MKIM’s mission is to connect people of today with 20,000 years of ongoing Native American cultural expression. The Museum embraces cultural diversity and encourages responsible environmental action and seeks to challenge and inspire all of us to improve the quality of our lives and our world. With these goals in mind, the Museum galleries, grounds and gardens have been designed as teaching tools while also functioning as tranquility zones in which visitors can find respite from the hectic pace of modern life. The Museum is also a favorite site for educational school field trips and hosts over 5,000 children each year. Since its founding over 17 years ago, nearly 250,000 people have visited. There are docent led tours daily and families enjoy the “Quests”, including the Completing the Circle Quest and Medicine Woods Quest. The Museum is closed in the winter. Visit the website at: http://www.indianmuseum.org/index.html
Some of the best hiking trails in our area are minded by a very dedicated group of volunteers. These trails cover 75 miles surrounding Lake Sunapee and going over Sunapee, Ragged and Kearsarge mountains.
The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition was formed in the mid-eighties by, as their brochure says, “a group of creative environmentalists” who were associated with the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, the Lake Sunapee Protective Association and local conservationists. That early group has evolved into a non-profit corporation led by directors from those towns which have SRKGC trails in them: Andover, Danbury, Goshen, Newbury, New London, Springfield, Sunapee, Sutton, Warner & Wilmot. The brochure best states their mission: “…to create and maintain a forever-green great circle of trail corridors and protected lands providing walkers with access to the mountains, lakes, vistas and historical sites of the region.”
The SRKGC is a wonderful example of the cooperation of enthusiastic volunteers, private landowners, and state and local governments. The organization welcomes new volunteers and memberships. Visit their site at: http://www.srkg.com/ There you will find a wealth of information on other hiking resources, as well as additional information about the trail network itself.
The Kearsarge Regional School District includes the towns of Bradford, Newbury, New London, Springfield, Sutton, Warner and Wilmot. As of 10/1/09, the enrollment from these towns totals 2,135 students. There are separate elementary schools (K-5) in Bradford, New London, Sutton and Warner. Springfield also has its own Kindergarten program. In March of 2007, the district opened a new and beautiful 123,321 square foot middle school in North Sutton. The old middle school in New London had become functionally obsolete, and 80 acres were purchased to include future growth. If you have not taken a drive around the new school and its well manicured playing fields, you really should do so! There are three grades there- 6,7, and 8. Each cluster has its own classrooms and common area. Stop in and take the tour of the impressive gym, cafeteria and library. Other spacious rooms house international languages, band, chorus, music, tech. ed and family and consumer science. There are about 460 happy students attending this school! Kearsarge Regional High School, also in North Sutton has a freshman academy wing that allows the freshmen to acclimate themselves to the school before blending in with the upper classmen. There are many wonderful activities going on there on a daily basis. One huge asset at this school is Project Climb. Hiking, canoeing and bike trips are enjoyed tremendously by members of this group. The High School Chorus goes to Disney World each Spring Break and performs on stage. They have won many awards! Their sports teams participate at the Class I Level for athletics. The school district has a website (Kearsarge.org) that is easy to access, should you need any further information.
Another non-profit organization manned entirely by volunteers which adds greatly to the richness of the New London Area’s offerings is The New London Outing Club (NLOC). The NLOC was founded in 1947, when a group of community members started to look for someplace for local residents to ski which would also be a draw for visitors in the winter. Eventually, a true, and much loved, ski area, King Ridge, grew out of this effort. In the years since, the Outing Club has expanded into many areas of outdoor (and, now, indoor) recreation for both young and old alike.
Facilities include Woodward Park (for tennis, baseball, horseshoes, bocce & soccer-to name a few-and just plain fun); Knights Hill Nature Park, a wonderful nearby area of trails and programs about the world around us-like star-gazing; and, the latest addition, The Outing Club Indoor Center which provides a year-round indoor facility for the community for activities from knitting to “Old School” games nights for adults. The area is very fortunate to have this incredible resource.
