The Regional District #11 Board of Education has approved a 2023-2024 budget of $6,844,409, a 2.97% increase in the total cost of educating students at Parish Hill. Please keep in mind that during the 2023-2024 school year, projected cost increases in one line item alone, outplaced special education costs, will exceed the total requested increase of $197,482. In fact, just three unanticipated outplaced student costs alone, students who moved into the district after the budget was adopted, will total approximately $509,547or over 7.5% of the proposed budget. Furthermore, health insurance costs will rise 25.7%, electricity costs by about 40% and heating oil costs by over 30%. This budget comes at a time when special education funding through the Excess Cost Grant will do little or nothing for small districts with mainly large districts benefitting from funding changes,

Our responsible approach to budgeting has led to an average increase of approximately 1% per year during the last twelve fiscal years. The Superintendent and Board of Education were able to adopt a 2.97% budget increase by controlling spending, concentrating on efficiencies and economies of scale, and through efficient assignment of certified and non-certified personnel. As in past years, we have closely examined “actual” expenditures in all FY 21-22 and FY 22-23 budgetary line-items, leading to some notable line-item reductions. We have also effectively used federal/state grants to maximize efficiencies and to reduce the strain on our operating budget. Furthermore, I am particularly proud that we have continued to provide a high-quality education for all of our students despite budgetary constraints due to staff contractual increases, magnet and Vo-Ag school tuition increases and special education outplaced costs. Despite all of these challenges, during fiscal year 22-23, we were one of only a few districts in our area that stayed within our approved budget, even with many additional COVID expenses.

We are also proud to report that Parish Hill has an impressive graduation rate and a negligible dropout rate. Student attendance is above the state average, and overall student assessment outcomes continue to be on the rise. Furthermore, we offer 12 AP courses to our students and a Fuel Ed distance learning program to address credit recovery and allow students to study Latin, German, and Mandarin. In addition, our five-year capital improvement plan is designed to significantly upgrade school facilities and infrastructure.

We welcome residents to view for themselves these facility improvements.

The annual tri-town budget hearing will be held on Monday, May 1 at 7pm. The Region #11 2023-2024 Budget of $6,844,409 will be voted on from noon to 8pm at each of the three towns’ respective polling places on Tuesday, May 2.
Kenneth Henrici, Superintendent

On March 22, 2023, the Board of Education (BoE) approved the budget for the 2023-2024 Fiscal School Year. On April 12, 2023 this BoE Approved Budget was presented at the Town’s Board of Finance regular meeting. The presentation began by quoting the work of John Hattie. Hattie synthesized 1,000 research reviews of 50,000 studies and found the greatest influence on student progression in learning is having highly expert, inspired, and passionate teachers and school leaders working to maximize the effect of their teaching on all students in their care. In fact, collective teacher efficacy has a stronger influence on achievement than any other factor of the school, teacher, or student level.

To provide an overview of our anticipated increases and decreases, insurance rates have increased 25.7%, but at this time we do not anticipate this to negatively impact our budget based on current enrollment and projected assumptions saving $17,578. Additionally, there is an anticipated reduction in art by one day and physical education by half of a day. These reductions will not impact our student’s experience in art or physical education, rather we are consolidating the schedule to be more efficient so that students still receive the same amount of art and physical education and better align to our multi-age team programming with a cost savings of $26,303.

In order to align with the town on percent increase for unaffiliated staff, the board submitted a 3.5% increase for all unaffiliated staff as well as a 4% and 5% option to match what the town chooses to do. Further changes addressed in the budget reflect the increase of our special education population resulting in the need of our special education director twice a week as opposed to the current once a week position, an increase of $20,805. Additionally, through legislation, all towns are required to have one of five approved reading curricular programs that align with the Science of Reading. This comes at a cost estimate of $15,000 and while there is talks of a grant becoming available, it is not available at the time of this publication. Other increases reflected in the budget align to our actual usage and anticipated increases of oil, diesel, and electricity used to maintain a safe learning environment for our students, totaling $32,582. Tuition for our students who attend other programs, primarily the STEM program in Windham, is an additional cost that we can’t forecast past the information we have. Currently we will be responsible for at least 8 students in the coming school year totaling $42,420.

The last changes reflected in the 2023-2024 budget is a reduction of $3,000 in the professional development line as we transition most of our professional development in-house due to the roll out of a new reading curriculum; and there is an increase of $10,000 in the legal line due to required contract negotiations for our affiliated staff. This brings the total budget to a 4.44% increase totaling $2,140,288.
Samatha Sarli, HES Superintendent

The Board of Finance continues to work on draft versions of the Municipal Budget, though exact figures are yet to be determined both in terms of department expenses and grant revenues.

