Approaching Donati Park in Hooksett N.H. the incessant buzz of children’s excitable screams and cheers becomes clearer. A smorgasbord of amusements covers the field ranging from rock walls to craft tents. The heat has everyone back in their shorts and sweating because of the glimpse of fall the week before. Wind has everyone holding onto their hats, holding down their vendor tents or holding onto their small children to keep from being swept away.
The large crowd is gathered to celebrate Hooksett N.H’s 86th Old Home Day. The focus of Old Home Day has always been on the community and family fun, but each year is a little different. The theme of this year’s celebration was “Preserving the Past.”
According to the community guidebook, the tradition of Old Home Day has always been to, “put work aside and celebrate our pride in Hooksett with friends and family.” The atmosphere was very family oriented, there were many activities for children such as, rock climbing, bungee jumping, face painting, basketball, drum circles, sand art, relay races, bounce houses, sewing crafts, and arcades. Bad Fish, a local rock back played acoustic tunes on and off throughout the day.
The Old Home Day tradition was started in New Hampshire over 110 years ago as an original economic stimulus plan. It was Gov. Frank Rollins who founded the event in 1899. He started by inviting all New Hampshire natives to the event. In 1899 he wrote, “When you think of the old home, you bring back the tenderest memories possessed by man; true love, perfect faith, holy reverence, high ambitions."
The goal of the celebration was to revitalize the spirit of the population and also the finances. By putting on the event Gov. Rollins invited natives to come home, to buy summer homes or to just visit for the day.
At one point there were 120 Old Home Day celebrations throughout New Hampshire, now that number has dwindled to less than 80. The guidebook for the day’s events mentions the reason to continue celebrating Old Home Day, “in an ever-changing world, we are grounded and comforted by traditions. Remembering our past helps us value our roots, and guides us as we look ahead to the future. Thus, the perfect reason to celebrate Old Home Day”!
In recent Old Home Days, the message isn’t so much, “welcome home” but “welcome.” While natives might feel a sense of reminiscence, newcomers can meet new people and feel a sense of community.
Many local organizations and businesses set up vendor stands on the grass of Donati Park. Vendors ranged in variety. There were, woodworkers, painters, quilters, jewelers, candle makers, and basket weavers. Cathy Steele said that this was her 20th year attending Old Home Day and her 2nd year selling her custom artwork at the celebration. Her business, Cally Marie Designs sells custom acrylic paintings, note cards, and prints. Steele said that the vendor fee was very reasonable and the event was great for networking, “its just a fun day to come out and see a lot of people from town you might not see otherwise.”
There were also upwards of 30 food vendors, ranging from ribs and chicken to ice cream and cotton candy. Linda Larochelle, owner of The Northern Red Popper, a gourmet kettle corn company said, “this is my 2nd year coming to Hooksett’s Old Home Day to sell my kettle corn and I love it, it’s my favorite event. I think everybody enjoys it. You see so many families and schools getting involved. I’m very happy with the turnout.”
This year crowds of people flooded the field exploring all that the event had to offer. Throughout the day there were different activities, scavenger hunts, pie-eating contest, cookie eating contest, relay races, talent shows, t-ball games, and a classic cars showcase. Local musician, Chris Gendron, 20 performed a few times throughout the day, he said that Old Home Day, “provides a non-political day of fun for families in and around Hooksett”. The day’s festivities concluded with a firework show.
Despite the heat and wind, it was pleasant Fall day that made Hooksett’s Old Home Day a fun place to be. With so much going on in the country these days, it was a great way to come together, put aside work and celebrate something old-fashioned yet timeless. The combination of friends, family, good food and tradition was the perfect way to spend the day.
Monday, September 27, 2010
‘Tis the Season for Old Home Day Celebrations (regular lead)
This past Saturday hundreds of families gathered at Donati Park in Hooksett, N.H. to celebrate Hooksett’s 86th annual Old Home Day. Although the day was really hot and windy the crowds didn’t stop. The focus of Old Home Day has always been on the community and family fun, but each year is a little different. The theme of this year’s celebration was “Preserving the Past.”
According to the community guidebook, the tradition of Old Home Day has always been to, “put work aside and celebrate our pride in Hooksett with friends and family.” The atmosphere was very family oriented, there were many activities for children such as, rock climbing, bungee jumping, face painting, basketball, drum circles, sand art, relay races, bounce houses, sewing crafts, and arcades. Bad Fish, a local rock back played acoustic tunes on and off throughout the day.
The Old Home Day tradition was started in New Hampshire over 110 years ago as an original economic stimulus plan. It was Gov. Frank Rollins who founded the event in 1899. He started by inviting all New Hampshire natives to the event. In 1899 he wrote, “When you think of the old home, you bring back the tenderest memories possessed by man; true love, perfect faith, holy reverence, high ambitions."
