Yesteryear

Making Merry in the Winter Season

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

“Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration.” -Anamika MishraACTOR TRAILERLOADS OFVINYLWRAPPEDCOMPOSITEDECKING Remembrances by our grandparents and older relatives make it clear they JUSTARRIVED! sure knew how to handle winter by enjoying simpler pleasures like ice skating and bonfi res and snowshoeing, to name but a few winter activities. Looking back over the years, before television and computers, it surely seems people embraced the great outdoors in New Hampshire, where the snow is deep and the ponds and lakes are ice covered. Snowmobiling is one of the most popular of winter sports; snowmobilers watch the skies and check weather forecasts come December for signs of Skiing at Gunstock 1960s. Photo courtesy Gunstock.snow. A thick blanket of white means hours of riding through wooded trails, led to today’s pastime of snowmobiling machine in 1917. and comradery at snowmobile clubs. for fun. White, who had for a time worked But long before today’s snowmobiles, Virgil D. White was a forward- as a logger, got a patent in 1917 for an getting around was problematic in the thinking man. The Ossipee-area attachment to convert a standard Model winter, especially for country doctors resident come up with the idea of T into a “snowmobile.” He also was the who might need to battle a storm to attaching skis to the bottom of a car in fi rst person to use the term snowmobile reach a remote farm to deliver a baby order to make it easier to drive on snow and he had the name copyrighted, a or tend a sick child. The advent of the and ice. He certainly had a unique idea smart move on his part. snowmobile solved that problem, and when he dreamed up the fi rst snow White was a local Ford dealer, and likely had to deal with the diffi culty of auto travel in snowy NH. Perhaps, as he drove on local roads in a snowstorm, he thought how much easier it would be if the car had skis. Although we don’t know exactly how White came up with the snowmobile idea, it led to the snow machines so popular today. Because he worked for Ford, Mr. White sold the snow attachments through the car company. By 1922, the attachment offered was a package that could turn a Ford automobile into a “reliable snow machine” according to information in an article titled “A brief history of the Model T Ford Snowmobile” at www. modeltfordsnowmobile.com.

The package included skis made from metal and wood that were placed on the front of the car. Heavy-duty tracks could be added to the rear tires for more traction and the wheels also were heavy duty.

White seems to have been quite the innovator and inventor, always tweaking his product. At some point he switched to all metal tracks made of stamped steel shoes held on by chain links. Later additions included a box attached to part of the frame for the

• Yesteryear

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battery. Customers could order the snowmobile in three gauges: a standard 56-inch gauge for regular road travel in winter; 44-inch gauge for maneuvering the car where it was following the tracks of a horse-drawn wagon and 38inch gauge where the car was driving over narrower sleigh tracks. Drivers could purchase a slip-on body of hard wood with a durable paint coating as part of the narrow gauge packages.

The snowmobile was very popular with those who had to travel in snowy conditions. Country doctors, mailmen, milk delivery men, those who worked deep in the snow covered woods, fi remen and others liked the durable snowmobile.

As a great endorsement for the product, when the father of President Calvin Coolidge passed away in March, 1926, the Model T Snowmobile led the funeral to the cemetery on the snowcovered Vermont roads.

Although expensive, the snowmobile was so desirable many who needed to get around in snow bought the product. In about 1925, White sold the snow attachment manufacturing rights to Farm Specialty Manufacturing Company in Wisconsin. The company later purchased the patents of the Snowmobile Company and ran the factory in West Ossipee, NH. By 1929, the factory and snowmobile production ceased.

There is no doubt that skiing has been a very popular sport for many years. Before it was a ski and summer destination, Gunstock was one of many wooded, mountainous areas in the Lakes Region. Like other villages in New England, Gilford, NH was farm country, but with the advent of skiing, those from other areas found their way to the Lakes Region. The fi rst snow train from Boston brought eager young skiers to NH and soon Gilford got in on the act. Skiing and ski jumping were popular by the 1930s.

Cutting trails in the early days of skiing was diffi cult, but avid Lakes Region skiers were determined. Eventually, the local Winnipesaukee Ski Club learned that Parke Carpenter, the head of the Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston, was searching for a place for a major ski area. Carpenter came to Gilford, toured the Belknap Mountains with ski club members and heartily agreed the area was perfect.

