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

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

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

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

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

First baseman, Ryan Preisano (Wake Forest), catches the ball for an out

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

AJ Brotz (Marist University) talks with a young fan

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

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

Rhys Anderson (Wabash College) wearing the Nighthawks mascot leads a between-inning
footrace

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

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

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

Congrats

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

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

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

Spring is here, at least on the calendar. Nothing says spring quite like getting on your bike, filling your lungs with fresh air, and watching the Upper Valley scenery roll by. If you’re looking for motivation to jump start your spring exercise routine, joining a fun group and a worthy cause might help keep you on track.

Quechee’s Andy Clark has just the thing. Last year, Clark organized the inaugural Upper Valley Bike to End Alzheimer’s team as a way to build support for the annual Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s. He was among 15 riders — seven from Quechee — who biked a picturesque route along the Connecticut River on a spectacular fall day. Together they raised more than $3,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association while sharing their stories and honoring loved ones with the disease.

Andy Clark and Sarah Pushee with Jeremy from Omer & Bobs

Clark is no stranger to biking for good. Following the lead of his father, Ed, who initially got him in to biking (he still has the bike his dad gave him in high school), Clark started participating for rides to benefit cancer and MS. When a friend’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he joined a Bike to End Alzheimer’s event in his then-hometown in central Massachusetts. The following year, Ed was diagnosed with the disease.

Call to Action

It was devastating for Clark to see someone who was so verbal and engaged withdraw. “I wanted to do something as a way to honor him and raise money for something,” Clark recalled.

Ed’s motto had always been “If it is to be, it’s up to me,” so his son doubled down on the ride, creating a team called “Doin’ It for Our Folks” with fellow riders and making it an annual tradition. “Doing something to combat the disease became an absolute must. It was a way to release energy from the anger you feel with this,” explained Clark.

Ed passed away in 2014, and since then Clark has only built on his efforts. Since moving to Quechee, he’s also joined the Upper Valley Cycling Club and built a pack of biking pals.

Last year, they joined forces with the Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s, an Upper Valley tradition that has grown to 650 people from New Hampshire and Vermont communities. The 2025 walk raised more than $190,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association to fund free services, education, and research aimed at treating and preventing Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Riding on Hope

Mike and Sarah Burke

The impact of the disease is devastating, affecting nearly 7 million people in the U.S., and impacting their 12 million unpaid caregivers, who are mostly family. In New Hampshire and Vermont alone, close to 40,000 people are living with the disease.

The numbers are sobering, but the events also exude a new sense of optimism, thanks to a better understanding and sense of agency around the disease. Walks like these help fund the advances. As of now, 14 modifiable lifestyle factors have been identified that together can dramatically reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia. Research breakthroughs have also brought treatments that slow disease progression and diagnostic tools to identify dementia and brain disease earlier and more easily.

Among the key prevention factors are exercise and social connection. The ride hits on both. On the morning of September 27, the riders assembled in the Park and Ride lot in Lyme. Clark introduced himself and the crew, then briefly told his story while holding up a picture of Ed, his inspiration. From there, the group (all wearing some purple, the color of Alzheimer’s awareness) pedaled north to Orford, across to Fairlee, down to Thetford, then back across to Lyme. From there the 20-mile route headed back to Lyme, while the 30-mile route continued south on River Road then back to Lyme on Route 10. The “no drop ride” meant no one was left behind. It included two major stops — nine miles in at the Fairlee green, and 17 miles in Cedar Circle — where riders enjoyed coffee and snacks while sharing their personal stories and reasons for riding.

A COMMON THREAD

Everyone in the group has been touched by it in some way, and some in many ways. Sarah Pushee’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s (before age 65) in 2015. Pushee, who had a full-time job and two small children at the time, had to quit her job to care for her. Her life turned upside down. Shortly after her mother passed away in 2019, Pushee got back to work by opening a bike shop. Then, in 2024 her dad got simultaneously diagnosed with A-Fib and vascular dementia. He went into delirium and died 30 days later.

“It was very traumatic,” said Pushee of the experience of seeing both parents taken by the disease. When Pushee first attended a Walk, she found it emotionally overwhelming. The biking felt more intimate, so she signed up. “The whole small, casual nature of it was really, really nice, and the pace was pretty amazing,” says Pushee. The “no drop” format, in addition to being inclusive, allowed people to talk and share their stories along the way. Alzheimer’s is notoriously isolating, so connecting with people who have had similar experiences is especially refreshing.

