Newsletter

Winter Railroad Exhibit and Programs
Children's Detective Camp
2011 Sponsors
Education News
Roundtable Forum
Wyman Tavern News
November Member Meeting
Railroad Book Signing
Volunteer Opportunities
2012 Saterday Winter Schedule
Holiday Member Sale
Calendar of Events

Speed, Safety and Comfort: A History of the Railroad in Cheshire County, 1844-1984

The Boston and Maine Railroad introduced the Flying Yankee, the first streamliner east of the Mississippi, early in 1935. This new train offered the most modern rail technology and inspired awe and admiration throughout New England. Completed in 1935, the Flying Yankee was a 3-car articulated streamliner with stainless steel car bodies. It was known to those in the B&M system by the number it carried – the "6000". At the time, nobody had ever seen anything like it. The cost of the new streamliner was an astounding $276,000.

The Flying Yankee made a barnstorming tour of the B&M system in February and March of 1935, stopping in Keene on March 22nd. It was then put into service on the Boston, Portland and Bangor run on April 1st, reducing the time of the 250 mile trip by more than one hour. The Boston and Maine issued a multi-page booklet with color illustrations to market this new sensation. The booklet declared that the Flying Yankee was the Boston and Maine’s “answer to New England’s call for greater speed, maximum comfort and the utmost in safe, economical travel.” The Historical Society’s winter exhibit takes its name from this booklet. Speed, Safety and Comfort: A History of the Railroad in Cheshire County, 1844-1984 illustrates the impact and importance of this form of transportation in the history of the county.

Southwest New Hampshire had already been feeling the impact of the railroad for more than 90 years before the introduction of the Flying Yankee. The arrival of the first trains in 1847 changed the very nature of life in the region. The railroad revolutionized the transportation of people and freight; the “speed, safety and comfort” of the trains soon transformed personal travel and local industry.

Historians have long stated that the railroad made Keene what it is today. The quiet county seat village was soon transformed into a bustling industrial city as Keene became the economic center of the entire region, with lines branching out in four directions from the downtown rail yards.

Local residents were amazed by the first passenger train that rolled into Keene in May of 1848, much as they were by the Flying Yankee three generations later. The Sentinel reported that the train “presented a picture of strength and beauty” such as the people had never seen before. One elderly woman exclaimed that she had now seen everything and was ready to meet her maker. The trains soon became an integral part of everyday life. Factories and warehouses blossomed and grew alongside the tracks and passengers from distant places strolled along the streets of Keene. The railroad itself became the city’s largest employer by century’s end.

In 1944 the Flying Yankee was renamed the Cheshire and from December of that year through April of 1952, it ran from Boston, through Keene, to Bellows Falls and White River Junction, Vermont. By that time the railroad was already feeling considerable pressure from other forms of transportation. Passenger service to Keene was discontinued in 1958; freight service continued into the 1980s. The exhibit will illustrate the story of the railroad from its construction through its demise, including the technology, the impact of the road, the workers, businesses that used the local lines, the Cheshire RR repair shops, and other aspects of railroad history in the Monadnock Region.

The winter exhibit will coincide with the release of the Society’s new book Marium Foster’s Boston and Maine Railroad, 1917-1958. Author and Society volunteer, Brad Blodget, will be the featured speaker at the November meeting of the Society. He will speak on Marium Foster, the new book and the railroad in Keene from the 1910s to the 1950s. Please arrive at 6:00 p.m., prior to the member meeting on the evening of November 28 for a preview of the railroad exhibit. For additional details about the book release, special prepublication discounts, book signing events, and related exhibit events, please see related articles elsewhere in this Newsletter.

Speed, Safety and Comfort:
A History of the Railroad in Cheshire County,1844-1984
Exhibit Programs and Gallery Walks

January
Saturday, January 7: Gallery Walk - 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, January 18: Gallery Walk - 10:00 a.m.

February
Saturday, February 4: Gallery Walk - 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, February 22: Program, “The Making of a City: A Visual Tour of Keene’s Railroad History” - 7:00 p.m.

March
Saturday, March 3: Program, Boston & Maine Railroad Panel Discussion & Story Circle - 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, March 21: Program, “Visual Railroad Depots Tour of Cheshire County” - 7:00 p.m.

April
Saturday, April 7: Gallery Walk - 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, April 18: Program on the Flying Yankee - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 28: Field Trip, Railroad Tour - 10:00 a.m.

To learn more about any of the associated exhibit programs, please visit HSCC's Calendar & News pages.

