Winter Fun: Carnivals, Outing Clubs and Cold Weather Competitions

Winter Fun: Carnivals, Outing Clubs and Cold Weather Competitions

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

For generations, snow has been a part of life in New Hampshire. Perhaps to embrace, rather than endure, long winters, locals decided it would be fun to get outside, offer some competitions and food and music during the coldest time of the year. That idea became known as a winter carnival, and to this day, nothing says fun quite like a winter carnival.

Winter carnivals and school dances are often part of wintertime events. This old photo of the crowning of Jack Frost and Miss Snowflake at the winter carnival dance, Bristol Community Center, Bristol. (Photo courtesy Tapply Thompson Community Center)

In days of old, when roads were nearly impassable in winter and folks could not travel as far, they made their own fun at winter carnival gatherings that included ice skating, snowmen making, dances and suppers and the crowning of a carnival queen. These simple celebrations brought people out to socialize and have fun during the long winters in New England.

In the Newfound Lake area, the village of Hebron got in on winter carnival fun starting in about 1922. According to A Brief History of Hebron, NH by Ron Collins, that was the year a winter carnival was planned. It was tied in with the area outing and ski clubs, such as the one on Tenney Hill in Hebron. 

Bristol, also in the Newfound area, seems to have embraced the fun of winter carnival events, and such outdoor competitions as a Carnival Log Rolling contest drew big crowds of spectators.

In 1923 the club put together and sponsored Bristol’s first 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; those who braved the winter weather had a social event to talk about for the remainder of the winter.

At some point, the club enlarged the winter carnival to include a Jack Frost and Miss Snowflake dance for high schoolers. The pageant, held at the town’s community center in Bristol, featured competing students from the local high school with the winners crowned during the dance.

Gunstock in Gilford has been the place for winter fun for decades. The resort is no stranger to winter carnivals, starting many years ago. A newspaper article in The Telegraph (Nashua) from 1989 stated that the resort’s winter carnival was set to begin on February 19 with many activities planned, such as a snow sculpture contest, a dance, a torchlight parade down the ski slopes, a ski race, basketball competition and more.

Wolfeboro has offered a fun winter carnival for years, and it all began in the 1940s at the area that would become Abenaki Ski Area. The Abenaki Outing Club members were enjoying winter activities on a hill in the town and wanted to promote winter activities. The club presented a winter carnival in the 1940s, with skiing, skating and other outdoor pastimes.

The idea of a winter carnival got its start in Franklin when the town’s recreation department was given the go-ahead to build a ski area in the town. The Franklin Outing Club stepped in to help the recreation department run the ski area and in 1962, the Great Gains Ski Area (which became the Veteran’s Memorial Ski Area) held its first winter carnival. 

Many years later, the Franklin Outing Club was still offering a winter carnival. Testifying to the staying power of the club and the carnival, 2015 marked the 53rd year of the winter event. Such events as a casserole supper and bonfire, a pancake breakfast, fishing derby does not sound all that different from the events of the old-time carnivals in the early 1900s.

In 1922, a winter carnival was held in Tamworth with Hazel Evans crowned as carnival queen. She rode in the festive carnival parade in a sled led by the famous Chinook sled dog. 

Other outdoor winter adventures have been a part of the Lakes Region for years and perhaps the most beloved is the annual Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby. According to From Yesterday to Today The World Championship Sled Dog Derby by Cynthia Molburg, the races began in Laconia in around 1930 and were part of other events presented by the New England Sled Dog Club. By 1931, the Laconia Sled Dog Club was created to promote the sport in the area. Clearly, the event was very popular, and by 1936, the title World Championship was added.

Sled dog competitors (known as mushers) came from around the country and as far away as Canada to participate in the race. When World War II broke out, the races ceased but saw resurgence in the mid 1950s. At that time, the Belknap County Sportsman Club sponsored the event. Some of the members of the former Laconia Sled Dog Club stepped in to help as well and formed the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club. Many local organizations and such departments as local police and road crews and city officials helped as well. In the 1960s, the races were very popular and brought excitement to the area in the deep winter. Over 40 team drivers might race on any given year and spectators filled the sidewalks of Laconia to cheer on the teams.

