Williston Observer

Orford, N.H.—Julia Mentzer Fifield died quietly six days after her 107th birthday at the Alice Peck Day Hospital in Lebanon, N.H. with her daughter and son-in-law at her side.

She was born in Somerville, Mass., the daughter of Charles and Gertrude (Vinton) Mentzer. The family moved to North Williston when Julia was about four years old. She attended the Essex Junction High School, commuting to school on horseback. After her father’s death in 1923, Julia and her mother moved to Cambridge, Mass., where Julia attended Lesley Normal School (now Lesley University), graduating in 1926. She taught school in Somerville for three years. In 1930, she married Charles Paget Golding in a ceremony at the farm of George Clark in Plymouth, N.H. The Goldings started out in Longmeadow, Mass., where their children, Ann and Charles P., Jr., were born. They moved to South Dartmouth, Mass. in 1935 and Julia remained there until 1963.

While in South Dartmouth, Julia and Charles were active in The Spouters, a local theater group and Julia was a member and a past president of The Garden Club of Buzzard’s Bay (GCBB). She was the captain of the New Bedford Red Cross Motor Corps during World War II. Julia was widowed in 1947 and embarked on a career as a landscape gardener (her mother and grandmother were both gardeners) while raising her children. She was very involved in the GCBB’s participation at the Boston Flower Show for many years.

In 1960, Julia married Clifford Crane Fifield, an old family friend. They moved to her mother’s home in Orford, N.H. in 1963. Julia was very active in Orford as a member of the school board, chairman of the cemetery commission (which she took over from her husband after his death in 1978) and a longtime trustee of the Orford Social Library, a special interest, and a member and past president of Rondo. She helped spearhead the fund drive for Orford’s Community Fields and participated in Orford’s Bicentennial Celebration. She was a regular fixture at the annual Old Home Day. She was one of the founders of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Fairlee, Vt. and a devoted communicant.

In Hanover, she was very active with The Friends of the Hopkins Center and the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and was instrumental in the start of the Montshire Museum at its original site in Hanover. She also was instrumental in the development of The Magic Carpet program of the Montshire, which continues to this day. She was an honorary member of The Hanover Garden Club.

Julia was trustee of the Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, N.H. for ten years and Chairman of the New Hampshire Preservation Association Review Board for three terms, appointed first by Governor Meldrim Thomson. She was on the committee for the restoration of the Bedell Bridge in Haverhill, N.H. and a Colonial Dame in the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, New Hampshire Chapter.

She was also active in The Garden Club of America, serving as national chairman consecutively of the Horticulture Committee, the Flower Shows Committee, and the Conservation Committee. Following those assignments, she was a director. She received the Acheivement Award of the Garden Club of America in 1988, a singular honor.

Julia loved Orford. She held the Boston Post Cane, which she received in 1995. She always attended Town Meeting although her recent attendance was limited due to hearing loss. She was devoted to her friends, both in Orford and in Hanover and surrounding towns. She particularly enjoyed attending Dartmouth football games and in later years, her lunch groups in town. She will be sorely missed by her family and friends.

She is survived by her daughter, Ann (Joe) Davis of Orford, her son, Paget Golding of Bradenton, Fla., three stepsons, George (Helen) Fifield of Sterling, Mass., Crane (Fay Ann) Fifield of Seneca Falls, N.Y. and Walter (Jeanne) Fifield of Concord, N.H., and her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Contributions in her name will be welcome at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 158, Fairlee, Vt. 05045 and at The Orford Social Library, P.O. Box 189, Orford, N.H. 03777.

There will be a private committal service at the convenience of the family. Also there will be a Celebration of Julia’s Life in May, time and date to be determined, in the garden of her Orford home.

The Hale Funeral Home of Bradford is in charge of arrangements.

To view an online guestbook go to www.halefuneralhome.com

The listings below are a small sample of the more than 350 volunteer opportunities at more than 250 local agencies. For more information or to volunteer, visit www.unitedwaycc.org or call 860-1677.

ESSEX CHIPS MLK DAY

Celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King by volunteering for some fun and meaningful opportunities throughout the day, then unwind and connect with others at a community dinner in the evening. Service projects include writing letters to troops with Operation Military Kids, making valentines and bookmarks for veterans, shelving and organizing at Brownell Library, painting at the Senior Center and more. Monday, Jan. 21, two- to four-hour shifts throughout the day. Dinner at 6 p.m. at Essex High School.

LUCY’S HOUSE FOR THE PREVENTION OF HOMELESS PETS

For Martin Luther King Day, help make dog and cat toys and sew fleece pet beds to hand out at local food shelves. Monday, Jan. 21, 1-4 p.m.

