Saturday, November 8, 2008

Loon Mountain Recreation Area

Loon Mountain
Where the Big Dogs Play
By James Devine

Relatively speaking Loon Mountain is the “new kid on the block” but that new kid is way cool and you just know he’s into some rad stuff just  by the way he carries himself.

Borne of the dreams of Sherman Adams, former NH Governor and consumate outdoorsman and skier. On the day of Adams memorial service, after his death in 1986, a lone bagpipe player stood atop a massive boulder halfway up the side of Loon Mountain and played a version of Amazing Grace that echoed down the valley and sent chills up the spine of anyone there to pay tribute to this giant of a man.

Small wonder that Loon would not only become the regular venue for the annual Gathering of the Clans Highland Games in NH but in the winter one of NH’s most popular resorts.

Adams would be proud of the position Loon has attained since his time.

Skiers and riders can explore over 22 acres of glade runs, burn it up on the bumps or rip down the steeps. Boarder will attest to the fact that loon has some of the best Terrain parks in the east including a Superpipe and the Burton Progression Terrain Park. 

Loon hosts the finals for the northeast circuit of the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge on the last Saturday of March or first Saturday of April each ski season.

Like Waterville, which has the same corporate ownership, Loon is among the top mountains in annual 

capital expenditures to create value for skiers and boarders. During the past few years they have added a mid-mountain lodge, pumped up lift speed and overall per hour capacity and done trail work. The much-anticipated South Peak development will add even more great terrain and two high speed quad lifts to what is already one of the state’s premier mountains.

 

Don’t Miss these Great Places in the Loon Area

Alpine Adventures
Alpine Adventures Zipline Treetop Adventure. That’s right the Zipline adventure operates right through the winter. Imagine how cool it would be to zip down through the canopy right after a winter snowstorm. If gravity power isn’t your thing, Alpine Adventures rents snowmobiles as well and has an all terrain mountain tour.  Reservations are suggested:  For reservations contact Alpine AdventuresMain Street, Lincoln, NH • (888)745-1919 or visit  their website at: www.alpinesnowmobiling.com.

The Woodstock Inn, Station and Brewery
Main Street, N. Woodstock
Wander in an try any one of their regionally renowned micro-brews or sit a spell and enjoy dinner in their Clement Room or the more casual Station. The Woodstock Inn is a great place to stay or dine.

Woodwards Resort  &  Open Hearth Steakhouse
Rte 3 Lincoln
Jeff Woodward presides over a business that has been in the family for more than 5 decades. With lngevity like that you know that service is their hallmark. (603) 745-8141 • woodwardsresort.com

Fratello’s Restaurant
Great Italian and continental Cuisine in an awesome old converted mill building at the Millfront Marketplace.  
(603) 745-2022 • www.fratellos.com

Innisfree Bookstore
Innisfree is an independent bookstore that will give you hours of pleasure browsing, talking books and enjoying yourself. 

The Dreaming Pig - Antiques and other Items of Interest. A great little shop packed to the ceilings with antiques and other cool stuff! (603) 745-6900 • www.thedreamingpig.com

LilyAnnes

A charming boutique located in the Millfront Marketplace. (603) 745-9029

The Inside Look
Decorating your home, second home or condo? The good folks at “The Inside Look” know their stuff! (603) 726-3278



Real Estate in the Loon Area: The Loon Mountain area is one of the hottest real estate markets in NH. Even when things are quiet elsewhere, they are popping in the Loon area.

Forest Ridge At Loon: If you’ve received one of those flyers from folks promoting lots on South Peak costing hundreds of thousands, step across the street and own your own luxury home or condominium for less than you’ll pay for the land over there. The friendly folks at Forest Ridge wouldn’t tell you this themselves, but it’s our job to steer you right. (603) 745-6237, www.forestridgenh.com

Loon Mountain Real Estate Company: Their name says it all, but Loon Mountain Real Estates doesn’t just offer great homes on the mountain. They service the entire region. For over 30 years Loon Mountain Real Estate has provided sellers and buyers  peace of mind with every real estate transaction.  These folks are passionate about real estate and we love passion! 603-745-8112 • www.loonrealestate.com

Inn Seasons Resorts: Timeshare gives you the opportunity to own a vacation property for only the time you’ll actually use it.  The folks at InnSeasons have been doing timeshare for a long time and longevity and credibility matters a lot in this business if you are thinking of timeshare. 800-571-5000 • www.innseasonresorts.com

Loon Valley Real Estate: Loon Valley Real Estate owner Greg Nash has been in the business for more years than he cares to recount but for a buyer that means institutional memory that you can’t put a dollar figure on.  (603) 745-6900 • www.loonvalley.com

Loon Reservation Service: (603) 745-5666 • www.loonres.com

Nordic Inn Condominium Resort: (866) 734-2164 • www.NordicInn.com

Discounted Condominium Rentals: At the Nordic Inn Resort 888-883-2305 • www.discountedcondominiumrentals.com


Squam Lake Poster


Squam Lake Poster - Purchase this image 
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2008 Holidays in the Mount Washington Valley



MT WASHINGTON VALLEY CELEBRATES HARVEST TO HOLIDAYS WITH SPECIAL EVENTS AND LODGING PACKAGES

It’s a special time of year in Mt Washington Valley as the fall foliage colors turns to the harvest glow and then the joy of the holidays. Mt Washington Valley is alive with special events for each of the upcoming holiday celebrations – Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Look for events for everyone in the whole family in the upcoming months.

