December 19, 2009 Great Northwoods Journal Page 5

Princess SunriseVerse tales for wise children and gentle grownups

Written and illustrated by Esther M. Leiper-Estabrooks

THE CLOUDIt seems a shame I cannot stay

To see the folk here work and playBut soon enough I’m due to weep

For I’ve a rendezvous to keep,Watering gardens by dusty lanes

Plus spattering cottage window panes.

Below a woman with swish and swashStirs heaped-up laundry in the washWith sudsy tubs full, overflowing,

Face all rosy; plump cheeks glowing.A knight is polishing armor too

While a lazy lout yawns nought to do!

Two men wrestle; a good-wife talks;A peddler yells at a mule that balks,

While a black-curled girl is leaning lowTo watch my passing, calm and slow.

I’ll send her a shady patch of coolTo go with my image in her pool!

Then should a tiny breeze come by,A gentle wind puff, soft as a sigh,I’ll ask it swoop to touch her faceAs I would in that breeze’s place.But I have a rendezvous to rain

And shall never pass this way again.

Mt. Prospect Ski ClubT-Shirts are in at

ECHOʼSBoth orange and blue available

78 Main St., Lancaster(603) 788-2525

Leonell “Buddy” Riendeau, center, received the “Lt. DonaldWhite Memorial Fireman of the Year Award”. Chief RandyFlynn announced the winner and Carol White presented theaward in memory of her late husband.

(Photo by Lyndall Demers)

By Lyndall DemersLANCASTER — On

Saturday, Dec. 12, members ofthe Lancaster Fire Departmentand their guests enjoyed a roastbeef dinner served at ChristUnited Methodist Church Hall.

Following the dinner, FireChief Randy Flynn announcednew members of the depart-ment: Paramedic MichelleConkright. New member JustinKenison, and Explorers ZackWhite, Nick Ireland and CaseyHenry.

Leon Rideout has receivedhis First Responder license.

New EMT-Basics were:Derrick Crowell, LorraineHenry and Joanne Enman. AndWendy Stewart recentlyobtained her EMT-Intermediatelicense.

Zina Schmidt received herplaque for completing five yearson the force.

There were three people rec-ognized for having completed 10years on the department. Theywere Mike Kopp, Mike Bastianand James Fuller.

Frank Brundle, Dean Flynn

and Sam White were recognizedfor 20 years service to theLancaster Fire Department.

Dana Flynn, who was notpresent at this year’s dinner,was recognized upon his retire-ment from the force, after 21years service.

Receiving the EMT of theYear award this year as some-one who “takes on responsibili-ty” and takes on any job wasZina Schmidt.

This year’s recipient of theLt. Donald White MemorialFireman of the Year Award wasLeonell “Buddy” Riendeau.Chief Flynn said that it is rareto find someone as excited asBuddy is about training to be afireman. Carol White, was onhand to make the presentationto Buddy in memory of her latehusband.

Kevin Whiting presented anaward on behalf of the State ofNew Hampshire, to RandyFlynn, for 16 years service asDeputy Forest Fire Warden.

A slide presentation was puttogether by Nathan Wert, whichincluded happenings of the

Several honored at Lancaster Fire’sAnnual Dinner and awards ceremony

department over the past year.Training classes and fires werefeatured including the mostrecent one on Depot Street intown. At the end of the programwere some slides of Sam Evans.Sam was a 42-year veteran ofthe department and is missed byall on the department, in thecommunity, and beyond.

There were four promotionsannounced by Chief RandyFlynn. They were Dan King whowas promoted to Deputy Chief,Kevin Whiting and Michael

Kopp were both promoted toAssistant Chief, and LeonRideout was promoted toLieutenant.

More FireDept.

photos on Page 7

Page 6 Great Northwoods Journal December 19, 2009

Fun things to do

Crosswo rd answers on Page 12

Sudoku answerson Page 12

Answers on Page 12

Across1. Waistband5. Cutting remark9. Advance, slangily13. Dwarf buffalo14. Elaborate songs for solo voice16. Bang-up17. Used in cough syrups18. Come from behind19. Align20. Nyctalopia23. Clod chopper24. Victorian, for one25. Point within something at which

gravity can be considered to act34. Bridges in movies35. Long-limbed36. When doubled, a dance37. Balloon filler38. Aerosol39. Be mistaken40. Nancy, in Nancy41. Someone who plies a trade42. Gauge boson that mediates

strong interaction among quarks44. Old Glory47. “C’___ la vie!”48. Backboard attachment49. Courses for adults otherwise

unengaged in formal study57. Norse deity58. Moved about aimlessly59. Barfly’s binge61. Gp. with Indonesia and Algeria

as members62. Glove material

SudokuFill in the grid so thatevery row, every col-umn, and every 3x3box contains the digits1 thru 9.

