Robert Rogers – Frontier Hero – White Devil

Legends & Lore: Robert Rogers – Frontier Hero – White Devil

Robert Rogers, or Rodgers (7 November 1731 – 18 May 1795), was a New Hampshire resident and colonial frontiersman. Born in November of 1781 in Methuen, Mass, his family soon moved north to what is now New Hampshire settling in a town Roger's refers to in his writing as Mountalona and today encompassing the towns of Dunbarton and Bow.

His service to the people of New England, particularly in the war known in the colonies as the French & Indian War (in Europe the Seven Years War) is well documented and a study in the fame and controversy that surrounded this remarkable man. Many military historians attribute the seeds of the American Revolution to the ideology, tactics and strategies of the famed Roger's Rangers, started under his leadership. Indeed, one of his favored rangers was John Stark who would later set aside his "Ranger temperament" to become a General in the Colonial Army and utter the famed phrase "Live Free or Die". 

Legend has it - though no documented evidence exists - that, after a brief stint in England where he was feted as a British hero of the frontier, Rogers returned to America and offered his services to George Washington who turned him down for fear that he was a loyalist spy. Rogers in spite joined the British and fought as a loyalist.

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We will, likely, never know if Washington was right about Rogers and the legend may, in fact, be nothing more than revisionist history fostered by the likes of the peripatetic historian Francis Parkman  who  nearly one hundred years after Rogers day, set his sights on rehabilitating Rogers in the eyes of a public that remembered only his final betrayal in his service to the army of King George.

Yet, the legend of Washington's actions - true or not - and certainly the work of Parkman, may contain the seeds of Roger's historic rehabilitation. After all, today Rogers is revered as the father of the Rangers and the Green Berets, while his fellow loyalist Benedict Arnold's name has become synonymous with treachery and betrayal.

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Lest we fall into the Parkman trap of romanticizing the frontiersman, it should be pointed out that Native American’s of the time – with the exception of a few sub-groupings of Algonquin and Iroquois who sometimes fought beside him or served as scouts – referred to him as Wobomagonda, translated to “White Devil” because Rogers and his Rangers could be every bit as treacherous and vicious as any of their rivals - Native or European.

The truth about Rogers probably lays somewhere in between. The Rangers may have been pitted by history against the native indigenous people – but they drew much of their strategies, dress and temperament from the very same people and many historic documents evidence their admiration of their foes.

After the Revolution Rogers returned to England where he died unappreciated and impoverished in London - far from his family and the woods and mountains of his native New England that he loved so much.

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Links
Roberts Rules for Ranging

Johannes “Hannes” Schneider

Johannes “Hannes” Schneider was born in 1890 in Stuben am Arlberg, Austria. Hannes was the son of a road maintenance worker. In 1907 he became a guide at the Hotel Post in St. Anton, Austria where he began work on what became known as the Arlberg Technique for skiing. The Arlberg technique was borne of the “Stem” Technique developed by Mathias Zdarsky in the late 1800’s, replacing the telemark technique (now experiencing a revival with a form of skiing by the same name.

Schneider added various elements including the snowplow turn and the stem Christie and the parallel turn to create the Arlberg technique.

Schneider served his country with distinction in World War I as a ski instructor for the Austrian Army after which he returned to teaching skiing at the Post.

In 1939 Hitler’s army overran Schneider’s beloved Austria and Hannes was arrested and jailed.

Already a figure of international stature, Schneider’s arrest led to a concerted effort among US Citizens to obtain his freedom. One of those individuals was Harvey Gibson, born in North Conway and then president of Manufacturer’s Trust. Gibson obtained Schneider’s release and Schneider left Austria and came to North Conway.

Legend, at least, holds that he wasn’t yet finished with Hitler though. Schneider would not only become the father of modern day skiing in America but he may also have acted as an advisor to those training the legendary 10^th Mountain Division of the US Army in which his son Herbert served. Though the details are sketchy, there is evidence of several Washington trips and meetings that give some credibility to this legend, though it is unlikely that we will ever know for certain.

Schussing A Conundrum

Just Where is the Birthplace of Skiing in America?