The goal of the celebration was to revitalize the spirit of the population and also the finances. By putting on the event Gov. Rollins invited natives to come home, to buy summer homes or to just visit for the day.
At one point there were 120 Old Home Day celebrations throughout New Hampshire, now that number has dwindled to less than 80. The guidebook for the day’s events mentions the reason to continue celebrating Old Home Day, “in an ever-changing world, we are grounded and comforted by traditions. Remembering our past helps us value our roots, and guides us as we look ahead to the future. Thus, the perfect reason to celebrate Old Home Day”!
In recent Old Home Days, the message isn’t so much, “welcome home” but “welcome.” While natives might feel a sense of reminiscence, newcomers can meet new people and feel a sense of community.
Many local organizations and businesses set up vendor stands on the grass of Donati Park. Vendors ranged in variety. There were, woodworkers, painters, quilters, jewelers, candle makers, and basket weavers. Cathy Steele said that this was her 20th year attending Old Home Day and her 2nd year selling her custom artwork at the celebration. Her business, Cally Marie Designs sells custom acrylic paintings, note cards, and prints. Steele said that the vendor fee was very reasonable and the event was great for networking, “its just a fun day to come out and see a lot of people from town you might not see otherwise.”
There were also upwards of 30 food vendors, ranging from ribs and chicken to ice cream and cotton candy. Linda Larochelle, owner of The Northern Red Popper, a gourmet kettle corn company said, “this is my 2nd year coming to Hooksett’s Old Home Day to sell my kettle corn and I love it, it’s my favorite event. I think everybody enjoys it. You see so many families and schools getting involved. I’m very happy with the turnout.”
This year crowds of people flooded the field exploring all that the event had to offer. Throughout the day there were different activities, scavenger hunts, pie-eating contest, cookie eating contest, relay races, talent shows, t-ball games, and a classic cars showcase. Local musician, Chris Gendron, 20 performed a few times throughout the day, he said that Old Home Day, “provides a non-political day of fun for families in and around Hooksett”. The day’s festivities concluded with a firework show.
Despite the heat and wind, it was pleasant Fall day that made Hooksett’s Old Home Day a fun place to be. With so much going on in the country these days, it was a great way to come together, put aside work and celebrate something old-fashioned yet timeless. The combination of friends, family, good food and tradition was the perfect way to spend the day.
UNH ROTC Student Prepares for Deployment
Saturday, September 11th, marked the largest deployment of National Guardsmen in New Hampshire since World War II. Nearly 800 men and women said goodbye to family and friends. This upcoming year roughly half of the National Guardsmen in New England, upwards of 3,000 citizen soldiers will be arriving in Kuwait this November. Olivia Brecheen, a second year Medical Laboratory Technology major here at UNH will be one of the soldiers joining forces for Operation Enduring Freedom, a change from Operation Iraqi Freedom. Breecheen started at UNH last fall doing Air Force ROTC, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, but after about a month switched to Army ROTC.
The deployment is scheduled to be a year long, Brecheen is set to leave Tuesday, September 21st to join other National Guardsmen at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin for a month to complete final training and to make sure everyone is ready to ship out overseas. From Wisconsin, soldiers will be flown to various camps in Kuwait to perform missions such as, convoy security, boarder crossing, customs and security, and personal escorts. Private Brecheen’s unit, the 744th Fire Support Coordination (FSC) will be stationed at Camp Beuhring in Kuwait, they will transport supplies and personnel to and from Iraq, provide convoy security, and gather Intel. Brecheen is assigned as an 88M (truck driver) and a gunner for convoy security.
Even though Kuwait is said to be relatively safe in comparison to more recent missions, Brecheen said, “That doesn't mean that the standards or training is any less strict because we need to be ready for anything. Even the amount of gear you have to carry around is quite a lot, especially with the heat.”
When Brecheen first came to UNH she tried out many things before sticking with Army ROTC including working at Wildcat Transit, officiating flag football, crew, and per diem LNA work. The idea of military life is new to Breecheen she was recruited by Sergeant Ladieu into Army ROTC after a few weeks of talking with the instructors of the program. Brecheen signed up for basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) in the spring and finished after nine weeks of studying the army mission, physical fitness, core values, military weapons, chemical warfare, bayonet training, marksmanship, field tactics, etc.
After only spending one weekend with her unit she found out that she was being deployed to Kuwait for a year. Because of Brecheen’s involvement in ROTC they took her off the deployment roster, however, “after thinking and praying about it I decided that I wanted to try to go. So far I feel that I have made the right decision and I am ready to go and do my job over there to the best of my ability,” Brecheen said. Other UNH ROTC students are scheduled to join Brecheen in Kuwait next year.
