Merrimack New Hampshire’s Boston Post Cane

Posted on 27 August, 2019 by Janice Brown

Photograph of a New Hampshire Boston Post Cane (this one from Hampton NH). Photos courtesy Bill Teschek, Lane Memorial Library – 2004. Used with permission.

I recently wrote about a custom unique to New England, namely the awarding of the Boston Post Cane.  I won’t be repeating all that background data, and instead focus on one New Hampshire town’s oldest cane recipients.

Suffice it to say that in 1909 the Boston Post newspaper sent out gold-tipped ebony canes to several hundred New England towns, with a letter urging them to bestow the cane on worth citizens of their towns. Merrimack, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire was among those who received one. Continue reading →

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Lost Faces of WWI: More Gold Star Nurses

Posted on 21 August, 2019 by Janice Brown

Photograph of nurse Grace Lee Malloch from a 1919 Massachusetts newspaper. SEE her story below.

In 2017 I posted a story about some of the World War I nurses (sometimes called ‘Gold Star Nurses’) who lost their lives in service.  I also wrote extensively about New Hampshire’s nurses, telephone operators and other women who gave up their lives in that war.  In this story I write about WWI nurses who do not have a New Hampshire connection, but who seem to have been forgotten.

The famed Walt Whitman wrote, “The marrow of the tragedy is concentrated in the hospitals. . . . Well it is their mothers and sisters cannot see them–cannot conceive and never conceived these things. . . . Much of a Race depends on what it thinks of death and how it stands personal anguish and sickness . . . .” —  Memoranda During the [Civil] War. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Glossary: The Boston Post Cane

Posted on 14 August, 2019 by Janice Brown

Boston Post newspaper headline in August 1909.

New Hampshire (like New England) has historically been home to iconic people, events and objects. Grouped together they make our home wonderfully unique, unconventional and distinctive.  Among these is the tradition of the Boston Post Cane.  If you live in New England you’ve probably read something about it, but you may also have been misinformed. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Tidbits: Concord’s Bridges Mansion

Posted on 7 August, 2019 by Janice Brown

Photograph of the Bridges House from the National Historic Register.

On Mountain Road at the east side of Concord sits a house that belongs to the State of New Hampshire, called the Bridges House. It was not built by the Bridges family, but was donated by them to be used at the discretion of the acting governor of New Hampshire. Governors are not required to live there, and actually most do not.

Sunday August 25th 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the house (as it pertains to the date it officially belonged to the State of NH as the governor’s mansion).  This special event begins at 1 PM. (It is NOT free to attend as it is a fund-raising event to benefit the building. Tickets are available).  [Also see on FaceBook].

Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, N.H. Historical Markers, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women, NH Tidbits, Structures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New Hampshire Missing Places: Lone Star Ranch, Reeds Ferry

Posted on 2 August, 2019 by Janice Brown

Circa 1947 photograph of the entrance to Lone Star Ranch, Reeds Ferry NH. Courtesy of Don Levesque. Used with permission.

What: Lone Star Ranch was a rustic, outdoor summer-autumn entertainment venue located in Reeds Ferry (Merrimack) New Hampshire. [When the weather got colder they would hold indoor “barn dances.” ] It focused on Country & Western, and Hillbilly music, comedy and related events.  In addition at various times during its existence, picnic tables, horse back riding, concessions, and games were offered. When the weather was wet or cold there was a ranch house (barn) that was used.

Lone Star Ranch existed from 1938-1983–a span of over 45 years. The entertainers booked for these shows were a mix of local, national, and international renown. Continue reading →

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