Editor’s Note: Over the next few issues, the Lebanon Times’ “Community Impact” page will feature some of the many civic organizations that make a positive, local and global impact on our shared community.

All around the world, people with the vision that life can be improved, are working to make it happen. But, they also understand that they cannot accomplish change alone. So they join with like-minded people in organized groups where much can be accomplished.

One such organization that is working to improve lives locally and around the world is Rotary. The Rotary Club of Lebanon and Lebanon-Riverside Rotary have separate officers, members and projects, but the two clubs join forces many times during the year to work as a team.

Rotary International is a worldwide service organization consisting of over 1.2 million Rotarians who volunteer their efforts on local and international service projects. It is non-political, non-sectarian, open to men and women of all businesses and professions, all faiths, and all walks of life.

In 1905, Paul Harris organized the first Rotary Club in Chicago, “in fellowship and friendship,” with three clients: Silvester Schele, Gustavus Loehr, and Hiram Shorey. His initial goal was to create a club of professional and businessmen for friendship and fellowship, but he soon realized that Rotary needed a greater purpose. During his presidency in 1907, the club initiated its first public service project, the construction of public toilets in Chicago. This step transformed Rotary into the world’s first Service Club. And, in 1989 the Council on Legislation voted to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide.

Locally, the 40 active members of the Lebanon Club work hard year-round, holding events that help provide funding for a variety of organizations, and working on projects to benefit the area.

This year’s 36th Annual Rotary Auction on September 19, will benefit The Upper Valley Haven’s Backpack Program which sends a pack of nutritional food home with students for the weekend.

Another local event is the bi-annual Mascoma River Cleanup, headed up (for over 30 years) by Rotarian Dr. Ernst Oidtmann. Volunteers of Rotary and the public wade right into the river and pull out all kinds of things that are collected and sent for recycling.

The “String of Pearls” project was envisioned as a community-wide initiative to preserve and enhance several areas along the Mascoma River for public recreation and enjoyment. It includes building a riverfront trail system connecting the public parks along the Mascoma. A few of the “pearls” that presently exist on this trail include Baker’s Crossing Conservation Area, Glen Road Skate Park, Centennial Fountain, Canillas Park walkway, and Twin Rivers.

The annual All-You-Can-Eat Pie Buffet is held on July 4th at the Senior Center in Lebanon to benefit the on-going fight against Polio. Rotary, along with its partners, has reduced polio cases by 99 percent worldwide since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Only two countries presently have polio cases: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Rotarians have helped immunize more than two billion children against polio in 122 countries. At the same time, Rotary has been the largest private sector donor to polio eradication, committing over $600 million to the effort.

Knowing that dirty water brings ill health to so many around the world, Rotary has undertaken projects to bring clean water to many of the villages in Ghana, Africa. Members of the Lebanon Club have gone to Ghana twice to work with members of their Rotary Clubs. Just having clean water would help eliminate 10% of diseases worldwide!

The Lebanon Club meets every Thursday from 12:15 – 1:30 p.m. in the Dwinell Room at Harvest Hill on the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital grounds. This includes lunch and a brief business meeting often with speakers. Visitors interested in learning more about Rotary and membership are welcome to attend a meeting.

The Lebanon-Riverside club gathers at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesdays, also in the Dwinell Room, for a breakfast meeting.

To learn more about the Rotary Club of Lebanon, please visit www.rotarylebanonnh.org, or call Don MacMeekin, this year’s president, at 603-667-6161. For more complete information about Rotary in general, please go to www.RotaryInternational.org.

The popularity of bicycling has reached an all-time high in this country both as a form of exercise and a form of transportation. The Lebanon Police Department has responded to the increased bicycle traffic on our local highway and byways with a two-wheeled task force of their own. Lebanon Police Captain, Timothy Cohen, heads up that division and notes that, while the number of bicycle patrolmen has increased, his two-wheeled patrol has been in existence since 2008. It is an elite group.

“You don’t just ask an officer to get aboard a bicycle and go on patrol,” Cohen explained. “If selected, the officer has to go through a rigorous 40-hour training session that is quite demanding. They face constant reviews of that training and are in excellent physical shape. During that training session, they have to ride 25-30 miles per day in all kinds of terrain including uphill courses on pavement and dirt.”

