by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer
The joke in many cities goes like this: If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute; it’ll change.
That certainly applies to northern New Hampshire — and all of New England for that matter — but I have come up with a similar saying about the
All are welcome Saturday, September 16th for a historical walking tour of downtown Plymouth, NH.
Learn about the many buildings that contribute to Plymouth’s unique character and how they have evolved over the years in response to changing times.
Find out about the personalities, including politicians, writers, and athletes, that have shaped Plymouth’s history or just passed through briefly to visit the once majestic Pemigewasset House, to teach at the college, or to visit the Draper & Maynard Sporting Goods Company.
You will visit sites on the National Registry of Historic Places, appreciate the stories that lay behind the unique sculptures and paintings created for Plymouth over the years, and gain a deeper knowledge of Plymouth’s important place in New England history as a hub for education and the burgeoning tourist industry.
To join in on this tour, meet at the Boy Scout sculpture in the Common at 10:30 am or visit website (www.PlymouthNHHistory.org) to learn more.
upper reaches of the Granite State: If you don’t like the remote pond you’ve found, keep driving; you’ll find another one.
I’ve found countless gems of water far from civilization during my many travels to the Great North Woods just by picking a dirt road and driving. Sometimes it takes a little persistence — and a few hairy sections of “road”
— but ponds are always there to find. And they’re always spectacular. One pond typically doesn’t look very different from the next, but they all harbor their own secrets and wildlife surprises. To borrow another saying: They’re all the same, but different.
I found a great pond — maybe it was a bog or a fen, but I’ll call it a pond —
B. Jeffrey Clairmont passed away on August 25, 2023 at a hospice facility in Concord, NH. Born on August 21, 1942 in Laconia, NH, Jeff was the son of Robert and Anne�e Clairmont. He a�ended Laconia High School, was a graduate and devoted patron of Fairfield University and earned a master degree in administra�on from Keene State College. He was an educator all his adult life, first as a teacher in Manchester and Keene, then as a principal and owner of two learning centers in California where he lived for over two decades.
Jeff was a man who valued his faith, family and friendships. He was dedicated to keeping in touch with classmates, former students, co-workers, neighbors, and extended rela�ves. Many meet-ups took place over a lobster roll, seafood plate, or turkey dinner. Jeff’s love of travel took him all over the world and eventually to Vietnam, where he se�led for many years a�er re�rement. His enduring passion for educa�on led him to volunteer his �me teaching English to dozens of Vietnamese students.
Jeff spent his last years in his cherished home state of New Hampshire reconnec�ng with those he loved. He will be missed by his sister Cynthia Kinney and brother-in-law John Kinney of Moultonborough, NH, his nephew Ma�hew Kinney of Irving, Texas, and his nieces Meghan Carpenter of Dallas, Texas and Moira Stein of Evanston, Illinois. He is also survived by three great-nephews and three great-nieces. A memorial mass will be held at a later date.
To The Editor:
It is with great dismay a recent letter to the editor unfortunately embellished achievements credited to President Biden.
If the economy is so good why has the Federal Reserve increased interest rates consistently? The answer is to slow inflation that has remained high because money is being printed and not used for domestic product. The dollar was recently down graded to AA++ which is serious.
Credit card rates are at an all time high with more people depending on them with no end in sight. Homes are not selling because they were purchased at a rate of two percent with the mortgage rate now over six percent. No one is going to buy another property under these circumstances.
Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the Treasury, recently said that the majority of people feel good about their economic situation however not so good about the national economy. What is she talking about? Where is she getting her information? About the same time she went on National Television and joked about consuming mushrooms while in China.
The fact is this country is in deep trouble financially because politicians like President Biden perpetuate spending money we do not have with the National Debt now at thirty two trillion dollars. It is estimated that if
nothing is done soon by 2040 all the money in the operating budget to run the country will go to paying off our debt. Not too many years ago a man living in Zimbabwe brought a wheel barrow filled with money to pay for a loaf of bread. The store owner rejected the money and took the wheel barrow.
Think about it.
Kenneth L. Bowers Wolfeboro, NH.
To The Editor: Our country was created to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This requires boundaries, set by law and custom, to keep people from interfering with other people’s rights.
When it suits their purposes, Democrat politicians allow these boundaries to be violated with few or no consequences despite the harm to innocent people. Examples include the very destructive and deadly BLM and ANTIFA riots, and Democrats’ softness on criminals which enables them to continue preying on innocent people.
Perhaps worse is how Democrats use their dominance in Education to, in addition to often providing poor educational outcomes, violate the customary boundaries of parental rights, harming children for Democrats’ ideological purposes.
Some teachers do what no decent adult would do without explicit parental approval by
This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication.
Locally owned for 30 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories of the people
presenting graphic sex talk and images to young children (opening some to sexual exploitation). Other teachers confuse children about gender, suggesting that maybe boys and girls are in the wrong bodies and should get life-changing hormone or surgical treatments. Some teachers hurt innocent children by teaching that young white children are bad, and young black children can’t succeed, because of past injustices/crimes (e.g., Democrat Jim Crow laws and lynchings) done by and to others.
When parents, and others, rightfully demand that school policies stop these harmful teachings and violations of decency, Democrats, who banned the Bible and Judeo-Christian teaching of love and tolerance, slander them as attacking free speech, book banning, and jeopardizing children’s health. Biden sent his FBI to investigate and intimidate parents who peacefully protested and petitioned for policies to protect their children.
For their political purposes, Democrats allow the protective boundaries between people to be violated resulting in harm to innocent people and our peaceful society.
Don Ewing Meredith, NHand places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff.
Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 24,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 60,000 people reading this newspaper.
To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 603-366-8463.
Contributing Writer
Once again we thank photographer and contributing writer Bob Letourneau for another great “pictorial.” This time on his visit to Funspot with his great-grandkids.We are grateful to Bob for providing us with these fun stories and beautiful photographs to once again share with our readers.
It was time for a little fun with the grandchildren. What better way on a rainy day than to go to Funspot in Laconia.
So, Anne-Marie and I along with our greatgrandchildren Hunter and Autumn, ages 8 and 6, headed to Laconia for a day of fun.
At Funspot will find three floors of entertainment for people of all ages. From restored vintage pinball ma -
“Ladies and gentlemen, school children in particular. and my countrymen all, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the cordiality of your welcome. I came into your wonderful state mainly to play. If it were possible I would have a republic where we all could play a little more. It’s poor business to have to stand the grind all the time, and confidentially I want to tell you that being a president is some grind.”
So spoke President Harding to a crowd of thousands of people gathered at King’s Park in Whitefield, New Hampshire on the evening of August 2,1921.
Warren Harding, the 29th President of the United States of America had come to the White Mountains of New Hampshire in that summer on a short vacation. Other President’s have visited and vacationed in New Hampshire and spent more time here than
Harding, and some have even maintained a summer “White House” here. Out of all who have visited here I have only been around to see one in person, that being President Dwight Eisenhower, who stayed overnight at the Tavern in Laconia and gave a speech at the Belknap Recreation Area (Gunstock) back in the 1950’s.
I bring your attention to Harding, however, even though many consider him to have been one of the country’s worst presidents, because it was one hundred years ago on August 2, 1923, two years after he came on vaca-
tion to New Hampshire, that he died suddenly while across the country in California, and at that time he was considered by many to be great.
At the time President Harding died he had just completed a train trip across the country, including going to Alaska and then down to California from which he was to make the return trip back to Washington. Reportedly, Harding was sitting in a hotel room in San Francisco listening to his wife read an article about him. Mrs. Harding paused in her reading and looked up at the President.
