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 ‘I Love You’ cast
PUTNAM — Local performers are part of the Bradley Playhouse’s “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” which opens May 10. “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is a look at modern love in all of its forms.  Kathleen Atwood and Carl Mercier direct the TNECT production with E. Justin Simone as music director and Kat MacInnes as choreographer. All the roles in this show are performed by four actors, each playing many different characters – Preston Arnold, Heather Crabbe, Paula Guilbault, and Joshua Raymond. For more information/tickets, call 860-928-7887. Front are Preston Arnold and Paula Guilbault. Back: Joshua Raymond and Heather Crabbe. Photo by Lindsay Lehmann.

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As I pondered what to write about for this week’s column, I couldn’t help but be distracted by what was happening outside. Spring is here and the trees, grass and weather seem to be, finally, catching up to the calendar. I am not sure if it was just me, but April felt a bit cooler than what is typical. That is, it felt cooler in comparison to the past few years. At least this is what my heating bill indicated. Regardless, as if a green painted landscape is suddenly switched to the on position, from one day to the next, I notice that the landscape has changed. At least that is what my itchy nose and leaky eyes indicate.
And so, as I consider my column topic, I am drawn to wanting to write about the allergy-ridden beauty of Spring. But then I looked back over the years. It appears, around this time of year, every year, I write such a column. It has, I will admit, sort of become an annual tradition. Who am I to change it now? But rather than write about the beauty of nature or the allergy havoc it wreaks for so many, I would like to offer this year’s Spring column about a new, yet related, topic: picking “flowers”.
This past weekend, I popped in to spend some time with my young grandkids. I found them playing outside and after I received their wonderful love-filled greetings, they were excited to present me with a small bouquet of flowers they had picked. The flowers were the colorful pops of Spring weeds, but they immediately invoked a warmth and nostalgia in my heart. I remembered when my daughter, as a young child, used to pick the dandelions for me, insisting that I put them in water and arrange them as a centerpiece for the kitchen table. Further, I also remembered when I was a young child and picked these Spring-signaling flowers for my own mother.
At first, dandelions seem quite robust with a strong stem. However, the minute they are plucked, the stem seems to give way and the top droops. When a whole bouquet is picked and presented, the grasp of little hands can further compound the droopiness. As a very young child, I couldn’t tell the difference. Neither could my grandkids. They presented me with a wilted and droopy bouquet. However, their enthusiasm associated with their gift usurped the state of the bouquet. I deemed it one of the prettiest bundles of flowers I had ever received.   
I certainly know that my grandchildren can pick flowers all summer long. But there is something special about picking and receiving that first Spring bouquet of flower weeds. Perhaps it’s because these ubiquitous yellow flowers are a visual reminder that Spring has really sprung. Or maybe it’s just because after Spring springs, lawn mowing erases these flower weeds, leaving behind only the fresh smell of grass… and a trail of sneezes. Rooted. Rooted.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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Honored
EASTON, Mass. — Three locals students were named to the Stonehill College dean’s  list: Haley Lussier of Chepachet, Anneliese Curry of Chepachet, and Rachel Morin of Chepachet.

On the list
LEWISBURG, Penn. — Keenan LaMontagne of Pomfret Center, 2026, an electrical engineering major was named to the dean’s list for the fall semester 2023 at Bucknell University.

Honored
ONEONTA, N.Y. — Nicholas Betschmann of Woodstock was named to the dean’s list for the fall semester at SUNY Oneonta. Betschmann is studying history.

On list
HAMDEN — Elise Boisvert of Woodstock was named to the dean’s list for the Fall 2023 semester at Quinnipiac University:

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Saying thank you --- with a hot dog
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Helping hands were in evidence last week as the owner of the Joyful Eats hot dog cart offered lunch to the masonry students from Harvard H. Ellis Tech who are helping renovate the Veterans Memorial Park.
James Northbridge, owner of Joyful Eats Hot Dog Cart and Catering, invited the nearly dozen masonry students to come for lunch, free. Each student received two hot dogs done any way they liked and something to drink.
Some of the students’ boots were caked with concrete and all of them joked and kidded each other like family as they ate their hot dogs at the picnic table.
Elliott Hayden, director of the Masonry Department at Ellis, said the students appreciated the lunch.
Northbridge said his brother, a 20-year Army veteran, died in March and he felt he could honor his brother by feeding the students creating the Veterans Memorial Park.
Northbridge has had his hot dog cart in Simonzi Park for four years. He said he had been a job coach for the Center of Hope in Southbridge — until COVID-19 hit. He started the hot dog cart which is helping Putnam’s transition program.
The business donates to Hope for Tomorrow in Guatemala.
Hayden said the students partaking of the lunch were all seniors. This week the juniors will be working and the masonry project should be finished by the end of this week.
Electrical department students are also working at the park. They’ve laid wiring and will be putting in spotlights, lamp posts and more.

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Lunch for Students
Joyful Eats hot dog stand offered lunch to the Ellis Tech masonry students who are helping renovate the Veterans Memorial Park. Top: All the students, along with the director of the Masonry Department, Elliott Hayden (back, second from left). Middle: Stand owner James Northbridge, right, and some of his crew. Bottom: Masonry students getting off the bus, heading for lunch. More photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photos.