and learn more about Lebanon Rotary and our projects.
One Day. One Focus: Ending Polio
World Polio Day is a time for Rotary members, public health advocates, and all who want a world free from polio to come together, recognize our progress in the fight to end polio, and talk about the actions we need to take in order to end polio for good.
All donations are matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, tripling your impact!
As with any challenge, we are stronger when we work together as a team.
Nicole Ford-Burley condensed the history of Lebanon into 20 minutes by focusing on the development of the City of Lebanon around the roads that brought people to Lebanon.
My notes are augmented with quotes from the history Nicole Ford-Burley has posted on the City of Lebanon webpage. Click here to see the info quoted below.
Nicole Burley-Ford
Horse Road
She began her talk by describing Horse Road. Horse Road was most like constructed by indigenous people estimated to have been established in the 1100s BC. Indigenous people history From the City’s website:
Lebanon has had many beginnings, most of them lost to history. One of its first was around 11,000 BCE, when the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered millions of square miles across North America under a mile of ice, retreated north to once again expose Lebanon’s soil to the air. Another beginning was when, around the same time, the first humans settled in what would later become New Hampshire. Paleoindians took advantage of the newly accessible land and the influx of wildlife into the area and would call the region home for millennia.
Another beginning was when glacial Lake Hitchcock, which covered much of West Lebanon, drained around 10,000 BCE. As told by the Abenaki, Ktsi Amiskw, the Great Beaver, built a dam to block the Connecticut River. He hoarded the waters for himself and flooded the upper river valley, causing drought throughout the lower valley. The warrior Gluskabe fought and defeated Ktsi Amiskw, releasing the river to nurture life downstream and uncovering rich farmland upstream.
Untold other beginnings followed as the descendants of New Hampshire’s original inhabitants grew and thrived. Western Abenaki inhabited Vermont and New Hampshire during the Woodland period, which lasted from around 800 BCE until the arrival of the European colonists around 1600 CE. The confluence of the Mascoma and Connecticut Rivers made Lebanon valuable territory for the Abenaki: easily accessible by water, with rich soil, a relatively long growing season, and abundant wildlife for hunting. The Abenaki—including the Sokoki, whose territory was centered around Northfield, Massachusetts, and the Koasek, who were centered in Newbury, Vermont—lived seasonally in Lebanon, returning to their winter villages for the long harsh season.
One of the Abenaki’s last beginnings was first contact with the Europeans, who arrived initially as traders and explorers, and later as invaders and colonizers. North America’s indigenous people suffered massive population loss in the 17th and 18th centuries as European colonists introduced catastrophic illnesses to New England. Warfare further reduced the diminished population, and by the time of Lebanon’s charter in 1761, most of the region’s Abenaki residents had either retreated north to one of the few surviving communities or assimilated into colonial society.
Moving forward in time, Horse Road brought settlers from Connecticut to our region. Lebanon was one of 16 towns on the Connecticut River to receive a charter from Benning Wentworth, the Governor of New Hampshire, in 1761. The first family arrived in the area the following year. They traveled the Horse Road to reach Lebanon. The two remaining homes from the 1760s are the Downer-True Farm home (1763) and Dana House (1765) From the City’s website:
The beginning about which we know the most is when European colonists began moving to Lebanon in 1761. The first of these settlers were already familiar with the area, having passed through Lebanon via the Connecticut River during the French and Indian War. The colonists petitioned Governor Benning Wentworth for a charter for a new town in 1761. He granted the request, despite the fact that the land was unceded and still belonged to the Abenaki people. Four colonists wintered in Lebanon in 1762, and the first colonial family moved to Lebanon the following year. By 1767, Lebanon’s population was already 162, ushering in 20 years of growth: by 1790, Lebanon would boast a population of 1,180.
Kings Highway
King’s Highway, the first planned colonial road in Lebanon is now a class A trail running along the north boundary of the reserve. Lebanon’s earliest settlers proposed a meeting house to be built in the northern slopes of the property but opted for an alternative site offering better proximity to existing homesteads From the City’s website:
Lebanon’s growth was made possible both by the rapid influx of new colonists and by the water-powered mills that supported the growing population. The town’s first mill was a sawmill built by Oliver Davison in West Lebanon in 1763. Until the completion of Lebanon’s first gristmill in 1766, residents would transport their grain to Fort Number 4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire—a roundtrip of 70 miles, testifying to the vital importance of a gristmill to the fledgling community. These early mills were soon joined by other sawmills and gristmills, as well as by cloth mills
4th New Hampshire Turnpike and Croydon Turnpike
The Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike, chartered in 1800, connected the New Hampshire cities of Lebanon and Boscawen. The Croydon Turnpike ran from the east bank of the Connecticut River to the west bank of the Merrimack River. The central village of Lebanon grew up around the intersection of the Croydon Turnpike and the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike (modern US Route 4) From the City’s website:
By 1817, Lebanon was home to 20 mills, relying on the energy of the Connecticut and Mascoma Rivers to power their production. Industrial centers developed across Lebanon: in East Lebanon at the foot of Mascoma Lake; at the foot of Benton Hill west of Colburn Park; in Scytheville at the base of Slayton Hill; and in Butmanville, near the confluence of the Mascoma and Connecticut Rivers. These mills produced furniture, metal tools, machinery, and, increasingly as the century progressed, woolen textiles.
