For those concerned about the recent Lebanon Ballet School (LBS) closure, have no fear — the New England School of the Arts (NESA) Ballet is here to take its place. Holding its sessions in the building the LBS once occupied, Lead Instructor Kassady Small, along with a team of other ballet teachers, is bringing inclusive education to sixth- through twelfth-grade students attending NESA, a private arts-focused school that integrates the humanities into its subjects, along with additional community programs for all age and skill levels.

Lead Instructor Kassady Small with Discovery Dance student Margot.

The new ballet program began to take shape when Linda Copp, the owner of LBS, alerted NESA of her retirement. As the space was already a ballet studio, NESA could easily adapt the building and avoid the typical opening costs. Ballet education requires specific (and often expensive) construction, including Marley dance floors that are more forgiving on ballet dancers’ ankles and feet and mirrors for dancers to watch their form. These aspects, along with already built dressing rooms, a lobby, and multiple bathrooms, made the LBS space perfectly pre-designed for the new NESA ownership. The location couldn’t be better either — right across from the NESA school.

The NESA Ballet’s arrival is also perfectly timed. Upper Valley has a vital need for dance schools, as other schools in the area, such as White River Junction’s Dancer’s Corner and White River Ballet Academy, have closed in the past couple of years. The NESA Ballet’s June Ballet Series showcased this need, and the multi-level program was well attended with 55 students. One student even drove an hour and a half to attend. Throughout the experience, Small saw friends reconnect and new friendships blossom. “The June series was so fun to see all different levels coming together,” she said.

Advanced student Ada.

The NESA Ballet will offer several courses for all age ranges and skill levels to serve the Upper Valley community. In addition to offering ballet, the school has tap dancing and musical theater classes. “The dance studio program is exploding,” said Head of School Jenny Chambers. “We have 42 registrations for the fall.” Chambers said NESA Ballet is handling the program’s growth well, making sure students receive the best instruction.

One of NESA Ballet’s focuses is to create an inclusive space for its students. “In the dance world, there’s a lot of body shaming that goes on,” said Chambers. “We’re very careful with who we hire to make sure that they are making inclusive, collaborative choices.” She said Small inhabits these qualities and was the perfect choice to head up the program.

Small said dance has been a part of her life since she was two years old. She saw a ballet dancer on Sesame Street and asked her mom if she could do that. Her mom told her if she listened and behaved, she could, and she did just that at the LBS. Small continued studying ballet through high school at the City Center Ballet, where she regularly performed in stage dance shows. She graduated from the Boston Dance Conservatory at Berklee College of Music in 2019 with a BFA in dance and has regularly gone on tour with the Albany Berkshire Ballet. After COVID, Small moved back to the Upper Valley area.

Ballet teacher Jennifer and
Adult Ballet student Lauren.

In addition to offering community programs, NESA will offer specialized ballet programs to its students. Chambers founded the alternative middle/high school two years ago in response to arts funding and program cuts during the pandemic. At NESA, core academic and arts teachers work together to create an integrated curriculum. Chambers explained that although the school is private and caters to the arts, NESA offers rolling admissions and is looking for students who want to be part of a community, not those who want to be the next generation of prima donnas. Chambers says, “My sadness is that a lot of people don’t look at us because they see the price sticker shock, but they don’t know…that’s just a first pass at the price.” Currently, the school provides 55% of its tuition in financial aid.

Whether you are interested in trying out dance or you have a child who might fit NESA’s unique educational program, more information can be found on the school’s website at nesarts.org. Those wishing to register for the Ballet Community programs can do so at nesarts.org/nesaballet.

Photos by Zach Nelson and Elliot Thompson

Last year, the Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s found a new home in Colburn Park. More than 600 walkers gathered for the one- and two-mile routes through Lebanon’s downtown neighborhoods and finished with festivities in the park. This year, the walk — one of more than 600 across the nation that benefits the Alzheimer’s Association — is back, and Lebanon is coming out in force.

Breck Taber, co-owner of Omer and Bob’s on the Lebanon Mall has lost track of how long the shop has sponsored the event, but, “It’s been a long time,” he noted. “It’s just such a worthy cause and a terrible disease.” The Walk is the single largest fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association, which funds free services such as a 24/7 helpline, education programs, and care consultations for families facing a diagnosis. It also drives vital research toward emerging treatment, prevention, and, the ultimate goal, a cure.