As expected, the costs of utilities and fuel escalated. Budget requests from numerous departments have also increased this year. The Conservation Commission’s proposal of $42,266, an increase of $38,567 over last year’s budgeted amount of $3,699, includes funds for trail maintenance, $10,000 toward the Open Space Capital Account, and $25,000 of matched funds for the proposed Little River Grant Project, for which the commission has applied to make the town’s recent purchase of the property on Hammond Hill accessible. The Fire Department’s request of $113, 450, an increase of $41, 975 over last year, includes $10,000 for a firehouse alarm system, radio upgrades, and additional protective gear and equipment. The Board of Finance is considering the use of some of the American Recovery Funds to meet eligible needs. Additionally, the negotiated amount for KB Ambulance service has increased to $90,720, an increase of $37,120 over the past two years. American Recovery Funds may also be used to offset some of this expense, if eligible.

The Board of Finance has received the Board of Education’s $2,140,288 budget request, an increase of $100,906 over this year’s town approved budget of $2,039,382. The budget was approved by the school board at its March meeting, however the school is re-submitting proposals to include the option of awarding 4% – 5% cost-of-living increases for non-certified staff. The current proposal includes 3.5% raises for these positions. The finance board will review these options as well as a 3% – 5% cost-of-living increment for Town employees.

Currently, the Governor’s budget reduces the Education Cost Sharing annual grant by $74,060. The new ECS formula previously voted on by the legislature, which redistributes the grant and reduces the amount incrementally in Hampton over a period of several years, was frozen during Covid, and the State Appropriations Committee is suggesting that the freeze continue for another two years, though there is no decision as of yet.

The Board of Finance will conduct a public hearing prior to finalization and approval of the total budget, followed by a Town Meeting where the proposed budgets will be explained, and a referendum when voters will ultimately make the decisions on the spending plans.
Kathy Donahue, Board of Finance Chairman

The Hampton Gazette began and ended its publishing year with the important topic of budgets. The Town’s boards reported on proposed spending plans, and we reported on the Town Meetings where they were discussed. We also published reports submitted by officials serving on the Ad-Hoc Committee charged with studying the governance, programming, and costs of combining Hampton and Scotland Elementary schools under a cooperative agreement, and reported on the Town Meeting called to present the committee’s findings, field questions and address concerns raised by residents. In the end, Scotland approved the proposal to merge the schools by nearly the same margin that Hampton defeated it.

In other news, we published the Pride Month Proclamation adopted by the Board of Selectmen, reported on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision to seek alternative affordable housing options in response to public opinion, announced the Gazette’s initiation of a scholarship, and compiled a retrospect on the impact of Covid 19 from the perspective of citizens of various ages.

But the really “big news” was the town’s return to “normal”. We announced the return of Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, Arbor Day at the school, concerts at Fletcher Memorial Library, the Congregational Church, and Organic Roots Farm, senior luncheons and programs at Goodwin, Trail Wood and Joshua’s Trust. Our town celebrated Walktober by sponsoring nine events, and after a two year hiatus, the Fall Festival, renamed Hampton Harvest, returned to feature farms with fresh produce, local artists and artisans, and several organizations – scouts, our nature preserves, the library, the historical society, the fire department and the Gazette, where we introduced our 2023 calendar, “Hampton Hearths”, with photographs and paintings of local artists Pat Donahue, Mark Davis, Ethel Engler, Juan Arriola, Brian Tracy, Christina Mazza, Caspian Halbert, Bob Leitch, Janice Trecker, and Eleanor Linkkila, whose photographs, along with Ruth Halbach’s and Pete Vertefeuille’s, graced our front page this year. We also conducted a Covid themed poll at the festival, with questions like What Did You Miss the Most? and On a Scale of 1 – 10, How Much Did Your Life Change? and sponsored a Community Poem, where participants completed the phrase “I’m grateful for…” This was one of 19 poems we published this year.

Our most exciting announcement was our Town’s commemoration of Memorial Day, complete with the parade, the traditional ceremonies at the Town Hall and the Little River, breakfast at the Congregational Church, and the chicken barbecue and band at the Community Center. We were proud to publish Vietnam War Veteran Jamie Boss’s Memorial Day Address on our front page. We said farewell to Korean War veteran James Rodriguez and the last of our World War II veterans, Thomas Gaines and Clarence Thornton. These were among the 18 obituaries we published this year, including a front page tribute to the legendary Peggy Fox.

As in every year, we recognized residents for their personal accomplishments — publishing an article on artist Lula Mae Blocton, also featured in The New York Times, and Jacob Greene for “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” — and for their contributions to society — reporting on resident David Foster’s receipt of the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce’s Humanitarian Award, “a perfect reflection of his life principle: to help those in need and those who help others”. We began 2023 by naming Mr. Foster “Citizen of the Year” for his generosity to our Fire Department and beyond, and recognized the humanitarian endeavors of neighbors Dr. Perry Mandanis for sharing his expertise on a national scale, and Aman and Susannah Fisher for their volunteer efforts in Ukraine.

