A Cow’s View of the White Mountains

Posted on 8 November, 2013 by Janice Brown

I came across a postcard of the White Mountains, that showed a herd of cows who were

Postcard: View of Mt. Adams and Madison from Pinkham Notch, White Mountains NH. Cows enjoying the view from the Glen House.

Postcard: View of Mt. Adams and Madison from Pinkham Notch, White Mountains NH. Cows enjoying the view from the Glen House.

obviously enjoying the lovely view.  How can I tell, you ask? Well if you zoom in really close, you will see that those cows are smiling.  But of course the photograph was taken in the summer time.  If the photo had been taken in winter, those cows would be grimacing and shivering instead.   In that case, it would not make such a lovely postcard. Continue reading →

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Rollinsford New Hampshire’s First Female Legislator, Outdoor Enthusiast, Civic Leader, and Women’s Rights Proponent: Jessie Doe (1887-1943)

Posted on 3 November, 2013 by Janice Brown

A year ago, Jessie Doe was once again in the New Hampshire spotlight.  News media hailed her and Dr. Mary L. (Rolfe) Farnum’s, feat of becoming New Hampshire’s first two female members of New Hampshire’s General Court (i.e. legislators) in 1921. In 1930 she ran for representative, tying with her Democrat opponent, but then seated by the NH General Court. In 1931 she ran for a NH Senate seat but lost [see later in story].

Jessie Doe, elected to the General Court of NH in 1921. Cow Hampshire Blog

Jessie Doe, elected to the General Court of NH in 1921. Cow Hampshire Blog

As mentioned in an earlier story about Dr. Mary Farnum, Jessie Doe ran for office soon after the 19th amendment was ratified.  She won through write-in votes, and as a Republican for Rollinsford, her home town. Her committee assignments in the House were Public Health and Forestry. She spoke and worked for the moving picture censorship bill, as well as for the woman factory inspector bill, and against the bill to relieve women from jury duty.

Continue reading →

Posted in History, New Hampshire Politics, New Hampshire Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Poem: Ghost House, by Robert Frost (1906)

Posted on 31 October, 2013 by Janice Brown

 

Old postcard, marked as Haunted House in Hollis, Wishing Well. From Cow Hampshire Blog

Old postcard, marked as Haunted House in Hollis, Wishing Well. From Cow Hampshire Blog

I Dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Customs and Games for Halloween in 1916

Posted on 28 October, 2013 by Janice Brown

PLANS FOR HALLOWEEN
from Portsmouth Herald, (Portsmouth NH) October 30, 1916

Halloween, the celebration of which has been handed down to us by the Druids of ancient times, is the one night of all nights in the year when ghosts and witches are supposed to wander abroad.

Victorian pumpkin cardThis feast day was first celebrated by the lighting of bonfires but later combined with the Roman festival in honor of Pomona the goddess of orchards and fruits held about November 1, in which nuts and apples representing the Winter store of fruits played an important part. Thus our custom of roasting nuts and the sport known as “apple ducking.”

Today we still cling to the celebration of Halloween using the wtich and the ghost; symbols given to us by this ancient people. No celebration is complete without them.

The house should be decorated with jack o’lanterns, made from apples, squash, pasteboard boxes or pumpkins. To make these lanterns, cut holes for nose, eyes and mouth and cover with transparent paper. Continue reading →

Posted in Haunted New Hampshire, History, Holidays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

White Star Line Steamships: The Changing Face of Early 20th Century Immigration

Posted on 25 October, 2013 by Janice Brown

When someone speaks about immigration, like many others I picture the crowded steerage of the Titanic movie. Indeed many of the ships that carried 19th century third-class immigrants were crowded, dirty and disease-ridden–the horrors we think about were real. RMS Baltic postcard at Cow HampshireBut after the depression of the 1890’s, immigration was at a low point compared with previous years. Some of the decrease in immigration can also be contributed to stricter immigration laws including banning “mental defectives,” paupers, convicts and prostitutes (law in 1875), polygamists, and diseased or sick immigrants. Continue reading →

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