Exeter Life

In this Exeter Life column from 2016, Lara tells the story of Frannie Wentworth, known by many as Exeter's real Santa. Frannie's daughter Bette Henneberry recounts his time as Santa. 

In this trip back to a 2015 Exeter Life column, Lara shares the rite of passage of waiting in Exeter's Santa line. 

In this episode of Exeter Life, Lara visits with members of the Festival of Trees Committee as they adapt the annual event to the era of a global pandemic. Two raffle trees were decorated and and are on display at Arjay Ace Hardware and Shooter's Pub. Those who make a donation of $25 or more are entered into the drawing for one of the two trees, which will take place on Thursday, December 3. To enter the raffle, visit www.exeterareacharitablefoundation.org/festivaloftrees

In this episode, Lara visits Lincoln Street School to hear how the third grade tradition of creating Cornfield Characters was made possible during the coronavirus pandemic. The annual event has been a rite of passage for incoming third graders for the past 24 years. The freestanding characters are displayed on the lawn of the school before Halloween.

In this episode, Lara sits down with Exeter author Renay Allen, who writes under RM Allen, to talk about her trilogy of mysteries set in Exeter, and how they shed light on the history of the black community in town. 

Allen has been researching the town's black history for the past three years and compiled a report which can be found on her website https://rm-allen.com. 

Her desire to do more led her to write "The Incident at the Exeter Tavern" and the "Incident at the Ioka." The books feature Jude Hall, a black man who earned his freedom by fighting in the Revolutionary War, and James Monroe Whitfield, a black abolitionist poet. A third book, due in 2021, will be set in the suffragette era and profile a successful black hotelier on Hampton Beach. Proceeds from the book are being used to build a pocket park dedicated to the town's black history. 

In this special bonus voices episode of Exeter Life, Lara meets up with Nicole and Jeremiah Vernon from Vernon Family Farm in Newfields to find out more about Bruce the king of Newfields. Bruce is a guard llama for the farm's chickens and Lara finds out whether he's holding up his end of the bargain or more interested in his budding political career. 

This episode was sponsored by Vernon Family Farm, www.vernonfamilyfarm.com 

Monday, September 7th was World Duchenne Day, which seeks to raise global awareness for all those affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, an estimated 300,000 boys worldwide. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disease that destroys muscles. First, the legs go, then the upper body sags, and eventually the heart and lungs stop working.  There is no cure. In 2016, the first medication to treat DMD was approved and while the medication was is not specific to all of the variations of DMD, families hope additional versions might be on the horizon. In this episode, Lara talks with 18-year-old Lucas Currier, of Exeter, who was diagnosed with DMD when he was 4 years old, and his mother Linda.

Who doesn’t love chocolate? In this episode of the Exeter Life podcast, Lara meets with Exeter bean to bar chocolate maker Enna Grazier who just opened a café and chocolate factory in town. Enna shares her journey from wedding photographer to chocolate maker and her thoughts on opening in Exeter, which has long been her dream.

Remember the early days of pandemic life back in March? Some people cleaned out their attic or garage. Others baked a lot of bread. It seemed like the entire world watched The Tiger King on Netflix. Another group planted gardens, some for the first time, others as a regular summer activity. In this episode, Lara visits with four of these local gardeners, as the fruits of their labor are finally ready to eat. 

While most of her friends are still sleeping during their summer vacation, 15-year-old Ella Byrne is up before the sun. She's spending the summer lobstering with her dad, Ward, on the family's boat, the F/V Sugar Daddy. Listen in as Lara visits with Ella on a recent morning when the boat returned to dock in Portsmouth.