We continued the series “Our Rural Heritage” and “Remembering”, relying as always on the oral traditions recorded in Alison Davis’ Hampton Remembers. Along with the history of Trecker’s barn on North Bigelow, and the Thompson and the Haldas barns on Main Street, and Boss’s article on “Living in a Renovated Barn” on East Old Route 6, we featured: “Our Horses” last Memorial Day, with a remembrance of some memorable ones; the “Greatest Generation” this Memorial Day, with the remembrances of our veterans; “Swimming Holes” in the summer; the “Teacher’s Ledger” for the start of school, with a remembrance of our one-room schoolhouses from former student Marion Halbach; “Haunted Houses” in October, with a poem of the most infamous of these from William Jewett, “the Farmer Poet of Hampton”; “The Holidays” at Christmastime with “Santa Comes to Hampton”, a poem written by Pearl Scarpino in 1942; and “The General Store” when we announced the reopening of this venerable institution in November. Other businesses we featured were “Vintage Revisited”, a Hampton shop, the expansion of “Organic Roots Farm”, “Living our Best Life”, a holistic approach to healing from a resident nurse, and Bright Acres Farm in the first of a new series titled “The World We Live In”.

History has proven to be a popular topic in town and one of interest to most residents. Such was the case with Mary McMillan’s article on the remedy for “vampirism” in New England, and possibly in Hampton, explaining the practice of disinterment and burning of a body which, according to an account in Johnathan Clark’s Journal, was the fate of deceased resident John Durnham in 1798. Along with the “Remembering” which corresponded with “Our Rural Heritage”, we continued with the journal entries of Miriam Peabody, who described turn-of-the-century life on Hampton Hill, re-printed Tom Gaines’ 1990 editorial “A One-Voting-Booth Town” and “News of our Soldiers” from a 1944 town newsletter, one of Peggy Fox’s “attic treasures”, and published Kit Crowne’s “Vehicular Escapades”, the sort of remembrance familiar to many of us.

Kit Crowne is one of our regular humorists, along with Auntie Mac, who monthly enlightens and entertains us, Angela Fichter, whose variety of subjects included “Old But Good”, providing comic relief for another popular topic, given our particular population, which was also explored by humorists Jamie Boss in “The Challenges of Growing Old” and Mary Oliver in “Aging Gracefully – The New Superpower: Invisibility”. These were some of the writers who contributed to our “April Fools” issue, a tradition we started in 2018, and continued due to popular demand, which also included “interesting” news items, and a perennial favorite, “The Reluctant Gardener”.

Our editor continued her monthly column with a visit to the beautiful gardens of neighbors Geri White and Beth Regan, a series on the garden’s seasonal splendors, and a tribute to her daughter. Other regular columns included “Baby Boomers & Beyond” by Andrea Kaye and Peggy McKleroy, and with an increasing need to address the concerns of our increasing elderly population, a column from Agent for the Elderly Jane Cornell. Neighbors contributed to the “Recipe of the Month”, and the Firehouse Dog kept us entertained and apprised of the heroics of our Fire Department at large, and its individual members, in “Smoke, Mirrors & Spotlights”. Deb Andstrum and Janice Trecker listed Fletcher Memorial’s new books and special programs, as well as Top Shelf displays, and scout leaders Michele Mlyniec, Melissa Telford, and Rob Rondeau informed us of the activities and accolades of our local troops. We also learned of the academic accomplishments of our Town’s youth, publishing Honor Rolls, Dean’s Lists, and graduations, and our elementary school supplied us with student art, poems and essays students wrote.

Lastly, we published 21 letters of opinion this year, every one we received, mostly political, some complimentary to townsfolk, always welcome. Because it’s your voice, through opinion pieces, poetry, recipes, columns – on our volunteers, for our senior citizens, news of the town, its government and its organization, and articles of human interest, history, and humor, which makes the Hampton Gazette a town newspaper. Thank you, one and all, for your contributions to it.
Juan Arriola, Chairman

Our graveyards are abundantly studded with military medallions recognizing the veterans who have served our country. The solemnity of these sacred places is deepened with the knowledge that young people, on the cusp of their futures, risked their lives to protect family, friends, strangers. The 1984 Memorial Day Address reminded us that “our five cemeteries bear mute testimony” to our town’s representation in every war since the American Revolution, courageous patriots who were called to defend their own turf, or to fight for the principles of “freedom, self-determination, human dignity and peace” in other places in the world.

This year we lost the last of our town’s World War II veterans, Tom Gaines and Clarence Thornton, who fought for those principles far away from home. Seventy years later and a few years ago, they shared their recollections with us in the series “Those Who Serve”, where we also published the experiences of World War II veterans Charlie Pike and Mario Fiondella.

Mr. Gaines was stationed in Pearl Harbor, traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii to transport troops, dodging German U-boats in route. “We weren’t allowed to make any noise at night, or to have any lights on the ship,” Tom relayed. Mr. Thornton’s tour of duty afforded him a “panoramic view of Europe” where he hauled ammunition to the front lines, driving on narrow roads in the dark with no headlights. His military career concluded in Germany when the war ended, unceremoniously announced with the words, “pack up your stuff, you’re going home”. Mr. Pike served in the South Pacific, installing telephone and electric lines through rice paddies. A decorated soldier, Charlie was wounded when the troop carrier he was on was torpedoed. Mr. Fiondella was stationed in Japan during the period of Occupation, where he encountered no resentment toward Americans. “They were happy the war was over,” he recalled. “Everyone was.”