This is a snippet of a larger article. Click here for the entire piece.

Michael Timothy’s Urban Bistro and Jazz Bar


By Frisky M. Stal

At 13 Michael Buckley told his parents that one day he would like to have his own restaurant. “I’ll call it Michael Timothy’s,” Timothy being his middle name. At 13 he was washing dishes at a local restaurant in his hometown of Brookline, New Hampshire.

The owner of three very successful restaurants—Michael Timothy’s Urban Bistro and Jazz Bar and Surf Restaurant, both in Nashua, and Buckley’s Great Steaks in Merrimack—Michael Buckley is a chef at the top of his game. He is also a family man who works to squeeze out time for his wife, Sarah and three children, and a few quiet mornings for himself.

This is a snippet of a larger article. Read the Article


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Friday, November 7, 2008

Swimming Both Ways in the Green Stream


Green Alliance Supports Businesses and Consumers in their Efforts to Go Green

Sometimes it’s difficult to reach out to both businesses and consumers in our complex and entrepreneurial business environment. The risk of course is that each feels they are getting less than the other and the buzz from that begins to interfere with your mission.

No so with the Green Alliance.

Why?

Because the participation of both businesses (known as partners in GA parlance) and Coop Members have a synergistic effect on one another. As more businesses join the Green Alliance, offering broader discounts to Coop Members, more consumers are encouraged to join the coop to qualify for those discounts.

According to their website, The Green Alliance was born from a partnership of community environmental advocacy and business ingenuity. Green Alliance founding businesses, Simply Green Biofuels and Purely Organic Lawncare, were trying to break-in to markets dominated by fossil fuels and toxic herbicides and pesticides, when they realized that an alliance might bring more tangible results. Simply Green owner Andrew Kellar and Purely Organic head James Reinertson knew that Seacoast residents using BioHeat/biodiesel were probably interested in organic lawn care and vice versa - Kellar and Reinertson promptly began offering each other's customers mutual discounts and sharing best business practices and marketing techniques.

At the same time, community activist, Sarah Brown was working in Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, Maine on environmental issues - focused on individual energy use and personal environmental impact. As her advocacy work widened to include towns and then business, Brown saw that some businesses were leading the way in sustainability. Believing that “as business goes, so goes the public” Brown gave shape to the Green Alliance. An affiliation of business partners, reaching out to consumers eager to go green.

The formula was simple really. . . though implementation is never simple. Green Businesses become partners of the Alliance and are required to offer discounts to Coop members as a condition of membership. Their benefits include access to the growing number of Coop Members, assistance with marketing and branding, advice on additional ways to green their business, and much more. Most important in many respects is the opportunity for a third party evaluation of their services that helps distinguish them in the marketplace and asserts their green credentials in a credible fashion.

On the other side of the spectrum, consumers may join the Green Alliance as Coop Members for a modest annual fee ($35 at this writing). Membership qualifies them for the discounts offered by the Business Partners.

The Green Alliance’s geographic reach is purposefully modest. They believe strongly that focusing their efforts on the Seacoast region of NH and Maine assures that the quality of their effort will not be diluted by distance-imposed factors.

While the Green Alliance’s reach may be modest, their example can reach to every corner of the globe. The model is replicable, simple and elegant. It’s an idea that might just catch on like wildfire.

The Green Alliance
909 Islington Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(207) 438-9160
www.greenalliance.biz

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Zipline Fever in the Whites

A Great Family Adventure
Alpine Adventures - Canopy Zipline
New Canopy Zipline Eco-Adventure in Lincoln-Woodstock Area

For great restaurants, quaint B&B’s, nice Inns and hotels and terrific shopping, you just can’t beat the Lincoln Woodstock area. Now Alpine Adventures is in the process of adding a whole new twist on a visit to the region. . .a Canopy Zipline Treetop Adventure.

If you aren’t familiar with the experience here’s how it works. On a mountainside high in the tallest trees a set of platforms are built, connected by very strong cables. Each tree and platform is slightly lower down on the mountain, allowing gravity to be the main power source of your experience. With well trained experts and specially crafted safety equipment including a harness similar to what a rock climber wears, you are clipped onto the cable and zip down from one platform to the next.