Wintertime outdoor lovers joined together all over New Hampshire in the early 1900s to create carnivals and also to enjoy snow sports. Four local men formed the Tamworth Outing Club in 1935. In the group’s initial minutes, it was recorded, “The object for which this corporation is established is to promote and encourage out-door sports and recreation, and to furnish or otherwise secure facilities for the same; and to aid in such development of the region as is consistent with its character and the thought of its inhabitants.”

The club was quite active and they created lots of outdoor opportunities for visitors and locals alike. Their early projects included trail clearing and a rope tow created in 1936 and ski races in the winter of 1937. They also sponsored a sled dog race in 1937 and held popular barn dances in winter and summer. 

The winter of 2016 offers a number of winter carnivals in the Lakes Region, including the 16th Annual Ice Harvest and Winter Carnival in Tamworth at the Remick Country Doctor Museum on Saturday, February 16; the Alton Bay Winter Carnival on February 16 and 17; the Wolfeboro Winter Carnival from February 16 to 24, among others. Although outside the Lakes Region, the Newport, NH Winter Carnival in the Lake Sunapee area has been around for over 100 years and will take place from February 7 to 10 this year in the town of Newport, NH.

From Baseball to Summer Hotels to Corkscrews at the Alton Historical Society

From Baseball to Summer Hotels to Corkscrews at the Alton Historical Society

Story and Photos by Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

For those that read the title of this story and thought, “I have no interest in history” and turn away from the word ‘Society,’ let me assure you there is nothing dusty or boring about the Alton Historical Society.

If you visit, all you need is a good sense of humor, some curiosity about people, and it wouldn’t help to like funky old items because there are a lot of those at the Alton Historical Society. And, it would help if you set aside an hour or two, if Bob Witham, an officer with the Society and a longtime Alton resident, just happens to be at the museum when you visit.

Town baseball teams were once popular entertainment in small towns, as attested to by this old sign.

The Alton Historical Society is open limited hours in the winter, so you can plan your visit accordingly or give them a call and they will arrange to have someone open the museum so you can look around. 

Luckily for me, a call to Bob Witham allowed a visit on a winter’s Friday afternoon. Bob met me at the Alton Library on Main Street in the downtown Alton area; the museum is on the basement level of the library. With a patient nature and a willingness to share his many memories, Bob is one of those local residents we all want to know when we have “hey, what ever happened to such-and-such?” or “who around here knowns the real story and history of that place or happening?

Bob knows a lot about Alton’s history and is a walking who’s-who of information because he was the local rural mail carrier for years. He chuckles as he recounts, “I was a brick layer and I also did heavy construction. Then I was the rural mail delivery carrier all over Alton. I drove a VW Beetle for the entire route and the roads were not in such good shape back then! But I always got the mail delivered.”

Perhaps it was all those mail deliveries on remote roads to old farmhouses and rural businesses that gave Bob a lot of background and history about the town. However he acquired his knowledge, he certainly knows a lot and loves to tour the big museum room with visitors, picking out an item here and there to talk about and relate to Alton’s people, places and happenings over the years.

“I like anything old!” he adds. “I have photographed a lot of the old homes in Alton and I am photographing the old barns in Alton now.”

When asked, as we stand in the museum room that is chock-full of fascinating old items, about Alton’s early history, Bob says he thinks Joseph Pierce built the first wood-framed building in town and then he built a big Colonial home and eventually went on to become a Congressman.

Alton school memorabilia.

Like many towns in earlier days, Alton was once a thriving industrial area, with a large corkscrew factory run by Rockwell Clough. “It was the largest corkscrew factory/company in the world at one time and it was located in downtown Alton. Clough invented a machine to help make corkscrews,” says Bob. Eventually, as was the case with many large wooden structures in olden days, the barn of the factory burned and the business died out.

A tour of the museum is not just a look at old items donated by locals, but with Bob along for the walk-through, each museum item becomes a chance for a fascinating story or a memory of a time past. He really paints a picture with words of how things were done way back when, and who did what and what contributions they made to the town. As we look at old photos of an inn, he recalls, “That was the Oak Birch Inn and it was built in the early 1900s as a summer hotel. It was lavish and it catered to the elderly who wanted to spend the summer near the lake. I recall there was a restaurant, a movie theater and a bowling alley. I remember one lady who would come and spend the whole summer at the inn.”

