New England in All Seasons for a Great Cause

  I Actually Got the Calendar out in August!

Town Hall Rainbow
Chesterfield, NH

For years people have been telling me that it is important to publish
my New England Reflections Calendar during the summer. I have never disputed the concept; it was just that I never seemed to be able to get it together that early. Typically I would delay and dither until late September or even October, and, true to the warnings, I found that many potential customers would tell me that they had already bought their calendar(s) for the year. You would think that I would have learned my lesson, and this year I finally did– sort of. 




 



This is my yearly crass promotional blog for my calendar. For ten  years I have been publishing a New England Reflections Calendar. Over the decade, more than $40,000 has been raised, all going to support our Pulmonary Rehabilitation program at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. The money has been used to

Franconia, NH

assist patients with tuition and also to supplement activities offered to the group. The rehab program has provided help and comfort to scores of patients who suffer from chronic lung diseases and its success has always been dependent on our amazingly talented and dedicated staff. I have been honored to be a small part of this effort. After over 20 years as medical director of the program, I have handed off the reins, but I will still try to do my part by continuing to create and promote the New England Reflections Calendar.

This year, for the first time, I have actually completed the calendar at a reasonable time. Earlier would have been even better, but I'm

Newfane Village Cemetery

pretty psyched to get it out in August. Beyond just getting the damned thing done, the toughest part of producing the calendar is selecting the pictures. I browse through my portfolio looking for iconic images from our region. It is always frustrating that I can only choose landscape oriented images, but I promise myself that someday I'll have to do a portrait oriented edition to catch all those other pictures I have been dying to use. My search typically centers around my usual focus of the Monadnock region and southern Vermont, but I occasionally stray to other areas. This year, in addition to my traditional single coastal image, I included a couple of pictures from the Franconia region. I couldn't resist adding one of my shots from the Sugar Hill Lupine Festival. Twelve pictures never seems enough to adequately reflect the beauty of New England in all seasons and I always agonize over the pictures I have to leave out, but he addition of thumbnail images gives me a chance to more fully celebrate our unique corner of the globe. 




Ungraded Printing
For the last several years the calendar has gone from being

Hampton Beach, NH

produced in the hospital's excellent print shop to being sent out for professional printing. Given the limitations of their facilities, the hospital editions were remarkable, but the recent calendars have been much sharper, brighter and with excellent color rendition. My job now is to lay out the calendar in Microsoft Publisher and then submit the images to our designer who moves the project to InDesign for the printer. The addition of other touches, such as the different highlight colors, also adds to the attractiveness of the final product. As always I legitimately feel that this year's calendar is the best ever. You can browse this years images on my web site 2014 Calendar Collection. The only thing left is for all of you to buy a bunch of these utilitarian masterpieces. They make great gifts and support a great cause.

Maple Line
Westmoreland, NH

As always I have a wonderful group of partners in the community who help by featuring the calendar in there stores and businesses. I have just started my annual tour distributing the calendar throughout the region. I have more traveling to do and I'm always looking for new locations, but here is a partial and growing list of the where you can go to fulfill all your 2014 calendar needs.

• Cheshire Medical Center Gift Shop, Keene, NH
• Toadstool Bookstores in Keene and Peterborough, NH
• Heidi's Hallmark stores in Keene, Milford, NH
• Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough, NH
• Keene State College Bookstore, Keene, NH
• Leon's Auto Center, Keene, NH
• Nicole and Bonnie's Hair Salon, Keene, NH
• Hanna Grimes, Keene, NH
• Paper and Roses, Peterborough, NH
• Westmoreland General Store, Westmoreland, NH
• Gilsum General Store, Gilsum, NH
• JJ's Discount, Chesterfield, NH
• Monandnock Imaging, Keene, NH
• Monadnock Food Co-op 
• Walpole Village Market
• Alyson's Orchard, Walpole, NH
• Drewsville General Store, Drewsville, NH
• Village Grocery, Walpole, NH
   
• Vermont Artisan Design, Brattleboro, Vt
• Everyone's Books, Brattleboro, Vt.
• Harlow's Sugar House, Putney, Vt
• Newfane Country Store, Newfane, Vt
• Village Bookseller, Bellows Falls, Vt
• PutneyGeneral Store, Putney, Vt

Baker Brook AutumnNewfane, NH

You can also order the calendar on-line through the hospital web site

And we pay the shipping!

Finally you can be assured that, if you see me on the street, I will have a supply of calendars nearby and you will be hearing my favorite phrase for this time of season; "How many calendars do you want this year?"

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com