January Letters to the Editor
Need a good reason to spot the newt?
This month’s lucky (and fearless) newt spotter will receive this hand-painted one gallon crock, made by Great Bay Pottery of North Hampton ($65 value – pictured here). The company specializes in a wide variety of hand-thrown, hand-decorated functional pottery. www.greatbaypottery.com
Great Bay Pottery is a proud member of NH Made (www.nhmade.com), the state’s official non-profit booster of locally generated products and services. (Just for the record, New Hampshire Magazine is a proud member, too.)
Last month’s “Spot the Newt” winner is George Biron of Hudson. December issue newts were on pages 15, 24, 29 and 84.
Barrier Beef
I’d like to suggest that your restaurant reviews and listings have some sort of indication (icon, etc.) on whether or not a restaurant is accessible.
I’m confined to a wheelchair and eat out a lot (I was once the N.H. restaurant reviewer for the long-defunct New England Monthly and worked in magazine publishing for many years), and I’ve found to my disappointment that many restaurants just aren’t accessible.
What’s even more maddening is that many restaurants say they’re accessible, but aren’t. I’ve made phone calls and showed up at restaurants that said they were accessible, only to find steps, narrow aisles or no accessible bathroom. It’s a genuine problem in our live free and/or die state.
Just some thoughts. Frankly, some restaurant owners don’t care. I was once told, “I have plenty of business without worrying about ‘you people.'” Nice guy. But many owners do, and they should be highlighted.
Stan Miastkowski
Peterborough
Honored to Be “It”
Thank you so much for the honor of being named an “It” person of New Hampshire. I must say you have certainly helped me to gain points with the family. I’m a star in my grandmother’s eyes. Seriously, I am truly honored. We so appreciate the continued support. Looking forward to our next event together.
Melanie Gosselin
Executive Director, N.H. Food Bank
Manchester
Speak Korean?
I am NaKyung Lee, who was the pre-presidential candidate of South Korea, 2007.
Please find the attached files, and get persons who can speak Korean to translate exactly. Absolutely, it is worth doing.
I wrote letters to five persons, Sir. Richard Branson of Virgin Group, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, Author Dan Brown, Film Director Mel Gibson and Co-Chairman Bill Gates of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
I am sending these letters to the whole world.
I would truly like to have you CAREFULLY go through all the attachments.
Thanks & Regards
NaKyung Lee
South Korea
Editor’s Note: Presumably the writer mistook our editor for someone who had author Dan Brown’s ear, as well as a staff of translators. Is there anyone out there with either who is curious about the contents of this message to the world?
Flowers in Hancock
You’ve probably heard from others, but just in case you haven’t – November issue of New Hampshire Magazine, page 14, the lovely display of flowers flowing out of the truck is in Hancock at the foot of Norway Hill Road where it joins Rte. 202. It has been there for several years and I’m sure the Mathewson Companies will do it again next year. I always look forward to seeing it.
Denise Chenoweth
Hancock
N.H.’s Real Advantage
I was reading the new issue last night and my husband said, “You really like New Hampshire, don’t you?” (the state). And I said, “Yes, for exactly what Rick says here” and read to him: “It’s mind-expanding to get to know people in this kind of volunteer relationship … You start to think that maybe a group of committed people who agree on the mission really could tackle some of the mind-boggling challenges that we face in this state, this country, this world.”
You hit on exactly what I call the real “New Hampshire Advantage”:
Having just participated in the all-volunteer USS New Hampshire Community Commissioning Committee, which accomplished our objective of ensuring a world-class welcome and hospitality for the crew of “our” submarine and their families. A feat led by a town of 21,000 (Portsmouth) in eight months, which some of the commissioning old-hands didn’t think we could pull off.
Having watched the Granite State Ambassadors (I’m executive director), a certified crew of 900, with 472 currently active volunteers at the Manchester airport, in Concord, Manchester, Portsmouth, Colebrook, Peterborough and a dozen other locations, making sure our visitors are welcomed as guests to our state, while living up to the mission that “New Hampshire is only a great place to visit if it remains a great place to live,” and that happens only when people volunteer.
Having worked with a core volunteer team from the Portsmouth Historical Society open the new Discover Portsmouth Center in just five months, and then see it become a community performance center, as well as giving 6,500 visitors the intended “gateway to historic Portsmouth – a National Trust for Historic Preservation ‘Distinctive Destination.'”
And having watched the volunteer Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee produce 45 events over the course of the summer of 2005, and continue to commemorate the Treaty and the community’s role in helping Theodore Roosevelt win the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize through an annual calendar of concerts, plays, lectures, exhibits, bell-ringing, parade, Beat Night and the annual Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum (welcoming a member of President-elect Obama’s foreign policy brain trust, Samantha Power, on December 6). See www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com.
In New Hampshire, “doing something about it” is who we are. Where there’s the will, there’s a way. And it’s pretty cool to be a part of something like that. Thanks for crystallizing the concept so well.
Stephanie Seacord
Newfields
Something Special
The trustees and town are pleased and proud to announce that The Moultonborough Public Library has been named Library of the Year by the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association.
In past Letters to the Editor, I have read where some complain that nothing special seems to happen north of Concord. Well, this certainly is something special. At a ceremony last month, The Moultonborough Public Library Program Room was overflowing with library trustees, friends, staff, other local librarians and many of those instrumental in the newly-added 7,500-square-foot addition of 2006.
Emma Smith, N.H. State Library trustee, presented a plaque to the Moultonborough Library Trustees.
As it stands today, the library has over 5,500 patrons, 30,000 volumes and a circulation of over 67,000. The month of July alone this year saw a usage circulation of 12,292, 195 new patrons and 1,594 computer users.
Jordan Prouty
Moultonborough
Taking Exception
I will not be renewing my subscription to your magazine. I take exception to the contrived humor of the UpFront article by Jack Kenny [Vanishing Points, Nov. ’08 Capitol Offenses]. His obvious bias against the Republican candidates should be contained in some other venue than your magazine.
Shirley Barbera
Holderness
In the Spirit
I love your magazine and I especially liked the articles on the Christmas lights. I hope to go see some of them this season. Our office has also decided to go on the Christmas Stroll in Portsmouth, for our Christmas party. Thanks for the great idea.
Karen L. Carney
Kingston
Correction: In the 2008-2009 Medical Directory, the listing for Dr. Normand Miller of Salem is incorrect. He is a Vascular Surgeon, not a General Surgeon. Also, the correct phone number for Dr. Kenneth Cohen of Portsmouth is (603) 436-8228. We regret the errors.
