Most Upper Valley residents are familiar with Quechee Gorge, a majestic natural wonder carved out by the Ottauquechee River, and at 165 feet, the deepest natural gorge in the state. Ottauquechee means “swift mountain stream,” a name likely bestowed by the Abenaki people who first settled along the river.
The village of Quechee is one of five in the town of Hartford, but it has become an attractive tourist destination, not only because of the gorge and the state park, but for attractions like the restored covered bridge leading into the village, popular restaurants, diverse shops, and many outdoor recreation activities.
The gorge is also home to the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center and the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce, operating in partnership with Vermont State Parks, which operates the nearby Quechee State Park, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the 612-acre park and the building that houses the visitor center. Buzzing with activity seven days a week, the visitor center is a popular stop for tourists and locals who want to hike down to the dramatic gorge or view it from the adjacent bridge. According to the Vermont Tourism Office, the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center receives about 100,000 visitors each year.

The center in the fall.

The staff at the visitor center are already serving visitors from around the world, according to Nikki Bacon, the newest staff member at the center. “Already this year we’ve had visitors from 49 countries — the Congo, Austria, Pakistan, and people from countries all over Europe.” Most visitors who come through speak English, so the staff is able to share information and communicate effectively about the opportunities and attractions in the area. Among the most common questions the staff receives are “Where is the gorge?” and “How do we get to the gorge?” “Do we have to hike or can we use the bridge walkway?” The staff encourages visitors to cross the bridge for the best photo opportunities, but the hiking trail to the bottom of the gorge is accessible to all ages and abilities, including people with strollers and wheelchairs. “The state park staff does a tremendous job of maintaining the trail with hard pack surfacing and clear signage,” said Nikki.
The visitor center has numerous displays, including historical maps and displays of the Quechee Gorge over the years, and stories of the early mill days in Quechee showcasing the grain, lumber, cider, and textile mills that made uniforms for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, among many other products. Conservation efforts are also on display at the center, as well as photographs of the impact of hurricane Irene. Last year, the center began exhibiting artwork by Vermont artists along with handicrafts, Vermont-made food products, light refreshments, and sparkling clean public restrooms.

The visitor center receives about 100,000 visitors each year.

Overseeing the visitor center is Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce Director Havah Armstrong Walter, who was hired by the Chamber Board of Directors nearly three years ago. Originally from rural Maryland, Havah attended a summer language course at Middlebury College and was intrigued by the similarities between Vermont’s landscape and her grandparents’ farm in Maryland. “It was a really nice farming community where everyone helped each other out, and I had that same experience in Vermont with people helping me find a place to get flowers to decorate my room and taking me to special places like Texas Falls and Mozart in the Park. It was an incredible summer,” she said.
Havah returned to University of Pittsburgh where she was studying and shared her excitement with her fiance, and they made the move to Vermont, where she went on to earn a master’s degree in globalization at Dartmouth. Fully intending to work for international organizations like USAID, UNICEF, her path shifted as she realized she was fully immersed in her life in Hartford. “We felt very rooted in Vermont, and attached to our friends, neighbors, and the Sunrise Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program,” she said. “We knew farmers, artists, restaurant owners, and felt very integrated into the community.” Havah revised her plans and decided to “be of good use” locally instead of globally, and she and her husband elected to stay in Vermont and raise a family.

Patrons visiting the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center

Having lived in four out of the five villages in Hartford over her 26 years in the Upper Valley, Havah has held many leadership roles, including girl scout leader, cub scout den leader, and lacrosse club involvement to support her children. She also has been engaged in local and state communities by serving on the school board, a diversity and equity committee, the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, and providing nonprofit consulting services. “I enjoy helping very passionate organizations develop their expertise in friendraising and fundraising and expanding their impact,” she said.
Leading her own nonprofit, Start Change, connected Havah with a diverse array of leaders in the Hartford community, including area Chambers of Commerce with whom she partnered on marketing, stewardship, and networking to support her nonprofit consulting clients. In 2023 Havah was invited to apply for the Hartford Area Chamber Executive Director position, and was hired for the job.

