United Way of Greater Nashua holds its annual Care-E-Oke event
The United Way of Greater Nashua has developed a reputation for fun, outside-the-box fundraising events. Participants at the annual Over The Edge event rappel from the top of a skyscraper. Skydive United has people jump from an airplane. On Friday, Nov. 6, the United Way will urge participants to face an even greater fear for charity: public singing.
The United Way’s Sara Ceaser described the Care-E-Oke event.
“It is basically a karaoke contest,” she said. “We invite community members to get up on stage and sing whatever song that they would like. We have a DJ who can play just the music and they can sing along with that music. It’s like a regular karaoke experience where the lyrics are viewable to the singer and they try to give us their best performance and they raise money for the opportunity to do that.”
Ceaser said that because each United Way chapter focuses on local needs and causes, her organization tries to focus its fundraisers that are well-suited to the Nashua area.
“We do pay attention to what’s going on in the community,” she said. ”We know that there is a lot of interest in karaoke around here, which was why we thought that there would be interest in an event like this.” She said people’s fear of singing in public actually helps draw them into a fundraiser like this. “I think the fear helps. It gives people incentive. It gives friends a reason to be supportive, to encourage them. to help them get over their fears.”
That support is a factor in raising money, Ceaser said. Friends and family sponsor singers to do their best, or, depending on the dynamics of their relationship, to fail entertainingly.
“All singers are required to raise some money and it’s a fundraiser through that part,” she said, “and then it’s a fundraiser through the ticket sales and sponsorships that we receive also. So it’s a fun night. It’s usually a pretty enthusiastic audience and it’s normally got around 20 performers. We have a lot of individual performers that are going to be singing and some groups as well.”
Mike Apfelberg is the president of United Way of Greater Nashua.
“This is our fourth year doing this event,” he said. “It’s been successful in a lot of ways. Financially it’s a viable fundraiser for us, but it also is a great way to get our message out in the community with possibly a different group of people who don’t know anything about United Way.”
Apfelberg said he has sung at each of the previous Care-E-Oke events.
“I’ve done it every year,” he said. “There’s no event that’s so crazy that I will put out there in front of my board and into the community that I won’t be willing to do myself. I’ve done Over the Edge [rappelling from the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in Manchester] a couple times, actually. I did skydiving the first year we did it. I’ve done karaoke every year we’ve done it. And karaoke is a funny event that way. Literally an hour ago I was talking to one of my board members who said, ‘I will never jump out of a plane or off a building, but I’ll do karaoke with you.’”
“My group is the lead-off group. every year,” Apfelberg said. “This year we’re [calling ourselves] the United Diamonds. We’re doing a Neil Diamond song, ‘Sweet Caroline.’ We’re always a group, not me by myself. God help you if I’m ever singing by myself. You wouldn’t want that, trust me.”
Care-E-Oke What: An evening of karaoke held by the United Way of Greater Nashua (20 Broad St., Nashua, 882-4011, unitedwaynashua.org). When: Friday, Nov. 6, from 7 to 10 p.m. Where: Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St. in Nashua More: General admission tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for children and seniors. Visit unitedwaynashua.org/event/care-e-oke to purchase tickets or to register to compete.
Featured photo: Previous Care-E-Oke event. Courtesy of United Way of Greater Nashua.
Michael Oldziej is a professional magician, but he’s also quick to point out that there’s only one genuine move in his bag of tricks.
“All of the stuff we do in the show is a lie, minus the straightjacket — that’s a real escape,” he said while playing with a deck of cards in a recent Zoom meeting.
Oldziej, who performs as Michael OJ and will appear Oct. 30 at Tilton’s Black Swan Inn, admits he can’t make a message from the dead appear on a blank slate, even if he’s great at making audiences believe he can. Nor, he continues, can any other of his brethren.
The video of him correctly guessing what animal an audience member was thinking about that became his first viral trick? It’s a clever ruse.
“I cannot read minds. I have no talent for it whatsoever,” he said. “We’re charlatans; all magicians are liars. We’re honest — that we’re lying to you.”
Such straight talk shapes An Enchanted Victorian Evening, a show calibrated to Black Swan Inn’s unique past. It blends parlor magic with history inside the 1880 mansion, as well as a skeptic’s take on the spirit mediums who swept the era. It’s his fourth Halloween at the inn, which first booked him for one of its Renaissance fairs and kept asking him back.
