On The Job – Jessicca Mahoney and Sonia Virgue

Memorial and gravesite caretakers

Jessicca Mahoney and Sonia Virgue are the co-owners of Stone Stylist (see “Stone Stylist” on Facebook, 781-692-5300, stonestylist.nh@gmail.com), a Northwood-based business that provides memorial and gravesite cleaning, maintenance and decorating services throughout southern New Hampshire.

Explain your job and what it entails.

We provide care keeping services to memorial sites and gravesites, and we maintain cleanliness and beautification for eternal resting places in the most respectful manner possible.

How long have you had this job?

We started Stone Stylist on Nov. 1, 2022.

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

We wanted to offer respectful maintenance and care for the eternal resting places of loved ones lost. We have seen unmaintained gravestones being left for long periods of time with existing decaying items, and we wanted to offer a more personalized, caring approach.

What kind of education or training did you need for this job?

We have done research and spoken to cemetery professional caretakers on how to care for gravestones.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

We wear casual attire as we are a new company. We are currently working on setting up logo-inspired clothing.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Feeling sympathetic to everyone we speak to and hearing the sadness, but we try to help them find peace in that we are there to help and we also care.

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

How much work it actually takes to start a small business, and how hard it is to advertise for something that is so delicate.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

It is not just pressure washing — we do not pressure wash ever — and how rewarding it is when you hear that sigh of relief from someone who needed you because they just could not get to the gravesite.

What was the first job you ever had?

Mahoney: I worked at a pizza place when I was 14.

Virgue: I worked as a babysitter.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you have ever received?

If someone is willing to teach you something, take your time to learn it.

Five favorites

Favorite book: Mahoney: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Virgue: The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Favorite movie: Mahoney: Man on Fire — anything with Denzel Washington. Virgue: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Favorite music: Mahoney: Country and hip-hop. Virgue: Everything.
Favorite food: Mahoney: Chicken alfredo. Virgue: Italian.
Favorite thing about NH: Mahoney: When the foliage changes colors in the fall, because even while something is ending, it can still be beautiful. Virgue: The tranquility of the woods.

Featured photo: Jessicca Mahoney and Sonia Virgue. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 23/02/16

Hello, Donna.

Can you help identify my glasses? They were at our table growing up. I now have inherited them. Any input helpful.

Norm

Dear Norm,

Your glasses are called Georgian glasses. I grew up with some similar but in amber. They were popular in the 1970s. A few different companies produced this thumbprint pattern in a few colors. Being very thick, a lot of them made it to now.

You can purchase today a reproduction line of them as well. Older is always better and has a story to tell.

The value on your dark green ones would be in the range of $12 each. As always, though, condition is important. No scratching, chips or cracks.

Thanks for sharing and reminding me of a memory as well.

Donna

Kiddie Pool 23/02/16

Family fun for the weekend

Night out

• Parents can get a night to themselves while kids enjoy activities like theater games, movie time and karaoke dance party at the Peacock Players (14 Court St. in Nashua; peacockplayers.org) on Friday, Feb. 17, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., according to the Peacock Players website. Kids will be entertained by the Players’ staff of performing artists and educators, the website said. The cost is $25 per child. Reserve a spot online for this Friday or for Friday, March 10.

Showtime

• See Gnomeo & Juliet (PG, 2011) at all three area Chunky’s (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham) as part of the “Little Lunch Date” series on Friday, Feb. 17, at 3:45 p.m. Admission is free but reserve a seat with a $5 food voucher.

• The Palace Youth Theatre is putting on a kid-friendly version of the Tony award-winning musical 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beeon Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester). The show follows the lives of young competitors at their spelling bee and the lives they lead in and outside the competition. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased at palacetheatre.org

Noonan’s new book

• Illustrator and artist Peter Noonan is the featured author for the storytime and crafts event at Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 11:30 a.m. He’ll read The Bike Bus: Adventures in the Queen City, which he both wrote and illustrated. The event is free; reserve a spot online.

Winter fun

• The YMCA of Greater Londonderry will hold its second annual Winter Fest on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at LaBelle Winery in Derry (14 Route 111). The day will feature snowshoeing, snow golfing, arts and crafts, a scavenger hunt and more, according to the YMCA’s Facebook post. The event is free; donations to the YMCA of Greater Londonderry’s annual giving campaign will be accepted, the post said.

• The Londonderry Conservation Commission is hosting a family-friendly Musquash Field Day on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Commission encourages families to experience local wildlife by taking to the trails in snowshoes, sleds, skis, or mountain bikes. At The Landing, there will be hot dogs, cocoa, cookies, coffee and a fire pit. At 11 a.m. the New England Mountain Bike Association will share an introduction to mountain biking and have some bikes available for people to check out. Use the Hickory Hill Road entrance (12 Hickory Hill Road) to get to the field day. See londonderrytrails.org/musquash-conservation-area.