The New London/Lake Sunapee area has much to offer both residents and visitors, among which are dozens of stimulating and intriguing, mostly non-profit, organizations dedicated to a wide variety of interests. One of these is the New London Historical Society. As you will see if you visit their web site, the NLHS is an entirely volunteer organization which was founded in 1954. Their one-building site has dramatically expanded over the years to include many buildings moved there from around the area. Their mission is to preserve and present the history of New London which they do through a very wide variety of programs and presentations throughout the year, from hearth-side baking to Model “T” snowmobiles, and a lot in between. The NLHS also offers great ways to get involved, including helping the Tuesday Work Group do lots of odd-job projects around the campus, learning how to be a docent, helping with the newsletter, baking for an event, helping with acquisitions, etc. Check it out! We’re very lucky to have such a great organization both preserving our local history, as well as keeping us in touch with it. Marilyn Kidder 10/30/09
Living in a small town like Springfield has its benefits. We may have to travel a few minutes farther for work and groceries, but Springfield has a great sense of community! The town events throughout the year put on through the recreation department and the library bring us all together. Last July, the town held their first Old Home Day celebration since around 1969. With fewer people traveling for vacations, more people are finding fun things to do locally. There was a huge turn out! Events included: a craft fair, where many local people sold their handcrafted jewelry and crafts; a kids’ fishing derby, sponsored by the Lake Kolelemook Protective Association, was held at the town beach; a dunk tank where everyone had a chance to dunk members of the local fire department was a lot of fun; a parade; a bouncy house for the little kids, plus activities going on at the town hall and the historical society. The event was funded almost entirely by local donations, and the feed back was that they hope to have this event every year! Through the winter months, the town plans to have movie nights, free of charge, where families can enjoy a night out without going too far. The town library is another great place to find activities for children and families. They hold story times and gift sales during the holidays-a great place for kids to purchase a gift for parents, grandparents and siblings. In the past, through the summer, they have done fun craft activities with kids, such as making placemats from nature, and tie-dye tee shirts. Through the summer months, people meet down at the town beach, where kids can play with friends and enjoy the wonderful beach area and docks provided by the town. They can also go to the skate park in the center of town or basketball court for a friendly game of hoops. So, Springfield may be small in population but it’s big on community! There is always something going on, whether it’s on the rec field, in the town hall, or at the beach…Springfield residents are always getting together for friendship and fun!
Just the other day, I again realized what an incredible place the New London/Lake Sunapee area is to live. Even in the dregs of the ugliest month of the year (November), you can find something new to do. Two friends invited me to go hiking on one of the Greenway trails. It had been a long time since we had caught up with each other, but I really had things I should be doing. Anyway, I decided to go. I tried to back out at the last minute because it was cloudy, and I will sometimes find any excuse to cancel. After all, I'm not a hiker. At 9:30 we were parking the car off of Route 114 in Springfield. It took us 15 minutes to drive from the projected end of the hike to the start, so now I was very leery. I wasn't sure we would make it back before dark. Thank goodness my good friend was prepared for all disasters. She even had mole skin for my blisters. It took us 1 hour to find the fourth trail marker. We had been out for an entire hour and I could still see the car through the trees! This wasn't a good sign. We decided it was safe to go on since there are several bail outs along the way. An hour into the hike--I was with good friends having great conversation, catching up on their families and telling funny stories in the most beautiful area I had seen in a long time. Open fields, views of Little Sunapee, Lake Sunapee, distant mountains and most of all, deep woods, with no sound but the leaves rustling under our feet and our voices. Every once in a while an animal would warn its friends of our arrival. We heard a fox. We saw a hawk take off from just a few yards away. A pheasant almost scared me to death when it took off just feet from us. We didn't make it the entire 8 miles, but we were only short by 3. We bailed out at Twin Lake Villa by taking the Kidder Brook trail down. We called my friend’s husband and he picked us up and drove us to the car. It was a very memorable day. The hike was 5 hours long. We were all smiling. Sharon LaVigne, GRI
STATE PARKS IN THE DARTMOUTH-LAKE SUNAPEE REGION
Our area is fortunate to have 8 State Parks within easy distance. The Sculptured Rocks Natural Area, consisting of 272 acres, features a narrow canyon carved into curious shapes by the Cockermouth River on its way to Newfound Lake. Gardner Memorial Wayside Park is part of Gile State Forest, which spans 6,675 acres and does offer some mountain bikeas well as hiking trails. There is a scenic picnic area with picnic tables, and it’s also a popular place for hiking. Mt.Sunapee State Park is a major recreation area for winter alpine skiing, plus a wonderful place for hiking, picnicking, and camping, as well as swimming, boating, and fishing on Lake Sunapee from the Mt. Sunapee State Park Beach. Once of the “lesser known gems” is Pillsbury State Park where a great variety of wildlife share the bounty of its heavy woodlands and ponds and wetlands. There is a hiking trail network which actually connects Mt. Monadnock with Mt. Sunapee (51 miles), as well as mountain biking trails. Also available are canoeing, fishing and picnicking. Rollins State Park in Warner is on the south slope of Mt. Kearsarge. Drive 3.5 miles to the picnic area and enjoy the fantastic views or hike the ½ mile trail to the summit. Wadleigh State Beach offers swimming on lovely Kezar Lake in Sutton. It’s a great place for family outings. Winslow State Park is located on the northwest slope of Mt. Kearsarge in Wilmot. There is a fantastic plateau for picnicking and admiring the views, or take the 1 mile foot trail to the summit or try the longer loop trail.
For more information on any of these wonderful facilities, visit the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation at:
http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us/state-parks/by-region/dartmouth-sunapee-region.aspx
11/19/09-WP