A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-20-04....New Hampshire ~ Live Free or Die!

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_bear, dutchess, Aquamarine,

We're
"On the Road Again"...

Please join "A Few of FR's Finest" as we make a cyber-visit to another state in this great Union of ours.

Over the past several months each "Finest" hostess has profiled her home state for the Finest Thread. The remaining states are being presented, about one a month, in random order. We hope you are enjoying these visits to our beautiful United States. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your state. I would appreciate your input on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states
we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan

11-04-03 South Dakota 11-14-03 California 01-09-04 South Carolina 02-06-04 West Virginia 02-20-04 Oregon 03-09-04 Pennsylvania 03-30-04 Wyoming 04-13-04 Mississippi 04-27-04 Missouri 05-25-04 Indiana 07-21-04 Virginia 08-18-04 Colorado 09-29-04 Idaho

Today we are visiting beautiful and historic New Hampshire, and we salute the FReepers and patriots who call this Fine state home. 131 FReepers proudly fly the New Hampshire flag on their profile page.

Click below to go to the
New Hampshire message board.

This motto was part of a volunteer toast which General John Stark sent to his wartime comrades, in which he declined an invitation to head up a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington in Vermont, because of poor health. The toast said in full:

"Live Free Or Die;
Death Is Not The Worst of Evils."
The following year, a similar invitation (also declined) said: "The toast, sir, which you sent us in 1809 will continue to vibrate with unceasing pleasure in our ears, "Live Free Or Die; Death Is Not The Worst Of Evils."

An Abbreviated Timeline of
New Hampshire's History
(Thank you SHG Resources)

17th century

• 1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold explored for English merchants the coast of New England from southern Maine to Buzzards Bay.
• 1614-1616 - Captain John Smith assumed leadership of the colony.
• 1622 -
  • March - King James I grant region between the Salem and Merrimac rivers, under the name of Mariana; to John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges jointly.
  • 1st known European settlement at Piscataqua was founded by a Scottish Gentleman, Mr. David Thomson
• 1623 - Dover, the first permanent settlement, is founded.
• 1629 - November 7 - John Mason alone, receives a grant of that portion of the Province of Maine which lay between the Merrimac and the Piscataqua, under the name of New Hampshire.
• 1641 - Massachusetts Colony gains control of New Hampshire
• 1642 - First school act of Massachusetts; New Hampshire towns included; parents and masters required to teach children reading, citizenship, and religion.
• 1679 - England forms New Hampshire as a separate royal colony.
• 1680 - New Hampshire enacts own first school law requiring schools in all towns of fifty households or more.
• 1690 - The Falkland, a warship, is constructed for the British Navy, creating an industry that remains in Portsmouth until the 1960s.

18th century

• 1717 - John Wentworth becomes lieutenant governor of New Hampshire.
• 1734 - The Great Awakening sweeps through New Hampshire
• 1756 - The New Hampshire Gazette is formed; and was at one time the "oldest newspaper of continuous publication in the United States."
• 1765 - November 1 - Stamp Act of King George III goes into effect.
• 1769 - Founding of Dartmouth College.
• 1774 -
  • First state to declare itself independent from England.
  • Patriots from the local area raid Fort William and Mary and steal the gunpowder stored there. (Incident becomes known as the Powder Raid.)
• 1776 -
  • July-18 - Declaration of Independence is read on July 18 on the state house's western steps.
  • The first independent government from England is established
  • State to adopt a revolutionary constitution.
• 1777 -
  • January 27, Letter to Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones arrived in Paris and readiness of Ranger to sail with squadron.
• 1778 - First state to hold a constitutional convention
• 1788 - New Hampshire becomes the 9th state; U.S. Constitution is ratified by New Hampshire at a convention in Exeter.

19th century

• 1800 - Portsmouth Navy Yard is established.
• 1808 - State capital is established in Concord.
• 1809 -
  • Portsmouth Academy is opened.
  • Fort Constitution explosion during an Independence Day celebration badly damaged the Captain's House and killed 14 people.
• 1812 - Portsmouth's foreign trade is destroyed as a result of the embargo enacted during the War of 1812.
• 1833 - The first U.S. public library is founded in Peterborough.
• 1835 -
  • March - Twenty-eight white students and fourteen black students commence classes at the newly established Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire.
  • August 10, 1835 - White residents of Canaan, New Hampshire, with the help of residents of neighboring towns and "nearly one hundred yoke of oxen," forcibly remove Noyes Academy from its foundation.
• 1853 - Franklin Pierce of Hillsboro becomes the 14th U.S. President.
• 1869 - First mountain climbing cog railroad (Mt. Washington).
• 1890 - Lucy Swallow and Delia Brown become the first female students of University of New Hampshire.