Every year, in addition to sponsoring the walk, Omer and Bob’s “Goes Purple” the week before the walk, displaying purple flowers and walk posters to build awareness. Taber also coaches the Lebanon girls’ soccer team, which has supported the cause by wearing purple socks in games and practices during walk week. The shop also stepped up with a SAG (Support and Gear) wagon to provide mechanical support for last year’s UV Bike to End Alz team in its inaugural pre-walk event. The company will again support that scenic 20- and 30-mile ride along the Connecticut River on Oct 3.

Partners in Brain Health

CCBA and event sponsor Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD) support the event in many ways, especially by championing brain health year round. The two organizations have teamed up for a Brain Health Series, which runs from June to October. APD geriatrician Dr. Lisa Furmanski was among the panelists at the walk’s kick-off event in June at Dartmouth Health’s Geriatric Center of Excellence.

CCBA has its own walk team and encourages members with fundraising incentives, such as free guest passes. The two organizations also partner to provide free educational resources to the community. These programs are a natural fit for the walk, as they address many of the 14 modifiable risk factors — such as lowering LDL cholesterol and diabetes risk, and building muscle mass and cardiovascular health — that can significantly reduce an individual’s lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

As with so many people, CCBA Executive Director Kerry Artman’s connection is personal. Her father had dementia and passed away in 2024, and she has close friends who are caregivers touched by the disease. “Nobody wants this,” said Artman. “Nobody wants to watch their loved one go through it.”

Artman notices the changing conversation around Alzheimer’s and dementia — from resignation to hope — due to the increasing agency around the disease. “The disease is still horrible, and I hope that we get more advances in research and have better medical interventions, but eating whole healthy food and moving your body — these are really important things,” she said.

She noted how much access Lebanon offers for healthy living, including facilities like CCBA, as well as the Farmers Market, the Northern Rail Trail, and a vibrant community with a diverse mix of art, education, and recreation opportunities. When it comes to brain health, “We’re really in the midst of all these great things,” she said. “Exercise and wellness and nutrition, they’re all tied together. We can help with the strength building in this facility, but we want to talk about the whole conversation.”

Brain Health Basics

The Alzheimer’s Association’s “Ten Ways to Love Your Brain” draws on the latest research for how to lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias. These stem from the recommendations from the Lancet commission report in 2024, which identified 14 modifiable lifestyle factors that together (by conservative estimates) can prevent or delay nearly half of all cases of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Included in those recommendations are heart-healthy lifestyle practices like managing obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes through regular cardiovascular exercise and healthy eating. Elevating your heart rate increases blood flow to the brain and body while eating a balanced diet lower in fat and processed foods, and higher in fiber and whole foods can greatly reduce risk. Prioritizing good sleep, mental health, and stress management are all important, and are all improved with exercise.

Another major component of cognitive health is social engagement. The surgeon general called out loneliness as an epidemic because lack of social connection is a major risk factor for many diseases, including dementia. One recent large scale study from the National Institute on Aging found that loneliness, or lack of social connection, increases the risk of dementia by 31 percent — more than physical inactivity and smoking combined!

Staying Connected

Artman notes that for many people, the CCBA welcome desk may be their first social interaction of the day. “You’re going to be greeted, and we’re going to say goodbye to you, and that matters,” she said. She added that people tend to stick with group fitness because of all the benefits of exercise but also for that social component. “They know each other. They build connection. What’s nice about an environment like this is that you can actually meet people and have relationships that go beyond our walls.”

Leading up to the walk and beyond, APD and CCBA maintain their partnership through educational series and information in their free newsletter. At the end of the day, they want that the community to be healthy, we want the community to be healthy, and so does everyone around us,” said Artman. “There are better outcomes for everyone when we take care of each other like that.”

The 2026 Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place on Sunday, October 26 in Colburn Park.

Want to join in? Here’s how:

• Join or start a team or walk on your own (registration is free but all walkers are encouraged to fundraise and support the work of the Alzheimer’s Association)
• Volunteer the day of the event
• Donate to a team or with a general donation to the event
• Encourage your business to “Go Purple” leading up to the Walk or to display a poster

Register or learn more at http://act.alz.org/uppervalley. Questions? Contact Lucy Moore at lhmoore@alz.org; (617) 420-5427

After 10 summers, Upper Valley Circus Collective (UVCC) will be moving into a permanent space in Lebanon this October.