Historical Society of Cheshire County

Staff
Alan F. Rumrill - Executive Director
Tom Haynes - Director of Education
Kelley Manson - Director of Operations
Katharine Schillemat - Administrative Assistant
Becky Karush - Operations Assistant

Detectives Wanted for a Day-Long Camp
To solve “The Mysterious Disappearance of Martin Ahern”

Monday, January 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Martin Ahern went missing in March of 1869. Although his body was discovered a month later, his dis-appearance and the circumstances surrounding his death have remained an unsolved mystery. A recent dis-covery of some older documents in the Historical Society’s archive about stolen bonds in Keene sheds new light on this case. HSCC would like to solve this mystery, and seeks detectives who are willing to review the evidence and use good detective investigative skills to unravel the clues to finally solve the cast of Martin Ahern’s disappearance and locate the stolen bonds.

Tom Haynes, HSCC’s Director of Education, will be the chief detective for this day-long camp. It is open to all detectives in grades 4 through 8. Cost for this day of investigation and snooping around is $25 for HSCC members and $35 for non-members and is limited to 12 children. Each participant needs to bring their lunch, drink, and snacks for the day, along with warm outside winter detective clothing. Trench coat not required!

Registration and prepayment is required. To register or for further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or by email. The Historical Society is located at 246 Main Street in Keene.

HSCC's 2011 Sponsors

Programs Sponsors
Ariel Printing
Elm City Rotary Club
Fenton Family Dealerships
Faulkner Family Fund of Keene
Keene Lions Club
Keene Rotary Club
Munsonville Ladies Group
New Hampshire Humanities Council
Savings Bank of Walpole

Website Sponsor
Yankee Bottle Club

Transportation Fund Sponsors Elm City Rotary Club
Keene Lions Club
Keene Rotary Club
Fenton Family Dealerships

Auction of Historic Proportions Sponsors
The Gravina Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors
Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors
Cheshire Oil Company
Hampshire First Bank
Ward & Webb
Monadnock Fine Art Gallery
Frazier & Son Furniture
Kristin’s Bistro & Bakery
Ye Goodie Shoppe
g. housen
Sunflowers Restaurant & Fine Catering
In the Company of Flowers
The Main Street America Group, NGM Insurance Company
Martha & Cole Mills
Ann & Carl Jacobs

Education News

In conjunction with the exhibit Speed, Safety and Comfort: A History of the Railroad in Cheshire County, 1844-1984, HSCC will offer special school group visits beginning in January. During their half day visit, each group will receive a gallery walk, participate in activities using primary resources, view an interactive power point show, and tour (physically or virtually depending on the weather) the former railroad tracks in Keene.

HSCC’s Director of Education will be available to work with any educator who wants to use local history in the classroom. Teacher Research Nights are on the second Wednesday of each month during the school year from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. For further information, please contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895 or by email.

Roundtable Forum

The winter Roundtable Forum of the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum will meet on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at the Historical Society of Cheshire County beginning at 9:30 a.m. The morning session will be the forum’s traditional roundtable discussion, along with continued planning for the collaborative exhibit and publication on water power mills and the Roundtable’s brochure. After our brown bag lunch, there will be a walking tour of the feature exhibit on the History of Railroads in Cheshire County. For further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or by email.

Wyman Tavern News

The Wyman Tavern closed for the winter on November 4th. We want to extend a warm thank you to everyone who helped make our 2011 season successful. The Tavern will reopen for the 2012 season in early May.

2011 Tavern Keepers
The following donors made the Wyman Tavern programs and activities possible in 2011.

Rusty & Linda Bastedo
Harriet & Claus Knappe
Juliana Bergeron & Arto Leino
Charlton & Diana MacVeagh
Chris, Mary & Julia Booras
Jane Reynolds
Richard & Donna Cohen
Phyllis & Jim Rogers
Richard & Betsey Church
Art & Lynn Simington
Robert & Alfrieda Englund
Marilyn & Bruce Soper
Gary & Flossie Gray
Rob & Lianne Therrien
Kim & Maria Temple
Barbara & Tony Tremblay
Joslin Kimball Frank
Bob & Jan Weekes
Dr. & Mrs. H. Roger Hansen
Norman & Barbara Woodward
Ruth & CB Jacobs
Bob & Lisa Wyman
H. Gregory & Jane Johnson
Josh, Travis & Sam Wyman
Monadnock Garden Club

November Member Meeting:
Marium Foster’s Boston & Maine Railroad

Born in West Swanzey, N.H. in 1898, Marium E. Foster moved to Keene as a young woman in 1917, when she began working for the Boston & Maine Railroad. She worked on the road 41 years, holding different positions such as Assistant Ticket Agent and Freight Clerk at various stations. She lived quietly in Keene for the rest of her life. However, after being named Keene and Ayer Correspondent to the B&M’s employee magazine in 1926, her name (albeit with occasional uncertainty over whether “Marium” was a man or a woman) became widely recognized all over the road’s Fitchburg Division. She retired from the B&M in 1958, but continued with a travel agency business she owned, the M.E. Foster Travel Agency, nearly to the end of her life.