“His performance is incredibly captivating and fits perfectly with the atmosphere here at the inn,” Trisha Basiliere, who runs the inn with her husband, John, said in an email. “His show brings such a unique, magical quality to Halloween that our guests absolutely loved, and we knew we had to have him back.”
It’s Halloween, so costumes are encouraged.
The evening opens with close-up magic as guests arrive. Next comes a parlor show, with everyone gathered around a table in the inn’s Victorian sitting room as Oldziej explains how magicians of the period worked. The group then moves into the dining room for light bites, “spirited refreshments” and a larger stage set with bigger illusions.
Given the setting and his signature stunt, famous escape artist Harry Houdini looms over the evening.
“He’s like the Victorian performer,” Oldziej said. Houdini spent his later years exposing fraudulent mediums, and Oldziej re-creates their methods, like spirit slates, where a name would appear on a blank chalk slate, and tables that seemed to lift on their own.
“Here’s how they would lift tables, here’s how spirits would make contact,” he tells them. “I don’t have any supernatural powers, this is just the performance side of things.” The formal show isn’t the end of the night. Last year about 20 people attended, and eight or nine stayed in the parlor late into the evening.
“We’ll just do a very intimate show,” he said. “I’ll show some more experimental tricks.”
Raised in Glastonbury, Connecticut, Oldziej first tried magic at age 9 but decided practicing was a chore. Then at age 14 he saw a magician perform and thought, “I want to do that.” At 20, a Renaissance faire act canceled and friends asked him to fill in. Told they couldn’t pay much, he replied, “‘You’re going to pay me?’ Not the correct response if you want a business.”
The routine Oldziej finds most meaningful has roots in Krakow, Poland.
In 2022 he volunteered at a center for Ukrainian refugee families. While parents “shopped” for donated clothing, Oldziej entertained their children. Because he didn’t speak Ukrainian, he performed tricks that didn’t need words, like one with linking rings. Magic, he found, is a universal language. Afterward, a mother expressed gratitude for his show.
“They have to be adults now, but they got to be kids for a second,” she told him.
He still performs that routine with a child from the audience, telling the story and sharing QR codes for refugee charities, including A Drop in the Ocean.
“Magic is a way to spread a weird amount of joy,” he said. “I remember the first time I did a card trick. … We’re chasing that reaction.”
Enchanted Victorian Evening When: Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. Where: Black Swan Inn, 354 W. Main St., Tilton Tickets: $65, eventbrite.com
For 350 days a year, candy corn plays no role in our lives. And then, for a week or so surrounding Halloween, candy corn is everywhere — the candy itself, of course, but also candy corn-colored sweaters, and candy corn decorations, candy corn candles, and candy corn iconography.
Krista Fisher, the bar manager for Local Street Eats in Nashua, finds herself defending candy corn surprisingly often.
“I love candy corn and I get shamed for it pretty often,” she said. “As soon as I hear ‘candy corn,’ I’m all in. It’s like a sugary little treat. I don’t know why people would hate it so much. I love it. When I brought [a bag of candy corn into the bar], my other bartender was like, ‘Is that for you or for some kind of experiment?’ I said both. She was shocked and I was shocked. But I am definitely on the pro side; I’m a fan. I’m a big nostalgia girly anyway, so it definitely reminds me of childhood candy. But I like any sweet treat. I do not discriminate against candy. I like it all.”
’tis the season
According to Chris Guerrette, owner of Lickee’s & Chewy’s Candies & Creamery in Dover, candy corn definitely has a season.
“Candy corn is happening right now,” he said. He agreed that it can be a divisive food, with some people loving it, some who don’t, and a smaller subsection of customers who like it but ironically.
“But most people just like it,” he said, “but only during this time of the year. It used to be a product that we would carry year-round and we would get folks asking for it in May and December. Now there’s of course the silly versions of it. There’s Christmas candy corn and reindeer candy corn and five different flavors of fall candy corn like a s’mores flavor and things like that. During this time of year we bring in a few different versions of [candy corn] just to make our fall offerings broad and interesting.”