Quechee Gorge Visitor Center Entrance Sign

Havah has overseen several initiatives that have had a positive impact on the Quechee Gorge Visitor Center. “We started with transitioning operations to a digital platform including banking, record keeping, and ticket sales for the Quechee Balloon Fest, which resulted in higher revenues.” In addition, shifting from volunteers at the visitor center to 100% paid staff has helped the center adjust to post-COVID staff coverage challenges. Training staff in professional tourism management skills has seen visitorship in the foliage season increase 15-20%. “Our staff has always excelled at customer service, and we have amazing volunteers,” she said. “I joke that one of the things I did here at the center is that ‘I girled it up a little bit’. We have our second artist in residence here this year exhibiting their work in the visitor center. M. Julian Isaacson of Stone Revival Gallery features stone carvings, and last year nature focused block printer Landa Townsend filled the role.”
The Quechee Gorge Visitor Center and the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce are evolving with the times and expanding their reach within the context of the ancient geology and ecology of Quechee Gorge by continuing to prioritize partnerships and collaborations. Said Havah, “We love to support small businesses and small business owners in our community in the way that they need through membership or simply representation.” And with that, let the summer begin! n

Did you know that community science nights happen every month at the Ottauquechee school? Activities are geared to elementary students to promote curiosity and interest in science.
These activities are organized and led by Dartmouth graduate students who are part of the SPARK @ Dartmouth outreach organization. This group is “passionate about expanding youth access to STEM education in the Upper Valley at an interactive and age-appropriate level. [They] collaborate with area elementary and middle schools to bring STEM to students, particularly for girls and under-represented and minority students.”

Students learned about biochemist Marie Daley’s discovery of the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease by making Blood Slime.

In February, activities highlighted some black scientists in honor of Black History Month. Among the many activities provided, students learned about biochemist Marie Daley’s discovery of the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease by making “blood slime.” They also learned about ophthalmologist Patricia Bath by navigating a laser image and modeling how eyes work. And, learning about the work of naval civil engineer Raye Montague, the students performed several experiments demonstrating the relationship between density and buoyancy.
Ottauquechee students who regularly attend the SPARK program were invited to a special event on February 3, at Dartmouth College, where they heard two former astronauts speak on “Launch to the NEXT Frontier.”

A SPARK @ Dartmouth graduate student with an educational display about ophthalmologist Patricia Bath, MD.

Mae Jemison and Jay Buckey spoke of their past NASA missions and what future exploration might hold. Jemison, a physician and engineer, was the first woman of color in space. She now leads 100 Year Starship, a nonprofit initiative seed-funded by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). Jay Buckey is a professor of medicine at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, where he leads the Space Medicine Innovations Laboratory.
Given the fickle temperatures of March, Community Science Night appropriately tackled the topic of weather. Students made weathervanes and wind chimes and studied the turbulence of thunderstorms.

Students learn about the work of naval civil engineer Raye Montague.

The Ottauquechee community is grateful to the Dartmouth graduate students who organize and create such engaging, hands-on activities to inspire, not only curiosity, but also love of science and mathematics.
Special thanks to Dartmouth graduate students
Engie Mostafa
Megan Doty
Camilla Bobrowicz
Adrianna Milton
Bess Jones
Amanda Cruz Rivera n

Winter was not a time of hibernation for the Quechee DEI Council. Several events kept the Quechee community awake, aware, and informed.

Mobocracy and Abolitionism in New Hampshire and Vermont

On January 28, the Council hosted Dan Billin, a New Hampshire historian and former news reporter, who spoke on “Mobocracy and Abolitionism in New Hampshire and Vermont.” Billin began his talk by reminding the audience how important it is “to keep DEI going in these times.”
Billin enumerated how racism was not a “Southern” issue, because slavery divided northerners from each other, as well. There was, he said, a wave of lawlessness in the 1830s throughout the country, and violence erupted against Catholics, Irish, and other minorities, but especially against Blacks. Lynchings were rampant, and there was a huge backlash against any abolitionist movements. The Upper Valley was hardly spared the violence. Woodstock, in fact, witnessed much racist violence. Abolitionist and Baptist minister Orson Murray was so threatened by racist mobs that he was unable to deliver a speech there.

More than 90 people attended the production of Letters from Anne and Martin.