CHRISTMAS KETTLE

Groups and individuals can moniter a kettle location, ring the bell and welcome people to donate to the Salvation Army kettle effort. Funds support the Friendly Kitchen and Family Christmas program. Through Dec. 24, four-hour shifts between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

MENTOR! MENTOR!

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is looking for volunteer mentors who are passionate about the legislative process will help coordinate the Girls Rock program in the spring and serve as troop leaders.  References and background check required. The Girl Scouts are also looking for troop leaders to serve two or more hours/month, weekends and evenings.

TEEN PROGRAM

Sara Holbrook Community Center is looking for volunteers to assist in daily programs for youth in grades 6-12.  This is a “drop-in” time for teen to hang out, play games, etc. Weekdays between 2:15 and 5:30 p.m. at least once a week. Interview and background check required.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR NEEDED

People Helping People Global provides tools such as microloans, training and market information to help people and communities escape extreme poverty. It is looking for a volunteer to organize, motivate, teach and supervise volunteers at local events, festivals and fairs. Experience managing volunteers is very important. Weekdays and weekends, two to four hours per week.

PROGRAM ASSISTANCE NEEDED

The Burundian American Association of Vermont needs volunteers to help with grant applications, program direction and English teachers for the elders. Volunteers should be qualified to work with a low-income community and should understand background differences. Flexible scheduling.

RED CROSS NEEDS

American Red Cross Blood Services needs volunteers to welcome donors to the canteen, serve refreshments, chat with donors and seek assistance if a donor is not feeling well. Registration volunteers are also needed. Flexible weekday and Saturday scheduling, training provided.

Youth News

The Library Giving Tree

Need a gift idea this holiday season? Please consider donating an item to the library in honor of a family member, friend or favorite teacher. Each ornament on the Giving Tree represents an item that library staff would like to add to the youth or adult collection. We’ll provide a gift enclosure card for the recipient and a brief dedication inside the item.

Little Red Riding Hood

Friday, Dec. 21, 10:30 a.m. Come to a play! Preschoolers and their families are invited to watch a short play and listen to stories presented by Camel’s Hump Middle School students. A craft activity follows. No pre-registration.

Coming in January

Spanish Stories and Music: Friday, Jan. 4, 10:30 a.m.

Book Art! Thursday, Jan. 10, 3 p.m. Children in grades 3-5 learn about different book genres and make posters illustrating their favorite books. Eighth grade challenge project. Pre-register at 878-4918.

Winter Story Hour: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. New session starts Jan. 8. Stories and a craft for children ages 3-5.

Early Literacy Workshop for Early Childhood Educators: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 6-8 p.m. At KinderStart Preschool. Licensure credit available. Pre-register at 878-4918.

Toddler Time: Friday, Jan. 11, 10:30 a.m. For children ages 1-3.

Pajama Story Time with Abby Klein: Monday, Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m.

Homeschool Science Program: Project MICRO: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 1-3 p.m. Students explore microscopic worlds in this hands-on workshop presented by Janet Schwarz from the UVM College of Medicine Microscopy Imaging Center. Ages 9 and up. Pre-register at 878-4918.

Adult Programs 

Brown Bag Book Club

Friday, Dec. 21 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Looking to meet others who love to discuss books? This month we will discuss “A Room of One’s Own,” by Virginia Woolf. Coffee, tea, juice and dessert provided.

Shape and Share Life Stories

Monday, Jan. 14 and 28 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Prompts trigger real life experience stories, which are crafted into engaging narratives and shared with the group. Led by Recille Hamrell. Free and open to all adults.

Lincoln: Bicentennial of His Birth

Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. Abraham Lincoln would have turned 200 in 2009. Celebrate with an in-depth look at the man behind the president in two celebrated biographies and Lincoln’s own words. Part of the Vermont Humanities Reading and Discussion Series, led by John Turner. Session 1: “Lincoln” by David Herbert Donald. Please register.

New titles at the library

New Non-Fiction

In “Champlain Valley Through our Eyes,” the Burlington Free Press has created an aesthetically pleasing photographic journey through the history of the Champlain Valley from the late 1800s through the 1960s.

“Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America.” As one of the nation’s leading healthy food advocates, Wenonah Hauter believes that the local food movement is not enough to solve America’s food crisis and  takes aim at the consolidation and corporate control of food production.

New Fiction

Brom, the author and artist of “The Child Thief,” returns with “Krampus the Yule Lord,” a modern fabulist tale of the dark enemy of Santa Claus.

From award-winning and bestselling Chinese author Tie Ning comes “The Bathing Women,” a stunningly original novel that captures the spirit of a new generation of young professionals in contemporary China.

The Dorothy Alling Memorial Library is located at 21 Library Lane in Williston, and can be reached at 878-4918. www.williston.lib.vt.us

By Katherine Bielawa Stamper

Dear Readers: I abandoned my planned column for this week as events in Newtown, Connecticut began to unfold. This piece is my homage to the victims of violence.

