Why We Love Tamworth
In January of this year, Lianne Prentice posted the following letter on the Tamworth Exchange:
1.29.2011
Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the simple things in our everyday lives which shape and affect us, which make our days pleasant or special or at least tolerable. Often it’s the cumulative effect of a hundred or a thousand really small details which total a rich life. Our family started talking over dinner tonight about what makes Tamworth the place we love. Here’s our short list:
• The Tamworth Outing Club chicken BBQ at Family Day and the 4th of July parade, especially Scott on his tractor with Henry, the library float, and Chief in his convertible with the tiger in the back.
• The people, having grown up knowing so many
• Charlie Ames’ stories
• Betty’s cream cheese and olive spread on Sunnyfield Bakery’s bagels at the Other Store
• Rosie’s haddock sandwich and fries
• Looking at Mount Chocorua from almost anywhere in town
• Tamworth granite (Henry’s pick)
• shopping at the South Tamworth Store
• The way the Swift River runs through the Village
• Dancing with Bun Nickerson
• Neighbors who tolerate barking dogs, bake apple pies, pick up chicken food when we run out, share tomatoes, and make birthday cards
If you feel like it, why not post your favorites? Let’s see if we can come up with 100 (or more!) good reasons why Tamworth is special to us. We’ll compile the list and share it on the Exchange and at town meeting (in the lobby as you walk in).
Happy thinking!
~Lianne Prentice
Chris, Madeline and Henry Moneypenny
Little did Lianne realize what an outpouring of thoughts, gratitude, memories and tributes would emerge from the Tamworth Community in response to her challenge:
Ok here goes the start of our list:
Dinners at The Other Store
Going to the Post Office in Chocorua when Walter was there at 6:30 AM
Walter telling me his tomatoes were bigger than my tomatoes
Being able to walk around the pond to my piano lesson a few minutes away
Neighbors who have Charlie Brown skating rinks
Alpine glow on Mount Chocorua in the morning
My walking buddies who are out at the same ungodly hour as I am
Just a few from this side of the tracks!
~Barb Drake
Dialing a wrong number, recognizing the voice that answers; saying “Oh, sorry, I mixed yours up with so-and-so’s again – you know, 46 instead of 45”, sharing a laugh about it, and going on to have a chat.
The blue of the Sandwich Range…the clear colors and great variety of the landscape.
Watching Mt Whittier shape-shift as I drive south on 113 to 25.
Seeing Tamworth adults who I first knew as pre-schoolers at Nancy’s
Tamworth Pre-School in the 70s and 80s…. Getting to know the Brett School today via the wonderful Oasis program.
Remembering the voices of Ed and Ellen Bookholz, Mit and Emma Ames, Hooker and Evelyn Moody, Henry and Margaret Tappan, Doris Brown, Jim Moulton, Stella Perkins, Mabel Hidden, Francis Cleveland, Bob Eastwick, Ellen Eldridge, Hooper Berry, Emma Welch, Dick and Angie Stearns, Joe Ames, Jimmy Elliott, Elva Bickford, and more.
Kayaking the Bearcamp from Whittier to West Ossipee.
Running into people every day. Their kindness and humor. The web of
our connections.
Peg Loughran’s amazing bread.
~Kate Thompson
Going to Lake Chocorua on a 95 degree day
Shooting the breeze with Jennifer at Dreamworks
The Farmers Market
The 4th of July Parade
The Barnstormers
The sounds of chainsaws in September.
The week the blackflies quit.
Ice off.
Flocks of turkeys.
Jersey Nickerson making her rounds.
The Tamworth Artists market bunch.
John Moir and his cars.
People walking or skiing our trail.
~Pete VanderLaan
Spending time at our amazing library
Visiting the animals at the Remick Farm
Visiting the people at the Remick Farm
Walking up Great Hill
Having your car worked on by the fabulous people at Hidden Automotive
Looking out from the fire tower
Snowshoeing around the Duck Pond loop
The Outing Club picnic on the top of Page Hill
Maple sugaring time
Tower to town trail
more later……
and ditto to all the previous postings!
~ Carolyn Hemingway
The people, of course, and the old buildings
with their airs of the people who came before, and
Partridges drumming
Teenagers walking places on the road
Mailmen stopping at mailboxes (like bees to flowers)
Snowbanks keeping you from real harm
Candy on the low shelves at the Other Store
Two public libraries
Crowds of theater goers in the street on summer nights
Joe Binsack Trail right in the village
The steeple rising above the town
Water too cold to bear
Skinny dipping (anyway)
Bob houses on Chocorua
The soughing of pine forests
~ Peggy Johnson
Steve Damon & his camera
~ Jenn Mashiak
Not being from Tamworth,
Having a job that is not popular,
The people of Tamworth treating me with kindness and respect
Lunches at the Community School & (Lianne’s mouthwatering description)
Grammy Gordon’s cinnamon buns
The Farmer’s Market
Showing my grandchildren the process at Karl Behr’s chicken days
Picking up Peg’s fresh bread at the Other Store
Taking my grandchildren to the Remick Farm
~ Sam Martin
Joe and Charles in the hayfield cutting a new crop of hay, the voices of my children, with their friends playing outside, Charles Thompson bringing over his antique cars and giving us all a ride on a beautiful day, Alice Thompson bringing over a beautiful Christmas wreath for us to hang on our door, Joe’s beautiful flowers and the vegetable garden he so enjoyed growing and yes, Steve Damon with his camera. Elva and Carl Bickford in the little So Tamworth post office.
~ Lois Ann Ames
Walking to town to work the dinner shift at the Daley Cafe on a beautiful summer afternoon, waving to neighbors, meeting new friends, driving through the village, summer Saturdays, the river, it’s the best place to take a breath, the Barnstormers shows, the people who visit and the people who stay, snowshoes.
~ Heather Letarte
Thank you, Lianne, for the opportunity to reflect.
Dangerous question to ask a storyteller with logorrhea. Shoot, I could do this all day, and never stand up to sweep the floor.
From childhood:
Standing on the railings of the front porch of The Other Store eating ice cream cones, Peggy’s old brown station wagon parked across the way.
The comic rack at The Other Store, and the soda fountain, and all that penny candy lurking in the dark with the hardware behind it.
The children’s room at the Cook Library, and Jean Ulitz always ready with a suggestion of what I should read next.
Roaming Wonalancet in a pack of kids, and swimming in that frigid brook.
How big the Hidden Memorial seemed, and the mystery lingering around “The Old Pound”.
Steve Damon’s observatory in the field below his house.
Elliot’s Garage.
Stories of ancestors farming, raising silk worms, going west to die in the Gold Rush or staying put to be buried in cemeteries all around towns, so that we kept tripping over their graves.
Sitting on the Fry House porch watching Roney and Cynthia drink gin, and jumping off the diving board in the barn into piled-up hay far below.
All of Tamworth’s “villages”, each with their own character.
The old post office, dry cleaner, thrift store, and Nancy’s preschool, all where UUFES is now.
Driving around at night seeing raccoons and porcupines and other critters dashing in front of the car headlights.
Raccoons in the kitchen.
George Cleveland in the kissing booth during one of the fairs out behind the Tamworth Inn.
Staffords’-in-the-Fields: suppers at long tables, Ramona’s amazing cooking, dances in the barn, theater in the barn.
The Lost Boys’ crazy floats in the 4th of July parade.
Fireflies in the fields and in jars every summer.
And more recently:
So many rivers and ponds and lakes to choose from. So many mountains to climb. Even after all this time, someone can take me on a walk on trails I’ve never been on, in a part of the local woods I haven’t yet seen.
Watching my kids walk around town hugging people right and left. Watching them be raised by the village, making connections and having experiences we only hear about later. Watching them walk up and down the halls of Brett hugging people.
Seeing the Brett first graders practice “mirroring” this year, their concentration unbroken and their poise complete.
Gail’s daycare and the little paper mortarboards the kids wear when they “graduate” from preschool.