An old photo of the Alton Town Baseball Team brings back memories of various players on the team and then we find ourselves talking about Helen Nordquist, a local woman who played for an all-female pro softball team from which the movie “A League of Their Own” was based.

An area with old medical items leads Bob to mention, “There’s a picture of Doc Tuttle. He practiced medicine in town for 50 years.” 

The clock and other Alton items from the past.

One of the gems in the museum is a huge clock and Bob tells me it was an original clock face on the Alton Town Hall. It cannot be missed when touring the room and is a definite conversation piece due to its mammoth size!

An exhibit area features all sorts of items from the Alton school system and you needn’t have attended school in the town to enjoy all the old items. An Alton High School Band drum stands among the items, which include old class photos, sports uniforms, a 1960 basketball schedule (having grown up in a small NH town, I can attest to the fact that in the dead of winter without much else to do, basketball games provide popular entertainment for locals), and a circa 1901 Alton Central School black-and-white photo.

If you love old banners and signs, this is a great place to visit. I particularly love the old and huge pennant that hangs from a wall hook with the words Bay View Pavilion Dance Alton Bay. It is old and rustic but speaks of a time when a nice summertime dance at the Alton Bay Pavilion might see any one of a number of well-known big bands performing in the area. 

Lake memorabilia includes an early-framed sign with wording, “See Lake Winnipesaukee from the U.S. Mail Boat Tonimar” with Capt. Lawrence P. Beck. 

I was surprised to see an old poster advertising the Reptile Zoo at Alton Bay with living reptiles and baby wild animals. The zoo was said to feature snakes, lizards, giant African Land Snails, Bird Eating Spiders and even a chance to see Maggie the Baby Chimpanzee riding her bicycle! Admission for a gander at these delights was just 20 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.

One fun thing about touring the museum with Bob is the fact that although you would assume he’s seen it all, he stops now and then to marvel over something in the collection he hasn’t seen before. And often that means a memory of something fascinating associated with a photograph, an old poster or another item. 

We got chatting about when fishermen started visiting the Lakes Region to pursue the sport of ice fishing. I assumed it was a fairly new pastime, but Bob says, no, some of the big homes on Route 11D that hug the waterfront rented out rooms to ice fishermen many years ago.

That led us to talking about outlying areas of Alton, which, after all, is a large town geographically. We spoke of the West Alton area, and such places as The Pine Cupboard, a snack bar and other railroad station stops and older, architecturally interesting homes in the area that was far enough from the downtown Alton community to have created its own community center, summer cottages, and a few stores.

Bob also mentions the Clay Pipes made in East Alton, but by this time, my head was spinning with all we had talked about and seen, so I will leave that story for another day.

I should mention, before ending this day trip adventure, that those who love old lake artifacts will want to visit the museum if only to see the long wooden roller which was original to the M/S Mount Washington. It is a mammoth thing and an important piece of Lake Winnipesaukee history, showing as nothing else can, how the steamboat in the early days was “rolled” onto the lake.

If you want to hear about ice delivery (in summer as well as winter), Bob knows all about that too and has some stories to tell. If you are doing some family history research, Bob likely will know your family and probably delivered mail to them in the past. (He also says there are a lot of people tracing family history these days and the Historical Society has lots of written records that might help in searches.) If you are looking for an old barn or homestead, Bob may have taken a photo of the structure. 

The Alton Historical Society is anything but a dull-as-dust place. It is full of stories and happenings and the people who came before us that contributed so to the area. You don’t have to know the people to appreciate their stories and the items they donated to the museum. 

That was probably the mindset of a local minister who wanted to preserve Alton’s history when he started the local historical society in the 1950s. The society first was housed in a log cabin, but these days has a wonderful, permanent home within the Gilman Library on Main Street in downtown Alton. It is open from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on the third Saturday of the month or other times by appointment; visit www.altonhistoricalsociety.org for contact information. During the summer months, the Society offers meetings the third Tuesday of each month, April through September, at 7 pm, followed by a carefully-selected program on local history that is open to the public.

Read All About It!

Read All About It!