According to The History of Gunstock by Carol Lee Anderson, a 26-mile trail system plan that would cut through the Belknap Mountain Range was created. Cutting the trails was not easy work, but volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club, Winnipesaukee Ski Club and the White Mountain Ski Runners joined to clear the land. When completed, the series of trails was extensive.

The world was introduced to the beauty of the Belknap Mountains and the tranquil serenity of the Gilford area. In 1932 the Eastern Downhill Championship Race was held on the Belknap Ridge Trail. The event, followed by others, brought skiers to the Lakes Region from Boston and beyond.

The Great Depression of the 1930s touched the entire country and the Gilford area of NH was not spared. Aid came in the form of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was the brainchild of President Franklin Roosevelt. The WPA was a way to provide employment with state and local projects ranging from fl ood control dams to road construction. In Gilford, unemployed men could get work creating a bigger, more organized ski and recreation area.

The Belknap County Legislative Delegation got support from its representatives in Congress and the Senate for a new project. The ambitious idea was to use the Belknap Mountains range for a chairlift, some rope tows, Alpine and cross-country ski trails, camping facilities, hiking trails, a main lodge and a series of additional, smaller buildings.

It was a good plan and it meant employment for many at a time when it was desperately needed. For every dollar contributed by the county, six federal dollars were poured into the project.

The Belknap Mountains project was well thought out and constructed by making the best use of the terrain and natural resources. Those who planned the project knew tourism would surely continue to grow. With plenty of forestland on which to build, a large campsite area and a modern comfort station were constructed and the Belknap Mountains Recreation Area was born.

Skiing was the most popular reason people were heading to the Belknap Mountains in the winter, and the ski area was of utmost importance.

A chairlift and rope tows brought skiers to four miles of ski-able terrain, groomed and maintained to prevent erosion and to blend with the surrounding countryside.

The large main lodge and outbuildings were constructed using lumber cut and milled in the area and with granite from Cobble Mountain, (part of the Belknap complex). The lodge matched the rugged, outdoorsy feel of the area, and featured wood and stone.

Throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, skiing grew in popularity in New England. Gunstock was a great place to ski and to watch ski jump competitions that brought internationally skilled sportsmen and women to the Belknap Mountains area.

One very famous and highly talented ski jumper, Torger Tokle, came to the United States from Norway. He competed at the Belknap Mountains Recreation Area and tied for fi rst place. He loved the area and came to call it “his hill”, according to The History of Gunstock by Carol Lee Anderson. Tokle went on to win more ski jump competitions and rose to national fame in the 1930s. In 1941, he set the record at the 60-meter jump in Gilford and was a U.S. national champion. Tokle loved Gilford and sadly, died while fi ghting in World War II at the young age of 25.

Things were busy at the Belknap Recreation Area and more workers

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were needed; specifi cally, Belknap County needed management to oversee the property on a full-time basis. What had begun as some ski trails for outdoor enthusiasts had grown into something much bigger, catering to visitors in winter and summer. (The change of name from Belknap Mountains Recreation Area to Gunstock took place in 1962-1963.)

The Belknap County Legislative Delegation passed a legislative act setting up the Gunstock Area Commission. The fi ve-person board appointed by the Delegation had the authority to hire staff and set policy at the ever-growing recreation complex.

Skiing increased as the years went on, and in the late 1950’s and into the early 1960’s, an expansion program brought more changes to the area. The Commission members must have realized there was potential for bigger and better ski offerings at the Recreation Area and soon a new summit chairlift, three T-bars, and an entirely new trail complex were added. Yet another summit chairlift was added in 1964. Over the years, more expansion followed.

Many years after the original ski lovers worked to cut the trails on Gilford’s mountains, a lot has changed at the area. Today known as Gunstock Mountain Resort, the area looks different – and yet, it appears in some ways quite the same as it was in the 1930s. From its early days as a quiet mountain range to the birth of skiing and other recreation to today’s modern, always busy year round resort, Gunstock continues to help families create fond memories.

Snowshoeing has always been a practical way to get around in the snow. Snowshoeing seems to have been quite popular in the area for years as evidenced by the Pasquaney Snowshoe Club, which is over 100 years old.