By Theresa Ludwick

My laptop was firmly in place. I lowered my glasses and gripped my keyboard with the readiness of an Olympian. Before me, clean, pristine whiteness waited for the swish of words as I began my article, to be entitled, The Birthplace of Skiing in New Hampshire. I breathed deeply in preparation of the plunge, my body leaning forward, and at just the right moment, I pushed myself off, schussing down the page in a straightforward line.

Suddenly, I was confronted by one obstacle after another in rapid succession as my course forced me to slalom. I leaned toward the right, passing a flag that said, “North Conway.” I leaned toward the left and “Jackson” came into view. Left again and I read “Hanover.” Right: “Berlin.” Before I reached the bottom, I was on my behind, clinging to my laptop, my fingers splayed over the keyboard helter-skelter, my glasses askew. I rose lamely to my feet and gazed back at the crest of the hill, then settled gingerly on the Delete button, dangling my feet all the way back to the top.

When the question is asked, “Where is the birthplace of skiing in New Hampshire?” a number of respondents raise up proud cries of “Here!” Foremost among them are the aforementioned North Conway, Jackson, Hanover, and Berlin, and indeed, each place has its ski poles firmly planted in the permafrost of New Hampshire skiing lore. Even so, to definitively point to one location as the “birthing room” so to speak, of New Hampshire skiing, is like pointing to where the first snowflake of ski season falls.

It is much easier (and the route this author has chosen) to consider Mt. Washington Valley, overall, as a nursery of sorts to the pastime that has garnered the distinction as New Hampshire’s official sport. Each area contributed to the state’s early schussing movement and, in its own way, was unique and innovative. Their contributions are extensive, and amount to way more than a hill of beans (make that snow).

Long before businessmen in suits and ties got their fingers in the New Hampshire ski resort pie, Scandinavian immigrants in warm woolen layers were playing and competing against one another on these utilitarian apparatuses originally intended for transportation over snow (the oldest ski in existence dates to 2500 BC, pulled out of a peat bog in Sweden). These workers began arriving in Berlin in the 1840s to build the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad. When the logging industry took off there, many chose to stay.

By 1882, the now called Nansen Ski Club had been formed (though unsubstantiated claims put the date 10 years earlier), making Berlin home to the oldest ski club in the country. The club’s name honors Fridtjof Nansen, a nineteenth-century Norwegian Arctic explorer and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Club members took part in cross-country and ski-jumping activities in Norway Village and later at Paine’s Meadow, where jumpers were competing at Berlin’s annual Winter Carnival as early as 1906. Numerous records were set there in the early years of the sport. In 1922, the Nansen club joined with several other clubs to form the Eastern Ski Association.

In 1910, the Dartmouth Outing Club was established in Hanover by a Dartmouth College student named Fred Harris. While today, the DOC is an umbrella organization for the school’s year-round sports, it was originally founded to encourage competitive skiing and snowshoeing. Inspired, other colleges started forming their own ski clubs and intercollegiate competitions soon followed.

The DOC sponsored its first winter carnival in 1911, and has not missed a year since 1918, when a coal shortage decreed its cancellation. In 1935, the DOC introduced the first “J-bar” cable lift to the skiing world.

Jackson claims the distinction of being the first official “ski area” in the state. Originally called Moody Farm, the humble ski lodge now known as the Whitney Inn has been in operation since 1935. To many, it is considered the home sweet home of New Hampshire’s ski resorts. In 1948, the skiing hill was extended and christened, “Black Mountain.” It was here that Carroll Reed, a ski fan and member of the Boston-based White Mountain Ski Runners, conceived and established the Eastern Slope Ski School, which opened in the winter of 1936 (the first US ski school, interestingly, was established by a woman – Katherine Peckett – in 1929 in Franconia). Reed imported ski instructor Benno Rybizka from Hannes Schneider’s St. Anton Ski School in Austria.

The country’s first overhead T-bar cable lift was installed at Black Mountain in 1935, designed by George Morton who later (1938) invented and installed the Skimobile at Mt. Cranmore in North Conway. Two years later, the rope tows were exchanged for shovel handles, making the trip to the summit easier. In 1957, Black Mountain was the first to offer skiers fabricated snow through use of a snowmaking system. In comparison to today’s multi-million dollar resort/recreation establishments, Black Mountain holds its own as a rustic, inviting ski lodge and large slice of New Hampshire skiing history.