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

Once upon a time, if you wanted the local or national news, you grabbed the daily or weekly paper. Newspaper boys yelled, “Extra! Extra!” when a big story hit, and millionaire newspaper magnates like William Randolph Hearst had a sixth sense about what stories would attract the average reader.

Laconia Public Library. Photo by Bill Hemmel

If you worked for a newspaper, you could say “I’m a reporter for such-and-such paper,” or “You might’ve seen my story in print in last week’s edition.” There was pride in chasing down a story, with the knowledge that your words would be read by many people.

Then, along came cable television and the internet and cell phones and all the methods of instant news and communication. The world indeed has changed a lot over the last 25 (or more) years, and perhaps that is why I adore museums and history.

You can learn a great deal from studying an old photo, if you really look. And you can learn a tremendous amount about how life was lived and how we got to where we are today from visiting historical museums. Luckily for Lakes Regioners and visitors to the area, the Laconia Public Library at 695 North Main Street (in Laconia) is the place where the Laconia Historical and Museum Society presents changing exhibits on a variety of topics.

When I learned that the Society is featuring an exhibit on the history of Laconia’s newspaper, the Citizen, I knew I was in for a treat. Since high school, I have worked in the newspaper business. I can thank the owners of the Bristol Enterprise for my tentative first step into the print world. My brother was employed, while still in high school, at the Enterprise and soon I too was working part time, typing address labels and doing errands. Even though my role was miniscule at the weekly, small-town newspaper, I was fascinated. People waited with anticipation for the paper to be printed each week, and I saw then the power of the printed word.

I think Edward John Gallagher (1890-1978) must have been aware of that power as well. His initial foray into journalism came about when he was recovering from a bout of tuberculosis. He was ill for four years and was given a typewriter, probably to stave off the tedium of a long recovery. At age 15 he wrote, “How to Care for an Invalid” and saw his story published in a national magazine.

Sometimes from adversity come great things. It is Gallagher’s story, along with the history of the newspaper he founded, the Laconia Citizen, that is the subject of the exhibit at the Laconia Library.

I arrived at the library on a rainy, chilly springtime afternoon, and made my way to the top floor rotunda area where the Historical Society exhibits are on display. (I have seen some wonderful exhibits in the rotunda area, from the history of local clinics and hospitals to beautiful old theatre curtains, to name but a few of the varied displays.)

The exhibit is a “you-can’t-miss it” eye catcher, with the words The Citizen hanging above the entrance, banner-style. The title of the exhibit is “The Citizen 90 Years of an Iconic Laconia Newspaper.” The Laconia Historical and Museum Society certainly have done the memory of Gallagher and the newspaper proud. The exhibit traces the start of the paper, right up through the time it ceased publishing, in 2016.

According to information in the exhibit, Gallagher never attended college, but still he was a big success when he moved to Laconia, where he was a businessman, mayor, banker…and of course, the publisher of the Citizen.

The first edition of the paper was January 4, 1926, but it wasn’t the first or only newspaper in the town. Somehow, above all others, the Citizen thrived while other papers came and went.

Typefaces are a huge part of the printing of any newspaper, and a glass case in the exhibit shows a book of early typefaces. A 1920s catalogue from the American Type Founders Company is on display, and it was from books such as this that the Citizen staff could order type, printing presses, paper cutters, cabinets and more.

Before today’s speedy computers, reporters had to craft their stories on typewriters. A wonderful old Underwood typewriter shows how reporters once typed their stories, which, when completed, were sent to be handset, letter by letter, by staff. In 1925, Gallagher purchased a flatbed printing press that weighed 14 tons. It was a mammoth piece of machinery and so big a pit had to be dug in a building on Hanover Street to house the press.

Type was set by hand, letter-by-letter and a single column inch of type could a long time to set. It was an incredibly slow process, and newspaper staff all over the country must have rejoiced when linotype machines came along. (This method used a hot metal typesetting system that could produce an entire line of type at once.)

Gallagher knew the public relied upon the Laconia Citizen for news, no matter what. An old photo with caption shows staff at work at the Linotype machine after the Hurricane of 1938. The power outage caused by the hurricane was a dilemma, but the machine was rigged with a gasoline engine for power and the paper was printed in spite of the weather!