Transportation played a critical role in Lebanon’s continuing growth in the 19th century. Lebanon’s central village grew up around the intersection of the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike (modern US Route 4) and the Croydon Turnpike (modern NH Route 120). The new turnpikes connected Lebanon with neighboring communities, while the Connecticut River provided access to the region’s major population centers and, most importantly, their commercial markets.
President Ernst Oidtmann called the meeting to order at noon.
Ernst welcomed our guests, Max Jovanovich, our prospective Rotarian; our speaker Nicole Ford-Burley, City of Lebanon Historian.
Tim Guaraldi led us in reciting the 4-Way Test.
Ernst then led us in singing our welcome song, and Skip to My Lou My Darling.
Birthdays and Anniversaries: Dave Clarenbach's wedding anniversary is on October 18th.
Thought of the Day: Ernst reminisced about playing a sonata for 5-hands. You wonder why not 4-hands? He shard the sonata was being played on church upright piano that had keys that would stick. He placed a 6 year-old Nicole Ford between them, and her job was to push up any key that stayed stuck in the down position.
Then it was time for lunch.
After lunch John Yacovone Lebanon Historian, Nicole Ford-Burley. He shared that Nicole is the Lebanon City Historian, and serves as the Heritage Commission Curator of the Lebanon Historical Society. She is the author of Images of America book about Lebanon, NH. It was released last year. She regularly speaks and writes about Lebanon history and ongoing preservation. When not studying Lebanon's history, Nicole works in research administration at New York University. She lives in Riverdale with her spouse, and 3-year old son.
Bill Secord presented the book going to the Kilton Library in honor of Nicole. Zuni and the Memory Jar.
Zuni and the Memory Jar
By Aisha Saeed (Author), Neha Rawat (Illustrator)
A joyful picture book about celebrating everyday moments of fun, beauty, and wonder, from New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed.
Meet Zuni. She's sweet, silly, ever-so-charming, and full of bright ideas. Her family has a memory jar. Anytime someone in the family does something important, they mark those moments through notes and photos stored in the jar and share those memories together at the end of the year.
Her parents tell Zuni that when she grows up, she’ll have important memories to share, too, like graduations, and milestones, and trophies. But Zuni is already making memories! And at the end of the year, her family gets to see the moments that made an impact on little Zuni.
A deceptively simple story for young and old alike, Zuni and the Memory Jar is a reminder to celebrate everyday joys in life along with the grand achievements.
President-elect 2025-2026: By now you all should have received an email from Marilyn Bedell who would be willing to be our President for 2025/2026. If you haven't done this already, please take a few minutes to complete the survey to help her get a better sense of how you will be willing to support all the good work we do for our community and our club. As of Saturday, October 21, 2024 she has received 15 surveys, 21 to go. Many thanks who have completed this task!
Time for Happy Dollars:
Tim Guaraldi is happy to be on the other side of the flu. The reason he didn't come to our meeting last week, or help at the flu clinic.
Bill Secord reminded us of the importance of a local newspaper, and asked us all to subscribe to the Valley News.
Ernst Oidtmann had a happy dollar, but I couldn't read my note to include it here. Oops.
Marilyn Bedell: Marilyn paid for this happy dollar she forgot to do last week, she wanted to give shout out to Ahmad Haidari who lent a car to a Rotarian from Georgia. Rotarian Tracy's wife had a major stroke while leaf peeping and ended up in the ICU then neuro step down unit at DHMC. Tracy's club contacted us via our public facing web page and asked us to reach out to Tracy. I did that and learned Tracy was without a car. His car was being driven by friends from Georgia but would not arrive until 10/10. I reached out to Ahmad to see if he could lend Tracy a car while he would be in Seattle. He graciously said yes. Tracy was relieved to have "wheels". He was delighted that Ahmad could do this for him. I learned on Friday, that Tracy's wife has been transferred to Spaulding Rehab in Charlestown. I've turned Tracy over to my Rotarian colleagues in Boston...they too are happy to be available to Tracy and Robin while they are at Spaulding...for me this is the "Magic of Rotary".