Nicole and Taylor jumping in the Wonalancet Brook once a month for the whole year leading up to their wedding, including on their wedding day at the end of December.
Thinking about the days when the telephone operator could look out the window across from the stores and say, “You won’t get her; she’s just gone into Remicks.”
The Knights’ barn of treasures.
The library and the Other Store as friendly centers of town where it’s always possible to have a chat with someone, or get a hug, or reconnect with humanity after days alone at home. All the people who work in both places. (And we could throw in the Town Offices, the Post Office, etc., while we’re at it.)
My favorite bread, Peg’s bread.
Dancing with a crowd in January, somewhere in Chocorua, for three years running.
Watching my husband fall off his chair laughing at the Two Man Gentleman Band a couple of years back.
Hugging the police chief.
Diane Bowles showing up at my house for a medical emergency, spreading calm with her voice and look, and watching Tamworth’s volunteer EMTs and firemen do the same for others at other moments. Neighbors who came instantly to tend to the babies as I was being whisked away to the hospital and the feeling that in an emergency, someone will come help.
Town Meeting—everyone getting to speak their mind, and ask questions, and request clarity, understanding the matter at hand better by the end than at the beginning. All the folks willing to go to meetings and hearings, listening and sharing ideas and opinions.
Seeing Emery the younger walking down toward the river in Chocorua with his fishing pole over his shoulder, and hearing about the hunting trips Whipple takes his kids on every year.
So much expertise, someone to ask about anything you might want to understand more about.
A bunch of guys standing around discussing how to approach the task at hand.
A couple of guys fly-fishing in one end of Scott’s pond while three little girls swim and frolic in the other end, and the fish finally biting once the girls got in the pond.
The kids swimming in Scott’s pond on April 3rd this year.
Camping on the island in the middle of Great Hill Pond, listening to the dog hunt frogs in the shallows all night.
Bird-athon Bloom-athon.
Chris Clyne reminding me of the names of the wild flowers every year.
So many stories, past and present.
~ Juno Lamb
Mama,
Here are my things.
The library- (the best library in anywhere!)
The Other Store
Arts Council, building community
The pole outside the library
The Swift River behind the Other Store
Every person knowing every person – (I love small towns!)
Walking on Cleveland hill Rd, and Main Street
Ordination Rock
The Library’s summer program
The Other Store’s ice cream cones- they always give me
a small sugar cone with half coffee, half chocolate, and chocolate sprinkles-
I like that they always know what I want.
Playing on the stage by The Other Store- i.e. singing, dancing, or pretending to poison a witch.
Love,
~ Willa Canfield
Rufus!
~ Juno Lamb
Tamworth makes me wish I had noticed it sooner, embraced it sooner, learned about it sooner, LIVED here in every sense of the word sooner, immersed my children in it sooner, learned the lessons it has taught me sooner. Thank you, Tamworth.
~ Heather Letarte
The Tamworth Exchange.
Saying Hello to Glenn at the transfer station
~ Pete VanderLaan
Sun rise on Route 16,
Walking the frozen lake with Willoughby my dog.
The men and women of Tamworth!
The Alpine glow, Breath taking Barb!
I used to Love the icicles on Alice Marshalls house…now… not so much! 🙂
Route 113A … I recall thinking ages ago, that I’d love a reason to be on this road every day! and its been my glorious bus route since 2001.
I love knowing the kids that came into the Chocorua Village store, (where I once worked for Louie!) who grew up, had families, and now I get to drive them to school.
Louie and Susan…
George Roberts buying gallons of milk each week to feed all the kitties that found their way to his barn …
I love to pass on the stories of the Berry Boys and the Page
boys as told to me by David, George Roberts, and Bun Nickerson.
(For example… slightly off color… so pass on this if you want to Peg… but it is funny…) Carlton Page once asked David if he’d ever had sex with a pig… David said no have you??? Hell no says Carlton, they’ll squeal on ye every time!
Mostly I love my friends, and neighbors, waving at people as we pass in our cars… people when I’m ‘away’ often misread this gesture, which is now a habit of mine.
Thanks for the opportunity to share a few of my favorite things about Chocorua, Tamworth and Wonalancet. It is a majestic place to call home.
~ Ashana
The people (even some I don’t know well) who say to me, “Your house is looking good!” because everybody knows where I live and everybody drives by, and when it’s warm enough I leave the curtains open.
Taking my out-of-town kids and grandkids to The Other Store and the Farmers Market to show them off (and to show off what we have in Tamworth!).
~ Kate Vachon
Heron Pond… (Known to me as my office….) office #2… the Sheep Pasture that Mary and Ray Bliss shared with me and others and still do along with all their trails for hiking, skiing, walking etc…
Memories of Mary and Ray Bliss… Alice Marshall… Ann Behr… and many others whom have passed.
Jackman Pond… And all the wetlands…
The Visionaries…
The doers… the gifters…which there are many!!!
The Intervales…
The generosity of Tamworth’s people
The libraries…
The non-profits…
Donated x/c ski trails
The call to address the greater good!… And the future of Tamworth.
Melting pot of all sorts of thinking… and the ability to understand we can disagree and still like each other….
Chocorua Lake and views of Mt. Chocorua from near and afar…
Local food, farming… All the vendors of the Farmers’ Market
The music, theater, arts that which Tamworth is extremely endowed…
The beautiful agricultural lands…
And to whom all that may be reading this…. You are a special part of Tamworth…we all bring our own uniqueness to where ever we may go…
ALLLLLLL the Volunteers…
~ Donna Veilleux
John Mersfelder offering his field to pasture our sheep in, when he’d just met my husband, and hadn’t even met me yet.
Everyone being so welcoming at finding out we were moving here with our sheep (quite different from where we’d come from!).
In the same vein, finding a community that actively encourages and supports family agriculture.
~ Karen Galle
The history of Tamworth that many do not know and many hardly remember. The time when a part of Tamworth was know as Tamworth Iron Works where the first drill and cable was made for suspension bridges. The Spindle factory, where many thread and yarn spindles were made. The blacksmith shop where you can still find hand cut nails if you did a little in the ground. The old Sears catalogs used to insulate the buildings. Chocorua Hotel in all its splendor high on the hill. The day Ben Page brought maple syrup down by wagon from his sap house. The fact that Doc Remick kept all his pills in a cabinet with glass fronts in his office and made house calls for the price of a chicken or a loaf of bread. Going down into the cellar and fighting the Mild snakes to obtain some milk. The days when you could see across the field from my house all the way to Glo’s greenhouse, now a complete forest. Luckily my children have these memories that have been given to them by their relatives.
~ Becky Mason
June’s smile at The Other Store
That my ancestors thought it was so special they came here, too
“up country” lawns
Finally at Christmas time seeing the tree at the PO that the Boy Scouts have decorated with lights (always so pretty!)
The well-kept dirt roads
Hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling the Swift
~ Laurie Nason
The spindle mill was on the property that Joan owns on the Mountain Road and Doc Remick’s little black pills would cure a cold very quickly. Those were the good old days many of us remember. Of course I don’t remember the spindle mill, but I remember Mitt Ames telling of it. Also, the ski area on Page Hill.
~ Lois Ann Ames
Doc Remick’s penicillin in the rump as a cure for everything!
~ Juno Lamb
What makes Tamworth special for me….
Lots of friends and friendly people
I was born in Tamworth, which makes it really special to me
Miss Becky’s Pianoforte
Remick’s animals
The 4th of July parade and fair
The beautiful Snow!
Small country stores
The rec program
Snowshoing!
All the farms we peek at while driving or biking by
Visiting Doc and Di (on Turkey St)
Mama’s Mac n Cheese
Trick or treating
The view of Chocorua
The secret path to White Lake
All the undisturbed rivers!
Chocorua Pottery
So much more!! We think Tamworth is just awesome!
~ David Jr. and Lillian (Sheehan)
… And Old Doc’s Rhubarb Tonic, ditto (at least that’s what I’ve heard he often prescribed!)
Thank you, Becky, for these vivid pictures of early Chocorua.