In 1939, after moving his ski school to North Conway, Reed imported another Austrian (this time Hannes Schneider himself) to head up the school at Mt. Cranmore. Schneider and his family left Austria after the country was taken over by Nazi Germany and made his home in the North Country, devoting himself to the school and improvement of skiing conditions on Cranmore. In fact, it was Schneider who introduced the idea of “groomed” ski slopes to the area. The year before Schneider arrived, George Morton’s Skimobile was mounted up the side of Mt. Cranmore. This special railway, pulled by strong metal ropes, was a new way to transport skiers to the summit, and was only the second of its kind in the US.

The ever-resourceful Carroll Reed opened his second ski shop (the first was in Jackson) and, with the advent of the ski trains back in 1932, North Conway eventually became the new center of the Mt. Washington Valley ski industry.

Numerous innovations and firsts occurred throughout New Hampshire in the youth of American skiing. For an extensive list of these and other important historical ski dates, check out www.skiinghistory.org/historicdates.

Ed’s Note: We are most grateful to Jeff Leich, Director of the NE Ski Museum in Franconia, NH for helping us to vet the facts in this article and for providing us with these truly memorable photos. If you have never had the chance to see the Ski Museum it is well worth the trip.

Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It.

By KIMBERLY A. JARVIS

A case study of early-twentieth-century grassroots preservation and the role of women in the American conservation movement

The "heart of New Hampshire," the 6,000-acre Franconia Notch nestled deep in the majestic White Mountains, was a well-loved summer resort and tourist destination in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. When in 1923 a devastating fire destroyed a famous grand hotel-the Profile House-and its owners decided against rebuilding, lumber companies eagerly moved in to evaluate the timber in the region. A vigorous campaign to save the pristine Franconia Notch wilderness rapidly galvanized around the efforts of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Granite State's premier force dedicated to conservation. Support poured in from local, state, regional, and national sources as the Franconia Notch campaign gathered steam in a bid to acquire and preserve the Notch. The New Hampshire Federation of Women's Clubs was a particularly spirited participant-and a key to the campaign's success. In 1928 the effort culminated in the creation of Franconia Notch Forest Reservation and War Memorial, today's magnificent Franconia Notch State Park. Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It is the story of this remarkable grassroots movement. Author Kimberly A. Jarvis applies meticulous scholarly skills to new archival material from the New Hampshire Federation of Women's Clubs and weaves her findings into the dynamic conversations now being carried on among environmental historians and scholars of New England regional culture. Her unique focus on the impulses that inspired early-twentieth-century women's clubs to become involved with this particular regional conservation campaign-and with conservation efforts and nature study generally-is a significant contribution to White Mountain literature and women's studies. Scholars, students, and readers who love nature and history will find much to admire and absorb in Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It.

"Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It is a masterful study of the origins of American landscape sensibilities and the changing meanings of the White Mountains. Using the campaign to save Franconia Notch as a focal point, Jarvis systematically traces the formation of a conservation ethic in this eastern context and identifies a new cast of characters in the conservation story."-Richard Judd, Professor of History, University of Maine

A wild, rugged, forested Franconia Notch is an important symbol for New Hampshire, but it was almost stripped of much of its natural beauty early in the Twentieth Century. In this engaging and thoroughly researched book, Kim Jarvis tells us how and why people from all walks of life worked together to preserve one of the most scenic spots in the eastern United States."-Kurk Dorsey, Associate Professor of History, University of New Hampshire

"Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the rise of New England conservation, or more broadly, the national attempt to save America's threatened wilderness landscapes in the early twentieth century."-Michael Lewis, Salisbury University

University Press of New England
Paper $25.95
232 Pages 6”x9”
Www.upne.com
KIMBERLY A. JARVIS is Assistant Professor of History at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. She specializes in the study of women and the conservation movement in the United States and is the author of journal articles and conference papers

White Devil - Robert Rogers and Roger's Rangers

Few New Hampshire citizen’s played a more unique and controversial role in the pre-revolutionary period of America than Robert Rogers.

Robert Rogers, or Rodgers (7 November 1731 – 18 May 1795), was a New Hampshire resident and colonial frontiersman. Born in November of 1781 in Methuen, Mass, his family soon moved north to what is now New Hampshire settling in a town Roger's refers to in his writing as Mountalona and today encompassing what is likely portions of the towns of Dunbarton and Bow.
His service to the people of New England, particularly in the war known in the colonies as the French & Indian War, (in Europe the Seven Years War) is well documented and a study in the waxing and waning fame and controversy that surrounded this remarkable man.