The founding date of the club was March 7, 1912. The group formed after 43 Bristol area snowshoe enthusiasts hiked Sugar Hill, a modest mountain that overlooks the village. It was a time when all sorts of clubs from sewing circles to 4-H groups were popular. Winters were long, and people had to make their own entertainment and sport; snowshoeing was a great way to engage a group of friends and family in something that was easy to learn.

The Pasquaney Snowshoe Club was always thinking of fun ways to enjoy winter. In 1923 the club put together and sponsored Bristol’s fi rst winter carnival. The event proved wildly popular and grew over the years. A typical winter carnival included snowshoeing, ice skating, winter sports competitions, ski jumping, parades and a festive carnival ball with dancing and music by an orchestra.

Getting together for parties and impromptu meals seemed to be as much a part of the snowshoe club as trekking over snowy winter trails. Scrapbooks of the club over the years are a treasure

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The Chinook is New Hampshire’s offi cial state dog and given the history of the hearty breed, it is easy to see why the dog has been elevated to such status.

The Chinook dog may have started in New Hampshire, but the breed made its debut onto the international stage on a trip led by Admiral Byrd to the Antarctic. The original Chinook dog accompanied expedition member Arthur Walden of Wonalancet, New Hampshire.

Walden’s life could have been from the pages of an adventure book; his story included skill, daring, physical fi tness, bravery and the desire to conquer the outdoors.

Born in the Midwest in 1871, Walden eventually made his way to the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike event happened in the late 1890s and took northwestern Canada’s Klondike region by storm. It was not an easy place to reach and it meant using sled dogs and roughing it to reach the Klondike.

The adventure likely prepared Walden for learning how to survive in snow, cold and dangerous outdoor conditions. It surely introduced him to a lifelong respect for teams of dogs that were able to help him survive extreme outdoor conditions.

After the Gold Rush, Walden married Kate Sleeper. Kate was an amazing woman and she must have been perfect for Arthur. She was a lover of the outdoors and must have been highly independent. (Her ability to purchase the Wonalancet Farm at a young age and to run it as an inn for a time before converting it to a private property speaks to her courage and determination in an era when most females her age were attending tea parties and shopping for eligible husbands.) She was also the fi rst postmaster in Wonalancet when a post offi ce came to town in the 1890s.

Kate was the daughter of a wealthy Boston newspaperman; she hired Walden as a farm manager at some point before he left for the Klondike Gold Rush. Arthur Walden married Kate on the Wonalancet Farm in 1902.

Wonalancet Farm, with over 1,000 acres, gave the couple everything they needed: privacy to enjoy the outdoors and the space for Walden to begin breeding and training sled dogs.

On farm, Walden bred a mastiff dog with a descendant of one of Admiral Peary’s Husky lead dogs. This was the beginning of the famed Chinook dogs in about 1917. (Walden named his favorite pup from the litter Rikki, and later renamed the dog Chinook.) Walden introduced the dog to the public at the 1920 Gorham, New Hampshire Winter Carnival. The public must have been entranced by the large, friendly and intelligent Chinook that seemed able to do it all from racing and hauling goods to playing with children and lounging by the fi replace after romping in the snow all day.

Not one to be content with former adventures, Walden was the fi rst to reach the summit of Mt. Washington with a team of dogs in 1926. The weather was terrible, but the dog team was accustomed to harsh conditions.

Sled dog racing was not well known at the time but Walden changed that when he created the New England Sled Dog Club in 1924. It raised awareness of the sport, which was perfect for a snowy state such as New Hampshire.

Not long after, Walden joined Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expedition. Treks to the remote Antarctic were the stuff of romantic adventure and newspapers were full of accounts of the daring explorers and their faithful sled dogs. Although by this time Walden was in his late 50s, he was in much better physical condition than most people his age and he was named expedition lead sled dog driver and trainer.

Before the Byrd trip, the dogs were brought to Wonalancet Farm, where the Walden’s trained the canines. It was a perfect place for the rigorous training given New Hampshire’s cold and snowy winters.

Walden brought Chinook, his constant companion, on the trek and with the dog and his team, moved supplies for Byrd. Sadly, the aging Chinook wandered away from the group and was lost to Walden.

Newspapers had reported on Chinook, who was a sort of mascot to the expedition. Word of the dog’s passing spread by newspapers around the world. In Wonalancet, the townspeople also were saddened by

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• Yesteryear

Continued from page 16 the loss of Chinook; a local road was named the Chinook Trail.

