Bill Veazey
From upkeep of 200-year-old home to housing/land use activism to warm winter climes
My wife, Julie, and I lived in the Parsonage [1805] on Olde Parish Road in Rye for eight years until 2004. Our time there was memorable as we transitioned from the work-a-day world into an active retirement lifestyle. A great deal of time and effort was spent updating the infrastructure of the historic home as well as the landscape and gardens.
I grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey; attended Oberlin College for two years and then the University of New Hampshire, to graduate with a Civil Engineering degree in 1956. My occupations have been structural engineering with Jackson and Moreland in Boston, acoustical engineering and sales with Eckel Industries in Cambridge, Mass., SVA Associates in Ashland, Mass.; NEVA Associates in Hudson, N.H.; and Control Resources Inc. of Littleton, Mass..
In 1982 we founded Hudson Children's Center in Hudson, Mass., and it continues as a successful business today.
Interest in land use, senior housing and societal situations remain at the center of my retirement interests. I assisted in founding Rye Senior SERVE, Inc. and participated as the Chairman of the Rye Land Use Committee for several years. Previously I was Treasurer of SENH - Habitat for Humanity, Treasurer of The Rockingham Condo Assn, Board of Directors, Meadowood Homeowner’s Assn, Dover; presently President of Market Wharf II Condo Association and Director of Control Resources, Inc.
Articles and writings by Bill Veazey
The Rye Reflections archive has a link to all articles via Google; however, I thought it might be more convenient for readers to access specific articles if my writings were organized by subject and could be retrieved by a simple link. Just click on the blue titles below for any one you wish to read. Since there were concentrations on certain subjects, I have attempted to lump them accordingly.In 2005, our grandson, Kyle Herman, was in the military, and my thoughts about him developed into my very first article for Rye Reflections, and then another a few months later.
Patriotism:
Memorial Day, June, 2005
Nine Apples; a letter to Kyle, December, 2005
Pearl Harbor Day, 2006, 65 years
Pearl Harbor Day, 2008
9/11/2001
Writing on a regular basis was something new for me. I found inspiration in the old copper wash tub at our lake house, where we store newspapers for starting fires in the early spring and fall. It was fascinating to look back at old news; not so different from current news.
News
Meaningful News
The Beat Goes On, Adequate Education
Looking Back to 1998
I had arrived at RR by way of a Rye Housing Committee formed in 2002, which subsequently, became part of Senior SERVE. After getting the hang of writing for RR, I thought that it might provide a great opportunity to spread the word about the need, and desirability of senior housing in Rye. In September of 2005 I pushed for acceptance of the zoning amendment that would allow clustered senior housing in town. Numerous articles relating to seniors and senior housing evolved over the years.
Housing for Seniors:
Senior Housing, Zoning amendment to allow RCDs
We need our seniors here!
Senior Housing Choices
Home Sweet Home
Continuing Care:
Webster at Rye
Workforce Housing:
Primer on Workforce Housing
Affordable Housing:
Waste Not, Tax Less
My daughter, Lynn Veazey Rockwell, wrote two articles.
Lynn's contributions:
Starr Island Retreat
Lexi; a robot friend for seniors?
Articles reporting on travel ventures were popular in RR, so I contributed a few about trips we had taken.
Travels:
Windsurfing Excursion in the Dominican Republic
Getting to know St. Petersburg
Birthday in Arizona
The Other Halfs Go South
DeSoto State Park
The Rye Public Safety Building (RPSB)was the subject-du-jour in the winter of 2006, and it caused me to think more about public policies and taxation. The first article of this nature appeared in March of 2006 and others followed regarding both local and national subjects.
RPSB:
Other People's Money
On Volunteering
Seacoast Metropolitan Planning Organization
Spending:
The $847,000 Question, -A Sniff Test
The $847,000 View
Portsmouth Middle School
Taxation:
Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
The Little Engine That Could
Taxes by the Dozens
The Stimulus
Deficit in the Real World (contains link to Social Security website)
The Milking Machine
Poetry is a great way to express one's feelings, and fortunately, two of our grandchildren and my wife, Julie, chimed in to allow RR to publish some of their work. I'm pleased to include them here along with mine.
Poetry:
-- by grandson Brian William James Cicero:
The Lake House
The Final Cruise
Armageddon
-- by granddaughter Talia Alexenberg, a gifted artist and poet:
A Thanksgiving Day Prayer
Listen and Watch
-- by Julie Bigg Veazey, poet and author:
Winter Walk
Fourth of July
-- and yours truly:
Giving Thanks
A Parent's Dilema
Alone
The Move
The River
Shack
Face Stories
Reunion
Over the past five years alternative energy has been a hot topic, along with other subjects of national interest.
Energy:
Alternative Energy; BioOil
How Fuelish Are We?
Commuting On The Wind
Riddles: Cap and Trade
Leadership:
This Senior's Moment
On Responsible Leadership
The Pre-Game Show
The Balancing Act
We the People
What Needs To Change
Healthcare:
Un-ring A Bell
Generational Reflections
Fable of Contents
Change:
Global Warming
This Changing World
Waves
Summer News, 2007
Changes in Rye
Immigration:
Arizona Iced Tea
Other subjects:
ADA; A Renewed Appreciation
Reunion
Christmas Past
My closing article for this addendum, fittingly, is a piece I wrote in June, 2007, for our second anniversary issue. It says a lot about our group and our process.
Happy Second Birthday, Rye Reflections
It's been a grand ride. Farewell, and fare well!
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