Early in the days of the Citizen, the paper sent photographs by morning train to the Union Leader in Manchester for processing. The completed images would be returned by afternoon bus. (And by the way, until 2006, the paper was called The Laconia Evening Citizen. After 2006, it became a morning newspaper.)

Those who love the early days of computers will enjoy seeing an old, rather boxy Macintosh computer, which at one time was quite a wonder and time saver. (Before the computer age, each section of the paper was printed and coated with wax, then cut out section by section. Then, page layout was done on a large board…by hand.)

Although there were a number of weekly newspapers in the area, the Citizen was the only daily paper. It may have started modestly, but Gallagher likely had a vision and a plan to grow the paper. He joined the Associated Press early on and he had the courage to hire a woman, Ebba Janson, as city editor.

Not to give away everything in the exhibit, I can say viewers will be treated to many black-and-white photos showing some of the early, fun things in Laconia, such as a method of selling papers via a decorated auto with Gallagher’s daughter, Alma, going along for a ride!

Early newspaper boys smile at the camera as they gather at the Citizen’s Beacon Street location with copies of the “Victory in Europe” edition in May of 1945. They are all smiling, dressed casually, some in jaunty caps, ready to deliver this very-important and joyful news to the public.

Eventually, Gallagher’s daughter, Alma, and her husband took over the paper. In later years, it was purchased and run by others. The paper ceased publication in 2016.

The exhibit pays tribute also to a number of men and women who made the Citizen possible, from 1926 to 2016. As I read the long list of names, it was brought home to me what an impact the paper had on the Lakes Region. Many made a viable living and a big contribution to the public through their jobs at the paper, from general managers to news reports, photographers, graphics staff, circulation, advertising, correspondents and office staff who were often the first voice one heard when contacting the newspaper.

No matter how you get news today – whether via the internet, television or radio, there was a time when the one and only (and most reliable) way to get the news was to grab a newspaper. The Laconia Citizen brought local news as well as the sometimes scarier but always newsworthy larger world to the homes all over the Laconia area.

If, like me, you grew up with the viewpoint that daily and weekly newspapers were (and are) rather special, you will love the exhibit. Plan to take someone younger with you – a child or grandchild – so they can get a look at how the news has morphed over the decades.

And take a moment to say a silent thank-you to Mr. Gallagher, whose daring and vision started it all so long ago.

The exhibit at the Laconia Library will be on display through May. For further information, call 603-527-1278, email lhmslpl@metrocast.net or go to www.laconiahistory.org.  

What Lady Blanche Did for Love

What Lady Blanche Did for Love

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper

In the month of February, our thoughts turn to Valentine’s Day and romance. What could be more romantic than a bit of history, wealth, travel and of course, a young couple falling in love?

The Gainsborough family of England had it all: money, title, a vast estate and a secure future. It had been that way for generations, since the 1600’s when the Noel family obtained the Earldom title. 

But one of the Gainsborough’s - Lady Blanche - gave it all up to move to the United States and a life much different than what she had known as a child and young woman. She endured a lot over her lifetime, but the question is why? 

The answer, as for many who willingly change their life circumstances, was love. Her story started in England but ended thousands of miles away, in the remote Conway, NH area, although it seems the most unlikely of places for a titled lady to settle in the 1800s when roads were not good and travel difficult.

Lady Blanche Elizabeth Mary Annunciata Noel was born on March 25, 1845 at Exton Hall in England. She was the daughter of the second Earl of Gainsborough and Lady Ida Harriet Augusta Hay. 

The family’s wealth meant the Earl and his wife traveled in the same circles as the country’s nobility. Indeed, Queen Victoria was the godmother of little Blanche. 

One of the advantages of all that wealth was convenience. While those less fortunate walked to church or rode in a horse-drawn wagon or cart, the Earl and his family attended services right on their property. (At that time, the wealthy often had chapels on their elegant estates.) 

It was in the estate’s Catholic church that young Blanche met Irish commoner and organist Thomas Murphy. Hired as a music teacher for young Blanche, it did not take long for romance to blossom between teacher and pupil. In fact, the attraction may have been instantaneous. Blanche was said to have been charming, with a charismatic personality and long, golden/brown hair. 

