A complete archive of mail from April 2004.

April 27
MONSTER CLAM HELP LINE
from springfield, spent much time at hampton beach as child and adult. question: i have dug up several chowder sized clams-say 3-4 inches across. after steaming, do i use entire clam, gut and all in my chowder? any help appreciated.
edward sheehan.

EDITOR’S REPLY: Absolutely. But in the case of the whopper clams, we suggest you chop them up or grind them in a meat grinder. Nothing is wasted, except the shell, that makes a nice ashtray. The smallest legal clams are the ones you want to keep whole. A dozen or so whole clams in a good sized chowder is fine, but two dozen is better. The rest get minced. We’re wondering if your clam is really a clam, or a quahog. Four inches across (not tall?) is a monster. You sure it isn’t a scallop? Be sure to leave the big ones soaking in salt water overnight with corn meal so they can clean themselves out. Remember, there is only one real clam chowder recipe.

April 25
THE SHOALS IN AUGUST
I'm planning to visit the Isles of Shoals with an Elder Hostel group in late August and would appreciate anything you can tell me of the weather to be expected there at that time of year. Is it likely to be foggy etc.?
Richard Gordon

EDITOR’S REPLY: Could be foggy, could be blinding light. August is usually quite warm on the Shoals, but there are almost always cool breezes. If there is a drought, hotel guests get no showers. It is rustic – dorms at Appledore, 19^th century hotel accommodations at the hotel on Star. Food is good and plentiful, but be prepared for salt water toilets, no radio or TV, community bathrooms. Be prepared for sudden showers, maybe wild electrical storms. Be very wary of super poison ivy. Bring plenty of suntan lotion and you will need sunglasses. Weather can change in a moment. The good news is that the seagulls are calmer since the breeding season is over. You’ll see lots of gray adolescents walking around.

April 22
HOMESICK FOR NH
Hi there Up North. My name is Candy and I just wanted to share with you. I was raised in Hartford, Ct, and have been in Fl (yuk) for over 30 years. I spent my childhood on the shore at the Atlantic ocean, and I want to come home. Bad. Maybe someday before I die, maybe. New Englad is God's country. Thanks for listening,
A Homesick New Englander.

April 20
UP AND DOWNING
Thank you for the wonderful information on the NH State House. I am a descendant of Col. John Downing, the member of the council that submitted the plan for the State House in 1753. Thanks again, you are keeping history alive!Kathaleen (Downing) Krenz

April 20
DRUNKEN EDITOR UPSETS WORLD MAP
Dear Editor,
As a native of New Hampshire, I enjoy browsing your site to get information about the region. More importantly, however, I find your site very useful as it allows me to provide a peek into Portsmouth life to my employers. I am currently working in Nichinan, Japan in international relations and translation. Nichinan & Portsmouth have been involved in a sister-city relationship, one which the people of Nichinan treat with the utmost respect and reverence, for almost 20 years. This connection grew from the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth as the Japanese delagation in Portsmouth was led by a native of Nichinan.

This morning, as I was reading "Japanese Beer Honors Portsmouth," something in the article struck me as a little bit odd. At the bottom of the article, there is a link reading "READ MORE: 1905 Russo-Sino Treaty." This seems strange to me because the root "sino" usually only refers to China. While all of the battles of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) took place on what is today northern China & Korea, I do not think one can name this treaty a "Russo-Sino Treaty" as it really did not involve China. After living in Japan for almost 2 years, however, my English has become a little bit questionable.

Thank you again for your terrific website (the new page looks terrific!)
Andrew Hattori

April 19
DESCENDED FROM TWO ROGUES
I might be visiting up there in May or June and am looking for information on sites associated with some of my ancestors. I knew I was descended from Phillip Babb and from Stephen Bachiler, but I had no idea until this week reading your web site that they are two "colorful" historical figures. I would like to visit places connected with them and their descendants/my ancestors, if possible, and especially places that still exist (e.g., not simply "on this site something once stood" or "somewhere under here somebody is buried"--you get the idea). By the way, your web site is GREAT! It is extremely easy to use and to navigate, and it is very easy on the eyes. Fun and informative, too!
Bert Hickman in Austin, Texas

EDITOR’S REPLY: We’re afraid your ancestors are gone, but not forgotten. They survive in the history of Hampton and the Isles of Shoals. Babb is often depicted as a murdering butcher. Rev. Hachelder (spelling changess) is represented with a stone, possibly, at the Founder’s Park near the Tuck Museum in Hampton, but no homes or artifacts that we know of are on display. Babb appears in Celia Thaxter’s history of the Shoals and the Rev is often associated with the unfair incarceration of Goody Cole for witchery.

