I decided it was time to go out and show dogs of my own. As a handler, you do basically the same thing a horse trainer does for [racing] horses to get them ready for a race, but for dogs. Then, you’re not only the trainer, but you’re also kind of the ‘jockey,’ because you’re the one who brings them into the ring and shows them.

What do you look for when judging the dogs?
Every breed has what’s called a ‘standard’ — a complete word description of every physical attribute of a perfect dog in that breed. It tells you how big it is, what kind of coat it has, what colors it can have, the [body] structure and everything from the length of the nose to the length of the head. You judge the dogs against their breed’s standard — you aren’t judging them against each other — and then you pick the dog that you feel most closely approaches perfection as described by its breed’s standard. By the time Best of Show is judged, you’ve got seven dogs in the ring that are all excellent examples of their breed, and what it comes down to then are those little intangibles. The dogs seem to know and understand that they’re in a show and that it’s a big deal, and you can just tell that they’re into it. They get all happy and excited and bubbly. It’s hard to describe, but it’s more about the performance, that little bit of magic a dog has going on that day that makes it catch your eye.

How does one become a dog show judge?
We’ve all spent many years in the sport and around purebred dogs. … To judge for the American Kennel Club, you have to pass a test on the breed. Then the American Kennel Club has what they call ‘field representatives’ who work for the club and will come watch you in your first several [judging] assignments to see how you do, kind of as a hands-on test of [your knowledge of] the breed. Then, if they think you know what you’re doing, they’ll give you regular status [as a judge] for that breed.

How did you get called to judge the WKC dog show?
They have a committee that selects the judges. Basically, they look for people who … have a good reputation of being fair and knowledgeable of the breeds that they’re judging. … Everybody hopes they get invited; it’s the biggest and best show. It’s a really big deal and a thrill for us [judges], like the Academy Awards or something.

What is your favorite part of judging a dog show?
There’s nothing like finding a new great dog. There are [dog show] magazines where the owners advertise if their dogs had big wins and things like that, so when you go into the ring, you probably know several of the dogs. When you find an unknown one that you think is a really wonderful dog and is better than any of the others, that’s what’s really exciting.

Sara Ann Hiland-Alanis

Lactation consultant

Sara Ann Hiland-Alanis is a registered nurse and International Board Certified lactation consultant. She owns her own practice, Nourish Holistic Lactation Support, in Bedford.

Explain your job.

I help families feed their babies. I help breastfeeding moms with breastfeeding concerns; moms who are pumping milk for their babies; and bottle-feeding families, feeding either breast milk or formula, if they’re struggling.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been doing this for nine years and opened the business in 2017.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

I was a registered nurse, and after the birth of my first child I had a lot of struggles with feeding. There wasn’t a lot of support available at that time. I started going to a local moms group, and one of the group leaders was a lactation counselor. She’s the one who got me interested in helping moms and babies. After the birth of my second child — at that time, I had started working as a registered nurse with families and maternity and NICU — I had a lot of trouble with feeding him as well. I met with a lactation consultant in a private practice. … She’s the one who made me really fall in love with the profession. … I [opened Nourish] because there’s a different level of autonomy and investment in caring for patients in the community outside of the hospital umbrella. I think the care is much more personalized and available.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and … [for] the board certification [in lactation consulting], I had to complete a year of lactation-specific education, 1,000 hours of hands-on clinical experience as a mentee and sit for the board exam.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Business casual, something comfortable.

How has your job changed over the last year?

I think that, with all the Covid restrictions, families have become more reliant on care obtained outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices. More families are now seeking care outside of that realm and private practice care.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

I wish I’d had more clinical knowledge. Clinical knowledge is something you’re always getting, because every single case teaches you something, but, of course, you can’t really go into it already knowing that.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

I wish people knew I existed. I don’t think a lot of families know there’s feeding support out there, and I don’t think a lot of pediatricians, midwives and in-practice doctors refer [patients to a lactation consultant] as often as they should. I’m a vested member of the medical community; I have extensive knowledge in infant feeding, both breast and bottle. I can really … make a difference in a family’s overall child-rearing experience.

What was the first job you ever had?

I was a nanny.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

There aren’t a lot of us [lactation consultants], so I didn’t really get any advice on how to do this. If I was giving advice to someone who wants to be a lactation consultant, it’d be that they can do it. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time, and more goes into it than people would expect, but it’s a wonderful and fulfilling career.

Five favorites
Favorite book: I don’t like reading; I can’t sit still that long!
Favorite movie: Dirty Dancing
Favorite music: Country
Favorite food: Strawberry shortcake
Favorite thing about NH: The seasons

Featured photo: Sara Ann Hiland-Alanis

Brad Greenland

Genealogist

Brad Greenland is a Manchester-based genealogist and founder of Greenland Genealogy, providing family history research and record retrieval services.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I work with clients who want to know about their family story, get details about their family tree or get something [about their family history] confirmed. I do the research for them [by] searching online records and sometimes contacting archives around the region or country to track down physical copies of records. Then, I write up a report and present it [to the client].

How long have you had this job?

I started about four years ago.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

It’s something I’ve always been really passionate about. … I first got into genealogy when I was in high school. One day, my family realized that we didn’t really know anything about our family tree, so we started looking into it, and I was hooked from there. … In college, I thought a lot about doing genealogy [as a career]. I wanted to be able to shed some light on other people’s family trees. After college, I started doing it and absolutely loved it. I’ve been doing it ever since.

What kind of education or training did you need?

A lot of it is self-taught. I did a lot of online webinars … and talked to other genealogists about how to go about certain things. … I also have a bachelor’s degree in international relations and have always been interested in history, so [genealogy] is a good way to tie that [education] in.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

I usually do my correspondence with clients over email or over the phone, so I can dress casual.

How has your job changed over the last year?

It’s definitely been harder to get hard copies of records. A lot of the archives had to be shut down due to Covid, and they didn’t have staff because their job couldn’t really be done remotely, since they work with the physical records. I just had to hope that the records I needed were digitized and available to access online.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

When I originally started, I had no idea that so many records weren’t digitized. There are a lot that I have to physically go to a historical society or library or archive to find.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

People are surprised when they find out that I’m only in my 20s. Genealogy is often associated with an older crowd, but it’s really something that can be interesting and appealing to everybody.

What was the first job you ever had?

I was an umpire for my local baseball league as a teenager.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Everyone has a different starting point with their genealogy. Some people know a ton about their family history, and some people just don’t have a lot of information for various reasons. You have to understand where people are coming from and be able to work with them and the information they have to get the job done.

Five favorites
Favorite book: The Great Gatsby
Favorite movie: When Harry Met Sally
Favorite music: I like an eclectic mix — everything from Frank Sinatra to today’s music.
Favorite food: Italian
Favorite thing about NH: You can go to the beach, or hike the mountains, or visit a historical town; there’s such a wide variety of things to do.

Featured photo: Brad Greenland