This issue of The Lebanon Times spans an interesting season here in the Upper Valley, covering February through April, the time when we transition from the cold and gray of winter to beginnings of the warmth and verdure of spring. It truly feels like a season of renewal: We’ve survived another winter of snow and below-freezing weather, and we’re possessed of a new, hopeful energy that only comes with this particular season.

Each person welcomes the spring in her own way. Me, I go outside as the snow melts and take “litter-picking walks,” collecting the trash suddenly so evident at the sides of the roads.… Read More

Nonprofit organizations. Volunteers. Fundraisers. Banks?

It may be surprising that one of the most committed nonprofit donors in the Upper Valley is a bank, but for Mascoma Savings Bank, the community is their success to support and celebrate.

One of Mascoma’s most cherished events to support is the annual Concerts for the Cause series, which provides funding for Child and Family Services, a statewide nonprofit agency with a regional office in West Lebanon.… Read More

Terri Dudley greets a visitor with a hug instead of a handshake. A welcoming, grandmotherly woman (who is indeed grandmother of four and great-grandmother of five), she leads the way to a cozy living room filled with seasonal decorations. You’d never guess that she’s spent years in the civic and political heart of Lebanon. The titles of the positions and achievements on her résumé flood off the page.

But if you ask Terri what has been her greatest accomplishment, she instantly says, “Raising children.”

She didn’t limit her attention to her own three, or her five foster children. “Our home was the gathering place for all the children in the neighborhood,” she recalls.… Read More

Jacqueline Clary, an art teacher at Lebanon High School, has an infectious passion for what she does. When I entered the large, open art room where she spends most of her time, she was pacing between students still working on their pieces, giving pointers and encouragement when she could.

Her passion carries over into her role as the faculty advisor for Students for a Sustainable Future, the long-running environmental group at LHS founded more than a decade ago by a small group of dedicated students.

The club was originally started with Mary Maxfield and Chrissy Morley, two LHS science teachers, as advisors.… Read More

Join Robert Plante for coffee and a muffin outside Cravin’s Country Market & Deli at Dartmouth-    Hitchcock Medical Center on a given weekday morning, and you’ll feel like you’re dining with a celebrity. Nearly every person who walks by knows him, and more than one stops for a hug, a quick chat, and to share words of love and admiration for Robert with a local reporter. Clearly his presence in the Lebanon community has made a positive difference in many lives.

Robert’s crowning – and continuing – achievement is his work on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

In September, Robert celebrated the silver anniversary of the Robert Plante Fall Foliage Walk, and his personal fundraising of more than $250,000 for CFF in the past 25 years.… Read More

The current slogan used by the United States Army for recruiting purposes states the organization is “Army Strong.” At age 85, retired Army Colonel Clint E. Granger, Jr. could well serve as poster boy for that ad campaign.

Colonel Granger’s military bearing remains striking after a 30-year career that almost defies description. His posture remains ram-rod straight, his eyes bright, and his brilliant mind as sharp as the crease in his dress uniform’s pants.“

Well, I have to walk with a cane now, but I still get out there every day and complete my rounds,” he stated with a wide smile.… Read More

Over the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest in musical theater. With the success of shows and movies like Glee and Les Misérables, breaking into song is once again en vogue.

One local group that never thought it went out of style in the first place is North Country Community Theatre (NCCT). Incorporated and based in Lebanon, NCCT has been providing the Upper Valley with opportunities not just to see musical theater, but to be a part of it on stage and behind the scenes for 40 years.

Since their very first production of The Music Man at the Lebanon Opera House in 1973, locals have been performing on stage, directing, producing, playing in the orchestra, working backstage, ushering, organizing the front of the house, providing food and support for exhausted actors, and donating their time and money to all aspects of the theater.… Read More

“I have taught in four schools in four states over the past 30 years, and I have found it increasingly problematic that most high school programs of study spend so little time on the current global situation. American history courses seem to struggle to get past Vietnam; world history courses seem lucky to get to the Cold War. Yet, how can we expect our future citizens to make intelligent voting decisions, let alone survive in a world that is now so interconnected, when they have virtually no understanding of contemporary global events? Not only do we need to teach more about the global community in which we live, but we have to teach about it in a way that will foster 21st century skills and a disposition to care about being active global citizens.”

From its early years hosting a few loyal vendors to today’s thriving marketplace with more than 40 booths, the Lebanon Farmers’ Market has become a genuine, year-round Upper Valley institution.

I recently visited the Lebanon Farmers’ Market in a steady downpour, intent on buying local corn for dinner and to see who I might run into.

While the rain inspired fewer customers to visit the market, I appreciated having the extra time to speak with the vendors. I ended up buying not only corn on the cob, but homemade cookies, freshly popped kettle corn, and a hand thrown pottery bowl.

I often eat dinner at the market, with its diverse and healthy selection of prepared foods originating in Pakistan, France, Egypt, Africa, Greece, Argentina, and Thailand.… Read More

Mascoma Savings Bank has always aimed to serve the best interests of the community.… Read More