Easter Egg Hunt
Attention kids of ALL ages-be on the lookout around town
for the Easter Bunny’s little helper. He will soon be hopping
down the bunny trail spreading springtime cheer throughout
Northwood! You never know where he will be seen from day to day.
Join the Northwood Recreation Department for our 8th Annual
Easter Egg Hunt! There are two Easter Egg Hunts based on the age
of the participants. For children ages 10 and under the date is
Saturday, March 24. Be on the lookout for the Easter Bunny
around 9:45am. Where there is an egg hunt there is bound
to be a bunny nearby. The Easter Egg Hunt will begin at
10:00 AM SHARP at the Northwood Elementary School. There
will be 2 golden eggs hidden in each age group. Find a
golden egg and receive a special prize! Don’t forget to bring
your own basket and cameras. This is a free event and is
open to Northwood Residents only.
For
youth ages 11 and over there is a FLASHLIGHT Easter Egg Hunt on
Friday, March 23 at 8:00ish (after it gets dark) at Northwood
Elementary School. Join the race for the Golden Egg IN THE
DARK. Be sure to bring A FLASHLIGHT and something to collect
eggs in. This is also a free event and is open to Northwood
Residents only. For additional information contact the
Recreation Department at
[email protected]
or 942-5586 x209.
This Weekend’s LRPA After Dark Feature:
1936’s “Great Guy”
Join Lakes Region Public Access Television at 10:30 p.m. this
Friday and Saturday night (March 16 & 17) for our “LRPA After
Dark” presentation of 1936’s seldom-seen crime drama “Great
Guy,” starring James Cagney and Mae Clarke. Stay with us after
the movie, as we run some vintage cartoons!
The
plot for “Great Guy” is fairly straightforward. Retired
prizefighter Johnny Cave (Cagney), engaged to his girlfriend
Janet Henry (Clarke) and trying to make a decent living, accepts
the position of Deputy Chief in the New York City Bureau of
Weights and Measures. Soon enough, he discovers that his
department is filled with corruption, deceptive business
practices and lies, all of which are cheating hard-working
families struggling through the final years of the Great
Depression. Cave takes on the dishonest bureaucrats and
businessmen, rebuffing threats and bribes, and getting into more
than his share of physical altercations. His career, his life
with Janet, and his future are all under attack, but what can an
ex-boxer and all-around “great guy” do, except to fight for what
he believes is right?
“Great Guy” was Cagney’s first film at Grand National Pictures,
one of the so-called “Poverty Row” Hollywood studios that
specialized in low budget B-movies. Cagney had been out of the
spotlight for more than a year due to litigation over his
walkout at Warner Bros. He was sick of being typecast as the
“tough guy” and wanted more control over the types of roles he
was being offered. The production values on “Great Guy” are
decidedly low, especially by comparison to the movies that
Cagney had made up until that time, but the storyline is solid
and entertaining, and the performances, particularly those from
the two leads and the many supporting actors, are solid. The
viewer will realty feel the influence of the Great Depression on
this film: the average American was feeling the economic pinch,
and our hero fought for their everyday struggles. If you’re a
Cagney lover, then “Great Guy” is for you. It showcases the
actor’s unique charisma and his reflection of American
integrity, doing what’s right, even if the costs are high. It
has been described by some film devotees as the “most off-beat
film noir that you’ll ever see.” How can you resist? So grab
your popcorn and meet us after dark for this rare gem of a film.
Pvt. John Bickford Gets His Headstone
Submitted By Richard Doucet, Joseph J. Jeffrey Post 7217,
Communications Officer
“Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure”
-Abraham Lincoln
There is a philosophy in the military that is codified in the US
Army Ranger motto “No one is left behind”. An American
hero, Northwood native son, and military veteran has been left
behind. His remains are buried in an unmarked grave in a closed
cemetery. His identity and location known only to a few
dedicated persons in Northwood. However, that will now
change.
Pvt. John Bickford of Starks Regiment, Dearborn’s Company,
Continental Army will now have a headstone indicating who he was
and how he served in the Revolutionary War.
This nearly two-year long journey of discovery started at our
June 2016 VFW meeting when some of us noted that it was a shame
that many really old grave markers were in disrepair or even
missing. As the post’s communications officer I was asked to do
a story on the Northwood cemeteries, especially the really old
sites.
With the patient help of Mr. Stephen Bailey of Northwood I
learned a lot about the cemeteries and their upkeep and produced
an article carried in the SVS.
In
a following meeting we voted to petition the Town of Northwood
to allow the post to attempt to do something about a site.
We decided that the most likely candidate would be the site of a
Revolutionary War soldier. This would be an older site as
these are more likely to need reconditioning and are least
likely to have any remaining family to maintain them. But
who to pick and how to find them?
We
were greatly helped by Mr. Sherman Elliot of Northwood.
