Lately, I keep coming back to one thing: when we trust young people, really trust them, something shifts. In late December, the Spartans on a Mission (SOAM), a group of 9th–12th graders, had no plan other than to simply show up at the Country Village Nursing Home in...
Hub Happenings in the Groveton / Lancaster / Littleton Region
Previous Events
North Country Youth Summit
High school students from across the North Country are invited to the first-ever North Country Youth Coalition meeting — a youth-led space to connect, share ideas, and create real change. Students will work in teams during a Shark Tank–style pitch challenge to design...
Back to the 80’s, Forward Together
Whitefield’s 3rd Annual 80’s Day showed the power of nostalgia, connection, and the staying power of community, alongside a summer filled with music, dancing, and new leaders stepping up. Nostalgia gave us common ground: music, laughter, and plenty of “remember...
The Power of Yes
Sometimes, the biggest changes in a community don’t start with a plan or a meeting. They start with one simple word: yes. When someone says yes to trying something new, it creates ripples. One yes turns into another, and suddenly, what seemed small begins to reshape a...
Freeze the Water Bring the People
Neighbors in Whitefield were thrilled when the famous ice rink on the Common was brought back to life this winter! The rink has become a tradition and a sense of pride for residents. However, due to weather and volunteer scarcity, the Common sat iceless for many...
Latin Beats and Eats: A Celebration of Culture, Community, and Connection
This year’s Latin Beats and Eats event was something truly special. We gathered at The Loading Dock in Littleton, where people from 10 different Latin countries came together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the sounds of merengue and bachata, delicious food,...
From Neighborly Chat to Community Success
A serendipitous meeting with a North Country neighbor led to the beginning of our Homestead Classes in Groveton. A question we begin with here at the Hub is "Did a neighbor ask for it?" In this case the answer is yes! Kayla Leighton a young homesteader and farmer...
Coffee on the Common
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Kick Up Your Boots: Country Line Dance Nights Return to Lancaster!
Hosted at the Lancaster Motel every other Wednesday, this event doesn't disappoint. It’s a fantastic evening of music, dance, and camaraderie. The best part? It's entirely free! But here's the twist, all donations go towards Cigars for Warriors. Leading the way and...
Hunters Moon Family Fun Night – October 28
This was a concerted effort between the Hub, Granite Guild, and the Northumberland Fire and Police Departments. The Ghostbusters were on hand yet again, with a screening of The Afterlife, next to a bonfire with music and free food! The event was well received by...
The Stories Before the Stories
The Stories Before the Stories
We spend a lot of time talking about outcomes in community building. What we don’t often hear are the strange and unexpected chains of events that made them happen in the first place. For me, it’s unexpected conversations in unexpected places. This is where I always hear the heartbeat of our community, and it pulls me right in.
The guitar circle is a good example. It would be easy to say that a guitar circle was created in Lancaster and leave it at that. What people don’t see are all the small moments that led up to it.
Going to where the people are and having organic conversations is the not-so-secret sauce.
I had a conversation in the waiting room at the car dealership in Lancaster with Mike Kopp who suggested a small guitar circle he held way back when. We decided to bring it back, and this time, invite the wider community. Neighbors from the entire region have since joined us! One person shared that he had been fighting isolation and was so happy to have a place to go and jam. Another said it was now her favorite day of the week!
This week I heard the thud again.
A few days ago, a young person was going door-to-door (my door being one) selling new internet and mentioned that he was feeling discouraged that so many folks weren’t being kind to him. That didn’t sit right with me. I then stopped what I was doing and walked him around the neighborhood and introduced him to several friendly folks. He was so grateful. I then decided to change my internet. It wasn’t about getting him more sales, it was showing him that there are always friendly, helpful people around, but sometimes you just have to take the scenic route.
Not long after, a wifi technician, Matt, came to install the new internet service at my house. As we talked, I learned that he was my neighbor. Someone living nearby that I had never met.
Then I realized something else. His son had recently graduated, and I had been there to watch it happen. Within the span of a week, a young person knocking on doors, an internet installation, and a graduation ceremony had somehow become connected.
Matt and I chatted about his son who has Down’s Syndrome, something I know very little about. That led to a conversation where I learned so much, including how he and his family navigate schools, community events, and other challenges and joys that come along with parenting.
Matt discussed the need for a build hub, a wood shop makerspace, one for fixing simple engines, and how his other teenage son is a gamer who was hoping to create community around that. These are all ideas at the moment, and through further conversations may take hold. But this is it. This is how it starts. I love a good stay tuned moment!
The outcomes matter, but the origin stories are just as important because that’s where strangers become neighbors, neighbors become partners, and what once seemed unlikely suddenly doesn’t anymore.