Perhaps one of the most unfathomable events of the 1830s racism was the movement of an entire school of higher learning. In 1835, abolitionists founded Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, as a racially integrated school that also admitted women. The school opened in March of 1835, with seventeen African American students and twenty-eight white students. While the white students were from the local area, the Black students traveled far to attend. Several future and renowned abolitionists, such as Henry Highland Garnet, Julia Williams, and Alexander Crummell were among its first— and last — class. On July 4, 1835, only months after its inception, the townspeople of Canaan plotted the removal of Noyes Academy. On August 10, 1835, hundreds of white people, with hundreds of oxen, destroyed the school as they dragged it to the town common. Students had fled the night before.
In 1838, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech to the Young Men’s Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois, and issued “a stark rebuke to the to the dangers of mob violence and an enduring defense of the rule of law.” In that speech, Lincoln warned against “outrages committed by mobs … from New England to Louisiana.” Lincoln’s urgent response to the violence of “this mobocratic spirit” was for “every lover of liberty” to revive the laws of the nation.

Letters from Anne and Martin

Undeterred by winter, on February 22, 2026, the DEI Council hosted another free event for the community: Letters from Anne and Martin, a production of the Anne Frank Center, USA. Actors Julie Sandler as Anne Frank and Andrew Tejada as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., with moderator Deb Radloff, brought together dual monologues reflecting on confinement and injustice. Integrating excerpts from MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail with Anne Frank’s diary, the performers brought to life both writers’ impassioned pleas for hope, resistance, and justice.
In the after talk with the audience (ninety attended in person and twelve remote), the actors shared their own reactions to this profound re-enactment of the written words. Julie Sandler said, “Anne didn’t know what her end would be … activism is important even if we might not know where it will go … her diary ends with her thinking people want to be good.” Andrew Tejada reminded the audience that MLK and Anne Frank believed that “more people want to love than hate.”
Perhaps we can all reflect on Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s words to keep us keeping on: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only Love can do that.”

DE&I Council members at the Mobocracy and Abolitionism event.

Courageous Conversations

The DEI’s Courageous Conversations continued its book discussions for anyone interested, in person or remotely.
March and April discussions focused on the recently published book How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America by Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow. A book to be read by both the “DEI orthodox” and the “DEI non-believers,” the authors create bridges of communication to stem the flood of polarization. They look, for example, to Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress who allows for “imperfect allies.” Her pragmatic point is to get support where possible for “basic nondiscrimination protections” and for access to “medically necessary care.” Supporters needed for these measures “may oppose trans-people in participating in sports.” Be that as it may, McBride does not “dismiss them as bigots or remove them from our coalition.”
The authors urge equality advocates to make space for dialog with allies and doubters in order to hear their concerns. They agree with human rights advocate Suzanne Nossel who writes in her book, Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All, “concerns of diversity and inclusion can — and must — be reconciled with robust protections for speech.” While those concerned for diversity and inclusion worry about how speech can harm members of marginalized groups, those whose concerns are about free speech worry about stifling of “authentic self-expression.” Yet Nossel’s point (and the authors’) is that speech and equality most often work together. Speaking inclusively can make it possible for everyone to be heard. Yoshino and Glasgow assert the “marriage between equality and free speech needs to become a rallying cry for the new era of equality work.” The attorney authors remind us that changing unjust laws can be a long process. Thurgood Marshall led the way in how to pragmatically overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision that said segregated schools were separate but equal. He did this little by little, with stepping stone cases that showed how wrong this decision was.
There is no room for cynicism in the path toward justice. Yoshino and Glasgow exhort us not to collapse into fatalism but to follow Dr King’s words: “accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”

Upcoming Activities

Abenaki Garden
Earl Hatley, who has been a major creator of the Abenaki Garden, reports there was a successful community fundraiser last fall, which will help defray the cost of maintaining the garden. There will be new plantings of pawpaw and butternut trees, wild plum, ground nuts, service berries, and guild plants. There are also plans for more varieties of the “three sisters” (corn, beans, and squash), sunflowers, ground cherries, sunchokes, and bush beans. “Provided the woodchuck stays out of the way, we should have a plentiful harvest to feed our needy Abenaki families, and continue building our stock of seeds for future giveaways. … This is a community effort to help Abenaki feed Abenaki while teaching our agricultural and cultural practices and history,” said Hatley.
For more information and/or to sign up for work day announcements and updates go to AbenakiGarden.org.

