What’s Inside YOUR
Finding a home at Taylor means more than access to a stunning new cottage or apartment – it means receiving the keys to present and future peace of mind.
Taylor Community is located in the beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire with campus locations in both Laconia and Wolfeboro. Whether you prefer an active lifestyle lled with tness classes and an extensive lineup of social and recreational opportunities, or would rather enjoy a ne dining experience with friends after a day spent by the lake... Taylor is the place for you!
New Hampshire’s leaders in comprehensive cardiovascular care serving the entire Granite State.
Cardiovascular Specialists of New England (CSNE) is dedicated to redefining heart and vascular care. We are committed to empowering our community with timely access to comprehensive, personalized heart health solutions from preventi o n to ad vanced p rocedu res
• Cardiac Testing
• Coronary Artery Disease Intervention
• Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
Catheter Ablation
• Stroke Prevention (Watchman, Amulet)
• Heart Valve Procedures (TAVR, TEER)
• Arrhythmia/Heart Rhythm Treatment
•
• Congestive Heart Failure Management
• Vein & Vascular Intervention
• Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Hypertension Clinic
Same-Day and Next-Day Appointments
Hospital Affiliations
Catholic Medical Center
Parkland Medical Center
St. Joseph’s Hospital Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
603-323-0883 www.csofne.com
While millions of us gather with family and friends to share a holiday meal, many others sacrifice time with their loved ones to heal and help the most vulnerable. And others in our community find few reasons to celebrate as they struggle to feed themselves.
For the fourth year, Meals of Thanks will provide thousands of dinners prepared by New England’s Tap House Grille to essential workers and foodinsecure residents. Sponsorship from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Northeast Delta Dental, CGI Business Solutions, and our generous advertisers, allows our whole community to enjoy a full holiday meal.
Meals of Thanks will support:
· The Way Home
·Manchester VA Medical Center
·Formerly homeless veterans in southern NH
·New Hampshire Food Bank in honor of National Nurses Week
Thank you to our sponsors and advertisers for supporting New Hampshire Magazine and this mission. Together we are Granite State strong!
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Contents
Things
52 On Thin Ice
The twilight of bobhouses on Lake Winnipesaukee may have arrived this season.
By John Koziol
Photography by Adam Perri
60 Elevated Connections
Take a hike up Mount Washington with the “Women of the Wild,” an all-women’s course offered during the Mount Washington Backcountry Ski Festival.
By Jill Armstrong
Photography by Joe Klementovich
70 Stealing the King’s Powder
Did the American Revolution start in New Castle, New Hampshire? Read on to find out.
By J. Dennis Robinson
Jan/Feb 2025
603 Navigator
12 Winter Wonderland
The Cocheco River bridge in Dover dazzles in snow
Photo by Karen Hoade
14 A Town at the ‘Tipping Point’ Mont Vernon residents fear growth and rising home prices will strain community ties
By Kathryn Marchocki
Illustration by Peter Noon
20 Welcome Warmth
Cozy recipes to bring comfort to your kitchen this season
By Liz Barbour
603 Informer
28 Skiing into the 60th
Attitash celebrates an anniversary 60 years in the making
By Elisa Gonzales Verdi
34 In Their Own Words with Sy Montgomery Cracking the Code
By Emily Reily
38 What Do You Know
A ‘Bearly’ Believable Tale
By Marshall Hudson
603 Living
84 Walking in Tradition
The timeless art of handmade snowshoes
By Jill Armstrong
88 Calendar
Top winter events around the state are waiting for you
Compiled by Elisa Gonzales Verdi
90 Health
Listen to your heart: Recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular disease and take steps to lower your risk.
By Krysten Godfrey Maddocks
96 Live Free
The Battle of Upright Hank By Brion O’Connor
Illustration by Peter Noonan
Volume 38, Number 10 ISSN 1532-0219
Everything Became New Again
THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THE YEAR is when my mother and I celebrate our birthdays, mine in January, hers in February. This will be the first year I won’t be able to call her to wish her a happy birthday.
I will be thinking of my mom Jan. 29 when my wife and I visit 3S Artspace, an intimate venue in Portsmouth (3sarts.org). On stage will be California singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet, fresh from a tour of Europe to promote his latest album, “Wake the Dead,” a collaboration with a cumbia band that was released in October to rave reviews for its inciteful lyrics and Latin dance rhythms.
My favorite song, though, is the gentle ballad that closes the album. I heard “A Good Day To Be Alive” a couple of months after my mom died. The song, written to celebrate Prophet’s remission after a two-year battle with lymphoma, presents a random to-do list of everyday activities, including “It’s a good day to call your mother.”
For more years than I can remember, I called mine every Sunday. But the song didn’t bring me sadness. It just made me smile. The cycle of birth and death defines us more as we grow older and learn to appreciate everything that has come before and what’s yet to come for however long we enjoy our stay on this planet.
I borrowed a line from the song’s bridge for the title of this column: “Time stood still, and the seasons changed. Everything became new again.”
Welcome to 2025
Our January/February issue hangs around for a couple of months so we wanted to be sure to make this one count.
Marshall Hudson checks in with a children’s story written more than a century ago about a little girl who went missing and survived a few days in the wild thanks to — as the legend goes — the help of a large, furry friend (page 34).
For this month’s “In Their Own Words,” Emily Reily talks with NH author Sy Montgomery, who has a new book about chickens that might change the way you think about our barnyard friends (page 36).
As we always do each winter, New Hampshire Magazine heads outdoors and braves the cold. Writer Jill Armstrong and photographer Joe Klementovich team up to explore the Mount Washington Backcountry Ski Festival and its “Women of the Wild” all-female course (page 62). Armstrong also visits with craftsman Bill Novacek, who makes traditional wooden snowshoes at his home workshop in Lancaster (page 86).
Writer John Koziol and photographer Adam Perri venture out “On Thin Ice” to examine the impact of warming temperatures on ice fishing at Lake Winnipesaukee and the celebrated Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby (page 52).
Attitash Mountain Resort celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Elisa Gonzales Verdi talks to long-time employees at the Bartlett ski destination for this month’s “Informer.” We also have stories best for reading while nestled in a comfy living room chair.
Portsmouth author J. Dennis Robinson revisits the notion that the American Revolution began in New Castle — “rather than on the bloody battlefields of Lexington and Concord” — with the 1774 winter raid on Fort William and Mary (page 70).
Kathryn Marchocki, whose graceful writing and exceptional reporting made her byline standout at various NH newspapers over the past 30 years, contributes this month’s “Our Town” about Mont Vernon, the community she called home for two decades (page 14).
Liz Barbour, a regular on WMUR “Cook’s Corner,” shares recipes for winter comfort food, including Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs and Stracciatella Soup with Spinach (page 20).
Frequent contributor Brion O’Connor closes the issue with an “Live Free” essay about his grandfather, “Upright Hank,” and their mutual love of hockey (page 96).
See you in March.
PHOTO BY KAREN BACHELDER
The Baldwin is a brand-new Life Plan Community that’s reimagining senior living for a new generation of older adults. Here, you’ll find a culture based on choice and flexibility, with award-winning architectural design and floor plans, and a curated array of services and amenities. You’ll be empowered to craft a lifestyle that feels natural and satisfying to you, while also enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing on-site care is available. Discover The Baldwin today.
Joe Klementovich is a freelance North Conway-based photographer who specializes in environmental photography and shot this month’s cover story, “Elevated Connections.” Find more of his work on klementovichphoto.com.
Assistant editor Emily Reily wrote this month’s “In Their Own Words” section about Sy Montgomery’s new book, “What the Chicken Knows.”
Assistant editor Elisa Gonzales Verdi wrote this month’s Informer section about Attitash’s 60th anniversary in the making.
Jill Armstrong reports on the outdoor industry in NH. She wrote this month’s Living section and feature on backcountry skiing.
The American Revolution feature story was written by Seacoast author J. Dennis Robinson, an expert in NH history.
John Koziol has been a journalist for three decades, from Connectiut to NH. He wrote this month’s “On Thin Ice” feature on Lake Winnipesaukee bobhouses.
Kathryn Marchocki has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years. She wrote this month’s “Our Town” about Mont Vernon.
SHOW US YOUR BEST SHOT : ANIMAL PHOTO CONTEST
PRIZE DETAILS:
Grand Prize: Publication in the March/April issue of New Hampshire Magazine. $500 cash prize!
2nd Place: Publication in the March/April issue of New Hampshire Magazine. $300 cash prize!
3rd Place: Publication in the March/April issue of New Hampshire Magazine. $200 cash prize!
All photos must be taken in New Hampshire and fall within one of two categories: WILDLIFE or PETS
Entries will be judged by our panel of professional photographers.
Spot FOUR newts like the one here hidden on ads in this issue, tell us where you found them and you might win a great gift from a local artisan or company.
To enter our drawing for Spot the Newt, visit spotthenewt.com and fill out the online form. Or, send answers plus your name, email address and mailing address to: Spot the Newt c/o New Hampshire Magazine 250 Commercial St., Suite 4014 Manchester, NH 03101 You can also email them to newt@nhmagazine.com.
Last month’s “Spot the Newt” winner is Brian Lacey of New Durham. December issue newts were on pages 7, 23, 79 and 98.
603 Navigator
Winter Wonderland
“For four or five days following a particular storm, snow blanketed everything and clung to every tiny tree branch, making everything look majestic. I spent a day on the Seacoast where it started out mostly gray, but by early afternoon the skies turned a vibrant blue with white clouds, and the reflection on the water made it even more spectacular, as seen here from the Cocheco River bridge on Fourth Street in Dover.”
PHOTO& WORDS BY KAREN HOADE
A Town at the ‘Tipping Point’
Mont Vernon residents fear growth and rising home prices will strain community ties
STORY
& PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATHRYN MARCHOCKI / ILLUSTRATION BY PETER NOONAN
Blink and you’ll miss it,” people joke about driving through Mont Vernon. But you won’t miss what comes next. The road soon drops sharply, slicing through hay fields and woodland while hills rise in the distance. The panorama changes with the seasons. Verdant pastures give way to splashes of autumn color and winter’s icy treachery that has waylaid many a traveler.
While the view from Mont Vernon’s hill is one of the town’s most spectacular, there are other wonders to be found in this community of nearly 2,700 people tucked between Milford, Amherst, New Boston and Lyndeborough. Though small, Mont Vernon has an outsized hold on some of the area’s natural and cultural assets that draw people here, whether they come for a morning hike or stay a lifetime.
“It just has that quintessential New England feel to it — Main Street, the library, the McCollom Building and, of course, they
are renovating the Town Hall now. It’s really picture-perfect,” says Dan Bellemore, who co-owns the Mont Vernon General Store, the town’s sole retail establishment.
Besides visitors from around the state and nation, tourists come from “all over the world,” including China, Japan and Europe. “We had the Brazilian bike team in here,” Bellemore adds, noting it’s a popular stopping point for motorcycle and bicycle groups traveling Route 13.
“They all come for the biking, the trails, Lamson Farm, just to get that country feel, and you can’t get that everywhere. It’s unique,” Bellemore adds. “Even in the winter, you can cross-country ski. You can walk through woods with snowshoes. That’s the appeal of Mont Vernon.”
The town has its own “Purgatorio” hidden deep in the woods. Hikers and seekers from far and wide make the descent to see Purgatory Falls plunge through the granite
chasm. Legend has it the devil even visited it and left a molten impression of his footprint, still visible today.
The falls were a popular attraction during the height of the town’s resort hotel era in the late 1800s. How to get to Purgatory Falls remains one of the most commonly-asked questions at the general store, Bellemore says. The other is where can you buy gas. (You can’t. The town has no gas station.)
Mont Vernon has two family-run, working farms. The Pomeroys operate the town’s remaining dairy cow farm which, according to the New Hampshire dairy industry, is one of about 94 left in the state. And Julie Whitcomb and Matt Gelbwaks run Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy, the state’s first, and only, sheep dairy farm. The married couple previously operated Julie’s Happy Hens, a 3,000-bird
chicken farm that they closed to transition to sheep in 2024.
“It hearkens back to the days gone by when you could go to the farm. People told us they came and bought eggs from us because this is what grandmother’s farm used to be like,” Gelbwaks says. And residents salute their agrarian past at Lamson Farm Day held each year at the former 310-acre dairy farm, which the town bought when it ceased operating in 1975.
Arts also flourish here. Aspiring artists once studied at the village watercolor school operated by Phoebe Flory, who died in 2004. The barn now is a pottery school. The town is widely known for the annual “Messiah Sing!” held at the Mont Vernon Congregational Church. About 120 singers from as far away as Massachusetts and seven-piece professional orchestra perform Handel’s powerful oratorio.
“The effort … to bring that joyful noise at the beginning of the Christmas season is what we’re all about,” says publicity and staging manager Anne Dodd of the event that began in 1988. Many townspeople have sung in it at least once.
Eloise Carleton is among them. She moved here in 1962 after she married Alwyn Carleton, a son of one of Mont Vernon’s founding families. Mont Vernon was a quiet town of about 500 to 600 people when the couple settled at the crest of the hillside farm where Al Carleton’s parents raised dairy cattle and chickens. Amenities were few, but people were friendly and always
The sign welcomes visitors to Mont Vernon as they travel north up Mont Vernon’s Grand Hill on Route 13.
pulled together when something needed to be done, she says. The sense of community and raw natural beauty are what she loved most.
While Al was a skilled hunter and outdoorsman, Eloise never fired a gun until one day early in their marriage. She sat in the car reading a book while Al “was shooting those stupid rats running around the Mont Vernon dump,” she recalls. Curious, she asked if she could try. He taught her to shoot and she was hooked. Al, who died in 2019, and Eloise became certified hunter safety training instructors and hunted in the surrounding woods with family and friends for decades.
Mont Vernon has changed a lot in recent years, Eloise says. It’s bigger, busier and is much more of a “bedroom town.” What does she miss most about the way it used to be?
“The wildness,” she says.
“I loved the trees and the close proximity to the woods,” adds Eloise, who moved to Milford two years ago, but still calls Mont Vernon home and visits often. “Those of us who like it a little bit wilder don’t like it quite as well (now). We love the animals coming into our yard — the bear, the moose and the deer.”
Then there was what Eloise calls that “one
awful day” in 2009 when Kimberly Cates was murdered and her daughter maimed during a home invasion. Residents were stunned by the brutality of the random attack, which shattered any sense that living in Mont Vernon could shield them from that level of violence. “It was not something you would expect in a small town. It was heinous,” she says.
The year the Carletons married was a turning point for Mont Vernon, whose history has been a series of boons and busts since it broke away from Amherst and incorporated as a separate town in 1803. The town’s population hit a high point of 763 residents in 1830, then steadily declined to about 300 people in the 1920s-1930s, U.S. Census figures show. The town rallied from prior downturns largely by tapping in to advances in transportation and technology. It was on the cusp of another comeback.
The rise of the automobile after World War II coupled with major defense contractor Sanders Associates locating in Nashua became a boon for Mont Vernon and surrounding towns. Sanders was hiring engineers in the 1960s, and many settled in the town’s vacant farms and homes. They included Darold and Sarah Rorabacher,
Bob and Eileen Naber, and Al Ryder.
“For a small town, that was a big influx of people,” says Eileen Naber, adding they were warmly welcomed when they came in 1962.
“We just felt so embraced,” she says. There were sledding parties, softball games, dinner parties, church groups, 4-H clubs and other activities, she says.
The Rorabachers settled in the former South Schoolhouse on Old Milford Road. Their daughter, Anna Rorabacher Szok, remembers the town was so small that residents came to their house to conduct town business with her mother, who was town clerk and tax collector. Her father was a selectman. Anna bought the house in 2011, and “(I) love it more than I ever did as a kid.
“I love (Mont Vernon’s) topography, the woods. I love the views. I love being in a rural place where Boston is still pretty close,” says Rorabacher Szok, who is president of the Mont Vernon Historical Society.
After more than a century of decline, the population surpassed its 1830 high point with 906 residents in 1970, the U.S. Census shows. By 1980, 1,444 people were living here.
“There are more people now, but less of them know each other,” Naber says.
Dan Bellemore, who co-owns the Mont Vernon General Store with Mike Wallenius, works with employee Dayna Towne. The store is in the center of Mont Vernon’s historic district and is the only retail establishment in town. It’s a popular stopping point for both locals and out-of-town visitors.
You will still find our hilltop hideaway at the end of the winding dirt road. Lighten your spirit as you step out of your world and into ours. Welcome to Pickity Place. Call us for dining reservations. Have a Pickity Day!
Community groups and activities either have fallen away or been subsumed by government, she says. And the demographics have changed.
“We’ve gone to an upscale residential community. All the old houses are still here, but all the new ones are big and fancy and very expensive,” she adds.
“What’s happening in Mont Vernon right now is if you don’t make a lot of money, you can’t afford to live in Mont Vernon,” Rorabacher Szok says, noting some of the new houses are selling “for almost a million dollars.” Median family income in 2023 was $171,429, and per capital income was $63,344, the state Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau reports.
Some of those interviewed say this growth and the changes it brings strain the fibers that keep community life strong. While the town still hosts its annual Spring Gala and holiday tree lighting, they say fewer things bring townspeople together on a regular basis. Even the weekly trip to the dump is going by the wayside as more people pay for private trash pickup.