ImageDon’t worry if you are nervous or scared. These folks know just how to help you get over the intial fears and soon you’ll be zipping down the mountainside on the adventure of a lifetime.

The Canopy Zipline Adventure, one of the first of its kind in the US, is something that you long remember and is a great activity for the entire family. It promises to be just as popular with local folks as it is with visitors. Don’t forget your camera!

For reservations contact Alpine Adventures
Main Street, Lincoln, NH • (888)745-1919
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Website

Plan to spend some time in the area because you just may want to go back a second time!

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7 Seas Whalewatch



7 Seas Whale Watch has been whale watching in Gloucester for over 23 years. Located on Cape Ann, just forty-five minutes north of Boston, in the heart of historic downtown Gloucester, 7 Seas is a great choice because Gloucester is located directly between two major whale feeding grounds, which are home to numerous whales, dolphins and a wide variety of seabirds.

7 seas whale watch, their captains, and crew are committed to making your whale watching experience the thrill of a lifetime. They pride themselves in offering you the best in terms of education, environmental awareness, and fun, while continuing to provide the utmost in luxury, comfort and safety during your time onboard.

ctb-colt-and-heather.jpg

7 Seas Whale Watch has been featured in National Geographic magazine, on the Discovery Channel show Travelers, and in Wanderlust travel magazine!

Their Commitment To Education, Research, and Conservation...

7seasboat.jpg 7 Seas also takes pride in their commitment to education and environmental awareness. Every one of their whale watches are led by an experienced marine biologist from the Whale Center of New England... the leading whale research organization in Gloucester, Mass. for over 26 years. This means that passengers have the opportunity to learn directly from leading experts in the field of whale research. Through their association with the Whale Center of New England, they hope to promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for the whales that we are so fortunate to have on our coast. 7 Seas believes that supporting the research and conservation of these endangered animals is an essential responsibility of their business.

7 SEAS WHALE WATCH
7 Seas Wharf on Route 127
Gloucester, MA 01930
Toll Free 1-888-283-1776
Website

Sculptured Rocks Road, Groton, NH

Image Sculptured Rocks Road, Groton, NH
The Sculptured Rocks Road lies southeast of the village of Hebron. Continue past the Hebron Post Office and Fire Station along the Groton Road for about 2 miles to a fork in the road. Bear left at the fork and continue on. The road is paved for a while then turns to gravel. It leads past Sculptured Rocks natural area and can be followed all the way to Rte 118 in Dorchester (not recommended unless you are in a four wheel drive vehicle).


The Chapel at Wonalancet






The chapel at Wonalancet is one of the most photographed scenes in the US. Wonalancet was the son of Chief Passaconaway, he was a Sachem of the Penacook tribe (a revered religious figure). After the death of his father, he served as the Chief of the Penacook until his own death in 1697. The townshhip of Wonalancet is a part of the town of Tamworth. The name Wonalancet translates into "Pleasant breathing". 

* Please note, because many of the native peoples did not have written languages, including the Penacook, the spelling of various names sometimes varies because the spelling of their written names were interpreted by white settlers or travelers through the region. Over time, accepted spellings and pronunciations have come to be accepted but may be found in other forms. For example: Wannalancit is the name of an office building in Lowell, Massachusetts, which was an important fishing ground for the Pennacook, it is virtually certain that the name was derived from the same source but the spelling obviously varies.


Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Beech Hill Pond Mindscape


A stunning image by photographer Wayne King



New Hampshire Then and Now


Historical and Contemporary Photographs of the Granite State from 1840 to 2005 (Hardcover)

New Hampshire native, and award-winning photographer, Peter E. Randall captured changes in cityscapes and landscapes. The 80 sets of images presented provide an important historical record contrasted with a contemporary artistic vision of New Hampshire and its people. Using the archives of the New Hampshire Historical Society, local historical organizations, and individuals, Randall selected the vintage photographs and recreated their contemporary equivalents. Also an historian, Randall included historical data for each photograph. It's a perfect keepsake title for anyone who loves New Hampshire.

About the Author


native of the New Hampshire seacoast, Peter E. Randall is the twelfth generation of his family to live in the region. he has been involved with publishing since graduating from the University of New Hampshire as a history major. Before he began his own publishing company, he was editor of a weekly newspaper, and for seven yeras edited New Hampshire Profiles Magazine. Since 1974, he has authored 14 books ranging from collections of photographs and travel guides, to local history. His latest book is New Hampshire: Then and Now, published in April 2006. 

View a sample of pages from New Hampshire Then & Now. (PDF - Please be patient as this may take a few moments to download.)

