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| READ OUR MAIL December 2000 Mailbag SeacoastNH.com |
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December 30 HAPPY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY ! The pinnacle of New Year's Eve 2001 finds SeacoastNH.com moving into our fifth year online. Who would have thunk it! This year we added two new web sites, both with their own original software. About 8,000 readers receive our monthly email newsletter and about that many human beings or more visit our nontraditional medium each day. We're told by some computer that about 40,000 pages are accessed daily. This morning, one local newspaper features an interview with our dedicated meteorologist Ken Mitchell - the only Seacoast weatherman brave enough to live inside his own forecast. He's the new recognized expert in what the weather will really do. We see the competing local daily has an article about our Time Odyssey 2001 project in which SeacoastNH.com collaborated with Pro Portsmouth and some really hard-working artists to bring local history alive. Like the Web itself, we're all about synergy, connections, linking. We're all about telling you the truth, but not getting too serious about it. We're against territoriality, pro-regionalist, anti-crappy-writing and in favor of good old Yankee sarcasm. We believe in a loose association of excellence and letting the lunatics run the asylum, which in fact, they already do. We want to go where the Internet takes us without losing touch with the unique character of our Seacoast region. Okay, this is starting to make less and less sense. Maybe it's all those George W. speeches we've been listening to. Anyway, what we want to say, to paraphrase the man who made the Internet possible - you ain't seen everything yet! We're groaning, but we're growing. Enjoy the snow. Hug an enemy. Eat something sickening. Fake a resolution. And we'll see you on the other side. The Editors http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12_30d.htm http://198.181.156.134/news2000/dec_00/30/po1230c.htm December 29 BREAK OUT THE CHAMPLAIN I am looking for sources of Champlain's visit to the Seacoast. Thanks. Alex squash@nh.ultranet.com EDITOR'S REPLY: We're not up on Champlain yet, tho we have seen his cool statue in the square at Quebec City. Charles Brewster mentions his visit to Odiorne Point in Rye in the second chapter of his 1869 Rambles which we have online and linked below. We are always wary of those references as history rather than lore, but there it is. We'd check on a couple of early histories of NH like Belknap, Sandborn, McClintock and Pillsbury. Also, it's likely that Ralph May covers the topic in his 1926 studt "Early Portsmouth History". Another solid source is "The Isles of Shoals" buy John Scribner Jenness that opens with a picture of Champlain and details on his visit to this region. We have an 1873 copy, but it was re-issued as Peter Randall's first book in the 1970s. Saltonstall's "Ports of the Piscataqua" (1941) has a passing reference as to most local histories, we assume, like Brighton's "They Came to Fish" (1973) although our copy is on loan at the moment. You might also try the detailed History or Rye. Unfortunately all the books on local history mentioned above are out of print, though available at local libraries. It's likely that the best references are in the zillions of books about Champlain himself. http://www.seacoastnh.com/brewster/2.html December 28 WARE? WEAR? WHERE? Let's hope I'm the last one to remind you that Chuck Roast Mountainware is pots and pans, not Mountainwear, which I see he is really selling. No typo this. Come on guys, you have a reputation to maintain. Charles Wendell of Plainfield, NJ cwwndell@bellatlantic.net EDIITOR'S REPLY: We don't mind being corrected by people with nice historic Portmsouth names. We finally figured out that the error was in our last newsletter and not in our new store. We will sit in the corner with gun on our nose for one hour and forward a SeacoastNH.com magnet in thanks. As to this reputation we are to maintain...can you be more specific? Good or bad? We never get out enough to hear the talk in New Jersey. http://www.seacoaststore.com/ December 26 LOST ALANTIC HEIGHTS Looking for Atlantic Heights Asso. web page . Can you help? Thank you. Kath touchpuff@mediaone.net EDITOR'S REPLY: When in doubt try SeacoastSearch.com our search engine. We found it there under "Atlantic Heights" along with 1,850 other local free listings. It also appears in the COMMUNITY section under citizen groups. Our goal is to hit 2001 listings in January 2001. http://www.seacoastsearch.com December 23 XMAS MEMO: TO ALL EMPLOYEES Our fourth anniversary online approaches rapidly and will coincide with the New Year's celebration. In honor of our advancing age, the corporate offices of SeacoastNH.com will be closed for two days. All employees are requested to leave their parking space open since the corporate parking lot will be shoveled by a ten years old boy over the holiday who is trading us for web hosting space. Holiday bonuses in the five-figure range were to be handed out at the office party on Friday, but it appears that, due to a typo in the office memo, the text should have read a "five-finger" bonus - i.e. a hearty handshake and a wave from the President to you all. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. All the best from us to more than 8,000 daily readers and we'll see you back here on Tuesday. As per usual, our anniversary party will be postponed to allow employees to attend First Night celebrations in Portsmouth's Market Square. First Night buttons are available at a $1 discount in the main corporate office lobby, near the giant lobster-shaped Christmas tree display. The Management December 21 HOW DO YOU SPELL FREDERICKSBUG? I may have been away from Portsmouth for a good while, but as I was browsing SeacoastNH.com about war monuments, (the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument specifically), I could have sworn that "Fredericksburg" was once misspelled on the one side, missing the second "e". My family was one of the many that was part of the "mass exodus" from the Shipyard in the early '70's, and we moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, along with several other families. It was soon afterwards that we noticed that our newly adopted city was misspelled on the monument. We also learned that it was fairly common to misspell it that way, without the second "e". But the residents down here are vehement about their city's heritage, and they frown upon those who don't get it right. I noticed from several of the photo pics on your website that Fredericksburg is now spelled correctly on the monument. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Just when was this error corrected? Please let there be someone else out there who remembers this mistake! Pete Payette of Baboursville, VA nhfortress@yahoo.com http://www.seacoastsearch.com/feature3.htm EDITOR'S REPLY: Fixing a typo on an old metal monument isn't likely to happen this millenium, but thanks for the correction. Readers should note that Pete runs the ultimate fort site PortsmouthForts.com from a remote location. Our extensive, if not over-the-top, coverage of the Sailors and Soldiers monument (including over 2 dozen photos) is linked below. Sharp-eyed readers can spot the spelling as it appears on the monument. http://www.seacoastnh.com/monuments/goodwin.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/monuments/goodwinpix.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please110599.html December 20 LIKE BEEF STEW WITHOUT BROTH The recipe ("Great Grampa Scott's Clam Chowder") is nearly perfect and exactly the way my grandparents made it except that you add milk and detract from the taste of the clams. Leave the milk out and you are nearly in heaven. Dick Rollins Grumpy@homemail.com EDITOR'S REPLY: We respectfully respond - icckkkk! Leave out the milk and it ain't chowda. We refer to milkless chowder as steamers with potatoes on the side. But it's nice to hear from Seacoast grandparents who were almost as perfect as ours. http://www.seacoastnh.com/clam/index.html December 19 NEEDS NEW YEARS' BALCONY Looking to spend New Year in NH or Maine and need information about lodging with an ocean view w/balcony and rates. Brigitte brigitte@nh.ultranet.com EDITOR'S REPLY: Of course you are coming to First Night Portsmouth to see the giant history mural that we helped design, right? Click below for the First Night link with details (buttons on left). Then just go to the best local Lodging Guide and click on Water View. No winter print guide with rates exists for the coast that we've ever seen, so this is the best guide going - and it's free - with about 40 listings, tho few have winter balconies to be sure, for reasons we believe you will soon find out. Happy New Year! http://www.proportsmouth.com/firstnight/firstnight.cfm http://www.seacoastnh.com/touring/lodging.html December 18 FW HARTFORD WAS PORTSMOUTH POWERMONGER We will be moving to the "Woodlands" of Portsmouth from CT where there are only two streets: F.W. Hartford Drive and T.J. Gamester Avenue. We've tried without success to research those names on the internet until we saw mention in your newsletter about one Mrs. F.W. Hartford presiding over a boat launching (about 1910?), and another item suggesting that her husband was a former owner of the [Portsmouth] Herald -- can you confirm that?