Increasingly, more people don’t know
A view of the western side of Route 13 unfolds before travelers leaving the hilltop village of Mont Vernon.
The new, larger Daland Memorial Library, shown under construction, is expected to open in the fall.
each other, and it becomes easier to say unkind things about someone when you won’t face them in person, says Matt Gelbwaks. This partly explains the “vitriol” and “just plain old mean” things being posted on
Facebook at a level unseen before, he adds.
“The library certainly was a lightning rod for this,” he says. While the town has faced divisive issues before, plans to build a new $5.99 million library — $1.99 million of
which is to be raised from taxes — plus a $683,600 access road flamed especially bitter divisions. The library article drew record voter turnout at the last two Town Meetings where it failed by 20 votes in 2023, but prevailed in 2024 by nine votes, the town clerk says. Groundbreaking occurred in September. The library should open in fall 2025.
Eloise Carleton says the librarians have made the existing library “a real community center” where children, teens and senior citizens can gather. “I think the divisiveness will heal and people will be happy with what they’ve got.”
Others say they hope the town can heal from the rancor and factions can coexist again.
“What I think is still special is that we are a small, intimate town that has a fair degree of pride over who we are and what we’ve been…There is no reason why we should not celebrate the fact that we are an archetypical New England town,” Gelbwaks says. He sees the town at a “tipping point” if the harm is not healed.
“If they are not corrected, we lost everything that is special in the town. We just become another town.” NH
Residents celebrated the addition of the Mont Vernon Town Hall to the National Register of Historic Places with the unveiling of a plaque at a brief ceremony on Aug. 24, 2024. The Town Hall is in the midst of rehabilitation and renovations. It is the second local site to be listed on the National Register; the other is Lamson Farm.
About Liz: Liz Barbour built her cooking career in a variety of Boston’s catering and restaurant settings, and she later moved on to start her own business after starting a family in New Hampshire. Her recipes and teaching style for Liz Barbour’s Creative Feast connected with her community, as did her belief that any home cook can prepare fresh, flavorful meals with confidence if taught just a few basic, but important, skills. She is a regular guest on New Hampshire’s WMUR “Cook’s Corner” and is an avid home gardener who often uses her own fresh herbs and edible flowers in her cooking demonstrations. Here are two of her favorite winter recipes to add to your rotation. Check out Barbour’s website for more information about upcoming programs, events, cooking classes and more cozy recipes to try out this season. thecreativefeast.com
PHOTOS
Winter Warmth
Cozy recipes to bring comfort to your kitchen this season
BY LIZ BARBOUR
Comfort food is a year-round necessity, but everyone can agree that a warm bowl of soup, casserole dish or pot roast just hits differently in the winter. Here’s a couple recipes to have ready in your back pocket for when the temperatures drop.
Stracciatella Soup with Spinach SERVES 2-4
Stracciatella soup with spinach, known as Italy’s take on egg drop soup, originated in Rome. Its name, “stracciatella,” means “little rags,” referring to the way whisked eggs swirl into ribbons in hot broth. Traditionally served as a warming first course, it’s light, nourishing, and perfect for cozy gatherings. Fresh spinach adds a vibrant, healthy touch!
6 cups chicken stock Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 large eggs
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
2 to 4 cups baby spinach leaves
1. Place the stock in a large saucepan or soup pot and bring to a simmer.
2. Combine the eggs, cheese and parmesan in a bowl.
3. Drizzle in the egg mixture while slowly stirring the soup with a wooden spoon or spatula, paddling it back and forth until the little “rags” form.
4. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes.
Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs SERVES 4
Sheet pan dinners have become a favorite for their simplicity and flavor-packed results. Everything roasts together in a high-temperature oven all on one pan, letting flavors mingle. They include minimal cleanup and a perfect balance of protein and starch in every bite. Toss in some fresh herbs or a drizzle of olive oil, and you have a weeknight meal that feels gourmet without the fuss — just one pan, endless possibilities!
The right equipment is key — using a lowrimmed, uncoated sheet pan ensures better airflow and browning. Cooking directly on the pan surface promotes crispness, though parchment or foil liners can be used, albeit with some impact on browning. Optimal oven temperatures range from 400 to 450 degrees, with convection settings enhancing heat distribution. Strategic rack placement influences crispness and finishing dishes under the broiler adds an extra layer of caramelization.
Fat plays a vital role in both flavor and moisture retention, helping ingredients brown evenly. Hardy herbs can withstand high heat, but delicate herbs are best added after cooking to prevent burning. Seasoning with salt, pepper and spices before cooking ensures balanced flavors throughout.
Timing is essential when working with proteins and vegetables, as different ingredients cook at varying rates. Bone-in and thicker cuts take longer, while smaller pieces and boneless options cook faster. Drying proteins before seasoning encourages better browning, while keeping fat or skin intact adds richness.
When incorporating vegetables, it’s essential to cut them uniformly to ensure even cooking. Denser vegetables take longer to roast, while leafy greens cook quickly and can become crisp. Proper spacing on the sheet pan ensures air circulation, promoting even browning. Starting with slower-cooking ingredients and adding faster-cooking ones later ensures everything finishes simultaneously.
Adjusting the oven temperature allows for control over the cooking process — higher heat leads to deeper color and crispness, while lower heat ensures more even results. Quick-cooking items can benefit from a brief stint under the broiler to finish them perfectly. The key to sheet pan success lies in thoughtful preparation, timing and strategic layering to create a cohesive, flavorful dish.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano (or rosemary, basil, or sage)
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 to 6 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4 to 6 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut into ¾ inch pieces
1 large red pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 1 inch strips
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or parsley, basil, or mint)
1. In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil with the lemon juice, garlic and oregano. Add the chicken thighs; toss to coat. Let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or up to 8 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.
2. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. On a sheet pan, drizzle the diced potatoes with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; toss well and move to one side of the pan. Pat the chicken thighs dry (this will help the skin crisp up during cooking) and place them, evenly spaced, on the other side of the pan. Roast for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the oven, toss the potatoes, add the pepper slices, then return everything to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, the skin is golden brown and the potatoes are tender, 15 to 25 more minutes, depending on the size of the thighs. If the potatoes are not quite tender, remove the chicken thighs to a plate to rest, and return the pan to the oven to roast until tender, another 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Scatter the feta and dill over the potatoes, sprinkle the whole dish with salt and pepper and serve hot from the pan.
Potato Apple Crisp MAKES ONE 9X13 OR 9X9 PAN TO SERVE 8
APPLE MIXTURE
*8 large assorted apples (see apple note below), cored and cut into slices — yes, leave the peels on!
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
CRISP TOPPING
1½ cups oats (old fashioned)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour or ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar — light or dark
¼ cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
SWEETENED SOUR CREAM TOPPING
16 oz sour cream (full fat)
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I like Everland vanilla and buy it at HomeGoods. You can also purchase online)
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the cubed sweet potato into a saucepan of water. Bring to a simmer and cook potatoes until just tender, about 5-8 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes.
3. Toss the sliced apples with the sugar, flour and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Place half of the sliced apples into your pan then place the cooked sweet potatoes to cover evenly. Place the remaining apples over the sweet potatoes.
4. In a bowl, combine the oats, flour or flaxseed, cinnamon and sugars and toss until combined. Using your hands, work in the butter until the mixture comes together in moist crumbs. Spread oat topping evenly over the apples and sweet potatoes.
5. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the crumb mixture is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
6. To make the sour cream topping, combine the sour cream, sugar to taste, and vanilla in a bowl and stir to blend. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
* Apple combinations: Texture is an important part of a tasty apple crisp experience. Combine apples that are both crisp and soft when cooked. Honeycrisp/Cortland, Granny Smith/McIntosh, Spartan/Cortland. You can add or substitute other fresh or frozen blueberries, cranberries and rhubarb.
Sweet
Sheet Pan Feta with Black Olives, Tomatoes & Lemon
SERVES 4-6 AS AN APPETIZER
1 pint grape tomatoes
½ to 1/3 cup black olives packed in oil
1 lemon,½ cut into thin rounds and the remaining ½ left intact, for serving
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 (6 to 8 ounces) block feta, whole or cut into 1-inch slices
½ cup fresh cilantro or parsley leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped (optional)
Serve with artisan bread or crackers
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third.
2. On a sheet pan, combine the tomatoes, olives and lemon slices with the olive oil and toss. Add cumin and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss again until evenly coated. Nestle the feta into the center of the vegetables. Roast 15 to 20 minutes. If you want a little charring on top, put under the broiler for a few minutes.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the remaining lemon half for squeezing. Top with fresh herbs, if using.
VARIATIONS:
• Instead of feta use tofu or a firm fish (salmon, swordfish, scrod).
• Add canned chickpeas and thinly sliced fennel.
• Add broccoli, asparagus, peppers, or other vegetable and serve as a meal.
• Instead of cumin use smoked paprika or rosemary.
• When cooked, combine all the ingredients and toss with pasta and serve hot or cold.
Presenting Sponsor:
Sponsored by:
Winter Warmers
Old Fashioned Winter
Ingredients:
2 parts Jim Beam® Winter Reserve
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 dashes of bitters
Garnish:
Rosemary and cinnamon
Combine all ingredients and garnish with rosemary and cinnamon.
Japanese Mule
Ingredients:
1 part Suntory Haku® Vodka
1½ parts cold premium soda water
1½ parts cold ginger beer
Garnish:
1 Fresh ginger slice (or lemon peel)
Fill a highball glass to the brim with ice. Add Haku Vodka. Top with equal parts cold soda water and cold ginger beer. Stir once gently and garnish with a ginger slice or lemon peel.
Penicillin
Ingredients:
2 parts Teacher’s® Blended Scotch Whisky
¾ part lemon juice
¾ part honey syrup
3 pieces fresh ginger, sliced
¼ parts Laphroaig® 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Garnish:
Candied ginger
Combine Teacher’s Whisky, lemon juice, honey syrup, and ginger. Shake with ice.
Serve in a rocks glass with one large ice cube. Add floater of Laphroaig Whisky and a candied ginger garnish.
Black, Bitters & Ginger
Ingredients:
1½ parts Jim Beam® Black
3 parts ginger ale
2-3 dashes angostura bitters
Garnish:
Lime wedge
Combine ingredients in a tall glass with ice and stir to combine. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Black Cherry Cola
Ingredients:
1½ ounces Jim Beam® Red Stag
4½ ounces cola
Garnish:
Lime wedge
Build over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with lime.
COCKTAIL RECIPES
Fireside Manhattan
Ingredients:
2 parts Maker’s Mark® 46 Bourbon Whisky
1 part mulled wine*
2 dashes bitters
Garnish:
Orange peel studded with whole cloves
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with orange peel studded with fresh cloves.
*Simple mulled wine: Combine 2 cups apple cider, 375 ml red wine, 1 cinnamon stick, and 2 cloves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 mins.
Let cool before mixing.
603 Informer
View of Bear Peak from Northwest Passage.
Skiing into the 60th
Attitash celebrates an anniversary six decades in the making
BY ELISA GONZALES VERDI/ PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY ATTITASH MOUNTAIN RESORT & THE BARTLETT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
On Attitash’s grand opening in January 1965, the 2,350-foot Bartlett mountain opened with just two lifts and four trails. Since opening day, what was once known as the “Red Carpet Ski Area,” has exploded into the 68-trail twin-peak resort that skiers and boarders today pilgrim to every season.
Attitash’s founding team, which included Phil Robertson, president of the Attitash Mt. Lift Corp, and Thad Thorne, a veteran of the 10th Mountain Division and Wildcat Mountain, envisioned that the ski resort they created would be innovative and top-notch.
In the 60 years since opening, innovation has been the name of the game. Attitash has expanded in size by purchasing neighboring Bear Peak and adding four more lifts and three terrain parks.
Vail Resorts added Attitash to its stable in 2019 when the Colorado company acquired 17 ski areas from Peak Resorts in a $264 million deal that also included Wildcat and Crotched Mountain in New Hampshire. The company also operates Mount Sunapee.
Attitash now boasts more than 300 acres of skiable terrain, making it one of Mount Washington Valley’s largest ski resorts. As the 60th season begins, Attitash will be celebrating all season long by unveiling new advancements to the resort, while celebrating how far it’s come.
“(Attitash) transforms strangers into community,” says Brandon Swartz, the mountain’s general manager. “It’s always been more than just a ski resort in our community — it’s a place filled with history and passion, and the kind of joy that only comes from skiing or riding with friends and family from first chair to last call.”
Located in the heart of the Mount Washington Valley, Attitash has become
an integral part of the local community, and celebrates the region’s, and mountain’s, history through its trails.
“Our trail names aren’t just labels, but windows into unique stories. Thad’s Choice, a local favorite, is named after one of the original trail designers, Thad Thorne, whose vision shaped the trail’s unique features,” Swartz says.
“Wilfred’s Gwam, another beloved trail, is named after a bulldozer operator who was one of the original trail builders, adding a unique twist to the history of our trails,” he says. “The name of our Mountaineer lift that was installed last winter pays homage to the historic Mountaineer scenic rail tour that once ran through the Mount Washington Valley, passing by the Attitash base area.”
Attitash’s tight-knit community is apparent through the number of employees and skiers who come back season after season.
Nate Jones, Attitash’s ski patrol manager, has worked ski patrol for the past 16 years.
“I needed a winter job so I came to the job fair, thinking I could be a shuttle driver or something,” Jones says. “I walked into the job fair and someone said, ‘You look like a ski patroller.’ It was the patrol director. He asked if I could ski. I said ‘yes.’ And the rest was history. I went and got a medical certificate, and then off I went.”
Managing his team is among his job’s greatest rewards, Jones says.
“Managing an amazing group of people is so rewarding — I like to think my job is to serve my team. I provide my team with what they need to do their job,” he says. “Also, a full-time year-round job in the Mount Washington Valley, working outside at a mountain that you love is a win… and they pay me to go skiing.”
The Mountaineer lift, which takes guests to the mountain’s summit, was recently updated.
S’mores roasted over a Bear Peak firepit.
Motor Booty Affair performs.
Attitash’s ski patrol cabin is perched atop the summit.
From top left to right: Ski and Ride School pauses at the summit during Women’s Weekend.
Kyle Poirier has served as Attitash’s lift operations manager for 22 years.
“I take a lot of pride in reimagining the experiences we get to provide for our staff and guests,” he says. “The hands-on projects, from building ramps and mazes, to connecting with different team members and guests from all over the world, is an incredible experience. What makes Attitash special for me is the people and a love for the outdoors.”
Nate Waterhouse, senior manager of skier services at Attitash and Wildcat, who has spent 28 years at the mountain, started by teaching children’s programs.
“My favorite part of teaching is helping people reach a goal and sharing my love for the sport. We get the opportunity to give someone a sport that they can enjoy for the rest of their life,” Waterhouse says. “I have made a lot of connections with staff and customers over the years. It’s cool to see the families grow and new generations coming through to learn to ski or ride.”
Attitash has prospered through economic and seasonal changes over the years, Waterhouse says.
“I have seen the mountain go through ups and downs of business and tough winters, but the people that I have had the chance to work with are what make it a special place,” he says. “New lifts, better snowmaking technology, and other improvements are fun and exciting, but without those people it wouldn’t be the same.”
Lifelong skier Moira McCarthy has been skiing at Attitash since she was 12, back in 1972. McCarthy and her friends, armed with their five-mountain “All Valley” ski passes, grew up on the slopes of the mountain.
“While I was a regular at Tyrol, I remember growing up as an Attitash skier as well, with my mom or another friend’s mom dropping us off and picking us up for ski days there. Once we were legal, we knew Après ski, particularly in the spring, meant the deck at the base of Attitash,” McCarthy says. “To this day, it’s the same fun, casual, friendly vibe. My local friends knew the nooks and crannies of Attitash, and we
would often pop out of trees in spots that …. surprised other skiers out there.”
Celebrating the 60th
In celebration of Attitash’s diamond jubilee, visitors have a season full of mountain updates and events to look forward to.
“The first thing guests will notice is, we revamped our Attitash base area lodges. These spaces are sporting a fresh and modern look,” Swartz says. “Back by popular demand, we are welcoming back the legendary all-natural Hunky Dory trail, a signature run on Attitash peak, as well as the return of Attitash After Dark, which
will feature live music and vibrant après scene in the pubs and around the Bear Peak Firepit.”
Along with a rotating schedule of weekly events, and the return of beloved classic events (like Women’s Weekend and the community Attitash Race League) Attitash’s main anniversary event, the 60th Birthday Bash, will be held from Jan. 25-26.
There will even be “limited edition 60th anniversary gear, like T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, mugs and more,” Swartz says. “Every detail has been carefully planned with one goal in mind: to make this celebration as unforgettable as the last 60 years.” NH
Snapshots of the early days of Attitash, including the monorail, going back 60 years.
The Design Awards returns to The Venues at the Factory in Manchester for the home design event of the year! Save the Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025 2O25
22 AWARD CATEGORIES. Whether you’ve designed or built a spectacular kitchen, a beautiful bath, a unique outdoor space or a fabulous home, we want to see your most impressive work from the past year. For up-to-date event details and a complete list of award categories, judging criteria and the submission process, visit nhhomemagazine.com/design-awards
"Hammy," a mixed breed chicken that was born in Temple, struts his stuff. New Hampshire author Sy Montgomery shares fascinating facts about these backyard birds in her new book, "What the Chicken Knows."
