Zachery Palmer is a housing cooperative specialist for ROC-NH, a program that works to build and strengthen resident-owned communities in the state. ROC-NH is overseen by New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, a nonprofit community development financial institution that provides loans, capital and finance education to New Hampshire people and families with low and moderate incomes.
Explain your job.
I help manufactured home residents and manufactured home park owners, cooperative or private, with their day-to-day business, whether it’s helping them figure out their new budget for the year or … [answering] a resident’s question about what their board of directors is doing or where their rent should go. I help people who are looking to buy manufactured homes … and I connect them with our Welcome Home Loans department, which … does real estate mortgages for manufactured homes in ROC residential communities or on private land. I help residents in private parks turn [their parks] into cooperative parks, [which they can do by] purchasing the land underneath their homes from the private owner and running it as a board-of-directors cooperative. … I also help [parks] with infrastructure projects, like replacing water and sewer lines systems.
How long have you had this job?
Two years.
What led you to this career field and your current job?
I was a bank teller … and I got introduced to the commercial lending world from there. Through a mentor of mine, I found out about the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and all the interesting and creative financing programs that have spun out of it since its inception.
What kind of education or training did you need?
I graduated from SNHU in 2017 and got my undergraduate degree in business administration. … I also had to study parliamentary procedure and cooperative principles and commercial underwriting.
What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?
A button-up shirt and khakis and … either running shoes or boots, because I travel all around the state to visit manufactured home parks. Some parks have nice, paved roads; some have dirt roads; some are going through infrastructure projects … so I have to be ready for anything.
How has your job changed over the last year?
Like everyone else, we’ve had to adapt to online meetings, internally, as a team, with external partners, and with the cooperatives’ residents and board members themselves. I’ve also been working remotely for the last year and a half.
What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?
To be open-minded and roll with the punches, but stay determined.
What do you wish other people knew about your job?
Affordable housing is a high need right now in the state of New Hampshire, and manufactured homes are truly affordable housing. There are 136 resident-owned communities throughout the state. … It’s one of the most affordable living options for people to build equity and actually purchase a home. Look at the price of a manufactured home versus a stick-built home right now; it’s considerably cheaper.
What was the first job you ever had?
I worked at Subway in high school.
What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?
Never surrender your curiosity. You have to satisfy it for yourself.
Five favorites Favorite book: As a Man Thinketh by James Allen Favorite movie: I Am Legend Favorite music: Snarky Puppy, a jazz-funk band Favorite food: Steak and cheese sub Favorite thing about NH: Every part of it is different, from the seacoast to the mountains to the west.
Head to Greeley Park (100 Concord St. in Nashua) on Friday, July 16, at dusk for a screening of Abominable (PG, 2019), an animated movie about a girl and her friends in Shanghai who help a Yeti return to his family in the Himalayas. The screening is part of Nashua’s SummerFun lineup of activities; see nashuanh.gov.
Check out Space Jam: A New Legacy(PG, 2021), the update on the 1990s mix of Looney Tunes characters and live human basketball players that opens on Friday, July 16 (in theaters and on HBO Max). See a sensory-friendly screening on Saturday, July 17, at 10 a.m. at O’neil Cinemas at Brickyard Square in Epping (24 Calef Highway; 679-3529, oneilcinemas.com). The screening takes place in a theater where the sound is down and the lights are up.
O’neil’s summer kids movies series continues by celebrating Christmas in July with Elf (PG, 2003) screening Monday, July 19, and Wednesday, July 21, at 10 a.m. Tickets to the screening cost $2 for kids ages 11 and under and $3 for ages 13 and up. A $5 popcorn and drink combo is also for sale.
Before the fourth movie (Hotel Transylvania: Transformania) comes out this October, check out the original Hotel Transylvania (PG, 2012), featuring the voice work of Adam Sandler, at Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road in Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave. in Nashua; 150 Bridge St. in Pelham, chunkys.com) on Wednesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. The screening is a “Little Lunch Date,” with kid-friendly lighting. Reserve tickets in advance with $5 food vouchers.
This weekend at all three Chunky’s, try to win some sweet prizes at Theater Candy Bingo on Sunday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. Admission costs $4.99 plus one theater candy.
