At the Bell
President Dave rang the bell to get us underway at around noon. He selected
Shaun Mulholland to lead us in a recitation of the 4-Way Test of the Things We Think Say or Do.
Ernst played as we sang the “Rotary Welcome Song” and a verse of “In the Good Old Summertime.” [Did I ever tell you a funny story about this song and Gary Moore’s old black-and-white television show, “I’ve Got a Secret”? Here are seven minutes from the March 25, 1963, show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOjp_AGtasU]
- Members in attendance: Marilyn Bedell, Ron Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Phil Bush, Dean Cashman, Dave Clarenbach, Hank Clarke, Dave Crandall, Ed Friedman, Joy Gobin, Tim Guaraldi, Will Koppenheffer, Ron Michaud, Shaun Mulholland, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, Marion Steiner, Cal Wolfe, John Yacavone.
- Visiting Rotarians: Lisa McLain-Hull; and virtually at least for a while, Joshua Smith and Jimmy Brock.
- Guests: Ben Van Vliet (Ben pronounces it, “Vleet”), executive director of Upper Valley Music Center.
President Dave told an unmemorable joke then announced John Yacavone’s coming birthday on April 2.
SPEAKER:
Kelsey Rush, Founder, Plant Hoarder, Wine Pourer, Storyteller (www.putnamsvineyard.com). “Putnam’s Vine/Yard”—Plant shop, wine bar, wine school; 188 South Main Street, WRJ.
Ron introduced Kelsey. He said he was so impressed with the space she has created that he wanted us to know about it. He said there’s so much beauty in it that people like to just hang out there. Ron drops in to have coffee and hors d’oeuvres.
Kelsey was a rapid and engaging speaker who gave us a ton of information in a very short time. She circulated a couple of “menus” from Putnam’s which were large-format, heavy-covered looseleaf books listing the Putnam Vine/Yard’s event schedule for April and March in addition to lists of wines, things to eat, and tons of other information—not at all what one might expect from a mere “menu.”
SPECIAL EVENT AT PUTNAM’S:
A gathering for Rotary Clubs of the Upper Valley—Sunday, April 21, 6:30pm, 15% off bar tab.
- PLEASE SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS NEWSLETTER FOR AN EXTENSIVE REPORT ON KELSEY’S PRESENTATION.
CLUB BUSINESS
- PRESENTATION of $2,400.00 gift to Upper Valley Music Center
- President Dave said that the UVMC makes the community a better place. He asked Ben van Vliet to tell the members how our contribution would be used.
- Ben thanked us for this gift and our long-term support. Working together with Lebanon Recreation and Parks Camp “K”, CCBA’s summer program and the Special Needs Center, UVMC is trying to give everyone who wants to make music the opportunity.
- There’s a large population of kids enrolled in general camp programming who don’t have any opportunity to engage in other specialized programs. The summer in the camps program has been growing every year. They have been very at finding qualified teachers, many from public schools, music teachers who need things to do in the summer. They are already trained and are great with kids in general settings.
- UVMC is very excited about Rotary Harmony Park. Ben is trying to scheme ways to use it. UVMC hosts a “Sing and Play Festival” in May—Ben has been talking to faculty to make use of Harmony Park.
- Dave has forwarded the “tones” made by Harmony Park instruments to Erin Smith for faculty consideration.
- Dave Clarenbach will become our assistant sergeant-at-arms as of July 1.
- John Yacavone will be next year’s program/speaker chair.
- Tim told us that our second series of days at the Lebanon Poker Room began yesterday.
- Tim and Ernst announced that the Mascoma River clean-up date is now July 27.
HAPPY DOLLARS
- Rich Wallace’s daughter has become the assistant marketing manager for Grappone Auto group.
- Marilyn said that she and Ron would be heading to SW Pennsylvania to spend Easter with Marilyn’s sister, then be on to Evanston for a Rotary Foundation event.
- Ed announced that he has made an offer on a house in Florida.