He was quoted as saying, “that’s good..Go on. Read some more,” and motioned for her to continue reading. Then his body shuttered and the President died quickly from a stroke.
The President’s 1921 vacation in New Hampshire began with a trip on the yacht, the Mayflower, from Washington, D.C., to Portland, Maine, and from there the journey continued by automobile, a Simplex limousine, to the summer home of Secretary of War John Weeks on the summit of Mount Prospect. There was only one road to Week’s residence and
I am writing this on Labor Day Weekend, so I thought something about labor would be appropriate.
Last week, when I cut the lawn, I timed how long it took me to mow that twelve feet around the perimeter of my property that actually belongs to the city. It took about fifteen minutes, more or less.
ference between moving light, fluffy snow as opposed to the heavy, wet stuff. (In all fairness, the city does provide us with sand for the icy spots, free of charge, though I have to go get it myself.)
by Brendan SmithWe own a house on some property located in a city in New Hampshire.
So as not to define exactly where that is and cause any controversy, I will only tell you that name of the city starts with the Letter “L” and it is in Belknap County.
We have lived here for fifteen years now and only recently did I request an overhead photo of my property so I could see exactly where the property line is located. We were thinking of putting up a fence in the backyard and wanted to make sure we were in accordance with all proper rules and regulations as well as be respective of our neighbors.
I always knew that a certain amount of our property, which borders on two different streets, actually belongs to the city, but it wasn’t until I looked at the photo did I realize how much.
There is a measurement explanation on top of the photo that explains that one inch on the photo equals thirty feet in reality.
So, with my expertise when wielding a measuring tape, I figured out that about twelve feet from the road onto our front yard is not really ours at all. This includes the driveway as well.
So, I did some calculations. There have been sixteen summers, though the first summer only started in August. Over the course of that time, I have cut the lawn approximately ten times a year (though I don’t have definite proof of this as no records exist.)
I took those fifteen minutes and multiplied them by ten times and, of course got one hundred and fifty, which is about two and a half hours. (I did learn math when it was still actually math, so I’m pretty confident about my results.) Then I multiplied that two and a half hours by sixteen years and got forty hours.
Then I had to consider what is the going rate to hire a landscaper to mow your lawn, figuring in that prices have changed over the past sixteen years, I came up with an average cost of about sixteen dollars an hour.
So, over the course of the last sixteen years I have done about six hundred and forty dollars’ worth of work for the city cutting their lawn.
But, I didn’t stop there.
As I stated earlier, according to the photo, they also own approximately fifteen feet of our (their) driveway which I spend some time cleaning snow off of in the winter. (Never mind having it paved at my expense.)
Often after I do that, the city will send trucks down the street to plow the snow off of it which often ends in them dumping copious amounts of snow back on their portion of the driveway which I then clean up for them. (Of course, I could let it sit and wait for them to come by and do it, but I’m assuming, once again, that they will never do that, so I take it upon myself to do the work.)
It is hard to judge year by year, exactly how many hours each winter I have spent keeping the city’s portion of the driveway clear, but I guess I could, for the sake of argument, put it at about three hours taking into consideration the dif-
So, let’s say at the same hourly rate of sixteen dollars an hour at three hours a year at sixteen years adds up to seven hundred and sixty-eight dollars. Add that to the six hundred and forty dollars for the lawn work and I get one thousand four hundred and eight dollars’ worth of work that I have done for the city maintain their property over the past sixteen years.
I can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of dollars of work that others are doing for the city by maintaining their property for them.
That’s a lot of money.
I suppose I could bring this to the attention of those in charge and ask for something in return, but I’m confident that would go nowhere. I’m sure there is some legal mumbo-jumbo written on some pieces of paper somewhere that explains how this all works, and I could spend a few hours researching it and all of that.
But that’s not really the point of it all.
I just wanted to put it out there for what it’s worth. Plus, I really don’t have the time since I have to get outside and cut the lawn.
Still, it would just be nice if someone from Public Works, if they happen to drive by, to stop and give me a wave and a thank you.
Is it that too much to ask?
Brendan is the author of “The Flatlander Chronicles,” “Best Of A F.O.O.L. In New Hampshire” and “I Only Did It For The Socks and Other Tales of Aging” available at BrendanTSmith.com.
“I Really Only Did It For The SocksStories & Thoughts On Aging”
Order your autographed copy today for $16.99 plus $3 shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like.) Make out checks or money orders for $19.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: Socks Book c/o Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247
Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com
(Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)
“I Really Only Did It For The SocksStories & Thoughts On Aging” Order
Or order online at BrendanTSmith.com
(Autographed copies also avail. at the Weirs Times)
This past week, the nation noted the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
The speech is without question a historic landmark, both in terms of recalling the unique stress of the time and in terms of King’s eloquence in capturing the situation. But beyond being interesting, why do we bother at all with history?
It brings to mind Albert Einstein’s famous definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Einstein essentially touched the question about why we study history. Our track record of success and failure is spotted. Looking back, we get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. Regarding our failures, Einstein was conveying we should be honest about them, learn from them and have the courage to change.
Given that King spoke that day to all Americans -- not just Black Americans or white Americans -- we should assess where we are today given how King defined then what was wrong. What have we learned, and what remains for us to learn?
We need to ask why, 60 years later, race still occupies such a large part of our public consciousness.
King’s complaint was not about our national charter. He referred to the “magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.”
His complaint and indictment were that the nation was not living up to that charter.
In the grand scheme of things, King, in that speech, defined the movement he led as about leading America to its full potential, as defined by the ideals and principles in its founding documents.
He implored that the struggle to realize the American charter of freedom and protection of the rights of all citizens take place “on the high plane of dignity and discipline.” He urged Black Americans to not “satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
And King’s final appeal was to see our nation as a nation under God.
It is a critical point.
King’s vision, as expressed
by Ben Shapiro Syndicated Columnist
This week, the Biden administration announced that Medicare would name some 10 prescription drugs it would subject to direct price negotiations. The drugs include Jardiance (diabetes), Entresto (heart failure), Imbruvica (blood cancer) and Stelara (psoriasis). If the companies that created the drugs refuse to kowtow to Medicare, they will be forced to withdraw from Medicare and Medicaid coverage or face a 95% excise tax.
The White House celebrated the decision as a win for taxpayers: after all, they pointed out, the 10 selected drugs were responsible for one-fifth of all Medicare Part D prescription costs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. “There is no reason,” Biden said in a statement, “why Americans should be forced to pay more than any developed nation for life-saving prescriptions just to pad Big Pharma’s pockets.”
Of course, that’s not what’s really happening.
First off, drug development is unbelievably expensive. In 2019 alone, the pharmaceutical industry spent $83 billion on research and development. According to a 2020 study, which covered some 632 new therapeutic drugs and biologic agents approved by the FDA, the “estimated median capitalized research and development cost per product was $985 million, counting expenditures on failed trials.” The average cost was $1.3 billion (some drugs are much more expensive to develop than others). According to the National Institutes of Health, the success rate of drug development is just 10 to 15 percent.
Americans bear the brunt of this cost -- largely because other countries free
ride. But Americans also capture the industry upside of drug development in the United States. This is why, according to one 2010 study, the United States accounted for “42 percent of prescription drug spending and 40% of the total GDP among innovator countries and was responsible for the development of 43.7 percent of the (new molecular entities).” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry is responsible for some 332,000 jobs.
So, what would the new regulations do? If they are implemented, according to National Review’s Jeff Zymeri, drug development will drop off: “The CBO has predicted that the scheme provided for under the IRA would lead to a manufacturer-revenue loss of 15 percent. Such a cut in CBO’s predicted 45 new drugs per year would suggest around 6.8 fewer drugs per year, totaling around 121 lost over the 18-year horizon, as one report estimated.” The drugs most likely to disappear would be drugs that target rare conditions and thus have less of a market.