Summer of performances
The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) continues its 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series. Finishing up this week’s run, catch Peter Pan on Thursday, July 15. Next week, the production is Wizard of Oz, Tuesday, July 20, through Thursday, July 22. Showtimes are at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and tickets cost $10 per person.
The Everlasting Characters, a group of fairytale character performers, will present “Royal Ball,” a free show at the Pelham Village Green (in front of the library at 24 Village Green) on Wednesday, July 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. Meet the characters, take a photo with them and play games, according to the website pelhamcommunityspirit.org/sponsored-events/concerts-on-the-village-green. The event is free and kids are encouraged to come in their favorite fairy tale outfits, the site said.
Or check out children’s musician Steve Blunt, who will perform a free kids concert at Ordway Park (Main Street in Hampstead) on Wednesday, July 21, at 6 p.m. See hampsteadconcerts.com/concert-series for more about the events; find out more about the Nashua-based Blunt at steveblunt.com, where you can find videos of some of his songs.
Dear Donna, I have this basket that is probably 100 years old from my mother; I think it was for a baby. I would love to know if it has value and am also looking for ideas for places that might like this, or to find out if there is no real value other than as a family item. Martha
Dear Martha, I’m not sure if your basket is for a baby; it could be a gathering basket as well. It doesn’t show any signs of interior wear or of any cloth or liner. I also can say I have never seen one made out of grapevine. Maybe it’s not American. I don’t have any expertise in this area. I’m giving you my gut feeling after doing a bit of research as well. My advice is to bring it to an antique shop and have someone look at it directly. That sometimes can help. I’m sorry to not be much help to you and hope you do find out more. Please share with me if you do, as I am always looking to learn more myself.
Mid-summer is often a quiet time for flowers; many gardens have fewer dramatic blossoms than in the spring. I have made an effort to have plenty blooming now. It’s true that my Japanese primroses, peonies and Siberian iris have gone by. But I have many others, both old favorites and lesser-known beauties.
Bee balm has started early this year for me. Contrary to what most gardening books say, bee balm does not need full sun. In fact, full sun makes it dry out and go by more quickly. It does well in moist, rich soil but will grow anywhere. This year I planted some wild bee balm, a native prairie plant. Its scientific name is Monarda fistulosa, and some better garden centers are selling it now, even though it is not as flashy as its domesticated cousin. It’s a light lavender in color, and shorter than the standard varieties. It is terrific for butterflies and bees.
Just finishing up for me is one of the bellflowers, clustered bellflower. It stands about 24 inches tall with purplish-blue globes of small blossoms. It is a fast spreader but pulls easily if it gets out of its place. A relative, peach-leaved bellflower, is preferred by some as it is better-behaved. It has flowers growing up its tall stems and comes in blue or white. Both species are good cut flowers.
Feverfew has been used traditionally to cure many things, but I like it as a white cut flower with a yellow center. Each blossom is small — say half an inch — but there can be hundreds on a big plant. It is rambunctious. It sows seeds and shows up around my garden, but it is easily pulled. It keeps well in an arrangement.
Betony is in bloom now, too. It is in the same genus as lamb’s ears but has green, not silvery, leaves and sends up lovely purplish flowers on stiff stalks that look great in a vase. The best variety is one called Hummelo, named after the Dutch hometown of Piet Oudolf, designer of the High Line Gardens in NYC. But Hummel means bumblebee in German, which is appropriate — it attracts bees over its long bloom time. Small flowers appear all along its tall stems.
False hydrangea comes in blue or white blossoms. Photo courtesy of Henry Homeyer.
An uncommon flower in bloom for me now is called false hydrangea because the leaves are similar to those of the PeeGee hydrangea, although the flowers are totally different. This gem grows in full to part shade in moist, rich soil. It has small bluish-lavender cup-shaped flowers.
There is another false hydrangea, Deinanthe bifida, which has white flowers. Both are rated as hardy to Zone 5. I am in Zone 4 and have lost some plants, but others have survived.