Difficulty:HARD

Crossword Puzzle63. “The Snowy Day” author ___

Jack Keats64. Makeup, e.g.65. Au ___66. Audition tape

Down1. Cal. col.2. Any minute3. Arias, usually4. Overbearing5. Trade6. Spirited, graceful, intelligent rid-

ing horse7. Brook8. Indonesian island9. Navigation system using location

and traffic information fromorbiting satellites

10. Dermatologist’s concern11. ___ probandi12. Short pegs that hold golf ball15. Working together of two things

to produce an effect greater thanthe sum of their individual parts

21. Worked the soil22. Heavy cart25. Kinship group

26. “Middlemarch” author27. Actress Shearer28. Perennial northern temperate

plant with small purplish-whiteflowers

29. Got along30. Growls31. Freeze32. Pang33. Tall tales38. Various small terrestrial

isopods with flat elliptical seg-mented bodies

41. “Hey there!”42. Pluck43. Specified45. Widow woman46. Businessperson49. “Thanks ___!”50. Blockhead51. Hawaiian strings52. Arrange, as hair53. Eye layer54. Ghanian monetary unit55. Exude56. Average60. Ultimate principle of the uni-

verse

AGNAlphaCentauriAngular diam-eter distanceApoapsisAsteroidAstronomyCallistoCelestial longi-tudeClusterComaCometCosmic dustDark matterEarthEclipse

EpochEquinoxEuropaGalactic planeGalaxyIoJupiterKeplerʼs lawMarsMean timeMercuryMeteoroidMilky WayMoonNebulaNebulusNeptuneOort cloud

OrbitPhasePleiadesPlutoQuasarRed dwarfRed giantRed PlanetRed shiftSatelliteSaturnSETIStarSunUniverseUranusVenus

Word Search

December 19, 2009 Great Northwoods Journal Page 7

To ourCustomers,

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

andHappy New Year!

We want to thank you for your Patronage!

From all of us atMunce’s Konvenience

Groveton

• WANTED •Paying top dollar for your

gold and silver coins.

(603) 616-8935

Frank Brundle, center, was recognized for 20 years service at Lancaster Fire Department’sannual dinner on Saturday, Dec. 12. He received the award from Chief Randy Flynn, left, andDeputy Chief Dan King. Frank was one of three receiving plaques for 20 years service to thedepartment. The other two were Sam White and Dean Flynn. (Photo by Lyndall Demers)

Fire chief Randy Flynn, right, received anhonor from Kevin Whiting, on behalf of theState of New Hampshire for his 16 years serv -ice as a Deputy Forest Fire Warden.

(Photo by Lyndall Demers)

Ron Wert, left, and Steven Jones, presentedZina Schmidt with the Lancaster Fire Depart -ment EMS Attendant of the Year award at thedepartment’s annual dinner on Saturday,Dec. 12.

(Photo by Lyndall Demers)

Mike Bastian, center, received a plaque for his15 years service with the Lancaster Depart -ment from Fire Chief Randy Flynn, left, andDeputy Chief Dan King.

(Photo by Lyndall Demers)

Mike Kopp, center, was presented a plaquehonoring his 15 years service to the LancasterFire Department, from Chief Randy Flynn,left, and Deputy Chief Dan King. Mike wasalso promoted to Assistant Chief at theDecember 12 celebration.

(Photo by Lyndall Demers)

There were several ginger-bread houses entered in theWeeks Memorial Library’s gin-gerbread contest during OldeTyme Christmas night inLancaster. We had some pic-tures in last week, and listed

names of some prize winners,but wanted to include all whowon prizes. That list follows:

Adult: 1st prize: Lori Shearer5-8 grade: 1st prize: Steven

Shearer; 2nd prize: Becky andKatie Stockley.

K-4th grade: 1st prize:Katelin and Nicholas Rodden,2nd prize: Travis Shearer, 3rdprize: Sukeshini Dugan-Henriksen, and 4th prize:Victoria Whitcomb.

Congratulations to all.

Weeks Memorial Library gingerbread contest winners

Check out our website!www.greatnorthwoodsjournal.net

Advertisers: Your ads appear on our website at no extra charge.