“A Day at the Beach” was the 2025 UVCC Performance Camp production.

The organization is working to get funding for some of the rigging equipment and start up mats, pads, and safety gear. UVCC is also looking to fundraise and utilize grants for the full $50,000 in start-up costs.

Ruby a long-time student, loves performing in all the aerial arts.

Stay tuned for a video describing the new space, renovations, and rigging that needs to be purchased. UVCC will also have a new tag line: “Building a supportive community through art, education and acceptance.”

Director Meg Tenney is currently collecting testimonials from coaches, campers, and parents about why circus arts are so special. “We would love to hear specifically what you love about the art form, community and UVCC specifically,” she wrote in a recent UVCC newsletter. “It can be short and sweet (between 20-40 seconds) and doesn’t need to be professional. A quick simple video taken with your phone in a quiet space will do and we will even take a voice memo.” Please send submissions to Meg@uvcircus.com.

Balance skills such as rola bola are one of many skills all participants can learn at UVCC.

Visit uvcircus.com and subscribe to the UVCC newsletter to receive news and updates on the project.

Jim Vanier was the first person I met when I arrived in Lebanon in 1983 for a job interview at the newly formed Lebanon Recreation & Parks Department. At the time, the office was located upstairs at the Carter Community Building where Jim worked coaching and mentoring the youth of the City. Jim greeted me the same way he greeted nearly everyone who entered the building over his 51-year tenure by smiling and saying, “Hello. Please take off your shoes before you come into the building.” Over the years this rule never changed, and “the building” was a shining example of how one person’s care and attention can create a place that is welcoming and respected by all. Over the ensuing decades as we worked together, it became evident that I had met not only the unofficial “Mayor of Lebanon,” but a living legend whose life’s work revolved around caring for young people day in and day out.

Jim Vanier

Years later, in 2024, Jim’s friends and supporters organized a retirement celebration in Colburn Park, attended by hundreds of people, many traveling from a great distance to pay tribute and tell stories. According to Lebanon attorney and long-time friend Pat Hayes, “The park event was great and it was so good to have Jim on stage listening to the tributes. He was an inspiration to so many people.”

Sadly, Jim passed away suddenly in December of 2025 of a heart attack at age 73. Among the hundreds of tributes online and in print, news has emerged of a group of Lebanon residents working to establish a non-profit to honor Jim’s memory and to carry on his legacy of serving as a beloved role model for young people from Lebanon and throughout the Upper Valley. The Jim Vanier Youth Fund (JVYF) is just getting off the ground, and is expected to be formally up and running by August 22, when a Celebration of Life event will be held in Colburn Park.

“Everybody loved Jim — we hope the Jim Vanier Youth Fund will continue his legacy of helping the youth of the area with whatever they need to succeed,” said Hayes. The Celebration of Life event will include several guest speakers who will reflect on Jim’s enduring legacy. Friends, family, and LHS alumni are all invited to gather in remembrance and connection, and to participate in creating a lasting impact in his honor.

Shelby Day, who served as the executive director of the Carter Community Building Association during part of Jim’s tenure, was raised within the community Jim helped to shape, learning directly from his mentorship and example. Day will administer the fund in collaboration with JVYF Board members Pat Hayes, Rich Tobin, Nate Camp, Larry Vanier, and Kristen Brenner.

Jim Vanier and friend Nate Camp.

“The Board was looking for someone who had a history with Jim and understood what his legacy was about,” said Day. “Being able to give back to the community that gave so much to me as a child and gave so much to my family is truly humbling.” Day fondly remembers the many lessons Jim delivered over the years. “Jim taught us to be kind, respectful, and to give back, and believed that kids shouldn’t have to pay to be kids. I love everything about how he helped kids grow and thrive. We want to be sure children can continue to have recreational opportunities without money being a barrier. This is exactly what Jim would have wanted.”

Day has decades of experience working with young adults and children, and is currently a high school special education teacher and a part time mental health technician in the Dartmouth Hitchcock Emergency Department. “Every day we work to advance the JVYF, I feel Jim smiling down on us. I am thrilled to be part of the Board and its vision.”