As an investor in biotech stock, I can say with confidence that investment will shift out of the sector and into other, freer sectors should the Biden administration move to quash profit margins in the sector. Why would investors sink money into a drug, only to find out that the more successful it is, the less profit there will be in it?
There is another solution: Force other countries to pay their fair share. This would ensure that Americans pay similar prices to those around the world, while also creating incentive for innovation. But that would require politicians to abandon their happy talk and deal in the real world. And that’s not something politicians are likely to do.
COVID cases are up. Hospitalizations climbed 24% last week.
navirus.”
by John Stossel Syndicated Columnist
But the media make everything seem scarier than it is. The headline “Up 24%!” comes after dramatic lows. Hospitalizations are still less than half what they were when President Joe Biden said, “The pandemic is over.”
Yet the shallow media keep pounding away: “It may be time to break out the masks” headlined CNN.
Frightened people believe. The movie studio Lionsgate reinstated an office mask mandate. Atlanta’s Morris Brown College mandated masks and even banned parties.
This month, several school districts in Kentucky and Texas closed.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students, staff, and community is a top priority,” said the school superintendent in Texas.
But kids rarely get very sick from COVID, and schools aren’t COVID hotspots. Studies on tens of thousands of people found “no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coro-
A Lancet study found Florida had the 12th-fewest excess COVID deaths in the country, even though Florida students went back to school without masks relatively soon.
At least Texas’ and Kentucky’s closures were isolated and brief. Longterm closures during the pandemic brought America’s lowest math and reading scores in decades. Florida’s kids suffered less learning loss than kids in other states.
Sweden, which never closed its schools, suffered no learning loss. Sweden’s education minister wrote that children were “at much lower
risk of serious illness” and that “keeping children learning was vital.”
Sweden also imposed fewer restrictions on adults. At the time, Sweden was mocked in the media. NBC called Sweden’s openness a “failed experiment.”
But Sweden’s approach did work. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show that Sweden had fewer excess deaths since COVID than any other European country.
Fortunately, this year, most of America seems less likely to panic.
It’s been two years since the fall of Afghanistan.
The tragic collapse of Kabul to the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban signaled the last sordid chapter in the Biden Administration’s appalling and shambolic “withdrawal” from America’s longest military commitment. But beyond the the perceived political weakness and strategic myopia it glaringly manifest, the Afghan debacle incentivized what political scientists dub as “bad actors” such as Russia and Communist China.
by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist
ian tragedies continue to befall the beleaguered South Asian land. Yet widening the screen to the state of grand geopolitics, Vladimir Putin’s Russia turned up the heat on the long simmering war in Ukraine and Xi Jinping’s hyper-aggressive China would probe and prod the sovereignty of democratic Taiwan. Equally, Kim Jung-un’s North Korean regime continued to provocatively test-fire over 100 ballistic missiles during these past two years.
at least a dozen other lower level conflicts worldwide; some have smoldered for decades, others are more recent, but all combine that tragic quality of endless fighting, economic destabilization and ensuing refugee flows.
on the fighting and continue to “monitor and patrol.” In other deployments such as the interminable conflict in Sudan’s tragic Darfur region, their mission largely stopped the genocide a decade ago.
Thus though the deadly Afghan war “was finally over” humanitar-
Such becomes the grist for bigger or impending conflicts. Russia brashly invaded Ukraine in February 2022, expecting a quick victory, only to be bogged down in a bloody slugfest which is far from over and threatens to dangerously expand.
Still most people are not aware of
The permanence of geography, of ethnic and religious fault lines separating and dividing people sometimes in the same country (think Bosnia), or conflicts stemming from the often arbitrary colonial lines drawn on a map, primarily in Africa, creates the conditions for conflict.
In many places around the world from the forever missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Lebanon, divided Cyprus, or the Indo/Pakistan line of control, UN Peacekeeping forces have maintained a status quo; they stopped the clock
The oldest operation UNTSO, established in May 1948, was the first ever peacekeeping operation established is based in Jerusalem, and monitors ceasefires and armistice agreements. Equally UNMOGIP along the disputed Jammu/Kashmir frontier was set up in 1949, two years after the partition of the British Raj into independent India and Pakistan.
The United Nations maintains 12 peacekeeping missions globally with approximately 90,000 military forces, often dubbed the Blue helmets. UN
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Over the past weeks I have asked you to listen to the words of my son Jesus, your Messiah and Savior. I love you so much that I was willing to let him go to earth, become a man, even while he retained His deity, and ultimately give His life as payment for your sins. I did this so that you would have a way to return to me, after you chose to disobey me resulting in being separated from me, your holy and sinless creator God. It was only through Jesus’ eternal life that he was able to pay for your eternal penalty of sin that separated you from me. While on earth he spoke often about how one can be sure of eternal life, but especially in the Sermon on The Mount, delivered on the hillside of the Sea of Galilee. Today, I will complete my review of that sermon and use His words to show you how you can be sure of eternal life.
As he drew the sermon to a close, he spoke the following: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because
it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24–27).
You’ll notice that he used an illustration to describe both the possibility of being selfdeceived into thinking you will be with me for eternity as well as the means of being certain. The illustration is that of constructing a house. In this case the house is your life and your lifetime efforts of preparing to meet me, your God. Two people are described. One who built their house on sand and the other on rock. For each, a storm came and challenged their construction process. For the one who built on sand, the storm was great enough to take it down and all was lost. It represents a person who has lived in ways that they thought would gain acceptance and access to me and heaven but like building on sand, when the storm hit, it didn’t make it. The other person built their house on a rock. When the same storm hit their house, representing the way they lived in order to gain acceptance and access to me and heaven, it withstood the storm and survived. That person enjoyed the eternal benefits of doing it right.
What was the difference? Look carefully at the first line of his last
words. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.” That person alone, has assurance of hope for eternity. Since my son Jesus is God, his words were true and reliable. He made it clear from the Sermon on the Mount and in many other sayings in the Gospels, that in order to be accepted by me, your God, you had to be without any sin. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). He even described how my standards of perfection weren’t just obedience to the letter of the law such as, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not make money your God etc. But he also presented my standards of obedience including the “spirit” or intent of the law from my perspective. It included not being angry enough to kill as equivalent to the sin of actual murder, (Matthew 5:21-23) lusting after another person being the equivalent to physical adultery (Matthew 5:27-30) and worrying about life’s needs leading to a preoccupation of acquiring money being equivalent to idolatry, making money your God. (Matthew 6:24-34). The standards of my righteousness are perfection and everyone who lives has fallen short of that standard (Romans 3:23). As a result you are hopelessly lost without my Son’s help.
Fortunately, the words of my son Jesus, that you must hear and put into practice , are contained in the Lord’s Prayer which he gave in
The Sermon on The Mount. He taught you to ask me, your heavenly Father, to forgive your sins (Matthew 6:12). My son, Jesus, has paid your penalty but it isn’t applied until you ask me to forgive them. When you do, I will remove the penalty of all your sins, and when you stand in my presence at your death, you will survive the storm of my judgement and you will know eternal life with me as a result. Have you heard the words of my Son and have you put them into practice by asking me to forgive all your sins? There is no other way to be sure. Don’t miss this offer. It expires when you expire at death.