Hardcover: 176 pages

Publisher: Peter E Randall Publisher (August 15, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1931807477

ISBN-13: 978-1931807470

Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Baker River Claybath


The Baker River, in Rumney, NH, offers some of the most scenic views within New Hampshire. All along this ancient, meandering river are deposits of clay that present the opportunity for you to save on the cost of that expensive spa treatment you've been dreaming about or just have some plain ol' dirty fun.

More about the Baker River

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail

Written by Robert Dixon


ImageA 740-Mile Historic Water Trail Traversing Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Quebec

Thousands of years before the arrival of Columbus, Native Americans had a well-established network of travel routes in the northeast. Many of these routes were land trails, but where possible water transport was preferred. With the possible exception of the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness in Minnesota and Canada, few areas of the continent lent themselves more to this mode of transportation than the region now known as the “Northern Forest”. Here, glaciers working in concert with other natural forces created a landscape laced with waterways.

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Europeans quickly began to adopt the methods for water travel invented by the First Peoples. Beginning with French Voyageurs and followed by others the birch bark canoe became a common mode of transportation for the newcomers within the region. With the help of native guides the reach of these European was soon spreading through Canada and working toward the great rivers of the west.

Full Story

The Mooseman Cometh

Photos by Rick Libbey and Spencer Baselice

After spending a short time with this photographer, it is easy to see why he is “on the moose!”

It's mid-July, peak moose watching season, and Rick Libbey, who is known as The Mooseman, slowly moves his kayak across the bog cautiously, edging closer to a 1,200 pound bull taking his fill of sodium-rich plant life to help his antlers grow and harden before mating season this fall.

Suddenly, the moose's ears fold back, so The Mooseman takes a few short strokes of the paddle and moves his kayak several yards away, still watching the animal intently, and not making a sound, or moving his body an inch. He knows their behavior well, and he knows the signs to watch for. If the hair on the moose's back begins to rise, he'll paddle away swiftly. If the animal's tongue comes out, he should already be safely out of range.

Full Story

The North Star: Bette Davis

By Barbara Bald

Like so many other visitors, Bette Davis came to New Hampshire seeking rest and relaxation. And like so many others not expecting to stay, Miss Davis fell in love with the state and decided to make it her home.

Born on April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, her parents, Harlow Morrell Davis and Ruthie Favor Davis, christened her: Ruth Elizabeth Davis. (Her stage name came from the Balzac novel “Cousin Bette.”) Unfortunately, after her father completed law school, the family separated and when Bette was ten, their divorce became final. Her mother worked tirelessly as a housekeeper, nursemaid and housemother at a school to support the family. She struggled to become a professional photographer and was eventually able to enroll Bette and her sister (Barbara Harriet Davis) into a boarding school, Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. Upon her graduation, Bette (age 20) entered John Murray Anderson School of Theatre in New York City.

By 1929 Miss Davis had made her Broadway debut in “Broken Dishes” and in 1931, having moved to Hollywood for a screen test, she made her first film “Bad Sister.” After six small films with Universal Pictures, Bette signed a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers Studios. Her role in “The Man Who Played God” started her on her way to stardom, and her role in “Of Human Bondage” earned her critical acclaim. Bette won her first “Best Actress Oscar” for “Dangerous” in 1935, and with her eyes on excellence, she won a second Oscar for “Jezebel” in 1939. At the age of 31, completely exhausted from having made two major motion pictures in one year, Bette took her mother’s advice and vacationed in the community of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire.

A sleepy little town, just north of Franconia, Sugar Hill has a town hall, historical museum, library, meetinghouse, fire department, golf course and numerous inns that offer folks a slower pace. Were you to ‘Google’ the town, you’d find frequently visited places like Harmon’s Cheese Store, The Sugar Hill Sampler and Polly’s Pancake House. While some things have changed in the town since the 1940’s, most businesses remain the same, having changed only names or ownership.

Miss Davis came to the resort called Peckett’s-on-Sugar-Hill, (an elegant hotel and first resort-based ski school in the country). The celebrity booked a room at the Caramat (now the Sugar Hill Inn) run at the time by Mr. and Mrs. Richardson. According to once owner Orlo Coots, Bette loved the room that now bears her name, because of the light coming in from three sides. He adds that even after she built her home in the town, she often sought solitude in that room, and the dining room always anticipated her visit.

Just why did the legendary Miss Davis, who could live anywhere, choose a New Hampshire home? As Mr. Coots sees it, New Hampshire offered Bette anonymity and a chance to experience a private, non-Hollywood life. In his words, ”She was not on a pedestal in Sugar Hill. Here she was just another person living on Blake Road. How can being a movie star, playing the role of someone you are not, possibly compare to the real life drama of raising children and tending sheep?” According to the Littleton Courier, Miss Davis “…. was completely in love with the mountains of New Hampshire.” She loved the beauty, the openness and the snow. As Bette put it,” A New Englander never forgets New England, the change of seasons and these mountains that really make you feel like you belong here. You don’t get that personal attachment to the gigantic, barren mountain ridges out West. I guess I’ve just got the New England blood in my veins.”