The group is in the process of drafting a mission statement, which aims to focus on Jim’s philosophy to “Practice Random Acts of Kindness,” and to honor the memory and influence of Jim’s predecessor and mentor, CCB Director Pat Walsh. During his career, Jim administered the “Pat Walsh Sneaker Fund,” quietly providing children with needed items like a baseball glove, new sneakers, or a suit for an interview, often just from his observations or through random conversations with fellow youth coaches, teachers, and parents.

An early basketball team.

The draft mission states, “The mission is in remembrance of two of Lebanon’s treasures that did so much for the kids and families in Lebanon. This new endowment fund will be set up to provide the essentials like food, clothes, sneakers, cost of childcare or to set up a version of Jim’s “Drop-in Center” and other opportunities for the needy children in Lebanon; sports/recreation fees, sporting equipment, school supplies and to enhance their potential in the form of education scholarships in Jim’s name. This would ensure the children thrive, grow, and reach their full potential, emphasizing empowerment, compassion, and community support, ensuring safety, promoting well-being, and offering both immediate relief and long-term solutions for a better future honoring Jim’s and Pat’s work for all these years to the children and the Lebanon Community.”

The plaque in the James G. Vanier Gymnasium.

The JVYF is also a fitting tribute to the original mission of the Carter Community Building. According to Larry Vanier, Jim’s older brother, Jim always maintained that his primary focus was about the kids. “Jim had one mission — to carry on the CCB tradition of caring for the children and the community of Lebanon. He was one of a long line of concerned citizens that realized the importance of the CCB in supporting young people. It wasn’t that long ago that the CCB was all the community had.”

Jim at the gym dedication.

So the next time you have occasion to visit the “old CCB,” consider taking off your shoes before going into the building in honor of Jim Vanier, one of Lebanon’s true community heroes. ■

The Jim Vanier Youth Fund is currently accepting donations, and the Board welcomes suggestions for how to use the funds to honor his legacy. For more information, contact Pat Hayes at 603-448-2720 or send contributions to Jim Vanier Youth Fund, PO Box 1155, Lebanon, NH 03766. The Jim Vanier Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, August 22, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Colburn Park.

Did you know that Dartmouth Health prioritizes art as a part of its facilities and care? And not just a beautiful mural here or there, either, but programs and initiatives that bring the community together. In addition to permanent and rotating exhibitions, the hospital has creative arts specialists such as writers, visual artists, and harpists, as well as public art projects, and even offers live performances. Working with organizations like the Upper Valley Music Center, the AVA Gallery and Arts Center, and the Hopkinton Center of the Arts, Dartmouth Health’s focus on utilizing art for healing is philanthropically funded for a good cause.

The Dartmouth Health Center’s Creative Arts program employs arts-focused contracted staff, including a creative writer, a visual artist, and two therapeutic harpists.

Integrating Arts and the Humanities was one of Dartmouth Health’s projects even back when the hospital was known as the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. In the late ‘80s, Gertrude Mertens’ support, along with Mary and Laurance Rockefeller’s 107 Audubon Bird prints, kicked off the program that soon included various other forms of art within the hospital’s walls. One of these is the rotating gallery program, where eight galleries rotate four times a year, said Gillian Cook, the program coordinator for care experience. Artists can find the hospital and apply, or Cook will find artists that she thinks will be a good fit.

In addition to these galleries — which include art in mediums such as oil paintings and pastels — Dartmouth Health also began a Creative Arts program in 2005 for the Dartmouth Cancer Center. Here, an arts-focused contracted staff, including a creative writer, two therapeutic harpists, and a visual artist, all work within the cancer center, said Heather Allin, the program manager of the Complementary Care program for the Dartmouth Cancer Center.

“Patients can request one-on-one services,” Allin continued, if they, for example, need the creative writer to help them write their memoirs. The success of this program, Cook expressed, has allowed it to move into an inpatient center setting, as well, with the same artists. Providers often give referrals to patients if they believe the services would be good for their patients’ well-being. Cook and Allin both said that all supplies that patients work with are donor-funded.

Still, these only scratch the surface of how Dartmouth Health embraces the arts within its care. Cook explained that there are also several live performances, with “at least one person playing every day of the week” in two public areas in the hospital. Featured musicians include pianists, a cellist, a violinist, and a few guitar players. The hospital also hosts a “winter holiday concert series where community choirs and other ensembles will come and play in our main rotunda,” Cook said.