A huge, dramatic plant is the giant fleece flower. The blooms are a bit like astilbe flowers on steroids. The hollow stems stand up to 8 feet tall, and flower panicles are sometimes 18 inches from top to bottom. It does not spread by root, but each year the clump gets larger. I just cut back a good portion of mine, as the plant was shading out nearby plants. It would take a pickax and a strong back to dig it up – which I have, on one occasion. It likes moist soil and full sun,
Campanula glomerata spreads by root. Photo courtesy of Henry Homeyer.
Moist soil is also good for Japanese iris. In fact, it is often grown in shallow water. I have one clump that has just begun blooming, after all the others. Its foliage is similar to Siberian iris, but the “falls” or petals lie back flat, looking up. It does not like the competition of weeds, I have learned, as we weeded it well early on, and it is going to bloom dramatically this year.
Great masterwort has small domed blossoms in white or pinky-purple that look like pins stuck in a small pincushion, surrounded by delicate bracts (petal-like structures). Deer won’t eat it, and it blooms for weeks, preferably in moist, sunny locations. Each year my clumps get bigger and more wonderful.
At the front of a prominent flower bed I have installed lady’s mantle, a tidy plant with lacy clusters of chartreuse flowers, a color that accents others nicely in a vase, or in the garden. It is probably best known for its tidy foliage which traps rain drops or dew and shows them off. It works as a ground cover, spreading a bit each year and providing dense foliage that helps reduce weeds. It will grow in full sun or light shade but does not thrive in hot, dry soil.
In addition to perennials, each year I grow some annuals. Last year we started many dahlia tubers for their big, colorful blossoms, and saved the tubers indoors to reuse this year, and to share with others.
This year we bought some canna lilies for their interesting foliage — one variety has deep purple leaves — and bright orange or yellow flowers. They stand from 2 to 6 feet tall and have been blooming consistently for a month so far.
If your garden is a bit short of flowers just now, try some of those mentioned above. There is always space for a few more.
Featured photo:Betony ‘Hummelo’is a good cut flower. Photo courtesy of Henry Homeyer.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
“Perspectives,” a mixed-media sculpture by Philip Gauthier. Courtesy photo.
• Saturday market: This month’s Concord Arts Marketwill take place on Saturday, July 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rollins Park (off Broadway Street, with parking at 33 Bow St.). The outdoor artisan and fine art market features 50 vendors, live music and a food truck. It will continue on the third Saturday of each month through October, and during Intown Concord’s Market Days Festival, when it will be held Thursday, Aug. 19, through Saturday, Aug. 21, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Main and Pleasant streets. Visit concordartsmarket.net/summer-arts-market.
• Chorale reunited: The Concord Chorale’s virtual performance of Carmina Burana that premiered on July 10 is now available to stream on demand for free on the Chorale’s YouTube channel. The piece, composed by Carl Orff in the 1930s, is based on a collection of medieval poetry of the same name, particularly on the text’s recurring theme of “Rota Fortunae,” the theoretical “wheel of fortune” that determines every person’s fate. Its iconic opening movement, “O Fortuna,” will be “familiar to essentially everybody,” music director Jenny Cooper told the Hippo earlier this month. “It’s incredibly dramatic,” she said. “It’s been used throughout pop culture and in commercials and movies.” Fifty chorale members performed the piece together in person, joined by guest vocal soloists Lisa Cooper, soprano; Cailin Marcel Manson, baritone; and AJ Coppola, tenor; pianists Molly Lozeau and Elizabeth Blood; and a group of percussionists including timpanist Jonathan Hess and principal percussionist Matt Sharrock. The virtual concert also features the voices of chorale members who were not able to perform with the group in person; recorded audio of them singing at home was mixed into the audio of the performance video. Now rehearsing regularly in person, the Concord Chorale plans to perform for a live, in-person audience for their next concert in September. Visit concordchorale.org or call 333-5211.
• Thriller author: The Music Hall in Portsmouth presents a virtual event with New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda on Tuesday, July 20, at 7 p.m. as part of its virtual Writers in The Loft series. Miranda will discuss her new novel, Such a Quiet Place. The thriller centers on Hollow’s Edge, a once idyllic, close-knit neighborhood reeling after the shocking murder of two people. The resident implicated in the crime has returned home, having had the conviction overturned. Now, everyone is a suspect, and a series of mysterious notes suggests that it won’t be long before the killer strikes again. The author discussion will be moderated by local young adult novelist Paul Durham. An audience Q&A will follow. Tickets cost $5 to access the event, which will be livestreamed on Zoom via Eventive. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.