“For me, personally, [Alzheimer’s] was such a traumatizing experience,” explained Pushee. “Just being around other people, knowing that I don’t have to hurt alone, that I’m not the only person who’s had these really difficult experiences, and that there are other people who have tons of hope with life … there’s something to take from that.”

The bike team with the Alzheimer’s dinosaur

Pushee had found herself caught up thinking that the disease — which afflicted both parents and her aunt — was her inevitable fate. She felt powerless to fight her odds. That’s changed, however, as she has embraced the building evidence that lifestyle factors like exercise, social connection, whole foods, and sleep allow you to be more proactive in bringing down your risk.

“None of those three people at 50 years old rode their bike as much as I do,” she noted.

A post-ride celebration at Stella’s capped off the event and took care of any unfinished chatting. Most of the bike team, including Pushee, joined Clark on October 27 at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, again carrying their team poster.

The $3,000 the group raised for the Alzheimer’s Association exceeded their goal for the inaugural ride. “As importantly,” said Clark, “we helped raise awareness about this devastating disease.”

Clark hopes more people will join the team to ride in 2026, and perhaps become like the Upper Valley Row to End Alzheimer’s that has grown from 12 people to 150 people in the past five years.

Get more info on the walk or sign up at: act.alz.org/uppervalley

This edition of Wisdom Stories arrives in a milestone year: our Semiquincentennial.

If you prefer Bisesquicentennial — or, for that matter, Sestercentennial — those work, too. But for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it America 250.

We are officially 250 years into this great experiment in democracy.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how fortunate we were that our Founding Fathers and the framers of the Constitution had Crazy King George III as a cautionary example of what unchecked power looks like. Having lived under the rule of a “Mad King,” they built safeguards into the system to protect the nation. They also knew well the excesses symbolized by King Louis XIV’s gilded palaces.

This may be the year we learn just how well those safeguards hold.

*******

Quechee is home to one of the most historically significant wooden structures of the Revolutionary period.

The Theron Boyd Homestead was built ten years after the American Revolution and five years before Vermont achieved statehood. The house has endured Vermont’s brutal winters and the shifting tides of economic change, shrinking from an original 500 acres to the 35 acres it sits on today.

Built by the son of the Burch family — the first settlers of Hartland — the homestead once served as a stagecoach stop. It is said that settlers bound for South Pomfret spent the night there before continuing on to establish the town. At its height, the property was a thriving hill farm, producing crops, Merino sheep, Morgan horses, Durham cattle, and copious amounts of maple sugar.

It’s easy to imagine how welcome the glow of a lantern through twelve-by-twelve windows must have been to weary travelers — after days jolting along in a stagecoach, braving brutal winter weather and the uncertainties of the frontier.

*******

Theron Boyd making dinner

The Udall family purchased the farm at the turn of the 19th century and, in 1830, added the brick ell at the rear of the house. Originally two stories tall, the ell reportedly served as dormitories for Vermont’s first agricultural school.

By the 1860s, the home had become part of the Underground Railroad. Runaway slaves were hidden in a honeycombed chimney concealed behind a picture.

The Cowdry family acquired the property in the late 1800s, and in 1901, Theron Boyd was born in the home.

*******

In the early 1970s, John Davidson — the visionary behind the Quechee Lakes development — approached Theron about purchasing the farm. According to Theron, Davidson offered him one million dollars for land he intended to use to raise three horses.

Theron’s response was unforgettable. He told Davidson that he didn’t know whether Davidson was “a damn fool, or thought I was one,” and then ordered him off the land.

With that moment, Theron Boyd became a symbol of resistance — and a Vermont folk hero. He was featured in the documentary So Goes Vermont, which played twice daily in Montpelier. As National Geographic later observed, this was a time when Vermonters were sharply divided: those determined to preserve the past, and those eager to subdivide the future.

Theron’s position was never in doubt.

*******

I began writing this piece on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and it stirred memories of my first Black friend, Carter Crosby.

Carter lived in the Columbia Point housing projects in Roxbury and was part of the METCO program that bused underprivileged city kids into suburban schools. He became my classmate — and my friend — at Scituate Junior High.