According to Jaime Metzger, the manager of Granite State Candy Shoppe in Manchester, candy corn suits this time of year.
“It is the perfect time of year,” she said.
Metzger said that at first glance it might seem candy corn sells better with older customers — it would make sense, since it has been around a long time and would be familiar to them.
“But kids get it, too,” she said. “It’s a mixture of ages. If a kid is whining, that’s what a grandparent will give them a lot of the time. It’s also more reasonably priced than, say maybe chocolate, and that’s a selling point, too. We’ll carry it through to the end of the year; then afterward it will likely go to the outlet store.”
“There are changes happening in the world of candy corn,” Guerrette said. “I’m not sure if you know the history, but the very first company that made candy corn was the Goelitz Corporation way back in I don’t know how long ago [1898, as it turns out]…. They were the first ones to ever make it, and that company … was eventually bought by Jelly Belly, which is a big jelly bean company. That’s big time. They owned it, and their candy corn was better. It had just a touch better recipe to it than most highly commercialized brands like Zachary and whatnot that you might find at Walmart. And it was really good. But, unfortunately, this year they announced they’re not going to make it anymore. Jelly [Belly] itself, as a corporation, was sold to an even larger candy corporation … and that corporation’s making changes. So something that is decades and centuries old is not going to be made by that company anymore.”
Guerrette said his plan is to sell traditional candy corn through the rest of this season, then see how its availability stands after things shake out. In the meantime, he said, “we actually have something interesting: We have a candy corn fudge that we make now. So it’s three layers that look like candy corn, and it’s a fudge, and it has a touch of a candy corn flavor to it.”
Candy corn flavor
And what is the flavor you taste in candy corn?
“Well, I actually think it’s just a little bit of vanilla,” Guerrette said.
“In our shop we have three different flavors; we have a selection,” Metzger said. “At our store in Concord they sell it in bulk, because they have more room up there. Here we just do it in [individual] bags, but we have a couple of different flavors. We have your standard candy corn — which in my opinion is sort of like a butterscotch flavor. We have s’mores corn, which obviously is a marshmallow-y flavor. We have Harvest Corn, which is kind of like a caramel-y flavor. And then we’ve got Caramel Apple, which tastes like caramel and apples! And people really buy it — the standard type goes quickly. But people love different flavors. I mean, who doesn’t love s’mores? My gosh. People get excited for that one.”
According to the website CandyNation.com, varieties of candy corn available in the world include gummy candy corn (presumably with a chewier texture); green, white and red Christmas candy corn; Valentine candy corn in shades of pink; Easter candy corn in pastel colors; blackberry cobbler; raspberry lemonade; caramel apple; s’mores; caramel; candy corn-flavored salt water taffy, and licorice-like candy corn sticks. Visit candynation.com/candy-types/candy-corn.
Making an ‘ear’ of candy corn
“By the way,” Guerrette said, “have you ever thought about why it’s called ‘candy corn’ in the first place? Because it looks like little kernels of corn, right? But did you know … that you can take pieces of candy corn and arrange them in a circle with the tips all pointing to the middle? It looks like a cross-section of an ear of corn!”
Once you’ve heard of the possibility of making a cross-section of an ear of corn, the idea becomes a surprisingly persistent one.
“Ear” of candy corn. Photo by John Fladd.
You will need:
• Two bags of classic candy corn — not a harvest mix with pumpkins in it or anything. No neon colors. Just standard old-fashioned candy corn.
• A microwave oven
• Popsicle sticks to stir hot sugar syrup with
• A microwave-safe cup that you have no particular emotional attachment to, because when you get done, it will have sugar bonded to the inside, harder than construction adhesive.
Spill a handful of candy corn out onto your kitchen counter. Arrange a dozen or so pieces in a circle, with all the tips pointed inward to make a circle. Unless you have very pointy candy corn pieces — each an acute triangle — the circle will be a bit larger than you had anticipated, with a larger hole in the middle.
Now put a small handful of candy corn in your melting-cup and heat it in your microwave oven until it has almost completely melted — 25 seconds, maybe. Quickly take it out of the microwave, give it a brisk stir with a popsicle stick, and dribble a little sugar-glue on the tips of the candy corn in the circle. The sugar will seize up pretty quickly, so you’ll probably have to heat it back up after three applications, for another 15 seconds. Keep doing this until you have glued all the tips together and you have what might pass for a cross-section of corn after a long evening of candy corn cocktails.
