Area 603

Area 603 http://www.area603.com/index.php?blogId=1 New Hampshire is different, right down to its ancient bedrock — a tectonic gift from Proto-Africa, left when the world danced with the heat of its creation. Primordial gas seeps through granite baseboards and aboriginal ghosts rattle bars of birch and maple wood. No wonder that the peculiar is so common here. In New Hampshire you are looking for something different, or else you are lost. Either way, Area 603 is where the search begins. ErnestoBurden 2009-01-06T12:16:18Z Anybody know where the recipes from Green Ridge Turkey Farm ended up? http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1665&blogId=1 Had this question from an Area603 reader today: "Help, please! I just googled Green Ridge Turkey Farm. I moved from there 15 years ago and I am just heartbroken that the turkey farm is closed. Was looking forward to a holiday trip back this year. Did they leave stuffing recipes with another restaurant? Did they sell them to a recipe book? Rocky Point at least still runs a take out near the airport in Providence. Warren's is still open in Maine. I miss that New England seafood down here in Florida but that turkey farm closing is just so depressing!! Any small crumb of stuffing you can throw my way will be appreciated." Anybody have any insight? General 2007-12-17T15:29:26Z ErnestoBurden Horace Greeley on Demons, Witches and Ghosts http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1487&blogId=1 <img src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=432px-1840sGreeley.jpg" alt="Horace Greeley" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image" />Famous newspaperman and founding Republican Horace Greeley, born in Amherst, NH, was a wordsmith of some note. I don't know how many poems he ever wrote, but I found the one below in a wonderful, disintegrating, old book I own titled "The New Hampshire Book, being Specimens of the Literature of the Granite State," published by Charles T. Gill in Nashville (now called Nashua) in 1844. This poem is creepy but adheres to high moral ground (just like Mr. Greeley!) and it's guaranteed to class up Area 603 just in time for Halloween. Casual Counsel By Horace Greeley "What read'st thou there, my fair-haired boy With eye so soft and blue? What spell has chilled the tide of joy, Which late thy veins ran through?" Up looked he from that page of fear, (Such dread our race inherits,) And spoke the title, low but clear, "The World of Evil Spirits."(read on ... if you dare!) "Hand me the book my gentle friend, And let me o'er it glance. Whilst thou a patient hearing lend To what I may advance. "Spirits of Evil," Ah, my child! They are of fearful might: 'T is well thou seek'st to shun their guile; Be sure thou seek'st aright! "Devils!" — Ah yes, in this world of wo, They throng each trodden street, By day, by night — where the lonely go, Or where the joyous meet; But dread them not in shapes like this, Absurd, — grotesque, —abhorred; Ah no! they revel in forms of bliss, And shine at the sparkling board! "In glossy suits, — perchance of black, The Devil is oft arrayed; While the dapper boot on his sinister foot Does honor to Crispin's trade. Ah! not by outward shape of fear Is the cunning Devil shown; But the gamester's wile or the scoffer's sneer Shall make his presence known. "'Witches!' Ah yes, they too abound; But ne'er in a garb like this: They rather in silks than rags are found, And betray, as of old, with a kiss. When the witch looks out from a wanton's eye, Or up from the ruby bowl, Then if thou would'st not to Virtue die, Stand firm in thy strength of soul! "'Ghosts!' Ah my child! dread spectres they That tell of wasted powers; The short-lived elves of Folly's day; The ghosts of our murdered hours; Of friendship broken, love estranged, Of all that our hearts condemn; Of good repelled to evil changed; Beware, my boy! of them!" General 2007-10-22T19:48:50Z RickBroussard Lawsuit of the day: Presidential hopeful vs. wikipedia http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1461&blogId=1 <a id="res_459" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=wikisuit.pdf" type="application/pdf">wikisuit.pdf</a> Not that it's any presidential hopeful you've heard of, though. This suit (click the PDF link above and get an entertaining eyeful for yourself) was filed by Kama Karna Roy, aka Joseph Geronimo Jr., and it claims that he was "denied editing free expression" two dozen times by wikipedia in relation to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamal_Karna_Roy">the article about himself</a>. He doesn't live in New Hampshire, but filed the suit in federal district court in Concord because he is a "Republican hopeful candidate for President of the United States". Chalk another one up to our primary status. By the way, the court's response is that he didn't submit a filing fee. General 2007-10-16T15:52:59Z DavidBrooks A host of debunked New Hampshire urban legends http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1459&blogId=1 For as long as I have been wandering online, "snopes" has been the urban legend info source of choice. The site is run by a California couple, Barbara and David Mikkelson, who have made an art form out of hunting down the truth behind persistent rumors, and doing it with charm and style rather than the snarky how-could-you-be-so-stupid tone that makes most debunking such a pain in the patoot.In honor of the relaunched Area603, I went to the site and searched its archives for anything with a New Hampshire angle. <a href="http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=%22New+Hampshire%22&getit=Go&sp-a=00062d45-sp00000000&sp-advanced=1&sp-p=all&sp-w-control=1&sp-w=alike&sp-date-range=-1&sp-x=any&sp-c=100&sp-m=1&sp-s=0">Here is the search page</a>, which includes such gems as: + Did a government memo regulating the sale of cabbages use 27,000 words? + Does a poem by Maya Angelou assert that Timberland is owned by the KKK?