I’d like to see this become a regular feature, but I can’t do it every month. Would you volunteer to do this a few times each year? It’s fun and easy, and I’m sure our readers will enjoy it a lot. Call or e-mail the Beacon if you’d like to help!

Five Years Ago: May 2010

Selectmen Work to Cut Town Budget by 5%: Town Meeting voted an across-the-board reduction, so now the Selectmen have to figure out how to spread $63,000 in budget cuts.

Cable Channel 8 Programs are Now on the Web: And they still are, though they’ve moved to the new Town Web site at Andover.NH.us. And in a related update, we now have Comcast Channel 8 and TDS Channel 16 carrying our community cable TV channel.

Potter Place Bridge is Being Rebuilt: The last of the beams of the old bridge came down in early April; the project manager expects to be done by August.

Around the World with the Beacon: Tim and Beth Frost were in New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Mark Cowdrey and Lea Ayers LaFave were in New Mexico and Colorado.

Andover EMS Becomes Newest Town Department: It continues to be run and staffed entirely by volunteers.

Annex Task Force Seeks Community Feedback: “It is important to the Task Force that you, the people of Andover, have a voice in this discussion” about the future of the old Hamp House.

Andover High Grads Embark on a Great Adventure in 1949: Hal Crane wrote about the long road trip across the US and back that he, Skip Powers, and Walter Walker took after graduation in 1949. Hal’s letter inspired Walter to begin a long series of articles in the Beacon recapping the trip from his diaries.

2010 was an “Off” Year for Maple Producers: Eric Johnson of Tucker Mountain Maple recapped a too-short season of too-warm days and not-cold-enough nights. But the three preceding seasons had been good ones, he said.

Northern Rail Trail: Potter Place to Danbury, 8.3 Miles: FNRT is just waiting for approvals to start work ($345,000 worth) on connecting the 10 miles of rail trail they’ve already built with the 24 miles that Grafton County has built. Today, the rail trail runs from Boscawen to Lebanon – 58 miles!

Andover’s creativity was on display this month, with Paul Glorioso, Seth Kiedaisch, and Lisa Jelleme each participating in shows in their respective fields. Richard Brewster’s Civil War army that he casts and paints himself was on display at the Andover Library. And MVHS students Shawna Barton, Brianna Keniston, and Mariah Haley were inducted into the National Art Honor Society.

Senior Projects Aim to Benefit the Community: MVHS seniors Stephanie Nelson and Ryan Davis’ senior projects were highlighted by MVHS junior Becca Lance. Stephanie held a walk to raise money for multiple sclerosis; Ryan created a social networking site for the Merrimack Valley community.

Ten Years Ago: May 2005

Late Night Washouts Keep Road Crew Busy: Heavy rains on the first weekend of April – with the ground still frozen and several feet of snow piled in the ditches – calls out John Thompson and his road crew at 3 AM. Eighteen hours later, all the roads were at least passable. Three weeks later, they were still repairing damage from the Big Rain of ’05.

Recycling “Rippables” Gets Easier: On May 21, we started throwing all forms of paper recycling into a single roll-off container instead of having to separate newsprint from office paper. But corrugated cardboard was still recycled separately. “If the paper recycling is successful, we will be able to start recycling plastics by the end of the summer.”

Traffic Advisory from the Beacon Traffic ‘Copter: There was one-lane traffic on Route 11 between Hoyt Road and Webster Lake during the big project to rebuild that stretch of Route 11.

Andover Police Department Patrolman Joe Mahoney was promoted to sergeant.

A photo shows Glenn Haley and Justin Smith hard at work on the new addition to the Andover Fire Station. Chief John Landry looks forward to having “space for monthly meetings without having to pull a truck out.”

“The Andover Historical Society recently was delighted to accept the generous donation by Bob Ward of a ‘signature quilt’ which he purchased in the early 1970s at the Anna Roberts auction in East Andover. … The quilt is signed with many well-known Andover names such as Eastman, Tuttle, Philbrick, and Marston.”

Rail Trail Begins Fundraising: FNRT is planning to send out its first solicitation for contributions and membership.

A birth announcement for Britney Elizabeth Thoroughgood appeared in the May 2005 issue.

The Andover High School alumni are planning what appears to be their first reunion. Ten years later, the idea is still going strong, and they’re still meeting the Saturday after the Fourth of July in Danbury.

Mike Henriques, New Proctor Head: After nearly 20 years at Holderness School, Mike starts as Head of School at Proctor in July. “The way the town and the school are situated, I hope to see – and further – a  flourishing and rewarding interaction between the two.”

Cam Wood Scores a Hat Trick: In a big night at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, Cam Wood scored three goals for the Junior Wildcats Squirt 2 team plus got roughed up by two of his favorite movie stars, the Hanson Brothers from the 1977 movie Slap Shot.

Gretchen Hildebrand Finalist for Teacher of the Year Award: Principal Jane Slayton wrote, “Anyone who has been part of the Andover school community knows that Gretchen Hildebrand is truly deserving of such an honor.”