The following year she purchased a ten-acre farm abutting Peckett’s property, hired a Hollywood crew of ten and enlisted the services of Mr. Macomber to build her new home. This architect had worked on all her houses in the past 4 years and built houses for other stars such as Errol Flynn and Eddie Albert. While Miss Davis had purchased other homes, this was the first one she actually built.

The architect stayed at Lee’s Hotel in Littleton while he added a kitchen, service porch and bedroom to one of the oldest colonial homes in the area. Bette and her mother visited the cottage to supervise the construction of “Butternut,” a structure they designed to replicate an old New England farmhouse. A walk inside would have revealed hand-hewn beams, two hearths at the center, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, comfortable furniture and a myriad of antiques the star and her mother purchased in Littleton. The kitchen held a large round table, Glenwood cook stove, rocking chair and hurricane lanterns. Contractor James Viette of Littleton built an adjoining barn from dismantled buildings such as the Easton Post Office. The silo, which he added from the old Vermont barn, still houses a spiral staircase to the second floor and an observation area.

Home was very important to Miss D (an affectionate nickname). In her words about Butternut to the Courier, “A home like this gives you something to think about. Life becomes dangerously dull if one thinks only of his or her work, you know.” To Charlotte Chandler, author of her most recent biography, she added, “Wherever I am, I think of the place I am in as my home, and I can’t stand disorganization.” Butternut certainly satisfied that homebody instinct and was the epitome of organization. Her new home was described as “Bette’s Shangri-la” away from Hollywood three months of the year.

There was apparently more than one love affair in the making at Peckett’s-on-Sugar-Hill. During her first visit to the resort, Bette met Arthur Farnsworth, then assistant manager and ski instructor at the resort. Described in “White Mountain Sketches” as a Vermont boy having a “genial manner and friendly smile,” Mr. Farnsworth had studied music and then became a skilled pilot and aircraft engineer. After vacationing in Sugar Hill, Farnsworth accepted the position at Peckett’s. Local papers reported seeing Bette (previously divorced from bandleader Harmon O. Nelson) spending lots of time with Farnsworth at theatre events, dances and area outings. There’s even a bronze plaque at the end of Bridal Veil Falls trail that reads, “To Arthur Farnsworth: the keeper of stray ladies.” Rumor has it that Miss Davis had the 1939 sign placed there for Farnsworth (“Farney”), whose job it was to entertain and ensure the safety of resort guests. Possibly, Bette would “accidentally” stray from trails so that he could find her! Despite the couple’s denial of romantic intentions, they married on New Year’s Eve in 1940 at a friend’s Arizona ranch.

Bette’s biggest tribute to the North Country was the world premiere of her movie “The Great Lie”, also starring George Brent and Mary Astor in Littleton on April 5, 1941. Indeed, Littleton had never seen such fanfare! The day began with a band playing, majorettes twirling, and hundreds of spectators lining the streets. Celebrities and writers arrived in Littleton on the New Haven train and were escorted to Thayer’s and Lee’s Hotels. Under the direction of Will Dexter of Hildrex Farm (now Polly’s Pancake House), morning activities included a Sugaring-off party at Valley Station, a press trip to Cannon Mountain for a Tram ride, Grand Slalom and Ski Review. Afternoon brought a cocktail party at the Iron Mine Inn with Bette serving as hostess with her mother Ruthie attending in her fur and gloves.

After an evening buffet at Thayer’s, Miss Davis, Governor Blood and other celebrities led a torchlight parade of 50 cars to the Premier theatre (now Jax Jr). With the streets scrubbed, town decorated, 1000 red flares lining the way and spotlights mounted high on rooftops, a 34-piece band from Plymouth State Teachers’ College and a Boys’ Choir under the direction of Dick Whiting accompanied the procession. In Hollywood fashion, Bette waved to fans from a Cabriolet convertible.

The evening offered an elaborate Birthday Ball for Bette’s 33rd birthday. The stage of the Littleton Opera House held a large replica of Butternut Lodge with trees, native plants and a white picket fence. A 200 lb. Plaster of Paris cake with candles (measuring 6ft. feet in diameter and 5ft. high) greeted guests. Governor Blood received the first piece of the real dessert, a 100lb. cake! Official Bette Davis buttons were sold for the occasion, $1.50 was charged for balcony seating and a “Hillbilly” band played in the streets for folks who could not get into the affair. Indeed, Littleton got a taste of Hollywood in more ways than one!

