The Holiday Food Basket application forms are
available at the Town Office to be completed no
later than 4pm on November 22, 2010. Also as in the
past, there are a few days open to volunteer to
assemble, pack and deliver boxes of food at the NH
National Guard Armory on Pembroke Road in Concord
but you must sign up in advance by completing a
volunteer application form. If there are any
questions feel free to leave a message at the office
for Donna Chagnon.
The Chichester
Historical Society will present “Baked Beans and
Fried Clams: How Food Defines a Region” on Monday,
November 8th, at 7 p.m. in the Chichester
Town/Grange Hall on 54 Main Street. Speaker
Edie Clark’s presentation on foods distinctive to
New England is informative, humorous, and full of
fascinating tidbits about the history of regional
foods. The program is paid for by a grant from
the NH Humanities Council. It is free and open
to the public. Refreshments will be served.
For further information call Lucille Noel at
798-5709.
Happy Birthday to Ansley
McLaughlin on November 4.
The
Chichester Historical Society has 2011 calendars,
“Barns – The Other Side,” for sale for ten dollars
each at the museum. The calendar would make a
thoughtful and useful gift.
Here are
some titles which have been recently added to the
adult fiction of the Chichester Town Library:
Swimsuit by James Patterson, The Double Agents by
W.E.B. Griffin, The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood, The
Last Summer of the World by Emily Mitchell, Uncle of
God by M.E. Rosson, The Covenant by Naomi Rogen,
Land of a Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen, The
Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea, My
Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (Large Print), The
Rosary Girls by Richard Montanari (LP), Ice Cold by
Tess Gerritsen (LP), and The Last Chance Café by
Linda Lael Miller (LP).
Christmas
Bazaar
Our Lady of Lourdes and the St. Joseph
Women’s Club will be holding their Annual Christmas
Bazaar on Saturday, November 6th from 9:00 am to
2:00 pm in the parish hall in Northwood, NH. (Route
4, next to the town hall.) There will be craft
items, knitted goods, books, puzzles, a white
elephant table with some brand new items, raffles,
and a bake sale where you can purchase your homemade
baked goods for Thanksgiving. We will again
have our ever popular cookie walk with some new and
different varieties. We will have morning
muffins and coffee and will be offering a luncheon
with some delicious choices. Drop by for a
visit, you will be glad you did.
The
Pittsfield Area Senior Center has several special
activities coming up early in November. On
Friday, November 5th, the Concord Regional VNA will
be holding a Flu Shot Clinic from 10 am to noon.
This is a free clinic if you bring your
Medicare/Medicaid, BC/BS or Harvard Pilgrim
insurance card with you. All others will need
to pay $25.00.
On Monday, November 8th, there
will be a Winter Wellness luncheon presentation by
Jennifer Brechtel of the Concord Regional VNA.
This will also be the monthly birthday celebration.
On Tuesday, November 9th from 10 am to noon we
invite you to come and help us create greeting
cards. Bring in cards you have received and no
longer want. We will cut, glue and stamp to
make new cards. The center needs to restock
its supply of “thinking of you/hope you are
feeling better” and “get well soon” cards.
Come and bring your old cards to help us create new
cards.
Mark your calendar! The
Dorcas Guild of the First Congregational Church, 24
Main St., Pittsfield, is holding their annual
Christmas Fair Saturday, November 20th from 9 am to
2 pm. There are many hand-fashioned items to choose
from, as well as gourmet products, baked goods,
“Unique Boutique” and the fabulous silent auction.
Corn chowder and sandwich lunch is also available.
Plan to be there for this handcraft bonanza!
Out
Of Your Attic Thrift Shop News
Please stop by and see the new
look and merchandise in the store-the winter items are appearing
on the shelves daily. We have some snow boards (the ones
where the kids wear their own shoes) a sled, a nice foam
toboggan, hockey and figure skates, a pair of size 1
double runner skates-never used- and a nice pair of women’s size
7 figure skates. The hats, gloves and mittens are out
along with a nice selection of boots-even a couple pairs of
Kamicks. The early shopper gets the best winter buys!
