More Presidential events

From our friends in Wonalancet

A Special Evening of Theatre in Wonalancet

We have a unique, one-time, up-close and personal opportunity to meet two colorful, opposite but equally influential 20th century politicians in the flesh…

Calvin Coolidge and James Michael Curley will be portrayed by Michael Robbins and John Gallagher, Curley’s step-grandson “on-stage” at the Wonalancet Union Chapel Saturday, November 29th at 7:30pm

Experience first-hand the relationship between the soon-to-be President Calvin Coolidge and the four-term Mayor of Boston, James Michael Curley renown for his profligate corruption and his great personal charm.

Coolidge regarded Curley as an out and out crook who robbed the city blind. Curley, who served two separate terms in jail and characteristically referred to himself by name, expressed it differently: “Some people call it “grahft,” Curley calls it the milk of human kindness.”

This theatrical production has been performed in and around Boston, but this is a first for the Wonalancet Chapel!

There is no set fee for admission. Goodwill offerings will go toward the on-going maintenance of the Chapel.

The Chapel will be warm.  Seating is limited.  Come early.

Franklin Pierce turns 210

The only President hailing from New Hampshire will turn 210 soon. A great resource to learn about Franklin Pierce is from the book project led by our own Brian P. Wiggin, yes the one who was on the cover of last week's Conway Daily Sun. The book is available at your local library. 

More info see: WMUR feature on Franklin Pierce

Conway Historical Society newsletter available online now!

You can find the most recent Conway Historical Society newsletter at their website, www.conwayhistoricalsociety.org. Simply follow the menu for two years of archived newsletters. Older editions can be found at the Conway Historical Society and the Henney History Room of the Conway Public Library.

TEM and Gabriella White Program Tuesday Nov 11 at 7pm at Salyards Center

Carol Saunders will present a program on her ancestors, the artists, TEM and Gabriella White at 7pm at the Salyards Center in Conway. 

Here you can see the artist Benjamin Champney chatting with TEM and his wife Gabriella. Come and learn more about this gentleman who would whistle entire operas while he worked!

Native American History Program

Wednesday, November 12, 2014. 7pm Cook Library. Tamworth. David Stewart-Smith. Smith discusses how French and English exploration resulted in strong Native American tribal alliances in southeastern Maine, coastal and central New Hampshire, and the north shore of Massachusetts. These relationships became known as the Pennacook alliance, when Passaconaway, the chief of the Pennacook, rose to power and placed his family in the mainstream of colonial interaction. The program concludes with King Philip’s War and events just prior to 1700. A New Hampshire Humanities Council program. FMI call 603-323-8510

E.E. Cummings exhibit and Grand re-opening (free food)

On Saturday, November 1^st from 10am to 2 pm the Madison Historical Society will have a grand re-opening (after their move onto their new foundation) at the historical society museum (corner of Route 113 & East Madison Road). There will be free refreshments, pies and baked good for sale, books and cards, and post Halloween activities. The feature, besides touring the new construction, will be a new E.E. Cummings exhibit.

Art, maps and the AMC

Thought you all might enjoy this timely article from the Nov/Dec 2014
issue of AMC Outdoors. Be sure to see the exhibit of art and maps at the Museum of White Mountain Art, Jackson, NH.


AMC's Councilor of Art


By the way, did you know that Charles Fay had a summer home in Tamworth, NH and there is quite a collection of related items at the Tamworth Historical Society.

Bewitching Tamworth

Cook Memorial Library, in collaboration with the Tamworth Historical Society, has received a grant from the NH Humanities Council to present the program: “ Witches, Pop Culture, and the Past”  tonight  Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00 PM  at  Cook Memorial Library just  in time for Halloween. In 1692, nineteen people were executed in Salem and hundreds imprisoned during a witch hunt . Robin DeRosa says: " Salem tells its witch stories, history tourism, and performance collide, and 'truth,' both moral and macabre, vies with spooky thrills for its authentic place in history." The program is free and  open to the public with  refreshments. For more information contact the library at 323-8510.

Mapping the Mount Washington Valley

Check out the AMC facebook post about mapping in the White Mountains. It is a great tie-in with the not to be missed exhibit at the Jackson Historical Society. With all the rain, this may be a great time to see an indoor exhibit about the outdoors.

AMC facebook page

Louis Cutter: White Mountain Map Maker

Video on map making in the digital age

Jackson Historical Society webpage

Historical Halloween

There are a number of historically themed Halloween programs this weekend. Click on the links below to learn more. If you know of any others, please share them through your comments here!