Three of the Lebanon “Road Warriors,” Nick Alden, Adam Leland and Greg Parthum, who have a combined 25 years experience on two wheels, all agree that it is a rewarding and unique way to serve and protect the community.

“I just love it. Great exercise and a way to stay in top physical condition. The best part for me, however, is being able to be out meeting the public and getting the opportunity to talk with the residents of Lebanon one-on-one.”

Captain Cohen could not agree more. The veteran officer pointed out that contact with the public was a key element in forming the roving patrols.

“Number one, it’s a great job for these officers and we really put an extra effort into putting them on the road. We really enjoy that dialogue with the public and hearing their concerns. It’s very important to get the feedback. Remember, these officers access places where a police cruiser cannot and can blend right in with the community at large.”

Officer Adam Leland feels his presence inspires the youth of Lebanon, as well.

“It gives me a great opportunity to stop and talk with the kids on a daily basis and I love that. It also gives me a chance to talk about and teach bike safety such as helmets, lights and the general rules that apply.” Leland said.

The co-existence between automobiles and bicycles on public highways has often been a contentious issue. Right-of-way issues along with rules of the road concerns are often misinterpreted. Captain Cohen was adamant on the subject.

“Everyone has to remember that the same traffic laws that apply to motorists apply to bicycle riders on the open highway and back roads. Stopping for red lights, stop signs and yielding the right of way all apply and carry the same penalty if ticketed. Bicycle riders also have to remember that they must have all the proper lights when riding at night.”

Off-road and trail riding are extremely popular in Lebanon with the establishment of the Northern Rail Trail, which starts in downtown where hordes of bikers arrive daily. That is where you are likely to meet up with Officer Greg Parthum.

“Riding along the Rail Trail is one of my favorite patrols.” Parthum said. “You really get an opportunity to stop and chat with many people from all over. I feel that public contact is very important as well.”

When Livability.com named Lebanon, NH the #1 Best Small Town in America for 2015, Recreation & Parks Director Paul Coats revealed to the website’s editors one of the City’s little known charms, “Winters are tough up here, but I think most people embrace it.” As hard as it is to admit, the summer’s 90 degree days are becoming a distant memory, and embracing all forms of play on snow and ice is one way outdoor recreation enthusiasts survive the long, chilly winters in the Upper Valley.

Opportunities for winter fun and fitness are literally everywhere in Lebanon, a fact echoed by Coats to Livability.com. “In big cities you have to seek out these special parks that offer an oasis in the middle of a lot of sprawl. Here, most places are available for people to go and explore.” It’s true – snowshoeing and cross country skiing on the City’s many conservation properties, downhill skiing, sledding, and ski jumping at Storrs Hill, and indoor skating at the Hanover Improvement Society’s Campion Rink, have all been part of Lebanon’s rich winter sports history.

Now the thrill of skating outdoors under the full moon or on a bright, sunny day is getting a boost thanks to an energetic group of Lebanon citizens who want to help sustain Lebanon’s four season appeal. Members of the newly formed non-profit, Friends of Lebanon Recreation and Parks (FOLRP), have been working with Coats on designing fund raisers and identifying projects to improve Lebanon’s recreational amenities, starting with an upgrade to the City’s outdoor skating rink at Pat Walsh Park. “The Recreation and Parks Department has wanted to get a Friends group off the ground for a number of years, and we have finally rallied a few key people,” said Coats.

For decades, City staff and volunteers have provided outdoor skating rinks at various locations throughout the City, including Smith Field in West Lebanon, and Colburn Park. Hearty souls have used powerful fire hoses to flood the frozen turf after dark and throughout the day in sub-freezing temperatures, only to have the ice surface melt down during the annual January thaw. This has frustrated skating enthusiasts and the City. FOLRP hopes to change this pattern by raising funds to purchase a commercial ice rink system to provide more consistent skating opportunities throughout the winter season and reduce maintenance expenses in the department’s tight budget.

