If you were to write the autobiography of Lebanon resident Gene Yeates and take it to a Hollywood film producer, you might be met with a bit of skepticism.

“How can one individual accomplish all that in the course of one lifetime?” they would ask. The truth sometimes is indeed stranger than fiction! In the case of Gene Yeates, he leaves a legacy of incredible service fueled by patriotism and dedicated service to this great country we can call home. Just saying “thank you for your service” may not be sufficient in Gene’s case.

It will take a bit of time to dive into Gene’s incredible contribution, so read carefully.… Read More

It is approximately 3600 miles from London, England to Lebanon, New Hampshire, but 83-year old Derek Sturges has covered that distance with ease and added that number of miles ten fold during his absolutely incredible lifetime. After a visit with Derek, you may conclude that
perhaps he hasn’t completed that journey quite yet.

Derek was born in Southgate, England, a suburban area just North of London but has spent most of his working career in the United States as a highly sought after Electrical Engineer. The well-traveled gentleman now resides at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community in West Lebanon and after visiting exotic locations worldwide, he explains how this area was his choice in retirement.… Read More

With everyone living longer, healthier lives these days we often quote that old cliché that “age is just a number.” That bit of wisdom is quickly becoming a way of life for many seniors and George Beals Schaller provides a shining example.

Mr. Schaller is a German-born (Berlin, Germany) American mammalogist, biologist, conservationist, and author. His complete résumé runs about six pages long and is recognized by many as the world’s preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South America. He has published countless books and articles dealing with wildlife conservation, and is particularly recognized for his studies of the Mountain Gorilla.… Read More

Former Lebanon History Teacher’s True Passion

Art Pease taught History for 36 years at Lebanon High School from 1971-2007 and now at the tender age of 70, he has entered the world of retirement. He has never shaken his passion for the events that make up our history, however, especially history related to Lebanon and its surrounding communities.

You might say that Art went full circle in his lifetime from teaching history to becoming a student of history. Researching tidbits of information of an historical event and sharing what he discovers with future generations has become an obsession. Art was born in Orford, N.H.… Read More

At age 80, West Lebanon resident Robert Camarra, who lives at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community, can sit comfortably by the fireplace and reminisce about a sterling career that saw him not only protecting the United States of America faithfully, but also making the states of Vermont and New Hampshire safe places to live and raise a family.

As a young man right out of high school at the tender age of 17, Robert enlisted in the United Sates Army and was assigned to a Military Police unit to receive full training in that field. Upon his discharge 12 years later, he returned home to New Hampshire and, following a few stints as a police officer for local municipalities, he was accepted as a New Hampshire State Trooper.… Read More

I’d no more than joined the Lebanon Historical Society when they appointed me curator,” says Ed Ashey, who is also Lebanon’s City Historian, the man in charge of fielding questions about Lebanon’s past. Though not formally trained in museum work, Ed says, “I have gone to museums forever. I knew you needed accession numbers on things, records of the donor, condition, and so forth.” He’s worked hard going through piles of photos and other records, often posting pictures on the group’s website, LebanonNHHistory.org, or on the Facebook page “You know you grew up in the Upper Valley if…”

Ed’s interest in history started when he was “just a little kid.… Read More

Laughter is indeed the best medicine

George Bernard Shaw and West Lebanon’s Margaret (Maggie) Tangway may have never crossed paths during their lifetime, but the legendary Irish playwright, critic and polemicist wrote a quotation that was tailor-made for the incomparable 93-year-old diva.

“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”

A sense of humor and making others laugh have been a mainstay for Maggie who has resided at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community since 2010. Those traits carried the lively lady through a stint as an Ensign in the United States Navy during War World II.… Read More

A Photographer to the Music Legends

At age 71, professional photographer John Lee is now retired and living at the Quail Hollow Senior Living Community in West Lebanon, NH. When he sits down to reminisce about his fascinating career as a professional photographer, musician and graphic designer, he not only invokes fond memories, but shares stunning photographs of some of the giants of the music industry.

After working in Nashville, Tennessee for 37 years John had established himself as the “go-to guy” when it came to photographing the national music scene and its giant super stars. Who else could state that they had lunch with the late Elvis Presley and his manager Colonel Tom Parker?… Read More

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.… Read More

She didn’t marry to make this so, but Adele Patch has the perfect name. Over the years she’s earned fame locally, nationally, and even internationally for her quilts, her patchwork quilts. But she married for love, in storybook style.

The story started, classically, with a tough childhood in northern New Hampshire, where Adele was born in 1931, in the depth of the Depression.

“I was a skinny kid,” she says, one of 13 in an often tense blended family. Enough food was hard to come by, never mind extra for piling on the pounds. When she had just turned seven, the 1938 hurricane flattened the family’s house and blew out all the windows in the barn.… Read More