“Help me, please,” a voice emerged from the darkness.

The voice startled me, interrupting my deliberate stride.

I’d grown accustomed to walking Pittsburgh’s streets alone at night. As a graduate student, I traversed a well-worn path from the university library to my apartment two miles away in a faded Italian neighborhood. I kept to well-lighted streets, maintaining an acute awareness of my surroundings.

“Help, please,” came another, more desperate plea.

My eyes turned from the sidewalk, drawn to the darkened doorway of a Catholic high school across from the Cathedral of St. Paul in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. I left the sidewalk, guided by a muffled cry for assistance.

Huddled in darkness, shaking with fear, I saw the image of an older women. Her diminutive size spoke of a vulnerability, a fragility amid the harsh realities of a major American city at night. Her tiny frame leaned, left shoulder tilted downward, as if weighted by an invisible boulder.

“Someone was supposed to pick me up,” she said with difficulty. “I think they forgot. I’m afraid to walk home myself. Would you walk me home?”

“Stroke,” I thought to myself. The woman spoke and carried the physical traits of someone who survived a devastating stroke. Impaired speech, challenged mobility and the distinct weakness of one side of her body must have compounded her fear as she waited alone in the darkness.

I couldn’t leave her. I did what I was taught to do: I walked her home. She leaned on my arm as I adjusted my pace to accommodate her labored footsteps.

“My name is Kathy,” I said.

“I’m Betsy,” she answered.

It was during that slow walk and slow talk that Betsy asked me questions about myself. I told her I was a transplant from Massachusetts studying at the University of Pittsburgh. I was careful not to burden her with too many questions as speaking came with considerable difficulty.

Betsy said she lived nearby and her daughter was supposed to pick her up from a meeting. This was before cell phones. The darkened building told me the meeting ended long ago.

I walked Betsy to her home, leaving when she was safely inside.

Talking with my daughter while en route to church this past Sunday, the first Sunday following the tragic school shootings in Newtown, Conn., I mentioned how I pray each morning in the car on my way to work. Prayer for me is, first and foremost, about gratitude. Prayer is also about inviting wisdom or help for myself and others.

I shared with my daughter how—25 years later—I always ask for a blessing for “Betsy” and anyone like her, that they “may find the help they need.”

“I’m sure Betsy is fine,” my daughter said.

“Betsy is probably no longer here,” I said with a smile. “My point is that I hope each of us finds the help we need when we need it, whether from family, friends or a total stranger on a darkened street.”

As Christmas approaches, my heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones in Connnecticut and anywhere else violence has visited. My heart is saddened for the perpetrators, lost souls who themselves needed help.

We must take steps as a nation to curb gun violence. To me, this is simply part of the equation. We must also take steps to reach those isolated, ill and estranged members of society to offer the help needed, to weave them back into the tapestry that makes us a strong and diverse people.

Be a helper.

Katherine Bielawa Stamper lives in Williston. Reader comments are welcome at [email protected] or [email protected]

Maple Leaf Farm helps our neighbors

I am compelled to rebut the esteemed Dr. Nesbit’s remarks in the Dec. 13 Observer regarding Maple Leaf Farm locating in Williston.

I’m grieved by the “yes, we need this, but not in my backyard; perhaps we can hide the project deep in the forest… maybe out of our town… hidden from our conscience, anywhere but here” attitude. This is, at best, fear based through ignorance; at worst, prejudice (re: this issue) toward a significant universe of people from every walk of life.

Since 1956, Maple Leaf Farm has served over 28,000 people from throughout Vermont and about 14,000 people from Chittenden County. Numbers from each town vary each year, but last year Maple Leaf Farm served eight people from Williston. Many of us have moms, dads, relatives and friends (if not ourselves) who have directly benefitted from counseling at Maple Leaf Farm. These numbers explode when adding the lives of all those changed lives.

Maple Leaf Farm is not a prison, it’s a treatment program. Residents are there voluntarily and have medical staff, counselors and supervisors available 24/7. Patients are involved in a rigorous program that runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Even recreation is supervised. Schools and the Interstate are two to four miles away. No patient in the program has threatened a child in its 56-year history.

The proposed site at Pine Ridge is indeed “a serene setting,” very conducive to rehabilitation and renewal of the spirit. There are walking trails, brooks meander between steep ridges, mature forest is complemented with lush wetlands. All combine to assuage and renew the spirit. Maple Leaf Farm’s proposed location is indeed a magical spot that has served many others with special needs.

I have faith in our Williston Planning Commission. They understand the difference between NIMBY concerns and what is legally provided for.

Jim McCullough

Williston