Annual Frederick Douglass Fourth of July speech
On July 4, 2026, the DEI Council, in partnership with the Quechee Library, will present its annual reading of Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” at the gazebo on the Quechee Green. Kent and Amy Hikida attended this even last year, and Kent noted how moving the reading was. The reading on the Green led Kent to bring the production of Letters from Anne and Martin to Quechee!
This year’s event will include the presentation of a $1,000 scholarship to the winner of the Declaration of Interdependence Essay contest. Sponsored by the Quechee DEI Council and the Quechee Library, the scholarship competition invites Hartford High School juniors and seniors to reflect on what freedom, responsibility, and civic life mean today. Students are asked to create their own Declaration of Interdependence “that shows how your voice, talents, and actions can help shape the future of democracy.”

When spring arrives in Quechee and the snow finally melts, I can walk my dog up the steep hill behind my house on High Street to the Hilltop Cemetery. The majestic trees, naked without their leaves, allow a view of Quechee Village and the Ottauquechee River below.
I can see past the covered bridge and the Meeting House cupola to the passing traffic on Route 4. I can see the waterfall that once powered the textile mill. I can see the barber shop where Ann welcomes one and all, and I can see my neighbor Rob as he chops and stacks firewood. I wave and shout out a greeting, but he’s focused on his chores, and the rush of the river drowns out the words.

Chris Denton

Standing in the cemetery with this storybook view, I think about the past buried with each headstone, family names and stories married to the soft earth. These are the roots of the Quechee community in physical form. I am interested in other people’s roots, likely because I have struggled with my own. Until now I’ve stayed on the move, chasing new assignments and new adventures. But geographic cures don’t work, the old timers say — “wherever you go, there you are.” Hilltop Cemetery invites this sort of thinking. My dog tilts her head at me, and we head back down the hill.
I came to the Upper Valley to be closer to my partner’s family. He had put up with my distant duty-stations and long hours, and it was time to reciprocate. From our small house on High Street, I set out to find places with deep roots in the community, and in short order discovered nearby spots including a coffee shop, barber shop, historic restaurant, and local bookstore.
All these places seemed to be frequented by common sense locals and outgoing visitors, and the conversations in the barber’s chair or at the restaurant bar all moved to the beat of the inevitable seasons, which served as a kind of metronome for the community. I learned a lot about how to properly tap a sugar-maple, for example, and the utility of the wood stove (necessary, not decorative).
The Prince and Pauper restaurant in Woodstock was the sort of place where, each time I visited, I was certain it would be the last. It reminded me of a charming coastal restaurant that dodges hurricanes year after year while storm clouds loom. The fleeting intimacy heightened the experience. My first time at the restaurant, I sat alone at the bar, and it didn’t take long for Clemens, the long-time bartender, to coax me into conversation with the regulars as he stood behind the cozy nook of a bar and shook martinis. I listened as a couple described coming to Woodstock every winter, and how each visit to the restaurant was celebrated like an anniversary, as they were married in the small dining room.

The Prince and the Pauper in Woodstock closed on March 14 after 51 years in business.

A block down the street is a 90-year-old bookstore where I found a Vermont-inspired cookbook with an ice cider pork chop recipe. Before living in Quechee, my culinary expertise began and ended with the takeout menu. But our local farmers market carries the specific cider and beautiful pork chops, and now that cider has been a mainstay in our house since its discovery. At my local barber shop, Ann patiently describes the process of sugaring and other Vermont chores and traditions. It was in that barber chair where I would learn that Chef Brad had moved on from his food truck to explore the National Parks (before they disappeared, he told me). I recognized that Quechee was tied to the seasons in a way that seemed foreign to me as a Floridian.
You see, in Florida we tame the environment, cooling the air for comfort and dredging up sand to “nourish” the beaches. In Quechee, on the other hand, there’s more of a gritty coexistence with the natural environment. Accepting the seasons as they come brings a kind of resilience, and a connection to the land and each other.

Hilltop Cemetery

Back on High Street, I am growing into my own feeling of rootedness. I can hear the nearby waterfall, reminding me that the river and the seasons keep flowing, so maybe I don’t need to move as much. I look forward to new local restaurants and cafes, the next conversation that yields a nugget of wisdom, and the discovery of more quintessential Vermont recipes.. As the sun sets at the Hilltop Cemetery, I wonder, can it be that my wandering days are over?