A stained glass window by artist Sabra Field.

Allin said they’ve tried something new this year in the cancer center hematology oncology waiting room. “People are there waiting for long periods of time,” she said, so a visual artist set up a new collaborative art project, where she “laid down tarps and a canvas, and over the day, people can come and she gives instruction.”

“By the end of the day,” Allin said, “You have this beautiful picture that has just come together with multiple people participating.” This program has been conducted weekly for the past six or so months.

Among the many arts- and humanities-focused services the hospital offers, another worth mentioning is how Dartmouth Health collaborates with local organizations. There’s the AVA Gallery and Art Center, which aids the hospital with public art, as well a partnership with the Upper Valley Music Center to offer an aphasia choir for patients “who are experiencing speech deficits from either stroke or traumatic brain injury,” Cook explained. She recounted that one of the caregivers of a patient with aphasia said, “her son hadn’t been singing in church until he started going to aphasia choir, and now he sings again.”

Left Gillian Cook, program coordinator for care experience at Dartmouth Health. Right Heather Allin, program manager of the Complementary Care program for the Dartmouth Cancer Center.

This is just one of many uplifting patient accounts. Cook expressed that “one person said during those days when [her] husband fought for his life, the art at the hospital became more than beautiful decorations. With each stop, she found a momentary hiding place from all things medical.”

Allin recounted a few testimonials from those working with the artists, such as “creating art helps me forget my cancer for a while,” and “I was not having a good week of chemo. I was not sure if I’d be able to do the activity, but I found getting involved helped lift my spirits.”

Overall, it’s clear that Dartmouth Health’s Arts and Humanities programs have had, and continue to have, an impact on the patients they serve and the community they collaborate with. A unique aspect of Dartmouth Health, the programs show how nontraditional methods of healing are worth exploring, especially considering how much help they can provide.

Are you upset by current events in our country? Does consuming the news evoke anger and make you want to shut it off? Have your relationships with friends or family been negatively affected by politics? Do you feel helpless to do anything about it?

While many are fearful about our nation’s future, our book, Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to build Positive Relationships in Divided Times, offers hopeful ways to better our lives, our relationships, and our country.

Bringing our book to the State House.

We both volunteer with Braver Angels (braverangels.org), the national citizens movement founded in 2016 to bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic. We envision an America with respectful embrace of political disagreements, where civic friendship flourishes and competing perspectives strengthen our nation. Embracing values of respect, humility, honesty, and courageous citizenship, the goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other.

Doug volunteers as Braver Angels New England Regional Leader and led the Braver Angels initiative to create a bipartisan caucus in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. His background includes serving as a GOP state legislator, leading the Peace Corps in Ukraine, and helping to end the Ebola epidemic in Guinea. He recently was a panelist on the NPR show “The Middle.”

Beth moderates Braver Angels in person and in online workshops and debates for community members and elected officials. A neurologist and science communicator focused on public health, sleep, and climate change, she has been a TEDx speaker and has appeared on NPR 1A, PBS Newshour, and other news outlets.

Since our book launch, it’s been an incredible adventure meeting people at events in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Arizona, and more. We have discussed many themes affecting our country right now. We’ve heard comments including the following:

• “I haven’t talked with my sister since the last election. I miss seeing her, and my nephews and nieces. What can I do to repair our relationship?” We suggested she start by letting her sister know how much she cares about her before venturing into politics.
• “I can’t sleep after watching the evening news.” As a neurology sleep specialist, counseling people to stop “doomscrolling” before bed has become a routine recommendation that Beth gives patients.
• “I’m a proud activist speaking up for the injustice I see in our country. How can I talk to ‘those people’ when the world is on fire?” Courageous Citizenship is how we put the fire out.

Participants from the Sharon VT Braver Angels workshop and book discussion in January 2026, held at Sharon Elementary School.