Cracking the Code
Granite State author Sy Montgomery reveals the hidden world of chickens in her new book, ‘What the Chicken Knows’
BY EMILY REILY
/
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIANNE STROMBECK
New Hampshire author Sy Montgomery has traveled the world to write about the wonders of the animals she meets, like hummingbirds and hawks.
In her new book, “What the Chicken Knows,” Montgomery shares some surprising discoveries about chickens: They’re smart, have good memories and look out for one another.
Montgomery spoke with New Hampshire Magazine recently about the busy, bustling world of chickens, her previous flock of “ladies,” and how we’re more like feathered fowl than we think.
NHM: Why did you decide to write a book about chickens now?
Sy Montgomery: During the pandemic, people got chickens — a lot. And some people, when the pandemic ended, just dumped their chickens in the woods or dumped their roosters in the woods. And I worry about those birds — it was time to do another bird book on chickens.
I think chickens may be having a renaissance. COVID was a horrible thing. But even that had some gifts, and among them was introducing a lot of people to chickens. Everyone was at home, and so many social events disappeared. People got pets, people got chickens for the eggs a lot of times, and then fell in love with the creatures more than they did with the eggs.
NHM: I enjoyed reading this book. How often do you get a book to read just about chickens, where it's not a scientific book?
Montgomery: Or a book about how to raise chickens and slaughter them, or how to use chickens for your life. Instead, this is a book about how to enjoy the company of chickens and really appreciate them for who they are, not just what they can give us in terms of eggs or meat.
NHM: It does seem like people automatically say: What can the chicken give me?
Montgomery: I think sometimes society makes us look at our relationships with others in a transactional way. I've written 38 books about animals, and one of the questions I often get is: What is this animal good for? And I’m always flabbergasted by that question. They are for the same thing we are for: loving this life, enjoying this life, hopefully adding some beauty and drama to this life. But animals exist for their own sake, not for our sake, but because we’re all part of the natural world, we do all need each other.
NHM: Where did chickens get this reputation for being transactional?
Montgomery: They come from jungle fowl who live in Asia. I've seen them in the wild, and they look just like the guy on the Kellogg's cornflakes old cereal box. They look like Mr. Cock-a-doodle-doo, but they've been domesticated for a very long time. We have so many different chicken breeds, you would never guess that they are all the same species.
Not everyone can even recognize a robin, not everyone can even recognize a crow, but everyone can recognize a chicken. And we think we know them, but we don't, yet they are just full of exciting information that teach us: The world is so alive and so varied and just gobsmackingly smart in ways that we often don’t know. And when we find these evidences of memory and intelligence and emotion in places we don’t expect them, I think it just fills us with awe and gratitude, and those are the things that humans want desperately these days. They’re essential for happiness, and chickens can give us so much happiness as living individuals, as opposed to something floating around in your bowl or on your plate.
NHM: (People) think chickens are just walking around, pecking, and that's it, right?
Montgomery: Right. And it’s so not true. Just like anything else: Attention pays. If you spend time watching and getting to know them, they’re going to reveal themselves to you. They’re all different, just like we are. They have very distinctive personalities, and they also have a flock culture, which became very evident to me when we got a new tenant who came with her own flock. And her flock was totally different from my flock. My flock was: They were ladies, they were polite, they were gentle, they were not drama queens. They didn’t fight with each other. There wasn’t a lot of pecking. Hers?
They were all very distinctive, interesting personalities, and some of them made up games to play with her.
Chickens have voices, and they say a lot of different things. Like people, they have their own kind of chicken language, and we understand some of it: There’s a predator very far away that you should just be alert to, versus, there’s an aerial predator coming fast nearby, versus, there’s some decent food over here, versus, there’s really good food over here. A dog can growl and a cat can hiss. Chickens can also threaten other chickens, and they also have postures that they use to threaten other chickens. They’ll stamp. They’ll drag their wings on the
ground. They’ll fluff up to look extra big.
NHM: You found that chickens remember the exact places where they would hang out. What other talents do chickens have?
Montgomery: We’ve known for many years that birds can see ultraviolet light. Birds have terrific eyesight. They completely remember their surroundings, and they’re attached to their surroundings. When they do go to the perch or the spot that they did before, it shows you not only that they remember it, but that they care about it, and that that’s important to them. And chickens are very gifted with spatial talents. It’s amazing. They’ve done all kinds of experiments showing that the chickens can locate the center of any given place, even in the absence of landmarks. They’re very smart in ways that you can see if you pay attention.
We forget how animate our world is, how full of life and emotion and story and joy and fear. The world is so much fuller of stuff to amaze us that we don't even know, and so our job is to watch and be awed.
Chickens are so good at recognizing individual chicken faces, as well as individual human faces. And people are astonished to learn that that is the case. It is now well-documented that all birds are direct descendants from the theropod, or meat-eating dinosaurs. So the dinosaurs are not extinct. They just are flying around. They’re at your bird feeder. They’re on your Thanksgiving table.
NHM: You keep your chickens until they pass on, is that correct?
Montgomery: I always have. My hens were free to range all day, wherever they wanted, all over the 8 acres that we have. I no longer have chickens of my own, but chickens are still in my life, and as you read the book, you’ll see what happened.
NHM: You’re a vegetarian; why did you make that choice?
Montgomery: Today it’s possible to get meat from animals who are humanely raised. But back then (around 1980), unless you lived on a farm or near a farm …. there was a farm where we could get milk that we met the cows, but I never ate meat again as soon as I found out about factory farming. There is nothing more delicious than the eggs of a chicken you know personally, who's eating bugs and worms and
Sy Montgomery and her neighbor Jane Cabot get friendly with a few baby chicks. Montgomery is sharing her vast knowledge about chickens in her new book, "What the Chicken Knows." (file photo)
all the good stuff they're supposed to eat, compared to the supermarket eggs.
NHM: I’ve had eggs that came straight from a farm and you could tell the difference. Montgomery: They’ve got those bright yellow yolks, and they have real flavor to them. It’s just wonderful. And it is possible at the grocery store to get some pasture raised. It’ll say “pasture raised” on it. “Organic” means nothing as far as animal welfare. Pasture-raised means that they had regular exposure to sunshine, grass and bugs, and space to be chickens. Those are the eggs to buy. In New Hampshire, lots of people have chickens. Our little mom and pop grocery stores will carry eggs from your neighbors, and that’s terrific. I’m happy to support them, but I’m getting my
eggs from chickens I know personally. That’s the best of all.
I’m not saying that everyone has to be a vegetarian to be an ethical person at all, and I'm not dissing people who eat meat. I'm just happy with the choices I’ve made. And if anyone wants to try out some delicious vegetarian food, come on over.
NHM: Should more people in New Hampshire try to have chickens if they have the space? Montgomery: If you think you can give your chickens a good life, it’s very, very rewarding. But because these are living animals, you don’t want to rush out, take home some animals and then not be able to give them a good life. We’re lucky enough that even if we don’t have chickens ourselves, often a neighbor does. NH
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Scan for information on programs, volunteer opportunities, or to donate www.girlsincnewhampshire.org info@girlsincnewhampshire.org
Montgomery's neighbor, Ashley Naglie, calms Carlos, a mixed breed rooster, by cradling him in her arms. Naglie says her animals, including ducks and a turkey, are all her pets and have names and "different personalities."
GIRLS
A ‘Bearly’ Believable Tale
“Sarah Whitcher’s Story” inspires NH kids to read a book first published 120 years ago
BY MARSHALL HUDSON
Precocious little Emmy and her mom stopped in at our farm recently, and I asked her if she was learning to read. Emmy told me about her favorite book and said I could borrow it if I promised to bring it back.
The name of the book was “Sarah Whitcher’s Story” by Elizabeth Yates. It is an old children’s story first published in 1905 but republished in 1994. In the back of this book, I found a citation revealing that this children’s story is based on true events as taken from “The History of Warren, New Hampshire” published in 1870.
That caught my attention, and I took a road trip to Warren to borrow a copy of their town history. I also took a picture of an interesting NH historical highway marker I encountered along the way.
Chapter seven of the town history bears the title, “How Sarah Whitcher Was Lost
in The Woods” and describes the story as taking place on a beautiful Sabbath Day in June of 1783. The Whitcher family were early settlers in the emerging township of Warren. Sarah was not yet 4 years old and had three older brothers: Rueben, Joseph and John; an older sister, Betsey; and a baby brother, Henry.
That Sunday afternoon, Sarah’s parents decided to go for a walk, and Sarah asked if she could go with them. Despite her protests they told her she must stay with her siblings. The parents thought Sarah had obeyed them and remained in the care of her older brothers and sister.
The siblings thought the parents had relented and allowed Sarah to accompany them; actually, Sarah had wandered off, following after her parents but stopping to pick flowers and strawberries.
When the parents returned, they quickly
discovered Sarah was missing. The parents frantically searched the area around their cabin and sent the older boys to seek help from the distant neighbors. By nightfall the temperature was dropping, rain was falling, and nine men were searching the woods by lantern light.
The searchers burned great fires throughout the night, hoping the girl might approach the light in the darkness. They also blew horns hoping the child might follow the sound to a rescuer. Rain and darkness ended an unsuccessful search that first night, but all planned to return in the morning after the storm had passed and daylight would aid in the search for lost little Sarah.
Word spread throughout the Baker River valley, and the next morning some 20 men had assembled at daybreak to search for Sarah. They divided into groups and headed out searching towards Black Brook, Kelly Pond and Wachipauka Pond. Another group went up the Oliverian as far as the foot of Moose Hillock. All returned to the Whitcher cabin at nightfall with no news to report.
The next morning the searchers were
The book “Sarah Whitcher’s Story” by Elizabeth Yates tells the tale of a lost little girl in the woods.
Sarah Witcher, a 3-year-old gone missing in the woods of Warren for four days in 1783, described her protector as a “large, black dog.”
In 2022, first and second grade students from Dublin, N.H., applied for a N.H. historical highway marker to commemorate “Sarah Whitcher’s Story.”
joined by others from Wentworth, Rumney, Orford, Haverhill and Piermont as word of the missing child spread. With more searchers they were able look in areas not previously covered, and also retrace their steps from previous days. In the mud along Berry Brook, less than a mile from the Whitcher cabin, someone found the footprints of a child. Alarmingly, the child’s footprints were intermixed with the tracks of a black bear.
On Wednesday morning the search resumed, concentrating on the tracks that had been discovered, but at the end of the day nothing more had been found. The chances of finding her alive after a fourth night seemed hopeless, especially if she had had an encounter with a hungry or irritable bear. The searchers needed to return home to their families and were ready to give up. Distraught Mr. and Mrs. Whitcher begged them to try just one more day.
The weather was good Thursday morning, and the volunteers returned to the search even though most now believed finding Sarah alive was unlikely. A stranger named “Heath” who had walked some 20 miles from Plymouth arrived mid-day to join the search. Heath said he had dreamed the lost little girl would be found beneath a blowndown pine near a bridle path crossing the Oliverian. He also said he had dreamed the girl was guarded by a black bear… Heath and neighbor, Joseph Patch, set out to search the area envisioned in the dream.
Late Thursday afternoon as the sun was going down, Heath and Patch found Sarah beneath a pine tree in the location described in the dream. Although weak, tired and hungry, the 3-year-old girl was unharmed. Somehow she had survived four days and four nights alone in the wilderness, through inclement weather, without food, water, fire or shelter. When asked about her ordeal, little Sarah said that
she had been visited every night by a great black furry dog who curled up beside her and kept her warm. The animal guided her to berries and water and perhaps to the bridle path where she was found. There was no sign of this great black furry dog, but bear tracks were observed in the area.
Could this children’s story actually be true? It doesn’t seem to be typical bear behavior, but bears are unpredictable. Elements of the story are verifyable and documented, including the testimony of some involved in the search.
Sarah Whitcher lived to be 79 years old, had 11 children and many grandchildren who heard the story firsthand. They retold it to successive generations believing it to be a true story of their maternal ancestor. Similar folk tales of bears protecting small children also originate from Vermont, North Carolina and as far away as Iran.
In 2022, first and second grade students from Dublin, N.H., read Yates’ book and were inspired to apply for a N.H. historical highway marker in Warren. Whether Sarah Whitcher’s story is completely true, or an exaggerated legend, perhaps isn’t as important as the fact that it seems to capture the imagination and attention of learning little readers like precocious Emmy.
Now I need to return her book to her, I don’t want to get kicked out of this very exclusive book club. NH
A historical marker in Warren recalls the story of 3-year-old Sarah Witcher and her encounter with a bear.
MORE THAN JUST A GETAWAY,
COOS COUNTY
IS WHERE NATURE AND INNOVATION GROW TOGETHER
FFrom the Connecticut River to the Androscoggin, the Presidential Range to the Great North Woods, when you picture New Hampshire, you picture Coös County. Beginning with Darby Field’s first recorded ascent of Mount Washington to today, generations of visitors have found recreation and relaxation in the North Country.
But Coös is not only a forest destination with diverse activities and scenic beauty, it’s a rural community investing in its innovative local businesses while supporting its tourism and timber industries.
A DREAM DESTINATION
Following the rebound of travel after 2020, Coös County welcomes about 1.3 million visitors annually, who contribute $340 million in tourism revenue each year.
While the rugged terrain of the White Mountains and North Country Wilds offer recreational opportunities like hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, hiking, ATV and snowmachine riding, you don’t have to be an outdoor enthusiast to find something to enjoy.
Generations of families celebrate Christmas year-round at Santa’s Village in Jefferson. Accommodations range from luxury hotels with a spa or an indoor waterpark to remote campsites, from boutique B&Bs to glamping. Locally owned restaurants cater to every palate from American cuisine to international flavors.
Corrine Rober and her husband, Steve Baillargeon, are among those investing in Coös County’s tourism industry. They originally had a vacation home in Colebrook, where Steve is from, but then decided to make it their yearround home.
“We would come up here and just get away from the hustle and bustle of North Conway,”
Rober says. “When we were thinking of moving here full time, we knew that we needed to have another business.”
In 2013, after the opening of Ride the Wilds in Colebrook, the couple launched Bear Rock Adventures, renting ATVs out of the barn of their home.
“Each year it just grew in some capacity, it kind of doubled its business each year,” Rober says. “After two years of running both places, we were able to sell the restaurant and move here full time.”
That venture is now a hospitality empire with camping and lodging opportunities, ATV and snowmobile rentals, and an outdoor adventure store.
“As we grew, one of the bigger reasons that we needed to add more pieces was to maintain good employees,” Rober says. “It’s pretty difficult with a seasonal business to keep the quality of employees that you want.”
By partnering with Polaris Adventures, Bear Rock was first able to expand their ATV rentals,
then move into snowmachine rentals, allowing them to be open on a more year-round basis. Adding lodging, retail and, most recently, e-commerce, helps fill the gaps between seasons.
Coming from a background in North Conway’s hospitality industry, Rober knew the importance of not just marketing her business, but the region as a destination. She joined the local chamber of commerce and worked with other businesses to pool resources for a co-op type of marketing, with funds matched by the state.
“That way, we could be more recognized as a tourist destination, particularly now that we had the ATV trails,” Rober says. “The hiking around here is phenomenal because you could literally just walk on the gravel roads and hardly see any cars. The remoteness and accessibility to trails is really something. So, our community is not just trails for motorized sports, but trails for really any sort of activity.”
But challenges remain, especially when the tourism opportunities in the county are heavily weather-dependent.
— Corrine Rober “ “
THE REMOTENESS AND ACCESSIBILITY TO TRAILS IS REALLY SOMETHING.
“The challenges that may need to be considered up here are not typically what you would experience in other parts of the state. We’re super reliant on weather,” Rober says. Ski areas may be able to make snow, but that’s not the case for snowmachine trails.
“Some of the things that impact our area may seem minuscule to people in the other parts of the state, but are really impactful to the businesses, like the length of time that our trails are open, what time the trails are closed in the evening, and things like that,” she says.
Currently, a NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNRC) rule ends the OHRV season on 11 miles of Connecticut Lakes Headwaters trails on Sept. 30. This effectively cuts off the Pittsburg trail system with the Great North Woods trails in Colebrook and beyond, which remain open through Columbus Day. Local business owners, including Rober, say having those extra two weeks of trail access during peak foliage would be an economic benefit. Previously, the DNCR ruled that the closure allows other recreationists, like hunters, to better use the area.
SHAPING THE FOREST
While the natural resources of Coös County include public property, like the federally owned White Mountain National Forest, about 70% of the land is privately owned. Meaning, that trails and logging areas are largely under the control of landowners who permit their use.
Volunteers are the force that maintains the majority of the trail system on private land. lan Statesman and conservationist John Weeks, a Lancaster native, saw the value that the forests provided. His work spurred the birth of the national forest system. Forest management practices that balanced economic, ecological and recreational opportunities, many of which are still used today, are also a result of his efforts.
Timber is one of the oldest industries in Coös County. Even the name Coös comes from the Abenaki language, “the pine tree place.” The sole city in the county, Berlin, is called “the city that trees built.”
