Rebeccah Pearson
Olde Ipswich Days will return the last weekend of July to mark its 50th year celebrating the arts and crafts after last year s cancelation due to the pandemic.
Olde Ipswich Days is a local artisan craft fair with handmade items that will feature over 50 artisans from up and down the coast of Cape Ann and the North Shore area.
The fair will take place at the South Village Green near the Whipple House for the full duration of the last weekend in July, starting on Friday, July 23 and ending Sunday, July 25.
Nancy Woodworth will be featuring her hand sewn quilts and will also be celebrating her 50th year of joining the fair since its inception.
A Life: Merle Schotanus’ ‘wheels were always turning’
Merle Schotanus has been the town s moderator for 19 years. He s pictured in front of Grantham Methodist Church, on May 21, 2004, where voting is held. (Valley News - Tom Rettig) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
The Schotanus family, from left to right, Merle, Anna, Helen and Sue, during Helen s graduation from University of Illinois in 1965. (Family photograph)
Modified: 12/22/2020 5:57:31 PM
GRANTHAM In more than four decades in the Upper Valley, Merle Schotanus seemed to live several lifetimes.
He ran Sugar Springs Farm, a fruit and maple sugar operation in Grantham. He served as town moderator for 20 years, won seven terms in the state House of Representatives and served on the University of New Hampshire System board for 11 years. He also shepherded a group of cyclists who raised thousands in donations for the Norris Cotton Cance