Mr. Fiondella walked us through a leather bound, embossed album of Japan, which included photographs of Emperor Hirohito not five feet away from him. Also in mint condition – his Eisenhower jacket. All of them preserved relics of their service. Mr. Gaines shared a photograph of himself “riding the waves on a surf board at Waikiki Beach”. Mr. Thornton kept his dog tags, sharp shooter medal, theater ribbons, a submarine gun medal, a 3rd army patch and a 14th army division patch. Mr. Pike’s relic — the shrapnel which remained in his arm for the rest of his life.

All of these men settled here soon after, or years after, the war, and contributed to our town in myriad ways, with local businesses, through social organizations, as elected officials, and good neighbors.

The War Memorial at Town Hall lists those soldiers who left their farms in Hampton to fight in the World Wars. Only a few of the surnames of the World War I veterans remain with us: Davis, Hastings, Hoffman, Oliver, Stensland. There are more familiar names from World War II: Fitzgerald, Fox, Frieman, Halbach, Henri, Hoffman, Howell, Neborsky, Pawlikowski, Pearl, Postemski, Stone, Surridge, Tumel.

Of those listed, only Charlie Halbach spoke publicly of his service, though his remarks during the Memorial Day Addresses he delivered were broader than his own experiences, reminding us of the purpose of “a day for offering our appreciation, prayers, and support to the men and women who continue to serve us – in places near or far from our safe and quiet town of Hampton.”

Wendell Davis spoke of more personal experiences. “I see an airplane streaking across the sky, with first a thin trail of smoke, and then a thicker, denser tail and 10,000 men looking up, waiting for the pilot to eject and the chute to blossom against the sky, but no ejection comes and the nose goes down and a ball of flame marks the spot where the plane hits the beach at 300 miles an hour. I see a pile of dead men, stacked like cord wood, waiting for the graves registration unit to clip their dog tags before burial. I see the charred and twisted remains of an enemy killed by a flame-thrower. I see a mine-sweeper, lifted half out of the water, breaking up as much in the air as in the sea, and fifteen seconds later nothing but a pitifully small number of men swimming for their lives. I smell the stench of rotting flesh on a tropical beach. I hear the roar as the Mount Hope blows up, an ammunition ship with 5000 tons of shells, rockets, mines, and small arms ammunition. No survivors, not even any bodies. Just boiling water…I see a young sailor sewed up in a length of new white canvas, slipped gently over the side, starting his trip to the bottom one mile down…I hear voices talking, killing the tedium, of the long night watch. These were voices always full of hope, dreams of the future, plans, full of excitement, voices of young Americans, ‘when I get home’…”

Other veterans would deliver Memorial Day Addresses and share their harrowing memories with us. Richard Schenk spoke of his experience on the Moselle River: “I watched army engineers trying to put up a pontoon bridge for us to cross. They became easy targets as the pontoons extended out into the water. Murderous shellfire would seek out and find them. We watched their bodies float down the river. New men came and took their place. This scene was repeated over and over until the bridge reached the other shore.”
Sidney Marland spoke of a comrade, who “took a Japanese bullet in the forehead, not at arm’s length from me, as we were ambushed on a jungle trail in the Solomons.” Arthur Osborne remembered “the struggles, the mud and cold, the fearfulness, the longing for home, my buddies being brought in wounded and dying, not ever knowing what was coming next,” though his speech focused on the homecoming after World War II, the respectful and celebratory welcome, and remorse that those who returned from Vietnam never received that sort of embrace. Tom Gaines, reminding us that our troops served in five wars in his lifetime alone, asserted that “the search for peace is America’s most patriotic endeavor”, and John Woodworth spoke of “a brief respite from the fear and noise and wounding and dying” when he discovered a kernel of beauty which rendered him spellbound, and inspired him to pen a poem by candlelight in his dugout that night, a tribute to the men in his unit who died.

Under the mimosa I stand
And count the leaves of the twig in my hand.
and shadows dance upon the ground
where late my comrades fell around.
Under the mimosa I hear
Their voices murmur sweet and clear
“We fought but did not wish to die”.
Under the mimosa, still, they lie.

In 2015, Gordon Hanson’s Memorial Day Address reminded us of the ultimate sacrifice of one of our own, Leslie Jewett, a name which should be familiar to all of us as our town’s only casualty of World War II. Born in Hampton in 1917 and buried in the South Cemetery among many family members, Leslie Jewett lost his life on June 6, 1944 on Omaha Beach in Normandy, leaving his parents, his sister, his wife, and an infant son he never met. In 2019, Anne Flammang spoke of the women from Hampton who were veterans of World War II, Dorothy Howell, Ruth Burchnall, Jean Surridge, and Eva Loew, marveling that “a town of only 535 people produced four young women who volunteered to serve in our military”. In 2014, the Plourde family would tell us a tale of two brothers, both veterans of World War II: a decorated soldier who earned a Purple Heart, Paul was severely wounded in the D-Day invasion and presumed dead, his personal effects shipped home; yet through the efforts of his brother, Pierre, who never really believed it, Paul was eventually located in a hospital in France. And in 2011, Virginia Welch would write of David Teale, the only child of Edwin and Nellie, who was missing in action for over a year until the Teales traced the names of the men in his unit who signed a captured Nazi flag David sent his parents, some of whom relayed that they’d seen David’s raft attacked and capsized in the Moselle River, and saw him “in the icy water, and wounded”. He was only 19.