I love you, God Israel: A Trip of A Lifetime. Come join Rev. Samuel Hollo, writer of Letters from God, as he guides a tour of Israel, March 18-27th of 2024. Together you will visit major sites of Biblical events throughout Israel of both the Old and New Testament. Each site visited will be viewed for their historical as well as their spiritual importance. This will be a 10-day trip that will be unforgettable and deeply inspirational. For information call (603) 875-5561
WOLFEBORO - On Tuesday, September 12th, the Wright Museum will welcome Elizabeth York. This is the fourteenth program of the Wright Museum’s 2023 Education Series.
PT-109 was an 80′ Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future United States president, in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater during World War II. Kennedy’s actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him several commendations and made him a war hero. Back problems stemming from the incident required months of hospitalization at Chelsea Naval Hospital and plagued him the rest of his life.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the program begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12th at the Wright Museum’s DuQuoin Education Center, 77 Center Street in Wolfeboro. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Reservations are strongly encouraged and can be made online at www.wrigthmuseum.org/lecture-series or by calling 603-569-1212.
The region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II, the Wright Museum features more than 14,000 items in its collection that are representative of both the home front and battlefield. For more information about the 2023 Lecture Series, or museum, visit wrightmuseum.org.
On Tuesday, September 12th- at 7pm, The New Hampton Historical Society presents The Founding Fathers: What Were They Thinking at Gordon-Nash Library, 69 Main Street, New Hampton
In 1787 delegates gathered in Philadelphia to address a wide variety of crises facing the young United States of America and produced a charter for a new government. In modern times, competing political and legal claims are frequently based on what those delegates intended. Mythology about the founders and their work at the 1787 Convention has obscured both fact and legitimate analysis of the events leading to the agreement called the Constitution. Presenter Richard Hesse explores the cast of characters called “founders”, the problems they faced, and the solutions they fashioned. His academic concentration is on state and federal constitutional law and international human rights. Professor Emeritus at the UNH School of Law., he has been an advocate for civil and human rights for more than 45 years, Hesse was twice awarded the Bill of Rights Award by the NH Civil Liberties Union, and has published on a variety of legal and ethical topics.
The Historical Society thanks New Hampshire Humanities for providing our 2023-2024 Presenters and Programs. Their programs are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information visit www.newhamptonhistory.org
What Are You Doing Friday, September
8?
Popular 4-piece cover band NO LIMITZ is taking the stage on Meredith’s Main Street for a fun night of dancing and socializing!
New this year is the NIGHT MARKET: many Main Street shops will be open from 6pm to 10pm. Come visit your local merchants, get a jump on holiday shopping, and visit places you’ve never been before! As a treat, Karlin’s is hosting a free wine tasting this day from 3-6pm.
Stores open until 8pm including: Lake Effect, Artisan Eyewear, Karlin’s Wine, Cheese & Provisions, Jeremy Noyes Photography, Full Circle Vinyl, Lake Life 603, Hermit Woods Winery, Hazel Moon Botanicals, White Birch Gifts,SageBerry Candle, Rise Consignment Boutique, Identity Coffee Co., Vida at the Lake & Mill Falls Marketplace. There will be food trucks on hand, including Pours & Petals, Full Circle, Angry Hog BBQ and Beans & Greens. The Street Dance is courtesy of the Greater Meredith Program and sponsored by Overhead Door Options. This is a free, family-friendly activity that grows more popular each year! Plenty of free parking is available in the public lots behind Bootlegger’s and on the other side of Route 3 (@ 327 Daniel Webster Hwy). The band stage is in front of Community Park, ~65 Main Street; Main Street will be closed between Water St -- Dover St. In the event of significant rain, the Dance will be cancelled; there is no rain date.
Earlier this month I took my annual kayak fishing trip to Lake Champlain in Vermont in search of lake trout. If you follow my column, you already know that I am a bit of a vertical jigging fanatic. As soon as my trip is over, I begin thinking about the next one. You’ve also probably seen some of my columns about making lemonade from lemons. Well, this trip would be the epitome of when life gives you lemons.
I had taken a quick two-day trip to Lake Champlain in late July, but only fished one evening due to poor water quality. It’s been a wet summer, to say the least. Vermont has been hit especially hard and Lake Champlain sits in what is known as the Champlain Basin. The Lake Champlain Basin is made up of 11 different watersheds. Without get all technical, there is a ton of water flowing through Lake Champlain. Heavy rains, like the persistent ones we have seen this summer, create turbid water, which ultimately affects everything that swims in the lake Some species, such as warm water fish that are more used to turbid or stained water, fair okay when
the water gets dirty. Others, mainly coldwater species that require cool clean water to thrive, don’t fare as well. Lake trout are coldwater benthic fish that mostly inhabit the bottom, where much of the silt settles to.
All that said, this summer has been a tough one for lake trout fishing on Champlain. I had hoped that the water would have cleared up enough to enjoy some of the fishing I have become accustomed to, but that wasn’t the case.
My friend Greg and I
spent four days in Vermont and fished hard every day, but never managed a single lake trout while we were there. During my previous trip, I followed a tip on a nearby area that was known by locals to hold walleye, my favorite freshwater fish to eat. I managed one very nice walleye on that trip, so I told Greg to also prepare to target walleye and suggested some gear for him to bring. When the walleye wouldn’t cooperate, we would venture off to shallower water in search
of walleye. On one of my first few casts, I felt an good bite, but when I set the hook my rod bent over and whatever bit was either the biggest walleye I would ever catch or something else substantial. Every time I would gain a little line, the fish would take off and strip even more than I had gained. I was fighting a losing battle. I gradually tightened my drag, each time fearing that I would get broken off and never actually see what was on my line. Eventually, the fish started to tire and I was able to gain some ground. Remember, the water was still very dirty, so even when the fish was just a few feet from my kayak, I still couldn’t see what it was. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was only really about 5 minutes, the big fish came up next to my kayak and I was able to net it. To my surprise, it was a freshwater drum, or sheepshead as they are often called. It measured about 28 inches long. Sheepshead are almost as tall as they are long, which adds to their amazing fight. I snapped a few photos before releasing the big fish.
Over the next few days of tough lake trout fishing, Greg and I would make our way
Another drum that measured over 30 inches. able sometime in the next couple of weeks. It’s safe to say, that the next time I hit that reef in search of walleye, a small part of me will be hoping for a drum or two. I have read mixed review about them as table fare, so I didn’t keep any of the smaller ones to eat, but I know that the bigger ones have added an element of excitement to fishing on Lake Champlain. I don’t know if the turbid water is what pushed them up onto that particular reef, or if they are there every summer, but you can bet I’ll be checking.
to that same areas once we realized that the lake trout were again non-existent in that area. Every time we did, I would catch more sheepshead. I’m a sucker for a big fish bite in my kayak and I’m not exaggerating when I say that a 30-inch drum puts up as good or better fight than a 35-inch striped bass. Their size and weight makes them formidable fighters and will put most walleye gear to a serious test. Striper kayak anglers often refer to being pulled around by a big striper as a Nantucket Sleigh Ride. Well, I’m not sure what kind of sleigh ride to call it with those big drum, but it sure was fun.
Over the course of the four days, we were at Lake Champlain, I caught more and more drum, and became proficient enough to actually target them. I caught them as long as 35-inches and was even able to film a video for my (TMO Fishing) YouTube channel, which should be avail-
Tim Moore is a fulltime licensed professional fishing guide in New Hampshire. He owns and operates Tim Moore Outdoors, LLC. He is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association, and the producer of TMO Fishing on YouTube and the Hooked with TMO Fishing Podcast. Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com for more information.
In our sports vernacular the expression “losing your fastball” is a euphemism for no longer being able to perform to previous standards. After fireball-throwing Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton lost his fastball in the 1960s he threw knuckleballs to extend his career.
