In this special summer series from Give Back NH, we explore how local libraries across New Hampshire strengthen communities, support lifelong learning, and build trust—through the people, programs, and stories that make them essential.
Learn more about the Gilford Public Library and all it has to offer, here.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
When you hear the word “library,” you probably think of it as the place where you can borrow books, movies, occasionally a metal detector, but what about learning how to line dance?
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Every Saturday, Bonnie Deutch teaches her beginner line dancing class in the meeting room on the lower level of the Gilford Public Library.
Bonnie Deutch:When I moved up here, I wanted people to line dance with, but I didn’t really see much. And so I kind of waited. And then one day, one of the ladies of the library said to our Tai Chi instructor, “can you do this twice a week?” And she said, “no, I can’t.” And I said, “well, Nancy, I said, I’ll do line dancing on Wednesdays.” And she goes, “well, I’ll come if you play Willie Nelson.” And there it was.
Bonnie Deutch:I never knew that there’d be so much information advocating dancing for heart health, mental health, things that just keep popping out of the woodwork about dance, dance, dance.
I’m Dan Cahill, and this is the 3rd stop on Give Back New Hampshire’s library tour.
Eugene Seymour, a guinea pig who lives at the Gilford Public Library, who Miss Linda affectionately refers to as “the Mayor.”
Also on the lower level, there’s the children’s library, and as soon as you walk in, you’re greeted with the “mayor,” Eugene Seymour — A guinea pig who lives at the library and every year, children come to the library to celebrate Eugene’s birthday, his cage surrounded by handmade cards wishing him well on his special day.
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Handmade cards from children who visit the library wishing Eugene a happy birthday.
Next to Eugene sits Miss Linda, an assistant at the children’s library, and a former teacher.
Miss Linda:Since I taught in town, what’s a real benefit for me being here, is that I can keep connections with the children I taught. I do have teenagers who come in, and it’s lovely to reconnect with them because I taught fifth grade, which is 10/11. But I also have children that I taught who now have their children and they bring them in. So not only do I get to see where “my kids” ended up, but I get to meet their children, and it’s just lovely to continue to instill the love of reading for all these generations.
The most important thing about libraries though, Linda says, is the connections they can create.
Miss Linda:We see that a lot with the children and the adults that come, they build these friendships, and then they go out into the community together and they’re pretty lasting ones. They’re really lovely. And even with the programs that are held downstairs here, where we see the adults that attend them, they’re just so happy to be able to connect with other people in meaningful ways.
For Annie, a local mother, those connections helped her family after they moved to Gilford in 2021.
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Annie:My husband is from here, and so he always talked about how wonderful the library was. And so when we moved here and we didn’t know anybody, this is where we started coming. And we’ve made lots of friends since we’ve started doing that. It’s been a real like sense of place and community here for us.
Line dancing, new connections, even some furry friends, there’s much to experience at the Gilford Public Library. I think Colden, who was visiting the library with his mother Bryanne says it best.
Miss Linda: And what did you tell me this morning when you came in? You said, “I want to go to the library…”
A staple of many New Hampshire town fairs, the pig scramble may soon look a little different.
A bill signed into law by Gov. Kelly Ayotte last week requires the commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture to create best practices for any event in which people compete to capture a pig. Those guidelines will be published before the 2027 fair season, so they won’t be in place for any fairs with pig scrambles this year, such as the upcoming Deerfield Fair in the fall.
Generally, a pig scramble involves people of the same age competing to capture pigs that have been let loose in a large pen. Contestants have to catch the pig in a drawstring bag, and the first one to do so can take the pig home.
Rep. Cathryn Harvey, a Democrat from Spofford, is the prime sponsor of the bill. She said each fair has different rules for their pig scrambles, meaning some can be more humane than others. One aspect of the events she hopes will change is the bags pigs are captured in.
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“They’re putting an animal in a plastic bag on a hot summer day,” Harvey said. “It isn’t a great idea.”
Although some fairs already use more breathable bags out of burlap, Joan O’Brien, president of the New Hampshire Animal Rights League, said she’s also seen pigs being kept in plastic bags for long periods of time after the event. Not only would a burlap bag improve the pig’s ability to breathe in the heat, she said, but she also wants fairs to require participants to bring an animal carrier for the trip home. Her organization was ultimately in favor of the legislation.
“If you don’t have a carrier, you should not be allowed to leave your pig lying in a bag,” O’Brien said, adding that some fairs already ask contestants to bring carriers. “You should be taking them right home.”
The Deerfield Fair has implemented another rule that O’Brien and Harvey hope becomes part of statewide best practices — having parents supervise their child in the pen. O’Brien once witnessed a child hang a pig upside down by its legs and then lower it headfirst into the bag.
“In the heat of the moment, the kids get excited and they just do whatever it takes to get the pig in the bag,” O’Brien said. She said parents should work with the event referee to make sure their kid is handling the pig humanely.
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Harvey’s bill originally called for pig scrambles to be banned around the state, but both she and O’Brien feel that universal guidelines for fairs would still make the experience better for the animals. Even seemingly small things, Harvey said, like giving the pigs water after the scramble, would be an improvement to the current situation for them.
“I think that the bill will embolden people to speak up at these events,” O’Brien said. “If they think a pig is being mistreated, they’ll be able to say to themselves, ‘I know that there’s supposed to be a rule, so I’m going to say something.’ So I think that would be a good outcome.”
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services collected samples of the unknown substance found in Sunapee Harbor and will be testing them tomorrow. Authorities say the spill was contained and prevented from spreading further.
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. (WHDH) – Authorities have launched an investigation after responding to a reported untimely death in Hampstead, New Hampshire, officials said.
The Attorney General’s Office is investigating the untimely death of a woman at a home in Hampstead, Attorney General John M. Formella announced.
While the investigation is just beginning, there is no known threat to the general public at this time.
The exact circumstances surrounding this incident remain under active investigation.
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This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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