It is at this point that you realize that this process will probably go more smoothly if you add each additional candy corn individually. You can scoop a small amount of melted sugar onto the tip of a piece of candy, then quickly press it into place, and repeat that process once or twice more before the sugar sets up too much to continue without reheating.
The bad news: This project will take a very long time and will require at least a bag and a half of candy corn. You will also burn yourself.
The good news: It really does look good. “Rustic” is a plus in a project like this, so even if you were to give up on it halfway through, looking crooked and unfinished, it would be just about right for the seasonal aesthetic. You also don’t have to do everything in one session. You can glue two or three rows, then go for a run or binge a vampire show for a while, then come back and tackle more of it, until you’re satisfied.
Candy corn on the rocks
If you’ve ever eaten so much candy corn that your blood sugar has spiked and you’ve felt goofy and intoxicated, you might have asked yourself the question, why aren’t there any candy corn cocktails?
The bartenders at CodeX speakeasy in Nasha are a step ahead of you. The staff at CodeX use aliases in case of a 1920s-style raid. Bartender Rusty said the staff has been thinking deeply about The Candy Corn Problem, as they call it, for several weeks.
“Whatever we end up doing with a final recipe,” he said, “will usually be vodka-based, because it’s pretty neutral, and you don’t want to mess with moonshine; it’s got a higher proof that you don’t want to add any shots to. It just gets to be a little too much. When we’re working with candy, I like to use Starbursts. They’re really easy to work with. The sweetness is already there. The flavor is already kind of neat. So, seasonally, usually I’ll make a pink one — like a strawberry flavored one for Valentine’s Day. We call them Love Shots. With Halloween coming up, I have a sour apple watermelon pineapple Starburst [vodka]. I know it’s kind of wild, but it works. It turned out a nice green color that I used with some candied pineapple vodka that I was already working with. It was fun”
Mary Beth Carcellino, the owner of CodeX, said her other bartender, Stretch, has really embraced candy corn this year. “He wanted to be able to separate his candy corn infusions by color,” she said, “so we spent a couple of hours here the other night carefully cutting each piece of candy corn into pieces and separating them by color. He infused each into vodka, and now he’s got orange, yellow, and white candy corn vodka — THAT ALL TASTE EXACTLY THE SAME!” she shouted toward the kitchen before being reminded that this was Stretch’s night off.
Rusty’s piece of advice for infusing candy corn into alcohol is to find a way to contrast the candy’s overwhelming sweetness.
“You might want to add a little bit of citric acid, malic acid, depending on what kind of infusions you’re making, to kind of balance out the flavor so it’s not super harsh or super sweet,” Rusty said, “especially if you’re working with like a lot of fruity and citrus kinds of flavors.”
Krista Fisher is the bar manager at Local Street Eats in Nashua. She took on the challenge of developing a pair of candy corn-themed cocktails for the Hippo. She said she took her cues from the candy’s color and its mild (honey) flavor.
“I kind of ran with a little bit of both,” she said. “I think when I told anyone … they thought I was going to make something layered, to look like that, but I thought that was a little too — pun intended — corny. I didn’t think the route to go was the actual look of it. Plus, there was just a lot of oranginess,”
“So I went more for flavor and vibes,” Fisher continued. “I still leaned toward a fall theme, a fall feeling. The one that was most obvious to me was the old-fashioned, for sure, because nothing says fall like bourbon. So you get that sweetness from the candy corn still that kind of is in place. And then orange bitters will still just bring it all out. That was a no-brainer for me, honestly.” She made the candy corn into a syrup. “There is a sort of processed taste that is part of the attraction,” she said. “There was almost like a waxiness that was part of the charm.” Fisher recommended using a cup of candy corn to a cup and a half of water to make this sort of syrup. “That gives it a little viscosity to it,” she said.
Her second candy corn cocktail required a little more thought, Fisher said.
