by Rowan Hodgson
It was funny that Linda Butler’s pie, the first-place prize for the pumpkin carv- ing contest, went to Jim Montgomery. That’s because Jim is Linda’s husband. His pumpkin, called “self-portrait,” had garlic for teeth and pears for cheeks. (His pumpkin didn’t really look like him, but it was cool).
There were 41 pumpkins entered. Tom and Amy Quinn’s Leeds hot air balloon won second place, and Jim and Robin Mias came in third with their forest trick or treaters. In the kids’ category, Mason Tait and Siggi tied for first. In the youth category, Curtis Casey won first place, and Ryan Cheevers-Brown came in second. Mari- sah Helems won a jar of candy corn because she made the closest guess of the number of candy corns in the jar (there were 436).
Shawn Gundersen gave rides to the kids on a quad in the new Beaver Brook development, where it was dark and bumpy, but fun.
There was a pumpkin roll, and Leo Geis and Celia Goldsmith won that contest. All the kids who participated in the pumpkin roll got goody bags of stuff like Leeds buttons and Halloween rings.
Shawn Gundersen also built a catapult with pumpkins for ammunition aimed at pumpkins painted like pigs from “Angry Birds.” The targets didn’t get hit, but the ammunition smashed on the pavement and exploded.
There were all kinds of soups, breads, and sweets to eat. There were Halloween music, a fire pit in the Ever-Hale’s yard, and a Burning Man made and set on fire by Jim Montgomery, who does not really have garlic teeth and pear cheeks.
You can view some photos of the event here.
History Night
You and your old and new friends are invited to this casual sharing of stories, old photos, and Leeds memorabilia. Listen to or tell tales of Leeds from “back in the day” while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa and delicious desserts!
April 3rd, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
LEEDS SCHOOL MUSIC ROOM
Do you have an interesting, funny, or unusual Leeds’ artifact? If so, please consider sharing it at the event. Call Red Green at 584-5525 or Heidi Stevens at 585-9923 or email, heidi@heidistevens.com to let us know what you might have for display and to arrange (before January 30) for expert scanning of a few of your old photos. We promise to handle everything with kid gloves and return materials promptly. Items will be displayed on tables and a slide show of your Leeds images will be looping. Should be a fun time! Sponsored by the LCA.
Green tip for Leeds
by Amy Stamm
It’s starting to be that season when windows get drafty, and you just want to stop the cold air. One way to help seal drafty windows in the winter is to use rope caulking inside all of the window cases and along the cracks of the outside window frame. It is a seasonal measure because you can’t open and close your windows once you do it. Products like Seal and Peel peel off after winter with no residue.
Another way to keep the draft out is to purchase inexpensive kits at any hardware store made up of plastic sheets and double-sided tape. You put the tape around the window, press the plastic in, and use a hair dryer to shrink the plastic so it’s taut and practically invisible.
A more permanent solution that requires some handyman skill is to install Advanced Repair Technology (607-264-9040, advancedrepair.com) Easy-Stop kits to block air and make old windows as airtight as newer models. These kits are much less expensive than purchasing new windows and allow you to maintain the beauty of old wood windows. The quality of the wood in old windows is almost impossible to reach with new windows, and getting rid of their draft can save hundreds of gallons of heating fuel per year.
December Dusting
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Pumpkin Party 2013 photos
Photos by Kathie Brown
Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
Leeds Little Free Library
Tom Quinn was inspired and purchased a charter for $35.00 with hopes of building a mini library for his Leeds neighborhood. He had in mind just the right structure to use for it. Years ago, Tom’s dad, George Quinn asked his friend, Dean Williams, to build him a large two decker bird house that had a spacious open gazebo lower level and up top a snug peaked room for birds to nest. This beauty of a birdhouse stood in George’s yard on Front Street until after his death. Now it was to have a new purpose. Tom and his brother, Eddie, renovated the birdhouse by adding Plexiglass windows and a large front door and topped it off with a copper roof. Tom Quinn’s creativity and sense of community is a fine tribute to both his dad, George, and his dad’s friend, the original craftsman, Dean, both long time Leeds residents, now gone, yet not forgotten.
Leeds Little Free Library is located at 57 Upland Road at the road’s edge and is open to the public. Kids and adults can drop off a donated book and/or take a book to read. To learn more about the Little Free Library project visit: LittleFreeLibrary.org
Leeds Little Free Library
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High Flying in Leeds
Over the past few weeks a number of Leedsians have reported eagle sightings. The reservoir seems to be the most likely permanent setting for this amazing 7 foot…YES!… 7 foot wingspanned bird. The thinking is that a nest could be in the back corner of the reservoir towards newly paved Kennedy Road. Several other sightings have been reported as well. The ball players at Leeds School witnessed the eagle flying overhead as did several folks along the upper Mill River above the Top Dam. This sighting, particularly nice – an arching white birch tree, its leaves yellowed, the eagle perched, facing upstream in search of its main diet – fish and trout which are still observable in our very own Mill River and caught from time to time by those who know the nooks and crannies of one of Leeds’s most precious resources.
So, get yourselves outside and take a look around, up and down, and you’ll be surprised at what you just might find.
by Jim Mias
Pumpkin Party Wrap Up
by Rowan Hodgson
There were 41 pumpkins entered. Tom and Amy Quinn’s Leeds hot air balloon won second place, and Jim and Robin Mias came in third with their forest trick or treaters. In the kids’ category, Mason Tait and Siggi tied for first. In the youth category, Curtis Casey won first place, and Ryan Cheevers-Brown came in second. Mari- sah Helems won a jar of candy corn because she made the closest guess of the number of candy corns in the jar (there were 436).
Shawn Gundersen gave rides to the kids on a quad in the new Beaver Brook development, where it was dark and bumpy, but fun.
There was a pumpkin roll, and Leo Geis and Celia Goldsmith won that contest. All the kids who participated in the pumpkin roll got goody bags of stuff like Leeds buttons and Halloween rings.
Shawn Gundersen also built a catapult with pumpkins for ammunition aimed at pumpkins painted like pigs from “Angry Birds.” The targets didn’t get hit, but the ammunition smashed on the pavement and exploded.
There were all kinds of soups, breads, and sweets to eat. There were Halloween music, a fire pit in the Ever-Hale’s yard, and a Burning Man made and set on fire by Jim Montgomery, who does not really have garlic teeth and pear cheeks.
You can view some photos of the event here.
High Flying in Leeds
by Jim Mias
Over the past few weeks a number of Leedsians have reported eagle sightings. The reservoir seems to be the most likely per- manent setting for this amazing 7 foot…YES!… 7 foot wing- spanned bird. The thinking is that a nest could be in the back corner of the reservoir towards newly paved Kennedy Road. Several other sightings have been reported as well. The ball players at Leeds School witnessed the eagle flying overhead as did several folks along the upper Mill River above the Top Dam. This sighting, particularly nice – an arching white birch tree, its leaves yellowed, the eagle perched, facing upstream in search of its main diet – fish and trout which are still ob- servable in our very own Mill River and caught from time to time by those who know the nooks and crannies of one of Leeds’ most precious resources.
So, get yourselves outside and take a look around, up and down, and you’ll be surprised at what you just might find.
Leeds neighbors basking in the warm glow
Photo by Penny Geis