Bette Davis brought more than glamour to the North Country. Like the energetic, independent women
she played in film, she shared some of her time and values with the community. Her souvenir booklets from the Premiere raised $2500-3000 for the Golden Rule Farm for Boys and the Littleton Hospital. A year earlier she had joined Peckett’s Riding Club, and in 1940 presented awards to the equestrian winners at the Sugar Hill-Franconia Horse Show. Somewhat later, at a 1947 Costume Party held at the Franconia Town Hall, she helped the Franconia Ski Club raise $400. Bette began charging ten cents for her signature with proceeds going to the Red Cross, and she modeled gowns for them at a Red Cross auction at the Franconia Work Room in Sugar Hill that raised $1500. Nancy Aldrich (daughter of the Richardsons, now co-owner of Polly’s Pancake House) remembers when, as a child of ten or eleven, she even saw Bette model a T-shirt and skirt to be raffled off at some auction, then change into her own street clothes!

Outside of New Hampshire, Miss D’s community involvement expanded globally. She was instrumental in founding the Hollywood Canteen for servicemen during WWII. Likewise, she shared the stage with Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra in raising money for the War Bond Effort in 1943. Tireless as she was on any undertaking, she is credited with raising $2 million in 2 days for the same cause on a Missouri/Oklahoma tour. In 1980 Miss Davis received the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the Defense Department’s highest civilian award, for establishing the Canteen.

“Nothing gold can stay,” says Robert Frost, and such was the case with Bette and her love of the North Country. Just how do we close this love affair with the state? Bette’s dream of building a playhouse behind Butternut and organizing her own repertory theatre to tour the country never materialized. After twenty years Butternut transferred to Ross Coffin of Peckett’s-on-Sugar-Hill. The house, barn and 110 acres sold for $20,000, well below the cost of building it. Until 1967, when Peckett’s closed, they used it for recitals and to entertain guests. Today, son Bob Peckett is official caretaker of the property for its owners, and Franconia Notch Vacations rents the estate to guests for $2148 per week.

When the contents of the house went on the market, Bette’s 1903 Steinway became the property of the town of Sugar Hill. With broken soundboard, separated ribs and antiquated hammers, the piano arrived at the Sugar Hill Meeting House in 1970. It sat in its permanent home for 28 years until a $5000 grant from the NH Council of the Arts and a matching grant from the town helped refurbish the piano. Since July of 1999, when pianist Bernard Rose played it at the 21st White Mountains Summer Music Festival, the piano has played at a series of Bette Davis Seminar Concerts that reveal the role of the piano throughout different historical periods and musical settings.

While the North Country had a way of opening Miss D’s heart, and Hollywood distance between Bette and Farnsworth fanned their romantic flame, the hectic pace and rigors of professional life finally ruined marital bliss. In the Chandler biography, Bette recounted that because of her frantic schedule, she never really got to know her husband Arthur Farnsworth . When they did interact, she realized they weren’t very compatible and admitted arguing a lot. Three years later, “Farney” mysteriously collapsed on the streets of Hollywood from what authorities called a previously received, unexplained head injury. Bette made it to his side and remained with him until he died two days later.
Bette later went on to marry and divorce artist William Grant Sherry with whom she had a baby girl, Barbara Davis Sherry (BD). She then married her 4th husband, actor Gary Merrill and moved to Maine. She adopted a little girl, Margot (who turned out to be brain damaged at birth) and a little boy Michael. She divorced one final time in 1960, never to marry again. She attributes her failed relationships with men to the desertion of the man she desperately loved and strove to please, her father.

At the age of 75 Miss Davis developed breast cancer and in 1983, shortly after a mastectomy, she suffered a stroke. Her assistant, Kathryn Sermak, became her loyal caretaker and constant companion. Though doctors told Bette she would never work again, she went on to prove them wrong, acting until her death. On October 6, 1989, after being honored at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain, Bette Davis, 81, died at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Author Chandler captures Bette’s ‘never-give-up’ spirit when she recounts that Bette did not want to disappoint her fans and leave them with the last image of her boarding an airplane in a wheel chair. Noted for her quote, ”Old age ain’t no place for sissies,” Miss Davis struggled to rise and made it into the plane without a chair!

Bette bequeathed all her possessions to her loyal friend Kathryn Sermak and her adopted son Michael, now a lawyer. Because of a scathing book her daughter had written about her, Bette had disinherited “B D” who never contested the will. In 1997, Michael and Kathryn established The Bette Davis Foundation, a non-profit organization that grants scholarships to college students that duplicate Bette’s quality in the craft. With more than 100 films and 10 Oscar nominations to her credit, Bette paved the way for other actresses in Hollywood. She was the first woman to be president of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences and the first woman to receive the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Bette’s gravestone appropriately reads: “She did it the hard way.”

Besides a classic piano and a Shangri-la estate for vacationers, what was the grand dame’s final legacy to the town of Sugar Hill? In the end one might call the relationship between Bette Davis and the town symbiotic. While the town provided a sample of country living and temporary escape from notoriety, Miss Davis left residents and visitors with a taste of Hollywood’s glamour and a lifetime of memories.

