11`$`#"1 - The Monadnock Shopper News

Say You Saw it in The Monadnock Shopper News, September 21 – September 27, 2016
Showcasing The Natural Beauty Of Stone
Francis Demers
Francis Demers started his stone mason career 27
years ago, and quite by chance. It began in his own
yard, when he built a 90-foot stone retaining wall that
caught the eye of a passing stranger, a stone mason as
it turned out. The man liked his work so much that
he hired him on the spot.
Through the years, Demers’ work has taken him
to South Dakota, Connecticut, Vermont, Western
Massachusetts, and New York. As the local Keene
resident explains it, “No one ever does stonework
because they have to. From day one,
it’s instinct, it’s a craft.” One of his
most notable projects was working
on a replica of Thomas Jefferson’s
Monticello, for Presley Blake, founder
of the Friendly’s restaurant chain, in
Somers, CT.
For Demers, history has proven to
be a valuable teacher. “The technology I use is Roman. There are thousands of books on stonework, but all
you have to do is go back and look at
what they did,” he explains. “Their
work lasted thousands of years.”
If you’re looking for a stone mason, Demers has some suggestions.
First off, because no two stone masons do the same quality of work,
decide what quality of work you
want. Look for good balance in stone
placement, because as he tells it, “It’s
not just a bunch of rows, like bricks or
blocks.” The stonework should highlight the natural beauty of the stone and be built to last
hundreds of years. He points out , “Good stonework
makes a statement that can be a strong selling point
if you decide to sell your property.”
Demers works in Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
and Vermont, providing installation of dry-set stone
walls, patios, stone steps, and retaining walls. He also
does repairs and is happy to offer free estimates. Interested customers can contact him at 413-388-2043.
Updating, Maintaining Garage Doors Will Save Money
Tips For Do-It-Yourself, And When To Call An Expert
Fall is the perfect transition time to go from outdoor projects to indoor projects, getting ready to protect ourselves from the winter elements headed our
way. As you make plans for where you want to spend
your hard-earned money this year, keep in mind that
one of the highest return on investment percentages
is where you park your car, your garage.
Whether you have a commercial building or a
home, a well-insulated steel door, with R-values
reaching R-18, will save you from losing heat, not
only in the garage but also throughout the rest of the
adjoining areas. Customers often comment that they
can’t believe the difference their new doors made
when it came to rooms in their home that were always
very cold before the installation. Older doors usually
have low R-values, especially wooden doors. They
are often sealed improperly, if at all, leaving large
gaps that allow old-man-winter to creep in and Ben
Franklins to escape.
Garage, page 28
“Agricultural Policy And Its Effect On NH Dairy Producers”
“New Hampshire has lost 16 percent of its dairy
farms in the last months” according to a blog published recently by the Concord Monitor. Prolonged low
milk prices coupled with the drought have made for
tough times for many dairy farmers. Others struggle
to survive amidst the competition with baby kale and
heirloom tomatoes.
Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition
(MFCC) will host a discussion with NH Commissioner of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Lorraine
Merrill, a dairy farmer, unpacking the issues affecting different types of dairy production and what the
public can do to help.
Dairy, page 33
25
Crane-Assisted Tree Removal Can
Save Time, Gardens, Structures
Foreman Adam Murray (in the bucket truck) and owner Jonathan Royce
work to remove a tree. (MSN photo by Jason Hartman)
ArborClimb, Inc., a Chesterfieldbased tree care and removal company,
specializes in removing trees with the
assistance of a crane. Using cranes to
remove trees is a very cost effective,
safe, and productive way of removing dangerous trees or hard to reach
trees.
Cranes often are viewed as being
very expensive. However, very often
it is the opposite. A crane allows the
crew to quickly dismantle and process
the tree in a very controlled manner.
Although the rate per hour is more,
the amount of time spent on site is cut
drastically short. This means savings to
the consumer, with less time on site.