In March, the Gazette reprinted letters from our service men and women, first published in “The Hampton Newsletter” in 1944. News of the inhumanities was tempered with these messages of humanness — daily schedules, buying a bicycle, swimming in the warm waters of Italy, the coldness inside an English church, and the shared sentiment: “Boy, will I be glad to get back home again.”

Home: the thread running through the commentaries — the speeches, recollections, letters, stories – the hope of returning home.

Twenty years ago, in his last Memorial Day Address, Wendell Davis described war as “moments of abject terror followed by days and weeks of utter boredom. The boredom was made bearable by meeting people of all walks of life from all over the United States…and the thing we all had in common was the desire to tell each other about the town we came from. So I told them about my town.”

As we gather together in that town to commemorate another Memorial Day, and salute those who served, then and now, near and far, we mark the passing of our very last veterans or World War II and acknowledge the end of an era – that of the “Greatest Generation”. We are humbled by their bravery. Born during the “War to End All Wars”, which wasn’t, having survived the Great Depression, they put aside their pens and their plows to fight a common enemy, tyranny. World War II, with its new ways of waging war and its new horrors — the residual realities of nuclear warfare, and the horrific realities of the Holocaust, and the frightening realities of how close we came to the end of our world, a world every one of these valiant veterans helped to preserve for us.

Mr. Schenk asked, “What gave these men the strength and courage to take their fellow soldier’s place immediately after seeing him killed? It was, of course, because he could not forget what his comrade was trying to accomplish. To forget would have meant that his comrade’s efforts were in vain.”

Theirs was the ultimate sacrifice; in return, ours is so minimal: on Memorial Day, we remember.

One of the greatest treasures of a small New England town is its history, and Hampton is no exception. The former home and property of 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winning naturalist writer, Edwin Way Teale (d. October 18, 1980), is nestled in our community at 93 Kenyon Road. The property, known as “Trail Wood”, consists of a one-and-a-half-story Cape-style house erected in 1806 on 168 acres. This historic and natural treasure is owned and managed by the Connecticut Audubon Society. As a wildlife sanctuary with miles of walking trails, Trail Wood is open and free to the public from dawn to dusk throughout the year.

Per the wishes of Edwin and his wife Nellie, the study in his home was to be left intact so that the public could better understand his writing process. With 60 years of wear under its belt, Edwin’s study had begun to show its age and was in need of renovation. While the majority of his journals, notes, and photographs are housed in the Special Papers Archives of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, the remaining books and artifacts needed to be inventoried and then moved to a separate location to be cleaned and stored.

With oversight from the Northeast Region Connecticut Audubon Center Director, Sarah Heminway, consultation with the Dodd Center, and support from the community, the project kicked off in January. Archivist Melissa Watterworth Batt from UConn provided invaluable expertise on conservation cleaning protocols to the project’s intern, Corlis Fraga, a Woodstock native and graduate student from the Rare Book and Digital Humanities master program at l’Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comte, located in Besançon, France. Together, a plan was drawn to give the study’s collection the care it deserved.

The key to successfully executing the work was finding a climate-controlled space in town. Dr. Samantha Sarli of Hampton Elementary School saved the day, providing classroom space for the study’s materials. Every book, photograph, and loose sheet of paper was placed in a freezer for a minimum of three days to kill any insects and/or mold spores. Many thanks to Bousquets Appliances of Danielson for loaning a large chest freezer. Once out of the freezer, every item was spread out, brought back up to room temperature, dried, and thoroughly vacuumed using specialty attachments and filters. All cleaned materials were then boxed, stored, and prepped for return to Edwin’s refurbished study.

The study’s renovation included the removal of the ceiling along with over 200 years of accumulated debris, installing insulation and new sheetrock, fresh coats of paint throughout, refinishing the Carolina pine floors, and reupholstering Nellie’s chair. The space is gleaming, and Corlis has begun the careful and painstaking process of putting everything back into its rightful place per the Teale’s wishes. This renovation work was made possible thanks to the bequest of Warren Stone, an extraordinarily generous, thoughtful, and community-focused Hampton resident.

With the completion of this project, Edwin Way Teale’s study will continue to serve as a tribute to him and his writings and the history of Hampton. Visitors will be welcomed for years to come as they glimpse into the life of a man who is considered one of the founders of the modern conservation movement.