If you want to build something new, you talk to the experts. That is just what Harvey Dow Gibson, a Conway born and bred businessman did when he wanted something innovative to set Cranmore Ski Area apart from other ski resorts.

When George Morton of Bartlett, NH came up with the idea of a ski lift that would carry passengers up a mountain, he merged a skimobile with a chair lift in a unique way.

Morton was a skilled mechanic who ran Morton’s Garage in Bartlett, NH. It is said Gibson came to Morton with a request that the mechanic build a sturdy lift for taking skiers up Cranmore’s slopes.

Gibson, a businessman with big plans for Cranmore, probably knew that Morton had created and installed a lift for a ski area at Moody’s Farm in Jackson in the 1930s. (The lift would come to be known as the Shovel Handle at Whitney’s after Bill Whitney bought Moody’s in the late 1930s. It must have been quite a sight when in the winter of 1937/1938, Bill improved the original lift by attaching over 70 shovel handles to the overhead cable!)

Morton studied other chair lifts and according to “Flight Without Wings” by Tom Eastman, thought he could do something different than the traditional chair lift where the rider’s legs dangled off the ground as the chair ascended the mountain. He thought about cable cars, and then the idea was born of cars on a track affixed to a cable to pull the cars. Skiers could sit in the little cars which would climb the mountain on a track. Morton’s son, Parker, helped design the ski lift. Gibson dubbed the new product “The Skimobile.”

In 1938, Gibson had workers installing tracks at Cranmore, while Morton worked out any kinks in the design and finalized construction of the cars. After the cars were created, Parker painted them red, white and blue and they were later shipped to Mt. Cranmore.

Installing the cars at the ski area could not have been easy, and when ready to run, a total of about 60 cars were attached to the cable, carrying one skier per car.

The Skimobile was a true innovation, but it carried skier Ski legends only half way up a mountain; when Hannes Schneider came to the area, he suggested the lift should be increased to reach the mountain’s summit. According to information at www.cranmore.com, a transition point between the lower trestle and the upper section was where passengers changed cars. It was unique in that it was built with two trestles. When the new lengthier track opened, Gibson’s wife christened it by breaking a bottle of champagne on a skimobile car. A small crowd was at the site to hear a speech from Mr. Gibson; more than 20 attendees rode Skimobile cars to the summit that day. To keep up with the demand once the entire track was completed, more cars were added.

With the popular Skimobile in place, more and more skiers came to Cranmore, as well as other White Mountain ski areas.

A Magic Journey through the North Shop Barn

This holiday season, Canterbury Shaker Village will be hosting A Magic Journey through the North Shop Barn, from December 11 to 23, and December 27 to 30, 2020. The event will take place from 1 to 5 pm.

The Magic Journey begins at the “magic wardrobe”, winding and meandering through the North Shop Barn, which has been transformed into a winter wonderland. The Barn features artist-created vignettes, including a Shaker Christmas, a dollhouse and skating panorama, and snow-laden forest scenes.

More surprises await, including a Find-the-Elf treasure hunt, and, on weekends, a Christkindlmarktinspired artisan market of handcrafted holiday gifts. Hot cocoa and cider will be available, and the Moolicious food truck will be at the Village on December 12; the Sweet Crunch food truck will be at Shaker Village on December 19. Also on December 12, from 3 to 4 pm, there will be a live musical performance by Massimo Paparello and his Brass Quartet.

The Village Store will be open, so please stop in to get started on holiday shopping. New items are arriving weekly. Festive holiday decorations, provided by Canterbury Plantation, and illuminated lights will add to the holiday spirit at the Village.

A Magic Journey through the North Shop Barn is a sociallydistanced event with safety guidelines in place. Masks are required and all barn doors will be open to optimize air flow.

Admission charge for nonmember adults is $10. Member adult admission is $5. All youth are admitted for free.

Shaker Village is grateful to sponsors who made the event possible: Cambridge Trust, Northeast Delta Dental, and Lou Kaucic with Coaches Collective International.

The museum is a member of the NH Heritage Museum Trail, which connects the public with culturally rich heritage institutions in New Hampshire. For more information, visit nhmuseumtrail.org.

Canterbury Shaker is located at 288 Shaker Road in Canterbury, New Hampshire, just south of Laconia and north of Concord, NH. For more information, visit www. shakers.org, or call 603-783-9511 x 205.