Along with teaching music to Blanche, Thomas served as the organist at the estate’s chapel. Blanche had musical talent and was part of the chapel choir. In an article in The Granite Monthly titled “The Story of the Lady Blanche”, Mrs. Ellen McRoberts Mason wrote that Thomas was said to be extremely talented as a musician. That alone was probably a great attraction for Blanche.

Such a match would have been frowned upon due to the differences in their social standing, but perhaps Blanche’s father eventually gave in to a marriage between his daughter and a commoner. Other stories claim the couple eloped. Whatever the truth, it can be assumed Lady Blanche was about to step into a very different world from the one she had known. Thomas was not wealthy and worked for his living. It is unknown what support the young couple received from Blanche’s father. 

While Blanche found Thomas hard to resist — he was said to be educated, talented and very charming — how that charm held up when the couple made a difficult seven-week Atlantic ocean crossing to reach America is not known, but Blanche later wrote that the trip was taxing. 

Arriving in New York with little resources, Blanche and Thomas first tried their luck in the city, but eventually moved to New Rochelle where Thomas found work as an organist. 

Then, in the 1870s, Thomas got a job at a Conway, NH area boys’ school at a place called Three Elms. He taught music and French and Blanche, a well-educated lady, filled in for her husband when needed.

Perhaps the work history of Thomas was erratic, because after his contract ended, the couple moved from the area, but eventually returned. Blanche was said to love the Conway area with its woods, mountains and flowers which might have reminded her of Exton, her childhood home in England. 

Although she was no longer the wealthy lady of privilege, Blanche saw the plight of the rural poor in the area and did all she could to help. Most likely Blanche had seen her mother tend to the welfare of servants who worked on the family estate; she now echoed that interest in the welfare of her neighbors. 

She visited the sick, gave Christmas gifts to poor neighbors, and hosted meals for local children. (Although Thomas and Blanche had no children, they were very fond of the young people in the area.)

According to Cardinal Manning, who was well aware of her generosity, “The love of the people of Exton (her home in England) toward her expresses what I meant in saying that her heart and sympathies were always with the poor, with their homes and with their state.”

Possibly looking for a genteel way to contribute to her husband’s finances, Blanche discovered she had a talent for writing and began to submit articles for publication. Her writing was skilled and showed a high degree of intelligence, reflecting her early education. And she respected and befriended those in the Conway area; although they were of vastly different life circumstances and education, she admired their hard-working lifestyles and may have written about all she observed.

What was her husband doing in all this time? They lived in the Conway-area community and Blanche found a footing by reaching out to others and becoming a beloved resident. Likely, Thomas found work as a music teacher and the couple stayed together. 

In a marriage fraught with poverty and hard work, Blanche seems to have been willing to put up with a lot for love. Although she willingly left her life of wealth in England, their circumstances may have been made more difficult because the life and work of a musician such as Thomas was uncertain and jobs tended to come and go.

Blanche was the bright light in the lives of her neighbors and the community, as well as in her husband’s life. Sadly, she died suddenly and unexpectedly while only in her 30s in March of 1881 after catching a cold which turned into a more serious illness. Her body was returned to England, where she was laid to rest beside her mother in the family plot on the Earl’s estate. 

Thomas grieved for his wife, and his life was probably difficult without her positive personality and support. The Earl of Gainsborough lived just a few years after the passing of Blanche, but while he was alive he gave Thomas an annuity. Thomas moved from the home he shared with Blanche and resided with friends in the Conway village area, unable to bear living in their former home without his wife. He never remarried and according to the Granite Monthly article, “revered her memory with a loyalty rare among men.”

On a trip to Maine in the summer of 1890, Thomas became ill and died suddenly. He had made his own mark upon the Conway area by bringing classical music to the isolated part of NH. In his own way, he was as admired as Lady Blanche.

Although Blanche and Thomas’ love story took place many years ago, it is one that continues to fascinate, offering wealth, titles, romance and evidence of what one woman was willing to sacrifice for love.  

One of Belknap County’s Favorite Places

One of Belknap County’s Favorite Places

By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper 

We all have favorites. Beloved places we visited and fell in love with; places and activities that evoke fond memories of favorite people and even foods. 

