US citizens are aware that politics can be a very emotional issue in this country, and because of NH’s early presidential primary, citizens of this state are exceptionally conscious of this phenomena. The nature of our political party system and the right to freedom of speech often combine to create strong feelings and emotional support or opposition to political candidates or proposals. Political fervor is certainly not a new phenomenon in this country, or in Cheshire County. It can, in fact, be traced back to the founding of the nation and before.

During this presidential election year the Historical Society is recognizing this system by focusing its 2008 Wyman Tavern Lecture Series on early politics in NH The topics of these summer presentations include the formation of the state’s political systems and parties from the war of independence to the 1820s, Franklin Pierce and politics in Antebellum NH, and early politics in Cheshire County.

Presidential campaigns were hotly debated in Cheshire County long before the current primary election system was implemented. Daniel Webster made a two hour campaign speech to a crowd of 4,000 people in Keene on a hot July afternoon during the presidential campaign of 1840. Although Webster’s candidate William Henry Harrison won the election, many who were present felt that it should be New Hampshire native Webster himself who should be the next president. During other campaigns, torchlight parades were held, banners hung across the streets of Keene and good-natured political bets made, resulting in very public payment by the losers. One loser was forced to push the winner from Central Square to the fairgrounds (now Wheelock Park) and back again in a wheelbarrow, accompanied by the town band, when U.S. Grant won the presidency in the 1870s.

One of the best remembered local political competitions occurred in 1852. The presidential campaign that year generated a great deal of interest locally because of the nomination of New Hampshire’s own Franklin Pierce by the Democratic Party. The contest aroused the spirit of competition between Keene’s Democrats and the town’s Whigs, whose party had nominated Winfield Scott for the presidency. It was during this campaign that the practice of displaying flags with the candidates’ names came into common use. The Whigs erected a flagpole over the Sentinel building on Central Square on which they flew a flag with the names of Scott and his running mate Mr. Graham. This aroused the Democrats who erected a larger staff over the Cheshire Republican office on the opposite side of Central Square. From this pole they displayed a larger flag with the names of Pierce and running mate, King. The Whigs then spliced their pole, making it several feet taller than the one erected by the Democrats, and flew a new and larger flag. This move prompted their opponents to cut a spruce tree almost 80 feet tall. They raised this as a flagpole and ran up the largest flag ever flown in Keene to that time.

The Whigs were not to be outdone. They took to the woods in search of a taller tree. They found one in Sullivan which was over 100 feet tall. It was cut down, hewn and decorated there in the woods. A gilded eagle was fastened to its top and a hole was cut through the roof of the Sentinel building so that the new flagstaff could be erected. The tree was raised and the trunk fastened to the attic floor. The pole rose more than 90 feet above the top of the roof. A flag 50 x 30 feet in size emblazoned with the names Scott and Graham, topped by a streamer 100 feet long, flew from the top. The battle of the banners held the attention of the townspeople for several weeks. The Whigs won the battle with their 50 x 30 foot flag. They lost the contest, however, as Democratic candidate Franklin Pierce won the presidency.

The speakers at the Wyman Tavern Lecture Series on Early American Life in Cheshire County will explore much more fascinating New Hampshire political history. Eric Lindquist will explore early politics in Cheshire County in his presentation “Wrangling and Mud Slinging,” and professor Jere Daniell and author Peter Wallner will discuss the origins and development of politics in the state from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. A schedule of Lecture Series follows.

Wyman Tavern Lecture Series

• Casting Votes: Politics & Elections 1776-1860
  Revolutionary Origins of New Hampshire Politics
  Thurs., July 24 at 7 p.m.

  Jere Daniell will speak on the formation of NH’s political systems and parties from the war of independence into the 1820s. Sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council.

• Wrangling and Mud Slinging: Early Politics in Cheshire County
  Thurs., Aug. 7 at 7 p.m.

  Eric Lindquist will explore some of the more interesting political events in Cheshire County.

• Franklin Pierce and Politics In Antebellum NH
  Thurs., Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

  Peter A. Wallner will discuss how Franklin Pierce rose from the hills of western NH to become the only president from the Granite State.

