Ingenuity and Entrepreneurship
This is the first of what will be several articles that chronicle the ingenuity and creativity that embody the New England spirit.
Throughout the U.S., everyone is facing a variety of economic challenges. But challenges are nothing new to New Englanders. From founding our great nation to ushering in the U.S. industrial revolution, we have learned that when the going gets tough the tough do indeed get going.
Today more than ever Yankee ingenuity is alive and well with entrepreneurship at an all time high. What drives entrepreneurship? Sometimes it's a singular person with a fantastic idea. Sometimes it's just pure creative exercising that blossoms into a much needed or wanted product.
Lakes of the Clouds: Fine Food at 5,000 Feet
By Sam L. Rothman
What is the highest place in New England where you can enjoy a sit-down meal? That would be the dining room of The Lakes of the Clouds Lodge, perhaps New England's most exclusive eatery.
Before you call for the necessary reservations, a few words of warning. A table for a Saturday night must be booked at least three months in advance. You are also going to want to lace on your hiking boots and leave home early. From the parking lot it's a steep three-to-four hour hike to The Lakes of the Clouds. The 3.1-mile path, known as the Ammonoosuc Trail, climbs several thousand feet up the side of New England's tallest mountain.
On the southern slope of 6,288 foot Mt. Washington The Lakes of the Clouds sits on a ridge that is 5,050 feet above sea level. With a view of 50 miles or more on a clear day, there truly is no place east of the Rockies where you can be served a sumptuous family style meal at such an altitude. The food is both delicious and plentiful, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the Alpine environment is totally unique.
On a typical August evening, that dinner began with a hearty soup called "Tomato Extravaganza" and freshly baked "Honey Oatmeal Bread." Servers ladled heaping individual portions from a huge steaming kettle, and seconds were no problem.
Next came bowls of "Alpine Garden Salad," a mix of greens, diced vegetables, nuts and fruits. The main course included steaming trays of roast turkey with "all the trimmings." Dessert, if you could fit it, was a huge "Oooey Gooey Chocolate Cookie" served with your choice of hot coffee, tea or cocoa. The vegetarian alternative was an appetizing "Black Bean and Veggie Fajita."
If you wish to stay the night, which most do, breakfast is equally sumptuous. On the same weekend, Sunday morning's fare included hot oatmeal, an inviting "Spinach and Cheese Egg Frittata," crispy beacon, freshly baked coffee cake and of course juice, coffee, tea and/or hot cocoa.
Operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Lakes of the Clouds Lodge is part of a system of "huts" located along the Appalachian Trail's most challenging segment, the Presidential Range of New Hampshire. The term "hut" is somewhat misleading as the meals and the unique personalities of those who make up the staff at these lodges illustrate.
Obey It (...or Change It)
By Roger Parmelee
The old Mary Tyler Moore show was a favorite of mine and while I liked all the characters it seemed that Lou Grant, the News Director of the fictitious WJM-TV, got some of the best lines. One of my favorites was about relationships. “I don’t know what anybody sees in anybody,” Lou once observed.
Trophy wives (and husbands) aside, I have to agree with Mr. Grant. I don’t know what anybody sees in anybody either. So when Vermont’s legislature overrode Governor Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill that made same sex marriage legal in the Green Mountain State in early April, I took it pretty much in stride. For one thing that makes them the fourth state to do so after Massachusetts, Connecticut and, of all places, Iowa.
That three New England states and Iowa are ahead of California on this question is the kind of irony that amuses me. Since that other coast likes to think it’s way ahead of us easterners (10 to 20 years ahead I believe) in social matters it strikes me as, well, ironic, that the Golden State is hanging back there with (insert your favorite Red State here). You could argue that California is even worse on this one since the state’s supreme court legalized gay marriage then the electorate took it away. I’m sure Rush Limbaugh loves that.
