My oldest son married a girl from New Hampshire. He met her in Florida where they both lived and worked. I was living in Florida too, with my husband and kids.
After they married they bought a house in Kentucky where her parents lived.
A few years later we (my husband and kids) moved to New Hampshire.
The following summer, her (my daughter-in-law’s) parents came to visit us in our new place because they went to New Hampshire every summer to help a man put on a big yearly party – at the Bass Farm.
The house we bought was less than a half mile from the Bass Farm!
I find this to be bizarre.
The Bass Farm
The man who owned this huge place passed away last year (I think) and all I knew about him was that he had a huge clock collection.
I also heard that he was difficult to get along with and very rich.
I woke up and put the tv on this morning to hear “fire in Antrim”.
I live in a very small town and one of the larger buildings along Main Street was destroyed by fire overnight. The broadcast was coming live from Main Street and when I first saw the building I thought it was the Inn.
The building that burned is the yellow one on the left in my photo (taken in May 2009) below. Story Here.
Main Street, Antrim, NH
This view is pretty much all of our Main Street and now one of the larger buildings is gone. I am heading down to the little store this afternoon and will see about getting some photos.
The building housed a hair salon, bakery and an apartment I think.
Burned building, downtown Antrim, NH 2010
The picture below is from Wikipedia and is a c.1915 postcard.
I am not sure if the building on the left is the same one…?
Our little town has a Girl Scout Camp that runs along one side of the lake. It’s a beautiful area and those Girl Scouts are lucky!
All summer the Camp is off limits to any of us “non-girl scouts”, but now that the girls are gone, we locals can walk our dogs or hike on the property.
Girl Scout Camp Road
There is a beautiful beach area and I noticed that some new benches have been added.
Camp Beach
This area of the camp seems to be where they all gather for something. Of course I have no idea what, but it looks like they have a fire and sit on these “seats”. Maybe they sing songs and sacrifice old counselors.
Assembly and Fire Area?
Even though we have had a lot of wind and rain lately the color seems to be hanging on. The Camp caretakers will plow the road when snow falls so we can continue to enjoy our walks.
The camp is beautiful at all times of the year.
This is what I love about living in a small town. I recently received this e-mail notice.The Antrim Historical Society will host the 16th Annual Celebration & Reading of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, July 4th, from 9:00 am – 10:30 am at the Bandstand at Memorial Park. The Declaration will be read by Bill Nichols and Dean Proctor in celebration of the birth of our country. As part of this annual tradition, coffee, homemade sweet rolls and doughnuts will be served.
I haven’t lived here for very long, but I know that the folks who have are proud of their way of life and keep the past alive by having meetings that celebrate our heritage. I think it’s awesome!
Some of the homes around here were once hotels that housed the flatlanders who came up from the Boston area to vacation in the country.
My friend lives in one of these hotels turned home. Apparently it burned and part of the place is gone, but her house is still quite large and very unique looking.
Gregg Lake, Antrim, NH
These people care about the environment too and have formed and association for taking care of the lake by teaching the members about invasive plant life that can kill the lake by taking over. So those of us who are out canoeing, boating or kayaking can identify what we see and have it removed before it spreads. The Lake Host project is another way of informing boaters to watch out for weeds, such as Milfoil, that might be attached to their boats and be transported from one lake to another.
A monthly paper is sent out and the “Limerick” is full of great stories about the area written by long time residents. I’ve recently discovered that one family raises dogs for dog sled racing!
I love small town life.
New England's Narrow Road 