Editor’s Note: Song of September

September has arrived. Ba-dee-ya! 

If you’ve ever wondered what the mystery word from the Earth, Wind & Fire song meant, you’re in great company. Even the song’s lyricist doesn’t know.  

Allee Willis thought it was a space-holder written by band leader Maurice White intended to be replaced later (according to Wall Street Journal music scribe Mark Myers).

The newly minted word — call it a variation of “mazel tov!” — made the cut, helping to lift “September” to endless spins on the radio and the playlists of every wedding since 1978. 

Now that we’ve planted that earworm in your head, enjoy the deep grooves and positive vibes of our September issue. 

We celebrate the meteoric rise of Dover golf phenom Carys Fennessy with our cover story by Eric Schlapak, a freelance writer who teaches at Dover High School. Photographer Matt Parker has chronicled the 18-year-old golf star’s journey at various tournaments along the way. (Page 48).

Imagine “September” played on bagpipes, and you’re ready for the New Hampshire Highland Games, the celebration of Scottish culture that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year at Loon Mountain Resort. 

Josh Auger, sales executive for New Hampshire Magazine, is president this year of NHSCOT, the Concord-based nonprofit that organizes the games. 

“These games are closing all over the world, and if we can’t get together and support these kinds of initiatives they’re going to go away,” Auger tells writer John Koziol, who covered the games many times over the years as a correspondent for the New Hampshire Union Leader (Page 28).

Julia Ann Weekes, who Union Leader readers know as the newspaper’s long-time arts and entertainment editor, wrote this month’s “Our Town” about Auburn, her hometown for many years before she and her husband moved to Connecticut. Weekes probably has covered the town’s annual toy duck race as many times as Koziol has reported about men in kilts (Page 16).

Frequent contributor Kara McGrath wrote this month’s feature on Port City Air, the aviation company at Portsmouth International Airport, whose 200 employees keep the transportation hub humming (Page 58).

Elisa Gonzales Verdi chose a different mode of transportation for this month’s “In Their Own Words,” taking a bumpy boat ride to interview Capt. Jack Farrell, who travels from the mainland to Star Island two to three times a day, delivering food, supplies and U.S. mail.
(Page 34)

The journey to the top of New Hampshire’s highest summit offers more than one way to get there — via the 7.6-mile Mt. Washington Auto Road, the Cog Railway or on foot. Emily Reily talks to weather observers at the Mount Washington Observatory, who work in 12-hour shifts to measure the extreme conditions atop the 6,288-foot mountain, where wind speeds hit 127 mph and temperatures dipped to -110 during a two-day snowstorm in February 2023 (Page 38).

On a warmer note, “Connections” columnist Lynne Snierson spent time with Scott Hayward, owner of Tupelo Music Hall, a Derry music venue that has become a popular hotspot for concertgoers who want to see their favorite acts in an intimate setting. Tupelo has earned a reputation for booking acts that usually play larger halls, such as Peter Frampton, Toto and Chris Isaak (Page 84).

Here’s a booking request for you, Mr. Hayward: Earth, Wind & Fire.

Ba-dee-ya!