“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

“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

2025 is coming to a close, and now, more than ever before, I feel the pull to go inward and reflect on where we are, where we have come from and where we are heading. “We” means ‘me’ and it also means the collective human ‘we’. Even Scrooge saw the light and drew some important lessons on how to take stock (albeit the hard way!) of his life and began to let gratitude, joy and generosity guide him.

Quechee Lakes creator, John Davidson, always envisioned a
snowy scene with horse-drawn wagons.

Despite the prevailing messages in the airwaves highlighting our apparent irreconcilable, conflicting differences, essentially all humans want the same things. Thus the reason ‘words of wisdom’ and clichés exist – because they often ring universally true for every human. So, please view the cliché sprinkles and (mixed) metaphors as words of wisdom meant to connect us – the cherry on top, so to speak!

Personally, like many people around the world, I sense the darkness that seems to hang over almost all corners of the globe. It’s easy to get caught up in the negativity, the name-calling, the shouting matches, the violence we witness multiple times a day on mainstream media. What’s much harder, but much healthier, is to just stop the rain from falling on you. Put up your umbrella, close your windows, batten down the hatches. Shield yourself from the pelting negativity that wears down your joie de vivre. As individuals, we have the power to focus on what’s good and what’s working, and to clear away the clouds so the sun may shine brightly on all of the good that happens everywhere, every day.

Mrs. Fogg’s answer in 1973 Quechee Times.

This is my “why” for Greater Good Media, and the reason I make sure that each of my papers publishes stories that uplift and inspire. The mission is to focus on all that’s good at the local level and then let the laws of physics take it from there. Pretty soon, the positive energy created through the good-news stories will emanate out generating a ripple effect that grows exponentially. Or, like the butterfly effect, by highlighting one small flutter of community kindness here, positive change may be felt in much bigger ways in a distant land.

We can be the change we want to see. And, in this season of slowing down, gathering together and taking stock, we absolutely can tune out the noise, shift our priorities and give peace a chance.

Awe

It’s time to witness and immerse yourself in moments of pure “awe.” One of the best ways to do this is to actually stop and smell the roses or marvel at what’s right in front of you. In those moments, all is calm and all is truly bright.

When you see a sunset as awe-inspiring and beautiful as this one pictured here (as seen from a window in a Ridge condo), you cannot help but stare in silence at the miracle that is before you. A deep sense of gratitude envelops your being – you’re grateful for the privilege of living in this beautiful part of the world… in this community. You’re grateful for the people in your life who may be sharing this moment of beauty with you. You are grateful for being alive on this extraordinary planet during this incredible time in human history.

Jennifer Lorin (MacMillen) was the snowfl ake in the Christmas production at the Quechee Grammar School in 1974 (now the UV Waldorf School).

Gratitude

Santa visits Quechee

Which brings me to gratitude. Last night, I watched a documentary called Gratitude Revealed by filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg (who also produced Fantastic Fungi). Essentially, the film “reveals how practicing gratitude can help us reconnect with ourselves, the Earth, and one another in a world where disconnection often prevails. It reminds us that happiness is a choice we can nurture.” (Gaia TV)

As you gather together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, or any other holiday and tradition you celebrate throughout the year, remind yourself that happiness is a choice. Now a cliché clarion call, allowing yourself to feel truly grateful for what you have in this moment, even in times of darkness, you will feel your flicker of light and hope emerge and, if you continue to fan the flame of gratitude moment by moment, you will become the light that brings people back to safety…back home. And what can invoke a greater feeling of personal happiness and contentment than to be a beacon of light for others!

Working Together and Sharing for the Common Good

And it’s true: these times feel like we are on a rickety wooden ship in the middle of the ocean with an ominous, powerful storm a-brewing. Dark clouds, high winds, nothing stable to hold onto; uncertain future. But, the good news is, when we have all hands on deck and we pull together and balance our weight, we can right the ship and be ready to recalibrate our course when the storm passes. And the storm always passes.

Joy

Dalai Lama, Doug Abrams, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

What is joy? It can easily be mistaken for the fun times we have or the thrill of experiencing or receiving something new. But, in fact, those are just dopamine hits. Joy is that feeling in your chest when your heart is open and fear is at bay and you can be vulnerable and feel safe at the same time. It’s in these moments when generosity can flow through us. And, in order to have joy yourself, you must bring joy to others. Or so says His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

One of the best books I’ve ever listened to is called the Book of Joy wherein journalist and author Doug Abrams reveals what joy really looks like in his conversations with these two Nobel Prize winners about how they cultivated joy even in the face of extreme adversity. If you need some help reclaiming joy this holiday season, listen to this book and be prepared for your heart to fill up and overflow!

