Food for the belly and the soul
I am writing this letter while perched on the sundrenched deck of our family cottage overlooking the rust-red shores of Prince Edward Island. Every summer, we return to this land of my father and his ancestors. It’s a tradition as deeply rooted as the potatoes in the PEI soil—a return to where memory, family, and food mingle sweetly.
Life here follows its own pace: roaming from cottage to cottage for long “visiting hours,” jumping off wharves, splashing in low-tide puddles, swimming in warm waters by moonlight, playing lawn games until darkness falls, and of course, gathering around tables laden with summer’s bounty. We enjoy new potatoes and yellow beans, perfect fish and chips from Richard’s Fresh Seafood, tea sipped from fine china with pinkies raised, and all the fragrances and flavors of another favorite eatery, The Dunes. These are feasts that feed both belly and soul.
With every summer sojourn, I marvel at how PEI’s culinary story keeps evolving. The island cuisine, once centered on mussels, oysters, and potatoes, now hums with flavors from Asia, India, Africa, and eastern Europe. New Islanders come from all over the globe, bringing their cultures, stories, sounds, and recipes—folding them into the soil, the waters, and the spirit of this place. Together they create a vibrant new flavor of community—one dish, one gathering, and one story at a time.
Food, no matter where you live—whether on the New England coast, in the Texas Hill Country, or here on PEI—is never just about eating. It’s about cultural identity. It’s about belonging. It’s about family and how we mark traditions, share our stories, and feel part of something bigger. Food brings us home, grounds us, and connects us.
This issue celebrates exactly that: food as a bridge. We aim to create a warmth in your belly that comes from savoring a well-crafted spirit or yummy BBQ and experiencing the wonder of human connection. The local entrepreneurs, givers, drivers, and creators featured this month understand that a shared meal can warm hearts as much as fill stomachs. I hope they inspire you to appreciate not just what’s on your table, but also the people who gather around it, be they family, neighbors, or strangers.
Here’s to lifting spirits, filling bellies, and celebrating the flavors of community.
October 2025
PUBLISHER
Anne Moodey | anne.moodey@citylifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Tara Phillips | tara.phillips@citylifestyle.com
EDITOR
Judith Rubenstein | judith.rubenstein@citylifestyle.com
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Kevin Edge
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Sarah Coleman
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Susan Gallagher, Rebecca Ingalls, Ann Kathryn Kelly, Peggy Newland
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Deborah Parker, Peggy Newland, Jackie Williams
Photography, Janet Clarkson Davis
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
COO Matthew Perry
CRO Jamie Pentz
VP OF OPERATIONS Janeane Thompson
VP OF SALES Andrew Leaders
AD DESIGNER Josh Govero
LAYOUT DESIGNER Amanda Schilling
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler
TARA PHILLIPS, MANAGING EDITOR
inside the issue
Special Delivery
Meals
A husband-and-wife team creates smoked-meat magic on the seacoast Featured 12 18 24 30
Healing in Community
My Breast Cancer Support brings compassion, connection, and relief to those
Distilling Dreams
A father and son turn their passion for handcrafted, small-batch spirits into award-winning results
Barbecue Heaven in Rye
Departments
Kevin captures David Woods, Senior and Junior working in the “rickhouse,” the warehouse where the spirit matures and develops its character over time.
Kevin Edge
city scene
WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN
@JULIEHITCHCOCK
@PORTSMOUTHCITYLIFESTYLE
@PORTSMOUTHCITYLIFESTYLE
@PORTSMOUTHCITYLIFESTYLE
1: Becky Sacchetti, Jennie Halstead, and Julie Hitchcock enjoy My Breast Cancer Support's Annual Gala at Wentworth by the Sea. 2: Mark and Tammy Svenson, Kittery, ME, at Seapoint Beach taking in a stunning view. 3: Adrienne Mack-Davis performs at the BIPOC Festival. 4: Port Aesthetics ribbon-cutting ceremony. Be sure to swing by and check them out. 5: Danielle Heaton, Executive Director of Twenty-One Senses, hosts the Calming Center at the BIPOC Festival. 6: The Desperate Strings play at the Kittery Community Farmers Market. 7: Courtney and Kavery share their treats from Southern Girl Bakery at the BIPOC Festival.
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Our Mission
To provide financial and emotional support to BREAST CANCER PATIENTS and their families on the seacoast of New Hampshire and in southern Maine
How We Help
Patient Assistance Grants: Help with housing payments, utility bills, groceries, household cleanings, and basic needs. Hope Chests: We provide gift cards for gas, groceries, and other household necessities.