Vacation camp

The USA Ninja Challenge February break clinic starts on Monday, Feb. 27, at 9 a.m. Kids will learn the basics of balancing, gymnastics and parkour along with building their confidence at USA Ninja Challenge (444 E. Industrial Dr. in Manchester). One day costs $55, three costs $160, and the full five costs $225 for members, $250 for nonmembers. Visit ninjamanchesternh.com to register.

Building a simple plant stand

It starts with a trip to the lumber yard

As I write this, the wind chill factor is well below zero, and summer seems a lifetime away. But if you are thinking about starting seeds indoors this year, this would be a good time to build a simple wooden plant stand. You don’t have to be a carpenter to build this, or have expensive power tools. Your local lumber yard will cut the pieces you need.

Mine is a simple A-frame, with one shelf, and the space for more plant flats on the floor. It stands about 4 feet tall, is 5 feet wide from end to end, and 2 feet from front to back at the base. It has space for four or five flats or trays, each of which will hold at least 32 plants — more if you buy the smaller six-packs that I avoid (some flats can hold 48 to 72 plants). And if at a later time you want to grow more plants, you can put another four flats or more on the floor and add lights above them.

The lumber for this cost me about $50 and the light fixture — a simple shop light with two 4-foot LED bulbs and a plug-in cord — cost $62, although often they are more expensive. Looking at catalogs, I see that one can easily spend much more for a pre-made plant stand. If you decide you like starting plants in the house, you could buy the extra lights next to illuminate more flats on the floor.

Here is what you need to buy for the model I built:

Four pieces of 1”x3” pine, 4 feet long

Four pieces of 1”x3” pine, 5 feet long

Two pieces of 1”x3” pine, 16” long, for cross bracing

One piece ¼-inch plywood, 18”x4’ (you can use thicker plywood if you have some)

One pair 3-inch strap hinges

4 feet of ¼-inch jack chain for hanging the lights and two small cup hooks to hang the chain

One 4-foot shop light with LED bulb and a plug-in cord

30 sheet rock screws (1¼” long)

Tools: portable drill with magnetic bit to fit the screws, and a measuring tape

Most lumber yards will cut all your materials to size for you but do not have small sheets of plywood. I found that Home Depot does have plywood in 2-foot by 4-foot sheets, and they cut mine to give me a piece 18” by 4’ for the shelf. You will need to ask them to cut the 1×3 pine boards as follows: four 60-inch pieces, four 48-inch pieces, and two 16-inch pieces.

Start by making two legs for your plant stand. Lay the 4-foot pieces end to end on the floor. Do it on your deck if possible, or next to a wall so that you can get them in a straight line by lining them up with something that is straight. Lay the hinges in place so that you will be able to fold them closed (most hinges only close one way). A cordless drill with a magnetic bit for Phillips screws will make your work much easier. To start the small screws on the hinges, make a hole first with a nail or awl, or a tiny drill bit.

Next close up the hinged legs and place them 5 feet apart on the floor. Place two of the 5-foot pieces on top of the first side. One should be screwed right at the top, one 24 inches from that. Flip over the stand, and do the same on that side. Stand it up, and spread the legs 2 feet apart at the bottom. Then add a cross brace on each end of the A-frame just below support pieces for your shelves.

Lastly you need to hang the light. Mine came with S-hooks and chain, which made hanging the lights easy. If yours do not, you will have to buy them. Most shop lights have slots and holes on the back side so that you can slip in S-hooks easily to hang them. You can also open a link of your jack chain and fit it in without an S-hook — just use two pairs of pliers to bend a link open. Screw two small cup hooks into a top cross piece and attach the jack chain. The chain will allow you to raise or lower the light — lights should be about 6 inches above the plants.

Starting seedlings indoors is miraculous for me — even after doing it for decades. I hold my breath waiting for germination, and fuss over the seedlings like a mother hen. And when I bite into my first tomato in August, I have the added satisfaction of knowing I brought that tomato into my world — with lots of help from Mother Nature.

Featured photo: The finished plant stand. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

The Art Roundup 23/02/16

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

• Schedule change: The Community Players of Concord’s production of The 39 Steps originally slated to run at the Concord City Auditorium this weekend has been postponed to Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26, due to an illness within the company, according to a Players press release. The show will go on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m., with tickets purchased for the original show dates valid for the same day of the week. Tickets are on sale for the new dates at communityplayersofconcord.org. Ticket holders who want a refund or to change the day of the week can contact box office chair David Murdo at 344-4747 or nhdm40@comcast.net, the release said.

• New at the Currier: The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) will kick off a new series of discussions with the museum’s educators and curators this Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. with a tour led by museum director Alan Chong, according to the website. The tour is part of the museum’s weekly Art After Work program, when admission is free from 5 to 8 p.m and the evening includes tours and live music (this week: Hickory Horned Devils), the website said.

While at the museum, check out the newly acquired painting “Black Men and Women in a Tavern,” which was painted in Antwerp around 1650 and “produced in the circle of the Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger,” according to the website. It is one of the “earliest depictions of free Black people in Europe,” the website said. The painting is on view in the European gallery, the website said.

• Exploring memory: Theatre Kapow will present Breadcrumbs, a play by Jennifer Haley, for the next two weekends with shows at Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m.