The forest products industry contributes $1.6 billion to the state economy, according to the NH Timberland Owners Association, with Coös County a key player with 20% of the state’s land area. Forest products jobs employ more than 7,200 people, and with multiplier effects, support over 12,800 jobs and generate $2.5 billion in economic output.
Steve Halle, operations manager of Milan Lumber, has worked for the company for 26 years. The company is one of four mills owned by the Carrier Group. It produces 70 million board feet of lumber annually.
Over his career, Halle says he’s seen the exponential impact that logging jobs have on the
regional economy.
“New Hampshire’s employment multiplier for forest-product manufacturing industries is 3.3, which means that every 100 jobs in the industry supports an additional 230 jobs upstream in the local economy,” according to the Coös County Commissioners, in a report prepared by Industrial Economics Inc. That means the 55 employees at Milan Lumber help create about 181 more jobs in construction and manufacturing.
from Lincoln, selling locally manufactured apparel made from sustainable materials.
Beyond the direct economic impact, logging can benefit local infrastructure by maintaining bridges and roads in areas not overseen by the state or municipal government. These public ways can provide access to recreational opportunities even after timber harvest is completed in the area.
Timber taxes also make up notable portions of municipal budgets in Coös County, particularly in the unincorporated places governed by the county — of which Coös has 23 of the state’s 25 total.
Among the challenges facing the timber and secondary industries is the increasing fractionalization of logging tracts, Halle says. With more private landowners to deal with, and smaller tracts, it’s been more challenging for the mill to procure timber for lumber products.
Two years ago, Aurora Sustainable Lands brought the largest private-owned tract of land in the county, the 146,000-acre Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Forest. That property provided 20% of the inventory to Milan Lumber, Halle says. Aurora intends to reduce timber harvesting on the property for carbon offset credits.
But for Halle, that means burning more fossil fuels to truck timber from farther away in New York and Canada.
COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS
Beginning in the mid-1800s through the end of the 1900s, Coös County relied on its rivers to power mills producing paper, cotton textiles and more. It saw the invention of Tupperware, the Parker J. Noyes pill-coating machines and the paper towel dispenser. It was a period of growth and innovation.
The turn of the century has seen investments in new industries.
In the 1960s, Dolores and Emilien Labonville introduced safety clothing to its logging team. Today, Labonville produces quality American-made clothing for both work and recreational use in Berlin. More recently, Burgeon Outdoor has expanded to Berlin
Capone Iron Corp. built a modern, 55,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art structural steel and miscellaneous metals fabrication facility in Berlin. Just up the road, North Country Growers has built 8 acres of greenhouses for hydroponic greens.
Repurposing a former grist mill in Littleton, Schilling Beer Co. is producing progressive European-inspired beers.
PrepCo Medical in Colebrook produces thermoplastic material medical supplies like catheters.
Q Hydrogen is working on improving clean energy sources through hydrogen.
These companies and others are taking advantage of what Coös County offers: strong community support, natural resources and beauty, and international trade access with Canada. They often receive support from organizations like the Coös Economic Development Corporation, which provides financing, workforce development and incentives.
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS
While residents are working hard to maintain its vibrant culture and build its historic and new industries for future generations, Coös County needs outside support, too.
For travelers who love to visit the North Country, continue to patronize locally owned businesses to sustain the economy and invest in its cultural heritage.
Engage in community activities and learn about local issues impacting your favorite destination. Then, contact your state representatives to help amplify local advocacy on policies — big or “minuscule” — that Coös County needs to ensure rural communities won’t be threatened by urban policy decisions. Take a stand with Coös County residents to safeguard the diverse industries and cultural heritage that make the area so special to live and visit.
2025
SCHOOL GUIDE
FINDING THE BEST EDUCATION FOR YOUR CHILD
So, you’re considering an independent school for your child. Good call.
Now more than ever, it’s essential that students be prepared for change, equipped for lifelong learning and eager to embrace the challenges of life. They need a sense of independence that is guided by the experience of mentors and guarded by a great institution of learning.
Ask parents why they chose an independent school for their children and the list of reasons is long: great teachers, smaller classes, more personal attention, a welcoming atmosphere, and the chance to explore new opportunities both in and out of the classroom.
Independent schools are where many of our best academic professionals can be found, and, after all, how successful or well prepared could any of us be without the right teachers and advisors to show us the proverbial path? These men and women are there not simply to teach the correct answers but to impart the ability to ask the right questions. Talented educators and academic professionals provide the tools we need — parents and children alike — to make wise choices for ourselves.
BINDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
efore you can find the right place for your child, it’s important to understand what an independent school is. Though types of schools vary, the basic principle applies to each: “They are a particular kind of nonprofit private school, distinguished by having a free-standing board of trustees that is solely responsible for the school and by being independently funded, primarily by tuition.”
This is the definition supplied by the Association of Independent Schools in New England, a helpful resource for prospective students and their families.
With more than 2,000 independent private schools throughout the country, ranging from pre-K through high school, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choice. Within the New England Association of Schools alone, there are a number of options, from small elementary schools to large boarding schools. So how to find the right one?
Before you begin your research, you and your family should create two lists. First, write down the particular features you want for your child, and then outline your child’s specific needs and interests. From there, request a copy of each school’s mission statement — all schools affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools in New England have such a statement. Finally, the following list can help you identify important questions you might want to consider before choosing a school.
PROGRAM OF THE SCHOOL
■ Does the school’s program suit your child’s academic needs?
■ Does the academic program have the breadth and depth to challenge the range of students admitted?
■ How are the most able students challenged?
■ What is unique about the academic program?
■ If this is a denominational school, how is that reflected in the program?
■ What does the school offer in co-curricular areas such as athletics, dramatics and community activities?
■ Does the overall program of the school include learning experiences of residential life (when applicable)?
■ Are there programs for exceptional children? Learning-disabled children? Those with physical or emotional handicaps?
STUDENTS
■ What kind of students does the school seek?
■ Is a student profile available, including racial and ethnic characteristics, percentage of students receiving financial aid and
geographical distribution (especially for residential schools)?
■ If the school has a denominational affiliation, what percentage of students are from that denomination? What other denominations are represented?
■ Are there examples of students participating in school-sponsored volunteer community projects?
■ Where do students go following graduation or completion of the program? How does the school stay in touch with them?
PARENTS
■ What degree of involvement is expected of parents in school activities and other supporting roles? Involvement with sports? Academic support? Advising? Participation in clubs or functions?
QUALITY OF LIFE
■ Is the atmosphere that of a “tight ship” or is it informal?
■ If this is a residential school, then what is residential life like?
■ Are students required to participate in some form of organized athletics? Dramatic projections? Other school-wide activities?
■ What is the student attrition rate? What are the reasons?
■ What is the school’s policy on substance abuse? Alcohol use? Smoking?
■ What types of infractions are considered serious, and what disciplinary procedures are used?
■ How do the personal and educational guidance and advisory systems work?
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
■ What is the typical class size, particularly in English, foreign languages, mathematics and science?
■ What is the individual teacher load, including numbers of students as well as preparation and other duties?
■ In what professional organizations do individual faculty members participate?
PHYSICAL PLANT
■ Is the physical plant — including classrooms, library, laboratories and physical education facilities — adequate for and compatible with the mission of the school?
■ Is the plant well maintained, and does it show signs of people caring about the physical environment? (Include dorms and individual rooms if this is a residential school.)
■ Is the food service area clean, and are certificates of appropriate health and sanitary inspections displayed?
FINANCIAL BASE
■ What is the annual tuition?
■ What percentage of the per-student operating cost of the school does the tuition meet?
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS AND RESOURCES
■ If tuition doesn’t meet all costs, how is the balance made up?
■ What is the school’s tuition refund policy?
■ Is there a tuition insurance plan?
■ What is the amount and purpose of the endowment?
■ Does the school have an annual giving program?
■ In the operating budget, what are the percentages and categories of expenses? (This may indicate some school priorities.)
■ For what purposes are annual funds requested and expended?
GOVERNANCE/ADMINISTRATION
■ Is the school separately incorporated, nonprofit, proprietary, a member of a school system such as a diocesan system or affiliated with a parish or parishes?
■ Who establishes policy for the school?
■ Who is the chief administrative officer of the school? What is his or her background and experience? How long has she or he been at this school?
■ With what education-oriented associations is the school affiliated?
■ By whom is the school accredited?
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS IN NH
The NAIS Private School Review provides free, detailed profiles of USA private day schools and their surrounding communities. privateschoolreview.com/ new-hampshire
NH FIRST LEGO LEAGUE
Introducing young people, ages 9 to 14, to the fun and excitement of science and technology.
603- 666-3907 • firstlegoleague.org
ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS IN NEW ENGLAND (AISNE)
With an ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion, AISNE shapes the educational landscape for independent schools through leadership, education, service and strategic advocacy. 617-329-1483 • aisne.org
NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
A voluntary membership organization of public and independent schools and colleges with a mission of assessing and promoting the quality of education through the accreditation of its members.
781-425-7700 • neasc.org
YOUNG INVENTORS’ PROGRAM
The Young Inventors’ Program inspires the next generation of STEM leaders by fueling excitement for innovation. The Academy’s mission is to fuel the spark of genius by exciting today’s youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
603-862-3401 • fuelthespark.org
Frequently Asked
Are all independent schools the same?
Within the Association of Independent Schools in New England membership, there is an extraordinary range of schools, from small elementary schools to big boarding schools, and everything in-between. While most schools are coed, a number are singlesex. Many schools have a particular religious affiliation or follow a particular educational philosophy. Some schools define themselves as traditional in their approach; others see themselves as progressive. There is much more variety within the world of independent schools than there is in public schools, because public schools must all follow the same standards and prepare for the same standardized tests.
What does it mean to be accredited?
An AISNE-accredited school has undergone a rigorous and thorough process that includes the creation of a self-study document that describes current practice and establishes a set of priorities for future action in all areas of the school, such as curriculum, staffing, admissions, finance, governance, health and safety. After completing the self-study, the school hosts a team of teachers and administrators from other independent schools who visit the school for three days and prepare a comprehensive report that includes both commendations and recommendations for future action. Schools are expected to address the recommendations over the next few years. There are interim reports and an interim visit scheduled during the 10-year cycle to monitor progress.
What’s involved in applying to an independent school?
There are a number of steps to follow, including doing your homework to pick the schools that will be a good match, visiting the schools, filling out an application, filling out financial aid forms, arranging for any required testing, and arranging to have your current school send records and evaluations. Remember that the admission professionals at our schools are there to help you every step of the way.
How diverse are independent schools?
AISNE member schools report an average of 18% students of color and an average of 25% of students receiving financial aid. Few suburban public schools could claim to be as racially and socioeconomically diverse. So the independent school down the street may well be more reflective of the diversity of the “real world” than your public school.
What does parent involvement look like?
You will be treated as a full partner in the education of your child. That means regular communication via different media, early notification whenever there is a concern, face-to-face meetings with teachers and administrators as needed, and an acknowledgment that you know more about your child than anyone else. Independent schools want you to be active participants in the community, to actively engage in the life of the school. Every school will have a wealth of volunteer opportunities, from chaperoning to fundraising to helping the school get greener. You will always be welcome at school.
What’s the importance of class size?
Many of our independent schools have low student-teacher ratios. This is designed because having fewer students allows the teachers to: 1) get to know each student in depth; 2) be able to closely monitor the student’s progress; and 3) have the time to help when a student has difficulty.
Do you have to have a low income to receive financial aid? Do schools have much financial aid to give out?
“No” and “It depends.” Financial aid is based on your need, and many families with above-average family incomes are surprised to find that they do qualify for some support. The amount of available aid varies from school to school. The average AISNE school provides financial aid to 25% of its families and the average grant is about $20,000 — note that this includes boarding schools with higher costs. If you know that you will need financial aid, be sure to ask about it when you visit schools.
Source: Association of Independent Schools in New England – aisne.org
QESTIONS
Bridging the Gap
Williams Bridge Academy offers a comprehensive, coeducational school experience, grades three to 12, providing tutorials in the basic skills of literacy and mathematics, while facilitating higher order thinking skills through our theme-based content area instruction. We provide pragmatic language instruction within a meaningful social context. Adventurebased learning — designed to improve communication, increase a sense of community and build leadership qualities for success — is an integral part of our program. WBA is approved to grant diplomas upon completion.
Customized Online Learning
The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) offers a customized online learning experience for students in grades K-12 and adults. Whether your student wants to take one or more courses or make VLACS their official school as a full-time student, VLACS’ flexible programs are designed to fit your family’s needs.
With over 400 courses, including core subjects, electives, and career exploration opportunities, VLACS helps students:
• Create a schedule and calendar that meets their needs.
• Master tough subjects with extra support and extended time. Earn credits to graduate on time.
• Accelerate their learning or take advanced courses.
• Explore careers or prepare to enter the workforce after high school.
At VLACS, students learn at their own pace with one-on-one support from certified teachers — all from the comfort of home or wherever they are.
Tuition is free for New Hampshire K-12 students.
Attend a virtual open house to learn more about VLACS!
Rye, NH • (603) 964-4903
www.williamsbridgeacademy.org
TheVirtualLearningAcademyCharterSchool(VLACS)offersacustomizedonlinelearning experienceforstudentsingradesK-12andadults. Whetheryourstudentwantstotakeoneor
morecoursesormakeVLACStheirofficialschoolasafull-timestudent,VLACS’flexible programsaredesignedtofityourfamily’sneeds.
(603) 778-2500 information@vlacs.org www.vlacs.org
Academy of Notre DameTyngsboro
Take a tour or shadow for a day and see if the Academy is right for you.
• Rigorous academics
• Small class sizes
• Personalized attention
• Students receive over 100 hours of college & career counseling
50% of graduates pursue college degrees in STEM
Tyngsboro, MA (978) 649-7611 ext. 351 www.ndatyngsboro.org/admissions
Fostering the Absorbent Mind
Newport Montessori School is now accepting 2025-2026 enrollment applications for the following grade levels and classrooms: junior classroom (sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students), upper elementary (third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students), lower elementary (first- and secondgrade students) and primary classrooms (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten). The Newport Montessori School is located at 96 Pine St., Newport, New Hampshire. For more information about NMS or to request an enrollment packet, please call us.
Newport, NH 603-863-2243
www.newportmontessori.org
Educating Infants Through Grade Nine
Shaker Road School (SRS) is a family focused community dedicated to developing the whole child. Combining an academically rigorous curriculum with specialized programs to foster self-worth and respect for others, we prepare each child to contribute positively to a rapidly changing world. SRS resides on a 63-acre campus and offers an extensive athletics program, fine and performing arts instruction, and diverse travel opportunies.