Wellness Programs: New Patient Bags are filled with comforting gifts and local resources. Funding for yoga classes and breast cancer retreats.
Special
Delivery
ARTICLE BY SUSAN GALLAGHER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBORAH PARKER
Meals on Wheels delivers more than meals to seniors on the Seacoast
Doris pulls back the curtain to peer out her front window, wincing at the arthritis pain in her fingers. Tony should be here any minute. She smiles at the thought of her special friend. The Meals on Wheels delivery driver she has grown so fond of is the only person 84-year-old Doris will see all week.
In a neighboring town, a tremulous hand slips out of the door, just far enough to grab the bag holding her precious daily meal. Just a few months ago, 78-yearold Mary would have immediately closed the door. Today, she musters her
burgeoning courage and opens it wider to see the smiling face of her meal delivery driver. Since kind-eyed Eddie started bringing her meal every morning, her paralyzing fear of the outside world is slowly dissipating, day by day, little by little. With Eddie’s encouragement, she hopes to soon venture out to the ramp outside her home.
For close to 2,000 Rockingham County seniors, their meal driver is a lifeline—to nutritious meals, yes, but also to human connection. Established in 1978, Meals on Wheels (MOW) of Rockingham County delivers 370,000 meals per year to residents over 60 who are unable to shop and cook for themselves. Most live alone in a world of stifling solitude. For a heartbreaking 22% of home delivery clients like Doris, their driver is their only regular source of human interaction, something Executive Director Tim Diaz says, “keeps us up at night.”
In most cases, drivers deliver meals once daily, Monday through Friday, usually in the morning. This can vary, depending on the client’s
needs. The aim is to deliver the meals at the same time each day to provide clients with the comfort of routine. These deliveries are also available to those under 60 in certain circumstances such as recovery from surgery.
An integral part of the home delivery is a wellness check. While some elderly clients have family nearby or neighbors who check in on them, others do not. The driver becomes the eyes and ears in the home. Part of their job is to notice if the client seems unwell, and to look around the home for trip hazards. Any red flags prompt a call to the client’s emergency contact. In the event of a serious medical problem, the driver will call 911.
Diaz takes the significance of MOW to heart, riding along on some deliveries to get a direct view. Witnessing the close bonds between drivers and clients has touched him deeply.
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“Seniors still have a lot to offer. They have every right to be part of the community. We act as a bridge to make that happen.”
The caring works both ways, the client often inquiring about the driver’s life and troubles. “You told me you were going to get your knee checked out—how did it go?” asked one client of her driver. Another client determined that her driver didn’t look well and told him she was going to call his mother. “That’s the human connection,” says Diaz. “It’s a big part of health, beyond physical nutrition.”
These health benefits—physical and beyond— were transformational for 86-year-old Rita. Suffering from leukemia and a plethora of other maladies, she lived in painful isolation, her home carefully sealed against the germs that endangered her weakened immune system. Sick and depressed, she had no appetite and was eating little. After a year of Meals on Wheels deliveries, she called the organization in tears of joy. She is now eating regularly, gaining strength, and seeing marked improvement in her medical tests. She counts the meals and her driver among her greatest blessings.
In addition to home deliveries, MOW provides meals at 12 senior centers throughout the county, and transportation to and from the centers—in some towns, using local partners like COAST. These group meals bring lonely seniors together to meet new people, bond through a communal dining experience, and play games that bring out their joyous inner child. According to Diaz, a “rebel ukulele player” might even show up occasionally to entertain. Transportation is available to other destinations as well, including medical appointments, the pharmacy, and the grocery store.
The idea of delivering meals to those in need is not a new one. The concept of Meals on Wheels originated in the United Kingdom during World War II. The National Leadership organization Meals on Wheels America was founded in 1974 to support local programs like MOW of Rockingham County. Meals are free to clients, but many give a voluntary $3.00 donation. State and federal funding covers the cost of only a limited number of meals annually, and local fundraising is crucial to provide the remaining meals needed.
Diaz has seen firsthand the positive impact of this nonprofit on the residents it serves. He is a passionate advocate for maintaining the dignity of these seniors. “They still have a lot to offer,” he says. “They have every right to be part of the community. We act as a bridge to make that happen.”
As Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, it’s the perfect time to start preparing your New England home for shorter days and the colder months ahead. At Heritage Home Service, we recommend taking advantage of the early fall weather to tackle essential home maintenance tasks. Schedule a heating system check-up to ensure it’s ready when temperatures drop, inspect and seal any drafty windows or doors, and checking outdoor lighting for safety as daylight hours fade. It’s also a great time to flush your water heater, test your generator and clean gutters before leaves begin to fall. A little prep now can make a big difference in comfort—and peace of mind—all season long.