The Wyman Tavern Lectures are free and open to the public with reservations encouraged due to limited seating.

Please call 352-1985 for reservations.

Looking Ahead
by Alan Rumrill, Executive Director

My 25th anniversary as director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County is a time for both personal and organizational reflection. On a personal level, I have been privileged to work in such a rewarding environment with exceptional people and to be able to do the work that I love – collecting, preserving, and sharing local history and building an organization that will continue this work into the future. I am lucky to have had numerous mentors, and am grateful to the people who encouraged me and supported the organization. Over the past 25 years, the Society has achieved notable milestones, among them:

• The establishment of endowments to support the archive center and the operation of the Society.
• The preservation of the Wyman Tavern and its development as a Revolutionary War-era period house museum.
• The successful capital campaign to purchase the Ball residence and expand and renovate it for artifact and document storage, offices, a research library, and permanent and feature exhibits.
• The acceptance of the Wright Collection of local history resources from the Keene Public Library, giving the Society one of the most important local history and genealogy research collections in the region.
• The creation of educational programs and outreach to area schools and teachers in the Monadnock Region.

The Board’s Strategic Plan points us toward the next 25 years, with a strong emphasis on making our programs and facilities accessible to the people of the Monadnock Region and our research resources accessible to members of the community and researchers in this region and beyond. This commitment is evident in two areas: our educational programs and our efforts to catalog and digitize our research collection so that it may be viewed on-line as part of the Keene-Link system, the collaborative on-line catalog of Keene State College and the Keene Public Library. Librarian and Society member Chris Pratt has begun this work with support from a grant to the Society from Thomas Wright. This important project isn’t as evident to the public as our educational programs, but promises to greatly enhance our position as a virtual or actual research destination.

It has been a wonderful 25 years, and I anticipate continued growth and success for the Historical Society of Cheshire County in the future.

HSCC 2008 Tavern Keepers

HSCC warmly thanks those generous individuals who have supported the 2008 Tavern programs.

• Juliana Bergeron, CLU, ChFC, RHU, CLTC
• Mary Louise Caffrey and Ken Stewart
• Richard and Betsey Church
• Dartmouth Club of Southwestern New Hampshire
• Susan Landers-Gilbert
• Cornelia, Peter, and Kathy Jenness
• Jan and Robert Weekes
• Barbara and Norman Woodward
• Bob and Lisa Wyman
• Gail Zachariah

Wyman Tavern News

The Wyman Tavern Museum is now open for the summer.  Visitors can tour the Tavern Thursday through Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment.   Museum fees are $3.00 per person with HSCC members and children under 6 admitted free.  The Tavern’s summer season ends Saturday August 30th. 

In addition to guided tours, the Tavern will host the Wyman Tavern Lecture Series on Early American Life in Cheshire County (see schedule), programs and activities for children and families on 18th Century Life in Cheshire County (see schedule), and a quilt exhibit in collaboration with the Cheshire Quilters Guild entitled Piecing Together Our Quilting Past and Present.   

Piecing Together Our Quilting Past and Present - Special Quilt Exhibit at the Wyman Tavern Museum
June 21 through August 31, 2008

The Historical Society of Cheshire County and the Cheshire Quilters’ Guild are collaborating on a special exhibit of quilts that will be on display at the Wyman Tavern Museum throughout the summer. The quilts will represent a variety of quilting techniques and historical periods, some made by Guild members and others drawn from the Society’s collections. Each room of the Tavern will feature a different quilting technique, and each technique will be explained through the use of displays and posters and examples of both historic and contemporary quilts.

The Cheshire Quilters’ Guild has been serving quilters in the region for 20 years. They meet the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. and all levels of quilters are welcome to join them for programs, workshops, and show and tell. In addition to the meetings, Guild members undertake community service projects, such as wheelchair quilts for nursing home residents, cuddle quilts for pediatric patients at the Cheshire Medical Center, and quilts to decorate the Kingsbury Cancer Center.