20th century

• 1909 - First credit association in the nation chartered (St. Mary's Bank Credit Union).
• 1913 - The General Court Passes an act to provide for the election of delegates to the National Convention by direct vote of the people. The primary date is set for the third Tuesday in May.
• 1915 - The primary is moved to the second Tuesday in March to coincide with Town Meeting Day.
• 1916 - New Hampshire holds its first primary.
• 1923 - The University of New Hampshire established.
• 1938 - First aerial passenger tramway in North America (Cannon Mtn).
• 1939 - May 24, USS SQUALUS (SS-192) Submarine Disaster
• 1945 - WW2 German U-Boats surrender in Portsmouth.
• 1997- Portsmouth is chosen by Money magazine as the fifth best place in the nation to live.

And, on May 3rd, 2003, New Hampshire's beloved emblem; the colossal profile of natural granite high atop a sheer cliff in the White Mountains, known as "The Old Man of the Mountain", without warning collapsed, smashing below into a thousand nameless fragments.

Daniel Webster once said, ..."Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

New Hampshire's Governor Benson has declared May 3rd as "Old Man of the Mountain Day", stating, "From its mountainous perch, the Old Man has stood for centuries as a testament to the steadfastness of New Hampshire's Yankee character and the resolve of its people. This rugged yet beautiful monument fit the character of the pioneers who founded this state, the immigrants who built it, and the spirit of those who live here today. It was the ultimate symbol of those who would "Live Free or Die." And while that symbol may have fallen, that spirit still remains." -- Governor Craig Benson

Read more about New Hampshire's
state emblem HERE.

"Autumn creeps gently upon New Hampshire and all eyes are on the Great North Woods, New Hampshire's most northern tier. For it is here that nature begins her quest to dress New Hampshire for autumn. During September, the first hint of color interrupts the lush greenery of this sparsely populated area. By the end of the month, the woods are ablaze in gold, orange, and red foliage. And so the process begins as the colors slowly spill southward into the White Mountain region, progressing down through the Lakes and Seacoasts Regions to the east and over to the Dartmouth and Monadnock regions that hug the Vermont border, until finally splashing across the Merrimack Valley region.

If ever the state were to declare official seasonal aromas, autumn's would be the scent of apples and cinnamon fresh baked from the oven. The promise of pies, crisps, and baked apples, lures shoppers to the farm stands where the supply of apple filled baskets seems inexhaustible.

Still others choose to pick their own. Some armed with poles to snatch the fruit from atop the tree and all with baskets to carry their tasty treasures home, the apple pickers head out to the orchards, by foot or by courtesy of a horse drawn or tractor drawn hayride.

Agricultural fairs, festivals, and other harvest time celebrations across the state provide plenty to do and see. Getting there can be half the fun as autumn at the height of foliage season gives new meaning to "going for a drive." A stop in Pittsburg's Moose Alley in the hopes of spying one of the great creatures against autumn's vibrant backdrop, the spectacular painted vistas of the White Mountains from the Kancamagus Highway, the panoply of colors all along Rte 89 ending in the lovely little college town of Hanover, or a drive up the coast with a stop to walk the tree lined streets of Exeter are just a few of the enticements that draw tourists and natives alike to the roads of New Hampshire.

Boaters, bicyclists, and hikers, find that the end of summer is not the end of their passion. They have a few more weeks to enjoy their sports - in a much prettier and more invigorating setting, under October's bright blue skies. Enjoying the season can be as simple as stepping outside and going for a walk because there isn't a place in New Hampshire - city, town, or country road - that isn't spectacular in autumn.

As October draws to an end, the leaves that adorned the trees fall prey to the winds. They cover the ground, crackling underfoot. Children's shrieks of delight are heard as they jump into piles of leaves. Still, the foliage has not stopped adorning the country side, although, now it does so in secret - stuffed into a cast off pair of pants, shirt, and pillowcase; they make the stuffing for the man sitting on the front porch among the corn stalks, pumpkins, and gourds awaiting Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Don't lament the passing of summer, because in New Hampshire, the best is yet to come!"---Christina Coruth

There is so much more to say about this beautiful state, I can't possibly cover it all, so I will leave that to our New Hampshire FReepers. Please tell us what you love about your state and why you are proud to be a New Hampshirite.




In closing I am posting a graphic of a very special place in New Hampshire; Newfound Lake. As a small child I recall visiting my grandparents at this lake where they had a summer home. Wonderful memories of this beautiful place!

And thank you to the following websites
for providing information and graphics.
Autumn in New Hampshire
New Hampshire Colonial History
The New Hampshire Almanac
Old Man of the Mountain

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 10-18-04 Military Monday 10-19-04 Girly Man (Real Men don't wear lipstick)

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or
.45Man at
danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

CLICK

[mrstank]

Sounds like that might be an interesting story! You'd have to be pretty close to the edge to almost fall off of a waterfall! ;)

I haven't been there since the early 70's

Perhaps it's time for another visit! Keep me in mind if you ever come back. :)

[Texagirl4W]

Good morning, Mama. Lovely thread, as usual. One day when I retire I will travel to the east and see the fall foliage. It looks just beautiful.

Enjoyed your scripture passage this morning, Mr. Mayor.