Healing in Community
My Breast Cancer Support brings compassion, connection, and relief to those in need
ARTICLE BY REBECCA INGALLS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKIE WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY
Wendy McCoole, enjoying life
In 2005, one woman’s personal account of her breast cancer journey became a nexus of community building. From her online journal, “Bald Wendy,” New Hampshire resident and breast cancer survivor Wendy McCoole developed BreastCancerStories.com, a space where individuals who had been diagnosed with breast cancer could share their experiences and make connections with others. People from around the world were drawn to the site, illustrating the value of its support and spotlighting the physical, emotional, and logistical burden of cancer on individuals and their communities.
Six short years later, it became clear that a new initiative was imperative, and My Breast Cancer Support was born. Led by Executive Director McCoole, the organization focused its mission on addressing non-medical barriers to care that individuals with breast cancer were facing: transportation costs, housing and utility bills, food insecurity.
As visibility and interest increased, My Breast Cancer Support’s board grew robustly with fiercely dedicated folks who joined the cause. Jennie Halstead, also a breast cancer survivor and a business owner at the time, was drawn to the nonprofit organization’s mission. After making a donation and participating in a 5k fundraiser, she joined the board in 2012, and soon after became Program Administrator in charge of fulfilling patient grants. By 2014, McCoole had recommended that Halstead take on the role of Executive Director, and Halstead gratefully accepted. She continues to lead the organization today. “This work is so healing for me,” she says. “Things present and unfold as they should. I don’t do a job; I just do what I do.”
New Hampshire has the sixth-highest breast cancer rate in the country, creating a vulnerability that My Breast Cancer Support aims to ease. Halstead and her strong team partner with cancer centers and hospitals in southern Maine and on the Seacoast.
In particular, they work with nurse navigators, social workers, and financial advocates to recognize resource gaps and identify those individuals in need.
At the heart of the organization’s mission are compassion and flexibility. Board members are keenly aware that patients’ and caregivers’ fears go beyond health and medical care—they also worry about how they will manage the other costs associated with care.
Help from My Breast Cancer Support is immediate and ongoing. Every participating cancer center gives new patients a My Breast Cancer Support gift bag that contains a journal, information about local resources, a water bottle, lip balm, hand lotion, and a scarf from the nonprofit organization, Hope Scarves. Says Halstead, “It’s meant to be a handshake or a hug. We get you. We’re here if you need us. You’re not alone.”
Each center also has a “Hope Chest” rich with gift cards to cover necessities like gas and groceries. And grant funding addresses transportation services and alleviates the financial stressors of day-to-day living.
As gas prices have increased, so have transportation grants. The application process is easy, and aid comes quickly. “We try to keep it simple,” explains Halstead. “If the nurse navigator says someone needs help, we grant the grant.” My Breast Cancer Support donates 500 gift bags, 150 gas grants, and 140 general grants each year.
Working with stakeholders in cancer care has also opened a door for My Breast Cancer Support to extend a hand to those who experience vicarious trauma. By meeting with staff of local cancer centers, they have learned that clinical workers and advocates— beyond identifying where there is need—share insight on how those on the front line of care may be suffering.
Danielle rings the bell celebrating the end of her treatment
In October 2024, My Breast Cancer Support formed the Coalition of Front-Line Breast Care Teams, with the goal of pooling resources, bringing the wisdom of stakeholders together in a unified conversation, and most importantly showing those who give care that they, too, are not alone.
“The stories of all those impacted by breast cancer are heart-wrenching,” reflects Halstead. “We want to create a community. There is a closeness and a separateness, but there is an invisible thread that connects us.”
Connections happen in unexpected ways. Halstead tells the story of Danielle Festa, an artist, whom she met at a networking event. They talked, and Halstead gave her a card. Within a couple of months, Festa was diagnosed with breast cancer and reached out for support.
“That kind of thing happens all of the time,” Halstead says. “It’s a universal intervention, that crossing of paths. Danielle knew just what her next step would be after her diagnosis, and we were there.”
That intimacy of connection, which My Breast Cancer Support has preserved from its inception, is vital. Halstead and her team find themselves regularly on the telephone with patients who have reached out for support, and there, in those voice-to-voice moments, patients have precious opportunities to exchange stories with someone on the line who can understand.
“There are things you might not be able to say to family members or friends,” Halstead says. “Conversations that you want to have that are too hard for them to hear.”