Everyone “loses their fastball” eventually as time takes that inevitable toll on one’s cognitive and physical skills. Even Tom Brady finally retired from football.
When brain surgeons lose their fastballs they need to retire lest someone gets accidentally lobotomized. If only politicians had the good sense to do likewise. Even the great Winston Churchill sadly held on as British Prime Minister into his eighties when he was well past his political prime—to the general detriment of his country, circa 1955.
The late NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown retired in 1965 at the top of his career after nine great seasons—as opposed to MLB Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays, who was a sad shadow of his former self when he retired in 1973 after 23 big league campaigns. He held on too
64. L.A. Ram coach Sean McVay is only 37 and he won a Super Bowl at age 34—demonstrating that one doesn’t have to be old to be successful.
Belichick trails the all-time winningest NFL coach, Don Shula, by 30 victories. Might Shula’s 328 career wins be a personal goal for the Pats coach? That would take at least three more years.
Sometimes a fresh face is needed. Consider 1988, when the struggling Red Sox replaced manager John McNamara with Joe Morgan at the All-Star break. The BoSox won their next 12 straight games.
long.
Our 46th U.S. President, Joe Biden, clearly lost his fastball long ago, as we watch his daily decline—muttering, stuttering, shuffling, and falling down as his mendacious incompetence embarrasses and endangers our country. Some say he never had a fastball to begin with, that he made it to the top as a junk pitcher with spitballs, screwballs, curve balls, and sliders—along with lucky timing and the proper patrons.
(Thanks for foisting Joe Biden on us, President Barack Obama. NOT.)
Which brings us to revered New England Patriots football coach
Bill Belichick. It was only four years ago that he won a record sixth Super Bowl as Pats head honcho. He was seen as a genius by many, the “greatest coach of all time.” Since then, of course, he lost Brady (his fastball?) and the team’s struggled. The Pats didn’t even make the playoffs last season. His staffing choices, personnel decisions, and play calling came under increasing scrutiny and criticism. Are the Pats on a treadmill to oblivion?
Is Belichick pulling a Willie Mays?
Belichick and Seattle Seahawk coach Pete Carroll are in their seventies. No other NFL coach is older than
Another lousy Pats season will only increase calls for Belichick to retire. If the team can have a successful year, then that might be even more reason for Bill to step down and retire to Nantucket on a positive note.
Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack managed that team from 1901 until 1950. During his last season, the 88-yearold Mack saw his team go 52-102 to finish in last place in the American League. One might wonder why the A’s owner kept Mack in the dugout for so long. Well, Connie was the owner!\
Pats owner Bob Kraft, himself 82 years of age, will no doubt have a candid conver-
WOLFEBORO - Recently, Sergeant Nicholas Haroutunian of NH Marine Patrol arranged to have five youth life jackets donated to NH Boat Museum’s popular boatbuilding program.
These donations, according to Anne Lennon, Programs Manager at the museum, made an immediate impact.
“It was great to be able to send the kids home fully ready to go boating with the boat they built and their own brand-new life jackets,” she said. “I can’t thank NH Marine patrol enough for helping enhance the safety of our youth participants.”
Noting quality youth life jackets, also referred to as PFDs, can cost upwards of $75 apiece, Lennon said the museum has long benefited from a strong relationship with NH Marine Patrol.
“Their mission to provide a safe, enjoyable, and environmentally responsible use for all of the State’s public waters aligns with our mission,” she said. “We want people to understand and practice safety while having fun boating.”
In the museum’s boatbuilding program, participants are taught how to safely use hand tools and a limited number of power tools. Regarding their choices, participants may choose from the following kinds of boats: two-person canoe, one-person kayak, Optimus sailboat, or Bevin’s skiff.
2023 boat building scholarships were made possible by Wolfeboro Lion’s Club, New England Antique and Classic Boat Society, Cap-
tain Raymond Thombs and Theodore Valpey, Jr. Memorial Fund, New England Lyman Group, Tom and Rose McNamara, Edmund and Sara Dinsmore, and Dr. Jim Forbes Scholarship Fund.
“We thank these generous donors for their commitment to helping others experience the unique joy of exploration of New Hampshire’s beautiful waterways,” said Lennon.
Founded in 1992 by antique and classic boating enthusiasts, NHBM is committed to inspire people of all ages with an understanding of, and appreciation for, the boating heritage of New Hampshire’s fresh waterways. To learn more about NHBM, visit nhbm.org.
I like cake! (Not exactly a news flash.) In fact, cake should be eaten any time of day. (Again, not exactly a noteworthy opinion.) And the best part of being an adult? I can have cake any time I want! Especially now that my kids are grown ups. No longer having to role model good eating habits means that I can have rich, sweet, decadent, moist cake for breakfast rather than flax encrusted multi-grained one dimensional dry toast or tasteless soggy whole grain mush flakes in a bowl. I honestly think coffee cake was invented by someone who felt the need to justify eating cake for breakfast. But without little eyes peering around every corner I CAN have my cake AND eat it too… FOR BREAKFAST!
However, as much as I like cake, what I don’t like is… making cake. I am forever grateful to those inventive people like Duncan Hines who, oddly enough, was not a chef or foodie but a traveling salesman of office products. Long before the internet was ever even
thought of, Mr. Hines was one of the original early to mid twentieth century social influencers on all things food. Eventually he would be so well known his credible name would be equated with quality and wholesomeness. Appearing on a myriad of food products before his passing in the late 1950’s he partnered with “big food” securing an enduring legacy of brand recognition that still remains strong today.
I confess, when buying cake mixes I, like so many others, anticipate making a cake, but it seldom happens. Somewhere between the checkout counter and putting the groceries away, my ambition for cake is lost. So another cake mix is destined to spend its allotted time on this earth tucked away, way
but a bit more methodical, task oriented, as it is more of a scratch recipe requiring flour, sugar, a can of mixed fruit and some other “cake” ingredients mixed into a batter. This too is baked, resulting in a super moist, almost gooey, sponge-like cake. Both are great served warm with ice cream.
Grill & Galley
83 Main Street, Alton 603.875.3383
Akerlysgrillandgalleyrestaurant.com
Woodstock - Dbl Pig’s Ear
Great Rhythm - Squeeze
Baxter - Coastal Haze
Tuckerman - Pale Ale
603 - Summatime
COPPER KETTLE
TAVERN
Shipyard -Smashed
Pumpkin
Jack Abby -Red Tape
Muddy Road -1762 Porter
Northwoods -Autumn Buzz +30 More On Tap
Porch & Pub
286 S. Main St., Wolfeboro 603.569-3662
Morrisseysfrontporch.com
Morrisseys’ 20 Year Lager by Great North
away, on the back corner of the pantry shelf, keeping company with many of its predecessors. That is, until I discovered “Somewhere In Between” Cake. A deliciously easy compromise between Dump Cake and Baked Fruit Cocktail.
Before I get to the “Somewhere In Between” Cake, a quick refresher may be in order.
Dump Cake, as some of you former scouts may recall, in its simplest form, is a can of fruit pie filling, cake mix, and butter. Plop! Plop! Plop! (Some may add a bit of water, some may not.) All of it goes into a pan (or Dutch Oven if you´re a scout), no mixing required, and then baked. The end result is something similar to a crisp or cobbler. Baked Fruit Cocktail is also simple
Well, somewhere in between these two scrumptious baked confections is this “Somewhere In Between” Cake. (Okay, so the kid can write but he’s not very imaginative when it comes to naming cakes.) Taking the box mix from the Dump Cake and pairing it with the can of mixed fruit from the Baked Fruit Cocktail, Somewhere In Between Cake combines the best of both along with the essential add-ins for the cake mix, and delivers a deliciously moist cake with fruit in it.
