Wait! My older daughter was only 18 then? About to be a freshman at Northeastern? She’s 28 now and just got engaged. How could that be?

It seems like a lifetime has happened since I launched the inaugural issue of the Lebanon Times 10 years ago. In fact, many lifetimes have happened and we’ve been able to capture and share moments in time from those lifetimes. For ten years, four times per year, the Lebanon Times has had the privilege of getting to know the good people, good places and good things happening in and around Lebanon and then celebrating the stories in our pages.… Read More

Katharine Ogden made her presence felt as an All-American skier at Dartmouth College (Class of ‘21). Today, she is making a difference right down the road in Lebanon with WISE.

“WISE, as an organization, has a pretty broad mission statement in that the organization’s goal is to eradicate gender-based violence in the Upper Valley,” said Ogden. “My role involves working directly with survivors who are currently experiencing gender-based violence, usually helping them through the logistics of fleeing from an abusive relationship, or with processing what they had been through.”

Ogden is enrolled in a remote Master of Social Work program through Columbia University.… Read More

Since he was 12 years old, serving God and others has been Roger Tatro’s mission in life.

Tatro, who now lives in Quail Hollow with his wife, Dale, learned the value of hard work and selflessness early in life, and it’s carried with him throughout his life and career as a farmhand, a milkman, an insurance agent, and a musician.

Tatro grew up in Morrisville, and he met Dale “just by accident” after graduating from the Peoples Academy in 1958. “I just saw her sitting on a stone wall with another girl; I just pulled over [in the car] and introduced myself,” he says.… Read More

In 2008, Paul Coats discovered a trail running race in Newport, NH that caught his attention. The longtime director of the Lebanon Recreation, Arts, and Parks Department – and a serious runner himself – Coats knew competitive athletes expect professional timing and precise distance measurements. These quality characteristics found at the Newport Recreation trail race were usually reserved for events abutting metropolitan areas. In a few short years, a wide-ranging host of trail and road running events for all ages and abilities would be brought to the Upper Valley, in large part thanks to Lebanon Recreation, Arts, and Parks.

In the early 2000s, trail-running competitions nationwide exclusively spanned lengths far beyond that of a marathon.… Read More

As long as humans have roamed the earth, we’ve been coming together around common interests. We’ve formed groups of all kinds – tribes, guilds, coalitions, communities, associations, and clubs, to name a few. At last count, the online database – Cause IQ – listed almost 32,000 community service clubs and organizations in the United States. This year, the Rotary Club of Lebanon is celebrating 100 years of community service, as it steadfastly maintains the Rotary tradition of “Service Above Self” while continuing to find ways to adapt to our changing times.

Fellowship, service projects, and leadership development are deeply embedded in the club’s priorities, and always have been.… Read More

From humble beginnings, she stays humble. Virginia Tech women’s basketball star Taylor Soule – who grew up in Lebanon – is officially on her way to the WNBA after being selected in the April Draft.

Soule was raised in West Lebanon alongside her sister Zoe, and together, the self-proclaimed “Soule Sisters” represented New Hampshire on a national level as members of their junior high track team. “(I’m) not sure if anyone ever called us that, but we did,” Soule says. At age 10, Soule won the national 9/10 girls 100-meter event while competing at the Hershey’s Track and Field Games North American Finals in Hershey, PA.… Read More

Both Cioffredi & Associates and Lucky’s Coffee Garage give generously – in time and money – to local community organizations. However, if there’s one thing that unites these two companies in our first “Business as a Force for Good” segment, it’s the way they care for and invest in their teams of employees. Whatever’s on the menu – whether it’s coffee or physical therapy and wellness – the values and cultures developed within their respective businesses ripple outward, making a positive impact on the communities they serve.

Cioffredi & Associates

When Billy Cioffredi got his start in physical therapy more than four decades ago, the idea of being a “good boss” wasn’t exactly on his radar.… Read More

Here in the Upper Valley, we are very lucky to have access to a wide range of resources, especially those that are found in unexpected places. The Lebanon Libraries are of course known for the literary resources that they offer, but now, the library has also become a destination for those who are most in need within our community.

A partnership between Dartmouth Health and Lebanon Public Libraries transpired from a direct need that the library staff found themselves facing on three separate occasions, during which a series of drug overdoses occurred outside of the library building. Both libraries – Lebanon Library and Kilton Library – are located near a frequently used Advanced Transit bus stop, so when these incidents arose, library staff didn’t know how to best handle the situation in this public setting.… Read More

It’s easy to imagine a time when silver, streamlined diners speckled the granite landscape – but it seems only a few of these American relics remain open in Vermont and New Hampshire today. It’s one reason why there’s been so much buzz around the “For Sale” sign outside the Four Aces Diner in West Lebanon. The question on everyone’s mind seems to be: will it remain open? And, if so, will it stay the same diner we know and love?

Although the diner was likely named for the 1950s pop quartet – The Four Aces – its history is summed up by the contemporary singer-songwriter, Martin Sexton.… Read More

When career educators Jennifer and Carl Chambers first met in New York City twenty years ago, they shared a passion for an experiential style of teaching and for life’s great adventures. These mutual interests eventually led to their marriage and a move to the Upper Valley to continue their teaching careers in both public and private school settings – Jennifer in music and Carl in English and administration. Now the couple is dedicating themselves to an exciting new venture – realizing their dream of opening their own school on the mall in Lebanon this fall.

The New England School of the Arts (NESA) will offer an integrated curriculum of science, technology, engineering, math, languages, physical education, and humanities, all with an arts focus.… Read More