After Marium died in 1983, her name slowly disappeared into relative obscurity. Those few who still remember her today usually recall her as an eccentric rather than for anything she actually did. But then in 2007, almost a quarter century after her death, railroad historian Brad Blodget chanced upon, in the archives of the Historical Society of Cheshire County, the legacy treasure she had left behind. Her true legacy of railroad artifacts, including hundreds of black-and-white images that she had captured from 1933 to 1958, had been carefully stored in the Society’s archives. Brad notes, “Quite a few railroad photographers have taken pictures in Keene and the surrounding area, but Marium’s collection is extraordinary: she was one of Keene’s own and her images of railroad people and places were taken from her vantage place as a B&M employee. Viewing her photography, supported by a limited number of period images of others, is a veritable being-there experience.”

This fall, after four years of research, the Society is releasing a new book: Marium Foster’s Boston & Maine Railroad, 1917-1958. The book will carry over 270 images with generous accompanying text. In anticipation of the book’s release, author Brad Blodget has agreed to present a “Marium Foster Primer,” a talk about Marium’s life and the railroad she worked for illustrated by a sampling of her images from the Society’s collection. The talk will be given at the Society’s membership meeting, Monday, November 28, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Historical Society, 246 Main Street in Keene.

Book Signing Event:
Marium Foster’s Boston and Maine Railroad: 1917-1958

On Saturday, December 10, 2011, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Brad Blodget will be on hand at the Historical Society to sign his book, Marium Foster’s Boston and Maine Railroad, 1917-1958. Four years of research and countless hours spent poring over hundreds of photographs have yielded a treasure trove of information about the people and places of the Boston and Maine Railroad in the Monadnock Region.

This book is the perfect gift for the railroad or local history enthusiast on your holiday gift-giving list or maybe you want it all for yourself! For more information, call 352-1895 or email.

Volunteer Opportunities

For many years, Bob Wellwood has worked tirelessly to maintain the obituary files of the Historical Society. He has decided that it is time to train an assistant to work on this project. If you are interested in learning this skill and eventually taking over this important task, please contact Kathy at the Historical Society (email or 352-1895). This volunteer opportunity is a half-day weekly commitment and provides a valuable resource for our patrons.

In addition, our refreshment coordinator, Lois Goodhue, is looking for a few more people who would be willing to make and/or bring refreshments for member meeting, exhibit openings and other events at the Historical Society. If you would be willing to help out with this occasional task, you may also contact Kathy at the Historical Society.

Thank you!

HSCC Saturday Winter Schedule Reminder

From January through April 2012, the Historical Society will be open only on the first Saturday of each month. Weekday hours remain the same as during the rest of the year.

Holiday Members Sale

Gift Ideas from the Historical Society’s Museum Store.
20% off all items from November 29 to December 23.

A sampling of items from the HSCC Museum Store just in time for the holidays!

Brad Blodget’s latest book: Marium Foster's Boston and Maine Railroad
Member Sale Price $20.00.

Dave Eisenstadter's Embattled Brattleboro
Member Sale Price $14.39.

Chesterfield Arch Bridge Note Cards
Member Sale Price $2.40 or package of 6 for $9.60.

Poems by Dudley Laufman: She Plumb Ned, She More'n Plumb
Member Sale Price $12.00.

The Story of Jonathan Daniels
Member Sale Price $8.00.

Imagies of Rail: Boston & Maine in the 20th Century
Member Sale Price $17.59.

Calendar of Events

November 24-26. Thanksgiving Holiday. Historical Society Closed.

Monday, November 28, 6:00 pm, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Speed, Safety and Comfort: A History of the Railroad in Cheshire County, 1844-1984 Exhibit Preview. Exhibit opens on November 29.

Monday, November 28, 7:00 pm, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Member Meeting.

Tuesday, November 29. HSCC Member Holiday Sale begins. Sale ends December 23.

Saturday, December 10, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Exhibit Hall. Marium Foster’s Boston and Maine Railroad, 1917-1958 Book Signing by author Brad Blodget.

December 23-24, December 31. Christmas and New Year’s Eve Holidays. Historical Society Closed.

Saturday, January 7, 10:00 am, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Exhibit Gallery Walk.

Wednesday, January 18, 10:00 am, Exhibit Hall. Exhibit Gallery Walk.

Monday, January 23, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, HSCC. Detective Camp: “The Mysterious Disappearance of Martin Ahern.”

Saturday, February 4, 10:00 am, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Exhibit Gallery Walk.

Thursday, February 16, 9:30 am, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Monadnock Historical Societies Roundtable Forum.

Wednesday, February 22, 7:00 pm, HSCC Exhibit Hall. Railroad History Program.

Ongoing: January through April 2012: HSCC open on first Saturday of each month only.