Join Guild members and HSCC members for an opening reception on Friday, June 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Wyman Tavern. On Saturday, July 19th, HSCC and Cheshire Quilters’ Guild will host a demonstration day. Members of the Guild will be stationed in rooms with quilts to demonstrate techniques to recreate a historic pattern. The exhibit may be viewed during Tavern hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays or by appointment.

HSCC Welcomes New Trustees

In April, at the 2008 annual meeting, 5 new individuals were elected to the Board of Trustees:

• Fred L. Baybutt is President of Baybutt Construction Corporation and co-owner of Granite Gorge Ski Area. We are especially glad to have someone on board who is as familiar with the building as Fred is. Baybutt Construction was the general contractor during the renovation and expansion of this wonderful facility.
• Tutt Bell had a long career as an attorney in Keene. He has previously served on this board and currently serves on our Investment Committee. He has had an almost lifelong interest in history, and especially in aviation history and the history of NH maps. He lives in Keene with his wife Sally.
• Nicholas Germana is an Assistant Professor of History at Keene State College, where he also earned his undergraduate degree. In 2006, he completed his Ph.D. in European history from Boston University. He lives in Keene with his wife Leslie and their two children, Lara and Dylan.
• Dan Kaplan is the founding publisher and editor of the New England Home magazine. He is a principal of Kaplan Consulting, providing services to the publishing industry.
• Art Simington is a retired pediatrician. He has an interest in history, especially baseball history. He lives in Keene with his wife Lynn.

Join us in acknowledging these dedicated volunteers!

Education News

Civil War Teacher Workshop

The Civil War and Reconstruction is the topic of this year’s June teacher workshop.  The 3-day workshop is for educators who wish to expand their understanding of how people from the Monadnock region lived and responded to a divided nation, war, and reconstruction from 1860 through 1877.  The workshop will be held at HSCC on June 25-27 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  To register or for further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.or or visit the HSCC web site at www.hsccnh.org/education/workshops.cfm.

This teacher workshop is sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council, The Keene Sentinel, and the Ashuelot Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Transportation Fund

In the past weeks, the corridors of HSCC were filled with children looking for answers to questions about Cheshire County in paintings, maps, and artifacts. HSCC and the Horatio Colony House Museum wish to thank this year’s Transportation Fund sponsors: Keene Lions Club, the Keene Elm City Rotary Club, the Fenton Family Dealerships, and the Munsonville Ladies Group.  Children from Stoddard, Keene, Swanzey, and Winchester were able to have a quality museum experience thanks to their generosity. Thank you!

Roundtable Forum News

The Monadnock Historical Societies Forum (Roundtable Forum) will meet in Gilsum on Thursday June 19th at the Congregational Church on Main St. at 9:30 a.m.  The Gilsum Historical Society will host this meeting that will include our traditional roundtable gathering, discussion on the next collaborative project on Education and Schools in Cheshire County, and a tour of Gilsum Historical Society’s blacksmith shop and old Town Hall that they are in the process of turning into a museum.  For information, contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.org.

2008 Chautauqua

On Thursday, July 31, history will come alive at the Horatio Colony House Museum for the 2008 Keene Chautauqua program. The program, Maverick Entertainers: Performers that Shaped America, will feature Sophie Tucker (1884-1966) and P. T. Barnum (1810-1891) as portrayed by living history presenters Jeffrey Smith and Linda Myer. Both Tucker and Barnum were innovators who transformed the popular culture of their times. The program is a collaborative effort of the Historical Society, the Keene Public Library, and the Horatio Colony House Museum and is funded by a major grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council. Learn more about this program, these entertainers, and special workshops and book discussions related to the performance at www.ci.keene.nh.us/library/index.htm.

Period music for this wonderful evening of living history begins at 6:00 p.m. with Chautauqua characters starting at 7:00 p.m.  This program is free and open to the public.   Parking for Chautauqua will be next door at St. Bernard’s Church.  

Genealogy Bus Trip to Boston

The HSCC summer Boston bus trip will be on Wednesday July 16th.  This trip offers opportunities to conduct genealogical research at one or more facilities in Boston or to enjoy downtown Boston by visiting historic sites, museums, taking historic walking tours, or shopping.