Concord, NH 03301 • (603) 224-0161
(see our profile on page... A)
Academy of Notre Dame - Tyngsboro p Day Pre-K to 12 Coed
180 Middlesex Rd., Tyngsboro, MA 01879 ndatyngsboro.org • (978) 649-7611
The Beech Hill School Day 5-8 Coed
20 Beech Hill Rd., Hopkinton, NH 03229 thebeechhillschool.org • (603) 715-5129
Bishop Guertin High School Day 9-12 Coed
194 Lund Rd., Nashua, NH 03060 bghs.org • (603) 889-4107
Brewster Academy
80 Academy Dr., Wolfeboro, NH 03894
brewsteracademy.org • (603) 569-1600
Boarding 9-12 Coed
Cardigan Mountain School Boarding/Day 6-9
62 Alumni Dr., Canaan, NH 03741 cardigan.org • (603) 523-4321
Crossroads Academy Day K-8
95 Dartmouth College Hwy., Lyme, NH 03768 crossroadsacademy.org • (603) 795-3111
The Derryfield School Day 6-12 Coed
2108 River Rd., Manchester, NH 03104
Dublin School
derryfield.org • (603) 669-4524
18 Lehmann Way, Dublin, NH 03444 dublinschool.org • (603) 563-8584
Hampshire Country School
Boarding/Day 9-12 Coed
Boarding 3-12 Male 28 Patey Circle, Rindge, NH 03461
hampshirecountryschool.org • (603) 899-3325
Heronfield Academy Day 6-8 Coed
356 Exeter Rd., Hampton Falls, NH 03844 heronfield.org • (603) 772-1336
High Mowing School
Boarding/Day 9-12
Coed
Pine Hill Campus Day Pre-K-8 Coed
222 Isaac Frye Hwy., Wilton, NH 03086 highmowing.org • (603) 654-2391
Holderness School Boarding 9-12 Coed
33 Chapel Ln., Holderness, NH 03245 holderness.org • (603) 536-1257
Kimball Union Academy Boarding 9-Post Graduate Coed
7 Campus Center Dr., Meriden, NH 03770 kua.org • (603) 469-2000
New Hampton School
70 Main St., New Hampton, NH 03256 newhampton.org • (603) 677-3400
Boarding 9-Post Graduate Coed
Newport Montessori School q Day 1-8 Coed
96 Pine St., Newport, NH 03773 newportmontessori.org • (603) 863-2243
North End Montessori School Day K-4 Coed
698 Beech St., Manchester, NH 03104 nor thendmontessori.com • (603) 621-9011
The Oliverian School
28 Becket Dr., Pike, NH 03780 oliverianschool.org • (888) 922-5565
Phillips Exeter Academy
20 Main St., Exeter, NH 03833 exeter.edu • (603) 772-4311
Boarding 9-12 Coed
Boarding/Day 9-Post Graduate Coed
Pinkerton Academy Day 9-12 Coed
5 Pinkerton St., Derry, NH 03038 pinkertonacademy.org • (603) 437-5200
Proctor Academy
204 Main St., Andover, NH 03216 proctornet.com • (603) 735-6000
Boarding/Day 9-12
Shaker Road School r Day 1-9
131 Shaker Rd., Concord, NH 03301 shakerroadschool.org • (603) 224-0161
Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies r Day 9-12
Coed
Coed
Coed 1066 Front St. #300, Manchester, NH 03102 sparkacademynh.org • (603) 945-9151
St. Paul’s School Boarding 9-12 Coed 325 Pleasant St., Concord, NH 03301 sps.edu • (603) 229-4600
Tilton School
30 School St., Tilton, NH 03276 tiltonschool.org • (603) 286-4342
Waterville Valley Academy
Boarding 9-Post Graduate Coed
Boarding 6-12 Coed PO Box 186, Waterville Valley, NH 03215 wvbbts.org • (603) 236-4811
The White Mountain School
Boarding/Day 9-Post Graduate Coed 371 West Farm Rd., Bethlehem, NH 03574 whitemountain.org • (603) 444-0513
Williams Bridge Academy o Day 3-12 Coed 1247 Washington Rd. #3, Rye, NH 03870 williamsbridgeacademy.org • (603) 964-4903
Wolfeboro Camp School Summer 6-12
Boarding/Day 6 weeks-8 Coed
Coed 93 Camp School Rd., Wolfeboro, NH 03894 wolfeboro.org • (603) 569-3451
World Academy Day K-8 Coed
138 Spit Brook Rd., Nashua, NH 03062 worldacademynh.com • (603) 888-1982
ROBERT C. KUEPPER, DDS
oral & max ill ofacial su rgery
THE WISDOM TEETH & DENTAL IMPLANT EXPERTS
THE TWILIGHT OF BOBHOUSES ON WINNIPESAUKEE MAY HAVE ARRIVED BY JOHN
BY ADAM
PERRI
KOZIOL / PHOTOGRAPHY
A view of Lake Winnipesaukee from 19 Mile Bay during the Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby on Feb. 11, 2024. The temperature surpassed 60 degrees and gave some anglers second thoughts about loading in their bobhouses.
lthough at 22 he’s arguably a little young to fully appreciate the sentiment, ice fisherman Vincent Zuccaro is nostalgic for the days of good, thick ice on Lake Winnipesaukee — days he knows might not soon return.
A plumber from Townsend, Mass., whose family has a vacation home in Tuftonboro, Zuccaro has been ice fishing back home since he was 10. Since he was 17, he has participated in the Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby, the quintessential event of its kind on the Big Lake.
In the seven years leading up to the 2024 Derby, he has noticed that the amount of full-size bobhouses has decreased as “ ‘ice in’ came later and later.” Zuccaro has also observed a corresponding increase in the number of “pop-up” fishing shelters.
“I definitely remember a time on the lake when the ice was thick, and I used to be able to take an ATV out onto 15 to 16 inches of ice (in 19 Mile Bay), and it would get thicker in the middle,” he said.
Zuccaro likes to think he can get his bobhouse back onto Lake Winnipesaukee again in the future: “But I don’t have super high hopes with the way the lake has been freezing and the way the temperature” keeps going up.
Zuccaro is not alone in feeling the way he does.
In the Lakes Region, the warming winter weather has played havoc with traditional events, like the derby, which this year is scheduled for February 8 -9, and is preceded by the New England Pond Hockey Classic, January 31-February 2.
In the last two years, both the Pond Hockey Classic and fishing derby have taken place, but the action was not where it had been, on Meredith Bay, on the upper reaches of Lake Winnipesaukee. Because Meredith Bay was not properly frozen in, the Pond Hockey Classic in 2024, again, was relocated to Lake Waukewan.
While derby headquarters remained in Hesky Park, on the western shore of Meredith Bay, the bay itself was mostly devoid of ice fishermen, and entirely devoid of bobhouses.
In the not-so-distant past, bobhouses — and the pickup trucks and ATVs that pulled them on and off the ice — filled Meredith Bay, not just for the derby, but for much of the winter. It was not uncommon to not be able to see across Meredith Bay because it was literally filled with ice-fishing
men and women and their equipment.
During the 2024 ice fishing derby, bobhouses on Lake Winnipesaukee were scarce. Among the few places they could be found was on 19 Mile Bay in Tuftonboro.
Eric Kelsey, Ph.D., a research assistant professor in meteorology at Plymouth State University, said New Hampshire is locked into a pattern of generally warmer weather for the next several decades, which means the days of traditional ice-related winter activities are numbered.
“As the climate continues to warm, there will be fewer and fewer days when there will be thick enough ice for people to safely walk on to it,” said Kelsey, let alone support the weights of a bobhouse — which empty can weigh the better part of a ton — and of the vehicles that position the bobhouses on the ice.
Eventually, said Kelsey, “It will come to a point where we will have winters where the ice in many of the ponds and lakes that traditionally had ice thick enough for vehicles will not get it,” adding there are weather projections that say that may occur “some time this century.”
Regardless, he said, there will probably always be ice fishing in New Hampshire because fishermen can take their bobhouses to smaller ponds or lakes, including to those in the Great North Woods of Coos County.
According to Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby rules, “All fish must be legally and freshly caught from any fresh New Hampshire public waters,” and must be taken “through the ice on Saturday or Sunday of Derby Weekend.”
In the 2024 derby, the winning pickerel was caught on Lake Francis in Pittsburg, while the biggest lake trout came from Diamond Pond, in Coleman State Park in Stewartstown.
The go-north option “is only going to last for a limited amount of time,” said Kelsey, “and at some point, even into southern Canada, they will see very fewer days” of being able to safely drive onto a seemingly frozen lake to drop off a bobhouse.
Ice conditions on Lake Winnipesaukee are already unpredictable. And on Feb. 11, 2017, they were fatal to three snowmobilers.
Two riders, on their way to the fishing derby’s headquarters, encountered open water between Long Island and Sandy Island. The third crashed through thin ice in The Broads on his way to Alton Bay.
Cassandra
More recently, during the winter of 2023-24, which was the warmest on record in New Hampshire, one of the latest “ice-in” declarations on Lake Winnipesaukee was made on Feb. 9, and was followed on March 17 by the earliest-ever “ice-out” declaration.
“Ice-out” is the term when the M/S Mount Washington cruise ship can safely make her way to each of her five ports.
Kelsey said “ice out” has been arriving sooner while the harvesting of ice from Squam Lake for use in ice boxes at the Rockywold Deephaven Camps in Holderness has been coming later.
When asked about a possible halt or reversal of the warming-winter trend, Kelsey was unequivocal that he doesn’t foresee either.
Clockwise from above left:
Left to right: Brothers Keith, Adam and Jim McCarthy enjoy some laughs at their bobhouse on Lake Waukewan at the 2024 Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby.
Dussault and Vincent Zuccaro fish comfortably in their ice shelter on 19 Mile Bay.
John McNamara on 19 Mile Bay, start early on Sunday at the derby.
“The warming trend will continue, and there is already some warming locked into the system,” he said, explaining that even “if we stop polluting or adding greenhouse gases, we would still see 20 to 30 years of warming,” with a concurrent “shrinking” of the days of on-ice activities.
There is a silver lining, however, in that “the human species is quite adaptable, and a lot of people will find a lot of things to do in winter” that don’t rely on snow or ice, Kelsey said.
Bob King, 68, of Ashburnham, Mass., who has done a lot of ice fishing in his life, was among the group of ice fishermen who set up bobhouses in 19 Mile Bay during the 2024 Derby.
An operations manager for an inventorycontrol company, King has participated in the derby since the late 1980s.
“The ice was so thick back then that you
could drive your vehicle on it,” he said, recalling that he and his son, John, gradually built a bobhouse with ornate flourishes while rooted in the basics of providing shelter from the elements.
“We had heat, we had a small refrigerator there and we have a table that has a glass top, and underneath it are pictures from when my son was a little kid to the present,” King said. “It’s really cool to see it.”
King remembers that 15 to 20 years ago, “the place to be was in Meredith Bay. There were concession stands, and you could get and see everybody and everything.”
While he plans to keep attending the derby for as long as possible, King is also eyeing the possibility of going farther north to participate in it in his bobhouse, which, when the Derby was offering such prizes, won awards for best-constructed bobhouse and best interior and best exterior.
Bill Ahern stand in front of his handmade bobhouse on 19 Mile Bay.
Herman McGee Jr. chats with photographer Adam Perri on the ice at 19 Mile Bay.
Left to right: Chris Lanouette and John McNamara prepare for a day of ice fishing.
Clockwise, from bottom left:
John King play cornhole with friends and family on Lake Waukewan during the 2024 Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby.
“It’s a really comfortable bobhouse, and when the door is closed, you don’t even feel like you’re on the ice,” said King, who has seen fewer young people take up ice fishing and realizes that as time goes by, he is “part of something that is slowly passing away.”
John McNamara, 60, of the Melvin Village section of Tuftonboro, who owns a landscaping/construction and property-watch business, said he got his first bobhouse from a customer and now has three.
A participant in the derby since moving to New Hampshire from the Finger Lakes region of New York State a quarter-century ago, McNamara said 19 Mile Bay is a good place to put a bobhouse because it is “a very protected cove from the wind” that allows the ice to get thick in that area.
He remembers years when he put his bobhouse out before Christmas and even driving from 19 Mile Bay to derby headquarters and back in his Volvo station wagon.
He agreed that getting a stick-built bobhouse onto the ice “is a big production,” echoing King, that as much as a bobhouse is an ideal place to fish through the ice, it is also a great place to socialize in and around.
“On a nice sunny day, we’ll have 40 to 50 people out here,” he said, adding, “I’m going to be here as long as I can.” But he says he won’t take his bobhouse on the road, and if ice conditions continue to deteriorate, he might “wrap it up.”
If and when that happens, McNamara will have many positive memories to sustain him.
“There was a Labatt’s Blue bottle (bobhouse) that was really cool, and on 19 Mile Bay somebody had a four-person gondola from a local ski area,” he said. “The sunsets every year are fantastic, and when the kids were young and riding snowmobiles it was really fun.”
Although the current trend among ice fishermen is to use a pop-up tent because it is easier to set up and break down, in addition to being much lighter than a bobhouse, McNamara still has a soft spot in his heart for the latter. “If you build it, they will come,” he said.
Bill Ahern, 51, a registered nurse from Pittsfield, Mass., has come up to the derby since the 1990s. Initially, he and his friends fished on Newfound Lake “and it was a blast,” before later heading east to Lake Winnipesaukee.
He and his wife ,Brenda, a registered nurse, have fished in Meredith, Center Harbor, Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro and Alton Bay. In 2019, Ahern built his bobhouse, which he said “started off being something simple but ended up being an 8-by10-foot over-engineered monstrosity.”
“I built it with some leftover metal studs, and initially I was going to side it with plywood, but I ended up buying the T1-11 stuff and insulated it and wired it” to accommodate a generator and TV, said Ahern, turning his bobhouse “into the Taj Mahal of fishing shacks.”
Concerned about where he could park the large trailer on which he transported his bobhouse, Ahern searched a New Hampshire ice-fishing website and found McNamara, who offered to store the trailer on his property.
“We fished together that first year, and he (McNamara) has let me keep the trailer up there ever since, and he never asked for more than a case of Twisted Tea. That’s his fee for the year,” Ahern said.
Although he is an avowed winter-sports enthusiast — “I used to play hockey and ski, and I’m into ice fishing” — Ahern noted his wife is a “big runner, and it’s difficult for her to run in the winter, so we have talked about, if winter isn’t going to be winter anymore,” to move someplace else to work, which would entail getting rid of his bobhouse and two snowmobiles.
“You need good ice” to safely have a bobhouse,” he said, and “when I bring the bobhouse out I usually tow it out there with my truck. This year we had to dump it (the bobhouse) close to shore, and I brought chains in my quad-runner and we literally dragged it out.”
Herman McGee Jr., 65, a Portsmouth native who now calls Kensington home, said it’s becoming “obvious” that the winters in New Hampshire are changing, even if “you can’t put your finger on all the reasons.”
“When I was younger, it was like a city up there” on Meredith Bay, said McGee, “and you could leave a bobhouse out there for a month and return to it. Now I don’t even like to leave it overnight, and it’s sad because (ice fishing) is so much fun.”
McGee, who remembers ice fishing on Alton Bay “and painstakingly having to drill through 2 feet of ice” with a hand
Clockwise from top:
Jim Howland gets ready to cook lunch in his bobhouse kitchen, located at 19 Mile Bay.
BJ McGee hangs out on 19 Mile Bay, with one of her and Herman’s Brittany Spaniels.
Dennis Babineau, Dave Babineau, John Muir, Mike Babineau and Kevin Ashburner (back to camera) sit outside the bobhouse they rented for the derby.
auger to be able to do so, thinks fewer people in general are fishing or hunting.
He has both his bobhouse and a lighter shelter for ice fishing, but the latter is not as nice as the former, said McGee, “and I’m getting old, too. You have to be a hearty person to go out; you have to be able to withstand the cold.”
“As you get older in life, your attitude might change,” he said, “but I enjoy it (ice fishing) right now, and hopefully I won’t lose that.”
Zuccaro sees himself living in New England for the rest of his life, and he dreams of “colder days in December again, and I think that would lead into more consistent ice and the ice itself being in earlier and out later.”
But he’s realistic about that happening.
“I still remember when I was young, that even in northern Massachusetts we had snowbanks that were 8 feet tall, and now they’re not over 3 feet.”
He wants more people, especially youth, to experience the derby and ice fishing, but realizes that to ice fish himself, he might have to go farther north or maybe even west.
“I would love to take kids out ice fishing but I’m not certain that’s in the cards. I think it all depends on, and I hate to get political, the choices that we as a country make. It’s a right we all have to experience the wilderness as past generations have.” NH
Mardi Fuller leads the skin track up Mount Cranmore with a BIPOC beginner ski touring group. BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color, to show solidarity between communities of color.
n an exposed outlook adjacent to the Cog Railway, our group marveled at the Lakes of the Clouds mountain hut perched on the snow-covered ridgeline above.
While sipping from our water bottles and chomping on chilled granola bars, we began transitioning our equipment in preparation for our single ski run of the day, one that we had certainly earned from the 3-mile ascent up Mount Washington’s western-facing slope.
It was a mild Saturday in early February last year, and I had joined professional skier and The North Face athlete, Caite Zeliff for “Women of the Wild,” an all-women’s course offered during the Mt. Washington Backcountry Ski Festival, intended for female skiers and splitboarders who want to grow their backcountry skills and explore the White Mountains.
Backcountry skiing, often done with alpine touring gear, involves climbing uphill by attaching adhesive “skins” to the base of each ski. At the top of the climb, skiers remove the skins and lock their heels into place before skiing down.
In a similar fashion, snowboarders use what’s known as a splitboard, or a snowboard that literally splits in half, functioning as two skis for the climb. Before descending, the board is reassembled and the bindings are transitioned into a sideways stance.
First held in 2017, this annual backcountry festival boasts immersive experiential opportunities led by notable outdoor guides and professionals. This year's festival is scheduled for February 21-23.
Courses such as last year’s “BIPOC Beginner Ski Tour,” “Splitboarding Beginnings: Discovering the White Mountains’ Backcountry,” and “Ski Mountaineering
Unleashed” provide options for true backcountry beginners to seasoned winter enthusiasts seeking to push their boundaries.
The festival also deep-dives into creative careers in the outdoor industry with Outdoor Office, a two-day program mentored by freelance writers, photographers and videographers, giving students real-world, hands-on experiences.
In recent years, the festival has featured an athlete from top sponsor The North Face, bringing in freeskiing champion Griffin Post in 2023 and, more recently, Zeliff, whose accolades include a twotime Queen of Corbets competition title, first place at the Nendaz Freeride Qualifying Tour, and multiple video parts for household names in the ski industry, such as Warren Miller and Teton Gravity Research.
Originally from North Conway, Zeliff
Panelists from the "Your Brain on Stoke" Garrett Morrows, Allie Rood, Caite Zeliff and Blake Keogh.
learned to ski at Cranmore Mountain Resort and knew she wanted to return to her roots for an event in the ski community. Not long after some scheming with family friend Tyler Ray, a major festival facilitator (who stepped down last spring), Zeliff received a call from her team manager at The North Face asking her to be the featured athlete for the 2024 backcountry fest.
“I was psyched,” she said over coffee that morning. “This place has given me so much. The ski community has been super supportive from fundraising to help pay for ski racing when I was a kid. It’s an honor to be home.”
LOCATED IN INTERVALE just north of North Conway Village, Ledge Brewing
Company has operated as the festival’s home base, where participants meet their guides and group members first thing each morning.
As someone who has participated in the festival in years past, I knew upon arriving that we would ease into our day first with introductions, sharing a bit about our lives and our backcountry skiing experience. This would allow our guides to shape and modify the plans for the day’s adventure, depending on the overall skill level and comfort of the group.