Many military historians attribute the seeds of the American Revolution to the ideology, tactics and strategies of the famed Roger's Rangers, started under his leadership. Indeed, one of his favored rangers was John Stark who would later set aside his "Ranger temperament" to become a General in the Colonial Army and utter the famed phrase "Live Free or Die".


White Devil is a book that provides a balanced and thoughtful look at this fascinating historic figure from the perspective of the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the historically significant and savage, bloody attack on the village of Saint Francis, Quebec.

With British tempers stoked by the 1757 French-led, Indian massacre at Fort William Henry, calls for retribution reached a fevered pitch throughout the colonies. The task of exacting that retribution fell to the Rangers. In what was unquestionably one “war crime” in response to another Rogers was ordered to exact revenge by leading a hazardous search and destroy mission against the Abenaki Indian village of St Francis, far behind enemy lines in Canada’s St. Lawrence Valley.

Against all odds, Rogers and his men fulfilled their perilous orders, only to be faced with the even more daunting prospect of a grueling retreat. Between them and safety lay some 200 miles of unforgiving wilderness. It was a nightmarish journey home. Vengeful French and Indians were soon in hot pursuit. The rangers who evaded them faced other unforgiving enemies. Winter was closing in, and their rations were soon gone: crazed with hunger, some resorted to cannibalism in a desperate bid for survival; those who finally reached safety were truly the walking dead.

St. Francis expedition won Major Rogers’ heroic status throughout Britain’s empire and the moniker “White Devil” among the Abenaki. Today, competing historical views of the events surrounding the attack on St. Francis depict Rogers and his Rangers in much the same dichotomous view.

Without romance, and with a revealing understanding of the emblematic nature of the St. Francis massacre, author Stephan Brumwell draws upon meticulous archival research and first-hand knowledge of the rugged region where these dramatic events unfolded to create a gripping account of the events. Brumwell weaves together the testimonies of eyewitnesses—British, French and Indian—to tell a powerful and moving true story from North America’s violent colonial frontier.
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Stephan Brumwell is based in Amsterdam. A former newspaper reporter, he received his Ph.D. at the University of Leeds. Brumwell is the author of an acclaimed book about ordinary soldiers who fought the French and Indian War called Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763, as well as many journal and magazine articles. A recipient of the Authors’ Foundation Elizabeth Longford Grant, he lectures regularly in the US and the UK.

White Devil – by Stephan Brumwell, Da Capo Press Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA 02142. Paperback · $17.95 · ISBN: 0-306-81473-0 · 335 pages

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

Littleton Profile Part III Two Evolutionary Phases

Part III of a five part series
Parts [I] [II] [III] [IV] [V]

When one looks at the evolution of Littleton, one cannot help but notice that the prosperity of today came from the completion of two distinct phases of development. The first with an emphasis upon physical infrastructure; and, the second with an emphasis upon human resources. Following on the heels of the Littleton Industrial Park, leaders within the community, led by Ed Hennessy of the Littleton Coin Company, began to address the issue of energy costs. Littleton’s independent municipal power company, Littleton Power and Light, became the first to participate in the NH deregulatory process that allowed it to “buy out” uncompetitive agreements and put their wholesale power needs out to bid competitively. The net result has been power costs that are among the least expensive in all of New England. The competitive advantage of this cannot be understated when it comes to well-paying industry jobs.
Investing in People

Most communities would assume that development of the physical infrastructure was enough. The Industrial park was moving forward and a critical mass of businesses were beginning to develop on Main Street. But not so Littleton. As King Covey puts it: “The quality of jobs is as important as the quantity and we knew that we had to focus on building our social infrastructure as well as our physical. You build community by investing in people - affordable housing, quality healthcare, strong schools and educational opportunities that strengthen the quality of the workforce.”