“I saw that there were a couple of things — I kept thinking about how to get a creaminess aspect without adding actual cream, so I went the route of treating this drink like a sour. I added an egg white in with some gin, that candy corn syrup, and then I had some toasted almond bitters also, which is kind of like, not a flavor you see all the time, but it’s a little more mellowed out than angostura. That was really good. It added another layer that seemed like fall and I think just complemented that sugariness that comes with the candy corn. And then I just muddled in a bunch of fresh orange so that there was a bit of freshness added to all the sugar aspect.”
“And that one was just phenomenal!” Fisher said. “The egg white gives everything this silky texture and this froth on top. That one was a killer. I was a really big fan of that drink actually. Every ingredient had a reason to be there.”
Boozy candy corn recipes
Candy Corn Vodka
1 cup (most of a large package) of traditional candy corn — not Harvest Mix, or something with pumpkins, or imaginatively colored candy. You want plain, traditional, yellow-orange-white candies, which will give you a lovely final color. If there are green pumpkins or xenomorphs or anything in the mixture, the final color will be brown. And let’s face it, color is about 90 percent of what candy corn has going for it in the first place.
1 750 ml bottle of plain vodka — again, the candy corn has a subtle flavor to it that we don’t want covered up by acai berries or whatever else they’re putting in vodka this week.
Candy Corn Old-Fashioned and Candy Corn Sour developed by Krista Fisher of Local Street Eats.
In a large, lidded jar — take the lid off before you add anything to the jar — combine the candy and the whole bottle of vodka. Stir the mixture well, then put the lid back on the jar and store it someplace cool and out of direct sunlight. It might take up to 24 hours for the candy to completely dissolve into the vodka, at which point it is ready to drink. There is no aging process for this particular infusion. Strain any tiny bits of sugar or wax or who-knows-what out of the mixture and use a funnel to fill a slightly larger-than-750 ml bottle. This almost certainly doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but the idea of putting it in the freezer to do ice shots with is intriguing.
Candy Corn Old-Fashioned
This is one of two candy corn-inspired drinks developed for the Hippo by Krista Fisher, bar manager for Local Street Eats in Nashua.
2 ounces bourbon
2 dashes of angostura & orange bitters
3/4 ounce candy corn syrup
Stir until well-chilled and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube.
Garnish with a few candy corn resting on top of the cube.
Candy corn syrup is a 2:1 syrup easily made in a pot on the stove, stirring constantly until all candy is dissolved.
I’m calling this Candy Corn Sour ‘Mischief Managed’
This is the other candy corn-inspired drink developed for the Hippo by Krista Fisher, bar manager for Local Street Eats in Nashua.
2 ounces London Dry Gin
1 muddled slice of orange
2 dashed toasted almond bitters
1 ounce candy corn syrup
1 egg white
Dry shake all ingredients to incorporate the egg white.
Add ice to your shaker and vigorously shake again.
Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
The egg white will create a thick layer of foam on the top and a wonderfully silky mouth feel.
It’s a Scare & Skate today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Remix Skate & Event Center, 725 Huse Road in Manchester, according to skateremix.com, where you can purchase tickets (tickets must be purchased ahead of time). Costumes (that don’t get in the way of skating) are encouraged and the event will feature activities, candy and more, the website said.
Thursday, Oct. 29
“Cursed II: Haunted Objects and Storytelling!” will take place at The Eleventh Letter The Writing Gallery, 146 N. Main St. in Concord, theeleventhletter.com, in collaboration with N.A.V. Arts tonight from 6 to 8 p.m., a “free, fun, spooky spoken word night where seasoned storytellers spin a yarn based on various ‘cursed’ objects created by local artists,” the website said.
Friday, Oct. 30
The Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St. in Manchester, will hold its Masquerade Night at the Museum tonight at 6 p.m., according to currier.org, where you can purchase tickets. “Channel the drama, color, and beauty of Florentine Baroque masterpieces with a masquerade-themed exhibition celebration just in time for Halloween. Featuring a striking performance by NSquared Dance, light bites, and a cash bar,” the website said.
Saturday, Oct. 31
The Arts Alley Halloween Party will take place Halloween night from 7 to 10:30 p.m. in Arts Alley, 20 S. Main St. in Concord. It will feature a costume contest with prizes, giveaways, candy and Halloween treats, a DJ and dancing and more, according to artsalleyconcordnh.com, where you can purchase tickets. Food and drink will also be available for purchase at the party, the website said.