A new exhibit on view at the Laconia Public Library is chock-full of fond memories of a favorite ski area - Gunstock in Gilford. The recreation area has a long and fascinating history. The introductory poster at the start of the exhibit tells us Gunstock is “one of Laconia and Belknap County’s favorite recreational areas.”

Summertime camping at Gunstock

The displays are the work of the Laconia Historical and Museum Society, and it all takes place in the upper level rotunda area of the library. 

I love the exhibits at this space and I have seen many displays in the rotunda that interpret everything from local dignitaries to health and clinics and the hospital to local theatrics. Every exhibit is heavy on old photos, posters, and memorabilia depending upon what the subject may be. The exhibits never disappoint and you are sure to find items such as old ski boots or a stage curtain that once graced a local theatre that bring back memories of your “favorite” happenings from the past. 

The current exhibit opened on December 20 and will be on view until March 21 and admission is free. Many Lakes Regioners and those from outside the area have skied at Gunstock but perhaps not as many know of the beginnings or history of the recreation area. 

Gunstock, originally known as the Belknap Area, began as a solution to an economic need. During the Great Depression, Lakes Regioners suffered financial losses right along with the rest of the country. People everywhere were subsisting; unemployment was high, jobs non-existent and many people were barely surviving. 

President Franklin Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to put unemployed people back to work. One such project that employed many people for a number of years was the creation of the Belknap Area.  

The exhibit tells us that the Belknap County Legislative Delegation, through the Congress and Senate, received WPA support. This meant that for every dollar put into the project by the county, the federal government would put in six. It was an ambitious project and over the next three years, roads were built to give access to recreational areas on the property, which could be used for campsites and skiing. The project focused on skiing and chairlifts, four rope tows, cross-country ski trails, as well as hiking trails, a huge main lodge and smaller buildings. 

The main lodge opened in 1937 and was designed to echo the rugged, outdoorsy look of the entire area. An old photo in the exhibit shows the lodge under construction; even half completed, it is easy to see this would be a rustic, yet huge structure.

In 1936, the ski jump on nearby Mt. Rowe also was under construction. The exhibit offers this information: the jump was all-important at the time and it was the focal point round which the county, town and federal government were creating the $350,000 recreational center. 

Within the many glass exhibit cases, visitors can browse the newspaper clippings that tell the story of how the area was formed and the growth of the ski industry in the Lakes Region of NH.  

Old snowshoes, a rustic wooden Belknap sign, ski boots from years ago, a knitted scarf and much more adorn the cases.  

I loved an old newspaper clipping dated February 19, 1936, with the title “Large Parties of Skiers to Use All Available Rooms.” The subhead tells the reader, White Mountain Runners to Hold First Annual Ski Gambol in Gilford; Masquerade Ball a Feature. It must have been a popular wintertime event, because the article stated that reservations were pouring in for weekend accommodations in Gilford and Laconia. 

Summer activities at Gunstock, known in the early days as the Belknap Area, are not forgotten in the exhibit. The Gunstock Hillclimb is a classic Bike Week tradition that dates back to around 1938. It makes sense that motorcycle races and the daring Hillclimb took place at the Belknap Area, because there was tons of outdoor space for competitions and spectators could camp right at the area’s campground.  

One of the best things about the exhibit is the many old photos and there is a gem in the Hillclimb display, dating from the 1950s. It is a black-and-white photo and shows a large group of enthusiasts milling around outside the lodge with a few motorcycles of the era parked at the entrance. 

There are lots of general skiing photos and one stands out of two female skiers, with the parking lot and cars of the (I am guessing) 1940s and that huge lodge in the background.  

Old pamplet from ski jump competitions

Running a large recreation area is expensive and if the winter is fickle with little snow, it can make finances tight indeed. One poster explains how Belknap County stepped in to help the area when it was financially in need. With that in mind, the Gunstock Area Commission has taken steps to increase year round revenue by diversifying activities at the recreation area. With winter skiing in place, the Commission has turned its efforts to summertime activities, such as the popular Ziptours, Treetop Adventures, and Segway Tours, to name the most popular additions. 