Bruce Pacht shared that the 2024 Acapella Showcase was a success. 200 came to the concert and 100 stayed for the Afterglow meal. It was held at Mascoma High School.
Rotary Foundation Month, November. The appeal letter has gone out to members. Let Ron or Phil Rentz know if you have questions.
Park Clean-up at Riverside Park will be October 25,2024 from 3 to approx. 5 PM. A sign-up sheet will be circulated one more time next week. The exact work we will do is being worked out by Paul Coats and Bruce Bergeron.
Rotary Leadership/Learning Institute — Come to learn more about Rotary International, and to meet other Rotarians from around our region. Attend the Rotary Leadership Institute in St. Johnsbury, VT on October 26, 2024 from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM at St. Johnsbury Academy, 1000 Main Street, St. Johnsbury 05819 Registration is only $75 but will be reimbursed by our club. Register at www.rlinea.org Breakfast and lunch included. Contact or Ron and Marilyn Bedell or our Immediate Past District Governor, Susan Cherry susan.cherry1@gmail.com if you have questions.
Polio Awareness Day is October 24, 2024. With Polio in Gaza, and more cases happening in Afghanistan (22) and Pakistan (24), along with an assortment of vaccine derived cases (40), you donations are needed more than ever. It is hoped that all Rotarians will make a donation to Polio Plus via My Rotary. Consider being considered a PolioPlus Society member with a donation of $100.00.
District Team Training at Northern Vermont University in Lyndonville, November 16, 2024 from 8:30 a.m. to 11;30 a.m. All members welcome to come. Click Here to Register. No charge to attend.
Holiday Basket Helpers: Reminder that we will be helping to review gifts, bag them, and tag them on December 9th from noon to 3 PM and December 10th from 10 AM to Noon. Please save these dates and time to help.
Listen Food Drive at the Lebanon Coop — Save the Date to Help
11/23 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m (set up at 8:00 a.m.)
12/14 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m (set up at 8:00 a.m.)
Holiday Party at the Quechee Inn — From Ron Bedell
The date for our Annual Christmas Party and Yankee Swap is Tuesday December 17th. The cost will be $50 per person, including tax and gratuities. The club is subsidizing the meal which makes it $10 less than last year for basically the same menu. Make your check out to the Rotary Club of Lebanon, P.O. Box 132 and send it by November 15, 2023.
The event will take place at the Quechee Inn at Marshfield Farm in Quechee, VT.
5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Hors D'oeuvres and Cocktails in the Tavern (Cash Bar)
6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Dinner
8:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Yankee Swap
The menu will be:
Chef's Choice of 2 Passed Hors D'oeuvres in the Tavern, Mixed Green Salad & Fresh Baked Rolls, Pre-Selected Entrees: Blackjack Sirloin, Grilled Salmon, Chicken or Vegetarian, Dessert and Coffee Service, One Glass of House Red or White Wine with Dinner
The Yankee Swap will begin right after dinner. Remember to bring a new or used gift valued at $20.00 or less for each person in your party.
Please respond to Ron Bedell. He will need a preliminary head count by October 31st.
Members at the meeting:
Marilyn Bedell, Ron Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Phil Bush*, Dean Cashman, David Clarenbach, Hank Clarke, Jim Damren, Ed Friedman*, Ron Michaud, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, Bill Secord, Rich Wallace, George Wenz, Cal Wolfe, John Yacavone
Guests:
Prospective Rotarian, Max Jovanovich
Nicole Ford-Burley, City of Lebanon Historian
*Joined by WebEx
Card and Car Wash Raffles
At new deck of card, and the hunt for the The Queen of Heart begins again. Tim Guaraldi pulled the 9 of Clubs.
The car wash was won by Hank Clarke
Bruce Bergeron let us know that the code-reader at the car wash is on the fritz. He will send codes once it is fixed.
FUTURE MEETING PROGRAMS/SPEAKERS
October 2024
October 24 Tamira Martel,Governor’s Institute of Vermont
October 31 Steve Fine,Melanoma Cancer Foundation (Webex)
November 2024
November 7 Rob Stenger, Co-owner of Simple Energy
November 14 Iris Alitilo, A.A.R.P. Downsizing & Decluttering.This presentation begins by helping participants understand why keeping stuff is important to some people. Then, we'll tackle practical, easy-to-follow downsizing and decluttering tips to get your home and office organized!
