Don’t forget to get your tickets to see Dark Star Orchestra to benefit the Rusty Berrings Skatepark in memory of Tyler Kirschner.

Dark Star Orchestra recreates set lists from some of the most legendary Grateful Dead shows in the Dead’s 30 years of touring. If you’ve ever wondered why the fans were/are so loyal to what the Dead was offering, you now have a chance to experience what it was like to be in an intimate venue, with a couple thousand of your now closest friends (because that’s what seems to happen), and just let the music carry the evening. When the seven members of DSO play, they remind us that the music never stopped and it definitely isn’t stopping any time soon.

“Quite possibly the most talented and accomplished tribute band out there…they’ve definitely mastered their inspiration’s vagabond nature.”

-Rolling Stone 

Help keep the Rusty Berrings Skatepark, located at the Riverside Community Park in Lebanon, a permanent and free recreational venue for the entire Upper Valley!

www.gofundme.com/lebanonnhskatepark

Between the months of May and September, the Queche Base Lodge is a hive of activity. Golfers come and go picking up goodies and refreshments for the Highlands back nine. In the front hallway they walk past a shuttered opening on top of a high desk and if they’ve enjoyed a Vermont winter they wouldn’t know that the opening is heart and soul of Quechee Club as soon as the snow falls. Of course, I’m talking about the ski school and once again, returning for the 33rd straight year, Ken Kramberg will be at the helm.

Kramberg’s story is not that of a typical Vermont ski school dynasty and in a way that makes it more special. When I asked him where he grew up skiing he replied, “I didn’t, I grew up in New York City in a part of Queens, surfing.” It wasn’t until junior high school that he had his first skiing experience. As part of a Boy Scout troop, Kramberg headed north of the city to a small ski area called Ski Minne. Throughout high school he made frequent trips with his Boy Scout troop as well as with family friends. These trips fostered a love for the great outdoors that has continued his entire life. At 13 he became involved with the Appalachian Mountain Club Climbing Group where he developed into an experienced hiker, rock climber and even ice climber. But the great outdoors was not his only calling.

Kramberg is a man of uncommon passion and dedication. After graduating from Brooklyn College with a major in both film studies and special education, in 1977 he was hired as a special educator at Hartford High School. He started his 30-year career working with children with cognitive disabilities. Eventually he specialized in helping children with emotional and behavioral disorders have a happy, healthy and successful academic experience. Kramberg started as a special educator and ultimately became a coordinator and then director of the Regional Special Education Collaborative. He designed and created the Wilder School, an alternative school in the Hartford school district, and also the Hartford Autism Regional Program, which helps kids on the autism spectrum. His job at Hartford High School was what also brought him to the Quechee Club.

In 1978, Carol Wheeler, then co-director of the Quechee Ski School with her husband, was working as a counselor at Hartford. She asked Kramberg if he would come on board as a Nordic ski instructor and for two years he did just that. During his down time at the club (in between lessons) Wheeler taught him how to teach alpine ski lessons. With a lifetime of experience in outdoor recreation, he was a fast learner and in his third year he became an alpine as well as Nordic instructor. When the Wheelers decided to leave the ski school in 1983, they picked Kramberg to be their successor.

Today Kramberg is certified by the Professional Ski Instructors of America. As head of the ski school he works with thirty-five instructors that teach lessons in Nordic skiing, alpine skiing, telemarking and snowboarding. There are morning and afternoon group lessons for children ages 4 to 7 and also 8 to 12, as well as daily adult group lessons. For the most enthusiastic skiers there are also both private and semi-private lessons.

Kramberg has also worked for the past few years as a statewide education consultant with a contract with the University of Vermont where he completed his Master’s degree and has been an adjunct faculty member for several years.

Book clubs date back to the 1800s—and likely long before that recorded date. They can be found in local bookstores, at libraries, even online, but most often in homes where a group of friends gather to share a good book, interesting conversation and friendship. In 2001, that’s how a group of Quechee residents started theirs. Ann Heimarck, Alice Goldstein and Rosemarie Scibetta wanted to start a book group and discovered that four other women—Karen Tahmousch, Vaughn Glanville, Roberta Epstein and Maywood Giordano—also were thinking of starting one. They came together and since that time they have added members, lost members to moves, including in the past six months Sharon Corrigan, Peggy Jones and Arlyne Berke and original member, Maywood Giordano, who passed away in June.

The group meets once a month for breakfast at one of the 14 members’ homes. After a half an hour or so of chitchat and socializing they begin their discussion, sometimes around the dining room table, other times circling the living room. Each book has a discussion leader who provides background information on the author and then offers some leads to start a discussion.

Rosemarie Scibetta the group’s leader keeps members informed about future meetings, compiles a yearly list of books that the group has read and provides recaps for those that weren’t able attend.

Member Mary Ann Corcoran sums up the camaraderie of the group, “We’re more than a bunch of women who discuss books. We have become some kind of inexplicable family unit.”