Noting Lois’s posting re the spindle factory – I suspect there were two, one in Chocorua and one in South Tamworth – and maybe even more.
The S.T. one mainly turned spools for spool bedsteads, I think. As I learned last spring when researching the South Tamworth Industries, the Carroll County History notes that Tamworth had the highest number of good sites for water-powered mills of any town in Carroll County.
They practically dotted the landscape, I think!
I have been so touched by all the kind mentions of the Other Store, and by Lois’s recollections of my parents. I hope more people will post their lists, like the Sheehans’ great one just now, so that even more varied perspectives and locales will be covered.
(home with a cold so more than usually glued to the computer…dang, where’s that rhubarb tonic?!)
~ Kate Thompson
Every summer!!
~ Keats Myer
My remembrance of Doc’s favorite pills were black and yellow Bumble Bees
Doc coming out in a bear skin coat with Clare Dyer (his long time house keeper and gal Friday) in a snow suit. Then the two of them getting into the Cutter Sleigh, wrapping up in a blanket and going off to exercise Munsey Dear, Mountinan Glen, Mighty Mike, one at a time, out on the “track” behind the stable.
Leon Hartford working me into the ground sharpening hardwood fence stakes with an axe.
Leon and his wife (while in their 70’s) taking in “Old Folks” in their home ‘Hartford House’ – now restored to its original name ‘The Gilman Tavern’.
The Metal Bridge over the Swift in the village and the summer it was replaced and what a pain that was bringing in hay from the outlying fields . You never knew till you got there if it was open or not.
Patrick, the Mayor of Tamworth.
~ Dom Bergen
YOU!
Tamworth, our little town, is chock full of magic. The best part about it is that it’s no secret!
It wasn’t until I had my son that I slowed down and Tamworth grabbed me. It really did. I feel so happy to live here and grateful too. I love Tamworth and feel kindly to those who live here. It’s each and every one of you that make a place worthy of magic happening.
Thank you.
~ Shelly Freberg, Chocorua
Riding horses along Cleveland, Bunker, and Brown Hill Roads, through woods and hay fields, with friends of all ages.
Skating on the all the lakes and ponds, rushing for those few days a year to get out while the ice is good.
Midnight on New Year’s Eve in Wonalancet – seeing fireworks and hearing people cheering out of the darkness.
Concerts behind The Other Store.
The glare of setting sunlight on Nate Hughes’ windows as you walk up the hill toward the Four Corners in the summertime.
The Community School Gardens in full bloom (and any other gardens, of which there are so many!).
Walking from my house to town IN the Swift River.
Driving on dirt roads.
Tamworth Learning Circles and the Posners’ lofty barn.
The miniature houses on Mountain Rd. in South Tamworth.
All the people I get to see when I come back to visit – how everyone is always as friendly and happy and good-looking as ever.
~ Juliana Beecher
Walking into Remick’s Store after a long absence and hearing Waddy say “Hi Anne, How ya been?” as if I’d only been gone a day or two.
Growing up in Wonalancet, going to the one-room Birch Intervale school with David and Bruce Bowles, Joanne Read (Floyd), and others. Ethel Berry, teacher.
Climbing Mt Katherine. Camping out on Whiteface with my brother and sister.
Skinny dipping in the brook behind our house in Wonalancet.
Working at The Barnstormer from age 12 to 22+ – Police Chief Charley Aspinall allowing me to drive from home to the theatre, but nowhere else, at age 13.
Being able to come back after 40 years living away, and feel as if everyone remembered me (some actually did!) And that my husband came along and is enjoying it too!
But most of all, Francis, Alice and Marion, and the family feeling that they created around The Barnstormers. A feeling that endures.
~ Anne McKey Batchelder
Yes! Elva & Carl and the South Tamworth P.O.
I miss them. And it saddens me to think that there may come a time that I miss the P.O.
~ Chris Conrod
My son’s first trout on a worm, years later to one on a fly he tied himself.
Skiing home from the top of King Hurley.
Kayaking the Swift over Aspinall’s Hole
My daughter bringing friends to camp by the river.
My wife on a first name basis with so many of the Remick Farm creatures
My father
The worlds of beauty, joy, friendship, wisdom, caring and sharing that have opened to me
thanks to my life in Tamworth
~ Kent Hemingway Jr.
Summers as a child with my family on Bunker Hill
My Grammie’s house on Page Hill
Racing my sister on bikes to Ordination Rock
Skinny dipping in Chocorua Lake and Bear Camp Pond
The stars above my house at night
The fireflies in my field
Becoming a homeowner on the same road I grew up on
Living 5 minutes from my dad
Glen making the transfer station a fun place
Knowing where the potholes are while driving Cleveland Hill Rd.
Earth Day clean up on Page Hill with Kelly
Rivendell Farm
And a lot of the other things that others have mentioned already…
~ Jenn Goodson
Skiing under the stars in Wonalancet
Landing a brookie on the Swift, or the Wonalancet, or the Bearcamp, or Mill Brook, or White lake, or Chocorua lake or that other spot that I’d have to kill you if I told you…
Finding a shear pin at The Other Store on a snowy Sunday morning
The neighbors
The creative minds
Dinner in a hardware store
Stopping in the middle of the road to talk
Seeing two moose, a deer, and no cars on my morning commute
Fresh eggs from everywhere in town
Mt. Chocorua’s multi-facets
The library’s multi-facets
Summer nights on the lake
The big backyard we can all share thanks to so many private landowners
The citizens that give so generously of their time
The Spring peepers and tree frogs that lull me to sleep
Simply waking up here!
~ Skip Nason
JoAnne Rainville and the whole Community Nurses crew
The Tamworth Foundation Crew
Advice To The Players
All the residents who stand in the road causing 911 calls.
The war memorial in the village
The Deer Hill Cemetery as a metronome for us all
~ Pete VanderLaan
The open fields as I drive up Depot Road.
The plow owners that stop while I am trying to dig out.
Happy Eggs – the story – So many other stories would be very similar.
Loons.
Song Bird because the food is always very fresh and delicious.
The fireman’s auction.
Conserved land always accessible.
Tamworth wireless – a concept moving towards reality.
Peaceful and quiet.
Tamworth Campground music floating up to the house on a warm evening.
Many others have already been said
These have all put into words, the feelings I have which compel me to eventually live in Tamworth full time.
~ George Blanchette
Memories of the Huckins Barn square dances, and Steve Staples playing trumpet on a slow dance;
My father showing me my first baby bear, in a tree on Cleveland Hill Road;
Crew at the Barnstormers and the village late at night;
Francis and Alice and The Barnstormers;
Driving 113 from Tamworth to Chocorua;
Trying to turn left onto Route 16 in the summer;
The Grove, and the generosity of the landowners around Chocorua Lake;
Red Gables Farm milk and yogurt;
Hank Letarte speckled trout lettuce in January;
Farmers’ Table meals at The Community School;
Community fish share;
The Farmers’ Market;
Jelly bellies by the scoop at The Other Store;
The view of the village as you come down Great Hill Road;
Concerts at the Congregational Church;
The Tamworth Gardens, waiting for a rebirth;
The really nice people at the Town Offices;
The Community Nurse;
The Tamworth Foundation;
Being hugged by Molly and Willa;
Being connected through the Tamworth Exchange
~ Becca Boyden
Remick Acres, all looking out for each other and my brother…
Ferncroft neighbors… the best…
The Tamworth Caregivers… calling me when Johnny doesn’t answer his door…
Amy & Bob’s farm milk and yogurt… and Calvin…
All the busy little occupied houses in the woods…
Lunch at The Other Store…
11 Runnells Hall Road… it’s old and imperfect, but got our business out of our home…
Karen Galle selling us six of her silly ducks…
~ Athena Holtey
Thanks for the great memories Katy! Will add a couple of my own. Remembering the wonderful people like Charles Thompson and his old cars, walking to Bemis School in So. Tamworth in cold, rain, snow, grades 1-5, and then traveling to Tamworth School grades 6-8 (which is now the Unitarian Church), my first job as usher and box office at the Barnstormers Theater working for the wonderful Alice and Francis Cleveland. Then my second job at the one-operator telephone office (“number please”) working part-time through my high school years, managed by Marion Corbett and located across from Remick Bros. Store. I love to travel, but there’s no place like Tamworth, a great place to bring up children!