The $10,000 fundraising effort aims to provide a plastic liner to contain the ice, making it stronger and less likely to break down. A reusable set of rink-boards and protective kickboards surround the rink, and resurfacing the ice with a Zamboni-style machine will enhance the quality of ice. A warming hut may follow in the future. More than $3,000 has been raised to-date, primarily to honor the memory of Robert Harris, the former Chair of the Lebanon Recreation Commission, and a longtime sports enthusiast.

Kristin McGee, one of the group’s founders, says she got involved because she is committed to helping Lebanon provide more year ‘round recreation opportunities for kids. McGee hopes others will come forward with their own ideas to rally around. The former Dartmouth runner has three active children, and says there is growing interest in the new ice rink plan, which will be large enough to accommodate pick-up hockey games and open skating.

Last winter, FOLRP held a Community Skating Party to showcase its efforts and get children and families out on the ice. Providing hot chocolate, music and snacks made the frigid weather more bearable to the 60 skating enthusiasts who showed up. McGee, who is the group’s secretary, along with fellow Friends members, Joanne Oscadal, Bart Guetti, Tom O’Quinn, Frank Gould, and president Dave Hoskinson, hope to raise the balance of the funds in time to install the new rink system for the upcoming winter.

FOLRP was conceived as a way for Lebanon residents to get involved in ‘continuing the rich recreational opportunities’ in the City. Opportunities to participate include submitting ideas, joining the board, joining a work crew, and providing financial assistance or in-kind services. To learn more, visit the FOLRP website, Friendsoflebrec.org.

The kind of community involvement FOLRP is offering may be one factor that inspired Livability.com to cite engaged citizens who volunteer as one of the reasons for Lebanon’s #1 livability ranking. So, as we bid goodbye to another fabulous Upper Valley summer, now is your chance to step up and help FOLRP achieve its ambitious goals. And don’t forget to get your skates sharpened!

Getting around Lebanon was a different process 80 years ago. “We walked everywhere,” says Regis Jette, smiling alertly as she tells stories from her life. Her sunny personality shines through the tales she tells. Though her life had difficulties, she recalls things with a smile. She brings the word ‘chipper’ to mind.

Regis Heath was born in 1920. Her unusual name came from a friend of her mother. Her family, which came to include two younger brothers, lived in Canaan. Her father delivered ice with a horse-drawn wagon. He eventually moved to Lebanon for work, and drove a milk truck to Boston, then the local bus that carried people from town to town.

“We always had a trip” at Canaan school’s eighth grade graduation, recalls Regis, “and of course we walked because no one had a car. We went up Mt. Cardigan,” about five miles one-way from town. By then, of course, it was the depths of the Depression, though Regis does not speak of particular problems. “We were generally careful about money,” she remarks. “We always had a big garden, and what I remember from that is picking potato beetles. My dad grew a big potato patch, and us kids had to pick potato beetles,” she repeats with feeling, but still with a twinkle in her eye.

What scarred her more than the Depression was the death of her mother from a sudden illness when Regis was nine. “Even at the early age of nine, she was helping to run the house,” says her daughter Anne. Relatives offered homes to Regis and her brothers, Earl, known as “Boze,” about six, and John, then about three. But their father was firm about keeping his family together, and family rallied round in other ways, hosting kids during summer break, and helping at home.

For graduation from Canaan, Regis received a present from one of her aunts: a train ticket from Canaan to Lebanon (her father’s new location) on the Boston and Maine Railroad, so that she could finish 8th grade and graduate with her Canaan friends. She’d never been on a train before, but the young teenager boldly set off on this new adventure. Ghostly traces of the B&M’s presence can be seen in the Rail Trail, but in Regis’s day, trains were real and utilitarian.

In 1938 Regis married Adrian Jette, whom she knew from Lebanon High School, then on Bank Street. The couple had four children: Earl (known by his middle name as Bob, since there were several other relatives named Earl), Marguerite (Peggy), Anne, and Jim. The family lived on West Street, then on Hanover Street, where they were living in 1964 when the most recent great fire destroyed much of the city’s downtown. “Cinders from downtown were flying on our lawn,” says Anne. Adrian was a fireman, and he came down Mt. Support road, back from work in Hanover, telling the person driving to take him right to the fire station. Regis was in the auxiliary. “While the fire was going on, all the women were in the kitchen,” she says. “I remember walking towards Enfield with a big jug of lemonade.” Bob drove around with his uncle Earl. “The firemen had the perimeter under control,” he recalls, “but it was too intense to put out.”