As for the identity of TJ Gamester, we're still in the dark, although we've seen the Gamester name in news stories in the Herald, one being a town official in New Castle, and another (probably no relation) in the region recently involved in a criminal proceeding of some sort. We'll enjoy the newsletter for sure and look forward to future "editions." The Portsmouth history time-line now on the Internet is very interesting, too.
Reference librarian Nicole Luongo went through a bunch of city directories to discover that TJ Gamester was a boilermaker. His first residence listed was at 38 Islington Stree in 1912, then he moved in 1914 to Melbourne St, then in the 1950s was a foreman at the naval shipyard. We know from an obituary that his wife Emma died in 1931. If the development at the edge of Portsmouth was built by Weeks, Whalen and Gamester, it's a good guess that the street was named after a relation of one of the developers. As to the relationship to events in the local police blotter, we leave the news to the newspapers - including the one founded by FW Hartford. As you'll learn soon enough, Portsmouth is a small town with a big reputation.
December 16 PORTSMOUTH TIMELINE Hi- I'm trying to find history on Portsmouth, but can't seem to find the right link. I can find the black history, and Langdon history, etc, but not a "plain old" history of Portsmouth. Thanks!!!! Cheryl M Cheb67@webtv.net EDITOR'S REPLY: We are a regional site covering the history of whole area, but a lot of our stories focus on Portsmouth, to be sure. In cooperation with First Night Portsmouth, we've collected a number of our articles onto a web page for Portsmouth fanatics only - Portsmouth Timeline, it's called. This New Year's Eve local artists will create a downtown mural illustrating key stories from Portsmouth's past, drawn from the work on SeacoastNH.com. We can't wait to see it. We;ve also put up the complete book on the history of Portsmouth "An Old Town By the Sea" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich and we're almost halfway through the 855 collection of Portsmouth history essays by Charles W. Brewster. Can we go home now? http://www.portsmouthtimeline.com/ http://www.seacoastnh.com/aldrich/index.html#oldtown http://www.seacoastnh.com/brewster/index.html December 14 READER REMEMBERS HIS OWN UFO SITINGS To Joseph S Haas from Chuck Rogers (submitted with permission after reading SeacoastNH.com's recent history articles on UFO activity in Exeter in 1965): Back in the late 70's or early 80's I was driving from Haverhill MA to my home near Southhampton NH around 10-11 pm when Ispotted a peculiar flashing green light passing overhead. It was strange I thought, because it should have been red to signal the direction it was going in (this was my thought). So I pulled over to check it out. When I got out of the car I killed the headlights and looked up. It then became apparent that I was looking at something massive headed from north to south across the road. It had to be 1 to 3 thousand feet up and possibly over a mile long! The trailing end had a flashing red light and I could see both lights; a strange "cold" kind of light. It was moving slowly and totally silently. I remarked to myself "who'd ever believe this?" and I thought about knocking on a nearby door (the then home of a later friend) but instead watched longer and then got back into the car and drove home to tell my wife. It seemed to be diamond shaped and, being a nearly moonless night, blotted out most of the sky. This, about 8-10 miles west of Kensington. Then several days later, at about the same time, I saw a flashing white light to my right (I was in nearly the same spot on the road) that seemed to be pacing me curiously about 1/2 to 1 mile away and about 800 feet up, I thought it was a chopper. It came closer then moved away but paced me for about 5 miles until I took a sharp right turn (south). A few hundred yards further I again made a left turn )both were about 90 degrees) and it was still there, pacing me. I started to become fearful, but felt safer in my own neighborhood, a few hundred yards down the road. I slowed for my driveway watching the light which was by now something like 1000 feet away and now steady on (the flashing was gone!). I turned left into my driveway and hit the high beam: it was now perhaps 700 or even 600 feet away and maybe 400 feet up, but the light obscured it's own source. I shut my engine off, left the lights on and got out and saw that my lights weren't high enough to illuminate it and shut them off. Suddenly it zipped directly away from me and I still see the zig-zag streak in my mind's eye as it headed towards the coast over Southampton, Kensington, Exeter, etc. I momentarily had strange thought of defending myself with a shotgun(?) and then it was over. Finally, after returning from a late dinner in the late summer, I turned into my driveway with my wife who had to run inside to use the potty. As she got out of the car, several bright lights seemingly located randomly around a not visible circular object rolled from my let to my right over my garage which was behind the house. It was about 25 feet in diameter judging from the lights. I said "did you see that?" to her as she ran into the house shouting that she had to go. I stood there amazed and just then a friend drove into the driveway and parked behind me and shut off his lights. As he got out of his car I said "Frank, you won't believe what I just saw!" Just then ANOTHER "wheel" of light followed it. This one was about 50 to 80 feet in dia and seemingly much more massive. It rolled like it was following the terrain and simply rolled over the garage and then the trees headed south. It was gone.
