Covered Bridge program at the Conway Public Library

Covered wooden bridges have been a vital part of the NH transportation network, dating back to the early 1800s. Given NH’s myriad streams, brooks, and rivers, it’s unsurprising that 400 covered bridges have been documented. Often viewed as quaint relics of a simpler past, they were technological marvels of their day. It may be native ingenuity and NH’s woodworking tradition that account for the fact that a number of nationally-noted covered bridge truss designers were NH natives. Glenn Knoblock discusses covered bridge design and technology, and their designers, builders, and associated folklore in the Ham Community Room, April 29, at 7 p.m. 

Cummings at Silver Lake A Weekend of Art and Music

Mark your calendars. July 10 & 11, 2015 Friends of Madison Library present a weekend of art, music, poetry and history exploring the relationship between the American poet and artist, E E Cummings, and the people and town of Madison, New Hampshire. Friday night will feature a “non-lecture”, art show and Cummings’ poetry set to music. On Saturday view 8 local sites, including the Cummings Family Collection at the Madison Historical Society and the poet’s beloved “Joy Farm.”

Check out the new website and blog for more information about the people and places around Silver Lake which inspired Cummings’ poetry and paintings.

For more info see: Cummings at Silver Lake

Learn about the Pullman Palace railroad car Gertrude Emma!

Robert Todd Lincoln was President of the Pullman Company when they built this railroad car in 1898. It is now the pride and joy of the Conway Scenic Railroad. The Gertrude Emma is probably the oldest Pullman Palace Car Co. product in North America that is still carrying passengers on a regular basis. Learn all about it from railroad enthusiast Dwight Smith at our April program, all aboard!

Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Location: The Salyards Center For The Arts, Lower (Rear) Level. 110 Main Street, Conway NH
Time: There will be a potluck dinner at 6pm followed by a short business meeting at 7pm, a 50-50 raffle and the presentation.
Don't miss this one!
Come, bring a dish to share (entree, side, salad or dessert).
Bring a friend and bring a dollar or two for a raffle ticket or two but, most important, be there!

Conway Historical Society
100 Main Street, PO Box 1949
Conway, NH 03818
603-447-5551www.conwayhistoricalsociety.org.
email: conwayhistory@myfairpoint.net.

Washington Spied Here ... Learn all about it

7 pm Madison NH Public Library.

Based on recently discovered historical materials and recent books, this program by Douglas Wheeler is an inquiry into the life and death of America's first spy, the patriot-martyr, Nathan Hale, of Coventry, Connecticut. Wheeler takes audiences on a journey through the spy world of the Culper Spy Ring of New York, Long Island and Connecticut, the most secret of the American spy rings and the most successful in getting useful intelligence to General George Washington beginning in 1778, two years after Hale's tragic execution by the British. The Father of our country was also our first Intelligence Chief. The program is illustrated with images of the main places and dramatis personae of this unusual network of patriot secret agents and couriers.

Location: Madison Library,1895 Village Rd., Madison
For more information see George Washington Spied Here Madison Library

Learn how to write your story with Thatcher Freund, March 19th at 6:30pm at the Conway Public Library. For more details see our newsletter. Conway Public Library Newsletter

Thatcher gives talks around the country about the power that stories have on our lives and why it's so important for people to tell their stories - not just in the form of memoirs but by writing diaries and recording oral histories and finding ways to preserve their Facebook pages and Instagrams and Tweets.This talk focuses on how fundamental stories are to human beings, where, for example, researchers at Yale and Northwestern have theorized that we are literally nothing except a collection of stories; that every thought we have is a story; that every conversation consists of trading stories back and forth; and that civilization owes its existence to our ability to tell stories and pass them down.

Hip Hop Hamilton

Yes, you read correctly! This is a theatrical production in the hip-hop style of the history of Alexander Hamilton. Today's Conway Daily Sun features an article by David Brooks titled "The Hamilton Experience." You can pick up a free copy of the paper at many locations in the Mount Washington Valley or check it out online at The Conway Daily Sun. For back issues, you can view them at the Henney History Room of the Conway Public Library.

Enjoying winter doesn't mean you can't start thinking about summer!

Celia Thaxter in her garden, 1892 by Childe Hassam.
New Hampshire is featured well in a new exhibit at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Follow this link for more info about the exhibit, catalog, and related programs. Take the train down and check this out! Then go to the Isles and visit her garden as well as other NH gardens later this spring and summer. The Conway Historical Society will be featuring artworks showing Benjamin Chapney's garden and the history of other area gardens. Go to the Henney History Room of the Conway Public Library to learn more, especially about the ideals of cottage gardens and Abnaki Rugs as explained by Helen Albee of Chocorua.