Peace

The ultimate cliché is revealed by the fact that practically every pageant queen ever asked says that their one greatest wish is for “peace on Earth.” Why is that? Because who doesn’t want peace on Earth? It’s time to bring that back and make it everyone’s greatest wish. It’s time to make Peace On Earth our top priority. It’s time to shine the light on all the good. It’s time to call out and celebrate every act of kindness. It’s time to catch our kids doing what’s “right” (and just). It’s time to be the change we want to see in the world.

Left: Dewey & Maisie, the author’s daughters, 1999. Center: Jen & Andy (right), 1968. Right: Andy Lorin had a degenerative disease that would never allow him to drive, so Santa gave him a go-cart. There wasn’t a dry eye as we witnessed his pure elation when seeing the surprise “under the tree.”

So, as we head into this season of stillness and chaos, joy and stress, love and madness… all of it, stop to reflect and smell the roses (and pine needles)…

Let’s find magic in gathering together again. Let’s feel awe in this season of stillness. Let’s be grateful for being alive. Let’s feel joy as we witness innocence and pure delight in the faces of our collective children, and let’s then radiate that joy out to the world. Let there be peace on Earth. And let it begin with me.

In 1995 I went to the ER with a kidney stone.  When asked about my family medical history, I was truly at a loss for words.  I had no idea about my biological family.  My little sister, Kate, and I were adopted by the Schmidts when I was six.  Their biology was not my biology.  I knew I had to go looking for the Sullivans.

Mark Sullivan and his wife Nancy Curtis on Quechee Highland #8

I had started school, kindergarten, as Mark Sullivan.  Kate and I had lived with several different families in foster care, but I had vague memories of a young boy, a brother perhaps, and I making cinnamon toast, and making a mess in the process.  I knew I was born in Batavia, NY on October 20, 1955, and – through a background check for a military security clearance – I’d been told that our mother died young, our father was unable to care for us, and we were put up for adoption.  End of story.

Adoption records in New York state are sealed, and it takes an Act of God to unseal them.  I knew that birth announcements were printed in daily newspapers.  Through my college classes, including media law, I also knew the government could not erase what had been printed in the newspaper.  Many libraries keep archives of newspapers, so I called the Richmond Library in Batavia New York and asked if they kept copies of old newspapers.  The answer was yes!  I asked the librarian if she could send me copies of my birth announcement and my sister’s birth announcement.  She agreed, and a few days later I nervously opened the envelope that arrived from the Library.

Kate, Carol, and Mark 1960

The announcement said that I was the son of Patricia Ronan Sullivan and John Joseph Sullivan.  Clues! There are probably hundreds of thousands of John Joseph Sullivans in the world, but there are far fewer Ronans.  My then-fiancé, now wife, Nancy Curtis, a budding internet researcher got online (dial-up at that time) and searched for Ronans in Batavia.  She came up with one, Bernard.  Number in hand, I nervously called Bernard Ronan.

“Mr. Ronan,” I said, “my name is Mark Schmidt, I am calling from Tampa, Florida, and I’m not selling anything.  I was born in Batavia and was later adopted.  I have just learned that my mother’s name was Patricia Ronan Sullivan.  Does that name mean anything to you?”  He replied, “No, I’m sorry, it doesn’t.  But I’m not from here.  Let me get you the number of Thomas Ronan who is a Batavia native.”  I thanked him, he wished me luck, and I was on to the next call. “May I speak with Thomas Ronan?”  I asked.  “Junior or Senior?” the voice responded.  “Senior, I suppose.”  “This is Thomas Senior.”  I went through my dialogue.  “Does this name mean anything to you?”  There was a pause.  He said, “Yes, Pat was my sister, and we’ve been looking for you for twenty-five years.”  I had found them!!  He continued, “Your brother, Jim, is going to go out of his mind.”  I had a brother!  Three telephone calls and I had found my family!  Though, only half of it, so far.

