Photos courtesy of Nelia Gibson Chris Riendeau, a certified sommelier with Southern Glazer’s Wine and Sprits of New Hampshire, serving guests Joe and Joan Danieli.

To the Editor:

On June 1, the Bedford Historical Society, in conjunction with TD Bank, held a wine tasting and silent auction to benefit the Stevens-Buswell Community Center. Wine samplings were provided by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of New Hampshire and food tastings were provided by Caroline’s Fine Food, Cupcakes 101, Shorty’s Mexican Road House of Bedford, Fresh Market and The Fig and The Olive, located in Merrimack. Silent auction items and gift cards were donated by many local businesses including Goedecke Design & Flooring, Preference Salon, Cleary Cleaners, Canoe, The Black Forest, Alchemy Salon and Day Spa, The Touch of Nobility, Sullivan Framing, Jim Trombly Plumbing, Just Naturals, Laurel Hills Jams and Jellies, Paula Saunders Hair Care, Carlson Tree Service, Bedford Village Inn, Bradley & Leonard’s Vintage & Home, Pizza Bella, The Common Man, Getaway Wear, Inc., Hannaford’s Kilton Road and Indian Head Athletics. There were also donations by independent Pampered Chef Director Mel Pepin, Dachowski Photography and Eastern Bank.

Several local and regional sports venues also contributed to the success of the evenings with donations from the Manchester Monarchs, the Fisher Cats, Pat’s Peak and a baseball autographed by Boston Red Sox player Josh Rutledge. In addition, there were contributions by the Palace Theater, Concord Center for the Arts, the Preservation Society of Newport, the Peabody Essex Museum and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Also contributing to the success of the evening was the contribution of Rose Kula, musician and songstress who entertained attendees throughout the evening with her inspired interpretations of music from ranging from Paul Simon to 10,000 Maniacs, Tom Waits to Patsy Cline, the Beatles to David Bowie. Rose’s music truly topped the evening off!

The Society is also grateful to the many local businesses that purchased ads in our program, to photographer Nelia Gibson and to graphic designer Kristie Poltronieri Whittum.

We are especially grateful to TD Bank at 184 Route 101 in Bedford for providing a venue for this event and especially to TD Bank Manager, JoAnn Collupy and her staff who lent us their hands after a long day of work.

Last, but definitely not least, our thanks to the many people who attended this event, tasted the wine, sampled the food and bid on the array of silent auction items!

The Stevens-Buswell Community Center is an ongoing project by the Bedford Historical Society and the Friends of the Stevens-Buswell School to return the old Stevens-Buswell School/old Town Office Building/one-time Marconi Museum to active service to our community. When completed the Stevens-Buswell Community Center will provide greatly needed gathering space to our town: reading groups and wedding receptions, baby showers and scout meetings, dance recitals and wine tastings!

For more information, to make a donation or learn how you can help out please visit our website at www.BedfordHistoricalSocietyNH.org visit us on Facebook, or call us at 471-6336.

Submitted by Margaret Goodrich

Secretary, Bedford Historical Society