~ Doris Remick
Endless, magical summers as a child,
Snow banks way over my head,
The 1938 hurricane, during which I almost set fire to our house!
Ed and Ellen Bookholz,
Joe and Charlie Ames haying,
Charlie and Gertrude Roberts,
Claude Ames and Nate Stacey hitching up the huge, gentle work-horses and sometimes letting me ride on them,
Playing in the hay loft on rainy summer days,
The town snow plow with a V-shaped front sending a huge fan of snow into the air, which would settle lightly and symmetrically on both sides of the road,
Sledding all the way down Mountain Road to Rt. 25 before any sand was spread after a snow storm,
The wonder of fireflies, which always arrived – and still do – on June 1st,
The whiny hum of the cicadas in the summer heat,
The meltingly beautiful song of a Hermit Thrush deep in the woods,
The brook behind my house, thundering in the spring and fall rains, and totally silent under the winter ice,
The geese, high and honking eerily as they fly south,
Watching storms come across the valley,
Bears up in the apple trees,
Northern lights,
Sparklers on July 4th,
The wonderful history of this town, which is everywhere and touches everyone
~ Joan Gilmour
All of these lists resonate, and I would add: Waving my son off as he is picked up by the school bus each morning, and knowing that Ashana will bring him safely to a school where the teachers and administrators know him and truly care about his education. Thank you Brett School. Oh, and the ski program! Wow – thanks to the Tamworth Outing Club!
~ Keats
Thanks Pete! I jumped on to make sure that JoAnne & TCNA made it on the list! Available 24/7 no matter the weather this service available only in Tamworth, NH and nowhere else on earth gets my vote as the #1 in the countdown! Thanks
TCNA for all you do! We also don’t want to forget the Tamworth Caregivers who also provide a very important service to any and all.
~ Ron & Jen Buzzell, Dreamworks, Grammy’s
The Pike family would like to add:
Selling lemonade at the Farmer’s Market and being paid with a Grammy Gordon’s blueberry scone
Bob Streeter’s maple syrup
Seeing Marion at the Chocorua Library on a Sunday afternoon
Eliza and Sianna as babysitters (#1 on Diddy’s list)
Living, walking, and watching children grow up beside the Bearcamp River
The many talents of neighbor/friend/carpenter/gardener/photographer and Bryant Road historian, Thad Berrier
and from Harry –
“The enduring memories of my childhood, visiting Nana and Dada. Back then Bryant Road was a tunnel of trees, no one else lived between here and the Smith’s. I roamed the woods in search of adventure. It would get so cold at night that Nana’s teeth would freeze in the glass by the bed. Dada would take me across the road to visit Ralph and Millie (Wilkinson); in the summer, Ralph would sit in a chair by the barn and shoot at the raccoons in his corn, and in the winter, we’d have tea by the wood stove and listen to his stories.”
~ Laura Pike
A favorite Tamworth story:
I came out of the Town House after teaching yoga one summer evening a couple of years back. My neighbor was driving up toward Cleveland Hill Road and stopped his car in the middle of the road to chat, as one does in Tamworth. I walked into the road to stand near his driver’s side window. A few minutes in, a state trooper drove down from Cleveland Hill Road and stopped his vehicle, so that now I was standing between the two.
“Get out of the road,” the trooper snarled.
But the story doesn’t end there. Then he laughed and said, “Oh, I’m just kidding. This is Tamworth.”
~ Juno
What makes Tamworth Special
ALL the people
Esp. the folks that GIVE of themselves to make Tamworth special
Living in a place where 76 people knitted squares for an Afghan for
Elaine when she was sick
Mill Brook & Hoag Brook both w/ the winter ice & snow & the
summer moss-covered rocks.
The purple mountain’s majesty
Open country
4th of July parade & all the tractors
The special feeling of freedom I’ve had for almost 84 years!
~ Tom Cleveland
more appreciations from Willa…
Mama,
Here are the people in Tamworth:
Amy, for being the most wonderful children’s librarian in the universe.
Peggy, for always being happy when I see her, her big, big hugs.
Jay, for doing cool art projects and having the best library possible.
Chris Clyne, for taking walks with us every Wednesday.
Keats, for being Keats.
June, for being June. Kind, calm, and loving.
Katy for owning the other store, and making it perfect.
Andrea, Claire, Linda, Betty, Crosby, and all the other store folk.
Hugging Chief Dan.
Jennifer, for having a wonderful bakery, and for bringing the children into events, for her delicious cinnamon buns, and for her big smile.
Juliana, Clara, and Miranda.
All my friends taking walks with me to the village, and playing with me in the Swift River.
I love you. I wasn’t sure how to spell Clyne.
~ Willa Canfield
Square dances in the barn of the Brass Heart Inn.
Watching children – and then grandchildren jump off Turtle Rock in Bearcamp Pond.
A first “backpack” with the children to Big Rock Cave.
Peg King holding forth on the importance of conservation and Iley Irwin painting the beauties of Tamworth.
The Barnstormers taking on twelve-year-olds for their first summer jobs.
Cutting our own Christmas tree out of the woods.
Fresh bread from Sunnyfield – then and now.
~ Betsy Loughran
To know it’s snowing without getting out of bed by the sound of the plow coming and the amber rotating light as it passes by at 3:00AM
~ Pete VanderLaan
I love reading these posts; it’s great hearing what people treasure about living in different parts of town. Even though Tamworth seems small, what a resident of South Tamworth finds special is different from a Wonalancet dweller. Our diversity is to be celebrated.
A few of the many many things that make Tamworth special for me:
My spiritual home, UUFES, where there are hugs, awesome music, moments of stillness and great food on any Sunday morning I need any one of these things.
Another of my spiritual homes, the fields, forests and wetlands all over town which are home to so much wildlife I won’t even begin to list them, but especially to bears, moose, and bobcats who need a lot of space to survive.
Going around town with my 6-year-old son, Ben, and feeling like I’m with a celebrity. Thanks to the warmth, caring and inclusive atmosphere at the Brett School and other places (e.g. The Other Store, The Community School, Town Hall, Cook Library), he knows so many people, and feels like he owns the place.
~ Margaret Rieser
Bob Streeter’s milk!
~ Karen Galle
The tenacity of its people; the love of people and town and how all are; the great diversity in all matters; its wildlife; and wild life; all its volunteers. its great Art forms and the good food that shows up at any event.
How could I forget? Add St. Andrew’s Dinner Bell, one of first ones around; the Food Pantry; the Tamworth Christmas Project, which grew from Christmas tree lighting and gifts for each small child, to what it is today; the Tamworth Association of Churches; the marvelous cemeteries and headstones; the beavers behind St. Andrew’s who are still there and probably will be for ages; Harry Thompson who tried his best to get rid of them; Harry’s corn; introducing my grandkids to sliding in streams and climbing mountains and lots and lots of snow. The once upon a time night quiet and no lights.
~ Peg Custer
A walk up the Mountain Road in South Tamworth.
~ Amber Hoag
One of my most memorable times… The Obama Inaugural Ball at the Brass
Heart Inn… now that was a happening… I’m sure not many towns can boast
such a thing…
~ Donna Veilleux
Among the many special things about Tamworth one of my favorites is that, although I live in the “suburbs” of Tamworth (1 mile from town center), I have seen such a variety of wildlife in my yard—a bobcat, foxes, a weasel, bears regularly, barred owls discussing territory, and one amazing morning a Cooper’s Hawk, who got a bird, plucked it and ate it right in front of my dining room window. That never happened in Lexington, MA.