Thomas explained that Jim was an over-the-road truck driver and would not be at home, but his then fiancé, now wife, Karen, would get the message to him.  Phone call number four, message left on an answering machine.  “My name is Mark Schmidt and if you’re wondering why you should call me back, I’m your brother.”

I was on the phone with a client when Jim called back.  Nancy answered and chatted with him.  He shared that he’d gotten a message to call home, which was unusual.  Karen would only reach out while he was driving if it was an emergency.  He pulled off the road and called home.  Karen said, “Your brother called.”  Jim responded, “what does Donnie want now??” thinking it was his troubled younger brother.  Karen replied, “Not Donnie.  Mark.”  There was silence.  Jim, who is never at a loss for words, was speechless.  “Mark?” he croaked.  “Where is he?  Do you have a number?”

Jim, Jack, and Mark in 1996

“My heart is beating so hard I think it’s going to jump out of my chest,” Jim told Nancy.  She explained to Jim the recent circumstances, trip to the ER, call to the librarian, birth notice, Bernard Ronan, and the conversation with Uncle Tom.  When I got off my call, I took Jim’s call, for the next hour and one-half.  Two days later, Jim, driving the cab of a semi-rig, showed up at our home for a long-awaited reunion.

Nancy asked Jim about “cinnamon toast.”  He burst out laughing.  “We made such a mess, and got into so much trouble!”  “But,” he added, “it was worth it!”

I always wondered who I looked like.  Now I had an idea.  Jim was taller, we both had the same blue eyes. (I have more hair, and am more handsome.)  While I had more “formal” education, Jim is no slouch in the intellect department.  He’d enlisted in the Marines after high school, studied engineering, and wanted to become a doctor so he could “fix” his mother.

Jim stayed overnight, and had arranged to pick up a trailer in the area (long-haul trucker-speak for driving a truck full of whatever from Point-A to Point-B.)   His visit was the tip of the iceberg.  In addition to Jim, I had two half-sisters and a half-brother, whose father was not John Sullivan.  So, my mother had not died when I was young.  Instead, on the day that Children and Family Services took Kate and I, Jim was over at Grandfather Ronan’s house, and the younger children were with their biological father, otherwise they, too, would have gone into foster care.

I asked Jim about our father, John Sullivan. He shared that he had been taught to hate him.  Our mother, Pat, said he was a terrible person and didn’t care about his children, and he’d abandoned them.  We were soon to learn the truth of it all.

Mark and Jim in 1995

Jim knew that John Sullivan, called Jack by friends and family, had been born in Manhattanville, NY and had a twin brother.  Nancy scoured databases, sent out hundreds of emails to Sullivans in New York, but no leads surfaced.  I read online about a couple who helped adoptees find their families.  She was an adoptee, and he was a private detective.  I reached out to them with the information I had available, and a few hours later received a call.  They had found Jack, retired from the telephone company, and living in Diana, Texas, a small East Texas town, with the closest airport in Shreveport, Louisiana.

I was back on the telephone, with the same dialogue, Mark Schmidt, Tampa, FL, not selling anything… only this time I said, “I am your son.”  “My prayers have been answered,” Jack responded.  “I have liver cancer, and was supposed to be dead by now.  I have been praying to find you and Jim, and your sister, Kate.”

A few days later, I landed at the Shreveport Airport, and in the waiting room I saw myself staring back at me, albeit older and jaundiced from liver failure, but me, same eyes, height, hair, bone structure.  Now I knew who I looked like.  And the flood gates opened…

Sullivans!!  Who knew how many there would be?  Uncles, an aunt, a hoard of cousins, all with the same eyes, and dry sense of humor.  Warm and welcoming, as if we’d spent our lives together.  Jack had a twin brother, Tim, [who was] retired from the NYPD as a motorcycle cop.  He and his wife, a nurse, had six children, biological and adopted, who were all in law enforcement and healthcare.  All in the New York City area.

Jack in 1996

Then there were the “Texas Sullivans.”  Jack had been married several times, currently to number three, and had four children from those relationships, two biological and two adopted.  I needed a genealogical chart! The Christmas card list just increased by about fifty.

