A Rare Testimonial: In Praise of an Old Friend — PressHarbor

Posted on 13 July, 2016 by Janice Brown
A screen shot of a July 11, 2006 post of Cow Hampshire blog at BlogHarbor, prior to its evolution to PressHarbor.

Screen shot of a July 11, 2011 post of Cow Hampshire blog at BlogHarbor, just prior to the company’s evolution to PressHarbor.

Regular readers of Cow Hampshire will recognize how rare this testimonial is. We expect our service providers to render the best, so generally we only speak up (or ‘blog up’) when things go awry.

I have a 10 year relationship with PressHarbor. Think about that alone–ten years! In the past ten years I’ve changed banks, internet provider, electric and gas utilities, car repairmen, and lots more. But NOT ONCE was I tempted to part ways with my blog server provider, PressHarbor. Continue reading →

Posted in Current Events, Personal History | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New Hampshire Glossary: Gundalow

Posted on 12 July, 2016 by Janice Brown
Silhouette of Merrimack Gundalow; From "Shipping & craft in silhouette; drawing and text by Charles G. Davis, 1929, page 57, Hathi Trust

Silhouette of a Merrimack Gundalow; From “Shipping & craft in silhouette; drawing and text,” by Charles G. Davis, 1929, page 57; located at Hathi Trust.

A Gundalow is a small boat, “a shallow drafted type of cargo barge,” built to be used on rivers and estuaries in the early days of New Hampshire and Maine history.  There are records showing they were also used on the Merrimack River.   A gundalow can be found on the town seals of both Durham and Newington, New Hampshire.

Built to be rowed up the Merrimack River, sometimes with cotton or other supplies for the mills, but generally loaded with salt hay, these shallow gundalows were later fitted with a short mast, low enough to go under Plum Island river bridge, and rigged with a single lateen sail, whose yard was weighted with iron at the lower end to counterbalance the sail and make it easy to hoist. 1866.–“When favoring breezes deigned to blow the square sail of the gundelow.” — Whittier, Snow-bound  [From: From “Shipping & craft in silhouette; drawing and text by Charles G. Davis, 1929, page 57, Hathi Trust]

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Poetry, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Lost Faces of World War One — Part Nine

Posted on 10 July, 2016 by Janice Brown

This is the continuation of a series of stories about men who died in World War 1, and whose photographs appeared in a publication called “Our Nation’s Roll of Honor.” The original post and explanation can be found at this link.  There will also be a complete listing of all the names researched at that same blog post.

LOST FACES OF WORLD WAR ONE: Our Nation’s Roll of Honor — Part Nine

 

GILL Bernard McLoud OKCorporal Bernard A. Gill
McLoud OKLA
Killed in Action

Bernard A. Gill was born about 1890 in Kansas, son of Barnard & Catharine Gill.  In 1910 he was living with his family in Bales, Pottawatomie Co., OK.  His siblings included: Francis Gill, Thomas Gill, Michael Gill and Roger Gill.  Prior to living in Oklahoma, they had lived in Kansas and Louisiana. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lost Faces of WW1 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Centenarian, Teacher Extraordinaire, Boston Post Cane Recipient: Merrimack New Hampshire’s Madeline Irene (Nash) Bennett (1914-2014)

Posted on 8 July, 2016 by Janice Brown
Madeline (Nash) Bennett. Photograph courtesy of her daughter Beverly Haseltine, and used here with her permission.

Madeline Irene “Nan” (Nash) Bennett. Photograph courtesy of her daughter Beverly Haseltine, and used here with her permission.

New Hampshire’s beloved poet, Robert Frost, once said: “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.” Madeline (Nash) Bennett was the latter kind of teacher–who not only offered a little prod, but provided wings to her students.**

She was born Madeline Irene Nash in 1914, in Nashua New Hampshire, to Dennis & Bertha (Chase) Nash. Her father was a conductor on the street cars that were then the favorite form of local mass transportation. She attended the local schools, graduating from Nashua High School, followed by a 3-year program for elementary school teachers at Keene Normal School in 1933. [Madeline’s daughter, Beverly, would follow in her mother’s footsteps, graduating from Keene State College class of 1966, and also following the profession of educator.] Continue reading →

Posted in History, Irish in New Hampshire, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Lost Faces of World War One — Part Eight

Posted on 6 July, 2016 by Janice Brown

This is the continuation of a series of stories about men who died in World War 1, and whose photographs appeared in a publication called “Our Nation’s Roll of Honor.” The original post and explanation can be found at this link.  There will also be a complete listing of all the names researched at that same blog post.

LOST FACES OF WORLD WAR ONE: Our Nation’s Roll of Honor — Part Eight


FISCHER Robert Minneapolis MNCorp. Robert McCaughin Fischer
Minneapolis, Minn
Killed in Action

Robert McCaughin Fischer was born 29 Oct 1896 at New Ulm, Brown Co., MN, son of Dr. Gustave & Mary (McCaughin) Fischer. In 1900 he was living in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his parents and siblings: Richard (b July 1894) and Mario (b May 1899).  His father was a physician.

According to the biography on Find-A-Grave, Robert M. Fischer attended Humboldt and Emerson schools, Minneapolis Central High School, and the University Engineering school. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps 21 April 1917 at Saint Paul, Minnesota. He trained at Mare Island, Calfornia and Quantico, Virginia. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lost Faces of WW1 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments