When the Covid-19 pandemic ends, will we be able to put the children back in public school, give every child a standardized test, and continue school just as it was?  Martha Carlson doesn’t think so.  Founder and headmaster of a small progressive school in rural New Hampshire, Carlson thinks this might be the time for a national pause and some deep thinking about how school might need to be different.
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Post-Pandemic School: When I do, I understand offers ideas and anecdotes from the private experimental school that Carlson and her husband founded in 1988.  They operated Sandwich Community School for almost 20 years, exploring new avenues of learning that Carlson thinks may be pertinent for public schools in a post-pandemic world.   Her book also examines several educational philosophers and how their abstract theories may assist our thinking about a new school paradigm. This book is for teachers and parents who know school will never be the same. Post-Pandemic School is available on Amazon.com in paperback and ebook formats.

By Diane Cook Johnson

There is no mistaking that fall is coming. The sky is blue and the sun hits the earth at angle that makes the world look in exceptional focus. There is also a special sound that the crickets make that reminds me of my youth and going back to school. I can just about taste the Wonder bread with homemade butter and juicy tomato slices; it was a soggy yet delicious lunch made only in September.

My mother's other special lunchbox sandwich was Spam and jam; it really was quite tasty especially when it was made with the foam left after the homemade jam was poured into jars. Coming home from school on the bus in September, my mother was often standing at the corner of the porch chopping tomatoes, peppers, and onions to make one of her many batches of "chili" . I grew up on a farm in Massachusetts and I have very special memories of that time and place. Thankfully, my brother keeps Cook's Valley Farm going.

Photo above: Winter 1966,  L-R Diane Cook (age 9) Uncle Ted Koza, sister (Grace) and brother Warren Cook on a walk in a meadow behind Cook's Valley Farm in Wrentham, MA. Uncle Ted was a middle school science teacher near Little Falls, New Jersey. Every excursion with him included a camera and a bag of apples.

Ted would come up at least once a month to see his parents, my mother and us. He always had us on the look-out for science and things to bring back to his classes. In August and September, he would give us a $1.00 for each Monarch Butterfly caterpillar we caught for him during his visit. He offered us more each month until a caterpillar was worth $100 in January. We looked; but we never found any $100 caterpillars.

I know the children of Sandwich will have fond memories of their time growing up here. This morning at the Sandwich Beach, I met a man who grew up in Sandwich  and after graduating from Inter-Lakes he lived in cities for many years. He was coming home to this area for a simpler life and he was fondly telling stories of his youth, family, friends, and Sandwich. This afternoon, on the town green, I saw a young boy go over to another boy of similar age (about 7, I imagine) and introduce himself. As the first boy approached the second, they both made sure their masks were on properly, looked at their moms and then quietly  played with sticks and pebbles.

This fall school and childhood look quite a bit different than ever. Rest assured; good, unique, and interesting memories are being made despite the pandemic, politics, and tensions. May you look for and find the good.

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Greetings from our new normal!  Back in May we announced this season’s summer exhibit would be virtual and remote.  Since then, we have been very hard at work on the exhibit, and the time has come to reveal!

We are excited to announce our 2020 Summer Exhibit ~ Our Women of Sandwich ~ is now live!  Whether you visit us virtually or are able to go on our self-guided walking tour, we hope you enjoy it!  While the walking tour will remain the same throughout the summer and fall, our virtual exhibit will be updated weekly, and we encourage you to add to it!  Please read on to find out more.  

How will you know where to find these amazing women? We have created a map which is available on our website as well as a limited quantity available outside the Elisha Marston House.  Of course, you may also just “stumble” upon them as you move about town in the course of your weekly activities! And, again, all of the women are featured on our website, which you may view from the comfort of home!

We are also celebrating other women of Sandwich virtually.  We are featuring a few as part of our exhibit kick-off women right away on our website. We will be adding to this list of virtual vignettes as the summer progresses.  In fact, we welcome you to add a woman (or two!) to our special virtual exhibit by sending us a personal story…. a paragraph or several.  It need not be lengthy, but it is a wonderful way to acknowledge a Sandwich woman of significance to you.  It would be helpful if you could provide at least one picture of her too! In this way our celebration of Sandwich Women will continue to grow all summer!  We can also add your story(ies) to the women we are already highlighting.  The more voices, the better!  Email us at sandwichhistory@gmail.com.

Finally, we will have a little something extra associated with our exhibit this summer. Coming out July 31 and running through August 21 there will be a scavenger hunt format for children (11 & under) and a bingo format for adults (12 & up).  We hope this will encourage folks to visit our remote exhibit sites, our website, and celebrate the time of summer that includes Old Home Week! Stay tuned for more information on these and other virtual offerings that we may have this summer.
 
Although this “new normal” is uncharted territory, the staff and trustees of the Sandwich Historical Society are working hard to ensure that we continue to share Sandwich History.  Our Excursion Bulletin will be published as usual! Our Museum Shop is open online and features wonderful gift items, clothing, publications, and postcards.  Be well and we hope you enjoy Our Women of Sandwich! 
 
Abby Hambrook, Director
Geoff Burrows, President
Web:  sandwichhistorical.org Email:  sandwichhistory@gmail.com

The Exhibit Team would like to extend special thanks to the following for their help with our exhibit:
 
Property & Business Owners:  “Maple House” (David Patridge & Mallory Hathaway); Town Hall & the Old Fire Station (Sandwich Board of Selectmen & Fire Chief Ted Call); Parade & Fair Museum Buildings (Sandwich Fair Association President, Dan Peaslee & the Board of Directors); Baptist Meetinghouse & Methodist Meetinghouse (Trustees, Community Church of Sandwich); Samuel H. Wentworth Library (Director Nancy Fredrickson), Sandwich Home Industries (Manager Martha Nichols); Center Post Office (Trustees, Alfred Quimby Fund & the Postmaster); Tappan Chair Shop (Artisan Adam Nudd-Homeyer); and the Corner House Inn (Lexi Townsend)
 
Pictures (to date):  Carl Hansen, Sue Greene, Abby Hambrook, Wendy Ritger, Deb Kerr, David Crory, Joan Cook, Trecia McEvoy, Susan Lirakis  and Geoff Burrows.
 
Map:  Bob Dustin and Jim Hambrook