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By Credit search: Monitor columnist

By RAY DUCKLER

Justin Guth, once a youthful teen skier who liked breaking rules, figured out a way to ski on the off-limits, roped-off, empty slopes in the Pennsylvania Poconos.He joined the National Ski Patrol at age 15, giving him access to any trail he chose and...

By RAY DUCKLER

The white cockatoo sat in the center of Donna and David Peistrup’s living room in Concord in a tall cage near the front door.Daisy had one person she was friendly with, Donna Peistrup said. “Just with Dave.”“He loved his family,” added their daughter,...

By RAY DUCKLER

Under the current circumstances, Melissa or Michael Coe must lift and then boost their 9-year-old daughter, Lila, over their shoulders like a large bag of flour.Once steadied and balanced, they must carry Lila, who has cerebral palsy and weighs 70...

By RAY DUCKLER

Mike Frascinella, the chairman of the Allenstown Economic Development Committee and a member of the town’s planning board, speaks in measured tones, even when commenting about additions he believes will add personality, money and a richer sense...

By RAY DUCKLER

Donald Kreis is a nerd, and he knows it.“Yes, I am,” he said recently.He began wearing a bow tie in junior high school and wears one today, at age 64. He never played sports in school, always got good grades, was the editor of his high school...

By RAY DUCKLER

The drawers on a pair of wooden jewelry boxes were pulled out, one layered on top of another, forming a miniature three-story piece of furniture containing rocks.There were small stones, beautiful, smooth and shiny, with colors and patterns that...

By RAY DUCKLER

Chris Hacker holds the steering wheel of his car race differently from the rest of the pack.His left hand is positioned at 11 o’clock, his right at 4. That’s not the standard positioning, 10 and 2, that other NASCAR drivers use. They have two...

By RAY DUCKLER

Lisa Brown admired John Gfroerer for his unselfish, unassuming and unflappable demeanor.Something, however, bothered Brown about her partner of more than three decades during his long career as a filmmaker: Gfroerer was too unselfish and too...

By RAY DUCKLER

Judy Ellis knows the drill.She’ll talk about her granddaughter, the late Sydnie Quimby, with a jovial tone filled with pride about her kindness mixed with her competitive spirit.She’ll talk about members of the support group she’s found, called the...

By RAY DUCKLER

The text message seemed legit.Bank of America was asking Jake St. Pierre about his recent banking history. Had he withdrawn a substantial amount of money from one of its accounts? While in Georgia?No, he hadn’t.And, to make matters worse, the “bank”...

By RAY DUCKLER

He didn’t have the original poem he’d written 70 years ago when the Old Man of the Mountain guarded Franconia Notch with a hard stare, but Charlie Poole of Bristol remembered the words, altering them to acknowledge his friend’s death.“There was a man,...

By RAY DUCKLER

Concord High’s principal knew that the local legal scholar preferred life below the radar.He’d read that the personal life of David Souter of Weare, named the 105th justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1990, was off limits, as was any legal...

By RAY DUCKLER

The staff meeting began as a mere formality, a chance to meet the newest hire at the Capitol Center for the Arts.The staff wanted to know more about Vivian Trimble, where her skills lay, where she grew up, how much experience had she had in the...

By RAY DUCKLER

Special Olympics bocci ball coach Karen Steele didn’t know much about bocci ball, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.She’s learning on the fly, adapting, and figuring out the best way to proceed, no matter the obstacles. It’s something she’s...

By RAY DUCKLER

When Calle Walton lost her sight for good 10 years ago, she began to change her dreams of acting, and focus on teaching instead.Typically positive and optimistic, Walton felt beaten, fearing that her blindness had ended her hopes of acting...

By RAY DUCKLER

Alex Ray, who prides himself on being a common man, has shown uncommon skills while building an empire within the state’s always-challenging restaurant business.His Common Man logo – a farmer working in his field, pushing and leaning hard on a tiller...

By RAY DUCKLER

Sometimes, Louis Jacob wears a red vest, a white shirt and a black bow tie.He looks like someone from 100 years ago when barbershop quartets and even larger singing teams were common. A declining enrollment for such pursuits in years past was made...

By RAY DUCKLER

It was Mother’s Day last year when Michele Decoteau of Mason brought a stethoscope to a park in Nashua.She wanted to hear a heartbeat. A particular heartbeat. The one that once pumped inside her son, Daniel, before a motor vehicle accident left him...

By RAY DUCKLER

When it comes to town meetings, Deerfield Select Board member Rich Pitman thinks his town does it right.Deerfield is one of many towns that adopted the SB2 format for its town meeting process, where residents attend a deliberative session to finalize...

By RAY DUCKLER

Bettey and Jack Tobey’s first date was a hayride more than 75 years ago, and they’re still going strong.They were sophomores at Concord High. They went their separate ways for a few years to serve their country, but they began as high school...