Pass the ‘Hanitizer’

OUR GRANDDAUGHTER, Gwendolyn, turns 6 this summer. When my wife and I look at videos of her learning to form words — “na-na!” was banana — we cherish a memory untarnished by world events.

Only now, as I contemplate the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak, do I remember that Gwen arrived on this planet less than a year before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported the first cases of COVID in the United States.

In early February of 2020, I spent a day skiing with members of a business networking group at Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln. During lunch, we talked about the news coming from Washington state, but in the way that people discuss a tragedy playing out a safe distance away.

A few days after this issue goes to press, I’ll be hanging out with the same gang again at Loon. I doubt anyone will mention COVID-19. While the pandemic has officially ended, testing positive has become another winter health fear alongside the flu and RSV.

Gwen and her young cousins grew up with hand sanitizer — or “hanitizer” as one of them started calling it — which became as common in every household as a bar of soap. Even now, they like to squirt scented varieties of the liquid in the hands of their grandparents when we babysit, too young to understand the gravity of its origins. It’s part of their shared history now.

Back in time

History plays a big role in this issue.

For “Our Town,” Assistant Editor Emily Reily focuses on the town of Colebrook, which lost its local newspaper last summer when the News and Sentinel shut down after 154 years. The newspaper survived many challenges during its long run, including a 1997 shooting during which four people died, including the paper’s editor (page 16).

Book author and former radio personality Mike Morin spends time with Merrimack typewriter repairman and shop owner Matt Snyder — who can claim actor Tom Hanks among his fans (page 26).

Marshall Hudson bases his “What Do You Know” entry on century-old field notes about perambulators surveying the town of Winchester, including what they had for lunch that day — chef’s surprise! (page 34).

Writer Michael Wejchert and photographer Joe Klementovich revisit the 1954 Northeast Airlines plane crash at Mount Success near Berlin, which claimed two lives. Wreckage of the Douglas DC3 remains a somber scene for hikers (page 36).

We get a look back at a rock ‘n’ roll life well lived from former J. Geils Band front man Peter Wolf via a review of his new memoir, “Waiting on the Moon” (page 88).

For our “Live Free,” column, Mark Hayward investigates the story behind mysterious changes to the long-time roadside graffiti in Newbury about someone’s professed love for a chicken farmer (page 96).

Photo finish

This month, we reveal the winners of our latest photo contest, which celebrates animals both wild and domesticated. Check out stunning images by local photographers (page 44).

But that’s not all!

Assistant Editor Elisa Gonzales Verdi talks with Sarah Silverman about the Bedford native’s latest standup tour, which Silverman is refining for an upcoming Netflix special (page 30). Check out some bold Thai flavors courtesy of Littleton chef and restaurant owner Emshika Alberini (page 22) and spring planting tips from Old Farmer’s Almanac gardening editor Robin Sweetser (page 82).

See you in May. We’ll be cooking up more adventures in the meantime.