<o /> + Bride walks out of wedding after announcing that the groom has been sleeping with maid of honor. + Is Ernie of Sesame Street going to be killed off in an upcoming episode?These are all New Hampshire related in the sense that somebody from the state is involved, but none of these really feel specific to New Hampshire - there's an albino-moose legend, but it doesn't involve us. General 2007-10-16T11:07:07Z DavidBrooks Octoberesque http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1452&blogId=1 An October mystery for me and you.Earlier today I was working in the yard when I had an Area 603 moment. Like I do every fall about this time I was dragging some debris and yard waste to the gulley that runs alongside our property. The gulley is actually on our land, so I use it for disposal of branches and other organic stuff that won't mulch. On the way back up I noticed for the first time a bit of stone that was sticking out of the Earth, sort of like a tooth. It was strange I'd never noticed it before. I've made dozens of such trips right past it in recent months. I reached down to grab it, to see how deep it was buried and realized it was inscribed.<a type="image/jpeg" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=Fredy.jpg" id="res_456" class="nodecoration"><img border="0" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=Fredy.jpg&mode=medium" alt="Tiny gravestone?" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image_medium" /></a> I have no idea who "Fredy" was, nor what happened on May 6, 1962 (I was 9 and living in Florida) but it was significant enough to someone that they felt the need to create this tiny marker. What do you suppose it is? A headstone seems likely, but for what. A beloved pet? A miniature imaginary friend? The strange thing is that this spot is right off the trail that I and my three kids have walked countless times every year for the 20 years we've lived on South Street. I guess the real question is: Why did it reveal itself now, on the cusp of Halloween, the day after my first official posting on Area 603? (Cue kettle drums and theramin music.) General 2007-10-13T21:08:42Z RickBroussard Looking up? http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1441&blogId=1 <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenmama/1526677113/" title="Photo Sharing"><img width="300" height="400" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2304/1526677113_821409bfa1.jpg" alt="Abel Blood, pointing up" /></a> Legends have it that the upward-pointing finger on Abel Blood’s tombstone points downward at night. I've visited Blood's grave in <a href="http://www.hollowhill.com/nh/blood1.htm">Pine Hill Cemetery</a> in Hollis, NH <a href="http://hoardedordinaries.wordpress.com/2004/09/06/haunted-cemeteries/">only once</a> and in full daylight, so I can't attest to its presumably haunted status. But it is spooky to think that even in a lonely, mid-afternoon cemetery, you might not be alone. General 2007-10-09T20:32:24Z LorianneDiSabat Of professional (and not so professional) sports http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1348&blogId=1 Two things: John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, with his sports marketing firm is apparently looking into buying the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon. <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/autoracing/articles/2007/09/11/fenway_sports_eyes_nh_track/">http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/autoracing/articles/2007/09/11/fenway_sports_eyes_nh_track/</a> This could be interesting. After all, Henry and his marketing machine have taken the Red Sox and Fenway to new heights of squeezing out extra money from fans - we may grumble, but we pay. Also, when the Sox are not in residence, Fenway has become something of an event center with concerts, picnics, charity events, business meetings and more. Speaking of sports, though perhaps not quite so professional or profitable, the New Hampshire Sports and Social Club recently came up in conversation at the office. Curious, I checked out its site at <a href="http://www.nhssc.com/index.php">http://www.nhssc.com/index.php</a> In particular I was drawn to the dodgeball/kickball element. Suddenly overwhelmed with flash backs to middle school games I decided to give it a go. