New England Diary

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Horsefeathers

"Dive'' (feathers and sticks), by Alysa Bennett, in her show "A Change of Horse,'' at AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, N.H., through May 25. The gallery says her "career inspiration and artistry have been of subjects that bring movement and mystery. Horses have been a core subject for the artist for many years and are shown in multiple mediums of drawings, prints and sculptures. ''

Lebanon is an old Connecticut River Valley mill town, chartered in 1761, that was revolutionized by the routing, in the 1960s, of Interstates 89 and 91 through the town and nearby  White River Junction, Vt. (where Amtrak and freight trains stop), in addition because of the growth of Dartmouth College.
 

That's especially with the expansion of  Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, which is affiliated with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, in Lebanon,  and  with the growth of storied Dartmouth College itself, whose main campus, in Hanover, is just to the north. Dartmouth Hitchcock is the largest medical center in northern New England. The Geisel School is named after Theodor Geisel, aka "Dr. Seuss,'' a member of the Dartmouth College class of 1925.

So the former small-factory town now has a mixed economy based on education, medical services, high-technology and retail. It and White River Junction also have some good restaurants.