- Ron Michaud has availed himself of the free Hop event tickets offered by last week’s speaker. He’s going to the puppet show this Saturday, has re-joined the Hop as a member, and will also see “Madame Butterfly.”
- Marion’s daughter, a junior at Franklin College, is chair of the “E Board”—ask Marion.
- Will is back from traveling first in the Carolinas, then training down to play his first three rounds of golf this season in Florida.
RAFFLE RESULTS
- President Dave drew the Queen of Hearts, earning himself $240.
- Bruce Pacht received the weekly car wash donation courtesy Jake’s Market & Deli
COMING EVENTS
STYROFOAM COLLECTION—Saturday, April 6.
Lebanon High School front parking lot; 9-11 a.m., rain or shine. CLEAN rigid expanded polystyrene #6 (EPS) and #6 food service foam. Donations welcome; checks to “Sustainable Lebanon.” If you find yourself with too much foam between collections, please note that anyone is allowed to visit the public drop-off bin available at Gilford DPW, 55 Cherry Valley Road. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Liane Avery at L99Liane@aol.com or call 860-556-3114.
FIVE COLLEGES BOOK SALE ASSISTING HANOVER ROTARY—4/6 and 4/14.
Set-up Tuesday, April 9, 9-11 a.m.; Take-down Sunday, April 14, 4-6 p.m.
BEDELL GOLF CLASSIC—May 17, Eastman Golf Course.
Volunteer sign-ups coming soon; sponsor solicitations happening now.
BREWFEST—SAVE THE DATE FOR VOLUNTEERS, ROTARIANS AND OTHERS
Saturday, August 31.
Next committee meeting: Noon, Tuesday, April 16, at SCU.
UPPER VALLEY BUSINESS ALLIANCE
“Join us for casual networking, refreshments and eclipse-viewing! We have the glasses. Let's get eclipsed together! Bring a jacket as we may be outside.”
FUTURE MEETING PROGRAMS/SPEAKERS
April 11: Bruce Garland, NH Rank Choice Voting
April 18: Brian Nolan, NH4Ukraine.
April 25: Kathleen Harvard, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other dementias
May 2: William Winard, Chocolatier
May 9: Lynn Goodwin, Lebanon Welfare Department
May 16: Rich Adams, Communications Specialist
May 23: Brooke Finnell, Epilogos Charities
May 29: Invitation to join Hanover at their meeting to hear the President of Dartmouth College, Sian Beilock
May 30: Alex Bortolot, Deputy Director, Hood Museum at Dartmouth College
June 6: Morgana Isenberg, VA Services
June 13: Ed Morris, Enfield Town Manager
June 20: Dianna Hastings, NH Children’s Trust
June 26: Changeover
FULL ACCOUNT OF SPEAKER’S PRESENTATION:
Kelsey began her talk by asking Rotarians questions which, when answered, gained the responder a wooden token that may be redeemed for a free glass of wine. Eventually, Kelsey allowed anyone who wished to take home a token or two. When Marion mentioned her group of moms who occasionally get together, she received a handful of tokens and encouragement to bring in the whole crew.
Kelsey was born in Coos Bay, Oregon. [NOTE: this is not pronounced “ko-oss” like the county in New Hampshire. Instead, it’s “kooss”.] Her mother went back to college at Dartmouth, taking Kelsey with her. While her mom received her degree with the class of 1992, Kelsey attended Hanover’s Ray School; she even accompanied her mother during a term of language study in Spain.
They then moved to North Carolina where Kelsey attended high school before getting her own degree at Dartmouth with the class of 2005, where she was a Senior Fellow and English major and met her husband—they’ve been together for 22 years and have two children—a 10-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. Her husband is an attorney for META, specializing in product integrity. Kelsey began her career in California, “creating companies dealing in the healthcare field.”
Reporting a “Covid moment” while deep into her software career in Silicon Valley, Kelsey decided to return to Hanover. They bought house off a FaceTime tour, sold everything except her vintage Airstream camper, and arrived in the Upper Valley three years ago, where Kelsey tried to be a stay-at-home mom. Hint: It didn’t work.
