VILLAGE MEMBER STORIES

Peter Cass (Portsmouth)

How long lived in the Seacoast area?

I moved to Nottingham from Cambridge, MA in the mid-70s.  Moved to Durham around 1985 and then down-sized to South End of Portsmouth in 2017.  So, I guess I've been here for 47 years.

What's your professional background?

Since I was a kid, I've always been drawn towards making and fixing things—that just seems to be the way my brain works.  After college (liberal arts degree in psychology and photography), I worked as a motorcycle mechanic for six years. I was then married to a musician and started my own luthier workshop building pre-Baroque stringed instruments—vielles, lutes, psalteries and such-like.  (Interesting work, but it comes with a fatal flaw: it's one of the few art/craft occupations where your clientele is generally poorer than you are.)  That lasted about eight years. 

I then worked at UNH in a vision science lab as a lab tech and it’s where I first started to program computers. I also spent a lot of time as the lab-rat, being the subject of various experiments exploring the neural mechanism of spatial vision. That allowed me to take Computer Science courses leading to a Master's degree, after which I settled into the world of commercial software engineering, the field I worked in for 25 years until I retired in 2018.

How do you like to spend your time now?

In summer, I spend as much time as possible in the garden or on the water—I learned to sail as a teenager and took it up again 25 years ago. I now own a 37' C&C sailboat with a couple of fellow geezers.  

I was an avid squash player until age took its toll.  I moved on to pickleball—not my ideal sport but it keeps the body moving.  've been on a 2-year hiatus while having both hips replaced, but I hope to be back on the courts this summer.

What aspects of being a Village member do you find most helpful or enjoyable?

Getting involved with Seacoast Village Project is an opportunity to use my computer skills (which I still enjoy plying) to promote a cause I believe in.  I like working with the volunteers in the office, and as the Village matures, I expect I'll be able to help members with techie problems.

If you were to encourage a friend to become a Village member, what would you tell them?

Joining the village is an opportunity to join a new community of people at a time when our natural communities are often becoming diminished—old friends move away and die, kids grow up and establish their own lives, etc. 

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