I enjoy the personal touch in historical exhibits and the Gunstock displays feature one area with photos of one woman’s many ski passes. Mac Emerson of Laconia loved to ski at Gunstock and she presented the framed display of her passes from 1961 to 1997 to Gunstock. In turn, Gunstock loaned it to the Historical Society for the exhibit.  

To show that other activities took place at the area, one display shows a 1982 poster for the 2nd Annual Gunstock Maple Sugar Festival with a fun sap bucket run!  

Ski jump enthusiasts will enjoy the clipping from a newspaper and information on Torger Tokle, who considered Mt. Rowe’s ski jump “his hill.” He was a much-admired athlete and everyone looked forward to his displays of skill in Gunstock/Belknap Area competitions. With his athletic ability, it seemed natural that he would be assigned to the famed 10th Mountain Division to fight in World War II. Sadly, he was killed during the war and the loss was hard for locals to bear. The following year, the Mt. Rowe leap was dedicated in his name with a ceremony. Torger established ski jump records all over the country, and one can only speculate what he would have gone on to accomplish had the war not ended his life prematurely. An early photo of Torger wearing his ski competition bib and holding his skis, his cap at a jaunty angle, is quite poignant.  

A poster gives a good timeline of all that transpired at Gunstock over the years, taking us from the post-Depression time period, through the 1950s when the area needed a full-time team to operate and manage the area which was growing steadily in popularity. By the 1960s, expansion was continuing with the addition of a summit chairlift, three t-bars, and a new trail complex. In 1964 a second summit chairlift was added. The 1970s saw the Pistol complex developed with four new trails and another chairlift. A second base lodge, the Stockade, was added, as well as snowmaking. 

In 1986, a $10 million project began to modernize Gunstock. After all, the area had seen great usage and thousands of people camping, skiing, using the lodge, watching or taking part in Hillclimbs, ski jumping and much more. At that time a more sophisticated snowmaking system was installed, the base complex was expanded, and existing trails were renovated.  

Old photos show the Gunstock riding stables, with horseback riding popular in the summer. Cross-country skiing photos in winter, camping in summer and ski jumping photos from the past are a lot of fun to view.  

A lot has taken place at Gunstock over the years, including the Eastern Ski Championships in 1946. It can only be imagined the number of people who came to the area and found local lodgings so they could be at the recreation area to watch the awe-inspiring ski jumpers soar through the air. The jump was among the best in the eastern United States and thousands of spectators would crowd the stands to watch the jumpers.  

Display information tells us the jump installed at Gunstock in 1937 was almost 200 feet. It was here at Norwegian immigrant Tokle set the record of a 251 foot jump in 1941. That amazing record stood for 35 years until the hill was enlarged.  

The jumps eventually fell into disrepair, but the Gunstock Mountain Historic Preservation Society is bringing them back to life and ski jumping, it is hoped, will find popularity at the area again. 

No exhibit of Lakes Region skiing is complete without a display on Olympic ski champion Penny Pitou of Gilford. A poster at the exhibit tells us that courageous Penny, as a freshman at Laconia High School, ignored the no-girls-allowed rule and joined the boys’ ski team! Her skills were legendary and she went on, in 1960, to become the first American Alpine skier to win an Olympic downhill medal; she won the silver in both downhill and giant slalom. Later, she opened the Penny Pitou Ski School at Gunstock. In 2001, she quite deservingly was inducted into the New England Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. 

Certainly, if President Roosevelt had lived to see his WPA idea in full bloom in the little town of Gilford, NH, he would have been quite proud. He could have witnessed a forested mountain area transformed, over the space of a few years, into something exciting, where skiing would boost the local economy. And he would have witnessed such talented athletes at Torger Tokle strap on his skis, push off and soar high over the area, as well as determined Penny Pitou who learned to ski on the slopes and went on to win an Olympic medal.  

The exhibit interpreting the long and fascinating history of the Belknap/Gunstock area is well worth stopping by the Laconia Library to view. I wouldn’t be surprised if it teaches you some things you didn’t know, and brings back fond memories of everyone’s favorite area. 

The Gunstock exhibit is free and open to the public on the top floor rotunda area of the Laconia Public Library at 695 North Main Street in Laconia. It will be on view until March 21. For information, call the library at 603-524-4775.