Frank and I went inside and my wife joined us and I started a discussion about what we had just seen. Both of them became hostile, I couldn't understand. They "don't want to discuss it." I tried later to have them tell me what they saw (individually) but both would get defensive and refuse to say what they saw. To this day, Frank can't say what we saw but has lost most of his former hostility. Since I'm divorced I don't speak to ex wife anymore whatsoever, but when we were together, I'd often bring up the incident and she'd get into her inexplicable pattern of defensive hostility. To this day I am convinced that there's definitely something we don't understand going on so I am trying to understand the incomprehensible.
December 13 UNO MOMENTO, SENIOR. I would like to subscribe to the monthly news---I'm having a brain cramp (otherwise known as a senior moment). I can't find in the news letter where to subscribe. Arnold from Laconia, NH EDITOR'S REPLY: The easiest way to find the FREE NEWSLETTER button is via WHAT's NEW?. Start with the homepage to get there. Then look at the baby's foot for the signup buttom. You can also find it from the pop-up menu on any of the major pages. Or you can go to Talk With Us which is linked on most all key sections on the site. Thanks for joining over 8,000 current subscrubers. http://www.seacoastnh.com/new.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/talk.html December 11 OUR FAVE OLD BOOK SITES I have just found your website. Do you do book searches? I am looking for an early copy of Brite and Fair by Henry Shute. (I do not want a Tasha Tudor copy). Thank you for your help. Dick F dickfuller@mindspring.com EDITOR'S REPLY: We've yet to read our way through the Plupy Shute "boy books" that were the Exeter response to Aldrich's famous Story of a Bad Boy that we have more than half completed in our online version. The first three links are our favorite online used books search sites. With the ability to search among millions of used books around the world in seconds, there is no need to hire book searchers any longer. Everyone has access to these amazing resources and we bet you'll find your book quickly. http://www.bibliofind.com/ http://www.bookfinder.com/ http://www.alibris.com/ http://www.seacoastnh.com/aldrich/ December 11 PAUL REVERE, THE DENTIST? I am interested in the false teeth that were made by Paul Revere. Do you know if there are any pictures of them and were I might find out more about how they were made? Thank you for any help you may give me. Peggy B, St. Simons Island, GA fishcamp@darientel.net EDITOR'S REPLY: Although Seacoast NH lays claim to Paul Revere's first ride here in 1774, we make no claim to his teeth, however. Your best bet is to contact a Boston web site such as the Paul Revere House site linked below. This is what we learned quickly from their great web site: "He (Revere) also advertised as a dentist from 1768 to 1775. He not only cleaned teeth, but also wired in false teeth carved from walrus ivory or animal teeth. Contrary to popular myth, he did not make George Washington's false teeth. Fabricating a full set of dentures was beyond his ability." http://www.paulreverehouse.org/index.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/history/rev/revere.html December 10 SEEKING CAPTAIN JOHN FROST I am researching the Frost Family of Maine and I have gotten back to Captain John Frost (1728 - 1801. I believe he was the first white settler of Perry Maine. His children were born in Wells and Portsmouth. In my research I have come to Portsmouth with references to Strawberry Bank. Do you have any information on Captain Frost's Parents? Donna B of Hampstead, NH Bazonk0215@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: As you can imagine, we are unable to provide genealogical info for the hundreds of requests we receive from over 8,000 daily readers here at SeacoastNH.com. Anything to do with Frost, however, we'd refer to Joe Frost, local historian, cousin of the poet Robert Frost and descendant of the Frost-Pepperrell tree. You can often find him at the Portsmouth Guild bookstore which is on State Street. Now in his 80s, Joe is a local natural resource of info and, in his honor, a bronze bust of Mr. Frost is on display at the Portsmouth Athenaeum in the upstairs reading room. If he doesn't know where to look