The bus will leave HSCC at 6:45 a.m. and will stop at the National Archives Regional Office in Waltham, the NE Historic and Genealogical Society on Newbury Street in downtown Boston, and the nearby Boston Public Library, and then on to the J.F.K. Library and Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point.  The bus will leave Boston about 4:45 p.m. and return to Keene about 7:30 p.m.  Costs for HSCC members are $27 and $32 for non-members.  We need at least 40 people for the trip to run, so please let others know about this inexpensive way to visit Boston for a day of research and fun.  To sign up for this trip or for further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or hscc@hsccnh.org.

Gala Event Planned to Raise Funds for Historical Society of Cheshire County

A committee has been formed to organize a special fundraising auction event that members and friends will want to attend. This ticketed event will feature food, drink, and entertainment and the opportunity to bid on some exceptional items – a great way to kick off the Holiday Season and support an organization we all care about.

• VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to solicit donations for the auction and accompanying raffle, and to help organize the event itself. The planning committee is headed by volunteer Victoria Cotton-Crowly and trustee Verne Greene. Please give the Society a call if you want to be a part of this exciting venture.
• DONATIONS NEEDED This event is the successor to the Historical Society’s well-known and popular fall antique and collectible auction. We are seeking unusual items and services of value to our members and community guests. Do you own a home or garden that you could donate for a private party? Would you be willing to donate the use of your special vacation home or retreat? Do you have a special painting, antique, or vintage bottle of wine that would stimulate competitive bidding? Do you have a service you could offer? We already have some wonderful items, including the use of a home in Belgium, vintage French wines, and a free tooth-bleaching.
• BIDDERS NEEDED Save the date and be prepared for an enjoyable evening.

For more information, please contact HSCC.

Summer Programs and Activities for Children and Families at the Wyman Tavern Museum on 18th Century Life in Cheshire County

• Storytelling, Silhouettes, and Shadow Plays

  Thurs. - Fri., July 10th & 11th - 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

  A 2-day program for children ages 7 to 14. Participants will create shadow art, do oral storytelling, and produce a shadow play or puppet show with a performance at the Tavern on the 11th at 7 p.m.

• Samplers and Quilts

  Thurs. - Fri., July 17th & 18th - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  A 2-day program for children ages 9 to 16 including a quilt exhibit tour, literature discussion on quilting and needlepoint, and the creation of a needlepoint sampler or a quilt square.

• 18th Century Games and Toys

  Fri., July 25th and Fri., Aug. 8, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

  This active program for children 5 to 14 will teach how to play Colonial games for fun and skill. Offered twice. Free.

• Diaries and Journaling

  Thurs. - Fri., July 31 & Aug. 1st - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  A 2-day program for children 9 to 16 which will provide opportunities to write or draw in handmade journals using quills & ink, calligraphy, and charcoal. The history of Cheshire County in the 18th century using journals or diaries will be explored.

Programs will be taught by Laurel Powell, limited to 12 children, and reservations are required. Each two-day program is $20 for HSCC members and $30 for non-members.

HSCC Membership Drive in Process: The quest for a $25,000 prize

Last month, HSCC sent out membership renewal reminders to more than 600 current and past members, and the memberships are “rolling in,” according to Julie Dickson, Director of Operations. An additional 360 households were sent invitations to become members. This is the year to grow our membership, because the Historical Society is competing for a membership prize offered by the Finlay Foundation. The Robert and Karin Finlay Foundation has offered a $25,000 prize to the New Hampshire historical society, library, and museum with the greatest increase in membership. Do you know someone who might want to join? Do you know someone who would appreciate the gift of membership?

Your help in signing up new members is needed now! The Society depends on membership dues and donations to sustain its work of collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Cheshire County. Of course, we would like to win the Finlay prize, but we really want to reach more people in order to be an even more effective steward of this region’s rich history.

If you would like the staff to send out a membership application to someone you know, give us a call or drop us an email at dirop@hsccnh.org, or you may download a membership form from the Society’s webpage at www.hsccnh.org.

