Looking for a new book to add to your summer reading list? Well look no further than Margaret from Maine written by New Hampshire local Joe Monninger.
“Brought together by war, separated by duty, a love story for the ages.
Margaret Kennedy lives on a dairy farm in rural Maine. Her husband Thomas—injured in a war overseas—will never be the man he was. When President Obama signs a bill in support of wounded veterans, Margaret is invited to the nation’s capital. Charlie King, a handsome Foreign Service officer, volunteers to escort her. As the rhododendron blossoms along the Blue Ridge Highway, the unlikely pair fall in love—but Margaret cannot ignore the tug of her marriage vows.
Joseph Monninger’s Margaret from Maine is a page-turning romance that poignantly explores the dilemmas faced by those who serve our country—and the men and women who love them.”
The best part about this book…it talks about biosolids!
In the background scenes of the tale, there unfolds a very minor bit about taking care of the farm and fertilizing the fields. On page 109 we read about Margaret talking with Ben her father-in-law, the dairy farmer, about using biosolids:
Ben says: “Noel Grummond came over from the county and wanted to talk about using biosolids out on the two north apple meadows”….“They’re looking for sites where they can spread biosolids and get them out of landfills. Has to be at least twenty acres and we have about that up there. Some activists are worried about the heavy metals, mercury, mostly, and selenium, but I don’t know. We don’t graze the livestock up there. It’s all apples.”
“Do they pay something?”
“Yes. Not much, but they do. We more or less leave the field empty for one summer. There will be some smell. But it’s supposed to be safe and it’s good for the soil if we ever want to use it.”
“Well, Noel’s a trustworthy sort.”
“I’ve always thought so.”
And later in the story (pg 228) another farmer wants to get in on the biosolids deal and visits Ben in the barn:
“Just checking in” Blake said, “and Donny wanted me to ask you about the biosolids deal. He thought he might be able to use it on a field he has under contract up to the Davidson’s place.”……
“What’s he want to do with that pasture?” Ben asked.
“Turf, I guess. Donny has the idea he can grow turf up here and sell it down in the Boston area or over in Portland. Suburbs, I suppose.”
“Well, people from Boston will buy just about anything.”
“That so?”
“It’s what I hear.” Ben said, giving her a dry smile. “But the biosolids might work on the Davidson place. It would make the turf grow pretty thick.”
“That’s what Donny was thinking. He figures it’s free fertilizer.”
Pick up a copy today and get lost in this wonderful story of love, loss and farming!
https://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Maine-Novel-Joseph-Monninger/dp/0452298687
Chris Thomson joined the RMI team in November as the newest addition to our Operations department as the Operations Assistant. In this role, Chris is in charge of the daily dispatch of the company’s truck fleet. Chris schedules generator pickups and end user delivers and any other problem that is thrown his way. He is resilient and smart and quickly got the nickname of “Turnip” because they can survive and strive in the toughest of circumstances. Prior to joining RMI Chris served in the military and then spent time as a cross-country truck driver.
Eryka Reid came on board in March as the new part-time Administrative Assistant but is now the full-time Compliance and Marketing Assistant. In these roles Eryka builds maps for all of end user sites and coordinates tradeshows and conferences for the sales team. She is also responsible for maintaining our website and social media sites. Eryka graduated from Plymouth State University with a B.S. in Environmental Science and spent the last year working for Keepsake Quilting, which is a worldwide quilting company. With a science degree and some marketing experience Eryka was a good fit for what RMI needed.
Roseann Iannelli is RMI’s new Administrative Assistant and is one of the company’s newest employees having come on board in the beginning of June. Roseann has a rich history in administrative duties and spent the last few years working at EFI Inc in Meredith, NH. In her new job with RMI Roseann is in charge of the day-to-day administrative tasks necessary to keep the company going, ranging from handling mail, answering phones and keeping sales and delivery documents in order.