His detailed knowledge of the history of the town pointed us to
the documents we needed to find revolutionary war veterans’
names. Mr. Bailey stepped in again to help by locating the
resting place of Pvt. Bickford. When I discussed finding
someone who could produce a period headstone for Pvt. Bickford
he pointed out that the Veterans’ Administration (VA) might do
that. Shannon Brown, Past State Commander of the NH VFW,
and member of the Northwood post, provided me with the VA web
page that verified that the VA would provide a headstone for
Pvt. Bickford if , and that was a big if, it could be proven
that Pvt. Bickford served in the Continental Army and was paid
or received other certain compensations for his service.
Once again Mr. Elliot provided me with the documents needed to
try and get this proof. Ninety days and $30.00 later I
received the copies of the pay records of Pvt. Bickford, dating
back to 1775, from the National Archives in Washington DC.
Now we were really on a roll!
Two
other hurdles had to be overcome: authorization from the
family for the monument and some proof of death/internment.
On
the first count there was no family to go to. And, though I
tried through the town, the Sate of NH Office of Vital
Statistics and even the Governor’s Office, there were no records
that go back to 1842, the year Pvt. Bickford died. Once
again Mr. Bailey came forward and the Town of Northwood provided
documentation that gave us permission to install the headstone
and attested that other historical documentation proved that
Pvt. Bickford was indeed buried in the Canterbury Cemetery in
Northwood. All that was now needed was someone to accept
the headstone and certify it was installed
Mr.
John A Hall, Hall Monuments of Northwood agreed to do both. I
sent off the application to Quantico, VA on Nov 25, 2017.
On March 1, 2018 I was informed by Mr. Hall that headstone had
been delivered…Pvt. Bickford would not be forgotten!
We
are now starting to plan a rededication ceremony and wreath
laying at the site in the near future. We will be looking for
the participation of other veterans’, community, military, and
historical organization to join us. If your organization
would be interested in participating send me a short letter
(e-mail) of intent to: Commander Post 7217,
[email protected]
to assist us in our planning.
As
I pointed out in my article on the cemeteries, we do so much to
house the items that were used in great events in museums but do
so little to remember the people who were there and used those
items. The marking of a location where lies the remains of
one of these heroes seems one way to help the younger
generations understand who helped establish and defend the
freedoms that we all have today.
The
charter of the VFW states that we are dedicated to honoring the
memory of all of our veterans…but we need not be the only ones
who do that. Any civic group…(Scouts, are you looking for
and Eagle Scout project?)…can do what we did. It took
nearly two years to find the path to doing it but now the path
is clear…it can be done again.
President John F Kennedy may have said it best…and I take the
liberty to update what he said:
“A
nation reveals itself not only by the men (and women) it
produces but also by the men (and women) it honors. The
men (and women) it remembers.
Pvt. John Bickford is not forgotten.
Letter To The Editor
As
we know, something has to be done about the trash overflow at
the transfer station. The Board of Selectmen have purchased a
new container for the compactor. This one is a 45 yd. container,
the old one is a 40yd. Hopefully this extra 5 yards will be
enough. The cost was $8,040 and the monies came from the
expendable trust, so no tax impact. The monies from this fund
comes from recycling programs and is used for improvements to
the facility. This is where the money came from for the new swap
shop and bulb, battery storage trailer. The trailer is set up
for use and the new building will be here Friday. (March 9)
Everything we recycle is not only kept out of landfills, it
earns money so that when we need to make improvements to the
facility the money is there.
I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that many who use the
facility are not recycling and some don’t have a permit on their
windshield. If you don’t have a permit, you are not allowed to
use the facility. Permits are available at the town hall.
Recycling is mandatory, if you don’t understand the term, call
me and I’ll explain it.
If
you don’t choose to recycle, get a dumpster or have curb-side
pick-up. That way you won’t have to sort anything and you can
act like it’s 1952 and there are no consequences to your
actions. For anyone who thinks this letter is too harsh, and I
know some of you do, remember your paying the bill.
Til
Next Time
Viena Dow
Northwood School And Cbna Registered Nurses Attend Nh
School Nurse Association Conference
Submitted By Beth Benham, Rn, Bsn
Northwood School and CBNA Registered Nurses Beth Benham and
Laurie Foster attended the NH School Nurse Association
conference on Saturday, March 10 to become Stop the Bleeding
Trainers.
They learned and practice the skills necessary to help stop
significant bleeding that can result from a variety of injuries,
including gunshot wounds. Being able to stop or slow
bleeding from severe injuries can reduce loss of life in mass
casualty incidents like active shooter events.
Mrs. Foster and Mrs. Benham plan to have trauma kits placed
around their respective school buildings and to train at least
some of their school colleagues in how to Stop the Bleeding, a
skill that is being taught to non-medical people all across the
country.
Much as laypeople have contributed to saving lives by learning
and performing CPR, AED use and emergency first aid, they can
also learn when and how to properly apply strong, steady
pressure, pack a wound and apply a pressure dressing and/or
tourniquet while waiting for EMS to arrive. The more
people in a community that are able to do this, the more lives
can be saved.