Heart of New Hampshire wishes to thank the many folks of Sugar Hill who shared information and memories for this article. A special thank you goes to the Sugar Hill Museum whose summer/fall exhibit entitled “Bette” helped this legend come alive. Located on Rt. 117 Main Street, Sugar Hill, the Museum is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm with free admission or donation. For additional information or special tours, visitors may contact Winnie Harwood at 823-8431 or visit the Web Site at www.franconianotch.org.

For more on Bette Davis visit:
www.BetteDavis.com (the Official Web Site)
The Woman Who Walked Home Alone by Charlotte Chandler
Fasten Your Seat Belts by Lawrence J. Quirk
The Movies of Bette Davis by Gene Ringgold
This ‘n That by Bette Davis

Reprinted with permission

Hot Off the Press


Written by by Edward J. Bennett

When radio stations began to move into smaller communities after World War II, they were staffed by an engineer to run the station, some salespeople, and an announcer or two.

Most radio people had no newspaper experience. They were not equipped to gather, edit and process news. In many cases the stations in small communities relied heavily for their news on the hometown daily; so fortunate indeed was the broadcaster with a newspaper in town.

One early radio station licensed to broadcast in the western part of New Hampshire was located at Claremont. WTSV was fortunate to have in town the Eagle which has been published there as a daily since 1913.
Soon after I became publisher of the Eagle in 1961, its managing editor, Nelson Bryant, complained frequently – and often bitterly – that WTSV was cribbing local news from our newspaper, then broadcasting it over the air; of course with no attribution to the Eagle.

Bryant explained that the station would send someone up to the Eagle’s pressroom right after the papers began to roll off the press around 1 o’clock in the afternoon. With a copy hot off the press, the radio station messenger would hightail it back to the station, just in time for the 1:30 PM news which would be read over the airwaves, direct from the pages of the Eagle.


“You can even hear the pages rustling,” complained the disgusted Bryant. The managing editor was outraged at this blatant plagiarism and argued with ingenuity that we manufacture a special edition, “just for the radio station”.


The Eagle’s news staff were pitched into this project with alacrity. Assignments were handed out by Bryant for all sorts of bogus stories, and when the work was done and set into type, it was a work of geniuses, motivated in their work as never before.


Before the plates of the regular afternoon edition of the Eagle were strapped to the press, this very special page passed through the stereotype room to the pressroom, where only one or two were in fact run through the press.
When WTSV’s representative arrived at the Eagle on schedule, he unknowingly picked up this bogus edition and hurried back to the station. Everyone at the Eagle gathered around the radio that afternoon for the news. And startling news it was.


“The fire department had been called out for suspicious fires at the Moody Hotel,” one story read. The broadcaster continued, “And the police report that the chief’s car was stolen right in front of the station.” Also, “the school superintendant was apprehended for impaired driving – and in a school bus.”


WTSV had swallowed the Eagle’s bogus front page hook, line, and sinker. The entire newspaper’s staff was rolling in the aisle. It was the best show to hit Claremont in a year.


Pretty soon the radio station’s phone was ringing off the hook. “What the hell do you mean,” asked the chief of police, “that my car was stolen? And the school superintendent (a known teetotaler) driving a bus under the influence?”


The station’s distraught manager soon admitted that its source of information had been that afternoon’s Eagle. “Blame them,” he said, “not us.”

But no copy of the Eagle to match the one at WTSV could even be found, and for good reason: Theirs was the only one extant.


Hot Off the Press is taken from "Yankee Editor" Vignettes & Anecdotes by a New England Country Editor and Legislator by Edward J. Bennett. The first printing of Yankee Editor was sold out and a second printing has been released by HNH Publishing.

"Yankee Editor"
Vignettes & Anecdotes by a New England Country Editor and Legislator
By Edward J. Bennett.
227 pp
$25.00 Plus $4.95 Priority Shipping & Handling
Heart of New Hampshire Publishing
Second Printing

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Monday, November 3, 2008

So Much Ice, So Little Time

Nordic Skating Rage Takes Hold in NH
Stephanie Johannsen

If you love to ski, you'll remember last winter as the winter with no snow. But some folks remember it as the winter of "So much ice, so little time!"

From Christmas week to late March, New Hampshire was an outdoor ice skater's paradise. There were way too many frozen lakes, and not enough winter days to

visit them all. However, those of us newly obsessed with the sport of "Nordic Skating" did find the time to cruise Lake Sunapee,Newfound, Big Squam, Little Squam, and others too numerous to mention.