During my recent pantry cleanout (a topic covered in a previous article), by accident I came across a “Super Moist Yellow Cake” mix I had recently bought. Well, truth be told, thinking more about it as I looked at the expiration date of only a week away, I probably bought it over a year ago. And while in the vein of full disclosure, it wasn’t by accident but rather it fell off the shelf as I was stuffing more things in every nook and cranny. This was but just one more
At Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant 233 D.W. Hwy, Meredith 603.279.6212 hartsturkeyfarm.com
Henniker - Working Man’s Porter
Concord Craft - Safe Space
Stoneface - IPA
Moat Mtn - Blueberry
603 - Winni Amber Ale
+6 More On Tap
D.A. LONG TAVERN
At Funspot 579 Endicott St N., Weirs 603.366.4377 funspotnh.com
Thowback - Dippity Do
Northwoods - I Appreciate It!
Barreled Souls - Superman Punch
Two Roads -Roadsmarys Baby Belleflower - DDH Finch & Thistle
Proclamation - Fade to White
+6 More On Tap
FOSTER’S TAVERN
403 Main Street Alton Bay, NH 603-875-1234
fosterstavernbythebay.com
Bud Light
Tuckerman - Pale Ale
Aqua Vue Haze -Muddy
Road Brewery
Sam - Seasonal
Allagash - White
Maine - Lunch IPA
+2 More On Tap
JOHNSON’S TAPHOUSE
At Johnson’s Seafood & Steak 69 Rt 11, New Durham 603.859.7500 eatatjohnsons.com/ newdurham
Lone Pine -Brightside
Widowmaker -Blue Comet
Smithwick’s
Guinness
Harp
Concord Craft Safe Space
+11 More On Tap
1253 Upper City Rd., Pittsfield overthemoonfarmstead.com
Oatmeal Stout
London Porter
Pitt Stop Pils
Coffee Porter
No Need To ArgueCranberry Mead
Maple Apple Cider
+6 More On Tap
18 Weirs Rd., Gilford 603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com
Patrick’s Slainte House Ale
Great North - Moose Juice
Guinness
Clown Shoes - Bubble Head
603 - Winni Amber Ale
Tuckerman - Pale Ale
+9 More On Tap
At The Craft Beer Xchange
59 Doe Ave., Weirs Beach 603.409.9344
FB @craftbeerxchange
Zero Gravity – Conehead IPA
Dogfish Head – 120 Minute
Able Ebenezer – Auburn Red
603 – Sparkle Bomb Sour
Notch – Salem Lager
Mast Landing – Gunner’s Daughter Stout
+30 More On Tap
** Tap listings subject to change!
* In 2014, there was a school in Turin, Italy, that had just one teacher and one student. Though the latter admitted to being lonely, officials decided to keep the school open as long as at least one pupil was enrolled.
* Altocalciphilia is the medical term for a shoe addiction.
* Embryonic bats go through a stage called “peek-a-boo,” when their wings grow to cover their eyes.
* Muhammad Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is the only star that is not on the sidewalk, but on the wall of the Kodak Theatre, to honor the boxing champ’s request that he “did not want to be walked on. ”
* Pennies are used to adjust the time in
London’s famous Big Ben clock tower. A single cent can change the pendulum’s center of mass and alter the time by 0.4 seconds per day.
* Michael Bay filmed Megan Fox washing his Ferrari as her audition for “Transformers.”
* Halley’s Comet has two correct pronunciations. It can rhyme with “daily” or “valley” since its discoverer, Edmond Halley, spelled his name six different ways during his lifetime.
* The 2003 invasion of Iraq was originally dubbed “Operation Iraqi Liberation” but quickly changed due to the fact its acronym spelled out “oil.”
* After learning that her husband had been killed in World War II, Mariya Oktyabrskaya sold everything she owned to donate a tank to the Soviet Red Army, with the condition that she be allowed to drive it. When the tank was hit by gunfire, she would not only risk her own life to jump out and repair it, but ended up becoming the first female tanker to receive the Hero of the Soviet Union award.
by JoAnn Derson Syndicated Columnist
* When I need to dust the ceiling, I don’t have a fancy contraption; I just use my broom. If you have popcorn ceilings, you can rubber band a feather duster to the end of your broom. Look around your house, and maybe you’ll find a sneaky cleaning purpose for everyday items.
* Dirty candles can be cleaned up quickly with a leg of panty hose. Slip the candle in the hose, rub the outside of the candle and release.
* “Rub banana on CDs with scratches. Wipe the excess off with a soft towel and make sure all of the banana is gone before you put it in your player. It usually does the trick for me.” -- E. in Maine
* You can use a coffee filter to clean the screen of your television. It’s not scratchy and nonstatic. Be sure not to press down hard into today’s screens. And use only approved cleaners for your flat-screen and plasma television sets.
* “I purchased a medium-size colander with a handle at the dollar store. I have it hanging on a hook in the kids’ bathtub. It’s much easier for them to scoop toys out of the water, and more fun too, I think.”
-- A.C. in Nebraska
and collect some more tokens.
counter to see what treasures he would be able to take home with him.
This got the grandchildren excited to get going.
They started with the shark video game
where Hunter was very good at scoring shark shots building his score. Autumn on the other hand had other ideas and headed to a machine that offered direct prizes, she was not quite as successful as Hunter over at the
shark machine.
Next was the bumper cars, restored boat ride and the motorcycle ride. Then a some classic Skee-Ball and then back to the shark machine, (there are shark machines on every floor). Of course, there
were the machines that challenged your shooting skills.
The kids were having a ball.
With all this work on the machines the kids worked up an appetite, so we were off to the lunchroom for pizza and drinks. The kids wanted a pepperoni pizza and flavored water which they drank pretty quick, they wanted to get back to the fun.
I suggested that we try the indoor mini-golf game as there was no crowd at the time and we could get on the course quickly. This took quite a bit of time
as the youngsters had never played this game before so this was a new experience and there was a learning curve.
When we finished with the golf course, it was time for the kids to add up their winning tickets and see what prizes they would take home. My suggestion to save the tickets and come back at a later date when more tickets could be added was soundly turned down. They wanted to take go home with their bounty.
After all of that they were pretty tired, and it was time to leave. We
promised to return for additional fun later in the summer.
If you are looking to spend time with your young ones in a fun atmosphere, this is the place where you can also have fun while interacting with your kids.
And for those who are gamers, they have the very latest machines with high tech ability and, of course, the restored vintage video and pinball machines are a thrill for all… Have fun.
Hunter
to try and score points to win some prize tickets on the classic
After a fun day of games it’s time to visit the prize counter to cash in tickets.
Mass Schedule at Sacred Heart Church
Saturdays: 4pm; Sundays: 7:00, 8:30 & 10:30am
Daily Masses: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 8am, Tuesday: 5:00pm
All Masses Livestreamed at standrebessette.org
Sacred Heart Church is open daily for private prayer
www.standrebessette.org
a few weeks ago during a short trip to northern, N.H. I knew it was going to be great even before I parked the car and unleashed the canoe. I saw the loons right away.
They were on the other side of the pond, probably 150 yards away, but loons are so big and unmistakable, that I knew what I was looking at. As I got closer, I realized there were three loons, one parent and two juveniles.
It had been awhile since I had seen loons in the juvenile stage. I’ve seen dozens of adults and several babies, but not too often at the inbetween stage. They were getting the classic
loon patterns on their backs and had dull red eyes, but were a grayishbrown color, instead of black.
They reminded me of loon teen-agers. The young ones would stray from their parent from time to time, but never get too far away and never stay for very long.