Passing by the lengthy bar into a back room used for live music events in the evenings, I found Zeliff along with backcountry professional Allie Rood seated around a table, colorful ski jackets and
snow pants adorning the backs of chairs, and backpacks with their contents spilling out onto the floor.
I was soon joined by Hilary White, whose partner introduced her to backcountry skiing only a year prior. Although White initially had her reservations about the skill level required of participants in this course, the description stated that “skiers should be able to make controlled turns on narrow backcountry trails and glades” — she knew she had to give it a try.
“I think the coolest thing was, there were people of a lot of different levels,” White said of our group later in the day. “It felt like there was a place for everyone.”
Considering skill level, weather forecast
A participant removes the adhesive skin, or traction device, from the bottom of her ski, transitioning from uphill mode to downhill mode.
and mountain conditions, we landed on a final plan to ascend alongside the Cog Railway to Jacob’s Ladder, a long and tall trestle about two-thirds of the way up to Mount Washington’s summit. Not long after, we were off.
OUR SKIS GLIDED rhythmically against a groomed track leading to the base of the railway where we would begin our climb.
Moving at a comfortable pace, participants settled into smaller groups,
chit-chatting about all facets of life, from old injuries to relationship advice to base-layering tips and tricks.
Despite the festival being held during the second week in February, the 50-degree temps and the warming breaks of sunshine forced us to unzip vents in our jackets and remove midlayers, some of us comfortable in T-shirts alone under bib-style snow pants.
Nearing Waumbek Station at 4,000 feet, the final destination for the railway locomotives in winter, I filed in alongside Elizabeth
Burakowski, a fellow splitboarder and the only other rider in our group of skiers.
A climate scientist at the University of New Hampshire, Burakowski was first introduced to the community when she spoke about the warming winters in New England at Wild Corn, an annual spring shindig hosted by the Granite Backcountry Alliance. GBA, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing opportunities for backcountry skiing in northern New England, is a major supporter of the festival.
Above: Mild conditions at last year's festival made for an enjoyable introduction to backcountry skiing.
Right: The "Outdoor Office" team ventures outdoors and into the glades at Maple Villa, learning how to make photos and videos while backcountry skiing.
Burakowski would be addressing festival participants about climate trends in New England at the High George Jamboree later that evening, the festival’s culminating celebration. One of several featured speakers, she was scheduled to present alongside Outdoor Office director Sarah Lamagna, lifelong backcountry adventurer and racial equity advocate Mardi Fuller, and of course, Zeliff with her keynote address.
When I asked her about the future of an event such as the Mt. Washington Back-
country Ski Festival, she seemed hopeful.
“I feel like we’ve turned a corner in terms of renewable energy,” she shared, the shush of our skis background noise to our conversation. “I hope that folks see that our actions matter and that we can turn this bus around.”
At the end of our ascent, we crossed underneath the trestle to a rocky outlook overlooking Ammonoosuc Ravine and a few summits of the Presidential Range, sprawling southward. Here, we unstrapped from our equipment, settled our packs in the
snow and hopped from one rock to another, laughing and enjoying the surrounding peaks visible under high clouds.
Burakowski pointed out how the light framed the mountain hut on the ridge above, returning to the scene later as a highlight of the day. “It was one of those moments where you’re like, ‘Ya, this is winter.’ This is why I study climate and want to work to protect it.”
After refueling and a few photo opportunities, we crossed back under the trestle for the well-earned run down. We descended,
one by one, with Zeliff leading the charge, carving the edge of her skis into the snow to cut back and forth across the trail in a hypnotic and laid-back style.
The conditions were soft and forgiving, like skiing through a giant pool of mashed potatoes, and while they certainly made for a fun run, we weren’t quick to forget that those conditions were more characteristic of late March than early February.
OF ALL THE STORIES I heard that day, I found myself most inspired by Meaghan Cassily-Moody, who was returning to Mount Washington for the first time after a major injury set her back 10 years prior. In short, another skier landed on top of her while they were descending the Sherburne Ski Trail in Pinkham Notch, severing two muscles in her quad right above the knee cap.
“I love skiing, but I was terrified to go up there again,” she said at the end of our outing, notifying many of us for the first time that day of this personal achievement. “Without the support of ladies, I would not have made it up to the top.”
“I just like the support of like-minded women where there’s no judgment,”
Cassily-Moody continued. “There’s so much judgment in this world and social media creates falsities where you can't really get back to like a core self, and in nature you can. I’m just really lucky to have decided to come today.”
“It was so cool to hear everyone remarking on how great that experience was,” Rood added from the parking lot as we removed our boots and began shoving our gear into the back of the SUV. “And it all comes down to the interpersonal kind of connections we had.”
Currently a full-time videographer, Rood has started the intense training required to become a full-time ski guide.
“I think the best days for me are when I get to share the mountains with other people and see a level of empowerment that really makes every day special. Like today was just such a great example of how my cup was completely brim full being out there with everyone.”
Nodding in agreement, Zeliff shared Rood’s sentiment: “I feel like it’s so sweet, seeing people get elated by something I love so much and sharing that with somebody and being like, ‘Isn’t this the best?’ That
Saturday saw a great turnout for the BIPOC Beginner Uphill Tour led by mountaineer Mardi Fuller (second from the left).
definitely gets me psyched up, for sure.”
Back at the brewery, we stood around a high-top table, enjoying a beverage and Ledge’s made-to-order tacos (I recommend ordering the carnitas al pastor). With rosy cheeks and disheveled hair, we said cheers to a day well-spent with new friends in the mountains, elated with the challenge we’d overcome together.
ON SUNDAY MORNING, I returned to the brewery for my second and final course of the weekend: “Whispering Woods: The Ultimate White Mountain Glade Ski Experience.”
Designed for skiers and splitboarders eager to explore gladed terrain in the White Mountains, the course involved reviewing
A skier locks into place, preparing for the descent.
Skiers and riders participating in the "Women in the Wild" tour chat specifics before heading out to Mount Washington.
gear fundamentals, analyzing weather and avalanche reports, and developing skills such as safe route finding through forested terrain. An intermediate course and extensive resort experience in addition to previous backcountry experience was required of participants.
The morning was slow and casual. The previous day’s thaw had refrozen overnight, making for dicey conditions all over the Mount Washington Valley.
This group was smaller, with four participants total and two guides. Skier Jordan Cargill, owner and head guide of Mountain Shadow Adventures, and local splitboard guide Adam Freierman teamed up to led the charge on the final day of the festivities.
“I really like the community aspect of it,”
“I think the coolest thing was, there were people of a lot of different levels. It felt like there was a place for everyone.”
— Hilary White
said Cargill about guiding for the festival. In addition to Sunday’s offering, Cargill led a hidden gems tour for experienced skiers. The festival’s first introductory backcountry tour centered around the identities and experiences of BIPOC individuals. (BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color, to show solidarity between communities of color.)
“Working as a guide full-time, I find a lot of value in being a part of people’s new experiences. To help facilitate that, it’s really rewarding,” he said.
Although Freierman has lived and skied in the valley for almost a decade, he admits to shying away from the community-based aspect of backcountry skiing at times. “The festival seemed like a good way to re-engage and get some fresh perspectives on being in the mountains and sharing that with some people who bring fresh energy that I wouldn’t get otherwise.”
For our morning session, we decided to make our way over to the Doublehead Ski Trail since it had yet to be checked off any of our lists for gladed ski opportunities in the area. This popular backcountry route — approximately 3.5 miles out and back on an old Civilian Conservation Corps trail — is a straightforward ascent with a moderately steep section nearing the top.
Faced with a firm snowpack and solid moguls to manage (it had been quite some time since the most recent fresh snowfall), we made the best of it.
Cargill advised us to put our weight into our heels on steeper inclines, a move that seemed counterintuitive yet proved effective. For the most part. A few “uh ohs” sounded from the back of the pack as one or two of us slipped backward on the icy slope into a tree trunk on the side of the trail or, better yet, each other.
Despite these hiccups, we laughed it off, the positive energy of the group making it easy to push onward and upward.
DOUBLEHEAD CABIN sits at the 3,000-foot summit at the end of the trail. Around the cabin, the deep snowpack was filled with hardened post-holes likely from the previous day’s visitors. The surface was now so firm and slick, that I had to use my poles to navigate around the hut as we chatted with skiers outside of our group and meandered toward the backside of the cabin for a view of snow-capped peaks through a clearing in the pines.
Chatting with skiers Kim Giles and her partner, Jesse Stevenson, at the top, I learned that they have participated in the festival for the past two years, and first started backcountry skiing a few years before that.
“Honestly, it’s just a good way to get out and meet people, and to see new areas that we want to do ourselves,” Giles said. “We push ourselves more than I would if I was just by myself.”
Descending, we took it slowly and cautiously, side slipping on the edges of our boards and skis in the steep areas leading into sharp turns. At the bottom half, the incline mellowed and the snow softened, quieting the nervous laughs of our group members as they tackled the challenging conditions.
Although backcountry skiing can be trying, many are drawn to the sport for the satisfaction it instills.
“I never felt super fulfilled on a day at a resort,” skier Josh Deems said. “It was always just like, ‘this is cool, but it’s not exactly what I want to be doing because I really enjoy hiking and the exercise that comes with it.’ I feel like I don't get that at a ski resort the same way.”
With rising lift ticket costs and crowding at resorts, many recreationists, like Deems, have turned to human-powered skiing and snowboarding for a more meaningful experience in the mountains.
“It’s really awesome to hear everybody’s stories and hear how they like to engage with the mountains and outdoor space," Freierman said.
Pausing for a quick sip of water and taking advantage of the break in conversation, I marveled at the sunlight casting shadows off the trunks of pine and birch, the dark lines stretching across the white and glittering surface of snow, and inhaled fully before nodding to my companions that I was ready to go, initiating tired legs and leading the final stretch back to the car. NH
Stealing the PowderKing’s
Did the American Revolution Start here?
BY J. DENNIS ROBINSON
The ruins of Fort Constitution, formerly Fort William and Mary, in New Castle, NH, site of the 1774 “Powder Alarm.”
Portrait of King George III in his 1762 coronation robes by painter Allan Ramsey.
Local historians have long proclaimed, not always tongue-incheek, that the American Revolution began in New Castle, New Hampshire, rather than on the bloody battlefields of Lexington and Concord.
The 1774 winter raid on Fort William and Mary, when hundreds of seacoast residents robbed the king’s armory of a hundred barrels of gunpowder, was an outrageous act of colonial defiance. Its leaders, John Langdon and John Sullivan, were committing treason and risking the gallows.
A 19th-century issue of “Harper’s Weekly” called the raid on Fort William and Mary the “most dramatic” and the “most important” event leading up to the American Revolution. It was “unquestionably the first act of overt treason” in the war, yet barely one in 100,000 Americans “could recall any of the circumstances of that noteworthy event,” the magazine claimed.
Today, the uprising rarely rates more than a footnote in most histories of the War for Independence, and now, the “Portsmouth Alarm” teaches us how decades of simmering colonial frustration finally boiled over into a full-on war with Mother England.
Loyal but discontented
We know from the first 150 years of New Hampshire history that residents were a cantankerous lot. Having irritated Massachusetts Bay Puritans and rankled royal governors for generations, they were unlikely to sit still for the latest wave of British taxes. Portsmouth residents and the newly formed “Sons of Liberty” reacted violently to the Stamp Act of 1765 that slapped a royal tax on legal documents and printed publications. A mob hanged and set fire to an effigy of Portsmouth-born stamp tax collector George Meserve and drove him from town.
Wealthy leaders, many with enslaved servants, often argued that British taxes were tantamount to placing Americans in bondage. It wasn’t, but the metaphor was widely used. For all their protests, American colonists were paying barely 5% of the taxes levied on British citizens living in England.
Sons of Liberty, an often-thuggish group of early “patriots,” harassed custom officials and those store owners who sold imported British items. And yet by 1770, most Americans, including residents of New Hampshire, remained loyal to the Crown.
The year 1774 dawned only 16 days after the Boston Tea Party.
But contrary to what most of us learned in school, colonists from New Hampshire to Georgia were horrified by what they saw, not as patriotism, but as “anarchy” and “mob rule.” The Boston rebels had gone too far, many Americans believed, by dumping 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. Even Benjamin Franklin called it “an act of violent injustice.”
Parliament struck back by sending troops to close the port of Boston. Prime Minister
ROBERT SQUIER ILLUSTRATION
The 1774 raid illustrated by Robert Squier from "Portsmouth Time Machine."
A penny tax from the 1765 Stamp Act.
Aerial view of the historic fort at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Passing nearby is a replica gundalow.
Lord North announced: “The Americans have tarred and feathered your subjects, plundered your merchants, burnt your ships, denied all obedience to your laws and authority…Whatever may be the consequences, we must risk something; if we do not, all is over.”
Royal governors like John Wentworth, born in Portsmouth, were caught in the crossfire. Despite building a beautiful new lighthouse at Fort Point, launching Dartmouth College and constructing highways deep into the New Hampshire wilderness, Wentworth’s power was fading.
It was in 1774 that the term “Loyalist” first appeared. These were American citizens who openly supported King George III of England. Disloyal subjects, later to be called “patriots,” were growing bolder day by day.
“Everything is unhinged,” one Loyalist exclaimed, “and running into confusion.”
King George, angered by his disloyal subjects, issued an “order in council,” similar to an executive order by an American president today. It would spark the Portsmouth Alarm. The order banned the exportation of gunpowder and military arms to the rowdy Americans. It also required British troops to secure all munitions already stored in New England. The powder and guns at Fort William and Mary in New Castle were especially vulnerable to attack. Ignored for decades, the ancient fort was in ruinous condition and guarded by only six men.
Enter Paul Revere
Word that British soldiers aboard HMS Somerset were not far off the coast of New England reached the Boston Committee of Commerce on Dec. 12. Assuming the troops were headed to Portsmouth, activist and silversmith Paul Revere, a member of a secret group known as the Mechanics, left early the following morning on horseback. His mission was to warn Piscataqua locals that the British were coming.
The Somerset, however, was not headed to Portsmouth, but struggling far off at sea amid a frigid early winter storm. Revere slogged 60 miles through deep snow toward Portsmouth along the frozen wagon-rutted Old Bay Road.
Revere made his largely forgotten Portsmouth journey on Dec. 13, exactly one year after the Boston Tea Party. He arrived in Market Square at 4 p.m. with the snow still falling. Revere asked a passerby for
A mature Gov. John Langdon (above) and as a young rebel by artist Robert Squier from "Portsmouth Time Machine."
Revolutionary John Sullivan, from British traitor to NH governor.
NH Gov. John Wentworth was exiled to Canada in 1775.
Reenactors relive the 1774 Powder Raid at the historic New Castle, NH fort.
The nonprofit gundalow “Piscataqua” offers Seacoast visitors the chance to experience life aboard a historic “river workhorse.”
the whereabouts of Samuel Cutts, a leader of Portsmouth’s Committee of Correspondence.
Cutts, a prominent merchant with a powdered wig, a slight paunch and a bit of a double chin, happened to be walking downtown. He met briefly with Revere at Stoodley’s Tavern on Daniel Street. Today that historic building is part of Strawbery Banke Museum.
By noon the next morning, fired by the sounds of fife and drum, as many as 400 residents were prepared to storm the fort. John Langdon, a 33-year-old sea captain turned shipowner and merchant, was among the leaders of the protest. The soft-spoken rebel would later become one of New Hampshire’s first governors.
Striking the British flag
Led by Langdon and Thomas Pickering, the defiant mob grew. Hundreds clambered into small boats and onto flat-bottomed barges called “gundalows” for the journey downriver to the fort. Capt. John Cochran ordered his tiny troop to position the fort cannon for an attack. Any man showing a hint of cowardice would receive “a brace of balls through his body.”
Cochran allowed Langdon and one com-
panion to come inside the gates for a brief discussion. Langdon informed Cochran that they planned to carry away all the munitions. If they tried, Cochran told Langdon, “Their blood be upon their own hands for I will fire on you.”
And he did. The besieged guards hurriedly fired 4-pound iron balls from three cannons, injuring no one. Musket balls zinged into the ground in front of the rebels. Bullets struck a warehouse, pierced the sail of a nearby ship, and even reached a Kittery home on the Maine side of the Piscataqua River. Before the guards could reload, the attackers stormed over the walls of the dilapidated fort on all sides.
It was British citizen versus British citizen, neighbor against neighbor, in what local historians call the first real battle of the American Revolution. Castle guards brandished bayonets in an impossible hand-to-hand struggle. They were disarmed, punched and threatened. One raider was stabbed in the arm. Capt. Cochran was jumped, choked and disarmed.
When he refused to turn over the keys
The nonprofit Friends of Fort Constitution hopes to revive the ruined historic New Castle site now considered unsafe by the NH State Parks Department.
John Copley’s iconic 1768 portrait of Paul Revere.
to the powder house, raiders dragged him to his home within the fort walls, where Cochran’s wife, Sarah, briefly held off her captors with a bayonet. The raiders smashed their way into the armory with axes and crowbars to reach the precious powder.