What's Nordic Skating? It's cross-country ice skating across frozen lakes, rivers or canals. Nordic Skating originated in Sweden and Holland centuries ago, as an essential form of transportation for farmers trapped on their farms by roads that were impassable for much of the winter. With the advent of modern highways, Nordic Skating is no longer an essential tool for survival, but it's exploding in popularity as a recreational sport across northern Europe ... and across northern New England as well.

What sets Nordic Skating apart from ordinary ice skating? First, the setting. Nordic Skating can take you into a remote winter wilderness, surrounded by natural

splendor. Second, the equipment. Unlike hockey and figure skates -- which work best within minutes of the Zamboni exiting the rink -- Nordic Skates were designed for the rough, bumpy and even snow-covered ice of the hundred-mile-long lakes outside Stockholm.

You might say that Nordic Skates are the all-terrain "mountain bikes" of the ice skating world. But it's not a perfect analogy. True, Nordic Skates go where other skates can't, just as mountain bikes take you where road bikes can't. Where the analogy falls apart is the speed factor. On the road, mountain bikes are slower. But on smooth ice, Nordic Skates are twice as fast as conventional ice skates. How can this be? Without getting too technical, Nordic Skates glide on top of the ice, whereas conventional skates dig deep gouges in the ice, wasting your energy. So save your hockey and figure skates for the indoor rink, because on outdoor ice, Nordic Skates rule!

Nordic Skating comes in two flavors: groomed trails and "wild skating". Groomed trails, like those on Little Squam Lake in Ashland and Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vermont are maintained by volunteers or by nonprofit groups like the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. There's free parking, free admission, and skaters of all ages are welcome. The Morey and Little Squam trails are the longest and second-longest groomed ice trails in the United States. How lucky we are! Except compared to Sweden, where groomed trails run as long as 50 miles from city to city.

Wild skating happens when weather conditions conspire to surface the lakes with miles of smooth black ice -- either in early winter right after freeze-up, or in midwinter after a thaw-freeze cycle. When black ice makes its appearance, the word goes out via the Nordic Skating email list. Groups of skaters converge on the biggest and best ice sheets. They break out their Scandinavian-made ice testing poles and begin probing the ice for thickness and strength. Then away they go.

Uneasy about doing your own ice testing? Then the best bet is to join one of the Wild Skating tours organized by Nordic Skater of Norwich, Vermont. There is no cost for the tours themselves, but participants who do not have Nordic Skates will need to rent them. The rental fee is $20 per day, and instruction is provided. For safety reasons, hockey and figure skates are not permitted on Wild Skating tours. (ed. note: You'll probably get into trouble and have to turn back early -- which is every tour leader's nightmare: Send the ill-equipped skater home alone? Or abort the tour and make everyone turn around?)

Wild Skating tours are organized on short notice, in response to changing weather and ice conditions. Meeting place and time are typically chosen 24 to 48 hours before the tour date, and are announced to the Nordic Skating email list. To join the list, email info@nordicskater.com.

Tour leader Jamie Hess has been skating on Nordic Skates for the past 8 years. Before that, he used to cross-country ice skate for miles in hockey skates. It was way too painful, and too much work! Compared to hockey and figure skates, Nordic Skates give you double the glide for the same amount of effort. Plus the boots are warmer, more comfortable, they support your ankles better, and they're way easier to put on and take off. In fact, you can put the boots on indoors and walk and drive in them. The blades clip on and off just like skis. So you never have to expose your fingers or toes to the cold winter air. Nordic Skates really put the fun back into skating for those of us who thought we'd never want to ice skate again!

A quick word about the boots, because they're "key". Cross-country ski boots designed for "skate-skiing" have been refined over the last 15 years to the point where they offer the perfect combination of warmth, support and light weight. A good pair of cross-country boots is your key to enjoying three different sports: skate-skiing, Nordic Skating, and off-season "roller skiing" on two-wheeled skis that roll down paved or dirt roads. Once you have the boots, you can acquire the skis, skates and rollers one at a time, or splurge and get the whole shebang all at once.

What's fun about Nordic Skating? For some, it's the speed. Nordic Skating can be as fast and efficient as riding a skinny-tire road bike. But for most of us, it's the ease of movement, the ease of learning the sport, and the ease of getting to a spectacular wilderness setting. . . and the freedom. Unlike a narrow road or hiking trail, skating down the middle of Newfound or Sunapee feels like soaring along a "flyway" two miles wide. You can glide with the wind, or bank and wheel and turn graceful circles hundreds of yards across. In fact, Nordic Skating may just be the closest sensation to flying that you'll ever experience.

Speaking of flying, some Nordic skaters bring along hand-held sails and kites. With the right wind conditions, skate-sailors can reach amazing speeds, and even become airborne. But that's another whole story.


Related Links:

New Hampshire has great lodging and restaurants throughout the state. Here are some of our recommendations in the places mentioned in this story:

Newfound Lake Area Lodging

Squam Lake Area Lodging