Remembering lessons learned at 'Sid’s table'

“I want you to meet Sid Lovett.”

It was late on one of those dark winter afternoons in New Hampshire, when the chill holds you in an embrace and just won’t let go. We left the house on Rogers Street, turned onto Highland Street, and drove toward Rumney. The details of the occasion, the date, the reason I was in Plymouth staying with my beloved Auntie Ruth (Millar) can’t be recalled, only that she “wanted me to meet Sid Lovett.”

We were sitting at round tables and Sid, wearing a plaid flannel shirt and woolen cap, was seated across from me. His gentle voice, piercing eyes and probing intellect remain perfectly clear in my memory.

Following our meeting that evening, he encouraged me to join the president’s council at Plymouth State University, a group of individuals with strong opinions and successful careers. At quarterly meetings, Sid, in soft tones, prodded and pushed, encouraging the environmental programs that were being developed and focusing attention on those New Hampshire students at risk of not receiving a college education. Sid eliminated any chatter that diverted from our agenda and kept meetings focused.

The first time he invited me to join him for lunch at “Sid’s table” (yes, I am certain there is still a sign over an unobtrusive table at a Common Man restaurant in Meredith) he told me about his involvement with the U.S. Institute of Peace. President Ronald Reagan had nominated him to the inaugural board in 1984, and after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate he served until 1991. At the time the USIP was in offices in the National Restaurant Association building on L Street. He was the chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee when plans were finalized for the construction of a headquarters for the institute on the National Mall, across from the Lincoln Memorial. The building, noted for its unique roof that some believe suggests a dove, was designed by architect Moshe Safdie, and completed in 2011. Sid played an important role in raising support for the building and we worked together to organize a fundraising event in New Canaan, Connecticut.

One morning Sid called me in New York and asked if I wanted to meet Maggie Hassan who was then running for her second term as governor of New Hampshire. A small group was gathering, and he thought I might want to attend. After engaging her in conversation and listening to her remarks that evening, I understood why Sid was such an enthusiastic supporter. I rallied friends, assisted in organizing two fundraisers, eventually leading to a network of supporters in New York for her campaigns. As one of the senators from New Hampshire, Maggie Hassan has been a voice in supporting my advocacy for gun control and conflict resolution programs in schools.

It was through Sid I learned about the efforts to bring back the disappearing loons on “Golden Pond,” his beloved Squam Lake where he lived.

It was Sid who mounted the effort in New Hampshire to have church bells chime at 3 p.m. on Aug. 28, 2013, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I have a Dream” speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C.

Appalachian Mountain Club members and crew from the observatory rang bells on the summit of Mt. Washington to “...let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.” Bells chimed from the small stone chapel bell on Star Island on the Isle of Shoals, just off the coast in Portsmouth.

We lose Sid Lovett at a time when we could most benefit from his wisdom, his activism, his empathy, his astute political acuity, and his deep faith. We meet few individuals like him today. Political leaders are caught up in the net of celebrity, fundraising and making decisions based on re-election prospects. Religious leaders fight against political interference in their moral and ethical teachings around love, grace, inclusion, and forgiveness. Anger, loud voices, and bullying prevail over peace, reconciliation, and the thoughtful resolution of conflicts. There are no longer noble spirits to serve as counterbalances to all of this.

This is my story of meeting Sid Lovett. It is a different world knowing I cannot sit at "Sid’s table," enjoying a sandwich and a cup of soup, asking for his counsel. Sid led the way. It’s up to us to follow in his footsteps.

“Come here Norman. Hurry up.

The loons! The loons! They’re welcoming us back.”

Ethel Thayer, (Katherine Hepburn) On Golden Pond

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Listen to Elizabeth on the Short Fuse Podcast found on Apple or Spotify, follow her on Instagram @elizh24 or send her a note at elizabeth@laconiadailysun.com. She is an author and journalist. Her books include Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited (Easton Studio Press, 2015), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David R. Godine, 2015), Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011).