According to attorney and former state representative Brien Ward, who in 1992 was the spark plug behind the formation of the Littleton Economic Development Task Force, you also build bridges. “We had to Stand and Deliver, “ says Ward. “We couldn’t afford to have local food fights between the business community and the citizens or the town government. We needed to create an atmosphere of community and communication – to build local support and partnerships. We have made a concerted effort to eliminate turf, to develop a unified vision and to create a strong partnership between our schools and our community. We no longer talk “AT” each other, we now talk WITH one another.” And the atmosphere is infectious. Local dentist John Grisham, a Chicago transplant, is just one example of this. Grisham, who is President of the local Little League baseball program and donates mouth protection to local sports teams, recently announced that he would provide no cost dental services to victims of domestic violence. “I came here because of the community spirit of this town,” Says Grisham, “I want to play a part in keeping that spirit alive and vibrant.”

Barbara Ashley, who recently left a management position at a local bank to take over the helm of the Chamber of Commerce is a fixture at local events including dressing as Frosty the Snowman to the delight of children attending Littleton’s Frostbite Follies. These folks are just the tip of an iceberg of community involvement and volunteerism.

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Littleton Part V A Committment to Learning

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Part five of a five part series

The Littleton Area Learning Center

In the early 90’s, community leaders, led by Paul McGoldrick, also a Harvard Business School Graduate, who assumed the Chair of LIDC from King Covey in 1986, began to look at the issue of continuing education. This came partly as a result of the advocacy of local insurance agent Bruce Hadlock - who had played an ongoing role in the economic development of Littleton. At the time, post secondary opportunities as well as professional development training for local residents meant driving at least an hour or more. McGoldrick saw an opportunity and he pressed others into action. Paul Denton, President of the Northern Community Investment Corporation and members of the LIDC joined together to craft a proposal that turned an unused building into the Littleton Learning Center. Bringing together the Community Technical College, The University of New Hampshire College for Life Long Learning, and state and local agencies they developed a plan to provide opportunities for improving job skills for existing businesses, providing needed educational opportunities synchronized with local job opportunities and space for specialty classes and continuing education seminars. Today the 30,000 square foot Littleton Area Learning Center is a high tech educational resource center housing the College for Life Long Learning, The NH Community Technical College, The Gregg Public Safety Academy, New Hampshire Works, the North Country Health Consortium, the Northern NH Area Health Education Center and a Teacher Center serving as a professional development resource for teachers from schools in Littleton and the surrounding communities.

The Littleton Area Learning Center proved its worth thirteen days after September 11, 2001, when Hitchner Manufacturing announced that they intended to leave Littleton. Led by Town Manager Don Jutton a “SWAT” team of citizens, including Paul McGoldrick, Brien War, John Simpson, of the US Small Business Development Center, and representatives from the Learning Center’s various resources, swung into action. They met with leaders of the company and determined that the principle issues evolved around the need to increase productivity and enhance their workforce. Together they devised a training program that would meet the company’s needs and on Christmas Eve of 2001 Hitchner announced that they would be remaining in Littleton.

Littleton has come a long way. In 2003 Littleton was named a “Great American Main Street” by Main Street USA Inc. a national nonprofit that works to assist communities with the main street development efforts. Long time resident Bob Copenhaver originally got Littleton into the Main Steet program but years of hardwork by many citizens and an investment of more than 195,000 raised from the town and its businesses, culminated in the award of which they are exceedingly proud.
A National Model

Developing this vision and formula for success was not easy and for Littleton it was an evolutionary process, but being on the vanguard usually is. Today, aside from the success of the industrial park, Littleton has an unemployment rate of 2.0%. It has among the lowest electric rates in all of New England; Its tax base in only ten years has nearly tripled and it has become a national model for small community economic development.

Part of being a true model, however, means that your work is NEVER done. Littleton is not resting on its laurels. It is looking to the future and planning. Right now they are engaged in discussions with Lisbon and Bethlehem about a three-town industrial park, called the “Tri-Town Initiative”; they are also in the Initial stages of the development of the Littleton Arts Museum, highlighting White Mountain Art and Littleton’s historic dominance in the Stereoscopic art industry. Ron Murro, who developed another centerpiece for town, The Grist Mill, is one of twelve citizens working to make it the dream of a museum a reality.
It has not been an easy process, but one thing is clear: It works . . . and it is infectious. A strong sense of community feeds on itself. Littleton seems to have found the formula: Communication, cooperation and investment in both economic infrastructure and people have brought about a town that sparkles in every sense of the word.

To learn more about Littleton visit their Website www.littleton.nh.us
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