Two articles from the Portsmouth Herald

Editorial on preserving New Hampshire's State Fairs

Franconia Heritage Museum - May 2001

The Canterbury Country Store - March 2001

One By One - March 2001

Sandwich Civic Profile Meeting - March 2001

Two articles from the Portsmouth Herald

Investing in Social Capital, Christine Gillette, May 20, 2001

To Live Well, Get Involved, Christine Gillette, May 24, 2001

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Concord Monitor editorial: Fair Shake

Heritage Museum to highlight history of community groups

By PETER DAUTEN Special to The Courier FRANCONIA

The Courier, May 10, 2001

The Red Devils, Sons of Temperance and the Eastern Star are just three of the community groups that will be featured as the main exhibit at the Franconia Heritage Museum when it opens its doors for the 2001 season on May 26. The inspiration for the display was drawn from Harvard Professor Robert D. Putnam’s book titled Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. The author’s primary thesis is that community involvement, which he calls "Social Capital," not only makes the community a better place to live, but has lasting health benefits. "The more integrated we are with our community, the less likely we are to experience colds, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, depression and premature deaths of all sorts," asseges Putnam. Unfortunately, the data produced by Putnam’s groundbreaking book shows that in today’s society people are becoming increasingly disconnected from family, friends and institutions.

The Heritage Museum’s exhibit provides a detailed look at the numerous fellowship clubs and organizations past and present that joined people together in the Franconia region. The Sons of Temperance group, a national organization that took root in Franconia in 1850, is the among the organizations first noted on a large timeline that is displayed in this season’s main exhibit. This teetotalers- or "tea-toddlers" -group lasted only a short while. This is probably because locals needed their "hot toddies" to deal with the chill of North Country winters.

There are approximately a dozen other defunct organizations that are included in the exhibit and in excess of 25 groups that are still in operation such as the Franconia Life and Rescue Squad, White Mountain Garden Club, Willing Workers and the Heritage Council.

Each club or organization has its own display case filled with assorted memorabilia such as organizational banners, club uniforms and tee shirts, scrapbooks, membership ledgers, photographs and other selected items including a sword for the Knights of Columbus and a 1934 volunteer fireman’s helmet. Jewell Friedman, museum curator, says that some items on display came from the Sarah Welch collection while community members donated a considerable number of the artifacts that make up the exhibit. Local citizens also helped to provide a wealth of information about Franconia’s civic organizations. The Franconia Heritage Museum is in the former residence of Sarah Welch’s parents. The early Victorian house still contains original pieces that continue to be on permanent display every year. In addition, two new areas at the rear of the main house will be opened to the public when the museum opens for the 2001 season. The former hay shed will house a display of historic recreational equipment while the leanto area will offer an array of belt driven wood-working machinery.

After the May 26 opening the museum will be open every Thursday, Saturday and on holiday weekends from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The museum will close for the season on Oct. 13. Anyone wishing to obtain additional information about the Franconia Heritage Museum may call (603) 823-5000.

The Canterbury Country Store

Like other community General Stores across New Hampshire, in Hebron, Harrisville and Center Sandwich, the Canterbury Community Store is facing the challenge of staying open and serving its residents--not just as a place to buy milk, but as a location where the town comes together and builds Social Capital. This is their story:

The Canterbury Country Store has long been the crossroads, the meeting place of the town. Located in the town center and housing the Post Office, it has been the central building block of Canterbury's unique spirit of community, as generations of town citizens crossed paths in their daily lives, sharing stories of the day. Nothing is more important to building "community" than stories, past and present, that unite and weave together a fabric of spirit that unites citizens of differing ages and different walks of life. It is this special identification with "community" that many citizens feared would be lost when the closing of the community store was announced. And, it was this deep, intense spirit that marshaled the energy of many town citizens to meet and explore ways to preserve this distinctive feature of Canterbury's way of life - not just for today, not just for themselves, but for all Canterbury citizens, present and future.

Several concerned citizens began talking about the need for interested residents to gather and talk about the problem - the idea snowballed. In early November 2000, some eighty-five residents of Canterbury met at the Parish Hall to explore possible responses to the closing of the store. What could we do as a community to preserve this focal point of our life together? People left the meeting with plans to review the feasibility of several alternatives, including establishing a cooperative or a limited liability corporation (LLC). At the following meeting, equally well attended, these possibilities were discussed and it was decided to have a core group of approximately ten people meet, chart a course of action, and make a recommendation. The core group recommended the formation of an LLC to purchase the property and to negotiate a lease with a proprietor to reopen the store. Once this idea was endorsed by the spirit of the meeting, documents were drawn up establishing the Canterbury Community Market, LLC, and a purchase and sales agreement was negotiated with the seller. (It is important to note that legal, accounting and real estate brokering services are being donated by members of the founding group). Under the terms of the purchase and sales agreement, the corporation had to be 65% capitalized within eight days of signing of the agreement - a goal that was met.