• Outdoor opera: The Manchester-based Piccola Opera presents its Summer Festival, with two shows at two outdoor venues in Rindge. First, the Piccola Youth Opera will perform a musical theater and light opera show, The Wonderful World of Music, on Friday, July 16, at 6 p.m. at Cathedral of the Pines (10 Hale Hill Road), and Saturday, July 17, at 2 p.m. at Franklin Pierce University (40 University Drive). The Piccola Emerging Opera will perform a classic opera, Purcell to Puccini — Operatastic!, on Friday, July 23, at 6 p.m., at Franklin Pierce University, and Saturday, July 24, at 2 p.m. at Cathedral of the Pines. Tickets cost $15. Call 781-5695 or visit piccolaopera.net.
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Art
Exhibits
• “FRESH PERSPECTIVES” Exhibit features works by New Hampshire artists Peter Milton, Varujan Boghosian, Robert Hughes and others. New Hampshire Antique Co-op (323 Elm St., Milford). On view through Aug. 31. Visit nhantiquecoop.com.
• “FASHION FORWARD: AFRICANA STYLE” Exhibit showcases Black fashion and explores connections between African American and African design aesthetics from past to present. The Seacoast African American Cultural Center (located inside the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St., Portsmouth). On view through Sept. 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; visitors must reserve a 45-minute time slot in advance. Walk-in guests will be accommodated as space permits. Tickets cost $10 for the general public and $5 for Historical Society members and are available through eventbrite.com. Visit saacc-nh.org.
• “THE BODY IN ART: FROM THE SPIRITUAL TO THE SENSUAL” Exhibit provides a look at how artists through the ages have used the human body as a means of creative expression. On view through Sept. 1. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester. Museum admission tickets cost $15, $13 for seniors age 65 and up, and must be booked online. Call 669-6144 or visit currier.org.
• “TWILIGHT OF AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISM” Exhibit showcases New England painters and masters of impressionism Alice Ruggles Sohier and Frederick A. Bosley. On view through Sept. 12. Portsmouth Historical Society (10 Middle St., Portsmouth). Gallery hours are daily, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $7.50 for adults and is free for kids under age 18, seniors age 70 and older and active and retired military. Admission is free for all on the first Friday of every month. Visit portsmouthhistory.org.
• “TENSION: PROCESS IN THE MAKING” The Surface Design Association’s (SDA) New Hampshire Group presents an exhibit featuring fiber art and textiles by New Hampshire artists. July 24 through Sept. 4. Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen). Visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com or call 975-0015.
Fairs and markets
• CONCORD ARTS MARKET Outdoor artisan and fine art market. Third Saturday each month, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Now through October. Rollins Park (33 Bow St., Concord). Visit concordartsmarket.net.
• ARTS ON THE GREEN Arts and crafts fair will feature painters, potters, artisan jewelers, stained glass makers, bead workers, photographers and metal crafters. Presented by The Center for the Arts Lake Sunapee Region. Sunapee Harbor. Sat., July 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit centerfortheartsnh.org.
Tours
• NASHUA PUBLIC ART AUDIO TOUR Self-guided audio tours of the sculptures and murals in downtown Nashua, offered via the Distrx app, which uses Bluetooth iBeacon technology to automatically display photos and text and provides audio descriptions at each stop on the tour as tourists approach the works of art. Each tour has 10 to 15 stops. Free and accessible on Android and iOS on demand. Available in English and Spanish. Visit downtownnashua.org/nashua-art-tour.
Theater
Auditions
• HEATHERS THE MUSICAL Presented by Cue Zero Theatre Company. Auditions held Tues., July 27. Granite State Arts Academy, 19 Keewaydin Drive, Salem. Performers must be age 18+. Signups for a time slot in advance are required. Visit cztheatre.com.