Kelsey decided she wanted to create a “third space,” as sociology puts it. One’s first space is home, second space is work, and the third should be a space of peace, like Rotary. She wanted to create the feel of a speakeasy and found the right space in downtown WRJ’s freight yard building at the opposite end from the Elixir restaurant.
Kelsey missed California’s outdoor drinking establishments, which were not about drinking to excess, but more about the venue and whom you are with. She missed a place to go on date nights with hubby or friends. Her intention is to recreate the outdoor feel but not outdoors in a climate of 30 below zero or 90 above with high humidity! She calls it “outdoor/indoor drinking,” surrounding patrons with some 400 plants managed by a high school girl. She wants visitors to feel surrounded by plants, even offering “picnic food” that pairs well with wines.
During her career and travels, Kelsey became enamored with the world of wine, studying everything from the chemistry of its production to the land and growth conditions of various vineyards, etc., etc. She took sommelier courses and became “a big believer in educational drinking.” She said, “I love everything about wine. It’s the sun around which everything else happens.” Kelsey quoted Benjamin Franklin as saying, “Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.” [I thought the following was also attributed to Ben: “Beer is a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” There’s room for both, I assume.]
At the same time, Kelsey spent a good deal of time studying her genealogy, discovering roots with the Putnam family which arrived in Salem, MA, in the 17th century, although she’d previously thought her family had native American origins. One of her great-grandfathers was Seth Putnam, who settled in Middlesex, VT, cementing Kelsey’s feeling of ties to this region.
In creating “Putnam’s,” Kelsey did everything just the way she wanted, performing much of the space renovations herself. She said, “It feels like I’m living my dream in a space designed for me.” She introduced us in one of her slides to the five women who operate the business.
Here are various highlights of Kelsey’s description of Putnam’s:
- Staff member Victoria has a diploma in wine, is the sommelier, and last night taught a 90-minute class on the Wines of Italy.
- A major focus for Kelsey is supporting other women entrepreneurs, such as Katie, the Bagel Lady, by sharing her space with them.
- Believing that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and stating, “I love to drink, not cook, so love inviting cooks,” Kelsey spends a lot of time focused on pop-up events highlighting local entrepreneurs.
- Foodie Fridays with pretzels.
- Amy Davis Jewelry.
- Saturdays—Mimosa flights with brunch paired with a woman entrepreneur. Every Sunday, eat or take home bagels from Katie.
- Using the stage not for concerts, but for things like flamenco guitar or quiet jazz.
- A mom’s group.
- A “Sipping Singles” group.
- “Vine School”—bouquets, or how to make three-season raised garden beds.
- Using local vendors: Moco—a Norwich company. Farm cheddar. Kiss the Farm Creamery in Barnard for milk.
- Putnam’s is a Bar*Shop*School—They can order specialty wines if you like; there’s a little gift shop; they serve varied coffees and can host private parties.
- Lilith is the staff and events manager, also seeking out local entrepreneurs for partnerships.
- The space’s former stage is the classroom—seats twelve comfortably with two picnic tables. The bar’s maximum capacity is 70.
Kelsey said she chooses wines that are interesting to drink and have stories with them. She changes the menu quarterly. “Flights” consist of half-pours to give patrons a chance to try things—wines they may not have chosen otherwise or that may be normally out of their price range.
Book to be donated to the Kilton Library's Children's Section in Kelsey's name:
That Summer
By Inger Hagerup (Author), Paul René Gauguin (Illustrator), Becky L. Crook (Translator)
Following last season’s Little Parsley, this new Hagerup volume was first published in Norway in 1971. At the time, it was a literary scandal for offering free verse to children, who were best suited, as the critics claimed, to the orderly rhymes of established poetic forms.
Time and the inherently free and wild forms of youthful imagination have proven the critics completely wrong. Gorgeously illustrated by Paul René Gauguin, with his most antic line, as well as hand lettered, and playfully translated by Beck Crook, this collection of Hagerup poems is pure pleasure.
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