Seacoast History Blog #103
December 27, 2010  

More than a decade ago I put together a quick visual guide to some common Indian artifacts found in New England. The images were borrowed from illustrations used by the Massachusetts Archeological Society. I was frustrated that there seemed to be no dumbed-down guide for the lay reader who might just stumble upon a prehistoric item while digging in the back backyard. Local archeology groups and universities, I fear, usually do a poor job of reaching out to unwashed commoners like you and me. Over the years dozens of readers have sent me pictures of artifacts and I’ve tried to get the professional archeologists I know to offer a few comments. A real nice one arrived last week. (Continued below)

Seacoast History Blog #102
December 21, 2010  

It’s been a long road since the discovery of the Negro Burying Ground on Chestnut Street in October of 2003. The African American community and its supporters have been dignified and patient as they wait and plan and wait again for work to begin on the memorial to the long-neglected cemetery. Last night the city council voted unanimously to kick in $100,000 in UDAG money toward the estimated $1.2 million cost of the memorial. The Urban Development Action Grant money is not tax money, but a federal government refund that has been sitting in a city bank account. So far, Portsmouth has gotten off practically scot-free in reparations for a wrong committed long before our time, when our ancestors buried the city’s black population in a pauper’s field, then built houses on that field and paved it over with streets. (Continued below)

Seacoast History Blog #101
December 13, 2010  

My guess is that the miracle of eBay is more constructive, than destructive to loca history. I’m constantly appalled by people who buy up collections or family photo albums or early books and then tear them apart in order to sell off all the pieces separately. I wish there was some way to wire their computer keyboards directly to an electric outlet and zap them. They are the incarnation of evil. But, at the same time, eBay has allowed local historical institutions to locate and sometimes purchase regional items that have gone astray, and bring them home. But as often as not, the items we want most are priced out of sight by eager collectors bidding from all around the planet. You win some, you lose some. For me, the best part of the show, is simply watching the stuff go uy like a kid with his face pressed against the candy store window – and sometimes learning a bit about history in the process. (Continued below) 

Seacoast History Blog #100
Deember 1, 2010  

The proliferation of TV channels has driven me almost off the boob tube. Too much of a good thing, I guess. I gave up the traditional channels years ago and moved to Turner Broadcasting and the Internet Film Channel. But lately I’ve switched almost entirely to the Documentary Channel. These are the movies that matter most, I think -- the ones that tell us how the world really runs. Where else could I find an old Canadian documentary about the Dionne Quints, or the Pentagon Papers, or a film about the bass guitarist of the New York Dolls who became a gopher in a Mormon library? You get more humanity out of one of these rarely-seen films than in a thousand Iron Mans. So I’m hooked. And I even went so far as to write a couple of reviews that I posted on Amazon.com. Here they are. (Continued below)

Seacoast History Blog #99
November 7, 2010

As the guy with one of the “alternative” Portsmouth Web sites, I’ve been getting an earful from people about the Portsmouth Herald’s decision to begin charging for access to their Web site this month. There’s no real comparison. My site is run by a staff of one and posts a single article per day. The Herald is the local newspaper of record, a multi-million dollar operation with dozens of employees, and a spanking new facility out at Pease Tradeport. The only connections are that we both focus on this region, we’ve both been online for about 15 years, and until now, our Web sites have both been free. I write a history column for the Herald, but I hope that doesn’t color my opinion. And my opinion is this – I think it’s about time they started charging a fee. So raise the flag and fire off the cannon, because for once, Rupert Murdoch and I agree on something. (Continued below) 

Seacoast History Blog #99
October 30, 2010

People seem to find it hypocritical that I love gross plastic Halloween costumes and decorations, but am no big fan of the holiday itself. I’m anti-violence, can’t handle slasher flicks, and think American culture is obsessed with violence and unnecessary wars. But those animatronics are so cool. I’m also fascinated by the pop cultural impact of the rise of a holiday dedicated to mortality. Not many years ago the Halloween costumes barely filled an aisle in Zayres. Now we get an entire Halloween superstore filling the massive square-footage of the former Petco. The store shows up and disappears like a ghost. The best deal on disembodied limbs, plastic skulls and bloody rats, or Rocky Horror vinyl boots come right after the holiday. But don’t wait. This macabre celebration only comes once a year. My pix are below.

Seacoast History Blog #98
October 22, 2010

When a local newspaper reporter called to ask my expert opinion of the potential destruction of the Wentworth School building, my learned response was, “What Wentworth School?” Turns out the old “Acres” grammar school was built to house the huge influx of families who came to Portsmouth during World War II largely to work in the local shipyard making submarines. The school was rundown and no longer used for public classes and, as it turns out, was just a mile from my house. I never saw it. Now it’s gone, flattened to make way for a soccer field. The city’s next job is to “mitigate” the loss of the “historic” building. That’s one of those euphemistic terms like “collateral damage” that lawyers love and writers hate. (Continued below)

Seacoast History Blog #97
October 17, 2010  

When I started this blog thing a year or two ago, the idea was to be able to post great gobs of short behind-the-scenes bits about local history and culture online quickly. That never happened. The problem with the blog format is that it lends itself to quick, crummy, ephemeral content, whereas my orientation is towards slow, well-researched, crafted writing. I found myself wanting to write the “best  blog,” which is really a conflict in terms. As a result, like many would-be bloggers, gobs of content began piling up in my brain like all those boxes in the first Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. Take two weeks ago, for example, when I attended the reception for the artist who has designed the new African Burying Ground memorial. (Continued below) 

Seacoast History Blog #96
October 6, 2010  

A lot of people come to this office and tell me about their dream projects. It’s their risk. I love brainstorming out a business plan for an artistic venture. But I tend to be pretty pessimistic – seen that, been there, don’t waste your money. But now and then I sit up and say – “You know what? This one has wings. It really could fly.” So it was with Marianne Pernold-Young’s latest venture. She’s always had the talent – a great photographic eye. She’s always had the energy. Now she has a clever concept that she has taken to press. Her new photo guide to an unseen strata of Portsmouth is about to hit the shops and a better holiday gift you will not find. (Continued below) 

Seacoast History Blog #95
September 26, 2010  

A few years ago we posted a postcard showing an artist’s comic conception of Ogunquit, Maine 100 years in the future. The picture was created 100 years ago. So it depicts what the past thinks now should look like, with subways, dirigibles, monorails all around. The concept of the “future card” was obviously a big seller because copies of the card keep showing up. A reader sent along a similar card from Portsmouth. Recently we located three more New Hampshire cards for sale on an online auction. They include Greenland, Manchester, and Lake Winnepesaukee. So without further ado – here they are. (Continued below)