Page 8 Great Northwoods Journal December 19, 2009

Happy HikerStory and photos by John Compton

On a day in early December,there were intermittent snowshowers and a very overcast skythat showed no signs of signifi-cant improvement any timesoon. Finally, I concluded that itjust wasn’t going to be worth itto me to hike to some peak orledge where I probably wouldsee little or nothing. So, I decid-ed to head for the PondicherryWildlife Refuge for a simple low-altitude hike.

Along the way to the Refuge,

I decided to make a short sidetrip to do a mini-hike on the FlatIron Cross-Country Ski Trail,which begins just a short dis-tance up Zealand Road fromRoute 302. It wasn’t far out ofmy way to go to the ZealandRoad winter parking lot, andthen hoof it up the road to dothat short hike. Even thoughthere were no grooved ski trackson this particular day, I stillwore snowshoes so as to pre-serve the integrity of the trailfor cross-country skiers.

I had hiked this trail abouttwo years ago and rememberedthat there are some nice river-side views of the Zealand River.However, the highlight of thishike is an outlook, which pro-vides a unique viewing angle onNorth and South Sugarloaf.Even though it was quite over-cast, I was still able to experi-ence this distinctive view.Actually, the weather conditionsmade the Sugarloafs even moreprominent since the tops of thesurrounding higher mountains

Three low-altitude hikes on an overcast day

Sugarloaf Mountains from Cross Country Ski Trail.

Lower Ammonoosuc Fallswere obscured in the clouds.

After this short foray on thecross-country ski trail, I headedback to the parking lot. Then,just as I was about to get intomy car, I happened to recall thatfrom the other end of this lot, it’sjust a short walk to the LowerAmmonoosuc Falls. So, I decid-ed to take another short side-trip. Within a few minutes ofsteady walking, I could hear thethunder of the falls, and soonspotted them just a short dis-tance ahead. The water wasreally churning after its longjourney from high up at Lakes ofthe Clouds near the top of Mt.Washington. I snapped a fewphotos and returned to my car.

So now with two mini-hikesalready under my belt, I finallyheaded off for the PondicherryWildlife Refuge. This Refugefirst gained recognition in 1964when it became an AudubonSociety of New Hampshire sanc-tuary. In 1972 the NationalPark Service designated thearea as a National NaturalLandmark, and it was honoredas New Hampshire’s firstImportant Bird Area in 2004.

This Refuge spans the townsof Jefferson and Whitefield, andit encompasses a mosaic ofponds, bogs, wetlands, borealand mixed forests. About 10,000years ago, as the glaciers werereceding, this area was at thebottom of a huge body of waterknown as Lake Israel by paleo-geologists. Today, the only rem-nants of this ancient lake arethree relatively small pondsknown as Cherry, Little Cherry,and Mud ponds.

It’s uncertain as to how thisarea came to be known asPondicherry. This nameappeared on several early mapsin the late 1700s. It’s thoughtthat perhaps the name was giv-en by the early FrenchCanadian explorers. However,well before the French explor-ers, this area was known to theprehistoric Native Americans.There is archeological evidenceof their settlements along whatwould have been the shoreline ofthe ancient Lake Israel.

Those who visit this areaduring the spring and summer

months may be annoyed by theabundance of biting insects.However, the insects are amajor reason that the Refugehas so many species of birds andcarnivorous plants. Over 235bird species have been spottedhere. In addition, turtles, frogs,black bear, moose, and white-tailed deer are also common.

Guidebooks and/or anInternet search will providedetails about the trails thatenable visitors to access CherryPond, Little Cherry Pond, andthe Moorhen Marsh region ofthe Refuge. A new trail is near-ing completion, which will pro-vide access to Mud Pond. Theponds and the marsh each havetheir own unique features andinnate beauty to be enjoyed. Asa bonus feature, there are spec-tacular views of the PresidentialRange from Moorhen Marsh,and from Cherry Pond at sever-al points along the shoreline andfrom a recently constructedviewing platform.

On the day of my hike, thePresidential Range was hiddenin clouds. However, there was avery impressive view lookingacross the partially frozenMoorhen Marsh at the snow-covered peaks of Mts. Waumbekand Starr King in the PlinyMountain Range. Also, at sever-al points along the way, therewere excellent views of the verypicturesque Cherry Mountainwith its two peaks (Owl’s Headand Mt. Martha) being clearlyvisible.

So, that was my day of doingsome low-altitude hiking. It wasvery gratifying, and it was also apleasant change from my usualhikes to peaks and ledges. Toquote the English poet WilliamCowper, “Variety’s the veryspice of life that gives it all itsflavor”.