Page 14
The Colebrook Chronicle
Friday, October 14, 2016
Around The Region
Wayne Nutbron, with a little assistance from John Robinson, working
to plow the perfect line during the Sherbrooke-Compton plowing
match. Corey Bellam photo.
This year, 24 competitors took park in the famed Sherbrooke-Compton plowing match at the Lucas Gass
property near Johnville, Que. Corey Bellam photo.
The horses lined up and ready to work, four teams of which were
demonstrated during the plowing match. Corey Bellam photo.
SHERBROOKE-COMPTON
PLOWING MATCH
While many were resting up
after Canadian Thanksgiving
last Monday, the 24 competitors
in the Sherbrooke-Compton
annual plowing match were up
early and heading to the land of
Lucas Gass near Johnville, Que.,
to plow with horses and antique
tractors.
The match consisted of eight
people registering with four
teams of horses, and 16 with
tractors. Seven of the plowmen
had come from Richmond, Que.,
to take part.
The fun all started at around
9 a.m. with the horse plowmen
making their first scratch. The
day was filled with laughter,
draft horses, and exhaust from
tractors. The measuring tapes
were in use and all hoped to plow
the perfect furrow and keep the
judge happy.
At around 3 p.m., it was time
to head home after a long day of
competing. The results will be
made public Friday, Oct. 14 in
Ives Hill at the Plowmans Turkey Supper.
–Corey Bellam
AUTHOR SERIES ON 10TH
MOUNTAIN DIVISION
The story of the famous World
War Two era 10th Mountain
Division will be the focus of the
final event in the 2016 Littleton
Public Library Author Series.
The featured speaker for the
Wednesday, Oct. 19, event will
be Jeff Leich, longtime executive
director of the Franconia Notch–
based New England Ski Museum
and author of the book, Tales of
the Tenth, which chronicles the
history of the 10th Mountain
Division.
Following its formation in
November 1941, the U.S. War
Department
engaged
the
National Ski Patrol to fill the
ranks of the new mountain
troops, and this unique recruiting method brought together
thousands of like-minded men
oriented to a life in the outdoors.
Three intensive winters of experimentation with military mountain doctrine and high altitude
training, two of them at Camp
Hale,
Colo.,
hardened
10th Mountain Division soldiers
to an elite level of fitness and
skill in mountain operations.
When the 10th entered combat
in the Apennine Mountains of
Italy in January 1945, they distinguished themselves in a series
of brutal battles in the waning
days of World War II.
After the war, many of its
veterans drew upon the skills
that had gotten them into the
mountain unit, and turned them
into modes of living, and of earn-
Plowing techniques old and new were demonstrated with horse and tractor during the competition. Corey
Bellam photo.
ing a living, in the mountain
environment. Some of their
efforts resulted in thriving educational and business in the outdoor recreation field that would
boom in the 1950s and thereafter.
In recognition of their activation seventy five years ago, the
Ski Museum is currently hosting
an exhibit that focuses on the
profound influence that 10th
Mountain veterans had on the
direction that skiing and outdoor
recreation would take in postwar
America. The exhibition, The
Mountain Troops and Mountain
Culture in Postwar America, can
be seen at the Museum in Franconia Notch State Park through
mid-April 2017.
The upcoming Oct. 19 presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. in
the library’s McLure Program
Room. The author series is
hosted by Littleton Public
Library and funded by the local
publishing firm Bondcliff Books
of Littleton. This event is free
and open to the public. For more
information, contact Littleton
Public Library at 444-5741.
COL. TOWN PLAYERS
PRESENT POE
The Colonel Town Players of
Lancaster pose the question,
"What do a Pit, Bells, Masque,
Raven, Annabelle, Black Cat,
Heart, Cask, and a Burial all
have in common?"
And, of course, the answer:
Edgar Allan Poe, horror, brilliance, and good all around scary
"fun" for Halloween.
Directed by John Ayers, these
staged readings of some of Poe's
most powerful short works provide color and darkness just in
time for our favorite frightening
holiday. Shows are at the Lancaster Town Hall at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and
29, and at 2 p.m. for the Sunday,
Oct. 30 matinee. All tickets are
$10 at the door.
TINY HOUSE BASICS
The Friends of the Weeks
Memorial Library in Lancaster
will be sponsoring a program
called “Tiny House Basics” on
Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Lancaster
Town Hall. The presentation by
Isa Bauer, project manager and
lead designer from Tiny House
Northeast, will focus on the
basics of planning for and owning
a tiny house on wheels, its challenges and advantages. It will
offer insights unique from the
currently popular tiny house
themed TV shows, from approximately “how much,” to “where to
live,” to the efficient use of space
and the management of composting toilets. Options for tiny house
design, heat, hot water, and elec(Continued on page 15)