A detailed account of the Fort William and Mary raid comes from Thomas F. Kehr, a modern Concord, NH, attorney who has been known to reenact the role of John Langdon in costume. “To Cochran’s undoubted horror,” Kerr writes, “the rebels triumphantly ‘gave three huzzahs or cheers’ and hauled down the huge British flag that had — for more than a century — declared British possession of Portsmouth Harbor.”
In defiance of law
The following morning, Dec. 15, was bitterly cold and raining. The raiders had taken all the gunpowder save one barrel, Cochran reported to Gov. Wentworth. Barrels weighing
about 100 pounds each were already being shipped by gundalow to hiding places in seacoast towns. Exeter reportedly received 72 casks.
After hiding some of the stolen powder in Durham, John Sullivan traveled 10 miles back to Portsmouth where he met with Wentworth. The governor told Sullivan, truthfully, that the treasonous raid was based on a false alarm. Paul Revere was wrong. No British troops had been assigned to New Castle. The rebels, Wentworth warned, must return the stolen powder.
The debate over what to do next raged on in taverns, in homes and in the now-dark and cold streets of Portsmouth. By 10 p.m., Sullivan and a hundred men were back at the gates of the fort. Despite promises not to steal any more of the king’s weapons, Sullivan’s men did exactly that, loading 16 small cannons, 10 cannon carriages and 42 muskets onto gundalows. The work took all
night and the raiders had to leave the larger cannons behind.
Escape was a slow-motion nail-biter on Dec. 16, with their gundalows stranded by the shifting Piscataqua tide. As Sullivan’s men inched their way inland on the ice-choked waters of Great Bay, two British warships finally sailed from Boston toward New Castle. HMS Canceaux, a British merchant sloop converted into a 16-gun warship, arrived within sight of the fort by the following evening, but the raiders had disappeared.
The die is cast
How deeply the little New Hampshire raid influenced mighty King George III will forever be debated. For George, who saw himself as the parent to his millions of colonial children, it was all about respect, fealty and compliance. The Americans, as he famously told Lord North, “would either submit or triumph.”
In February 1775, King George signed off on Lord North’s latest punitive laws. “His heart was hardened,” a contemporary wrote of the monarch, “having just heard of the seizure of ammunition in New Hampshire.” King George decided it was finally time to “open the eyes of the deluded Americans.”
Massachusetts, British leaders claimed, was officially in a state of rebellion. General Gage, stationed in Boston, received orders to quash the American insurrection, by force if necessary. On April 19, 1775, the “shot heard round the world” was fired by an unknown hand, either redcoat or minuteman, and the American Revolution officially began.
Follow the powder
Did any of the king’s stolen gunpowder reach the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775? Seacoast chronicles often make this claim. A sign at a small, restored brick powder house in Exeter says so, as does a state historic marker in New Castle. According to local legend, a few kegs were kept under the pulpit of the Durham meetinghouse, not far from John Sullivan’s home on the Oyster River.
Eventually, the powder was dispersed and hidden from Tory eyes at inland towns including Nottingham, Epping, Brentwood, Londonderry and Kingston. It was squirreled away in homes, taverns, barns and churches. Four barrels found their way to
Kegs of stolen gunpowder were hidden in seacoast towns including here in Exeter.
J. DENNIS ROBINSON PHOTO
the tavern of Zaccheus Clough in Fremont (formerly Poplin). Four more were reportedly stashed somewhere in Portsmouth.
A few barrels, history tells us, were assigned to John DeMerritt, Jr., who buried them behind a false wall in his cellar in Madbury, or in his barn. “Powder Major” DeMerritt, as he became known, delivered his supply to Boston slowly by oxcart in time, we are told, for the final hours of the deadly Bunker Hill encounter.
It’s a little-known fact that the fighting New Hampshire men at Bunker Hill, estimated at between 1,000 and 1,300, outnumbered the forces from Massachusetts and Connecticut combined. John Stark, James Reed, Enoch Poor and Henry Dearborn are among the Granite State militia leaders best remembered today.
Exit John Wentworth
Sir John Wentworth had a lot to lose if war broke out. He had recently built a spacious home in a wilderness that would become the town of Wolfeboro. His massive mansion sat on 4,000 acres with extensive gardens,
orchards and vineyards near what is now Lake Wentworth. But he was forced to leave it all behind.
Months after the Powder Alarm, a Portsmouth mob pointed a cannon at the governor’s front door and threatened to blow it open. With the life of his wife Frances and their 5-month-old son in jeopardy, the royal family fled. During a scuffle, according to Portsmouth lore, guns were fired. A series of what may be bullet holes can still be seen in the wallpaper plaster above the mantelpiece in what is now an office of the Wentworth Senior Living facility on Pleasant Street.
The governor’s last New Hampshire residence, ironically, was at the tumble-down walls of Fort William and Mary in New Castle. The Wentworths were forced to live with the Cochran family. Their “small incommodious house” inside the walls of the fort had a leaky roof. “I will not complain,” Wentworth wrote to a friend, “because it would be a poignant censure on a people I love and forgive.”
But by mid-August, 1775, the governor of New Hampshire — a man with a master’s
degree from Harvard College and a doctorate from Oxford University — was reduced to begging for food. The Wentworths and their entourage sailed to Boston aboard the British ship of war Scarborough on Aug. 23. Within half an hour after their departure, locals vandalized the undefended fort.
The New Hampshire General Assembly officially banned John Wentworth, under penalty of death, from ever setting foot in the province where he was born. Half a century later, as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, he died in Halifax in 1820. He was 84.
Does the almost-forgotten raid matter today? According to Paul Revere biographer David Hackett Fischer, “These were truly the first blows of the American Revolution.” NH
J. Dennis Robinson is the author of over a dozen books including “1623: Pilgrims, Politics, Pipe Dreams & the Founding of New Hampshire.” This essay is adapted from his book, “New Castle: New Hampshire’s Smallest, Oldest, & Only Island Town.” For more information visit jdennisrobinson.com online.
The seed of independence was planted at the first Continental Congress in 1774. By the second gathering in 1775, the United States was at war with Britain.
ASK THE Experts
Some of the most important decisions for New Hampshire retirees to make include where and how they want to live, and whether to stay in their own homes or to transition to a retirement community. We reached out to some retirement living experts to learn about the planning process and what they have to offer so New Hampshire residents can ask the right questions as they enter this stage of their life journey.
MEET THE RETIREMENT LIVING EXPERTS:
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING
Kristin Mattheson
SILVERSTONE LIVING
Kelley Kennedy EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SILVERSTONE LIVING
Maria Byrne DIRECTOR OF SALES THE BALDWIN
Silverstone Living
Plan Well, Live Well: A Smart Alternative to Long-Term Care Insurance
We dedicate so much of our lives to planning — whether it’s for education, buying a home, raising a family, or saving for retirement. But one thing often left out of the planning process is preparing for the care we may need in our later years. Planning for your health and well-being in the future is just as important.
Q What is Continuing Care at Home?
A
Continuing Care at Home is an innovative concept that provides the same benefits of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) without requiring you to leave your home. In a CCRC, residents have access to independent living with the added security of onsite healthcare services as their needs evolve. With Continuing Care at Home, you get this same level of support, but in the comfort of your own home, with the peace of mind that healthcare services are available whenever you need them.
Q How does Continuing Care at Home benefit me?
A
As healthcare costs continue to rise, Continuing Care at Home offers a predictable pricing structure for future care needs. It removes the uncertainty of finding reliable care providers, helping you navigate the complex healthcare system. You also gain the confidence of knowing that your home is where you’ll stay, with trusted professionals available to help manage your health and well-being.
Q How is At Home By Hunt similar to long-term care insurance?
A Much like long-term care insurance, At Home By Hunt provides a structured plan to help cover the cost of healthcare as your needs evolve. However, the program is unique as you will pay a one-time membership fee and monthly service fees. In return, you receive guaranteed access to a network of healthcare services, including personal care and assistance in your home, at predictable costs. This approach gives you financial protection and peace of mind, similar to how long-term care insurance works, but with the added benefit of comprehensive care coordination and a personal advocate, ensuring that you receive the right services at the right time.
Q How is At Home By Hunt unique?
A At Home By Hunt is the only Continuing Care at Home (CCAH) program available in New Hampshire. This exclusive service offers a one-of-a-kind solution for those who want to remain in the comfort of their
own home while having access to high quality care when needed. With At Home By Hunt, you get the best of both worlds: the flexibility of living at home and the assurance of future healthcare services when you need them most.
Q How does At Home By Hunt work?
AAt Home By Hunt is a membership-based program affiliated with Silverstone Living, a New Hampshire not-for-profit family of senior living solutions. As a member, you’ll receive a variety of services, including access to social activities, wellness programs, and comprehensive care coordination within your own home. For a one-time membership fee and predictable monthly service fees, you gain access to the support you need, including preventive care and a Life Plan Coordinator to guide you every step of the way.
Q What is a Life Plan Coordinator?
AA Life Plan Coordinator is a health professional who becomes your personal advocate as you age. They help you find the right services and provide ongoing support, ensuring you feel confident in your care decisions. This personalized approach means you’re never alone in your journey.
Join us for an event by visiting www.silverstoneliving.org/ event-registration or call 603-821-1200.
— Kelley Kennedy, Executive Director, At Home By Hunt, and Kristin Mattheson, Director of Sales and Marketing, Silverstone Living
The Baldwin
THEBALDWINNH.ORG
QDoes The Baldwin have a waitlist yet? Why do so many retirement communities have waitlists?
AAs a brand-new community, The Baldwin currently has a limited number of apartment homes available — but we don’t expect them to last long. Once we’re full, the wait could be lengthy because apartments in a new Life Plan Community typically don’t become available for about five years after the initial opening.
Since the baby-boom generation began retiring, there has been a surge in demand for Life Plan Communities such as The Baldwin. In fact, some New Hampshire communities already have waitlists as long as ten years. So, the best advice I can give someone who’s interested in The Baldwin is to get here soon and claim one of the last available apartments — before the waitlist becomes your only option.
QThe Baldwin has a different approach to health care. Tell us about that.
AFirst and foremost, The Baldwin is designed for freedom and flexibility. We offer a wide variety of services, amenities and programs that empower residents to enjoy an active, engaged lifestyle and pursue wellness in mind, body, and spirit. We don’t force a resident through a predetermined sequence of care levels; rather, we work with them to make sure they get the care and services they need to live as they choose. That might mean providing in-home services to help the resident continue to live safely in their apartment home or, if the need arises, they may choose to move into Orchard Inn at The Baldwin to enjoy the benefits of small-home assisted living or memory support. In addition, The Baldwin is licensed, staffed and equipped to provide nursing care services in a resident’s apartment home or in their private suite at Orchard Inn.
QOrchard Inn at The Baldwin is a small-home model of assisted living and memory support that’s unique in the area. What makes it better?
AOrchard Inn offers four state-of-the-art, specialized households that accommodate just ten residents each. Within each household, residents’ private suites are arranged around the open living, dining and kitchen areas so residents can easily engage in the life and activity of the household. The intimate size and layout empower residents to be as independent as they choose while also eliminating isolation and fostering social interaction and friendship. Organized group programs are also easy to access with an activity room on each floor.
The small-home model also includes a dedicated team in each household. This team gets to know each resident personally — their history and routines, their personality and interests, and how they like to spend their days. The team ensures that each resident receives the assistance they need and want while also maintaining their sense of autonomy and independence. It’s an environment that really helps resident thrive.
— Kathleen D’Amico, Director of Sales and Marketing, The Baldwin
To schedule a personal tour, call 603- 699- 0100. Or scan the QR code to go to TheBaldwinNH.org/ Events and find an upcoming informational event.
ENJOY THE
Live life on your terms, while we take care of the rest at RiverMead, Southern New Hampshire's premier Life Plan Community (CCRC). Take advantage of our on-campus trails, gardens, and riverfront. Take a course or attend a lecture. Focus on your wellness in our fitness center and indoor pool.
At RiverMead, we want you to enjoy life to the fullest, secure in the knowledge that your future healthcare needs are planned for.
Schedule a tour of our available homes today! Visit RiverMead.org or call 800.200.5433.
Langdon Place of Keene
603 Living
Walking in Tradition
The timeless art of handcrafted snowshoes
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY JILL ARMSTRONG
For the past 30 years, Bill Novacek has handcrafted traditional wooden snowshoes at his home workshop in Lancaster, selling and shipping his product to customers all over the world.
Novacek’s business, Coos Canoe & Snowshoe, is an homage to New Hampshire’s northernmost and largest county. An area consisting primarily of national forest land, wilderness and mountains, it comes as no surprise that Novacek sources all of his materials locally.
“When you purchase some of my work,” Novacek writes on his website, referring to rawhide furniture and canoes in addition to the traditional snowshoes, “you take advantage of all this effort.”
For the frames of the snowshoes, Novacek uses white ash, a strong, lightweight hardwood. Once the wood is cut to the proper size, Novacek boils it in a stainless-steel tray so that the wood becomes flexible enough to shape around a jig.
Novacek makes, cuts and ties his own
Bill Novacek has been making snowshoes and rawhide furniture out of local ash wood for more than 27 years.
To find solitude this winter, consider hitting the snowshoe trails at these locations:
Great Glen Trails, Gorham
With both groomed and ungroomed trails to explore and one of the largest snowshoe rental fleets in the state, Great Glen Trails is a great place to start for a winter walk in the woods. They also offer guided day and evening tours on Saturdays throughout the season.
Purity Spring Resort XC & Snowshoe Reserve, Madison
A network of trails wind around Purity Lake and through the tall pines in the Hoyt/Audubon Sanctuary. Snowshoe rentals are available up the road at the King Pine Rental Shop.
Gunstock Nordic Center, Gilford
With headlamps and snowshoes, ascend the Tiger Chair and traverse the ridge of Gunstock Mountain on foot. Tours are held weekly on Fridays and Saturday nights. Guided walks through the Nordic trails are also available on weekends throughout the winter.
Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown
As the largest developed state park in New Hampshire with 40 miles of trails, this spot is perfect for every snowshoer due to its range of walking options.
Crawford Notch State Park, Hart’s Location
Embrace the surroundings of the White Mountain National Forest by exploring the trails in Crawford Notch. A trek up to Arethusa Falls or Ripley Falls are great for beginner and intermediate snowshoers.
rawhide, which he uses for the netting in his products. “You can’t buy the type that is made exactly the way I like it, so I make it myself,” he explained from his workshop, examining a stack of rawhide piled high on a table. “And it’s a little stronger, too, because I don’t have to use chemicals. Just a little elbow grease.”
After the purchased animal skins have been cleaned and dried, Novacek cuts around the perimeter, removing the stomach, tail and neck, which is often thick with scars from bucks fighting one another. He’ll cut the rawhide that remains until he’s left with a long strip about one-half inch wide and several hundred feet long. Next, he’ll put the end in a vise and stretch the material, removing any weaknesses and reducing it to about three-eighths of an inch wide.
“Hides are like a piece of steel wool,” Novacek offered. “They’ve got all these fibers in there. You can change the shape of steel wool the same way as the hide. After you’ve stretched it with all of your might, it’s going to come out thin and a different shape. It rearranges itself so that it’s got all the play out of it. Everything’s aligned the way you want it, so it won’t stretch while you’re using it.”
The end product is called babiche, a cord of rawhide used by Indigenous people for canoe seats, fishing nets and, of course, snowshoes. Novacek typically uses deer hide in the toe and tail of the snowshoe, a material that keeps its strength when cut finely. Underfoot, where the snowshoe experiences the most wear and tear, he tends to use cowhide. “I’m using the best of both worlds,” he said.
At times, Novacek will even use moose hide for custom-ordered snowshoes, although he admits it’s more absorbent than other hides, making the shoes heavier in wet conditions. “Some people just get a kick out of the idea of moose hide. It’s more rustic looking than deer hide and so some people just like that style.”
On average, Novacek can tie two pairs of shoes per day. “And that’s the relaxing part, tying the snowshoes,” he said. “Sitting down here by the wood stove with a cup of tea and nobody bothering me.”
To finish the process, Novacek stamps his logo into the wooden frame before varnishing the entire product, admittedly his least favorite part of his work. “The Native Americans didn’t have varnish. There was no Ace Hardware on the corner. Just plain
Novacek also uses a variety of deer, moose and cow hides for the weaving in each of his products.
rawhide and wood. And I’ve done that myself. As long as you bring them in and dry them out at the end of the day, they seem to last just as long as if you varnish them.”
On his website, Novacek offers four styles of snowshoe for purchase: the modified bearpaw, the modified Maine, the Alaskan and the Ojibwa. Generally speaking, the shorter styles are more maneuverable while longer shoes with tails tend to slide along more easily in the snow.
The modified bearpaw is the most popular because they can be used in varying conditions. Rounded at both ends and resembling an oval, they have a slight lift in the toe. The modified Maine shoe has a more dramatic curve, similar to the shape of a tennis racket, with a short, pointed tail. In this style, the shoes fit alongside one another as the person walks at a normal gait, a feature known as nesting.
A long, slender shoe, the Alaskan offers 9 1/2 inches of curve up to the toe, making them faster in open terrain. Traditionally, drivers of dog sleds would use them to run ahead of the team in deep snow to pack down the trail.
