ASK, RANT OR PRAISE, BUT NEVER IGNORE
This is the heart of our web site, the place where readers reign. So many of the best ideas come from you. But don't forget that we need you to subscribe to our email NEWSLETTER. And more, we need you to tell your friends to sign up. That's how we measure our success and draw in our advertisers who pay for this all to happen -- in our 13th year.  

GOLDILOCKS & THE FOUR BEARS
my uncle sent me the article "Goldilocks survives the Portsmouth shoot-out" that you had in your March 26, 2009 paper. I was thrilled to receive that photo because first Babe Marconi was my husbands boss at the Blue Fin Fish Market in the 70's and also our landlord. We had an apartment on the second floor above the sunken flower garden in Prescott Park. Also, Alex Babula was my uncle and God father. As I said, I was thrilled to get the picture and article and will scrapbook it for memories to come.
e. searles, porter, me

WANTS TO STUDY CELIA
I am in seventh grade. In my social studies class, I am doing a project called the History Fair. It is like a science fair, but about history between 1800 and 1945. I have chosen to do my report on the Isles of Shoals and more specifically Celia Thaxter. If you have any information that may be helpful to my research, it would be greatly appreciated.
Abigail

EDITOR’S REPLY: Abigail -- History Fair sounds like a good idea. I run a history web site and there are thousands of pages online at SeacoastNH.com, including lots of pages about the Isles of Shoals and Celia Thaxter. Everything we have is available to you and free, but it is all digital, so we have nothing to send on paper. The Celia section is here. When you go to the library, I suggest starting with a book called CELIA'S LIGHTHOUSE by Anne Molloy. It was written a long time ago, but is the best one made especially for kids. My favorite book (because I'm in it and it's got lots of pictures) is called ONE WOMAN'S WORK. The newest biography is BEYOND THE GARDEN GATE by Norma Mandel. I also like like SANDPIPER by Celia's granddaughter Rosamond Thaxter. If you get to read a book by Celia, try AMONG THE ISLES OF SHOALS that she published in 1873. It is probably still the best book about the Shoals, although not always accurate. She wrote some great poems and some that are – eh – not so hot. I find her life more interesting than her poetry. The also wrote AN ISLAND GARDEN. There are quite a few books about Celia and her poetry including POET ON DEMAND by Jane Vallier. Jane (who lives out west) and Sharon Stephan and Anne Beattie and Donna Titus know a lot about Celia and I can dig out their emails if you want. Stephanie Voss Nugent plays Celia in a theatrical show. They don't have things to send, I assume. It's all about going to the library, and the Portsmouth Library has a ton of stuff on Celia. Also there is a huge collection of photographs at the Portsmouth Athenaeum. They have a web site with lots of the pictures and you can go there and search for pictures about Celia that you can see on your computer at home or school. I think they also have a few cups and dishes that Celia painted on display. There is a history group called ISHRA (Isles of Shoals History and Research Association) but they don't yet have a collection or building. They just meet a couple of times a year. Appledore Island where the big hotel was in not run by the Shoals Marine Lab that has its offices at Creek Farm in Portsmouth. The people who run Star Island have just moved to the Benedict House at the Discover Portsmouth Center. That's in the old library at the corner of Middle and Islington streets. There are also a couple of good videos that you should be able to find at the library. And there is a brand new DVD history of the Isles of Shoals that you should also be able to find at the library. It just came out and is about 2 hours long. When you get there, look for the very big painting of Celia Thaxter that the library owns. You may be surprised to know that there is not much about Celia in a booklet form. You have to dig deeper, but the history room at the PPL is the place to start. Talk to Nicole there. Another idea is to check with the Isles of Shoals Steamship company. Their ship, the MV Thomas Laighton is named after Celia's father. They may have some materials for kids since they do workshops on the ship in the summer. That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck with your report and feel free to send us a copy. -- J. Dennis Robinson, SeacoastNH.com

WHIDDEN PUBLISHES WW2 LETTERS
I thought casually you might be interested that a Whidden descendant of the original Whiddens of the mid 1600s in Portsmouth and environs is still fighting for his country. Our Ichabod Whidden descendants lived in seacoast NH and Maine through the 1900s, (and some may still be there, I don't know). One memorial is Whidden Street, still in Portsmouth...and another is the Whidden Cemetery on Rt. 1. This is a book by Guy Whidden who jumped on D-Day in France -- and was still in good enough shape to jump again on the Day's 50th anniversary in 1994. . . and is still going strong! Keep up the Seacoast -- it's great and I read all the items when it arrives in my inbox. Thank you.
Peggy (Whidden) Gibson Fish, now of Reno, NV

EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers may want to look for Guy Whidden’s collected letters about WW2 now in a book entitled "Between the Lines and Beyond" or check out his official web site. Guy Whidden is 85.

MUCH WORSE GUY THAN FRANK JONES
Thanks for turning me on to the Frank Jones story. I always find these people fascinating, though not for their material gains or lofty positions. Its more for their psychological makeup or personal constitutions, for what drove these people in the first place.

If that sort of thing interests you, then you MUST read up on Halifax's Alexander Keith Jr.. Its the Jones story - on steroids. Back in the 1870's the New York Herald said: "The annals of crime contain few stories so interesting or so terrible." He was also from a prominent brewing family, but was so greedy, ruthless and socially envious that he resorted to the worst criminal acts of the day, including an insurance scam in 1875 where he blew up a passenger ship in Germany that killed 81 people. He became known by some as the world's first terrorist, and the act he perpetrated in Germany was known at the time as the "crime of the century". All because of greed, entitlement or ego. He was a mass murderer, a Confederate spy in the American Civil War and one of the biggest fraud artists of his day. He concocted a scheme with former Kentucky Governor Luke Blackburn to send Yellow Fever to northern cities during the war. He was a pioneer for all the wrong reasons, which is why the fledgling Pinkerton Detective Agency hunted him all over North America and Europe. Did I mention he had a thing for explosives?

