Tag Archives: Abenaki

The Hana Chronicles: Month 10, Day 18

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Posted by on in children, Community, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Travel

November 8, 2026- Hana and I worked on puzzles, this afternoon. They were a farm animal puzzle and a dinosaur puzzle. I put the pieces in the puzzle and she took them back out again. She especially liked to hold a sheep and a horse. When I told her the sounds these animals make, she copied my sounds.

Hana’s day with her parents was also very vocal. She “makes a case” for us letting her eat chocolate and sip coffee. Neither is going to happen, any time soon, but I give her credit for trying. She enjoyed playing with Yunhee, in her future bedroom.

A small group of kids, who were visiting our downstreet neighbour, were playing kickball, in the cul-de-sac. It does my heart good to see this. When I was a child, the street and all the nearby yards and fields were ours to roam. To the greatest extent possible, I want to see that again.

HANA’S NOTE- I am starting to recognize the animals that Papa shows me in books and on the puzzles. I like to make groups of animals that look the same.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: New Hampshire- The Granite State was our vacation spot, along with Cape Cod, for the first seventeen years of my life. There was a comfort of sorts, in knowing we would have three or four days in the White Mountains or somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Winnepesaukee. I loved The Flume and Old Man of the Mountain, a granite outcropping, that sadly collapsed, about ten years ago. My first overnight camping trip was on Mount Chocorua and I have been to the top of Mt. Washington, three times. The beaches also bring fond memories: Kingston and Hampton, especially. Several extended family members live in various parts of New Hampshire.

The Turf: The southwest of the state is covered by rolling hills and a rough plain, from which rises Mount Monadnock. The central part of the state is covered by lakes, the largest of which are Winnepesaukee, Umbagog and Sunapee.. The southeast is a riparian plain, with a short seacoast in the very east. The White Mountains lie to the north of the Lakes Region, and are an extension of the Appalachian Mountains, entering from Vermont and continuing on into Maine. Far northern New Hampshire is thick forest-even using the moniker, Great North Woods. New Hampshire is drained by the Connecticut River, (which rises out of the Connecticut Lakes, near Pittsburg.), as well as by the Merrimack, Piscataqua and Salmon Falls Rivers, along with their tributaries.

First Nations-New Hampshire is the ancestral home of the Abenaki and Pennacook peoples. The people suffered mainly from disease, when coming into contact with Europeans, in the Seventeenth Century. The tribespeople largely moved away from New Hampshire, or intermingled with the Europeans. Clashes between the two groups were not as common, or as severe, as conflicts in Massachusetts or New York. There are no First Nations communities in New Hampshire, in the present day.

Where I feel most at home: Portsmouth, Kingston, Hampton, Manchester, North Conway, Franconia, Mount Washington.

Where I feel most at peace: Franconia, Alton Bay, Kankamagus Highway

NEXT: Maine

The Hana Chronicles: Month 10, Day 17

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Posted by on in children, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Travel

November 7, 2026- Hana celebrated having her mother back, by crawling all over her, as they were together in the playpen. They also took a mother-daughter stroller walk, around Hoblitzelle Park. By early afternoon,they were both exhausted, but Yunhee fell asleep first. So, Papa got Hana lulled to sleep, and I held her for the better part of two hours, including giving her the afternoon feeding.

Aram was off on Navy Reserve business, so I was keeping myself around the house, for the very reason that Yunhee would need a second pair of hands, after her own long trip, yesterday. When Aram returned, this evening, and we had dinner, he wondered aloud as to how much Hana understands of our conversations. I said she likely understands more than he might think. Hana chortled at that, as if to say: “You have no idea.”

HANA’S NOTE– I am trying to stay one step ahead of my grownups. It’s not easy, since they have been where I am, which Mommy never tires of reminding me.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Vermont- The Green Mountain State has been on my route, about a dozen times. I first went to Vermont in 1969, just before entering the Army. A brief drive through Vernon and Brattleboro was shortened by my having to lose some locals who were tailing me. The next time I passed through was on a bus from Boston to Montreal, in 1972. We stopped in White River Junction and in Burlington. I would have more leisurely and more pleasant visits to Bennington, Bellows Falls, Rutland and St. Johnsbury, whilst studying at the University of Massachusetts. Since 2011, I’ve been through Vermont while making return trips from Maine to Arizona, and cutting across to the Tri-Cities of New York, through Bennington.

The Turf- Most of Vermont is mountainous. The Taconic Range covers the southwest portion of the state, while its central and eastern portions are the province of the Green Mountains, and thus, the state’s nickname. (The Long Trail runs 273 miles, along the spine of the great mountain chain, which runs north-south and intersects with the Appalachians, as they veer off into New Hampshire.) The Champlain Valley is a lowland region, bordering Lake Champlain, in the northwest of Vermont. It is the location of the state’s largest population centers and much of its agriculture.Vermont is drained by the Connecticut, White, Missisquoi, Lamoille and Winooski Rivers. It shares Lake Champlain with New York and Quebec, and Lake Memphremagog, with the latter.

First Nations- Vermont is the ancestral home of the Abenaki, Mahican and Pennacook peoples. The indigenous peoples suffered greatly from diseases brought by the French and British settlers. The French brought Abenaki warriors into their fold, during the French and Indian Wars- 1688-1763. Many of the Abenaki left the area, once Vermont broke off from New York and became a state, in 1791. Those who stayed, gained State recognition as three Abenaki communities: Missisquoi, Nulhegan(Coosuc) and Elnu. The Mazipskwik Community is not state-recognized, but maintains Abenaki traditions.

Where I most feel at home- Bennington, Burlington, Springfield.

Where I most feel at peace- Springfield

NEXT: New Hampshire