Halstead adds, “It’s a privilege to hear the edges of humanity in these fringes of pain and human experience. It’s okay not to be okay, but there is also a knowing that you will be.”
“We want to create a community. There is a closeness and a separateness, but there is an invisible thread that connects us.”
Rudy, supporter and 5K mascot
The team: Tina Saltmarsh, Jennie Halstead, and Shelley Violette
FIND YOUR TRUE NORTH
Your perfect fall road trip, curated by the Compass agents who know the backroads like the back of their hand. With the best-kept local secrets and can’t-miss hidden gems, follow our roadmap through northern New England’s most stunning season.
DISTILLING Dreams
A father and son turn their passion for handcrafted, small-batch spirits into award-winning results and a legacy to last
ARTICLE BY ANN KATHRYN KELLY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN EDGE PHOTOGRAPHY
Founders and owners of Wiggly Bridge Distillery in York, Maine—father and son David Woods, Senior and Junior—share an entrepreneurial spirit for producing spirits (pun intended!). Their passion for, and dedication to, the art of handcrafted, small-batch distillation of fine liquor has earned Wiggly Bridge Distillery a slew of awards, not just on the Seacoast but in the nation.
Before starting Wiggly Bridge Distillery in 2012, Dave (senior) founded a variety of businesses in southern Maine—in fact, more than 30 companies over the years, with several continuing to operate today. He credits the successes, while admitting to a few failures, to his mindset of starting every venture without fear. “Each of those businesses helped shape who I am today, even the ones that didn’t make it,” Dave points out. “Each presented an opportunity to learn and improve upon whatever challenge my family and I were tackling in business.”
Dave views problem solving as a critical life skill. His wife and grown children, all of whom are involved in running the family’s various businesses, share his philosophy and dedicated work ethic. David (junior) showed an aptitude for out-of-the-box thinking and a hands-on approach from an early age. “David always showed a curiosity to learn how things work, from the time he was a boy,” Dave remembers. Fast forward years later, and David’s curiosity propelled him to learn how to build a copper still by hand—from, of all things, watching YouTube videos.
Father and son share a love for fine spirits. Over dinner one night, they jokingly pondered if they should make their own. Their joke soon turned into an actual goal and they took a leap, traveling to the Caribbean for research and to build that aforementioned copper still. Their small island operation was a success. When they returned home to Maine, they doubled down on their dream and launched Wiggly Bridge Distillery. They purchased a circa-1800s
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barn (which had been a hardware store for more than 40 years) and renovated it. For the last 13 years the pair has collaborated to create recipes, barrel-age and bottle their spirits onsite, and host patrons in their barn on Route 1.
“We’re not doing this for money,” Dave points out. “We’re doing this for the love of it. We built our distillery—and our other family businesses—with legacy in mind, something we hope our grandchildren and their grandchildren will carry forward.”
Dave’s vision is already playing out, with grandson Cooper, age 13, and granddaughter Isabelle, age 10, helping out at the distillery with dishwashing, lifting grain, and bottling. It’s a true family affair, with their mother— David’s wife, Amanda—running Wiggly Bridge’s marketing operations.
The distillery takes its name from a small and unassuming pedestrian suspension bridge, also in York, built in the 1930s. The story goes that a group of Girl Scouts crossing it long ago giggled as they wobbled over what they called “the wiggly bridge.” The name stuck. Said to be the world’s smallest pedestrian suspension bridge, it still stands as a testament to quality of workmanship.
Wiggly Bridge is open to the public seven days a week. They also offer distillery tours and custom tasting events, and the barn can be reserved for private group events. 441 U.S. Route 1 York, Maine
“We’re doing this for the love of it. We built this with legacy in mind, something we hope our grandchildren and their grandchildren will carry forward.”
“Bigger is not always better,” Dave says. “We focused on creating something small and manageable, but of the highest quality. We’re not the big guys, and we don’t want to be.” Father and son are proud that their spirit selections rival anything large, name-brand distilleries put out in mass distribution.
Wiggly Bridge distills craft batches of New England single malt whiskey, bourbon, gin, rum, vodka, and agave (tequila). Their meticulous process takes time—their bourbon, for example, is aged in barrels for eight years before it’s bottled. Their dedication has paid off in a string of first-place awards in national competitions. Their single-malt whiskey took home multiple gold medals in 2024, while their agave claimed gold in 2019. In 2017, their rum, gin, and vodka products each won gold. Silver and bronze medals from 2015 and 2014 round out the accolades, and their bourbon is currently the number-one craft bourbon in Maine and New Hampshire.