The remaining 35% of the purchase price must be in hand by March 15, 2001. The abundant energy, dedication, and commitment to community by the core group, supported by other volunteers, are responsible for the success to date.

Lisa Carlson, CEO of the Canterbury Community Market, LLC, says, "Social capital is not bricks and mortar, it is not about dollars, it is not about profit and loss statements; rather, it is about intangibles, it is about spirit, it is about concern for others, it is about establishing and maintain a way of life that builds personal relationships, that unites individuals into an exquisite patchwork quilt that transcends space and time."

One by One

Just a few years ago, a group of community leaders in the Keene, NH area had gathered to focus on emerging community needs and to find new ways to keep their communities vital, prosperous, and healthy. The area around Keene is picture-post-card New England, with towns and villages scattered around - and often isolated by - the hills of the Monadnock region. After long days of discussion, one consistent theme was the need for more connections - connections between people, institutions and even between towns.

The idea of creating these connections was daunting - as was even the thought of creating the institutional infrastructure to maintain them -- until one small group came up the notion of creating connections one by one.

The idea is pretty simple, and the challenge to each person in the community is this: commit yourself to make a connection with one person, one place, or one thing that will benefit from your attention. A person who would benefit from your phone call, your visit, your skill; a place that would be better from the benefit of your attention and stewardship; and idea that your effort or concern could benefit. It's that simple.

The One by One group operates without a great deal or organization or overhead; they invite people to register their commitments with them and continue to speak about and nourish the concept in the communities. But there is no staff or reporting or dues or evaluation. Just a long list of commitments to individual actions to connect.

One woman made a simple commitment to pay a bit of attention to an elderly neighbor, who had all the appearances of having given up, ready to die. After a visit or two, a conversation about eating and cooking revealed that neither was taking place, so the offer to help the elderly neighbor hook up with meals on wheels and some other home services was made and accepted. And the visits went on. Whether it was the visits, the more regular meals or some other attention, things took a turn for the better, first with the ability to move more around the house, and then to go up an downstairs, and then to start a bit of cooking. Before long the elderly lady had made a batch of blueberry muffins and invited her visitor over for coffee. Soon other neighbors - who did not know each other - were also stopping by to offer a bit of help or company-and they too were invited for muffins. Then they started to connect with each other in addition to the woman they were ostensibly helping. And the neighborhood was closer and the muffin parties continue on in this kitchen and that.

The notion of One by One is to attend to the connection you care about in your own way; no need to take on the world, just your one connection to a person, a place or a thing. The results are unpredictable and practically speaking untrackable, but the results are profound.

The One by One Pledge:
I commit to making a connection to
one person, one place, or one thing.

Sandwich Civic Profile Meeting

Center Sandwich - Friday, 5:30 p.m.

All was ready. Basketball hoops were swung out of the way toward the ceiling. Long tables and benches were unfolded from storage closets along the wall of the gym. Van Adriance and his kitchen crew directed the incoming casseroles, salads, cookies -- mountains of food -- in buffet tables.

Down the hall in the classroom where fifth graders usually hung out, Della Clark was giving last-minute instructions to 20 men and women who would act as "facilitators." It would be a tight schedule. Four hours tonight. All day tomorrow.

As people poured into the gym, there was an air of fun behind a serious purpose: The Town of Sandwich, population about 1,100, was about to undertake an intense analysis of itself. What are the town's strengths? What are its weaknesses? What are its dreams? What is its future! How do we get from here to there?

Over that Friday evening and all day Saturday 250 of the towns 1100 residents participate in this Civic Profile to plan the future of their community. By late Saturday afternoon the group had agreed upon specific actions, and set up work groups to carry out each one.

Over the past nine years 68 of New Hampshire's 232 communities, ranging from its smallest (Waterville Valley) to it largest cities - Manchester and Concord - have run Civic Profiles. A dozen other communities are on the waiting list. The Profiles originated under a Commission set up by then Governor and now US Senator Judd Gregg, adapting an idea developed by the National Civic League. The program is now run statewide by the Cooperative Extension Program at the University of New Hampshire.

Each community has been different, some rich, some poor, some urban, some rural. But there are compelling similarities. Concern for the future is universal. Conflicts between newcomers and old timers recur without fail. Nearly all seek better communication within their communities.

The basic theme is straightforward: to be a healthy community a town must have a place for people to "bump into each other, to get together and chat. We have to continually break old barriers down" and the future of communities rests on their success in engaging newcomers and new generations.

As the Center Sandwich moderator said when he closed the meeting that Saturday afternoon, "From here on, kids, its all up to you. Good luck."

-- By Shirley Elder-Lyons, for "The Boston Globe, New Hampshire Weekly"