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NOTES FROM
AMERICA'S SMALLEST SEACOAST (SM)
SeacoastNH.com Update
January - February 2008
History Feature #1
NH WOMAN MET MORMON FOUNDER JOSEPH SMITH
Mitt Romney is not the first Mormon to run for president of the USA. Believe it or not, Mormon founder Joseph Smith ran in 1844, the same year he was assassinated. Even stranger, a young woman from Portsmouth, NH is at the very heart of Mormon history. Charlotte Haven arrived at Nauvoo, Illinois in 1842. Her letters home are filled with frank and descriptive details of the Mormon community before most moved on to Salt Lake City. Charlotte visited and dined with Joseph Smith and one of his many wives. You won’t find this article anywhere else.
POETRY: MATILDA’S NEW YEAR RESOLUTION
By now your promises are likely in the dustbin. But there’s always 2009. In this early 20th century verse, our favorite NH poet says only the kindest things about his beloved wife.
MEDIA: POLITICAL CHOWDER
NH talk host Arnie Arnesen is recognized as among the best in the nation. Her research is top-notch, her topics timely and her debate skills dynamic. A former candidate for governor herself, Arnie has managed not to become a robot or a huckster. She really wants to know the truth and asks the right guests the right questions. You can see her show weekly online. We insist.
CALENDAR: TOP EVENTS IN WINTER
OPINION: THE MEANING OF THE NH PRIMARY
NH is done. We have picked the new candidates and defied the pollsters. People are still talking about the "upset" in the Granite State, which the media sees as a state filled with iconoclasts. But are we really all that interesting or quirky? The editor thinks not.
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History Feature #2
TALES RARELY TOLD OF PORTSMOUTH ACADEMY
Most know the 1810 building as the "old" Portsmouth Library, but it was once a private school. Next it may become the new Portsmouth Cultural Center. Said to be designed by US Capitol architect Charles Bulfinch, the history of this venerable structure is little known – until now. We offer the first detailed history that includes a few strange twists and turns. If you think you know this building well – read on.
CONTEST: WIN STRAWBERY BANK BOOK
One book owner says our new history is worth three times the cover price! We take that as a compliment. And the compliments are flowing in. You can order your autographed copy online or pick it up at a seacoast store. Either way is acceptable. Or, you can take a wild shot on winning one in January, courtesy of Strawbery Banke Museum. Includes a 400 year history of Portsmouth and almost 400 rarely seen illustrations, plus color sections by photographers Ralph Morang and Richard Haynes Jr.
ROBINSON LIVE EVENTS
SeacoastNH.com editor will chat and sign his new book at Barnes & Noble in Portsmouth on Saturday, January 19 at 1:00 pm. For a complete slide lecture on Strawbery Banke history plus a delicious catered meal, contact the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion. Robinson will lecture on the "Politics of Preservation" as part of the annual historic house fundraiser on Wednesday January 30 at 3pm in Portsmouth, NH. . Call for tickets and info: 603-436-6607.
LINKS: PRESIDENTS WHO CAME TO PORTSMOUTH
Don’t get lost in this presidential year. Use this new theme page to find all the articles about all the presidents who have visited here in the past. Includes many classic essays by historian Ray Brighton.
ANOTHER NOTE TO OUR NEW VOLUNTEER TYPISTS:
We said your packets were going out last month. They didn’t. But they are going out now. Have patience, and thanks again.
GALLERY: GHOSTLY IMAGES OF SEACOAST NH
Collage artist Richard Moore has taken "Then & Now" photography one step further. Instead of showing old and new pix side-by-side, Moore blends the two with haunting results.
BREWSTER #131: CAPT FERNALD OUTWITS THE BRITISH
In the war of 1812 Portsmouth was under British blockade. Charles Brewster weaves the tale of a local captain who managed to slip by the enemy. Later Fernald’s Island became the site of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
MUSEUM: SOUTH BERWICK EXPLORES COBBLER’S ART
Every town has its historical society, but few are as busy as the Counting House in South Berwick, Maine. Here is the latest report from what may technically be Maine’s oldest town.
MORE HISTORIC PORTSMOUTH PIX
This month’s featured photos include a guild gathered in a garden, bordello owner Cappy Stewart and the battle for Puddle Dock.
MAILBAG: READ OUR JANUARY MAIL
Yes, we read every single email. And we post a few online.
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From the Editor
HOW TO GET FLEECED & SAVE THE PLANET
Wouldn’t it be funny if the Internet saved us all from global warming? I mean, think about it. I used to go shopping for stuff, and now we order it all online. We pick out movies off Netflix and they show up in the mail. We do our taxes online, chat online, meet our mates online. You can get your groceries from Amazon.com and order a pizza from Dominos at the same time.
Eventually no one will have to drive anywhere. Fossil fuel consumption will plummet. And whatever is happening to the ozone layer will heal up.
That’s fine with me because I don’t drive anyway and I love my home office. Which is what motivates me to keep finding cool things online that keep my carbon footprint down to the size of a baby’s booties. So I started using VistaPrint.com to do my advertising. My first time on VistaPrint I created my own business cards. The sale price was $4.99 for 100 cards. By the time I was done clicking buttons I had ordered one-thousand cards for $62.99. It’s a great service, but stay focused or you’ll own a raft of junk you don’t need. But at least you will be saving the planet. You also won’t get many colds if you never leave home.
I spend a lot of time going to the post office to mail out books that people buy. It’s a frigid four-mile walk in the winter, so someone suggested I try Stamps.com. I signed up and it was amazing. The "stamp" is reduced to a bar code. You print the mailing labels on your own printer. The mailman picks the package up at the door and the web site tells you when it has been delivered. Stamps.com sucks the money out of your credit card in $10 increments. When you run low, you load back up.
But there’s no free lunch, not even online. Not once in the sign-up process did I notice that I had agreed to pay an $18 monthly fee. It’s there, apparently, in fine print, if you hit the right buttons. Now I don’t mind paying my way, but I hate to have hidden costs stuck on the bottom of my shoe when I’m not looking. When I discovered the fee, I called the toll free number and hollered at some poor kid who was reading from his customer service manual. He showed me where I had unwittingly agreed to pay the $18 fee. There was a line that read, "Why Do You Need My Credit Card?" I didn’t click it because I knew why they needed my card – to pay for the stamps. Hidden in that unseen page, I was told, was the true reason – so Stamps.com could collect their big fat service fee.
The CSR tried valiantly to explain all the benefits of the $18 fee, but it was all smoke and mirrors. Then the plucky kid tried to "upsell" me to an even higher rate. I said, "No, turn me off. I’m not paying."
Only then did he remember that Stamps.com has a special $7 monthly fee for those who don’t want to pay the higher rate. You get the same smoke and mirrors, but for less money. I like the service. It’s fantastic, fast, convenient. And I don’t mind people making money off good ideas. So I settled for the smaller fee.
"But tell me," I asked my CSR, "if I had not called to complain – is there any way I would have known about the $7 rate?"
No, he admitted. The lower rate is only offered to people who refuse to pay the higher one. "That," I told him and the tape that recorded our conversation, "is one sleazy business model."
I’m not even certain that kind of sleight-of-hand selling is legal. But I’m paying the fee. And not because I’m a sucker. No, I’m doing it to stop global warming an save the environment. And if I’m going to get fleeced – and we all are -- I prefer to do so from the comfort of my own lovely little seacoast New Hampshire home. -- JDR
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Copyright © 2008 by J. Dennis Robinson. All rights reserved.
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