November 21 Marilyn Bedell, Our Rotary Foundation
November 28 THANKSGIVING - No Meeting
December 2024
December 5 Nicci Maynard, AuD, Clinical Audiologist
December 12 John Fenley, “Spark” a local nonprofit
December 19 Ernst Oidtmann and Matt Locker, Concert
December 26 NO MEETING.
Note: David Crandall will be scheduling programs January through June 2025
Standing Meetings
Membership Meetings: To Be Announced
Contact: Ron Michaud
Youth Services: Second Wednesday of the month at Noon
Contact: Christian MacDonald
Charities: Third Wednesday of the month at 1:00 p.m.
Contact: Bruce Pacht
Board Meeting: 4th Tuesday of every month at 4:00 PM via Zoom. Note: We have changed the meeting time for October, November and December. October we will meet on October 29 at 4:00 p.m. Because the November meeting would be Thanksgiving week we will meet instead on December 3, at 4:00 p.m. The next meeting then will be the 4th Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.
Contact: Ernst Oidtmann
Golf: 2025 schedule to be announced
Brew Fest: The 2025 Schedule to be announced
Other Events and Service Projects
Riverside Park Clean-up on Friday, October 25th at 3 PM
Bring rakes, leaf blowers, and other tools to help with the clean-up.
Rotary Leadership Insititute (RLI) Saturday, October 26, 2024 from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Come to learn more about Rotary International, and to meet other Rotarians from around our region. Attend the Rotary Leadership Institute in St. Johnsbury, VT on October 26, 2024 from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM at St. Johnsbury Academy, 1000 Main Street, St. Johnbury 05819 Registration is only $75 but will be reimbursed by our club and/or the District. Register at www.rlinea.org Breakfast and lunch included. All RLI Levels will be held if enough people sign up, Level I, Level II, Level III and Graduate. Contact or Ron and Marilyn Bedell or our Immediate Past District Governor, Susan Cherry, susan.cherry1@gmail.com if you have questions.
District Team Training Seminar, Northern Vermont University, Lyndonville, VT
Saturday, November 16, 2024 from 8;30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Listen Food Drive at the Lebanon Coop — Save the Dates to Help
11/23 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m (set up at 8:00 a.m.)
12/14 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m (set up at 8:00 a.m.)
Listen Holiday Baskets...organize, bag and tag
December 9th from noon to 3 PM and December 10th from 10 AM to Noon. At the white church in downtown Lebanon. Please save these dates and times to help get gifts organized, bagged and tagged. A call will be going out to get gifts sometime in November once Listen assigns us a family or families.
2025 Rotary District 7850 District Conference
The 2025 District Conference will be a one day conference on Saturday, May 31 2025 with an optional overnight on May 30, 2025. It will be at Mount Cranmore Resort in North Conway, NH. Stay tuned for details.
2025 Rotary International Convention
Join us in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for the 2025 Rotary International Convention!
Calgary calls
November is Rotary Foundation Month. This is a great time to remind every Rotarian coming to the 2024 Rotary Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that you will to learn how your valuable contributions to the Rotary Foundation are making a global impact.
Take part in this transformative, one-of-a-kind event and experience the Magic All Around at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada 21-25 June 2025.
Imagine the excitement and energy when we, the family of Rotary, all come together at one time, in one place and renew our commitment to being people of action. Our Rotary leaders, members, and global leaders will motivate and empower you with their words, as will world-class speakers, and heart-pumping entertainment!
Besure the check out the Host Organizing webpage to learn about all the activities being planned by our Rotarian hosts in Calgary.
You can consider volunteering to help at the convention too. There will be a wide variety of volunteer roles to match a wide range of interests and skills, providing everyone a chance to contribute to this global gathering. Join us in showcasing our city and making the 2025 Rotary International Convention a resounding success!Click Here
Bottom Line...The best time to purchase your ticket to the Calgary convention is today! The next best time is before **December 15, 2024**. To secure your early bird rate visit: https://convention.rotary.org
Watch the video to hear a first hand account of why Rotary Conventions are so special. Click Here
Rotary Foundation receives highest rating from Charity Navigator for 16th consecutive year
By Rotary International
For the 16th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.
The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
“We are delighted to provide the Rotary Foundation with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence,” said Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. “The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that the Rotary Foundation is able to accomplish in the years ahead.”
Charity Navigator analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators, referred to as beacons. Currently, nonprofits can earn scores for the impact and results, accountability and finance, culture and communities, and leadership and adaptability.
Charity Navigator is the largest and most utilized independent charity evaluator in the U.S. Since 2001, the organization has been an unbiased and trusted source of information for more than 11 million donors annually.
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