And here’s why other members enjoy being part of this “inexplicable family unit,” and the books they’ve enjoyed reading together.

I remember the first book I read when I started with this wonderful group: Time and Again by Jack Finney. I never would have picked that book, but enjoyed it thoroughly. My favorites? Hannah’s Daughters by Marianne Fredriksson, Call the Darkness Light by Nancy Zaroulis, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot…sorry, I can’t keep to three…The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and many others.
– Diane Ames

What I’m finding out about myself through our book club is that I’m a historical fiction fan. I never would have aligned myself with that genre, but as I looked down the list of what we’ve read, I found myself choosing Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Godwin, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford among my favorite reads. I also enjoyed a non-fiction choice, Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. Book club has stretched my enjoyment to places I wouldn’t necessarily have gone by myself!
– Mary Ann Corcoran

As a new member of the book club, I am impressed with the level of commitment, the thoughtful discussions and the willingness of members to stretch their reading experiences. Since I’ve joined, my favorite books among the ones we’ve shared are Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Looking back over previous books the club has read, I count among my favorites The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. High praise to a Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevaliar and Invention of Wings by Sue Monk King.
– Gail Ferney

It’s hard to choose just a few favorites but here are mine – a true history and then a blend in historical fiction: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevaliar and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
– Alice Goldstein

Reading books is a wonderful way to experience life and escape the mundane. Fiction can become reality and reality can take the guise of fiction. Our book group has enriched my reading choices and literary perspectives beyond measure! Thank you friends! Hard to pick three favorites but I especially liked The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah, with the author, Betty Lauer attending our discussion, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford.
– Ann Heimarck

I don’t actually live in Quechee and find the book club to be a wonderful way to connect with a group of lovely ladies. That is not to mention all the reading I would not have been doing without the incentive of our group sharing of thoughts and opinions in a comforting and non-judgmental environment. Some of my favorite books have been Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin and Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
– Mary Ann Kaplinsky

A few of my favorites are: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Glass Castles by Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
– Jen Lewis

I love that books take us to places we will never get to and times that are often long past. Three books jumped out at me – Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, Just Kids by Patti Smith and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I’m surprised that they are all non-fiction, but I shouldn’t be. What is more amazing than these books about real people doing extraordinary things, often against all odds?
– Jane Reagan

For me the best determiner of a good book is that I don’t want it to end. And, although I love to get lost in a fiction book, I find the books that stay with me the longest are non-fiction and historical fiction. Some of my favorites through the years are Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Paris, A Love Story, by Kati Marton, and The Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. All are non-fiction and gave me a glimpse: into a better understanding of history during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, a beautiful love story, and scientific information about what eventually became known as stem cells that boggled my mind.
– Rosemarie Scibetta

I’ve loved the opportunity to share books, which have challenged us to examine how we would act in difficult situations. I think about Defending Jacob by William Landay and the discussion we had about what we would have done if confronted with such a heart-wrenching decision. We each bring our own unique experiences and background to the group and our discussions are so rich because of our different histories.
– Jill Tane

I, too, surprised myself at my choice of reading material, two historical fictions and one nonfiction: Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.
– Ginny Taylor

I am amazed at the variety of books we have read since 2001 and have discussed with comments, personal experiences and respect for all of our members comments. I probably would not have read such a wide variety and am so grateful for this wonderful experience. It is difficult to mention my favorites but here goes: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Mary: Mrs A Lincoln by Janis Cookie Newman.
– Muriel Steinberg

I guess my favorite is Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, mainly because I might not have read it otherwise. A really great biography!
– Kristin Wood

Winners have been named in Vital Communities’ first-ever Upper Valley High Communications Competition: Forrest Mattern for Print PSA, Ashley Fogg won for Television PSA, and Nate Guarino won for Radio PSA. All hail from Hartford and are seniors in the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center’s Media Arts program taught by Felicia Allard. Their public service announcements support Local First Alliance, a program of Vital Communities, answering the question: Why is it cool to shop at locally owned businesses?

“We are thrilled to have been a part of this process and were overwhelmed by the submissions,” said Mundy Wilson Piper, owner of Chippers, which will help promote the winning print PSA. “It was an amazing and inspiring collaboration between the students, Local First Alliance, and the school.”

“Students had the opportunity to work with industry professionals from King Arthur Flour, Co-op Food Stores, and WPTZ, which inspired creativity and some very valuable portfolio work,” added Vital Communities’ Local First Alliance Administrator Emily Gardner.

The winning submissions are available at vitalcommunities.org/localfirst.

Submissions from 13 students were evaluated and winners selected by the Local First Alliance Steering Committee. The winning print PSA will run in the Valley News and on the side of a Chippers truck, and the winning radio PSA will run on Great Eastern Radio stations. Each winning artist received a $150 cash award courtesy of Lake Sunapee Bank, Ledyard National Bank, and Mascoma Savings Bank. The winning television PSA will run on WPTZ, and the winner received an iPad courtesy of Systems Plus Computers.