Wiggly Bridge is currently aging about 1,500 barrels of fine spirits. They aim to increase this to 5,000 barrels over the coming years. Construction is currently underway on a barn expansion project—set to include a kitchen for food offerings—and is expected to be completed by December of this year.
Wiggly Bridge Distillery wigglybridgedistillery.com
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BARBECUE HEAVEN IN RYE
A HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM CREATES SMOKED-MEAT MAGIC ON THE SEACOAST.
ARTICLE BY PEGGY NEWLAND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PEGGY NEWLAND AND JANET CLARKSON DAVIS
Photo by Peggy Newland
Get your Texas barbecue on! Prometheus smokes like some deliciously scented dragon breathing low and slow with a peppery glow. Named for the Greek god of fire, Prometheus is an offset Texas smoker, crisping brisket, turkey, chicken, short rib, and pork, cowboy-style. Add a local brew in hand? Perfection. The smoker—and the delectable experience—can be found in Wyatt Davis and Janet Clarkson Davis’ backyard at Llano & Rye, their bonanza of pit-grilled meats you can order for your own summer barbecue party on a seacoast plate.
Watching pitmaster Wyatt work his magic on a spice-dusted Dino Rib—short for Dinosaur Rib, which means Fred Flintstone yabba dabba doo for the senses—I ask about how they decided on the name LLano & Rye. “Llano, in the Hill Country of Texas, and Rye, on the Seacoast of New Hampshire, set the standard for us in terms of ‘time well spent,’ so that choice seemed clear to me!” Janet says. “We were looking for a name that captured the joy of being together with family,” Wyatt tells me. The couple met in Texas and together run Clarkson Davis, their management consulting practice focused on nonprofit clients.
Llano & Rye is catering extraordinaire, and Wyatt and Janet are the curators of Texas comfort mixed with seacoast saltyness. Their business is bringing red oak- and maple-smoked barbecue to our granite ledges and sandy beaches. They describe their vision as combining the “beauty of Texas’ wide skies and its barbecue culture” with New England’s classic coastal charm and neighborly gatherings. “Tastes like Texas, feels like New Hampshire,” says Janet. Creating community and get-togethers with neighbors is the common denominator. Wyatt and Janet love “cook days,” when neighbors arrive to pick up their orders.
“We cherish time by the pit talking about whatever is going on in everyone’s lives. An extra bonus is to see how many of our friends and customers also know one another,” says Wyatt. He and Janet are active in the Seacoast and hope to expand their vision for Llano & Rye deeper into the community. Subscribers to their mailing list get notices of their pop-up events in the area.
Sitting in Wyatt and Janet’s backyard, enjoying the blue sky and warm temps with the hint of salt and low tide coming off the harbor, we’re all in good spirits. Plates balanced on our laps, we discuss how music adds to the barbecue experience, and I’m curious what kind of music Wyatt chooses to accompany his work. “Lyle Lovett and his Big Band,” Wyatt says, smiling.
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Photo by Janet Clarkson Davis
Photo by Janet Clarkson Davis
“Tastes
For non-connoisseurs like myself, Wyatt explains the difference between Carolina and Texas barbecue styles. Texas barbecue is cooked low and slow over a live fire, seasoning with a rub of kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Wyatt calls this a Dalmatian Rub; the rub, along with the cooking process, makes a dark crust of melted fat and black pepper called bark. “It’s all about the meat, fire, smoke, and time,” he says. “And it’s always wood smoke. Always.” Carolina barbecue, on the other hand, is known for sauces made from “protected recipes” kept between generations of families and never shared. Janet adds a mindset focus, saying, “the energy you bring to the cooking is definitely infused in the result.”
As I bite into some “bark” on a Dino Rib and experience taste-bud happiness, Wyatt describes the surprising similarity of the Seacoast and Texas weather. The Texas Hill Country is not only hot, he explains, but humid. It’s much like Seacoast humidity. “Both are great for cooking barbecue.”
Is there New England barbecue? My version is a sad one: slathering supermarket sauce on thawed chicken and tossing it onto a gas grill that is ten years old and usually encrusted with grit or tin foil fragments from charring salmon. I’d rather head over to Llano & Rye for the real deal. I leave with a bounty of true Texan hospitality: some to go— which means a lot of barbecue. I have two of those Dino Ribs, wrapped and ready for dinner. “See you soon,” I smile.
There’s a secret on the seacoast, and you’re in on it now.
Llano & Rye | 214.676.7509
llanoandrye.com | @llanoandryebbq
Photo by Peggy Newland
Photo by Peggy Newland
Photo by Peggy Newland
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