Of Hanover, A Wisconsin Town And A Tight End

Casey Cramer is one lucky guy. All-American tight end. Ivy League degree. Offseason studies at Harvard. Three-year NFL player heading soon to another camp with the Tennessee Titans. Pretty nice resume.

Oh yeah. One other thing. Two actually.

He grew up in Money Magazine's No. 1* Best Place to Live in America.
And he went to college in the No. 2* place in America to live.

The No. 1 place to live in America: Cramer's hometown of Middleton, WI, which borders Madison.

The No. 2 place to live in America: Hanover. (The barn in the picture is in our part of Hanover -- Etna.)

Video: Hanover, A Mountain Paradise. (It's a great place but a mountain paradise?)

Money's Top 10:
1. Middleton, WI
2. Hanover, NH
3. Louisville, CO
4. Lake Mary, FL
5. Claremont, CA
6. Papillion, NE
7. Milton, MA
8. Chaska, MN
9. Nether Providence, PA
10. Suwanee, GA

A few years ago author Bill Bryson, who lived in Hanover at the time, wrote a book titled, "I'm A Stranger Here Myself." There was a lot about the good life in Hanover in the book. Some of us were a little concerned that he was letting the world in on our little secret and that we would soon be overrun by moving trucks from far-flung places. Didn't happen. Thankfully.

The Money Magazine piece at least throws a little cold water -- ice water is more like it -- on Hanover. It includes this warning: "If you can't stand winter, you won't like Hanover." Agreed.

For the complete breakdown of where Hanover ranked in the categories on which it was graded, click here.

(*Money: "For this year's list we focused on smaller places that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.")

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If you've been reading the blog for the past few months you know a lot about The Prouty ride, for which Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens raised more than $14,000. Today's Daily Dartmouth wraps up last Saturday's event.

The University at Albany has an incoming freshman football player who is an inspiration. Here's the lead of a story in the Times Union:

He makes tackles with one hand because that's all he has, and he controls his diabetes through an insulin pump he wears in his football girdle.

The icon on my desktop reminds me there are 60 days left until Dartmouth's opener against Colgate. ... I'm off to take the 8th-grader-to-be to football camp at Hanover High School. Those of you who shook your head in disbelief at the old Hanover High field should cross the street behind the south end zone at Memorial Field this fall and look behind the school. Hanover has put a lighted, turf field in a natural bowl out back. It's a fabulous field. (Fitting, I suppose, for the No. 2 place to live in America ;-)