Brecheen commented on how one of the best things about being in the army is, “how all kinds of people end up coming together and can have something in common even though they might be vastly different”. Brecheen is taking a military leave of absence until she gets back to UNH to continue her degree, she said, “I'm really hoping that we get back in time next year to get right back into school for the fall semester. I'm excited about my major, and want to see where it will take me”. Her plan when she returns to UNH is to be in the simultaneous membership program (SMP), which means being in both, the National Guard and ROTC program.
Private Brecheen is enthusiastic and staying positive about the year to come, she said, “I'm excited to go, let's do this”!
The deployment is scheduled to be a year long, Brecheen is set to leave Tuesday, September 21st to join other National Guardsmen at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin for a month to complete final training and to make sure everyone is ready to ship out overseas. From Wisconsin, soldiers will be flown to various camps in Kuwait to perform missions such as, convoy security, boarder crossing, customs and security, and personal escorts. Private Brecheen’s unit, the 744th Fire Support Coordination (FSC) will be stationed at Camp Beuhring in Kuwait, they will transport supplies and personnel to and from Iraq, provide convoy security, and gather Intel. Brecheen is assigned as an 88M (truck driver) and a gunner for convoy security.
Even though Kuwait is said to be relatively safe in comparison to more recent missions, Brecheen said, “That doesn't mean that the standards or training is any less strict because we need to be ready for anything. Even the amount of gear you have to carry around is quite a lot, especially with the heat.”
When Brecheen first came to UNH she tried out many things before sticking with Army ROTC including working at Wildcat Transit, officiating flag football, crew, and per diem LNA work. The idea of military life is new to Breecheen she was recruited by Sergeant Ladieu into Army ROTC after a few weeks of talking with the instructors of the program. Brecheen signed up for basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) in the spring and finished after nine weeks of studying the army mission, physical fitness, core values, military weapons, chemical warfare, bayonet training, marksmanship, field tactics, etc.
After only spending one weekend with her unit she found out that she was being deployed to Kuwait for a year. Because of Brecheen’s involvement in ROTC they took her off the deployment roster, however, “after thinking and praying about it I decided that I wanted to try to go. So far I feel that I have made the right decision and I am ready to go and do my job over there to the best of my ability,” Brecheen said. Other UNH ROTC students are scheduled to join Brecheen in Kuwait next year.
Brecheen commented on how one of the best things about being in the army is, “how all kinds of people end up coming together and can have something in common even though they might be vastly different”. Brecheen is taking a military leave of absence until she gets back to UNH to continue her degree, she said, “I'm really hoping that we get back in time next year to get right back into school for the fall semester. I'm excited about my major, and want to see where it will take me”. Her plan when she returns to UNH is to be in the simultaneous membership program (SMP), which means being in both, the National Guard and ROTC program.
Private Brecheen is enthusiastic and staying positive about the year to come, she said, “I'm excited to go, let's do this”!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Dangerous Jellyfish leaves 100 Stung in Rye
Over 100 beachgoers encountered a large lion’s mane jellyfish Wednesday at Wallis Sands State Beach in Rye, N.H. Five children were injured and taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital by ambulance. No serious injuries were reported.
High temperatures attracted large crowds to the seacoast yesterday. Unfortunately that’s not all the coast appealed to. Rye, N.H. faced a scary encounter with a large jellyfish Wednesday, July 21st at Wallis Sands State Beach. Around 50 children fled from the 63 degree water screaming about stings on their legs. Soon after, lifeguards captured a dead jellyfish floating in the water with a pitchfork. Park Manager Ken Loughlin said, “It was as big as a turkey platter. The thing was probably 50 pounds. I’ve never seen such a thing.”
A number of Seacoast Area emergency crews hurried to the beach including, Stratham, Portsmouth, Greenland, New Hampton, Newington, and Rye at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Rescue officials said more than 100 people reported being stung by something in the water. They were treated in the bathhouses. Five children were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for fear of allergic reactions to the stings. However, no serious injuries were reported
Robert Royer, an aquarist at the Seacoast Science Center identified the sea creature as a lion’s mane jellyfish. He said lion’s mane jellyfish are often found in New England waters, “That’s the largest we have around here. I’ve never heard of them getting 50 pounds, though.” The lion’s mane jellyfish can have tentacles reaching 100 feet in length. Each tentacle has barbs that can sting even after the jellyfish is killed and broken apart. Officials reported that the jellyfish stings felt similar to bee stings.
Hampstead resident, Alysia Bennett, mother of three, took her children to the beach for the day. Their day of fun turned into a nightmare when all three children came running out of the water crying, “they were terrified,” Bennett commented. The beach has reopened since closing yesterday after the incident.
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