Another advantage to crane-assisted tree removals is the ability to work
around valuable structures, gardens,
septic systems, and newly planted
lawn. Often a crane can be situated
in the driveway and remove trees in
the backyard without ever leaving
the driveway. This allows all the de-
bris from the tree to be removed and
processed in a staging area away from
valuable structures. This also saves
time on clean-up, which equates to
saving money.
It is important to remember that
certain risks are involved with using a
crane. Those risks can be mitigated by
hiring a crane company with certified
operators. ArborClimb’s crane operators are federally trained and licensed
to meet the current OSHA regulations
and standards.
People who are considering having
trees removed around their property
may wish to consider the advantage
of hiring a certified crane company.
Winter is approaching and now is the
time to access property for structurally
weak, diseased, or dead trees that may
need to be removed before winter. For
a free consultation with a Certified
Arborist, contact ArborClimb. See their
ad on page 28.
“Trials Of The Earth: The True
Story Of A Pioneer Woman”
Lone Wolf Cheese Adds Chocolate Cheddar How Our Forebears Set Up Home, Life
embarrassed her. He couldn’t
To Selection At Farmers’ Market Of Keene ing.Your toast was burnt this morn- greatly
seem to hold a job for long, or jobs
Susan O’Dwyer and Heidi
Susan and Barry O’Dwyer, owners of Lone Wolf
Cheese in Harrisville, have added chocolate cheddar
to their selection of cheeses. This specialty cheese is
made with milk, cocoa, and vanilla. Their variety of
cheeses also includes Chesham Cheddar, Baby Swiss,
French Farmstead, Canastrato, and Ricotta.
The farm has been in business for six years and
operates on just one-and-a-half acres with one cow
named Heidi. Susan milks Heidi every morning
and evening by hand. Barry, an engineer, built their
barn and divided their land into thirds so Heidi may
alternate and always have access to the best grass.
“I always have a number of different cheeses in our
cave and they show up at the market when they
ripen,” Susan shares. Lone Wolf Cheese offers their
chocolate cheddar and other cheeses freshly ripened
from their cave on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at
The Farmers’ Market of Keene.
The Summer Farmers' Market of Keene runs
through October, every Tuesday and Saturday, 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m., on Gilbo Avenue across from Lindy’s Diner.
At the market are vegetables, vegetable plants, annuals and perennials, flowers, herbs, meats, dairy, eggs,
cheese, bread, pastries, berries, honey, preserves,
jams, mustards, frozen fruit pops, maple products,
organic coffee and coffee beans, tea, wine, beer, goat
milk bath and body products, handmade jewelry and
furniture, and more. Credit, debit, and EBT cards are
accepted. For news and events, visit facebook.com/
keenefarmers.
It was the first in a tsunami of irritation you had to endure today: the
house WiFi was down, your shirt got
wrinkled, the cat threw up on the carpet, humid weather, your coffee got
cold. What next? Read Trials of the Earth
by Mary Mann Hamilton, and review
your day again.
The “wild country of Arkansas …
was just beginning to settle up” when
Mary Mann’s father brought his family
from Missouri down to buy a home.
He didn’t live long enough to enjoy it,
however – he died ten days after they
arrived, leaving Mary’s mother with
six children to feed.
There was work in Arkansas,
though, so Mary’s brothers got jobs
at the sawmill, while Mary and her
sisters took in boarders. One of them,
a roguish Englishman named Frank
Hamilton, convinced Mary’s brothers
that he had romantic intentions for the
17-year-old, though marriage wasn’t
what Mary wanted. Still, she agreed
to it as her mother and eldest brother
lay dying.
Married life was a challenge. Unbeknownst to Mary before the wedding,
Frank was quite the drinker, which
didn’t last for him, either. She hoped
her first child would help glue their
marriage, but the baby died and Frank
drank harder.
She was in a different country, in
a different home when her second
baby died.
Book, page 33