Performances on Friday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. will be livestreamed from Theatre Kapow’s studio, the website said. “A reclusive fiction writer diagnosed with dementia must depend upon a troubled young caretaker to complete her autobiography,” according to a press release. The Sunday show will be followed by a discussion with representatives from community organizations who will answer questions about Alzheimer’s and resources for patients and caregivers, the release said. In-person tickets cost $28 for adults, $23 for students (plus fees). Live stream tickets cost $15 per device and are available at tkapow.com.

Acrobats
The Peking Acrobats featuring the Shanghai Circus will come to the Stockbridge Theatre (5 Pinkerton St. in Derry; pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre) on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for youth and $5 for Pinkerton students, according to the website, which describes the performers as pushing “the limits of human ability, defying gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility and control.”

• Music from the Black church to popular culture: Author Vaughn A. Booker, a professor of religion at Dartmouth, will lead the virtual program “Lift Every Voice and Swing” hosted by NH Humanities on Friday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m., according to a NH Humanities newsletter. Booker, whose 2020 book is called Lift Every Voice and Swing: Black Musicians and Religious Culture in the Jazz Century, will discuss “how the religious beliefs of popular jazz musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Mary Lou Williams shaped their music” the newsletter said. Go to nhhumanities.org to register for the program.

• Winter concert: The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra will present “Winter Serenities” featuring “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” by Ralph Vaughn Williams, the Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra by Eugene Goosen and “Symphony #1” by Gustav Mahler this Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. Both shows will be presented at the Seifert Performing Arts Center (44 Geremonty Drive in Salem; 893-7069). Tickets cost $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, $8 for students and $5 for K-through-12 Salem students, according to nhpo.booktix.com.

• A second chance at beautiful music: The Manchester Community Music School’s faculty performance of “Chanson d’Amour” featuring Harel Gietheim on cello and Piper Runnion on harp has been rescheduled (it had been slated for Jan. 19) for Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at the school, 2291 Elm St. in Manchester, according to a press release. Admission is free but pre-register at mcmusicschool.org to attend in person or online.

• The kid circus: The High Mowing School middle schoolers (Pine Hill Campus, 77 Pine Hill Drive in Wilton; highmowing.org/hilltop, 654-6003) will show off their circus skills with their show Circus with a Chance of Meatballs Thursday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 for adults, $5 for children.

Even closer to opening night

Nashua Community Arts receives another gift

With the smell of sawdust lingering in the air and the first layer of flooring and drywall up, the Nashua Center for the Arts is physically constructed.

While the project was in talks for the better part of a decade, and ground broke almost five years ago, seeing the modern building design, the 750-seat theater and the lights and sound systems being installed makes the project much more real.

Construction, according to Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess, is due in large part to Bank of America and the generous gift of $250,000 they gave in 2022. On Wednesday, Feb. 8, the bank has matched that amount, to give a total of half a million dollars for the project.

“When [Bank of America] stepped up for $250,000 and became a donor of a lobby … that really showed the community that there is a lot of interest,” said Richard Lannan, the president of Nashua Community Arts. With the new donation, the theater in the Nashua Center for the Arts will be called the Bank of New Hampshire Theater, said Lannan.

Lannan said he has been a champion for this project from the start, helping conceive the idea 10 years ago when Nashua Community Arts first pitched the prospect of a state-of-the-art theater in the downtown area. Lannan said a survey was conducted to ask members of the community if they wanted to see a theater built and if they thought it would be a good thing for downtown. With much positive feedback, the project was decided.

Choosing architects and contractors and designing the theater took two years, Lannan said. Construction began in 2020.

Now, only eight weeks from completion, Lannan is amazed that the project is so close to being finished.

“I’m in here every week,” said Lannan. “Even with that, I’ll be wondering, ‘Oh wow, when did they do that?’ It’s awesome.”

For now the stage is just concrete, the seats are in storage, and the reception area is matching shades of off-white walls and gray base layer flooring, but the image of a theater with state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and a special type of floor that can hold seats or be used as a function hall, a standing-room-only pit or even a banquet area is coming to fruition.

“We are a destination now,” said Wendy Hunt, president of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. “I personally cannot wait for April 1. [Visitors are] going to find out that we are state of the art in so many ways. Really, Nashua has it all.”

April 1 will be the official opening reception for the Nashua Center for the Arts, ahead of the first show coming to the theater, Winnie the Pooh, opening on April 6. Not all the shows will be plays, with a magician coming, several concerts, and a ballet rendition of Beauty and the Beast.

The reception is completely sold out.

“It feels good to come in and see things happening,” Lannan said, looking around the soon-to-be-filled theater. “I’ve been involved since the beginning. I can’t wait to start coming to shows.”

Winnie the Pooh
Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St.
When: Thursday, April 6, and Friday, April 7, at 6 p.m.
Price: $39 to $69
Visit: nashuacenterforthearts.com

Featured photo: There won’t be a bad seat in the house at the Nashua Center for the Arts. Photo by Katelyn Sahagian.

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