Campton New Hampshire

Canterbury New Hampshire

Exeter, New Hampshire

Madison, New Hampshire

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Playing cards blog two

Talk about timing, just as I was publishing the blog on the historic Conway 250th playing cards, I received an email with proofs of two of the cards. Buy the cards and bet the house! (of course I mean explore the history of Conway architecture ... we do not advocate, condemn or condone gambling)

Home Grown Lumber post cards

Thanks again to Steve and Olga Morrill for loaning their post card collection to the Henney History Room of the Conway Public Library. Thanks also to our volunteers, especially Curtis Tinker and Debra Cottrell for scanning almost 800 post cards to add to our online catalog.

We recently held a preview showing of the collection in the Ham Community Center at the Conway Public Library and heard wonderful stories from our patrons and the public on their own history and experiences at and around the places depicted in the post cards. We learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and hope this will become a more regular event as we head into the 250th celebration of the granting of Conway, New Hampshire.

If you know where this covered bridge is and the story or stories behind us, please leave us a comment on this blog. Thanks,

Morrill Covered Bridge. Home Grown Lumber post card collection.

Holiday gift idea: Historic playing cards

It's never too early to get a jump on your holiday gift preparations. Due to the upcoming celebration of Conway's 250th anniversary, there will be a number of history related gift options. Coming soon will be souvenir decks of playing cards with 52 historic pictures from the collections of the Conway Public Library, Conway Historical Society and other private and public collections.

For more information see:
Conway 250 celebration.
Conway Historical Society online gift shop.

Mineral Springs. Once a popular tourist attraction and thriving "health" business the mineral springs has been preserved as part of the campus at Kennett High School.

Abenaki program at Bartlett Historical Society

The Conway Public Library's Henney History Room Curator, Bob Cottrell, will present a program on the Abenaki at the Bartlett Historical Society's annual meeting on Wednesday, October 22.

For more information see the Bartlett Historical Society website.
The program is free and open to the public.

Shaker Village history program tonight

Darryl Thompson will discuss the Shaker legacy and the founding of Canterbury Shaker Village at 7 p.m. in the Conference Center Dining Room at Camp Calumet in Freedom. The program is free and open to the public. Call (603) 539-4773 for more information.

Conway Historical Society annual meeting tonight!

The Conway Historical Society's 2014 Annual Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at The Salyards Center For The Arts in Conway. A ham and turkey dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Members are asked to bring a side dish, salad or dessert to share. The meal is free for members and $5 for nonmembers. The business meeting and the election of officers begins at 7 p.m., followed by a presentation on the Conway Historical Society's plans for the Town of Conway 250th anniversary celebration in 2015. Future operations of the Society will be discussed and opinion survey forms will be available. There will be a 50-50 raffle.

Cover of the new book, Scaling the White Mountains. A Selection of White Mountain Maps. From the Museum of White Mountain Art, Jackson, New Hampshire.

Maps and Art in Jackson

This past weekend our history odyssey included a visit to the Museum of White Mountain Art at the Jackson Historical Society. What an adventure, not to be missed! First, even before we entered the building, there was an incredible "pumpkin people" display depicting the funeral of the old man of the mountain done with great humor and taste. Be sure to examine all the unique details in this display. Then on the ground floor are displayed the paintings for their current art sale. Finally upstairs is the new exhibit "White Mountain Scenes, Different Views, Different Artists. The opening reception will be Friday night, October 17, 2014 from 6-9pm. Check their website: http://www.jacksonhistory.org/ for details. Jackson Historical Society President G. Warren Schomaker gifted the Henney History Room with a copy of the new catalog for the map portion of the display, Scaling the White Mountains. A Selection of White Mountain Maps. (More on this book later).

Why use the term Mount Washington Valley? Let's look at some historical references.

Celebrate Conway's 250th

October 1, 2015 will be the 250th anniversary of the granting of Conway's charter establishing the town. Help us celebrate our 250th birthday. For details on the many events please visit the website www.conway250.org.

Just a couple items to pencil in on your calendar, there will be an Education Fair for area school on May 16, 2015. A participant registration form has been uploaded to www.conway250.org. We hope the entire community will get involved.

We will have a Winter Carnival January 24-25th, 2015. Planned events include sleigh rides, an MWV Skating Club demonstration, Curling and Hockey, Historic Ski Jump at Cathedral Ledge, Snow Sculptures, downhill skiing etc. Venues will include the Ham Arena, Whitaker Woods, Schouler Park, Conway Lake etc.

Invitation to post

We would like to invite and encourage all members of the community and anyone interested in Mount Washington Valley history to subscribe, post, and comment on this blog. Please submit any stories and/or photos that you have and are willing to share with others. Thank you.

Mount Washington Valley history blog

Welcome and thanks for visiting the Mount Washington Valley history blog. Our purpose is to share the fascinating history of New Hampshire's Mount Washington Valley, the White Mountains, Carroll County and western Oxford County, Maine.