Regis got an administrative job at Hitchcock Hospital, then on Maynard Street in Hanover. She worked for different doctors, doing what was needed, including checking in patients. She had excellent organizational skills. “I was always glad I did that,” she says, and so were her colleagues, who would say, “Ask Regis where the doctor put that.” She worked at the Hitch for 26 years, often going in early to meet up with coworker friends for a cup of coffee. At lunchtime she would usually walk uptown – that habit of walking was strong! She would do errands for coworkers on these trips. She also gave her organizational talents and sociability to many civic groups – the Cub Scouts, the Hartford Elks Auxiliary, the Catholic Daughters of America, and city elections, to mention a few.

One of the great sorrows of Regis’s life was the loss of her brother John in World War II. He had joined the Navy, and was reported missing in action. When, years later, she traveled to Hawaii, she found his name on the memorial wall. “I think it gave her a kind of closure,” says Anne.

After retirement from the Hitchcock, Regis began volunteering at the Lebanon Senior Center, originally at the Carter Community Building, though the stairs were a problem for some. She wanted to continue an active social life, and help the community. She realized gathering for meals would be an ideal format. She participated in numerous activities, encouraged others, and was Team Captain at Monday meals for 25 years. She continued to run and encourage the Senior Center for many years. One memorable occasion was a dress-up fashion show with unusual items loaned to the Center. Regis modeled a black feathered wrap with great style and enthusiasm.

In later life Regis was also able to pursue an interest in travel, beginning with a trip to celebrate her fortieth wedding anniversary. “I love San Francisco,” she says. “I wouldn’t mind living there! —going up and down those hills. My husband was in front of me and I held on to his belt” as they rode the streetcars. She’s been to Las Vegas, Cape Cod, Maine, the Blue Ridge, Quebec, and Florida, among other places. “You know,” she says, with her smile spreading, “I’m trying to think of places to go while I’m still healthy.”.

While many Lebanon residents have felt for a long time that their fair city is simply a wonderful place to call home, those same folks can stroll through downtown with their heads held a little higher. It’s official. Lebanon has been named the Best Small Town in America out of 100 competing communities.

The award was presented by the website Livability.com that showcases America’s best places to live based on an intensive rating system. Livability officials describe themselves in the following manner: “For 25 years Livability has worked with hundreds of communities developing content marketing programs showcasing why they are a great place to live with one simple goal: help cities attract and retain residents and businesses. Today we are one of the leading online resources used for researching communities.”

Lebanon Recreation Director, Paul Coats, played a huge role by working with the Livability staff directly. His reaction to the award was off the charts and outfitted him with a smile from ear-to-ear.

“I am simply ecstatic about it,” Coats responded. “Being involved in the interviewing process while working with Livability and seeing how it all came out was very exciting. By the way, last year it got very little attention, but Lebanon finished in the top 10 in that same poll. We should all be very proud.”

What criteria placed Lebanon as number one out of 100 Best Small Towns in America?

“There was a long list that Livability used for posting this rating, but I think affordability was very important. That was key because there was very stiff competition. The rating was based on populations up to 20,000,” Coats explained.

The praise for Lebanon was highlighted by a statement from Livability’s Matt Carmichael who serves as the company’s Vice President and Editor.

“This quintessential New England community might just be the perfect small town. Lebanon is more than just a pretty place to visit. The city is a cultural and business hub as well. This discussion starts with its close proximity to Dartmouth College in neighboring Hanover means a constant influx of young adults and cultural draws for the region. Alongside that comes the economic stability of having solid institutions like Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the area’s largest employer.”

When first asked about Lebanon’s qualities from a complete stranger calling from Livability, Coats set the tone with the following response.

“Close your eyes and picture a New England town green.”

That mental image was matched by Carmichael’s assessment following the conversation.