Historical Society Calls for Images to Enhance "Reflections" Documentary"

As reported in the Feb. Newsletter, HSCC has partnered with other local organizations on “Reflections: An Oral History of the Monadnock Region.” This project is designed to collect and preserve the memories of individuals who lived through and participated in events and activities that shaped the identity of the Monadnock region. It includes informal stories circles, individual interviews, historical research and documentary television programming.

The stories circles are now complete and interviews and research are being conducted. The end result will be five documentaries, the first of which, focusing on the Hurricane of 1938, will hopefully be premiered at the Society’s Sept. 22 meeting, one day after the 70th anniversary of the hurricane’s devastating visit to the region. The topics of the other documentaries are Pisgah State Park, the Faulkner & Colony Mill, train travel, and the County Farm and House of Correction.

HSCC and the other “Reflections” partners now come to you with a request to share images to enhance these documentaries. Although we possess extensive photo collections, we know that there are more, and probably better, images in homes throughout the region. We are especially interested in film footage, but are also searching for still images. If you are willing to share your material, we will transfer film footage to DVD and scan photos so that copies can be made. Do you have old films of the hurricane or of trains in Cheshire County; photos of the County Farm almshouse or of the Faulkner & Colony Mill when it was in operation; or pictures of former farms or mills in what is now Pisgah State Park? Please share what you have with us; we will make copies and preserve and share your historic images through these documentaries. Please contact the Historical Society at 603-352-1895 if you have appropriate film or photos that you are willing to share.

HSCC 2008 Program Sponsors

• Ashuelot Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
• Connecticut River Bank
• Elm City Rotary
• Fenton Family Dealerships
• Hicks Machine, Inc.
• Keene Lions Club
• Keene Sentinel
• Monadnock Fine Arts Gallery
• Munsonville Ladies Group
• New Hampshire Humanities Council
• Plot6 Consulting & Amethyst Images
• Savings Bank of Walpole
• SERVPRO
• Sunset Tool Inc.
• Warwick Mills
• Whitney Brothers

Thank you to these supporters of HSCC for helping to underwrite the costs of programs and exhibits.

HSCC Summer Calendar of Events

JUNE

• Thursday, June 19, Monadnock Historical Societies Forum
  9:30 a.m., Gilsum Congregational Church
• Friday, June 20, Quilt Exhibit Opening
  6 – 8 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Saturday, June 21 Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Weds.- Friday, June 25—27,Civil War Teacher Workshop
  9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., HSCC

JULY

• Thurs.-Friday, July 10-11, Storytelling, Silhouettes, and Shadow Plays Children’s Program
  9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Sat., July 12, Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Wed., July 16, HSCC Bus Trip to Boston
  Departs HSCC at 6:45 a.m.
• Wed., July 16, Painting Demonstration
  7 p.m., HSCC
• Thurs., July 17,Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Thurs.-Friday, July 17-18, Samplers and Quilts Children’s Program
  9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Sat., July 19, Quilting Demonstrations
  11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Thurs, July 24, Tavern Lecture: Revolutionary Origins of NH Politics
  7 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Fri., July 25, 18th Century Toys and Games Children’s Program
  1 – 4 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Sat., July 26, Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Thur., July 31, Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Thurs, July 31, Keene Chautauqua
  6 p.m. music. 7 p.m. program. Horatio Colony House Museum
• Thurs., July 31 – Fri., Aug. 1, Diaries and Journaling Children’s Program
  Aug. 1 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Wyman Tavern

AUGUST

• Thurs, Aug. 7, Tavern Lecture: Wrangling and Mud Slinging: Early Politics in Cheshire County
  7 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Fri., Aug. 8, 18th Century Toys and Games Children’s Program
  1 – 4 p.m., Wyman Tavern
• Sat., Aug. 9, Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Thurs, Aug. 14, Keene Art Assoc. Painting Demo
  10 a.m. – noon, HSCC
• Thurs., Aug. 21, Tavern Lecture: Franklin Pierce and Politics in Antebellum NH
  7 p.m., Wyman Tavern