Center Meeting House

This is a reminder to join us at the Newbury Town Offices for our Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Celebration. 

A program of music, history and slides hosted by Chuck Kennedy will begin at 3 pm.  An ensemble from Kearsarge High School will perform saxophone pieces.  Kevin Knapp and his band made up of

Tristan Amaral
Sam Schaffer-Morrison
Nate Dean
Gemma Bready
Devon Pike

will provide the musical enjoyment.

Vicky and Chuck Schubert were to provide vocal duet entertainment, but a virus has had other thoughts for them.  But, "not to worry", another treat is being developed to replace their wonderful talent. 

Dan Wolf, Chairman of the CMH Board will review where we have been and where we are going with the CMH restoration and give us a glimpse of next year's possible entertainment plans.  Maureen Rosen has an updated slide presentation to bring us visually up to date with CMH developments.

Newbury Beautification Committee has joined with Center Meeting House for five years in providing refreshments.  This year's offerings promise to outdo anything seen yet.

We have a tradition of asking people to bring food for the Newbury Food Pantry.  The Thanksgiving Celebration itself is free.  What better way to give thanks for living and working in Newbury?  Gail Bostick spearheads the Town of Newbury's Giving Tree, as well as the gathering of food for the Food Bank.  Help to provide a better Christmas for children who might not otherwise have a treat under their tree.

Each year about this time we all begin to wonder what to buy for family and friends.  Thanksgiving!  Hanukkah! Christmas! They all come at us in a swirl of activity.  Center Meeting House and Newbury Beautification Committee joined forces to present the beautiful holiday ornament pictured to the right.  We will have an abundant supply available at the Celebration for purchase at $20 per medalion.

Come and join your friends, family, and neiighbors!

I dropped in on Alice Lynn this morning to complete a little board of directors work with her and the conversation digressed inevitably to "Alice's Tree."  At 90 years old plus, Alice is doing very well and looking forward to the annual Lighting of the Tree.  But more on that later.

Sories abound about "Alice's Tree" and I thought that I would take the opportunity to ask her what the real story is.  One September day, probably in 1961, Alice had a friend buy a Blue Spruce for her in Concord to plant at the Center Meeting House, where she had been a trustee for many, many years and where she now continues as a member of the five year old board of directors.

That very first Hallowe'en somebody pulled it out and threw it on the ground a few feet away.  The next day as she went by it to check the mail she noticed that her three-foot tree was missing in action and she stopped to check it out.  She found it on the ground and immediately replanted it in the same spot.  She recalls that people driving by must have thought it strange to see her standing there wagging her finger at the tree as she admonished it with, "You grow, little tree!"  But with that event began her long love affair with that tree that still stands so strong, straight and healthy.  She told me that it must be because everyone in town loves that tree.

Friday October 16, 2009 was a big day for the Center Meeting House as our application for additional funding from NH's Land and Community Heritage Iinvestment Program Authority(LCHIP) was delivered during the morning.  Literally weeks of data gathering, analysis, writing, and proposal production came to a close just hours in advance of the cut-off time.

Doug Whelan is seen here delivering the proposal in one of CMH's tote bags.  An original proposal along with seven copies and a CD which contains all of the proposal contents were just part of the requirements.  Dan Wolf, CMH Chairman, said that a favorable response from LCHIP would help the restoration project move foreward in a very positive way.

Bill Weiler who heads up the actual restoration and architectural part of the project has most of the analysis completed for the next phase of the restoration following the completion of the bell tower.  Whelan, who is in charge of fundraising, noted that the construction process always seems to be waiting for more money to be raised.

We are still expecting to see the belfry up and ready for seasonal bell ringing by December 1, 2009.  Be sure to come out for the lighting of the tree on December the 6th.  We hope to ring the bell at that time.  See Upcoming Events in the bar to the right for more details.

At the Center Meeting House Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 night at the Town Offices the bell tower's status was reviewed.  Bill Weiler, chairman of the project reaffirmed that the tower work should be completed on budget and on time.  Completion is slated for December 1, 2009, plus or minus a day or so. 

In the photo to the right is a picture of the dome before it was cladded and place back into place.  Jeff Thurston is the craftsman responsible for most of the carpentry that you see going into this restoration.

Dan Wolf, Chairman of the Board of Directors noted that it would be good to have a celebration as soon as possible after the completion and to have a ceremonial ringing of the bell at that time.

Watch this site for further developments on this subject.

The tower is starting to take on a feeling of completion.  If you drive by tomorrow (Nov 19) you will see the clapboard being installed.  And don't forget that sometime in the next two weeks or so we will be treated to the excitement that always ensues when cranes and man-lifts arrive on the scene. 

Everyone on the board of directors is enthused about the progress and also about the prospects of a celebration.  I find that everywhere I go, people are asking me about the status of the tower.  The whole town is ready to see it back up on the meeting house. You won't want to miss possibly the last moment of "high anxiety" as a piece of the meeting house hangs from a crane.  I will give you adequate notice of when the big day will be.  So check back often.