In the end, he received the comeuppance Jones never got when he botched his suicide attempt and suffered for days until his death. His severed head was preserved in a jar for all to see in a local police station in Germany. Ann Larabee (Univ. of Michigan), chronicles his life in a book called "The Dynamite Fiend".
M. Wilson, Toronto, Ontario

EDITOR’S REPLY: Although he apparently danced on the corrupt side of life, I’m not sure our local robber baron is comparable to this Canadian fiend. Reminds me more of the serial killer in the bestselling nonfiction book "The Devil in the White City". Although I admit, I have a local fiend in my sights for a possible new book.

STAMP ACT MEETS BAIL OUT
Thanks for making it worth my while to pick up PH yesterday. Thought your article ("Stamp Act Agent Hung in Effigy") was great and really liked how you were able to tie our history to the current issues. It was actually quite compelling. And funny too. Thanks, I enjoyed it.
Laura Montville

RE-ENACTOR OVER-REACTING?
If you are going to write something, get the facts correct!!!!!!!! Valley Forge encampment was after the Trenton Battle and... the army was not even at (let alone can even row from) Valley Forge since it was across land. Washington came doen from NY, across the Jersey's beofer encamping on Pa soil before he decided to recross the Delaware to Trenton. Get youy fact right or don't write any more history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bruce C. Cobb
Commander, 5th Pa Reg't Rifles, Oldham's Co., Church's Co. Captain, Washington Crossing Boat Crew "Adopted member", Glover's Reg't, Marbleheader, 14th Continental Member, Moland House, Warwick Twp Historical Society Treasurer, Historical Society of Lower Southampton Twp .Pa Freemason, Harry A.Houseman Lodge #717, WM

CELIA IN UK
I have in my possession (handed down by my grandmother) a pair of Celia Thaxter hand painted decorative dishes in the shape of leaves, white with painted brown oak leaves. They were painted in 1873. I do know that she visited England in the late 1800’s, and I rather think that my grandmother acquired them via the housekeeper at a grand residence in London, owned by the H - - - family. Perhaps she gave them as gifts for having stayed with them. I would like your advice as to where I could have them valued, and whether there is a market for them in US at the moment. Celia Thaxter is not generally known here in UK.
Deborah Hubbard

EDITOR’S REPLY: Thanks for your note. Interesting that Celia's work found its way to the UK. She is our local poet here in Portsmouth, NH, and all but unknown in the rest of the country. If you haven't seen it, our book on Celia (edited by Sharon Stephan) and her artwork is called "One Woman's Work" and is available on Amazon in the UK. That will give you the background and the context for the piece since the book also includes a catalog of her painted items. As to price, I cannot help. The book about Celia's art did create a greater value for her work, but it is likely still comparatively small, a few hundred dollars for items rather than a few dozen dollars. Our site focuses on preserving history and not the sale of historic items. We always suggest that they be donated to historical groups and museums where they can be enjoyed and studied by the public.

MORE FB111A PIX
This is regarding the USAF Bomber Crash Story. My wife and I were graduate students at UNH when the bomber crash occurred in Seacrest Village aka Mariner's Village in 1981. Our address was 119 Rockhill Avenue. We lived there many years. I took photos at the time of the event: I would be happy to send the photos by email or FTP if you are interested; you are free to share the slideshow if you care to. The photos were taken with 35mm Kodachrome film in my Canon A-1 SLR; it was a Canon lens but I don't recall the specs.
Michael Craft

EDITOR’S NOTE: We hope to post Michael’s journal entry and a pictures from his collection at SeacoastBlog.com in the near future.

I WAS IN WHISTLE
I enjoyed your coverage of "The Whistle at Eaton Falls". I had a bit part in the movie ad was listed in the credits. In the picture of the whistle on the roof of the factory, I was standing with Lloyd Bridges and Carlton Carpenter. Thought you might be interested. 
Vern W. Davenport

SEACOAST LILACS IN BLOOM?
I lived in Durhham NH many years ago and I want to come back and see and smell the lilacs this year. Is it too early to predict a safe week in May they’ll be in bloom?
Mike Parker

FROM WENTWORTH COOLIDGE MANSION: Hi Mike, thanks for inquiring, the date we have set for this year's Lilac Festival is Sunday, May 24th, from 10-4PM. This is the date that our Lilac experts, Dr. Owen Roger (Professor Emeritus/UNH), and Guy Giunta, (Chairman, Governor's Commission on Lilacs) have predicted to be the best bloom of the season, and the reason why I drive to work with my windows down! Come and enjoy.
Warm regards, Kathleen Maher

FEED THE HUNGRY
My name is Doug and I live in Seacoast, NH and I am 13 years old. I am writing to you today about a very important issue, poverty. Poverty is a very pressing issue and I just wanted to share my concerns. Every 3 seconds in America, someone dies due to a poverty related issue. That is a very frightening statistic. Poverty is an issue that is often overlooked and that is very unfortunate because we must understand that this is a problem that affects millions of people across the world. There are many ways that you can help feed someone who is hungry. Online at www.svdpexeter.com you can find many different food drives that you can donate to. Donated goods have helped feed many hungry people all across the world. You could write letters to the editor making sure that people are aware of this very serious issue. If you know any organizations that would be willing to have a food drive, that would be huge help. In Exeter, on October 25th, 2009 there will be an interfaith crop walk. Soon there will be more information about that on the web site listed above. So please remember that poverty is everywhere and it is real. Thank you for reading.
Douglas M

Copyright (c) 2009 by SeacoastNH.com. All rights reserved.