All are invited to come and celebrate Edwin’s birthday, go for a walk, and check out his refurbished study at the Trail Wood Open House on Saturday, June 3rd, from 1-4PM. For additional information about Trail Wood and its public programs, visit
ctaudubon/trail-wood-home.
Corlis Fraga

In 2003, Virginia Welch contributed an article to EarthCare titled “Lush Green Desert” which included the following dialogue between God and St. Francis:

What is going on down there on Earth? What happened to all the dandelions, violets, daisies, buttercups and thistles I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan with plants that grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and still flourish, and their long lasting blossoms attract butterflies, bees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see vast gardens by now, but all I see are green rectangles.

It’s the tribes that settled here. The Suburbanites. They called your flowers ‘weeds’ and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

Grass? Why? It’s not colorful, it doesn’t provide food or cover for wildlife, and except for grubs and certain insects, it is hardly more than a green desert. Do the suburbanites really want all that grass?

Apparently so. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing it and poisoning any other plant that comes up in the lawn.

Spring rains and warm weather make the grass grow fast. That ought to make the Suburbanites happy.

Apparently not. As soon as it grows, they cut it.

Cut it? Do they bale it like hay?

No, most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

No. Just the opposite. They pay to have it hauled away.

The suburbanites must be relieved when summer comes and we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

No, when the grass stops growing they drag out the hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to have it taken away.

Much has changed in the decades since the publication of this article. The evolution of the American lawn seems to have come full circle; it is no longer “politically correct” to have one.

Historically, lawns were not common until the invention of the lawn mower in the 1830’s. Initially meant to maintain golf courses, the first primitive machine replaced the scythe. In colonial times, only the wealthiest land owners maintained lawns for entertaining. Everyone else’s turf was used for agriculture, and the public spaces, the Town Greens, hallmarks of New England villages, were used for grazing livestock. A lawn, therefore, was considered a status symbol, thus eventually the perfectly manicured, weed-less lawn was popularized and became a suburban standard, a velvety emerald carpet in competition with others to the point where neighbors would become annoyed with those whose lawns contained the weeds which, of course, would seed themselves into their own, and rules would be written for residential communities.

Maintaining perfectly groomed grass lawns necessitates a lot of labor to remain trim in the rainy spring, the use of chemicals to prevent the spread of ever-encroaching weeds, and the consumption of much water during dry summers. Gas powered lawn mowers disperse toxins into the air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, operating a lawn mower for one hour emits an amount of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxide equivalent to driving a car 45 miles. More troubling, we use 30% of our nation’s water for grass to remain green. Arid regions use 75% of their water supply on lawns. More troubling, herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides find their way into the water table; Americans use approximately 90 million pounds of these chemicals every year. Even more troubling, insecticides endanger pollinators, causing nectar to contain chemicals which weaken, and in some instances, kill bees, the toxins eventually poisoning waterways and harming marine life.

The solution? Pollinator lawns. These are not to be confused with wildflower meadows, which require much thoughtful planning, preparation, and planting for success. A pollinator lawn is simply a mixture of grasses and flowers, mown less frequently to ensure pollination. A pollinator lawn will neither deplete natural resources nor poison the air and will benefit wildlife and the quality of human lives. Suitable for all our purposes, such as picnics and sports, the only difference is what we’re accustomed to aesthetically – replacing a manicured, monochromatic lawn with a shaggier, more colorful version. We wouldn’t deny anyone in the desert a small patch of perfect turf to soothe their feet, yet a whole acre of it, where our lawns were initially mown meadows, looks spoiled.

If the lawn is new, conduct a soil test to determine levels of acidity and alkalinity and amend as necessary. Aerate the soil and apply seeds as directed. The seed mixtures gardeners select depend on the site and the climate. The County Extension Center can identify the correct varieties to use for our region. Of course, if you already have an established lawn, there’s no need to start over – you’re probably half way there. Just allow the native plants to remain there, refrain from chemicals, and mow your lawn less often. Pollinators include: red and white clover, creeping thyme, Corsican mint, chickweed, chamomile, self-heal, violets, lamium, ajuga, Kentucky bluegrass, and fescue.

And, of course, the dandelion. Two years ago in “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Dandelion”, I encouraged gardeners to view things through a new lens, including the dandelion in the context of welcoming pollinators in their lawns. Since then, I’ve discovered that this “devil” is due a post-script to further convince people of the value of this misaligned plant.

Dandelions’ wide-spreading roots loosen and aerate soil and reduce erosion, their deep taproots pulling beneficial nutrients from the soil to distribute to other plants. Dandelions’ historic roots are deep, too. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used dandelions, which the Chinese have used in traditional medicine for more than a thousand years. From the French word “dent de lion” for its coarsely-toothed leaves, the dandelion is the only flower to represent the sun, with its yellow flower, the moon, with its white seed head, and stars, with its parachute-like scatterings. Birds, butterflies, and insects consume the nectar and the seeds of dandelions, and humans profit from the plant as well. All sections of the dandelion are useful – roots, flowers, leaves – for food, in dye, for drinks such as root beer, wine, and tea where it acts as a diuretic, and medicine to treat infections. With one of the longest flowering seasons, dandelion seeds, which are plentiful and do not require pollination to form, can travel as far as five miles, so trying to eliminate them from the lawn is an exercise in futility. Prior to the 1800s, people actually eradicated grass from their lawns to allow plenty of space for dandelions and other beneficial “weeds”. It’s time to heed their advice.
Dayna McDermott