~ Donna Polhamus
Not to mention the coyotes. There was a single coyote barking outside our house, very close, one night. I let our dog out and his bark and my flashlight convinced the coyote to go elsewhere. The next night he was back with several friends up on the hill barking and yipping up a storm. The poultry were shut up tight, and the sheep are behind electric, but we still keep an ear open for the coyotes.
My husband said the night before (the night of the lone coyote) there were a lot of turkey tracks right at the end of our logging road where it meets our driveway. Perhaps the coyotes were on their trail.
We had a single turkey in our field for a couple days this summer, then he moved on.
I do love the abundance of wildlife, as long as they leave our livestock alone!
~ Karen Galle
The annual Town Meeting at the Brett School, (thank you, George and Chris) as well as the daily town meeting at the counter at The Other Store, and the fact that I used to get frappes made by Nancy Coville there, and now June makes them for my daughter. That folks are on a first name basis with my ancestors and my child, so that the definition of “family” is broadened… people waving automatically because you *probably* know whoever is driving by… the Pub at The Tamworth Inn back *then* and more recently. Square-dancing at the town house and skinny-dipping at Bear Camp afterwards. The fact that “citizenry” includes bear, moose, peepers, raccoons and crazy brilliant constellations. That friendships are not defined by age, gender or class. That we love each other, even if we don’t always get along. Oh yeah, and Rufus.
~ Suzy Kjellberg
The cheery, generous, kindly, tuned-in people
The beautiful views of mountains and fields and old farms.
The appreciation of local history and tradition
Lights and decorations on Main Street at Christmas.
Barnstormers
The Other Store
Rosie’s for breakfast
Katy’s music in and around the barn during the summer
The locust trees in bloom
My little bird’s eye view of the goings on from my office at the library
~ Jay Rancourt, Library Director
This morning I had three students aged 11-13 arrive on foot in the height of the storm for their Math and Shakespeare tutorials. Worth this brief mention in educational dispatches, I think, and I did wonder how many others made similar journeys in NH today…
It felt like a glimpse of the past, when such rugged attachment to learning wouldn’t have been at all out of the ordinary. So not of course a candidate event for the special award, but surely a sign that Tamworth, which truly is a wonderful place, keeps some good old commonsense anachronisms. Walking through the snow to a one-room schoolhouse – whatever next ? And who can gauge the effect of that walking by the silent woods with one’s footprints disappearing in minutes behind ?
~ Richard Posner
I’m, perhaps, going to trace this a slightly different way – but each remembrance was special to me. I’m a flatlander, but I’ve had the good fortune to spend part of each year of my life, except one, in Tamworth.
In 1932, Francis and Alice Cleveland hired my parents, who didn’t know each other, to work at The Barnstormers. Thus began an association with Tamworth which continues, through me, to this present day. I’m forever grateful to the Clevelands for making this choice and giving my parents the chance to return to this Town year after year.
I joined them on their trek to Tamworth in the ’40’s. In the ’50’s I was old enough to realize what a special place Tamworth was and I badgered my Parents every year as summer rolled around to find out when we’d have our next adventure here.
What was special to me through the years?
The old bridge over the Swift River in the Village fascinated me with it’s 4 globe lights and the kerthunk, kerthunk sound as our car travelled over it. I miss it, today.
The Post Office in the house just over the bridge, where T. Chase lived, run I think by Postmistress Edna Mason and her husband Hi’s Barber Shop.
I had hours of fun on the steel (?) merry-go-round in front of the old Tamworth School, which is now UUFEES. I remember the Three Trees, where Barnstormers stayed not far from the 113, 133A intersection.
We gassed up our car at the Esso Station run by Mrs. Stearns, just before the bridge into Town.
Dianne Whipple and I had a lot of fun at her house in the Village just opposite the Theatre. I remember one summer when she was not around and I was scrounging around in the family’s barn and something fell and I ran like a scaredy-cat and wound up hiding for what seemed an endless time in Doc Remick’s barn where he kept his horses. Eventually, I made my way back and “confessed” and it turned out nothing had been broken and her father was very kind to me – no harm, no foul! Her father, if I remember correctly, owned a Saab dealership in Whittier, somewhat across from Jimmy Elliott’s garage.
Jimmy was so good to our family, friendly and easy to talk to and he took great care of our older model cars.
I remember the Three Sheeters outside The Barnstormers, publicizing the next Play and my trying one day to see if I could make them swing in the breeze. (I could a little.) Thank goodness no one saw me!
As I got older I developed a friendship with some of the Lost Boys: Karl Behr and Howard Trask. Howard’s father, Bob, an electrician, was incredibly kind to me as I put electric baseboard heat into my three-season cottage on Cleveland Hill Road. I didn’t have enough ready money to complete the job, so I suggested we put off the final baseboards until I could raise the cash. He would have none of it. He finished the job and said, “Pay me when you can.” I did, but I’ll never forget his generosity to me.
That Camp I bought on Cleveland Hill Road was originally built by Hi Mason and Mosely Taylor and they used it to raise sled dogs. I have seen some pictures of that time and if I have any copies, I’ll post them to the exchange. What goes around comes around, now it’s owned by Karen Jones who is raising sled dogs there. (I think she’s Hi mason’s granddaughter.)
When I needed sneakers one summer, I was taken into the back room of The Other Store to procure them. Who ran it then—Peg something? The special treat for me was to go to the soda fountain, spin on the seats and order just what I needed to whet my palate!
I loved Remick’s store where each summer when I stumbled in I was greeted by name by Waddy from an early age. Maybe he remembered my peccadilloes more than me? Hehehe. Earle was also very friendly to me.
But at the time there were 4 stores in Tamworth: Remicks, The Other Store, Knowltons and one one just after the turn on 113 to go to Chocorua which is now an apartment building. I remember buying Candy at Knowltons – or was I trying to get to know their daughter Pam?
How devastated I was when Anita left The Other Store for Sandwich – I had so many enjoyable experiences when she ran it.
George, the Meat Cutter at Remicks was a good friend.
To dissipate the energy stored up in a pre-teen boy, we went on Thursday Nights to Huckin’s Barn for the Square Dances. I don’t remember the caller – was it Karl Behr’s father whose name I have shamelessly forgotten?
I’ll never forget the nights as a teen and adult spent after Barnstormer performances at Mrs. Behr’s “boarding house” for the Actors – and she probably didn’t forget them either!
I remember vividly 2 occasions when I had to visit “young’ Doc Remick:
I remember I was about 12 and got some kind of splinter in my hand (part of which still remains) and the Doctor’s remedy was to keep the hand bandaged and constantly soaked in alcohol the whole time I was in Tamworth, preceded of course, by a penicillin shot. When I worked at The Barnstormers on Crew one year, I got a nail which went completely through my hand. He extracted it and the remedy was the same as above!
One year I was old enough to be a “runner” for Alice Cleveland, who managed the Box Office and each night I was sent to Mrs. Stearns to change some money for the theatre.
I talked for hours with Dick Stearns when he was Postmaster when it was in what is now UUFEES. There I learned all about the Tamworth Tigers baseball team, on which his father and I think he played.
How thrilled I was to get an invitation to Steve and Ginny Damon’s one night to view the heavens from his Observatory. Later, Steve and I had lots of chats, not about Photography, as you might suspect, but about computers as he tried to transfer his wonderful music collection to digital.
My special remembrances would not be complete without mentioning two more items:
The Tamworth Inn. I kinda grew up there when Cary Haskell ran it. He was a wonderful character and a terrific person. A Harvard graduate, in the same class as Hal Meyer of The Barnstormers, he led the telling of awesome tales in the White Horse Lounge. His wife Madeline, was a great cook and I couldn’t wait for Sundays when I could get some Chocolate Nut Angel Pie. Locals worked at the Inn: Ann Albrecht, Barbara Meader and her twin sister, who I could never tell apart, and Melinda Elliott. They were great fun to to have as my waitresses and my confreres. As I grew up his daughter Peggy and I became friends. I’ll never forget the day the staff (including perhaps the afore mentioned) went on strike against Cary and those staying at the Inn never missed a beat as they took over and stripped their beds and threw the laundry down the stairs to be dealt with by someone. I never knew who won the strike.