We also have a toaster oven, medical supplies including 2 toilet
seat risers (oval & round) and several nice plates-extras for
Thanksgiving or everyday. We also have Christmas
items-lights, trees, books tapes & many decorations.
We are
at 345 Suncook Valley Hwy, Route 28, Chichester. Open
Tues. & Thurs. 8-4, Wed. 11-4 & Sat. 10-4.
Chichester Historical Society
The Poor Farm
Submitted By
Walter Sanborn
Since the beginning of time there has always been the poor among
us. There are always individual people or families who are
unable to sustain their life without assistance from others and
would be unable to exist by themselves.
Some individuals may
not be able to work because of physical handicaps or health
reasons, unemployment, or financial reasons, and there are some
who are just allergic to work.
In the case of the poor it
becomes the duty of the government to provide the needs of these
individuals which is the responsibility of the local town.
In
the late 1700s there began to be paupers within the town that
could not support themselves or their family. Town records
show that in 1787 Daniel Perkins applied to the town for help to
support his family. The town immediately met and chose
Jeremiah Sanborn and Lieutenant John Hilyard to provide for him
and his family and call upon the selectmen for their pay.
This method of aid to paupers continued by placing them on small
farms to live by boarding them out to the lowest bidder.
This
method of caring for paupers existed until 1826 when interest in
building a poor house surfaced. It was voted to build a
poor house 18’ by 36’ on the parsonage lot near Caleb Pearson’s
in the Pineground, but the December meeting showed that no
action was taken so the poor house was not built.
The same
method of supporting paupers as before continued until 1838 when
the town again voted to purchase a farm on which the town
paupers could be kept and supported but the vote was again
defeated.
There was still considerable sentiment for the idea
and a committee of nine men to post notices for proposals to be
given them for the sale of a farm for the town and they were
instructed to report at a meeting in the spring. In 1839
the committee recommended a farm on Canterbury Road be purchased
and the Town finally had a farm for the paupers to live on.
The selectmen were given the power to purchase the farm from
surplus fund money.
It seemed that the Federal Government had
the unheard of sum of $36 million surplus which was divided
among the 25 states according to their population. New
Hampshire received $669,000, which was credited to the towns.
Our share was a little over $2,200, which was voted to leave our
proportion in the State Treasury to be loaned to the town when
need arose.
The farm was the old Towle farm and was purchased
for $1,750. The accompanying picture is how the farm
looked in about 1900 and is located at what is now 96 Canterbury
Road.
The original barn had been torn down and a 2 car garage
built in its place. The farm has been renovated several
times throughout the years and is presently for sale.
Maybe
the town should re-open a poor farm for us taxpayers to have a
place to live after they repossess our present home.
Chichester Town Library News
The Chichester Town Library is
hosting a literary program entitled Understand the Story.
Chris Ouellette, a teacher and student of film, will be at the
Chichester Central School on Tuesday, November 9th at 6:30 pm.
This workshop will show parents and educators how to look at the
parts of a story, to understand what message the author is
communicating, and how they are communicating it. The
workshop is geared toward educators, school or home-school, who
are using story with their students. Our presenter,
Christopher Ouellette, will cover the parts of a story arc, and
explore questions that will assist in finding the theme for
almost any story. This is great for anyone teaching
through a book, movie or play, with a story, from Homer and
Shakespeare to popular, modern fiction. The method can be
used in many ways, to achieve a variety of goals.
As space is
limited at the school’s media center, please call the
library at 798-5613 and let us know if you plan on
attending.
Our new winter hours are Mon. and Wed. 2:30 -
8:30, Tues. and Thurs. 9;30 - 2:00 NO FRIDAY HOURS, Sat.
9:00 - 1:00.