Dear Auntie Mac,
I was invited to a good friend’s house for Easter where she introduced me to her new boyfriend. He was more than a little tipsy and more than a little flirtatious. I’m not sure if she noticed or not. She hasn’t mentioned anything. Should I?
A Good Friend
My Dear Neighbor:
One summer evening when Auntie Mac was eighteen, she found herself alone in a car with Otto, her boyfriend’s older sister’s fiancée. The boyfriend and sister had popped into a store to purchase something; the wedding was mere days away. Quite unexpectedly, Otto slid over to me, put his hand on my thigh, and said in what I assumed he thought was a seductive manner, “You are such a pretty thing.” I believe this was followed by some eyebrow raising and an attempt to blow in my ear. I was more puzzled than alarmed, and understood that this advance did not bode well for the future Mrs. Otto. I remained staring steely-eyed ahead, imagining Otto to be a large gnat who would retreat soon enough to his own side of the car, which he promptly did when his fiancée bounded out of the store.

Auntie Mac has learned circumspection the hard way, over the course of decades. But some strangely mature brain cell found its way into the slipstream of her consciousness that day, and she never told a soul. The wedding proceeded, the couple set up housekeeping, and they could be blissfully happy still, or they may have both landed in lockup before the end of the honeymoon. Regardless, nothing I could have said would have affected the outcome of their union. Couples learn who their partner is without well-meaning outsiders piping up about this or that character defect.

What, after all, is to be gained by such disclosures? One must ask oneself: for whom am I doing this? Sometimes the honest answer is a bit distasteful. We so want to be at the center of things, have extra knowledge that we can impart, and in a way this makes us feel more…important, somehow. That we matter. That we’re in the script. But truly, dear, no one will thank you for the information, and you may lose a friend, despite your protestations of being an unwilling recipient of alcohol-fueled advances.

Certainly, if the flirtation had escalated to near-assault, or if it lasted well beyond one holiday meeting, Auntie Mac would advise you to inform the boyfriend that if he did not confess his proclivities to his girlfriend, you would promptly do it for him. But since this is not the case, her advice is to simply be as good a friend to this woman as possible; it seems she will be needing your friendship and support in the very near future.
Your Auntie Mac

Reincarnation. Transmigration of souls. Ghosts. Apparitions. Out of body experiences. Time travel. Dreams. Visions. Visitations. Deja vu. Whatever your thoughts may be on these concepts, it makes no difference to me. I have experienced them all. My memory goes back for thousands of years through countless lives – male, female, animal and insect. I have never yet experienced what is commonly called death. I eat right, get lots of fresh air, sunshine and exercise. I sleep well and I take my meds faithfully. Roll your eyes if you must – you’re not the first.

In my defense, memory is an unruly thing. Left unattended it is prone to wander off like an unsupervised child — to go traipsing off to parts unknown, looking for adventure and getting into mischief. When or if it returns it seldom looks the way it did when it left. When it does show up again it usually presents itself in one of three distinct forms. It may return all tattered, haggard, breathless, clinging to life, like some prodigal son, barely recognizable from what it was when it left. It may come be-bopping back in some fancy zoot suit, feathered hat, gold chains, fancy tie, all manner of other embellishments, and go swaggering about making a general nuisance of itself. The third and rarest form is when it returns looking exactly the way it did when it left.

I will do my best to avoid swagger or tatter, and spare you my memories and experiences that predate written history – my days of scribbling on cave walls or hunting long-extinct dinners. Through centuries and millennia I have never risen to the level of a known figure of history. No great feats have ever been attributed to me. My name appears nowhere in any record until recent years. I have only ever been a face in the crowd or the proverbial fly-on-the-wall. I suppose this has been my good luck. Had I ever been a politician, high priest, or administrator of a government-run Indian school, my time on this earth would have been brief and singular, after which I would most assuredly have been sent straight to hell.

The year was 49 BC: I was just a 10 year old boy minding my own business fishing from the banks of the nearby river when I heard a clatter of hooves and what proved to be a legion of Roman soldiers led by a great general. I knew nothing of the politics of the time or the coming civil war and ultimate collapse of the Roman Republic. I just knew I was scared and the fish would not be biting that day. I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding, my mind racing. Reaching home I crashed through the front door. When I finally caught my breath and told my mother what I had seen she gasped and fainted. For the next five years there were constant battles. Many of my friends and relatives were killed. When the fighting finally stopped, “Crossing the Rubicon” became a popular phrase when critical decisions were being made. I never fished in that river again. The general had a salad named in his honor. I often order one when I go out for dinner.