One weekend, Carter came to Quechee with me. We had an incredible time. He had never been north of Boston before.

Theron had had little, if any, interaction with Black people. He was shy at first, but he was eager to show Carter the hidden entrance — the hole you climbed into — where enslaved people once hid while traveling north on the Underground Railroad.

What I wouldn’t give to have a photograph of Carter emerging from that hideaway.

*******

As America turns 250, it is worth remembering that our history is not only written in founding documents or court decisions, but in places like this — farmhouses that stood their ground, hidden spaces carved out of necessity, and quiet acts of resistance passed down through memory.

Democracy, like the Boyd homestead, endures not because it is untouched by time, but because generation after generation chooses to protect what matters. Sometimes that protection looks like saying no to power. Sometimes it looks like opening a door — or revealing a hidden one — and inviting someone else inside.

**************

HOME

By Christopher Casey Clark

Home
has been now for over 80 years
I’ve worn a path to my room,
up narrow wooden stairs

In my old bed,
I lay my head in the company.
of a fading memory
of how it used to be,
long years ago
in this home…

Winter winds whip thru the
clapboards
they nestle in my bone
but the worst thing about this place
is living here alone
but please don’t take me
from the secrets the walls have
compiled
for they are my everything,
without them
I’m a King exiled
this big old house t’wernt built
to be lived in alone
but it’s all I’ve got
it’s my home.

Alone,
have been now for over 50 Years
the growing fears,
the Christmas cheers
spent on my own

You’d think with all these empty rooms
there would be someone here with me,
but it seems long ago the discovered
a need for electricity

I have seen Vermont’s slow but sure demise
Generations grow weak while they grow wise

No you can’t take me,
from the secrets the walls have
compiled
They are my everything
without them
I’m a King exiled
This big old house Twernt built to be lived in alone
50 Years on my own

It could barely hold out the weather
If the truth be known
But it held my world together
It’s my Home

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Celebrating their first book event at the Quechee library
September 16, 2026.

This quote by MLK Jr. is as timely now as it was decades ago. Are you upset by current events in our country? Does consuming the news evoke anger and make you want to shut it off? Have your relationships with friends or family been negatively affected by politics? Do you feel helpless to do anything about it?

Since 2017, I’ve volunteered with Braver Angels, a national citizens movement that brings Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic. We envision an America where we embrace rather than avoid political disagreements, recognizing that competing perspectives strengthen our nation. Embracing values of curiosity, humility, honesty, and respect, our goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other.

Participants from our Sharon VT Braver Angels workshop and book discussion held at Sharon Elementary School on January 17, 2026.

I’ve moderated Braver Angels workshops for community members and for elected officials in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. When invited by Doug Teschner, the Braver Angels New England Regional Leader, to co-author Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to build Positive Relationships in Divided Times, I took a leap of faith and said “Absolutely!”

Beth and Doug at Norwich bookstore November 4, 2025.

Since our book was released in September 2025, it’s been an incredible adventure meeting people in Vermont, New Hampshire, and beyond at book events, talking with them about themes affecting our country right now, and offering solutions. I’m immensely grateful to contribute in this way to our culture. Examples of comments I’ve heard (with my suggested responses):

• “I haven’t talked with my sister since the last election. I miss seeing her, and my nephews and nieces. What can I do to repair our relationship?” (Start by letting her know how much you care about her before you venture into politics.)
• “I can’t sleep after watching the evening news.” (As a neurology sleep specialist, counseling people to stop “doomscrolling” before bed has become a routine recommendation that I give patients.)
• “I’m a proud activist speaking up for the injustice I see in our country. How can I talk to ‘those people’ when the world is on fire?” (Engaging with others across differences is how we put the fire out.)

Quechee library crowd January 22, 2026.

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

Beth and Doug at Quechee library with Michaela,
September 16, 2026.

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

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

Resources:

Braver Angels: braverangels.org. In addition to local workshops in the Upper Valley, we have many online workshops. All are free. Contact bethmalow@gmail.com for more information.

Beyond the Politics of Contempt website: beyondthepoliticsofcontempt.com has sample chapters, a book discussion guide, author bios, and more.

Free Substack Newsletter, Together Across Differences: togethernow.substack.com