Your Letters From the July 2014 Issue
Send letters to Editor Rick Broussard, New Hampshire Magazine, 150 Dow St., Manchester, NH 03101 or e-mail him at editor@nhmagazine.com.
Hard to Read
I do love the magazine, the stories are always relevant, either teaching me something I didn't know or taking me back in time. There is one thing that as an older person with visual problems really upsets me, and it is with all publications, not just your magazine; the color of the fonts you use is hard to read. Light colors or darker backgrounds are difficult for me. Looking at the May issue in the Calendar section, the gold color print is too light for me to read. On page 70, I actually gave up trying to read the wording in the chart. It is just too small and light for my eyes.
Thank you once again for such a wonderful publication. I read my copy then I put it in the laundry room for others to enjoy.
Debby Brigham
Nashua
Amazing Return
First and foremost, as a life-long lover (and occasional writer) of poetry, thanks for the great use of your April Editor's Note to talk about New Hampshire poets. I'm convinced that the knee-jerk reaction of many to poetry, i.e. "I don't like poetry," stems from the abysmal way in which most young people are introduced to it, through rote memorization, with little or no regard for the content or life context within which it is presented, but that is a conversation for some other day.
A high school poetry program, geared just for the State of NH, which focused on the works of Frost, Hall, Kumin, Kenyon, and Simic, and introduced the geographic and cultural context of New Hampshire as coincidental and contributory to the writing, without the need to memorize interminable lines and then parse them for meaning, might afford the possibility of young minds coming to see the beauty of these words without the intimidation that comes through the more traditional methods of introduction. Poetry at its best has the ability to take you places you didn't know existed and transform you in ways you didn't know were possible. A magical journey without any physical departure, fueled solely by the willingness of the reader to allow their mind to be transported through the eyes and words of the poet. An amazing return on the investment of a very small amount of time.
Bill Gothorpe
Grantham, NH & Naples, Fla.
A Few Suggestions
I noticed in an e-mail to me that you asked for items of interest for your wonderful NH Magazine. Of course, I have a few suggestions. Marlow, NH, is a town without a store. The owner had to close, and the building was purchased by Pat Gallup (PC Connection). Then, it was discovered that the well at the old site is contaminated and can't be used. Now our small town has formed a committee to buy some in-town land and build a store. Our model is the Village Store in South Acworth, a true community success story. The town of Acworth owns and operates their store, with a board of directors, and this is a place to have coffee, meet and greet. They have many community events at their store, sell local handmade items and folks can enjoy the rocking chairs on the porch.
Stoddard is home to Richard Whitney. You may never have heard of him, but he's one of America's premier portrait painters. Marlow: Art Anderson (artandersonfolkart.com), Stephanie Tickner, watercolor, Lois Ann Foster, poet. Lois Ann comes from New Hampshire roots as deep as a maple tree's taproot and writes wonderfully about our state. Alstead: Maggie Cahoon, fiber artist. Langdon: Lark Leonard, Scandinavian straw work. Walpole: the Walpole Artisans, an interesting group formed a few years ago to encourage artists in the area. We have interesting artists in every corner of our area. Just look at the League of NH Craftsmen roster or Hillsborough Art Association.
How about an article on sugar making. In Acworth we have the largest sugaring operation in New England, Bascom's sugar house. On the other end of the spectrum, there are Jerry and Steve Galloway in Walpole, a father-and-son team who have a small operation, a good contrast between a mega operation and a family operation.
In Walpole, we have Walpole Creamery Ice Cream where Cindy Westover (and husband Dave) have started an ice cream business to use local cream. Cindy Graves Westover is the daughter of Bob Graves, whose family has farmed in Walpole since 1770 or so. Bob's son Peter has taken over Great Brook Farm, and Cindy is trying to add value to milk production by making a superior ice cream product. Also there is Boggy Meadow Cheese on River Road in Walpole, and Joe Sawyer, a fledgling cheese maker, also using local milk.
We are a vibrant, productive, creative and interesting area of the state that is often overlooked. We often say that most people don't know there is a New Hampshire west of Concord. If you decide to do a story on any of the above items, I will be happy to get you names, telephone numbers — anything I can do to help, I'll gladly do.
Pat Anderson
Marlow
Editor's Note: You know, Pat, you're not a bad writer, yourself. Maybe we should assign you a few of these many wonderful suggestions. Thanks for sending them.
Pet Peeve
We are very excited and happy to see our town and businesses featured in NH Magazine. I have a small complaint; it's a huge pet peeve of mine. In the article my shop is incorrectly spelled — there is no "s" after Design. In the "fyi" column it is correct, but the main article title is wrong. Not sure what can be done at this point, but I did want to point it out to you.
Kris Nagengast
Chase Island Design
Also Peeved
I wanted to take a moment to send you an e-mail thanking you and your staff for such a fun article, "Loopy for Laconia."
My shop is Willow & Sage Vintage Boutique. I wanted to also ask if possible to fix our names for any other type of advertising, such as your website article, etc. The name of my shop is Willow & Sage Vintage Boutique, not Willow and Sage … I understand Kris of Chase Island Design has already contacted you about her business name error. I want to mention also the heading for our row should have read The Shops at Vintage Row, not Shops of Vintage Row. One more thing, Curiosity & Co. is supposed to be Curiosity & Co., not Curiosity and Company.
Many errors I feel should have been caught with a quick proof. Business names are very important to have right so much so I felt compelled to write you to have this corrected for the future.
Again, our many compliments on the article as a whole. Very fun and lots of great detail was added to describe us all. Well done!
Shelly Daniels-Marcoux
Laconia
To Die For
On the Center Harbor Drive and Dine. Lavinia's food (the clam chowder and soup are to die for) the very best. The spicedalmonds are wonderful.Wonderful food. The owners and [manager] are the best, like family. A wonderful addition to the area.
Judy and Chris Christensen
Moultonborough
Good Works
I love this magazine and it's so informative about what is happening in the state.
I might suggest non-profit local organizations like the Lions Clubs, whose fund-raiser project monies all go to charity, scholarships, etc. Right here in Londonderry, the Lions do a great job in raising money for such charities as food kitchens, veterans homes, high school scholarships and food baskets at both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Barbara Dion
Londonderry
In Touch with NH
In one of my adventures to Maine, we encountered Will Lange of "Windows to the Wild" hiking in Acadia National Park … little did we know that we would find an advertisement in a NH Magazine and be able to watch his adventure online … until we saw the ad. Your magazine certainly keeps me in touch with NH and the desire to spend my summer exploring the interesting places of this state. Thank you.
Linda Meyers
Howell, NJ
Include Us
I really enjoyed the February issue on products made in New Hampshire — I only wish I had been able to submit my company to be included!
Tranzporter International, formed in 1997, designs, manufactures and distributes portfolio cases, carrying tubes and the EZ Rollup and EZ Carrier.
All our products are manufactured here in NH. We sell all products from our Manchester office and ship our products nationally and internationally. More information available at www.tranzporter.com.
Thank you, and always look forward to reading NH Magazine!
Joni Taube, President
Tranzporter International