The year was 711 AD: Rome was no more. In fact I knew nothing of Rome, the Rubicon or popular salads. My life as a shepherd’s wife living on the Iberian Peninsula had been mostly tranquil. Lorenzo, my husband, was loving, thoughtful and hard-working. Maria, my daughter, now steady on her feet, when not chasing butterflies under the watchful eye of Ferdinand, our dog, liked to help me tend the chickens and work beside me in our small garden. We talked a lot. Our little hut was sturdy. We ate mutton, chicken, fish, eggs, bread, fruits, and the vegetables we grew in our garden. We were young. We were happy. We were a family. That all changed to endless sorrow when I saw a fleet of white sails crossing the narrow blue water that separated my village from Arab Muslims of North Africa. There were too many of them to be the routine traders that came and went. This was trouble and I knew it. Maria was quickly dispatched to another life. Lorenzo and I were put in chains and carried across the sea to Africa. After that day I never saw Lorenzo or home again. I spent what remained of that miserable life as a sex slave to a Caliph. To compound my misery my Latin complexion – brown eyes and black hair – put me in disfavor of my brutal master. Anguish, sorrow and the lash were not long in dispatching me to another life. “Gentlemen prefer blonds” is not a twentieth century development. Nor do “gentlemen” hold the monopoly.

The year was 1933: I was sitting on a rickety old wooden bench in front of Clyde’s ESSO station lazing away the afternoon, spitting tobacco and sipping a Sarsaparilla when a sporty blue Buick Roaster with a convertible top and rumble seat pulled in for a fill up. The lady that stepped out from behind the wheel was a full six feet tall and looked to be in her early fifties. She and Clyde, the station owner, started up the usual sort of conversation about the “best way to get there from here” and “are all the roads this dusty?” When she finished paying for the gas Clyde cocked his head and asked “Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like the First Lady?” “Oh, I get that a lot,” she replied, and drove away. I just hung my head and chuckled. Didn’t say anything to Clyde. I knew the whole time who she was. Over the centuries I’d learned a thing or two about trusting my gut and knowing people. Eleanor Roosevelt – the First Lady of the United States, was on yet another of her unescorted, independent excursions, to Lord only knows where. That woman – she sure knew how to set her own precedent and blaze a trail for the girls.

Though of lowly existence, through all the millennia of my experiences I have come to see myself as a simple traveler and explorer. I have witnessed and learned a great deal. One thing I learned early in those thousands of years ago that has remained unchanged through those thousands of years – people are the same today as they were when I was scribbling on cave walls. Only technology has advanced. Through the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, industrial age, information age, technological advances have provided humans with different tools with which to exercise their will and display their temperament. Humans may manifest an endless variety of personalities, but variations of will and temperament have remained limited and unchanged. There have always been the ambitious and industrious. There have always been the indolent. There have always been those driven for power and control of others. There have always been those who wished only to be left alone to live their lives in peace. There have always been those who were ready to take away the possessions of others. There have always been those content to have what they had gained through their own honest labor. There have always been those who cared nothing for others. There have always been those who cared only for others. There have always been the courageous, driven to act. There have always been the fearful and hesitant.

Still rolling your eyes? Still think reincarnation, transmigration of souls, time travel, visitations are silly superstitions?
Stop by Fletcher Memorial Library. Talk to Deb or any of her friendly and knowledgeable volunteers. They will be happy to show you how it is done.
JPG

Our town lost another citizen extraordinaire on February 28, 2023 when Mary Kennan passed away at the age of 92. Mary and her husband Dana, who predeceased her, were the second residents to receive recognition from The Hampton Gazette as “Citizens of the Year” for their several volunteer endeavors. These included delivering, and serving as local coordinators for, Meals on Wheels, volunteering at the elementary school, administering Social Services at the Town Hall, and assisting with FANS, Friends and Neighbors, a group of residents who charged themselves with the responsibility of “looking after one another.”

Mary was a Brownie, Cub Scout, and 4-H leader. She was a very active member of the Hampton Congregational Church, serving on many committees including the Ladies Aide and the Board of Deaconesses, and singing in the choir. She also participated in The Hampton Community Players, and from 1986 to 2001, was a member of the Hampton Gazette’s editorial board, fulfilling the responsibility of production prior to the use of computers, when she spent countless weekends cutting and pasting the various articles to produce the town’s monthly newspaper. Perhaps most memorably, Mary and Dana were Santa and Mrs. Claus at the East Brook Mall for many Christmas seasons. These were the roles which suited them so well, for they were one of the warmest, friendliest, most giving couples in our community.

And children loved them. This was evident in their involvement in youth groups and in the school. “Mr. and Mrs. Kennan were the epitome of what it meant to be a good neighbor, friend and citizen,” Becky Burell Gagne recalled. “They were always doing for others, helping in the community. While taking caring of their constantly growing brood of children. Some of their kids were biological and some were adopted. I honestly think that they lost track. Because they loved them all. As well as all of their children’s friends.”

Along with their son Jon, still a resident of Hampton, and “Kim”, who predeceased Mary, the Kennan’s adopted four children, daughters Grace Couchon, Joanne Amill and Joy Hourihan, and son Rob. Mary is also survived by sixteen grandchildren and twenty-two great grandchildren. Our condolences to them all.