New Hampshire Missing Places: Bleachery

Posted on 23 August, 2012 by Janice Brown

When textiles were King (or Queen depending on your view) in New Hampshire, the Bleachery served an important function–to whiten or clean fabric, and other materials which needed lightening.  Back in the day when men wore straw hats and women wore ‘leghorns,’ there were milliners and others who offered a bleaching service. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire: Celebrating the Shark

Posted on 14 August, 2012 by Janice Brown

Perhaps “celebrating” is not the word that quickly comes to your mind when you hear of a shark being spotted in New Hampshire waters. As recently as July 9th of this year, one of these fearsome beasts was reportedly roaming the sea close to Wallis Sands Beach in Rye.  A few days earlier, a Manchester NH man experienced a close encounter with a Great White shark while kayaking on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
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A New Hampshire Mom: On Losing A Child

Posted on 13 August, 2012 by Janice Brown

Losing a child is not a typical topic on this blog, but when a very young child of my neighbors died suddenly, it brought to mind something my mother had said to me–that ‘mothers should never have to experience losing a child.’  She said that this event was more difficult for her than losing her parents, siblings and even her spouse. Continue reading →

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Cow Hampshire: That Remarkable Snowtober

Posted on 5 November, 2011 by Janice Brown

It was reported that over three million people were directly affected by what New England is calling Snowtober (and 60 million indirectly in some way).  Trees, laden with too heavy snowcoats, snapped and tumbled over like children over-bundled in their ski suits.  That was only the beginning of a difficult week.
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Merrimack New Hampshire International Athlete, Activist for the Disabled: Marilyn Warren Woods (1914-1998)

Posted on 18 September, 2011 by Janice Brown
Marilyn (Warren) Woods in 1979. Photograph courtesy of her nephew, Kevin Grove

Marilyn (Warren) Woods in 1979. Photograph courtesy of her nephew, Kevin Grove

She was born Marilyn N. Warren on 15 January 1915 in Hudson, New Hampshire, the daughter of Oscar G. & Ida (Proctor) Warren. As a woman with disabilities, she faced the difficulties of mobility, obtaining an education, and finding a job–and she became an activist for the handicapped.

She was a paraplegic due to polio as a baby, and as a result was a resident of a Protestant orphanage in Nashua during middle and later childhood years.  Despite the odds against her, she graduated from Nashua High School and Nashua Business College.  Later she obtained a job working as a counselor for the State of New Hampshire, and also for Nashua High School. She was instrumental in founding the Leticia Pratt Home for the Handicapped in Nashua NH. Continue reading →

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