There are simple solutions we can do to fix this issue:

• Recognize the “conflict entrepreneurs” that stir up anger among us for power or profit (think about those incendiary cable talk show hosts and social media algorithms that play on our fears). Learn how to be more media savvy and stop the cycle of sharing divisive news.
• Get in touch with your values and try to figure out whether you are living them when you encounter people who voted differently from you. Are you kind, treating your friends, family, and neighbors with dignity and respect, even if you don’t agree with them?
• Get Braver Angels Training in Courageous Citizenship — that includes listening with curiosity and humility to people who differ politically than us, and speaking out about what we believe. When you listen first, your viewpoint will be more likely to fall on receptive ears, and you might also learn something useful. You can be BOTH an activist and a bridge-builder at the same time.
• Join a community organization, a sports team, a musical group, church, or any other collection of people who are diverse (including politically, if possible). Or work on a local project to help your community. This civic engagement, built into the DNA of New Englanders, fosters trust and makes it easier to talk with anyone about politically charged issues when they arise.
• We also offer book-related articles on our free “Together Across Differences” Substack newsletter. See for example our post “Overcoming Political Violence — We can be a beacon of light in a darkened world.”

Through these solutions, we can find hope in divided times and be a light for others.

Resources:

• Braver Angels: braverangels.org
• Beyond the Politics of Contempt website and links to Amazon and local book sellers: beyondthepoliticsofcontempt.com
• Free Substack Newsletter, Together Across Differences (book-related articles): togethernow.substack.com

Robert Plante is the honorary chair of the Lebanon Great Strides Walk to cure cystic fibrosis (CF). He has been volunteering for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for 38 years. In that time, he’s raised more than $350,000 dollars to support research to find a cure for CF.

Robert Plante and Bill D’Amico, who met through the Special Olympics/Best Buddies program.

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 40,000 people in the U.S. are living with CF. Plante became involved with the organization after his childhood friend Doug Jones, who was diagnosed with CF at the age of 13, passed away at the age of 43. Plante spoke at his funeral.

Bill D’Amico traveled to the Upper Valley from Golden, Colorado, for the event. He met Plante, who is a former Special Olympics athlete, 26 years ago through the Special Olympics and Best Buddies International partnership, which pairs volunteers with Special Olympics athletes who have aged out of or are no longer involved with the program. They first only corresponded by email, but received permission from the organization to meet in person in 2006. Since then, D’Amico has traveled to the Upper Valley each year for the Great Strides Walk.

What has been the most rewarding part of the Walk for D’Amico? “I just think that Robert’s consistency in doing this for 38 years and raising $10,000 a year, every year, all through the Upper Valley” he said. “It’s an amazing testament to the community here, and people that support this type of event. And Robert, specifically. He’s been the ambassador.”

More than 50 people participated in this year’s event, which took place on May 3 at the CCBA Pavillion in Lebanon. The 2026 Great Strides Walk raised $13,685, surpassing its $11,750 goal.

Robert Plante with volunteers and participants at the CCBA Pavillion.

Robert recruits neighbors and friends to join the walk every year, and he reaches out to local businesses to donate lunch for participants.

Paula Garvey of Amherst, New Hampshire, met Robert at a walk 15 or 20 years ago. She got involved because her daughter has cystic fibrosis. She said she and Robert talk every day on the phone. “Robert is the best part,” she said, adding that he brings people together. “He is why this walk happens. We’re all here to support Robert.”

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.” Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), Field of Dreams, 1989.

The boys of summer are coming. Soon after Mud Season, the days will get longer, the golf courses will open, winter attire will be packed away, and America’s pastime, baseball, will return to the Upper Valley..

The Upper Valley Nighthawks, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), make their home at the Maxfield Sports Complex on Route 5 in White River Junction. The team is made up of college baseball players from all over the country, who call the Upper Valley home for the months of June and July. The Nighthawks’ games are free for spectators, family-friendly, and just plain fun.

Rhys Anderson (Wabash College) wears the Nighthawks mascot and leads a between-inning footrace.

Founded in 1993 by a group of baseball-loving sports enthusiasts, The NECBL’s goal was to expose New England student athletes to Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts. What started with a handful of teams is now a popular league of thirteen teams divided into two divisions, who travel between team locations from Martha’s Vineyard in the south to Montpelier in the north for games. The league boasts nearly 150 former players as MLB draftees and stars. Player recruitment is ongoing, with college coaches and team management collaborating year-round. While most players in the NECBL come from schools on the East Coast, occasionally, an outlier from California may appear on the roster. They all show up enthusiastic to spend the season in New England and to fine tune their baseball skills. The NECBL exposes them not only to on-field skills, but the “back-side” side of baseball, such as marketing, management, and business operations.