The Barnstormers was my life. One summer, as a teen, I was old enough to be on crew and came up alone for the summer to work on crew – or so I thought. I departed North Station by train and got off at the train station in West Ossipee. (It was the last summer before the trains stopped running.) Here I was 5 miles away from my destination and I didn’t have a clue as to how to get there. I must have looked in some sort of a state of chaos until this individual struck up a conversation with me. It turned out to be Emery Roberts, who at that time was Chief of Police in Tamworth. He gave me a ride in his car to Tamworth. That was my introduction to the Roberts’ clan, the members of which I’m trying to identify to this day! Alas, my stay in Tamworth was short-lived as one Saturday night as the crew struck the set, one member set of some fireworks right in front of the Inn as we returned from the barn on Cleveland Hill. Cary stormed into the theatre and chewed us out with words I’ll never forget, but won’t repeat here. The next morning, we were all lined up at the town House, which at the time had a small jail cell in it, to be interviewed by the State Police! We thought it was about the firecrackers, but it turned out someone had stolen the clapper of the Congregational Church bell (which tolled 24 hours a day on the hour at the time). We had nothing to do with that, but for the longest time Cary was suspected as having a hand in it. I don’t think he was involved and I don’t think the case was ever resolved. But I was sent home – fired, so to speak – as Alice didn’t want me staying alone in Tamworth as the firestorm erupted. That was probably the hardest day I ever had in Tamworth – leaving what I loved. I did come back later in the season with my parents. But I never got to do that whole season and that bothers me to this day.
Francis Cleveland offered me the job of Stage Manager one year and I hesitated because my Dad was quite sick – he held the job open for me even when I had said no, and offered it to me, again, after my Father passed on, when the Season was almost upon him. I’ll never forget his and Alice’s kindness to me and my Mother that summer as they let us stay in the Winter House. I was a kid of 24 when I took over. What did I know? Well, I’d gotten in the way of productions enough to watch Anne McKey (Batchelder) as SM. So, I modeled what I did as I muddled through my duties on her. Somehow I got through that first season and was asked back. It was a job I held for 33 years. I met so many Tamworth residents who worked for the theatre during those years: ushers, crew members, people who “Jobbed In” as non-professional actors for a show. Through the years The Barnstormers hired hundreds of locals who helped “the show go on.” And I still see many today. I have fond memories of them.
When I became Supervisor of the Checklist, I got to know people who gave their hearts and souls for the Town: The Selectmen, the members of the varied Town Boards, Terry and Kim, Betty Bowles and Libby all of whom were so helpful to me as I performed my duties. Mary guided me through the financial pitfalls of my office. The evenhandedness and humor of George and Chris as they skillfully guided us through the minefields of Town Meetings and Paul’s wise hand at School meetings will never be forgotten. My thanks to my co Supervisors: David, Donna and Sharon. I can’t leave this without mentioning my co-Supervisor Emma Welch – what a character, what a story teller. The tales of she and Hook spearing the ice out of White Lake leave me laughing to this day.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention those at TCNA: Dave and JoAnne and Carol, who helped me 7 days a week when I had some serious burns and have been a great resource in my current illness. If one wants a model as to how healthcare can be provided in a Town, this is it.
What other Town has resources like the Tamworth Foundation, the Christmas Project, the Scholarship Fund, etc., etc.?
What’s special to me in Tamworth – it’s the people I’ve met on my journey and the friendliness they have extended to me, no matter what side of the political spectrum we may have been on. I’m proud to call all Tamworthies my friend and I look forward to broadening my encounters in the future.
So, that’s MY take.
Respectfully,
~ Brad Ball
Hi folks,
We’ve really enjoyed reading every ones thoughts on what makes Tamworth special.
Our family submitted a list a few days ago, and on that list was this item:
“selling lemonade at the Farmer’s Market and being paid with a Grammy Gordon’s blueberry scone”
I’ve actually had a few people question this (off list), wondering what the actual situation is for the kids, so here are some additional details:
For the past 3 years Jennifer Buzzell (Grammy Gordon’s Bakery) has graciously offered young people the chance to sell lemonade beside her table at the Farmer’s Market. Kids have to sign up with Jennifer in advance and they are permitted to sell their crafts and handmade items along with the lemonade. Jennifer pays the seller $10, they get to keep all their tips and any profit from the sale of their craft/handmade items. Tthey also get to choose a complimentary baked good. There are dozens of young people, my children included, who really enjoy the opportunity Jennifer gives them to learn business basics and make a little summer cash.
Our son Harry, also known about town as Diddy, has recently turned 6 years old. Once he and his dad manned the lemonade stand, but most often he’s just in and about the stand (when his sister sells) as well as stepping behind the bakery table with Jennifer, chatting it up with customers and learning how to make change. He’s never there for very long, but in turn, his dad always allows him to choose something (it’s usually a blueberry scone, his favorite) in payment for whatever 10-15 minutes of “help” he gives at the lemonade/Grammy Gordon table.
In his 6 year old world its “selling lemonade at the Farmer’s Market and being paid with a Grammy Gordon’s blueberry scone” and to him it’s a special part of Saturday mornings in the summer.
~ Laura
It’s too tempting not to jump in to the What Makes Tamworth Special discussion. Here are my additions:
Being amazed, every two months when the Tamworth Civic News comes together, at the variety of listings in each issue: dances, dog sled races, baby parades, community meals, discussions of all kinds, town politics, rummages sales, and on and on…
And those rummage sales – Tamworth’s events are not-to-be-missed! We are fortunate to have several opportunities each year to clean out closets by donating items outgrown or no longer needed, to support local causes (Tamworth Community Guild, St. Andrew’s Church, South Tamworth’s Union Hall), and to socialize with friends and neighbors while outfitting an entire family in practical, fashionable, and very budget-friendly clothing! Thank you to all who run Tamworth’s fantastic rummage sales.
Dancing in another New Year at the Town House with renowned caller and fiddler Dudley Laufman leading this long-running Tamworth tradition.
Free speech, even when I don’t agree with everything that is said.
A vibrant, supportive community in which to raise our children. And the fact that my boys, now 18 and 16, have grown up on a first name basis with almost all Tamworth adults in their lives. My take on this: that it lends an element of mutual respect between kids and grown-ups and is part of what helps many Tamworth young people feel that they are truly valued members of this community.
~ Amy Berrier
Hi All,
Some people responded directly to me with a few tidbits about what makes Tamworth special to them. Thought I’d share:
Arlene Cummins’ doughnuts, crispy right out of her cast iron pan full of hot lard
Ice skating with Joan Cave
The free magazine box at Cook Library
Getting to know people from all around town by delivering Meals On Wheels
June Donovan’s friendly smile for all those years at TCNA, plus Ginny Damon and all the other town nurses over the years
The Union Hall rummage sale and bean suppers
Harold Cook’s apples and peaches
The kindness of Heather Moir and the energy of Nancy Browne
Grants from the Tamworth Foundation
Seeing Dave Brown and Jean Mar Brown on stage at The Barnstormers…pretty funny!
The Fire Department’s Mothers’ Day breakfast
Thinking that there might be Mountain Lions here even if the officials say they’re not
The old barn dances at Staffords In the Fields
~ Lianne Prentice
The TOC, going strong since 1935
Sunsets in Wonalancet
Walter Walker’s maple syrup
Mrs. Kennedy driving through town
Ned Behr driving his tractor to Wonalancet for hay season
~ Helen Steele
Kenneth Moore and the school bus.
…and of course Ansel and the prosthetic leg on the roof at Juniper lodge.
Mary Bliss and her sheep.
Ray Bliss at town meeting.
~ Pete VanderLaan
Harry Thompson
Jean Ulitz
Richard Mowrer
Hooper Berry
Look to the Mountain
Hearing any of the 14 Robertses speak in that distinctive Roberts way.