Saturday, Oct. 31
Recycled Percussion Halloween Weekend shows will take place at The Cake Theatre, 12 Veterans Square in Laconia, on Halloween at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m., according to thecaketheatre.com.
Saturday, Oct. 31
Harry Houdini Double Feature withTerror Island(1920) and Haldane of the Secret Service (1923), silent films featuring live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, will screen today at 2 p.m., at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, according to silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com.
Sunday, Nov. 1
Bach and Brunch will take place at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, 16 Hardy Lane, Boscawen, avalochfarmmusic.org, this morning at 9 a.m., according to the website, where you can purchase tickets.
Sunday, Nov. 1
Celebrate the change of seasons at the Oktoberfest + Ski & Snowboard Sale today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pats Peak in Henniker, according to patspeak.com. The Oktoberfest will feature German food offerings available for purchase, a Sam Adams German beer garden, live music by the Bavarian Brothers Band, kids’ activities, axe throwing and more, the website said.
Wednesday, Nov. 4
The New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road in Concord, will hold a reception for “The Wonder of Nature,” an exhibit of the photography of Howard S. Muscott, today from 4 to 6 p.m., according to the NH Audubon newsletter. The event will feature light refreshments, the newsletter said. The exhibition opens Oct. 28 and is on display through Dec. 31, according to nhaudubon.org.
Save the Date! Friday, Nov. 6 Tailgate Transport and Rescue, a dog rescue nonprofit, will hold its 5th annual Wine and Whiskers fundraiser on Friday, Nov. 5, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Manchester Country Club, 180 S. River Road in Bedford, according to tailgaitrescue.org, where you can find the link to purchase tickets. The evening will feature wine tastings, hors d’oeuvres & chocolates, music, a silent auction and a raffle, the website said.
The Big Story – Celtics’ Familiar Opening Day Loss: Celtics coach Slow JoeMazzulla didn’t make it through even Day 1 of the new season before demonstrating he hasn’t learned one thing from getting his team run out of the playoffs early the last two years.
As usual, he refused to change tactics as Detroit chipped away at a 22-point third-quarter lead. Thus, led by JaysonTatum’s six-for-23 shooting night, they kept firing threes as, brick by brick, it familiarly all slipped away before they lost by 8.
They then did what they always do: followed it with a solid game to let Slow Joe use bogus stats to justify his system. That came via a 107-103 game vs. New York, when Tatum scored 36 while going 3-10 on 3-balls.
The big question: How many more times will they do it this year?
Sports 101: Name the only player from a losing team to be named World Series MVP.
News Item – Brewers a Team of Destiny: It’s “only” 2-0 as I write this. But with exciting comebacks in both games and having done the same while sweeping L.A., the gritty Milwaukee Brewers seem to be on their way
World Series history is filled with teams coming back from down 0-2. But with their different-hero-every-night attack and a killer bullpen they’ve put Tampa Bay in a big hole.
All of which could be totally different by the time you read this Thursday.
So we’ll see.
News Item – Week 7 Patriots Report Card:
Good: Another game when they didn’t have their A game but hung in against a good team while playing third-stringers at both guard spots.
Bad: The D let CalebWilliams convert too many third-and-really-longs. And while the numbers look good, DrakeMaye’s latest end zone pick was the game-killer and they had 10 penalties for 71 yards.
Ugly: They have (literally) tons on injured reserve.
Grade: C
News Item – Ebuka Okorie Debuts: The Nashua product was on the Pistons bench as the C’s lost the season opener in Motown. Unfortunately no PT this time.
The Numbers:
1 –shot made in 13 attempts for Wemby in a 12-point night when Oak City drilled San Antonio 116-104 in their opening night statement game win.
45 – pitches fouled off by grinding Milwaukee batters in forcing TB to use six pitchers and 184 pitches while overcoming a 0-4 deficit to a 5-4 comeback win in Game 2 of the WS.
100 – million more dollars for the Dodgers payroll than the combined payrolls of World Series combatants Tampa Bay and Milwaukee.