The Ojibwa — named after the Ojibwe people, an Indigenous tribe that settled around the Great Lakes Region and first developed this unique design — are pointed at both ends, perfect for weaving through brush in wooded areas.
Taking a small pair of black and red-painted Ojibwa from the wall, Novacek explained that a similar pair were traditionally crafted for a young boy before his first hunt to symbolize his coming of age.
“The Ojibwa are very attractive-looking,” he said, returning the decorative pair to its place on the wall. “And I think most people buy them just because they like the way they look.”
Reflecting on 30 years of work, Novacek shared that he most enjoys interacting with folks who like snowshoeing and appreciate the craft.
“Life is not all just work. Dealing with people adds a different dimension to it,” Novacek started. “It’s also nice when you have someone that’s willing to pay for your product, but at the same time, you’re making them happy because you have something they view as a quality product.” NH
Calendar
HAPPENINGS FOR JANUARY-FEBRUARY
FEATURED EVENT
Throughout January & February
Ice Castles > The Ice Castles in North Woodstock is an unforgettable winter creation that brings fairy tales to life. The structure is built entirely by hand using hundreds of thousands of icicles “grown” by professional artists. The castle includes LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, carved ice tunnels, slides and fountains. Dates and times vary and are weather-dependent. icecastles.com
January 9- January 12
Disney on Ice Presents: Mickey’s Search Party > Join in the fun at Mickey’s Search Party as it brings the magic to guests through dynamic moments that take place on the ice and in the air. This adventure delivers compelling storytelling through multileveled production numbers, so be prepared to join this magical search and help unlock an epic journey. Times and ticket prices may vary. SNHU Arena, 555 Elm St., Manchester. snhuarena.com
January 18- January 20
Winter Carnival Weekend > Escape to the Omni Mount Washington Resort for a long weekend of fun for all, whether you want to hit the slopes at Bretton Woods, or enjoy the warmth of the indoors. Explore a wide range of activities, special events and experiences to build your perfect long-weekend getaway. From wildlife adventures and artistic inspiration to family-friendly fun and downhill skiing thrills, there is something for everyone. Omni Mount Washington Resort, 310 Mount Washington Hotel Road, Bretton Woods; brettonwoods.com/ Winter-Carnival
January 22
Sarah Silverman: Postmortem Tour > The two-time Emmy Award-winning comedian, actress, writer and producer is coming back to her home state. As part of her “Postmortem Tour,” Silverman will be stopping to perform stand-up at the Capitol Center for the Arts. She also continues to host her critically acclaimed, weekly podcast, “The Sarah Silverman Podcast,” which relaunched on Oct. 19 through Lemonada on all platforms, and TBS’ “Stupid Pet Tricks,” an expansion of the famous David Letterman late-night segment. Sarah also appeared in “Maestro,” an Acadamy Award-nominated film about the life of composer Leonard Bernstein in
FEATURED EVENT
January 31- February 2
New Hampshire Sanctioned and Jackson Invitational Snow Sculpting Competition > Hosted by the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce and held at the Great Glen Trails/ Mt. Washington Auto Road, this event is one you won’t want to miss. Watch as teams sculpt throughout the weekend to turn snow into incredible works of frozen art. With scavenger hunts and activities for kids, and plenty of outdoor activities (like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing), this is the weekend to celebrate all things snow. Great Glen Trails, 1 Mt. Washington Road, Gorham, jacksonnh.com
which she portrayed Bernstein’s sister Shirley. Silverman grew up in Bedford and attended New York University for one year. In 1993 she joined “Saturday Night Live” for a single season as a writer and feature performer and has not stopped working since. 8 p.m. Ticket prices vary. Chubb Theatre at CAA, 44 S.Main St., Concord. ccanh.com
January 24- January 25
Concord Winterfest, Ice Carving Competition and Food Truck Festival > Now in its seventh year, Concord Winterfest is bigger than ever. Enjoy watching talented ice carvers compete on the state house lawn, while warming up with a delicious array of local food trucks. Friday, 3-9 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Downtown Concord. intownconcord.org
January 25- January 26
Attitash’s 60th Anniversary Celebration > While Attitash Mountain’s birthday bash will be celebrated during one weekend, you can celebrate Attitash Mountain’s 60th anniversary with a season full of new events, and comeback classics! Attitash Mountain Resort, 775 US-302, Bartlett; attash.com
January 31- February 2
Winter Fest Weekend > Enjoy a luxurious weekend at The Inn at East Hill Farm. Your stay will include two nights lodging, six meals, scheduled activities (like glass painting, snowshoeing and sledding), and use of the indoor pool, hot tub and sauna. You will also have access to free skis, skate and snowshoes rentals all weekend. Call to book your reservation. Prices vary. The Inn at East Hill Farm, 460 Monadnock St., Troy.
east-hill-farm.com.
January 31- February 2
32nd Annual Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest > This event is considered to be one of the country’s premier climbing events. It is a celebration of ice climbing and winter mountaineering, and the people who make it a part of their lives. It continues to provide a great opportunity for those attending to network, socialize, try new gear and participate in multiple day courses, one-day technical clinics and privately guided climbs. The Mount Washington Valley is one of the finest waterfall ice climbing destinations in North America. Each year the festival offers a variety of skills-based clinics and exciting slide shows with featured climbers and guides from the New England area and around the world. All clinics (unless otherwise noted) meet at 8 a.m. at Ledge Brewing Company. mwv-icefest.com
February 1
22nd Annual Keene Ice and Snow Festival >
Bring family and friends to watch ice blocks being carved come to life. An entirely free day of fun. The beloved festival will host 12 ice carvers alongside many events and activities including: a train ride, roasting s’mores, sugar on snow, “find the yeti” scavenger hunt, hot cocoa stations, cartoons and more. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Downtown Keene, Facebook
February 7- February 9
14th Annual Black Pond Ice Hockey Championships > 3 days, 8 rinks, 8 divisions — all hockey. The 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship and Festival has become one of the largest outdoor winter events in New Hampshire. The event hosts 95 teams and nearly 700 hockey players who participate in the Black Ice, along with activities, bonfires, a rock wall, live entertainment, food trucks and more. The event will also include youth hockey teams from New Hampshire playing in the Shinny Classic. The Black Ice’s mission is to maintain and expand ice skating and recreational opportunities while preserving hockey history and creating new interest for the game we love. White Park, 1 White St., Concord. blackicepondhockey.com
February 22
NH Antique Tracked Vehicle Show > Start prepping your machines. If it has tracks and can move on snow, visitors will love to see it at the show. No need to register and no entrance fees. Come ride through history with this gathering of antiques and enjoy food sold by Troop 58 for their annual fundraiser. Hosted by the Johnston Family with CNHSC and the Model T Ford Snowmobile Club. 73 Laundromat Road, Thornton. cnhsc.org
Find additional events at nhmagazine.com/ calendar. Submit events eight weeks in advance to Elisa Gonzales Verdi (egonzalesverdi@nhmagazine.com) or enter your own at nhmagazine.com/calendar. Not all events are guaranteed to be published either online or in the print calendar. Event submissions will be reviewed and, if deemed appropriate, approved by a New Hampshire Magazine editor.
Listen to Your Heart
Recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular disease and take steps to lower your risk
BY KRYSTEN GODFREY MADDOCKS
Fluid retention might not be the first symptom that comes to mind when you think of heart disease. However, cardiovascular disease doesn’t always present as unbearable chest pain. That’s why men and women must pay attention to underlying symptoms, such as fatigue, acid reflux or shortness of breath after exercise.
Even adults who report no family history and are otherwise healthy should pay attention to how they feel and get regularly seen by a health care provider. Dr. Peter Chien, a cardiologist at Cheshire Medical Center, part of the Dartmouth Health system, practiced internal medicine before becoming a board-certified cardiologist. He decided to pursue cardiology because
most of the patients he saw who felt poorly were experiencing some kind of heart condition.
“At that time, I felt helpless that I couldn’t take care of these people myself — I had to rely on other people,” he says. “I decided to go into cardiology so I could take care of them myself. It’s satisfying, because ultimately, if you don’t take care of many
Expert Cardiovascular Care
at The Elliot
For decades, our board-certified cardiologists and vascular providers have served Manchester with personalized treatment plans and advanced care, including cardiac imaging, interventional cardiology, and rehabilitation. Whether it’s ongoing care or critical intervention, our team is dedicated to delivering seamless, compassionate care for every heart in need.
Contact Us Today!
Scan the QR code or visit ElliotHospital.org/Cardiovascular to schedule an appointment.
of these cardiac conditions, they can be fatal.”
According to the 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report by the American Heart Association, 48.6 percent of adults have some type of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke or hypertension (high blood pressure).
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of death in New Hampshire, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Women and men experience different warning signs
It’s not unusual to feel like you have to catch your breath after a stint of vigorous exercise, and many of us attribute it to being overweight or out of shape.
Chien says that shortness of breath is the most common sign that your heart isn’t working as efficiently as it should be. Nausea and headaches can also signal cardiac concerns.
Women most often exhibit different symptoms because heart disease tends to begin in the smaller blood vessels of the
“The lifestyle aspect is truly underrated in terms of primary (heart disease) prevention.”
— Dr. Peter Chien
heart (microvascular disease) rather than the major coronary arteries. Dr. Vikas Veeranna, a board-certified cardiologist with a specialty in advanced cardiac imaging at Elliot Hospital, says that women overlook heart disease; they don’t recognize the symptoms.
“When we talk about the classic symptoms in men, we are talking about pain that comes to the left side of their chest or right behind their sternum, usually radiating to their shoulders, left shoulder, left arm, or radiating to their neck and jaw,” he says. “But these are less common in women. And that’s one of the reasons
why women seek care for their heart issues less often.”
Other symptoms that may indicate your heart isn’t working optimally include an irregular heartbeat, fluid retention in your legs, and coughing or wheezing.
Understand your risk factors
Your age, weight, family history and lifestyle all play a role in your risk for heart disease. Women who have had complications during their pregnancy are also at a higher risk.
Maintaining a healthy diet of mostly fruits, vegetables and lean proteins can help keep your weight down. Simply getting up and moving for a half hour most days of the week can cut your risk, too.
“Sitting is the new smoking,” Veeranna says. “If someone tells me their job involves sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours a day, guess what? Their risk is probably equivalent to somebody who’s smoking.”
Reducing stress safeguards your heart both emotionally and physically. When you put yourself in stressful situations, your heart responds to that stress, your blood pressure rises, and over time, spikes in blood pressure negatively affect your
Expert Care, Real Results
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heart function. Stress can also keep you from engaging in other healthy habits.
“When people are under chronic stress, they don’t sleep well, they don’t necessarily eat well, and they don’t exercise,” Chien says. “The lifestyle aspect is truly underrated in terms of primary (heart disease) prevention.”
Family history plays a significant role, and it’s one factor you can’t change. Having a parent or sibling who had a heart attack at a young age (before 45 for men or 55 for women) significantly increases your risk for heart disease.
Some people also have genetic factors that elevate proteins in their cholesterol. But unless you measure those proteins, you won’t know they are elevated and may not get the proper medications.
“I have a lot of patients who have coronary artery disease, and then I’ll measure their lipoprotein A level, which has never been measured, and it’s sky-high once in a while,” Chien says.
Getting screened
Ideally, adults should receive annual, routine physicals, including blood tests measuring lipids, blood sugar, kidney function and cholesterol.
It’s also important to monitor your blood pressure. Optimal blood pressure for adults is less than 120/80. If it rises above 130/80, that can signal stage one hypertension, according to guidelines published by the American Heart Association.
By maintaining your blood pressure in the normal range, you can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Even if you’re already on medication, it’s worth tracking.
“Often we see patients with high blood pressure that’s treated sub-optimally or not treated at all,” Chien says.
It’s also critical to check blood sugar levels, such as A1C, to ensure you aren’t at risk of developing diabetes, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease compared to those without diabetes, according to the American Heart Association.
The numbers don’t always tell a complete story, even for people who report normal cholesterol levels. Normal total cholesterol is any number under 200. Individuals with an LDL (bad cholesterol) of less than 100 and an HDL (good cholesterol) higher than 40 for men or 50 for women are considered to
have “optimal cholesterol.” While the ratios are important, the density of the cholesterol particles in your blood matters, too.
“Quantitative cholesterol doesn’t tell the whole story, it doesn’t tell you how dense your LDL cholesterol is versus how buoyant it is,” Chien says. “It’s also about the ratio. If you have a lot of HDL, it can actually help remove the bad (LDL) cholesterol from your arteries. The problem is, if that good cholesterol is really low, in many cases, that’s a strong risk for heart disease.”
Asymptomatic healthy people who may be concerned about developing heart disease due to family history can take a test that scores their coronary artery calcium. This noninvasive, non-contrast scan looks at your coronary arteries to determine how much calcified cholesterol plaque you have in your heart arteries.
Calcium buildup can narrow your arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart. A coronary calcium scan may show coronary artery disease before you have symptoms. A major reason why most people don’t undergo this test as part of an annual physical is because it’s not covered by insurance, Chien says.
“It doesn’t tell you how large the plaques
are, but tells you how much you have,” he says. “That number can give you prognostic data about your risk long-term.”
The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association developed an online risk assessment tool that assesses your ASCVD (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease) risk score over the next 10 years and over your lifetime. The tool can help you assess your risk so you can make lifestyle modifications that help reduce it.
“Based on your gender, age, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking history, we plug those in and sort of get a risk estimate of what your risk is for having heart attack or stroke,” Veeranna says. “It not only looks at your risk over the next 10 years, but over your lifetime, and gives us an important idea that how aggressive we need to be.”
For people who get results that indicate a higher risk, medication, regular exercise and a healthy diet can go a long way toward preventing a heart attack or a stroke, Veeranna says.
“As we age, our risk increases. There is no way of dialing back that clock,” he says. “So how we manage everything else is going to define how well we can prevent something from happening. NH
The Ballad of Upright Hank
Last June, my cousin, Dr. Amy Paré, sent me a text. She was helping my uncle, Dr. William Paré, organize the large home he shares with my Aunt Marilyn. Amy’s text included a cartoon I drew on the envelope of a letter I’d written in the early 1980s to Uncle Bill’s father — our Grandpère.
Henry Paré immigrated to the Granite State from Quebec as a teenager, finding work with Public Service Company of New Hampshire. He married Laura Trudell, and settled on Manchester’s West Side. I loved being with him. My father was a sports fan, but worked long hours. Grandpère, who particularly enjoyed baseball and hockey, became our sports muse.
He regaled his grandchildren with wildly exaggerated tales of his competitive exploits, assuming the nickname “Upright Hank.” It was perfect — silly and self-effacing. The cartoon I drew more than 40 years ago was of “Upright Hank,” skating down the ice, puck on his stick.
It was late winter of 1982, my penultimate year at the University of New Hampshire, when my Sigma Beta intramural hockey squad played for the ballyhooed campus championship. Comically, I wasn’t even a Sigma Beta brother. A couple of hockey-playing pals belonged, and they needed a goalie. I was recruited as a “social member.”
That arrangement — all the benefits, no initiation — suited me fine.
After a competitive season, the title game at Snively Arena came down to our Greek crew against Congreve Hall, the dorm where I lived (one of my best friends, a Derryfield School graduate named Geoff Brown, was the other goalie). It was a spirited match. Knowing I was hobbled by a hamstring tear, my Beta teammates stepped up admirably. We won, 4-3, barely surviving a furious Congreve onslaught in the final minutes.
It was only the second title of any significance that I’d won (after Manchester Central’s city soccer championship in 1974). The madcap joy of the Beta boys far exceeded the game’s importance. But, it was fun.
On the bench, as I slowly peeled off my sweat-soaked gear, I noticed a solitary figure sitting in the stands, taking in the mêlée. The older gentleman — maybe a custodian — was dressed in dark blue chinos, a dark blue shirt, and a gray sweater. I immediately thought of Grandpère, who often came to my high school practices and games. But there was a championship party to attend. I packed up and headed out.
The next day, though, the image of the older man in the stands stayed with me. All I could think of was Grandpère, watching me play during my short two years at Manchester Central. I didn’t recall the games,
when JFK Coliseum or another local barn was filled with friends and family members. I thought of the after-school practices, when the building was practically empty except for the players and coaches on the ice. There was Grandpère, always, observing dutifully from the stands.
Afterward, I’d load my equipment into Coach Finnegan’s wagon, and Grandpère drove me home. He’d offer advice, and I would ignore it. I had become, like too many teenagers, far too smug. But by February of 1982, I’d matured a little. In hindsight, I saw how much being there meant to Grandpère. I realized how much it meant to me. I wrote him a short letter of thanks, including the aforementioned cartoon, to say how grateful I was.
Years later, at Grandpère’s funeral, Uncle Bill rose to speak. He produced my letter, apologized for not asking permission, and then shared it with the congregation.
“After all these years, just like when we were kids, he was still looking after his family,” said Uncle Bill.
I sobbed.
For the next 40 years, my cartoon stood on a cherished spot on Uncle Bill’s office desk. Thanks to my uncle’s generosity, it now graces my home office. It’s a wonderful memento. I only hope I can be there for my grandchildren, like “Upright Hank” was for us. NH
BY BRION O’CONNOR / ILLUSTRATION BY PETER NOONAN
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