Editor at Large

It may not beat the shroud of Tourin or even a taco with the face of Jesus, but it’s good enough for New Hampshire. Now the citizens of Merrimack, NH are offering you the chance to own a roof tile in the shape of the defunct Old Man of the Mountains

Old Man of the Mountains Jr. Discovered

The Heritage Commission of the city of Merrimack, NH is holding a raffle. Tickets are one dollar each. The winner will get a roof tile that was removed a few years ago from the 1872 Merrimack Town Hall. The tile bears an uncanny resemblance to the Old Stone Face that once stood at the entrance to the White Mountains. OK, maybe it is a canny resemblance, but you have to admire their pluck.

The Merrimack Heritage Commission plans to use the money raised to help renovate a "History Room" in the Merrimack Town Hall. The Old Man of Merrimack tile, measuring about seven inches long, comes in a hand-made mahogany shadow box so you can display it on your wall.

We called Florence M. Brown, chairman of the committee, to get the backstory. The tile was discovered, she says, during a $30,000 repair of the town hall roof five years ago. The property manager salvaged the best of the old slate shingles, and one attracted her attention.

"That one piece came right out and we both spotted it at the same time," Florence says. "We pulled that one aside and that’s when we got the idea of doing some fundraising."

At first the group put the Old Stone Face on eBay where bidders have been known to pay over $1000 for the image of Mary Magdalen on a toasted cheese sandwich. But the Merrimack item did not fare as well.

"$35 was as high as it went!" Florence says, "And that wasn’t worth anything."

Next the group decided to auction off the curio to the highest bidder, but the raffle had the potential to bring in much more income. Florence says the date for the raffle has not yet been set – and it could be a long time coming. No one is in a hurry, and the longer it takes, the more money the stone tile can raise.

And the underlying goal, Florence admits, is to draw attention to the history of Merrimack. Although there were settlers in the late 1600s, the town was chartered in 1746. The Heritage Commission was created on March 14, 2000 "to preserve the town’s historic resources for future generations."

To date the group has beautified the resting place of Matthew Thornton, one of three New Hampshire signers of the Declaration of Independence. They held a parade in his honor recently and invited Thornton descendants to town. There is an historic walking tour in the works. Merrimack boasts a 16,000 year old jumbled heap of glacial boulders named Simonds Rock and was part of the Olde Kings Highway that originally ran from Keene to Portsmouth. Attempts to save a 17^th century house built by the Spaulding family was unsuccessful, but you can’t win them all, Florence says.

But you, dear reader, could win this unique prize while contributing to the history of Merrimack. Tickets are for sale at the city offices in Merriimack or by mail at the following address:

Merrimack Heritage Commission
Town of Merrimack
PO Box 940
6 Baboosic Lake Road
Merrimack, NH 03054

© 2008 by J. Dennis Robinson at SeacoastNH.com