The adult was clearly still in charge and still cautious, so I kept my distance. The lay of the pond, however, was such that I could see the loons at all times. My patience paid off on several occasions as the trio of loons approached the canoe to within 10 yards. Then they got bored and moved on.
Twice the awesome call of the loon reverberated in the distance from the opposite side of the water. The trio I was watching veered its path in the direction from which the call sounded. There was obviously another adult loon on the pond, but I never found that one.
I watched them for hours — 7 a.m. turned into 8:30 a.m. and, before I knew it, it was pushing noon. The water was mirror-like in the morning, but by the afternoon a significant chop was rocking the canoe.
That’s another similarity that all remote ponds in northern New Hampshire share: wind. The ponds are so smooth in the morning that you can’t tell reflection from reality, but come 11
a.m. or so, a stiff wind will put a considerable ripple on the surface. It was time to head home, my least favorite part of visiting northern New Hampshire.
As I drove south on the highway I thought of the loons, especially the young ones. How easy it is for me to travel miles upon miles. In a matter of a few hours, I knew I’d be home safe and sound. If I got hungry, I could stop and eat. If my car needed fuel, I could pull off at the next exit.
Sure there are hazards to driving, but in reality, the chances of me not making it home are so slim that it’s not even worth calculating.
The loons face a different journey, one wrought with innumerable hazards. Real hazards.
Soon those young loons would embark upon their first migration. Where would they go? Would they actually get there? Where will they stop along the way? Will they return next spring?
If they do return next spring, where will they go? Their parents won’t share the same small pond with them; the parents will have another brood to raise.
Then I remembered my saying about the Great North Woods and I felt better about the fate of the young loons.
If they can’t settle on the pond they’ve found, they’ll fly a little farther and find another one.
Yield: 16-20 Time: About 60 Minutes
1 Yellow Cake Mix (Super Moist)
½ Cup Veggie Oil
3 Eggs
1-15 oz. can of Mixed Fruit with juice
½ Cup Sour Cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.
- Into a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, and sour cream. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and then add the can of mixed fruit and continue to stir until the batter is smooth (do not mash the fruit).
- evenly distribute the batter into a greased and floured 9x13 baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes. Thermometer should approach 165 or higher and the stem comes out clean
CARAMEL CINNAMON ICING INGREDIENTS
1 Stick Butter melted
1 Cup Brown Sugar (packed)
½ Cup half and half
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp Cinnamon
- Over low heat, melt butter in a sauce pan and add the brown sugar. Continue to melt and stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
- Add the half and half while stirring and then the vanilla and the cinnamon.
- Continue to stir this sauce while bringing it to a low boil. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to where it will coat the back of a spoon. Set off the heat and hold until the cake is done and cooled for 10 minutes.
- Reheat to make the sauce a smooth liquid suitable for pouring. Coat the top of the cake and let cool a few minutes before serving from the pan.
motivator prompting the full scale cleanout of the pantry. With only days left on this particular cake mix and a can of mixed fruit due to “expire” on the first of the month, not to mention a deadline coming up for this submission, I decided that I should try to make something. Anything! Being at a loss for ideas, I decided, why not marry the two and hope the end result comes out noteworthy. Then again, isn’t that how most good things happen? By accident? Trial and error? But intuition and experience were on my side this time and the results were delicious.
Setting the oven to 350 degrees and pulling my trusty 9x13 pan out from under the counter it was only a matter of minutes before the can of mixed fruit was open and into the bowl. The cake mix too, was in the bowl, and I was reading the directions on the back of the box. (Yes, I’m a guy. That’s what we do. We read the directions after we start building and hope the directions catch up to us at some point.) And here’s where experience and intuition steps in. The mix calls for oil, water, and eggs. The oil (fat) will add moisture to the “crumb” (cake body) and springiness to the “sponge” (cake
body) and fat also adds flavor. The eggs, while in the batter state, help bond fats and liquids to give the batter a smooth texture. During the baking process the eggs hold the batter ingredients together, giving structure to the finished cake. The canned fruit has the liquid needed so you do not add the water required by the box mix. This cake can be made with nearly any canned mixed or diced fruit. Not a fan of mixed fruit with its grapes and other stuff? Try diced peaches or pineapple tidbits. Canned fruits are ideal for this Somewhere In Between Cake because of their liquid content. Pie fill-
ing however, is not because it is too thick for this cake application. In addition to the can of fruit and the cake mix, I found a bag of dry milk on my baking needs shelf. This had a decent code on it but dry milk is one of those items that most everyone refuses to use as intended, which is… to make milk. Knowingly drinking powdered milk is a hard sell to most anyone. But, powdered milk is a great ingredient for many applications in baking and cooking. I actually use it rather than flour when coating a pan for baking cakes. I grease the pan as usual but instead of flour I use a little bit of powdered
milk to coat the grease. It does not impart a negative flavor to the finished product but it does allow the cake to release easily from the pan.
This cake is easy to make and delicious, while only requiring a box mix, a can of fruit, and a few common ingredients that most will find in their refrigerator or cupboard. To compliment this cake I iced it with an easy to make Cinnamon Caramel Ic-
ing. Ready from start to finish in about an hour, including the icing (made while the cake is in the oven). True to its name, Somewhere In Between Cake, is somewhere in between a Dump Cake and the scratch built Baked Fruit Cocktail and would be a complement to breakfast, brunch, the midnight snack or any Simple Feast.
Enjoy!
no phone service there, the nearest being four miles away at the bottom of he mountain.
While saying that he came to the Granite State to play, President Harding made several speeches while here. At Lancaster, after giving words of praise for
Lancaster native and his Secretary of War, John Wingate Weeks, Harding had words of appreciation for New Hampshire. “You are so accustomed to these marvelous mountains,” he told the Lancaster crowd, “so addicted to these indescribable scenes of the valleys,
Looking back at the events of World War I and his resolve to keep the world at peace, he said, “...we of America and all the world are resolved to-day that warfare must come to an end.”
The President spoke of his resolve to bring all nations together and come to an understanding that would remove “the causes of war,” and put an end to “costly armaments.” He also told of someone who wrote him, warning him that “...the Government must put
Cartoon in Aug. 5, 1921 Washington “The Evening Star” newspaper during Harding’s trip to NH.
that you do not quite appraise as some of us do who see them less. And if I ever grew doubtful in any stage of my life of the wonderful goodness of God, I would only have to journey to this section to see the mountains in their eternal glories and the valleys glorified and then see them all crowned with our works of modern civilization and I would have my faith unalterably renewed.”
He went on to declare, “ ...we of America have a God-given destiny to fulfill which nothing on
an end to the aristocracy of wealth or the nation would be domed. The writer called on me to behead all who have more than he or I have. But he didn’t mean it.”
From the front page of the Albuquerque Morning Journal, New Mexico, dated August 6, 1921, we find an article about the conclusion of Harding’s vacation trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He made the 140 mile trip to Portland by automobile, stopping for lunch and a round of golf at Poland Springs, Maine.
See SMITH on 25
He also visited a sanatorium for disabled soldiers in Oxford, Maine, most of whom were suffering from the effects of gas. He promised them that the government would do everything possible for their welfare. Before boarding the yacht for the return trip to Washington the President made a speech at Westbrook, Maine, near Portland where he again spoke of the upcoming disarmament conference and his quest for world peace.
Rather than using this article to examine the things about him that are used to label him as a failure as President of the United States, let me pass on some of the things people said about Warren Harding at the time of his death, one hundred years ago. These words were from Senator Lodge of Massachusetts: “ ...his really great achievements as President, both abroad and at home, will be understood and given the high place which will belong to hem in history.” From former House Speaker Joseph Cannon: “He was the most lovable man I ever knew.” Senator McLean from Connecticut said,
“He was a brave man and a great patriot, and his love of country and devotion to duty will give his name a high place in America’s history.”