Barry Paterno’s love of turtles
Sam Martin’s fondness for the Community School and the wildlife in
her Ossipee Mts. backyard.
David Anthony’s model car collection
Yes, putting a hand up in greeting as you pass people in a car…
Billy McAdams and Robin Atwood learned a specially fine, minimalist
version of this as little boys from their uncle Jim Moulton.
The warm, sandy tan color of our dirt roads
Haying season, sugaring season
Charlie and Joe Ames’ pleasure at seeing their beautifully mowed and
trimmed hayfields from above, from a small plane one September.
The Brook Path in Wonalancet
And of course my wonderful 8-year-old Oasis program friend at KA Brett
And all the Brett teachers & staff
and I forgot to sign,
~ Kate Thompson
Stonie and Reenie – nobody knew more about baseball
Bob Sylvia, Lou Flaccus, Will Smith… poets all
Betty Steele, Peg King… cherish their tales, and trails
Wes Eldridge… he was king of the steering wheel wave and I think even Bill will agree
~ Kent Hemingway Jr.
Traffic stopping at any time of the day to let a flock of turkeys cross the road.
~ Karen
little yellow bus speeding up to so we can see if flock will fly into the trees…(Yes they do!)
~ Author unknown…
And maybe you just didn’t sign because you thought someone might think you were adding yourself to the list of special people.
If you won’t, I will: Kate Thompson is special.
~ Chris Conrod
Yikes, this is getting really embarrassing. Must be the brain-softening winds of Imbolc, also known as Groundhog Day or St. Brigid’s Day….
Thanx, you guys… I’ll get you back.
~ KT
Also known as Candlemas Day, which brings to mind a favorite little ditty of New England farmers: “Half the wood and half the hay you should have on Candlemas Day.” Fortunately, for our home and pregnant sheep, we’re good on both counts. And yes, Kate, you are so special to Tamworth. With the old Remick store and Tamworth Inn relegated to a nostalgic past, your Other Store is one of the few surviving spots for all of us to maintain our community connections. Thank you for all you do for Tamworth.
~ Wendy Ketchum
I told Katy I wouldn’t jump into the love fest going on over her on the Exchange but can’t resist, as just last night we were singing the Katy song on our way home from Pot Luck Singers. Of course I’m dating myself, admitting I even know the song! It’s a fun song to sing and I hadn’t sung it in years!
“K-K-K Katy, Beautiful Katy…”
I love reading the names and comments about people in town.
I fell in love with the people and the mountains the first time I came to Tamworth and those are still the same things I think are special about this wonderful town.
~ Cathy Arseneault-Shea
It’s been the best place for Tony and I to raise our 3 sons as we love the great outdoors in all four seasons–I have many friends of all ages.
Our little village is such a community-gathering place with the Cook Memorial Library, the unique Other Store, the farmer’s market, The Barnstormers, and UUFUS. I also love Grammy Gordon’s pies, and farm stands with honor boxes–I love the view of Mt. Chocorua, the view from the Remick Farm and Museum, the peacefulness of White Lake after it closes for the season, my morning walk, free cross-country skiing with my dogs, the rives, lakes, hiking trails, and wildlife! I also love the delicious Community School lunches, The Brett School community involvement, and my business at home. What a perfect way to start my day with hugs and smiles from 3 to 6 year olds! I love that we still have town meeting and for George and Chris who’ve run them with humor and peace. I am especially awed that we have The Tamworth Foundation and forty-eight other non-profit organizations in town with incredibly dedicated volunteers and individuals that make great things happen; Tamworth Wireless, the Veteran’s Memorial, the compost shed at the Brett School (and teaching the children about healthy eating and recycling), the new brochure of Tamworth by the economic council, The Tamworth Exchange, and The Civic News. I also love our amazingly talented community of artists and musicians and the many venues to enjoy them. We have lots of culture! I am thankful for the quick response from our fire and emergency departments, our kind police force, Steve at the PO, my nice neighbors, that there’s always someone to help when you need it, and there’s something of interest for everyone. We really are pretty sustainable. I have this sense of pride when my out-of-town friends come to visit. They are amazed at Tamworth’s beauty, and friendliness of the people. Tamworth is a welcoming, fun, unique place to live and I LOVE IT HERE!!
~ Gail Marrone
What Makes Tamworth Special to us, as outsiders that live in Ossipee but frequent Tamworth?? Well in our opinion everyone that lives there. You all have special things all about you, and the businesses we frequent and the friends that we have made in this wonderful town.
Setting on the bridge overlooking the Swift River that flows behind the Other Store. Lakeside Physical Therapy is just one of the many businesses we go to. The Other Store and the people there-in, Kate, June, Crosby, Betty, and everyone else that works or helps out at The Other Store. The wonderful Breads that are made by Peg, the absolutely wonderful food that is made and served to our public by Jen at Grammy Gordons, The Barnstormers, Hidden Automotive, (not just because they are related either), Barry at the South Tamworth Gas Station. All of the programs at Remick Farms, G-III and their wonderful foods that they prepare, The Dam Ice Cream Shop (PART OF TAMWORTH in Chocorua) The Brass Heart Inn, and her people, Tamworth Campground, And so many more things, places and people that are too numerous to list although I do know that many have tried. Singing to and dancing with Bun Nickerson on occasion. Marc Stowbridge and his wonderful telescopes and classes thereon. JoAnne & TCNA as they are special people. Climbing up the fire tower to get a “good view”. And hiking all over the area and making new friends from the area.
The Reverend past Peg Custer, present Heidi Franz-Dale of Saint Andrews in The Valley, and Reverend Kent Schneider, all of whom we know in person.
Elva and Lee & Family, and their neighbors Christa and Peter and of course the kids. Remick Acres where other friends live. Bill & Gwyn, (you know who you are), Gordon and his two tail wagging companions. Athena, John, Katie, Richard, and so many more to list. I know I’m forgetting some but you are remembered, especially in our hearts for you kindness when Frank had his first major stroke.
Kayaking and canoeing the Bearcamp River from Tamworth/Sandwich line going over the white water rapids to all the way down to West Ossipee and then down into the lake. “The everlasting memories of my childhood”, visiting Tamworth as a child and loving the area and its people then. As I roamed the woods in Freedom, Ossipee and Tamworth in search of adventure and neat pictures. Learning the true meaning of Ordination Rock.
I could go on, but this is just part of my feelings for Tamworth and how special it is to ME and also to Frank as he has his own memories that he may someday share also..
~ Kim White Feather
Great list, Kim!
I want to concur with you especially about one – Lakeside Physical Therapy on Route 16 is such a great place and social center in town these days! Walk in and there’s half the town, huffing away on
treadmills, getting help for bad knees and shoulders, pumping iron, while shooting the breeze loudly with each other and with Jack, Alice, Joe or Mike, the great owners/staff!
~ Kate Thompson
Katie’s right – Lakeside is great – we’ve been going for since last June. It’s almost as good as The Other Store for running into your neighbors and hashing out the days events!!
~ Batch&Anne
Hi Folks,
Some young helpers and I spent a good portion of today making the posters of the wonderful tidbits, memories, anecdotes, and stories you shared regarding what makes Tamworth special to you. If you’ve been sitting on your list (and I know some of you have), waiting for that last bit of inspiration, now’s the time to press send. In order to finish the posters in time for Candidates’ Night this coming Monday, I’ll need your last-minute responses by Thursday.
We started this “conversation” with the goal of getting 100 points on our list. We ended with 106 PAGES of your inspirational, memorable, sweet, funny, goofy reasons why our town is a gem. See for yourself: come to Candidates’ Night on Monday the 28th, to the annual School meeting on the 2nd, to vote on the 8th, and to Town meeting on the 9th. The posters will–hopefully–be on display for your enjoyment and amusement.
~ Lianne Prentice
Here is the list that we’ve been sitting on…
Watching my son’s learn to swim at White Lake, under the watchful eye of Brenda Robinson & the Tamworth Swim Program.