Noah Crane, an area native and President of the Upper Valley Nighthawks, is a lifelong lover of baseball, and shenanigans. He attends each game attired in a zebra stripe blazer, and acts as Master of Ceremonies for between-inning games, offering a variety of hilarity, from “finish the lyrics” of a popular song to three-legged foot races. Crane describes the atmosphere as “part baseball, part carnival, and part farmer’s market.” From the thunder of small feet chasing a foul ball (a herd of children instantly appear in hot pursuit when the crack of the bat signals an opportunity to snag a coveted game ball), to the cheers of the spectators when the Nighthawks score a home run, to the inevitable laughter during between-inning entertainment, an evening with the Nighthawks has something for everyone.

Crane has a long history with baseball, having played, coached, and spent a time with a Red Sox minor league team learning the business side of the game. He once owned an NECBL team with his father, in Laconia, many years ago. After returning to the Upper Valley to work at Dartmouth College, Crane was delighted when The Maxfield Sports Complex was built. It would make a perfect home for an additional NECBL team. In 2016, the 13th franchise was awarded, and the Upper Valley Nighthawks made their home at “The Max,” truly a real-life “Field of Dreams.”

Brandon Adams (U North Florida) delivers a strike (hopefully!).

The team was welcomed by the community, and many volunteers and merchants stepped up to participate. The outfield is lined with banners of advertisers from throughout the area. In-game announcements remind participants to support the vendors who support the team. The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation paired with Mascoma Bank to make admission to the games free (although a head count is taken as spectators arrive). The nearby Upper Valley Aquatic Center works with the team to provide essential facilities for the players to work out and train. The Montague Golf Course in Randolph offers reduced greens fees for players. Multiple area restaurants provide food service at the game, with adult beverages for purchase. Of course, no baseball game would be complete without hot dogs and, an area summer staple, Maple Creamees!

In addition to the games, the Nighthawks give back to the community in the form of summer camp for local children. Players and staff share their expertise and love of baseball, and provide instruction and encouragement to the young aspiring athletes. Because many alumnae of the NECBL have gone on to “The Bigs” (MLB) and had brilliant careers, it is possible that a child might exclaim, “He was my coach one summer!” Introducing children to this level of talent could help them learn new skills, develop a lifelong love of baseball, and inspire them to think, “Maybe I can do that!”

The challenge each summer for Crane and his staff is finding housing for the players. It is a league rule that players must be placed with Host Families in the community. Hotels and dormitory situations are not acceptable. Host Families provide the players with a sense of grounding, a home away from home. In these days of short-term rentals, and the popularity of the Upper Valley in summer, people with extra space may choose to rent instead of hosting. This is an economic reality that challenges each team, and for one team was its demise.

Marie McCormick and family with Nighthawks player Will Carnley (Troy).

The team asks community members with extra room in their homes to welcome one or two players for the months of June and July. They require a place to sleep, access to laundry, and occasional meals. In addition, Host Families enjoy discounts on team merchandise and concessions at The Max. Children are particularly excited to have “an older brother” for two months, and the players frequently become “members of the family.”

Host Families report thoroughly enjoying the experience. “The decision was simple,” says one Host Mom. “My husband is a huge baseball fan, so it was a done deal.”

Another shared, “In the summer of 2024, we hosted a second baseman and a left fielder, who particularly enjoyed breakfast before heading off to coach summer camp, or to work out before team meetings and practice. They would wake to the smell of bacon, which became ‘the bacon alarm clock.’ The summer of 2025, we hosted two pitchers, The Twin Towers (6’4” and 6’6”), who were not breakfast eaters, so no ‘bacon alarm clock’ for them! We’d advise them what would be planned for dinner, and suggest they let us know if they wanted to be included. They were a joy to host, and we look forward to meeting our next ‘boys of summer’ in June!”

Marie McCormick, of Lebanon, has hosted since the beginning, 2016, when her son was four years old. He is now 13, and a player himself. He loves having an athlete “big brother” each summer, and the family enjoys ongoing relationships with “their players,” some who are now in the minor leagues. ■

If you would be interested in hosting one or two players this summer, contact Noah Crane, noah@uppervalleynighthawks.com. Your generosity will be rewarded with great fun and memories of contributing to helping develop a future MLB star.

Kindergarteners in Donna Soucy’s class at Mount Lebanon Elementary School gathered in a semi-circle on the blue polka-dot rug at the front of the room, ready to read.