Jim arrived in Texas for Father’s Day weekend. I stayed home because Jim had history with Jack that needed to be discussed between the two of them.  When Jim inquired about why Jack abandoned them, Jack was hesitant to share his version of the story.  “Your mother isn’t here to defend herself, so I’m not comfortable talking about it,” Jack told Jim.  “But I never forgot you. I sent presents at Christmas, and cards for your birthdays.”  Jim was surprised, as he’d never received any of them.  Jim was finally successful in persuading Jack to tell his version of the story.

Jack had come home one evening from work and found his belongings on the porch.  Pat had met someone “more interesting” and that was Jack’s invitation to go away.  He went to see her father for some guidance, but was told, “She’s made her decision.  You need to leave.”  So, he left, and they divorced.  But he’d never forgotten his children, Jim and Mark, and Kate, whom he acknowledged as his, even though she was dark-eyed and looked nothing like the rest of the Sullivans.

Sadly, Jack died two months later.  Jim and I were both there for the service. We’d had the opportunity to put the missing pieces of our lives together, and were grateful for the time we’d had with our father, even though it was brief.  I now had a biological family!  And my own family medical history as a bonus!

Mark Sullivan and Nancy Curtis are Florida residents who spend Hurricane Season (May-November) in Quechee.  They enjoy travel, Quechee Lakes’ two challenging golf courses, and Mark appreciates a “good cigar and a friendly round of poker.”

Publisher’s Note: “Wisdom Stories” is an ongoing column featuring the life, times, and wisdom of Theron Boyd, a Quechee old timer in the 1970s, as told by an unlikely best friend, Chris Clark, a teenager at the time. If you have any ‘Theron’ stories you would like to contribute, contact the Quechee Times at editor@quecheetimes.com.

Theron Boyd

Fifty years ago, our great nation was preparing to celebrate its Bicentennial. The air was filled with excitement – news of the Tall Ships touring the East Coast and mooring in Newport for the Fourth of July, parades marching through the streets, fireworks lighting up the summer sky. After years of protest and division over forced busing in Boston and the unpopular war in Vietnam, I remember feeling a renewed sense of patriotism, an awakening of unity after long discord.

My mother had remarried and moved to Rhode Island. She urged me to leave Quechee and come visit to see the Tall Ships, promising it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. She was right, of course, but I decided to stay in Vermont.

At sixteen, I was tapped into the Vermont life and drew from it like a sugar maker draws sap from a maple – an endless flow of inspiration running through the flues of my young imagination.

In the three years I had known Theron, I had grown to love his way of breaking into song – an Indian maiden named Red Wing, The Ballad of Barbara Fritchie waving her flag at General Stonewall Jackson, or his powerful recitation of The Gettysburg Address. If you closed your eyes, you could almost believe Abraham Lincoln himself was speaking from the back of a train.

I found many old poetry books in the abandoned buildings of Quechee. I fell in love with reading poems and hearing them read aloud, and soon I was encouraged to write my own.

I remember sitting in a booth at my dad’s restaurant, The Food Caboose, at the Gorge. Hugh Laughlin, from Scotland By The Yard, was there and asked what I was working on. I told him I was trying to write a poem about Theron Boyd. “What do you see?” he asked. “Circles,” I said. “Where?” he asked. “Around the old man’s eyes.” He smiled. “Keep going.”

My high school English teacher, Bob Velleca, read my poem and, without telling me, submitted it to a national poetry contest for the Bicentennial. I had no idea until it was announced that Circles had won.

The poem was published in Young America Sings, a national anthology, and placed into the time capsule inside the Washington Monument in 1976.

Theron was deeply touched that our poem had been recognized. He encouraged me to keep reciting Circles and to continue writing the Vermont poems and songs that flowed from those early days.

Now, fifty years later, I’m still writing – and it’s comforting to know that a small piece of Quechee history, and of Theron Boyd himself, rests sealed in time, beneath the stone of the Washington Monument.

Circles

Circles around an old man’s eyes,
That meet at a line
When he squints in the sun,
Are circles of knowledge
And a time gone by.
He whittled the cheese with a rusty old knife,
Told tales of an early life,
Enticed my imagination with the words he spoke
of how the fields were plowed with an ox and yoke.
Circles round an old man’s eyes,
That meet at a line
When he squints in the sun
Are circles of knowledge
And a time gone by.
I sat, he talked and reminisced,
Felt cheated of those days I had missed.
Circles around an old man’s eyes…
~ Chris Clark , Quechee, Vermont, 1976