“As Coats paints the picture for us, it’s easy to imagine the families picnicking and children dancing around the bandstand during one of many free concerts on the green. City Hall shares a building with the Opera House at one end of the green. Restaurants like the Salt hill Pub and Three Tomatoes line another side. Neighborhoods surround this district providing walkable access to the town center, and a couple of blocks away, residents can ski at Storrs Hill.”

While there has been some skepticism over the award, especially from other picturesque New Hampshire and Vermont small towns, Livability explains why the award carries much credibility.

“Livability explores what makes small-to-medium sized cities great places to live. Through propriety research studies, engaging articles and original photography and video, we examine topics related to community amenities, education, sustainability, transportation, housing and the economy.”

For Lebanon residents raising children, Livability noted a huge sidebar declaring that the town offered “a highly rated” school system along with one of the area’s best recreational programs. When it’s all said and done, it’s time to start sporting “I Love Lebanon” buttons for the world to see. In the final poll the top five towns in the Granite State were: 1) Lebanon; 2) Portsmouth; 3) Concord; 4) Laconia; 5) Nashua.

“We wondered if we’d have to cancel [interfaith] camp,” said Kids4Peace New Hampshire and Vermont regional director, Jeff Mandell. Kids4Peace is a youth movement of more than 1,800 Palestinian, Israeli, and North American members, with a recently formed NH chapter. “But every summer has tension no matter what. Just because you take the kids out of the country doesn’t mean the politics stop.”

The role of Kids4Peace in children’s lives focuses on just that: how to acknowledge the politics, race, religion, history, and gender of a person, without letting those things affect your treatment of him or her. Through peace dialogues and conflict resolution, the organization’s goal is for children to emerge from the six-year program with an understanding of tolerance to bring back to their own communities.

Teaching Tolerance, Learning Peace

Founded in Jerusalem in 2001, Kids4Peace was created in response to concerns about the future of the area’s children. The program is based on a six-year model with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children entering the program at age 11 or 12 and continuing through age 18 if they choose. Kids4Peace includes chapters in Jerusalem, Canada, and United States.

The camps are the focal point of the program for many children – with two weeks each summer dedicated to learning about other faiths, developing relationships outside one’s normal circle, resolving conflicts, learning to listen and share peacefully, and of course all the beloved camp mainstays: swimming, crafts, yoga, sports, songs, and campfires. The New England regional camp, which runs August 12-23 at the Barbara Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, NH, includes children from both New Hampshire and Vermont chapters.

Lebanon resident, Kelley Gage, who is a classroom clinician in The Wilder School’s middle school classroom, and who worked previously at Hanover Street School, is a Christian faith advisor for the local K4P summer camp. Last summer was her first year at the camp, and she was apprehensive about what she could offer this diverse group of children.

“I’m not a political person, and my knowledge of geography is pretty bad, and here’s this program that brought kids from three different religions,” Gage said. “I knew nothing about the Muslim faith and Islam, and very little about the Jewish faith. I was raised Catholic and will be the first to tell you I should’ve been paying more attention in Sunday School. But I know kids and I know teenagers.”

Dick Dutton, who was one of the founders of the NH chapter of K4P, recruited Gage to be a camp advisor, reassuring her that “kids are kids no matter where they come from,” Gage said.

Dutton, the former pastor at the First Baptist Church in New London, NH, became interested in starting a local K4P program after successfully running a similar camp for children from Ireland. He, along with a Catholic priest from New Hampshire, brought 13 kids from Belfast to the U.S. for a 10-day camp with 13 American children to teach religious tolerance. “That was a very healthy experiment,” Dutton said of the camp, which ran for five years.

When Dutton retired from the church, he thought it would be exciting to form a program for Christian and Muslim children, and soon found out about Kids4Peace from Rabbi Robin Nafshi at Temple Beth Jacob in Concord, NH.

Two years ago, Dutton and Nafshi co-founded the New Hampshire chapter of Kids4Peace, raising the necessary funds from grants, individual donations, churches, mosques, and synagogues. The money raised – about $45,000 – covered the travel expenses of bringing children and staff to the U.S. from Jerusalem, which includes a male-female balance of six Jewish children, six Christians, six Muslims, and several counselors and faith advisors from each religion. The group is matched with an equal number of children and staff from VT and NH chapters. In addition to camp, the children of the program are committed to 3-4 community programs throughout the year, such as working with Habitat for Humanity or assisting people in poverty, Dutton said.

