The concept of a natural burial as an environmentally friendly option in private and public cemeteries is becoming increasingly popular throughout the country, primarily for its minimal environmental impact, simplicity, and lower cost to the consumer. Historically, natural burials were the norm until modern funeral practices like embalming, caskets made from exotic wood, and non-biodegradable cement vaults evolved shortly after the Civil War in response to the desire to preserve soldiers’ remains until they were returned home to their families. Today, with more than 350 green burial cemeteries in the United States, natural burial practices are making a comeback, and municipal officials and consumers are evolving in their understanding of the benefits and management needs of natural burials.… Read More

At age 79, Quail Hollow Senior Living Community resident Sarwar Kashmeri has achieved stunning success in his career and gained not only national recognition, but international acclaim, as well.

Sarwar Kashmeri is an international relations specialist, author, and commentator, noted for his expertise on U.S. global strategy and national security. He is the host of Polaris-Live, featuring 30-minute live conversations on the business and geopolitical impact of China’s rapid rise to superpower status. 

He is the author of the Foreign Policy Association report The Telegram: A China Agenda for President Biden (2021). China’s Grand Strategy: Weaving A New Silk Road to Global Primacy (Praeger) – his third book – was published in July  2019. It… Read More

Muriel Maville, owner of Muriel’s Donuts in Lebanon, had never baked before opening the shop with her husband Francis in 1967. “I was a mother; I was at home!” Muriel laughs, “I hadn’t even gone out to work. In the beginning I didn’t even know if I even wanted to do it, but it all worked out alright.” 

To say that it worked out alright is an understatement; Muriel’s Donuts has stayed in business for 54 years, with Muriel and her family baking up delicious donuts for a loyal customer base and the new faces that come in to try the treats they’ve heard about from friends and family, and in regional and national publications. … Read More

In summer of 2021, the Lebanon Times attended an inspiring concert on the Lebanon green featuring one of the Tuck’s Rock Dojo bands, a mix of talented high- school and college-age musicians and their high-energy teacher, Tuck Stocking. The singer’s powerful and emotional voice and the driving rhythms and melodies of the instruments playing classic rock songs inspired dancing and jubilee in the crowds. Let’s explore the secrets to creating such passionate and skilled music.

Tuck Stocking and Kata Sasvari, a husband-wife team, started Tuck’s Rock Dojo back in 2009. Tuck has a longtime love of many types of music.… Read More

Brian Cook, executive director of Revels North, and his team are finding innovative ways to bring Christmas Revels to our community. A part of our Upper Valley community since 1975, the Christmas Revels celebration made the move to the Lebanon Opera House in 2019. Cook and his team concocted the idea of a heart-warming animated Revels film for the 2020 season but were determined to have an in-person performance for 2021 and have created a new conceptualization of Revels to make that happen. “We see this as another chance to reinvent what we do. We feel like, let’s have some fun with this.… Read More

Lebanon’s Recreation Director Paul Coats scans Colburn Park and says, “You don’t get settings like this everywhere.” At 400 x 235 feet, Colburn Park is not huge, but what might be no more than a giant roundabout, is in fact the physical hub and community anchor of Lebanon’s compact downtown. This was never more apparent than in the summer of 2021, when Covid weary citizens took to the park for escape, diversion, and connection. 

Coats first discovered New England while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1998. When he returned home and saw a job opening for a recreation coordinator in Lebanon, he went for it.… Read More

When a small but committed group of ‘Founding Mothers’ started WISE 50 years ago as a women’s career and parenting resource center – email, floppy disks, and pocket calculators had just been invented. Also in 1971, women could not own credit cards or purchase property. And the concept of gender-based violence was not part of any community conversation: it would take decades for this to change. Yet the pioneering WISE founders began hearing and believing women’s stories of sexual and domestic violence at home and at work and took the courageous step to act on those stories. Fifty years later, the next generation of WISE staff, volunteers, and board members is still providing a haven for people who suffer from gender-based violence, offering support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.… Read More

If there is one philosophy that Lebanon resident John Fenley lives by, it is that which was imparted to him by his parents years ago. 

“My mother taught me that you have to have faith and fight and persevere through the hard moments in life,” says John. “She has shown me what it means never to give up. And my father taught me that you can achieve your dreams if you work hard.”

For John, these words have had significant meaning considering his diagnosis of a craniopharyngioma brain tumor at age three which required five surgeries to successfully remove. And although the resulting brain injury created obstacles, he strives to define himself by his abilities rather than his disabilities.… Read More

Regardless of your path in life, the one memory that will endure the rigors of time is that of how you met your soul mate. The author believes in the adage: “One day, you will come across someone who will love you as you have always wanted; like never before.”

Taking that into consideration, meet Dick and Sally Morrill. The couple resides at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community in West Lebanon. Both are energetic and active octogenarians (85) who have gained a reputation among their peers as role models enduring the aging process. They are known for their wide smiles and sunny dispositions.… Read More

In early 2022, Lebanon may be able to provide greener energy to its residents while saving them money through an electric aggregation plan called Lebanon Community Power (LCP). The project, which has been spearheaded by Assistant Mayor Clifton Below, takes advantage of a state law that allows municipalities to become electricity suppliers, negotiating lower electricity rates, and clean, sustainable energy on behalf of their communities.

Keene became the first municipality in New Hampshire to adopt a Community Power Plan in May of this year; since then, Hanover and Harrisville have adopted their own plans, and Derry, Dover, Exeter, Nashua, and Portsmouth are in the process.… Read More