… Of the Week Awards
Idiotic Decision of the Week – Dan Campbell: There’s a lot I like about the Detroit Lions’ head man, but going for it on fourth and one from Detroit’s own 24 with 4:50 left and the score tied at 17-17 was not one of them. But, despite being stopped, he got bailed out by a gagged missed Green Bay FG attempt and horrendous officiating against GB to let Detroit somehow prevail 20-17.
Sports 101 Answer: The only World Series MVP from a losing team was Yankee second baseman BobbyRichardson when the Bombers lost in seven games in the incredible 1960 World Series.
A Little History – The 1960 World Series: This was inarguably one of the weirdest in history. Thanks to winning their games 16-3, 12-0 and 10-0 the losing Yanks outscored Pittsburgh 55 to 25. WhiteyFord pitched two shutouts as Richardson set the RBI record while going 11-30, with two doubles, a grand slam and knocking in 12.
All of which paled next to Game 7, which had lead changes in every half inning from the eighth on, an eighth-inning 3-run from a guy — third-string catcher HalSmith — even more obscure than BernieCarbo and an incredible base-running maneuver by MickeyMantle to avoid a double play in the ninth that let them stay alive to tie it.
Then came the hit that probably put Pirates second baseman BillMazeroski in the Hall. It went over Yogi’s head in left for the first and only World Series walk-off homer to give Pittsburgh the Series.
Final Thoughts: Does anyone know if one-time Red Sox uber prospect TristonCasas is still alive?
Is it me, or is LarryBird’s prolific and often hilarious trash talking getting much more attention now than when he was actually doing it in the ’80s?
After seeing Seattle’s best in football D dismantle PatrickMahomes and undefeated KC 20-3 Sunday night, I wonder what the folks carping on Maye for only scoring 10 on them opening day have to say now?
I H–A–T–E when the Pats play on Thursday and Monday nights. And they have four more coming up, along with a 9:30 a.m. start vs. Detroit in London over their next seven games. Yuck.
According to an Oct. 18 online article at CICNews.com, if your family has lived in Manchester for several generations, you might already have dual citizenship in Canada. “In Manchester, New Hampshire,” the article read, “a combined 11.5% of residents report Canadian or French-Canadian ancestry, according to census figures for 2020 to 2024. … [T]hanks to recent changes to the country’s citizenship laws, just one Canadian ancestor in an individual’s direct lineage is enough to make an entire side of the family tree Canadian.”
QOL score: +1
Comment:“The real number is likely higher,” the CICNews article said. But don’t start packing yet. “As of October, IRCC [Canadian Immigration] figures showed about 130,700 citizenship certificate applications waiting for a decision. New applicants faced an estimated wait of 34 months,” the article said. Visit cicnews.com/2026/10.
Do you smell french fries?
As reported by WMUR in an Oct. 23 online article, there has been a rash of thefts of used cooking oil from several Manchester restaurants. “Several restaurants along Manchester’s Hooksett Road say thieves have stolen gallons of used cooking oil,” WMUR reported. “Some business owners said suspected thieves targeted barrels containing used cooking oil three separate times over a couple of days. One worker said he first realized what was going on after he noticed that 30 gallons of used cooking oil seemingly disappeared overnight on Monday. On Wednesday at about 4 or 5 a.m., more people were spotted checking inside the barrels, the worker said.”
QOL score: -1
Comment:“The restaurants sell their used cooking oil for a relatively small amount of money,” the article read. “Officials have said used cooking oil is targeted because it can be used to make biodiesel or for other purposes “
Keep an eye on your pick-a-nic baskets
In an Oct. 26 press release, the Squam Lake Natural Science Center in Holderness announced that it has welcomed a young bear into its care. “The Black Bear cub was found abandoned along a divided highway in Utah when he was just a few months old,” the announcement read. “It is assumed that he got separated from his mother when she jumped over a concrete road divider and he could not. He was brought to a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Utah, where staff cared for him before determining that he could not be released back into the wild.” The bear has been named Wasatch, after the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah.
QOL score: +1
Comment:“Following a routine quarantine period, Wasatch underwent his first physical examination and received a clean bill of health,” the Science Center’s announcement said. “He has been adjusting well to his new surroundings and will soon move into the Science Center’s off-exhibit Bear Habitat, where he will spend the winter.” The Science Center is already home to another American Black Bear named Randolph. Visit nhnature.org.
QOL score: 62
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 63
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.