Shows
• PETER PAN The 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series presents. Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Wed., July 14, and Thurs., July 15, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Visit palacetheatre.org.
• SLEUTH The Winnipesaukee Playhouse presents. 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith. Now through July 17, with showtimes Wednesday through Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20 to $37. Visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org.
• DANI GIRL The Winnipesaukee Playhouse presents. 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith. Now through July 31, with showtimes Tuesday through Saturday, at 4 p.m. Tickets cost $29 to $39. Visit winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org.
• PIPPIN The Seacoast Repertory Theatre PAPA Jr. presents. Virtual and in person at 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. Now through July 18. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
• YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN Prescott Park Arts Festival (105 Marcy St., Portsmouth). Now through Aug. 15, with shows daily at 7 p.m. More information is TBA. Visit prescottpark.org.
• WIZARD OF OZ The 2021 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series presents. Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Tues., July 20, through Thurs., July 22, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Visit palacetheatre.org.
• CABARET The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents. 125 Bow St., Portsmouth. July 22 through Sept. 5. Visit seacoastrep.org or call 433-4472.
As life steadily returns to normal, the Majestic Theatre presents a play about the normal things in life — home, marriage, career — but with a farcical twist.
’Til Beth Do Us Part opens for its two-weekend run at the Majestic Studio Theatre in Manchester on Friday, July 16.
Written by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten — the comedy playwright trio known as Jones Hope Wooten — the show is, as director Joe Pelonzi describes it, “a situational comedy, where things don’t go as planned.”
“There are a lot of surprises, a lot of twists and turns, a lot of misdirection and comedy that’s predicated on timing,” he said. “It’s kind of in the same vein as a lot of the British farces, but without all the slamming doors.”
Married for 27 years, Suzannah and her husband Gibby find themselves in a state of complacency as they adjust to life in their newly empty nest. Suzannah hopes to advance her career but is bogged down by household duties, with which she gets no help from Gibby. Enter Beth, an assistant Suzannah hires to get her house — and her husband — back in order. Under the nose of an oblivious Suzannah, Beth begins weaseling into other aspects of the couple’s life, taking a special interest in Suzannah’s career, and in an upcoming business dinner that could be a big step forward for Suzannah. It becomes a battle of wits between Beth and Gibby as Beth tries to derail the marriage and Gibby, who has caught on to Beth’s ulterior motives, becomes more determined than ever to save it.
“It’s full of normal situations that most people have been in before and can really relate to,” Pelonzi said, “except, in the play, those normal situations end up going in a more comic direction.”
“It’s the perfect [show] to come see after a year and a half of being deprived of our normal interactions and normal life,” actor Judy Mitchell added.
Mitchell, who has been acting in New Hampshire on and off for nearly 30 years, will reprise the role of Suzannah, which she played in a past production of ’Til Beth Do Us Part, also directed by Pelonzi, for Bedford Off Broadway.
“It’s a fun show, and I had a lot of fun playing Suzannah,” Mitchell said. “I was happy to do it again when Joe [Pelonzi] asked me.”
As is traditional for a farce, the characters in ’Til Beth Do Us Part are “a little bit over the top, almost caricatures,” Mitchell said, which calls for a less conventional acting approach.
“Rather than [reflecting on] my own personal experiences or looking at the depth of emotion like I would for a more realistic type of character, I look more at [Suzannah’s] actions and reactions,” she said. “The facial expressions and body language play as much of a part as any emotional development would for a character [in a non-farce].”
’Til Beth Do Us Part is the Majestic Theatre’s second in-person show since the pandemic, and Mitchell’s first time back on stage.
“It’s a little anxiety-producing to get out in front of people again, so I kind of had to push myself and talk myself into doing it,” she said, “but I’m very glad I did, because I needed this. [Theater] is as much a part of me as breathing.”
’Til Beth Do Us Part Where: Majestic Studio Theatre, 880 Page St., Manchester When: July 16 through July 25, with showtimes on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets: $20 for adults, and $15 for seniors age 65 and over and youth age 17 and under. More info: Call 669-7469 or visit majestictheatre.net.
Featured photo:The Majestic Theatre presents ‘Til Beth Do Us Part. Courtesy photo.