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Granted, I am possibly the least coordinated person I know and my middle school days of effortless athleticism are long (long) gone, but this just looks like too much fun to pass up. If all else fails, I can at least provide some entertainment for my poor teammates when I start tripping over my own feet. Right now registration is still open for some dodgeball (and other sports) leagues. The founders of the NHSSC also converted the old (and ugly) Omega building on Elm St. in Manchester into a much classier Irish pub called Murphy's Taproom. I mean, come on- it's a no brainer.Not only can I, in a socially acceptable manner gleefully chuck rubber (foam?) balls at people, but there's socializing afterwards.Sounds good to me. General 2007-09-11T15:26:14Z EricaThoits New Hampshire: Telling The Story of World War II http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1347&blogId=1 The veterans of World War II are rapidly aging. <img class="res_image" style="MARGIN: 5px" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=mom-dad-kissing.jpg" />It won't be long before... Wikipedia starts keeping track of the few that are left, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I" target="_blank">as they do with surviving veterans of World War I</a>.In the meantime, there is much that each of us can to to preserve the remarkable stories of not only those who "went to war," but those who stayed home. World War II had a far-reaching impact on our current culture and present history. Many of the people intimately involved in its battles came home and remained mostly silent about what they had experienced. They focused instead on making a living.<a href="http://www.nhmagazine.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NHM01/70806024/-1/NHM" target="_blank">The September issue of New Hampshire magazine</a> followed a theme of how World War II affected New Hampshire's people, and including stories of the POW Camp Stark, Rene Gagnon of the famous Iwo Jima photograph, and resources for learning more. These articles were particularly well done, and deserve your review.Those articles are also timely--as Ken Burn's "The War" documentary series about WWII begins this month, on September 16th, on your local PBS Channel. Everyone living in New Hampshire during World War II was impacted in some way. <a href="http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/9/11/3212157.html" target="_blank">Not only my father enlisted in the navy</a>, but also six of my maternal uncles, and several cousins participated in various branches of the armed services. Now is the best time to collect information about, and to actually write your family's story--their reminiscences of World War II. Do it before it becomes a lost memory.Janice P.S.: The photograph is of my parents "smooching" when my Dad was on leave from the US Navy. General 2007-09-11T14:23:13Z JaniceBrown Remembering 911 http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1345&blogId=1 Six years ago today, I had just moved into a new home. My telephone was activated that morning, but I still had no television connection, and the radios were packed away somewhere in the moving boxes.My husband was away at his new job, and innocently I worked at locating, and then putting away the most essential household items. Those of us who were not actively listening to the TV or radio, went about our morning as usual, being given a scanty few hours respite from the soon-to-be onslaught of horror at what happened that day. For those in New Hampshire, most of us did not feel the earth rumble when the planes hit. We didn't smell the smoke, nor taste the dust when the towers fell. But we did share our state and nation's grief for the senseless loss of life, and for the families they left behind. For just one moment of today, let us remember those whose lives were lost that day. Peace be with them.Janice General 2007-09-11T12:26:30Z JaniceBrown Goodbye to the Old Man...again http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1342&blogId=1 I am done with moving. That's it. No more. Once I graduate from school, I'll let job opportunities and friends come to me. No more dissembling my bed and throwing mattress and box spring over a roof and through halls and doors just to elevate myself off the ground at night. No more losing half my possessions in transition and bruising myself with rogue coffee table books. If I include all the years of boarding school, college, post college and now graduate school, I have moved in and out of residences 11 times thus far. This move to Cambridge, MA will undoubtedly be the worst. The stuff to lug is the same; it’s the machine that has lugged it all that will be different. I have to give up my NH plates. So long to “Live Free or Die,” because I need to be able to park in Cambridge and not have to visit the car pound before class each morning. Time to register my jeep in Massachusetts and I am fully aware of what that will mean: When I drive north to visit family and friends, I will appear to be a tourist and not a local. NH toll collectors will think I drive through too fast even if I am going the speed limit and will assume I am crossing the border for tax-free shopping. But most significantly, instead of greeting the road with the Old Man in the Mountain’s craggy face, I will be sporting bright white plates. What a boring beginning to any road trip. General 2007-09-09T17:40:27Z ChelseyPhilpot