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Wildlife Biologists Complete Annual Duck Banding Work

New Hampshire Fish and Game phone number has been discontinued. wildlife biologists have completed the Please report band recoveries online annual effort to attach hundreds of at www.reportband.gov or by sending metal bands to ducks throughout the your information to: Bird Banding Lab, state. The pre-season banding effort is 12100 Beach Forest Road, Laurel, MD conducted in U.S. states and Canadian 20708. provinces throughout the Atlantic “Please take the time to report your Flyway in August and September. bands,” urges Wildlife Biologist

This huge undertaking provides Jessica Carloni, the NH Fish and Game survival-rate data that are used in Department’s Waterfowl Biologist. “A combination with breeding-plot data substantial amount of effort went into and HIP (National Migratory Bird putting these markers on, and these band Harvest Information Program) survey reports provide important management data for the model used to determine data. It’s also very interesting to learn annual season regulations in the spring. how old the duck is and where it was

Each metal band has a unique banded.” sequence of numbers, and biologists This year, a total of 1,250 ducks were record the species, age, and sex of each banded in New Hampshire before the duck before it is released. At the end of hunting seasons began – the highest the season, all the data are submitted to total banded in the 32 years of the the Bird Banding Lab at the Patuxent program. They included: 838 mallards, Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, 367 wood ducks, 26 blue-winged teal, Maryland. When a hunter harvests a 17 black ducks, 1 northern pintail. and duck with a metal band, or a wildlife 1 mallard/black duck hybrid. As a result viewer reads the band through a of 32 consecutive years of pre-season spotting scope, they are asked to report duck banding, 13,944 ducks have now the information to a website provided been banded in New Hampshire. on the band (www.reportband.gov). Banding of ducks is not a simple It takes just a few minutes to report undertaking. Biologists invest a the encounter. You may see a phone considerable amount of time in putting number inscribed on the band also, but out bait to attract ducks to locations best the call center supporting the toll-free suited for banding. Numerous capture

Experience Ballet at Home

Northeastern Ballet Theatre (NBT) has a great a way for you to enjoy live ballet productions at home.

In the spirit of the season and because live ballet performances are on hold for the moment, New Hampshire’s premier ballet company, Northeastern Ballet Theatre, invites you to experience “NBT At Home,” a series of NBT performances from 2019 presented online.

Three different productions, all created by NBT’s Artistic Director and Founder, Edra Toth, former Prima Ballerina for Boston Ballet Company, will be offered as an online subscription series.

Embrace the spookiness of Halloween with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, followed by “The Wizard”, a balletic interpretation of the first Harry Potter book. Finally, beginning November 27, celebrate the holidays with the classic ballet, “The Nutcracker.”

All three shows will be available to watch through January 3, 2021. You can choose to subscribe to all three or just one or two. The cost to watch all three is just $20, two is $15 and it is $8 for one. This is a fundraiser for NBT’s scholarship program - 20% of NBT students are on full or partial scholarship.

Since NBT cannot bring you the professional, high caliber performances as normally would happen, they are offering a chance to re-experience, or watch for the first time, performances that were described as having “New York quality” right in your own home!

To subscribe to “NBT At Home” or for more information about NBT’s professional classical ballet training school with locations in Wolfeboro and Dover, please visit www. northeasternballet.org. techniques exist for catching ducks; the two most widely used in New Hampshire are bait traps and rocket nets. Bait traps are simple enclosures with a closing-door mechanism to trap ducks. Rocket nets are very effective at catching large groups of birds. Three rockets are attached to a large net. When the ducks are close enough, biologists trigger a detonator which fires the rockets, propelling the net into the air, catching the ducks unharmed underneath. Bait traps accounted for 66 percent of the ducks banded this year and rocket nets for 34 percent of captures.

“We are extremely grateful to private landowners for allowing us access to their property to band ducks,” said Carloni. “Their support makes the collection of this valuable information possible.”

Late season waterfowl hunting opportunities remain available in New Hampshire. Learn more at www. huntnh.com/hunting/waterfowl.html.

Waterfowl management is funded by Wildlife Restoration Grants administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Services, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program: Partnering to fund conservation and connect people with nature. To learn more visit www.wildnh.com/funding/wsfr.html.

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