Take Time To View and Appreciate the Larger Picture
Katharine Eneguess, President of White Mountains Community CollegeI had a few minutes to spare the other day so I decided to take a different route through the city south from the college. It's the time of year you want to take a different route so that you can see as many views as possible of the changing foliage.
I went up the northern end of Cates Hill Road, past a couple of boggy spots that looked like moose hangouts, and up to where the views break open to the west. I don't go this way often enough, I thought as I looked out on to the Kilkenny Range. I crested over the hill and took in the view of the northern Presidentials and the Mahoosuc Range.
I didn't head straight down Hillside Avenue, but cut back over to Route 16 just above the main branch of Woodlands Credit Union. Though I go by it nearly every day, I wanted to get a better look at the new state Health and Human Services building that has sprung up in the space where the former Pulp and Paper of America's administration building stood empty for so long.
On my way back down to Main Street I looped around to School Street, edging by the orange traffic cones that cut the street down to a single lane in front of the old Notre Dame High School. An excavator was busy scooping up debris from the old school and dropping it in a dump truck. Progress towards the renovation and reuse of the stately old building continues, just as progress towards the renovation and reuse of the old Berlin Reporter building on Main Street continues. It is often hard to see, as we go about our lives, the bigger picture. We tend to take the same routes to do our daily chores, not seeing any more than what is right in front of us.
In September of 2001 Androscoggin Valley took a huge hit when American Tissue, parent company of Pulp and Paper of America, owners of the pulp and paper mills in Berlin and Gorham, declared bankruptcy, putting 860 out of work. By all rights, that should have been a death knell for the Valley. It wasn't. Through a tremendous effort by community members and local, state and federal officials, the Valley has pulled through, slowly reinventing itself, in some cases creating opportunities, in other cases seizing opportunities. While the national economy has put a crimp on some business plans, and we still face challenging times, you don't have to go far off the beaten path in Berlin and Gorham to see that the Valley continues to move forward.
We here at White Mountains Community College are proud to be part of that forward progress. In the early days of the mills' shutdown we partnered with economic and workplace development agencies to provide education and training for the displaced workers. As time has gone by, we have worked to provide a comprehensive curriculum that addresses the needs of both the residents of the North Country and the businesses. We train and educate tomorrow's teachers and nurses. We give a solid background in criminal justice to those who wish to work in correctional institutions or in law enforcement. The graduates of our great Culinary Arts program staff the kitchens of some of the finest dining establishments in the state, including at Mount Washington Hotel and the Balsams Resort.
As I drove on towards my meeting, passing by the renovated Gorham Middle High School, I thought, it helps to go up a hill and look at the bigger picture. I encourage each of you to do that.
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