for Frost info, we surrender. "Jack" Frost, meanwhile, seems to be getting a tighter grip on the Seacoast. Brrrrrrrrrrrr, is our office cold here on Sunday. Hey, why are we in here on Sunday? December 08 WHAT'S WITH THAT SERAPIS FLAG? What is the meaning for the strips and stars on the Serapis Flag? Kandie of Anchorage, Alaska kandie146@hotmail.com EDITOR'S REPLY: The more we study this flag, the more confused we get. This unique flag with thirteen red, white and BLUE stripes and thirteen 8-pointed stars was reportedly raised on the HMS Serapis after its capture by John Paul Jones. Historians sometimes assume it was the flag design used aboard Ranger and the Bon homme Richard as well, but who knows? The design has been attributed by some to Benjamin Franklin by some. It represents someone's interpretation of the June 1777 Congressional Flag Resolution and appears no where else. The thirteen figures, as always, represent the original colonies. The American flag is an adaptation of the British Flag and likely includes red for that reason. The US Postal Office recently issued a block of flag stamps and this format is now officially known as John Paul Jones flag. According to history on the back of the stamp, the color blue was popularly known in the Revolution to represent the evolving United States. It makes sense that the thirteen stripes would then be alternately red, white and blue to retain the British colors, but to show the separate and independent nature of the united colonies. That's a guess. Why the odd arrangement of colors? We don't know. An early myth incorrectly quotes George Washington as saying the stars were taken from heaven and the stripes in the final configuration alternate red and white because the white space between the red stripes indicates the freedom of the states from British rule. That appears to be hogwash. Remember that, at first, the evolving USA had other things on its mind that a national flag and, for awhile, it was every flag designer for himself, or herself. This appears to be just one of the many links in the chain that led to the evolution of the flag as we know it today. Click to see the Serapis flag and, for another flag discussion go to a reader letter from August 8, 2000 letter in our mail archives, and our piece about a Paul Jones flag hoax that ended up in the Smithsonian. The best news is that the Ranger Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding Jones tall ship here in Portsmouth has adopted the Serapis flag as its colors. A huge copy of it hands in the new Ranger office in Market Square. (Hit bottom link for their web site.) http://www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/stafford.html#2 http://www.seacoastnh.com/mail/mail0800.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/stafford.html#topopage http://www.rangerfoundation.org/ December 07 ICH HABE PAUL JONES Ich habe eine ca.50-60 Jahre alte Flasche Paul Jones American Blended Whiskey Blended and Bottlet by Paul Jones Distilling Company Lousisville,Ky.,Lawrencburg,Ind.,Baltimore,Md. Können sie mir über diese Flasche den Werdegang oder die Adresse = E-Mail von Paul Jones zukommen lassen. Haben diese Fasche bei abbrucharbeiten gefunden. m.f.g. wolfgoch Wolfgoch@aol.com EDITOR'S REPLY: We get letters from around the world by people who collect bottles, ads and labels from the Paul Jones Distilling Co. simply because we have a large John Paul Jones web site and the liquor company used an image of JPJ on its label. Such is the strange connectivity of the Web. You'll find tons of these items for sale daily on eBay.com and may find kindred collectors there who can offer more info. We wrote to the Kentucky Distillers' Association looking for information about the history of the Paul Jones company that was housed in Louisville, KY. Here is their response: Dennis: I'm afraid I can't be of much help to you on your inquiry. I can tell you that Paul Jones established the Paul Jones & Co. in the 1800's, and bought the "Four Roses" brand from R. M. Rose. Later I believe during the early 40's, the company was sold to Seagram. You can get the history on Paul Jones in a book called "The Evolution of the Bourbon Whiskey Industry in Kentucky" by Sam K. Cecil published by Turner Publishing Company (412 Broadway, PO Box 3101, Paducah, KY 42001-3101, Phone: 270-443-0121.
The Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History may also be of help to you. Their phone number is 502-348-2999. Good Luck!
Rita, Kentucky Distillers' Assoc, Louisville, KY
December 06 THE NICKNAME GAME What are the nicknames for Manchester, Concord and Nashua in the Isles of Shoals? D-Dog from M-town, NH EDITOR'S REPLY: Ummm, those are cities in New Hampshire, not islands at the Shoals, but we'll take a shot at it. Manchester is the Queen City. Concord is the Capital City. Nashua, hmmm, that's a tough one --- oh, oh -- the Gateway City. What do we win? December 04 JOHN PERRAULT ON TV Recently I saw a segment on Chronicle about the murders on Smuttynose. was first drawn to the program during the interviewed with Anita Shreve. I'd read several of Ms. Shreve's books, but I knew Ms. Shreve had connections to the college my daughter attended in Longmeadow. Then I saw and heard a man singing and was somewhat surprised, though I shouldn't have been. My ties to John Perrault go back over thirty years when I first met him, his wife and Tracy and Kissy. My first husband had grown up with John in Biddeford. Later they would become reacquainted when both attended PC and did music stuff together. Still later their paths would again cross when we all lived in NH and were all new parents. Last year I remarried and moved to Massachusetts. But as a long-time resident of NH I have visited the Isles several times and have always been fascinated with their stark beauty and their history. For years I had John's LP, Thief in the Night. I have long since been separated from all of my albums....
My question to you:Where might I be able to locate CDs of John's music? I currently live in Bedford, Mass. There is a Tower Records in nearby Burlington. Thanks so very much for your assistance.
December 02 THAT OLD QUOTE AGAIN There is a quote from JPJ that starts "It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course..." Can you tell me the rest of that quote? Dave Perry dperry@acsalaska.com EDITOR'S REPLY: This quote is still controversial. For our opinion, check out the April 23, 1998 letter below. (scroll down to "JPJ Quote is Just a Lot of Buell.") http://www.seacoastnh.com/mail/mail0498.html December 02 ENDANGERED HOTEL UPDATES My husband was stationed in New Castle 10 years ago aboard the USCGS Tamaroa, and the Wentworth has stuck with me. I have spent the last 10 years wondering if someone has breathed life back into that beautiful building? I did a search and found lots of articles on it, but not the final chapter. I would love to know what happened. Shirlene Cotenas beanie@chugach.net EDITOR'S REPLY: We are happy to announce that things are looking good for the Wentworth. Recent articles in both local newspapers are posted in our Endangered Hotel Update that runs in our Wentworth Hotel history section. http://www.seacoastnh.com/wentbysea/news.html http://www.seacoastnh.com/wentbysea December 02 MISSPELLING LEADS VISITOR TO STAR ISALND During a recent test of the Google search engine, I came across your attractive pages about Star Island due to a spelling error! The Disposable Camera Tour: Star Island Sunrise page misspells the word Unitarian in the caption to the picture of the hotel. The "i" and "a" are transposed, which led your page to appear in my search for "unitarain" sites. All the best! Chris Walton, Unitarian Universalist Assoc. Boston, MA CWalton@uua.org http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/star1.html |
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