The focus of the New Hampshire camp is conflict resolution, learning to respect another’s background, and working through issues that might separate one another, said Dutton.

“[The children] are able to talk and feel and bring themselves to a place where they’re not only accepting of each other, but celebrating each other’s faiths and cultures,” Dutton explained.

During camp, the children visit each other’s places of worship, – a mosque, a synagogue, and a church – which can be a rather moving experience, according to Gage. She recalled being with the children in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Concord, NH.

“To be in that church, standing beside Muslims and Jews…,” Gage said, her voice trailing off in remembrance. “The kids all went up as a group to sing a song, and to see them in front of the altar singing to the congregation… a lot of people were crying; it was very powerful.”

The singing was followed by a question-and-answer period translated into both Arabic and Hebrew, where, Gage said, the work of the previous week – learning to dialogue peacefully, breaking down stereotypes, questioning and listening – came to life.

As a faith advisor, Gage’s role is to head peace dialogue groups, help campers maintain their journals, answer questions, and check in on a day-to-day basis on their feelings and basic needs. Trained camp counselors are there to offer similar support but on a more intimate level as they spend most of each day right there with the children. Gage was quick to admit the campers are not the only ones learning during the two-week program.

“I always thought I was a tolerant person; you think you’re a kind, forgiving person,” she said, “but I’d never been tested on tolerance. In New Hampshire, I’ve never really been tested on my beliefs. Kids from Jerusalem live a whole different life than we do.”

Gage explained that before camp began last year, staff watched a TED Talk on tolerance. “I realized I was not the person I thought I was,” she said. “Until you have to flex that muscle, you don’t really know.”

A poignant moment for Gage was when she sat with a young camper in the hospital. The girl, Khadija, was receiving care for an injured wrist. From Palestine, Khadija told Gage about how, just the month before, her brother could not go to work because the burned body of the 16-year-old Muslim killed by the Israelis was found near his place of employment.

“Her family was so close to this chaos and this war, and to hear her talk about that – this little 12-year-old girl with curly hair and a little splint – talking about finding a burned body.”

New Friends, New Community

Dutton said part of the excitement for campers – as at any other camp – is simply that kids are getting to meet other kids. “They make friends, they fall in love, they get to see something different,” he said.

But at Kids4Peace camps, Dutton said he hears children say, “I’ve never known” or “I want to know more about that person’s experience.”

“There is a sense of community. We’re overcoming stereotypes and misconceptions – there are lots of those,” Dutton explained.

With camp comes a two-fold mission. One is that the children continue to work on community and peace-based projects throughout the year. The second part is that the children will go home and talk to their peers, parents, and their parents’ friends, said Dutton.

Moving from camp to the world beyond can be daunting, but Kids4Peace works on building the bridge between the two.

“Part of the exercises they do each morning includes addressing resistance,” Dutton said. “How do you overcome that? You don’t just say ‘you’re wrong.’ You build relationships and out of that comes trust. From there they can share what they know.”

Mandell, who attends the camp as regional director, said the tension that exists along religious lines tends to manifest in different activities, for example, soccer.

“They may get into an argument that’s not really about soccer,” Mandell said. “So what we do in those situations is teach conflict resolution skills used on the playing field that they can take home and use when they’re learning to talk about bigger issues.”

Camp, Mandell added, is “not all roses, but it is in some ways a haven in the sense that we provide a great, safe environment.”

Beyond what the campers experience, Mandell said he has noticed profound moments happening among the staff, who are a mix of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish.

“Observing the support that they give each other is revealing of the challenging work of being a peace worker in such a violent and tense time and place,” Mandell explained. “Joining Kids4Peace can often mean being excommunicated from your own community. Kids4Peace has created a new community where non-violence and hope can be fostered.”

The children benefit from this “new community” as well, he said.

“Everything can be going well during the camp, but as soon as they return to Jerusalem, they face the same weighing culture from before. Their [Kids4Peace] community provides a place to share and be accepted…”

For more information, go to www.k4p.org.