Living & Dying: A Hospice Blog

  Violet Jacob's Hallowe'en text The tattie-liftin's nearly through, They're ploughin' whaur the barley grew,     And aifter dark, roond ilka stack,     Ye'll see the horsemen stand an' crack O Lachlan, but I mind o' you! I mind foo often we hae seen Ten thoosand stars keek doon atween     The nakit branches, an' below     Baith fairm an'...

By Jennie Reichman Fall arrived this year by turning the seasonal page with a flourish. One day I’m out in the garden swatting black flies and the next I am wearing a sweater and turning up the heat in the house for the first time since...

Life and Death in Community by Lars Hunter, Bereavement Program Coordinator As we enter a season of change it’s easy to write about trees and changing colors, but this year I’m going to write about birds.       I frequently go to a local business where I use...

Reiki Bringing Comfort and Peace by Fran Freeman      In January 1993, living in Boca Raton, Florida, I received word that my mother, who lived in Massachusetts, had lung cancer.  Without hesitation my husband Don said, “Well, you have to be with her.”  I took...

Willow Finds a Home by Kris McDermet, Hospice Care and Bereavement volunteer In May of this year, Stewart participated in a Brattleboro Area Hospice vigil case.  He sat with M for one visit before she sadly passed away in her home, which she shared with her cute...

Rain, Rain, Go Away By Lars Hunter, Bereavement Care Coordinator As I sit here writing this piece in my office at 191 Canal St., I’m looking out the window at the drenching rain that continues to pour down and seemingly has no end. Last night and this...

Reflections on 20 Years of Hallowell by Kathy Leo, founding member The beginning is always an unknown journey.  How can we know what lies ahead, where a path may lead, how an idea can grow and shape, can include and bestow.   Hallowell took its first baby steps...

Note: The BAH Memorial Garden is located on the side of Living Memorial Park (directly across from 21 Guilford Street, on the hillside adjacent to the road). On June 6, we will have our first springtime Planting Service at the Memorial Garden since 2019, when the...

BAH's Memorial Garden has certainly evolved over the years. Here are some pictures from its beginnings as a few raised beds to today's incarnation. EARLY DAYS THE PERGOLA AND HARDSCAPE PLANTING ANNUALS HALLOWELL and LERNA PROVIDE THE SOUNDTRACK . MEMORIAL STONES ANNUALS, FLAGS, and CIRCLES  FLOWERS WAITING FOR ANOTHER SERVICE . . . ...

By Lars Hunter, Bereavement Coordinator Ahh, that time of year we all wait for during the cold dark days of winter. The bleak landscape turns into a burst of flowering new energy, the sweet scent of flowers, the buzz of insects, and the songs of birds...