I'll be back later as well.

[Aquamarine]

Just beautiful MB!

Busy day here, will try to come back later!

[dansangel]

Beautiful presentation of a truly beautiful state (((((Mama_Bear)))))

As a young child (having been born in MA - shhhhhh, don't tell anyone!), I spent a summer in Hampton Beach, NH and took many other day trips to the beach and the mountains with my parents.

.45MAN lived and worked in NH during the '80's.

We were very saddened by the crumbling of the "Old Man in the Mountain." A dark day, indeed.

Thank you for this wonderful presentation and ((((((HUGS))))) to all at the Finest!

[Billie]

If ever the state were to declare official seasonal aromas, autumn's would be the scent of apples and cinnamon fresh baked from the oven. The promise of pies, crisps, and baked apples, lures shoppers to the farm stands where the supply of apple filled baskets seems inexhaustible.

Yummmm! That does it! We're having apple pie for dessert tonight.

Lori, your topper just keeps growing longer and longer as you continue to lure us to a new state every month. :) What a beautiful job you're doing in presenting these United States of America each month, and since each 'Sistah' has 'done' our own state, you can be sure we know and can appreciate the time you spend in researching, collecting photos, editing photos, selecting eye-catching backgrounds, creating beautiful headings and putting it all together in ways that are sure to make us think: "WOW! I never knew that's where he/she/that/they came from!

Take a bow, Sistah Lori, for introducing us to new places and things!

[Guffman]

The Allegiance is so nice to read each day!

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning, Aeronaut. Nice to see you.

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Dixie! Got your house cleaned? Hope you can make it back here, or when you are ready to take a break stop in for a visit.

Just think how nice it will feel to have your house all sparkly. I haven't known that feeling for a long time. LOL

[dutchess]

Another BEAUTIFUL informative cyber tour Lori! And yet another state I have not visited and now really really want to! So many places to see...so little time. Atleast you have given us the opportunity to do a "virtual tour" of our beautiful country! Have a great day sistah! Back to work!

[Mama_Bear]

Grace is an unearned blessing to unworthy sinners.

:-)

Good afternoon, cuz. I'm sure you have some breathtaking color in your neighborhood about now.

[Mama_Bear]

Great post today!!

Thank you!

I spent 15 years in New Hampshire..

Lucky you! I miss New England in the autumn.

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Dolly. Thanks for sharing our thread with your New Hampshire friends.

It's been rainy here for the past three days, kinda nice after the long dry summer. The inside of my house may not be as clean as it could be, but at least the outside is getting washed off. Did you know the California water police won't let you wash the dust off of the outside of your house? We always have a water crisis here.

[Mama_Bear]

Isn't that beautiful? I came across that photo too while searching for autumn color in New Hampshire. Interesting color effect on those rocks. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Thank you Mama_Bear for teaching everyone about my neighbors!

You're welcome. We'll be taking a cyber-trip up to Maine eventually. It is on my list of states to present. I have been as far north as New Hampshire, but never got up to Maine.

Even though you have only been in Maine for a few years, maybe you could direct me to some interesting information about your state, when you get some spare time. I like to have input from the locals, especially when presenting a state I have never visited.

I will be in and out today, but wish everyone a happy hump day!

Same to you, mrstank.

[Mama_Bear]

Beautifully done thread....as always. You and Billie have the week off to a great start. : )

Thank you, dear wolfie. :-)

Save me a donut. : )

Of course! I know glazed are your favorite (and I have the battle scars to prove it!). ;-)

((((((((((((((louiewolf)))))))))))))))

[DollyCali]

Funny Mama.. but I would never have thought of washing my house! I try every day to wash my face a few times.. and my car when it is hard to distinguish from the garden, but never in my wildest thoughts, would I think of washing my house!!!!

But I guess I am allowed to here in ohio...

:)

[Mama_Bear]

Lovely thread, as usual.

Thank you, ma'am. :-)

One day when I retire I will travel to the east and see the fall foliage. It looks just beautiful.

October is the time to visit the northeast. Princess has a cruise that travels up and down the New England coast this time of year. I would love to do that, but our business won't allow us to get away at this time of the year, so it will have to wait until we retire (if we are ever able to).

Have a good day Texagirl.

[Mama_Bear]

Just beautiful MB!

:-) Thanks. Special sistah hugs for (((((((you))))))).

[piperpilot]

Born, raised and educated in the Granite State and will someday make it my home once again. You can take the girl out of New Hampshire but you can't take New Hampshire out of the girl.

[Mama_Bear]

(having been born in MA - shhhhhh, don't tell anyone!)

Hey, I was born in MA too, and now I live in CA.......how embarrassing is THAT? LOL!

We were very saddened by the crumbling of the "Old Man in the Mountain." A dark day, indeed.

I know, it is so sad. The people of New Hampshire loved their Old Man of Mountain. :-(

Wishing you a good day, dansy. As always, thanks for your sweet compliments.