The topic on that midwinter Monday morning: the letter Q.

They started by thinking of some common words that contain Q, like quick and quit. Quest is another Q word, but one unfamiliar to some of the kindergarteners. So, Soucy asked them questions, and provided an example, to help them understand.

“Mrs. Soucy is on a quest to find the best bagels in the Upper Valley,” she said. Her students agreed that bagels are quite tasty.

Over the course of the 40-minute lesson, students practice everything from how to shape their mouth to make the Q sound (kw) to how to write it in both uppercase and lowercase — including where to start on the page, which way to push with their pencil, and which shapes the letter contains. They also learned a helpful way to remember the letter that always accompanies it: “Q and U, they stick like glue!”

Mount Lebanon Elementary School 1st grade Teacher Mary Skiffington, right, works with a group of students during small group literacy time.

A Transformative Approach To Reading

This is just a small glimpse into how the Lebanon School District has transformed its approach to literacy education over the past four years, leading to impressive results and strong, enthusiastic readers.

In the 2024-25 school year, the percentage of kindergarteners meeting literacy benchmarks soared from 44% to 89% over the course of the year. In the latest standardized test results from the winter NWEA assessments, all grades 1-4 are well above the 60th percentile for both growth and achievement in reading. That means Lebanon students are not only achieving above the national average for this time of year, but also beating the average growth percentile from fall to winter.

These strong results come as Lebanon’s public schools have adopted a Structured Literacy approach rooted in the “Science of Reading” — that is, research that shows the cognitive science behind literacy.

The lesson Soucy was teaching on the letter Q came from the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) Foundations program, a gold-standard, evidence-based program of explicit and systematic phonics instruction. In the early grades, students learn letter sounds and how to blend them into words using the UFLI (“you-fly”) program.

Students also read “decodable” books that match the phonics skills they are learning, so they can practice successfully and build confidence and fluency. Teachers have participated in ongoing training so they understand how children learn to read and how to teach those skills effectively.

“I was an early supporter of the UFLI program and really enjoy teaching reading with it,” Soucy said. “I noticed growth in my students’ reading and writing almost immediately. I appreciate how structured the program is because the kids understand the routine and know what to expect. At the same time, it’s flexible, allowing me to add my own touches and differentiate lessons so I can meet the needs of all my learners and keep them excited and engaged.”

Donna Soucy, center, helps two of her kindergarteners at Mount Lebanon Elementary School with a writing exercise.

A Student-Centered Approach

The team of four reading specialists at Hanover Street School, the district’s other elementary school, said the district-wide literacy curriculum provides a common language for all educators to work together to meet student needs.

“Whether you’re a classroom teacher or reading specialist, it’s all based on the Science of Reading, and it’s all working toward helping students learn more and provide them with more,” said Jeanne Akpan, a reading specialist at Hanover Street School. “And the students are always the focus. No matter where they’re at with reading, we will meet them there and we’re working to move them forward.”

This year, the Lebanon School District also introduced an additional reading program called Arts and Letters that helps students build background knowledge and expand their vocabulary through rich content and discussion.

In classrooms like Mary Skiffington’s 1st grade class at Mount Lebanon, students get an hour of Arts and Letters writing and comprehension lessons every day, along with small group literacy time when Skiffington can work with cohorts of students based on their specific needs.

Some 1st graders are still working on the fundamentals of reading, Skiffington said, while others are deepening their comprehension skills and having discussions about what’s happening in the books.

Classroom and school-wide libraries at Mount Lebanon and Hanover Street schools have a range of books for readers of all levels, and teachers constantly encourage students to take books home and read with their parents/guardians every night.

“Make sure you have new books for tonight!” Skiffington told her class as they wrapped up small group literacy time on a recent morning.

Together with families, teachers, reading specialists, and administrators, Lebanon’s district-wide effort is creating a community of confident, lifelong readers.

“Literacy expert Louisa Moats says that teaching a child to read is ‘rocket science,’ because it requires intentional, well-designed instruction grounded in a deep knowledge of how the brain learns to read,” said Karen DuBois, the district’s director of academics, engagement, and opportunity. “That understanding has shaped our approach. We’ve invested in teacher professional learning and high-quality instructional materials to ensure that every child has the best foundation for becoming a confident reader.”