Parker Roberts- for keeping the youth of Tamworth exercised, socialized, and entertained during summer vacation.
Marilyn Prive & the K. A. Brett Health and Wellness committee for working hard to improve the school lunch program.
Jack Waldron and Mark Albee- for donating an incredible amount of time to the new compost project at K.A. Brett.
The Tamworth Outing Club- for their tireless support of the winter ECCS ski program . Joanne Floyd & the many Tamworth residents that volunteer each winter to teach the youth of K.A. Brett to ski.
The Tamworth PTA – for ensuring that the K.A. Brett community gets to go on field trips & take part in after-school and enrichment opportunities.
The Tamworth Outing Club- for supporting the Cal Ripkin baseball teams. Hats off to the volunteer coaches & the fans that support the ball players.
The Dinner Bell at St. Andrew’s- and all the volunteers that prepare and serve the meals.
The St. Andrew’s church bell on a Sunday morning.
Harry Thompson & his vegetable farm. Chatting with Elva and Polly as they tended Harry’s farmstand.
Watching the Davis family cut and gather hay from the fields on Whittier road.
Guy Grace and his oxen.
Spring, when the ice breaks fron the Bearcamp River.
Suckers in the Bearcamp River and the return of the Ospry each April.
Betty & David Welch, for encouraging my two guys to become veggie farmers.
~ Kim Seamans- Grace
A few more thoughts
All the gravel roads in Town, but Old Mail Rd, in particular:
a. lined on both sides by lichen covered stone walls
b. Ancient stone wall animal compound
c. five stone cellar holes
d. transition into Hemenway Forest, traveling narrow road through canopy of pines
e. State Champion Tamarack
f. walkers,runners, bikers,skiers, horses, ATVs, Wagon pulled by draft horses , a few cars now and then throughout the year. Lots of couples strolling with and without dogs
g. Only thru road in town in which 2/3 of the road is blocked off in winter
h. Lots of signs and artifacts of earlier farming days
i. vernal pools along the road
j.Occasional runaway animals -horse without rider, cattle, sheep, pigs, llamas,dogs.
k. clumps of lady slippers and lupines in the spring
l. great neighbors, one and all.
m. several well kept small businesses.
n. A complementary mix of “If Walls Could Speak Houses” and contemporary houses.
o. All the wildlife seen everywhere else in Town -okay, I haven’t seen a bobcat, but it’s there. Cooper’s hawk nest and 3 fledglings a couple of years ago.
p. Hikers needing directions to the Chocorua trailheads
~ John Mersfelder
What makes Tamworth special?
Margaret mentioned diversity, what’s special in South Tamworth is different than in Wonalancet.
We are blessed with all that diversity because Tamworth is on the border. Between the Lake Region and the White Mountains. Between the Ossipee Mountains and the Sandwich Range. Between the boreal forest of the northern Appalachian and the hemlock-pine-hardwoods of the lower New England/piedmont. And we have pine barrens. All that diversity of habitat gives a great variety of flora and fauna.
We have lakes, with public access, but no motorboats. A Wilderness Area, not within our borders, but close enough to always be the backdrop for whatever happens here.
It’s quite enough, so most of the sounds I hear are not man-made. It’s dark enough so the Milky Way isn’t a surprise, but it still shocks me whenever I think about it.
Because Tamworth is in the Bearcamp Valley, between mountain ranges, there are mountain views from everywhere.
But it’s not just location. Tamworth is a community. We are blessed with more non-profits per capita than most rural towns. And so many of them are world class, one-of-a-kind, wouldn’t-be-Tamworth-without-them: TCNA, Barnstormers, Remick Museum, WODC, ACT, Community School, CLA, the Foundation, Bearcamp Trackers, two libraries, five schools, six churches.
And the TamworthExchange, for threads like this, Rufus and other announcements. And so many people willing to share their memories and participate in this project.
~ David Little
Oh…That reminds me, How lucky we are to have a mind like David Little among us. He is brilliant, generous, and humble. Attributes many of us share, though I admire David’s special gift, which in my opinion, is in his ability to present the facts usually directly from their sources, in a helpful non- partisan way.
~ Ashana Michaels
People in South Tamworth have made it special for me when I was growing up. My grandfather had a lot of friends: Pearly and Gertrude Ryder, Hook Moody, John Cook, Haven Gordon, Arthur Norcross, David Whiting, and Carl Bickford. They’re gone but remembered. Elva was a big part of childhood, too. She used to visit my grandmother a lot.
~ Kurt Perkins
Tamworth is such a special place to raise boys, and we thank so many for providing a warm, supportive environment for David and Tom to grow and thrive.
Our neighborhood babysitters Maxine, Brenda, Reb, the Roberts girls
Walter at the post office
Marge Mather at the Chocorua Library
Joan Phenix and her summer science program and preschool
Small friends at The Farmhouse Playgroup
School bus drivers Everett, Wes, Karen
Sunday School at the Chocorua Church
4H with Mary Ann Urquehart
Little League and Cub Scouts with Steve Walker
Red Cross Swim Program at White Lake
Katy Thompson and sugar cones at The Other Store
Louie & Suzanne’s Dam Ice Cream
Fred at the Chocorua Store
Jigs Floyd and TOC’s Junior Ski Program
The faculty and staff at K.A.Brett
Parker and Tamworth Rec
Cam and Russ and BSA Troop 151 and the wonderful scout camp on Fowlers’ Mill Road
Organizers of Wonalancet Wander, 4th of July parades, sled dog races
Tim and other friends who sugared with us over more than two decades
Phil Ames and Kent Hemingway, Sr. umpiring at Babe Ruth games
Lianne for inspiring us to think positively while recalling fond memories. Thanks, Lianne!
~ Kathie Dyrenforth
While we’re on people,
Kim Grace for her calm and steadfast presence on the PTA, her delicious farmers’ lunches, and this great list,
Elva and Lee for all the help they give the local arts organization, for their unifying presence at events, and for Elva’s cookies, of course,
All the performers who step up again and again for the myriad benefit variety shows,
Kim Noyes, her smiling face in the town offices,
Steve Gray manning the beach at White Lake every summer,
The whole Tamworth Swim Program gang,
Amy Carter setting up cool reading/pizza/game nights at the library,
New principal Rob Troon for being both deeply practical and visionary..
This is a fun game; we can play it forever, even if the posters have been painted, dried, and hung…
~ juno
The specialness this Tamworth Exchange thread describes is not superiority; it is particularity—of place—and love of that particularity. What people in Tamworth love is a geographically-specific form of what everybody loves and needs: community, family, natural beauty, a sense of history, a sense of place, a sense of belonging, each other, human kindness and compassion, friends and neighbors.
What makes Tamworth special is that it is so beloved by its human inhabitants.
~ Janina Lamb
What’s special to me . . .
• far off headlights we were told were “Indian Lights”
• the reassuring rumble of the plow on a winter night
• intermission at The Barnstormers
• the motion to adjourn at Town Meeting
• 4th of July
• Farmers Market Days
• Driving the loop on Route 113 and 113A
• Northern Lights over the Sandwich Range–what ever happened to THEM?
• the quiet in the Village late in the afternoon on summer Sundays.
• thunderstorms coming over the mountains
• the Brook Path
• town columns in the paper then and now
• trying to have a quiet conversation in the Other Store even though it can’t be done
• keeping up with the animals at the Remick Farm
• wondering what Passaconaway, Paugus, Wonalancet and Kancamagus would think if they were alive today
• Don Macy giving directions to the lost during foliage at Roger Elliot’s
• the old photo of husking corn
• anything to do with Emery Roberts
• Short Seeley telling me I was “okay for a Democrat”
• Ralph Smith paintings
• Willey Fromm woodcuts
• Standing under the Tamworth Church and staring up at the steeple
• Christmas Eve at the Wonalancet Chapel; then the late night service at St. Andrews
• Waiting to see what the next Barnstormers play poster looks like
• all of our cemetaries
One could go on forever . . .
~ George Cleveland