From Great Britain came the response of King George: “The king commands that the court shall wear mourning for one week for the late Honorable Warren Gamaliel Harding, President of the United States of Amer-
ica.” Senator Ferris, a Democrat from Michigan said, “Although I did not approve of all his policies, I recognized him as one of the great Presidents.”
These sentiments were published in the Washington Star newspaper of August 3, 1923.
Chicago remembered the 1920 Republican national convention when a glee club sang the praises of Warren
G. Harding throughout the convention. Night after night the Buckeye singers sang in the corridors, “Harding for President, a big man for a big place.”
Certainly there were people in the mountains of New Hampshire who agreed with that sentiment. In his speech at Lancaster the President said “ You can not always be told everything that is going on.”
Sadly, there were things going on during Harding’s administration that have prevented him from being called the great president that his contemporaries predicted history would honor him as being.
Robert Hanford Smith welcomes your comments as danahillsmiths@yahoo.com
sation with Belichick if the Pats flounder. Many team owners somehow retain their fastballs. And fans have fastballs too. Time will tell.
As for Joe Biden, he apparently thinks he’s who our country needs as president for another four years. Most disagree. Ditto re: 77-year-old Donald Trump. America needs a 2024 version of Joe Morgan. A younger, fresher face.
And voters never lose their fastballs!
Sports Quiz
Who is the all-time winningest MLB manager? (Answer follows)
Born Today
That is to say, sports standouts born on September 7 include Hall of Fame NFL coach Paul Brown (1908). He was a longtime Cleveland Brown coach who later founded the Cincinnati Bengals.
Sports Quote
“The trick is growing up without growing old.” – longtime MLB manager Casey Stengel.
Sports Quiz Answer
Connie Mack won 3731 games as Athletics manager. He also lost 3,948 times.
State Representative Mike Moffett was a Sports Management Professor for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He coauthored the awardwinning “FAHIM SPEAKS: A WarriorActor’s Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back” which is available on Amazon. com. His e-mail address is mimoffett@comcast. net.
* * Additional Supply/book fee or pre-class requirement is additional in this course.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t include Facebook and its idiot authoritarian “fact-checkers.” Even though the World Health Organization says kids under 5 should not be required to wear masks, Facebook still censors science writer John Tierney for writing that forcing children to wear masks is unnecessary.
Masks, lockdowns and closing schools won’t stop COVID. We have to live with it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 96.7% of us now have some immunity through vaccines or prior infection. That probably means future infections will be less severe.
Still, COVID continues to kill some of us.
I’m skeptical of the anti-vax messages in my social media. Unvaccinated people are five times more likely to die. Vaccines are still the most effective way to protect ourselves.
I’m also skeptical of politicians eager to use force. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis forbade private businesses from requiring customers to wear masks or have vaccinations.
But I say privately owned should mean ... private. A store owner should be allowed to make his own choices. If customers don’t like a policy, there are lots of other businesses to patronize.
I confronted DeSantis about that:
Stossel: “If it’s my business, and I’m scared, and I want to have that, why can’t I?”
DeSantis: “You had some big corporations basically imposing Fauci-ism, vax mandates, mask mandates. ... So we barred (them).”
Stossel: “But if I have a candy store and want to say you have to stand
on your head to buy my candy ... “
DeSantis: “Yeah, but there’s certain business regulations that everyone’s gotta abide by ... “
Stossel: “I’m just surprised you’re pushing them.”
DeSantis: “Sometimes, you just gotta say, is this something that we want in our state at all? That’s how we’ve come down.”
That’s how we’ve come down? The politician decides for everyone?
I hate that tyranny, whether it comes from DeSantis, who had mostly sensible Covid policies, or from worse repressers like New York’s Andrew Cuomo and California’s Gavin Newsom.
We individuals should get to decide what’s best for us.
I’m 76. Nine in 10 COVID deaths happen people over 65.
So I’m glad I’ve been vaccinated. I’ll get the new booster this fall. I will wear a mask in crowded places when I travel to Chicago to speak at the Heartland Institute next week.
But that’s my choice. There’s a big difference between choice and force.
Individuals should decide, not politicians.
Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”
METZLER
from
forces are tasked to keep warring parties apart, ensure delivery of humanitarian supplies, but not to engage in offensive combat.
Peacekeeping missions are defined by an alphabet-soup of mission names such as UNIFIL the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon which though Interim, was actually set up in 1978. Or the more recent MONUSCO the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire) staffed by 17,700 troops and police. Nonetheless the varied Congo missions have been stationed in this tragic land since the 1960’s! Despite the UN presence internecine violence and humanitarian crises have plagued in the vast country; since 1998, over five million people have died as a result.
In other African crises such as Somalia, the UN closed its mission and is now phasing out its Mission in Mali. Others operations such as South Sudan with 18,000 forces or the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (only a bureaucrat could create this) with 18,500 forces have been reinforced.
Peacekeeping is hardly a panacea to entrenched political and ethnic problems but nonetheless stops the clock or freezes the conflict as we saw during the Balkan wars or Cyprus.
Missions must be formally established by the fifteen member UN Security Council. Currently the 75th anniversary of Peacekeeping is being commemorated; since 1948 more than 2 million people have served in 71 far-flung missions.
Beyond these deployed missions there are a number of simmering or long running conflicts such as Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan which beg for political solution. What of ethnic conflicts in Burma/Myanmar or Ethiopia?
Potential mega-conflicts such as China/ India, India/Pakistan, USA/China lurk in the geopolitical mists. There’s a historical lesson here too. The world peace which was dubbed Pax Romana, lasted for 200 years due to the Sword, the Shield
6
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that day, was that the American ideal of freedom would be made possible when “all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’”
Although our realities today are far different from August 1963 -certainly the material
state of Black Americans is far, far better -- there is a prevailing sense that things are not good.
If we take King’s words at face value, then it is questionable we have learned much since then.
When he spoke about failing to live up to the “magnificent words” of our founding documents, he got applause from the crowd.
It is questionable that would be the case today. Many on the left see our nation as
fundamentally flawed. They see government and politics as the answer, not individual freedom.
The nation’s deplorable fiscal situation today reflects this change in attitude. Government spending now takes two-thirds more from our national economy than when King spoke in 1963.
King’s appeal that the struggle take place “on the high plane of dignity” is also, sadly, lost. The divisions and hate between citizens today
are an unfortunate and troubling reality.
And, what should trouble us most, is we have moved in the opposite direction from King’s vision that ultimately our freedom will be realized as children of God.
The political left sees our future in socialism and secularism.
If, over the 60 years since King spoke, we pursued freedom in terms of personal responsibility, limited government and faith, we would be far, far
better off today.
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” Her recent book, “What Is the CURE for America?” is available now. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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THEME THIS WEEK: CITIES NEAR EQUATOR
OUR PICK FOR BEST CAPTION
Bob’s “Make My Day”
Home Alert system insures total security of all packages left.
-Robert Patrick, Moultonboro, NH.
Runners Up : Frank never needed to call the police, you can guess why! - Joe Vitali, Belmont, NH.
Evidently, the safety is off in this neighborhood.- Roger Dolan, Milford, Mass.
The photographer found the perfect spot for taking a great shot.
-Barbara Bowman, Franklin, NH.
CAPTION THIS PHOTO!!
Send your best brief caption to us with your name and location within 2 weeks of publication date... Caption Contest, The Weirs Times, P.O. Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 email to contest@weirs.com