April 17
THE HEADLESS FALCON
As a casual historian of New England and the Maritimes I've run across your website several times. I've also read several articles from "As I Please". Thanks for the kind words about Canada.....I'm kinda partial to it myself. I'm particularly proud of Nova Scotia, where I was born and raised. Like New England it abounds with history, and much of it ties in with its southern neighbours.

In that vein, I thought I'd pass this story along. As you know, the Maine/New Brunswick border was settled in 1842-3 by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. At that time, a Nova Scotia legislator with financial interests at the border waited for the final decision. When word finally came, and when it wasn't to his liking, he was so ticked off that he took to hacking off the heads of the carved American eagles that adorned several of the legislature's door frames - if for nothing else, I guess, than symbolic retribution. The only problem is that they were actually British falcons ! And you thought Canadians were civilized ! Just one of countless historical connections between the two places.....
Regards, Mark Wilson in Toronto

April 16
SEEKING WHITTIER’S JOHN HANCOCK
Hi there, I have a question, I have a large lot of antiques, mostly small items that belong to the Merrimans and Pennells from Brunswick Maine. Along with there personal items and Poems I have some one is from CHO, John Greenleaf Whittier, Robert Browning, Longfellow, I am wondering how I would go about getting a look at his auto graph, to match up to this one,
Any suggestions
Gary V, Gray Maine!

EDITOR'S REPLY: We just happened to have a couple of Whittier sigs, not original, but ones he signed on bookplates. His signature is quite common since he did a lot of autographing in his later years. We have reversed one of them so you can see it more clearly.

April 15
(NOT) END OF AN ERA
Just wanted to say I was sorry to read in Foster’s Sunday Citizen last Sunday that the last, and 200th column had been written about various web pages. Your writing is absolutely wonderful ~ but your new endeavour with growing the Seacoast NH pages/engine will be just as good, I'm sure. I was so glad to have been chosen as one of the sites you wrote about,
Thanks very much!
Karen Johnson, ClarinetTherapy.com

p.s. Dennis, you really should be writing a book~ or at least a collection of short stories. Could you squeeze that into your 'spare' time?

EDITOR’S REPLY: Funny you should mention a book. It came out today. And Site of the Week will continue in the BUSINESS section of this site, though a little shorter. 

April 12
EARLY GAME PIECES?
Hello. My name is charles and about 13 yrs ago i lived in concord nh. I was digging in my back yard for worms under a huge tree, because the shade kept it moist. I lived downtown believe it or not. that's when i found three triangled pieces of stone. I thought they were neat and put them in my pocket. well many years later i found them again in an envelope in storage. I would like to find out more about them. I checked with a local archeologist in maine and he said they probably were game pieces. Any information you could forward me would be appreciated. the stones are about 3/4"X3/4"x3/4" and about 1/8th" thick.

EDITOR’S REPLY: Charles, I fear we cannot be too helpful on this one, but you did the right thing by talking to the archeologist. Now why not take the items to your local historical society. There is a great one in Concord and they are always interested in involving students in learning about history. Here is the historical society web site. We get so many inquiries about "found" objects that it seems we should set up an online page for readers. Too bad there is no way the state of NH or state university or archeological society could do this instead. They are the experts. We really do need a way for experts to identify strange objects found in the ground.

April 12
PAUL WENTWORTH IN THE NEWS
Thank you for highlighting the Paul Wentworth House project and web site. The article was very good. This project just needs that last little boost to push it over the top and the article should help. It looks like the web site got about 40 extra hits today (by 6:00 PM) after your article came out.

As for the web site I think you described it right on. I'll be taking your advice -- I already had an envelope of pictures to scan and add when time allows. I've also got to look into using PayPal. I never thought of that - I only knew I didn't want to get into building and maintaining a site that was processing credit card data. Thank you again,
Dana Stairs, Webmaster

April 10
REMEMBERING MR. PEABODY
Thanks for posting Robinson's article on Rev. Andrew Peabody on your website. Great courage and leadership from our forebears.
Brad Greeley
Archives Committee, South Church, Portsmouth

EDITOR’S NOTE: Rev. Peabody has been getting a lot of attention lately, thanks to the rediscovery of our article by a California group. He has just this week been linked to the Seacoast Peace web site as well, even though he was sermonizing about a war more than 150 years earlier.

April 7
SERVED ON THE CONSITUTION
I was looking around for USS Constitution sites and found yours. I just wanted to tell you that I am a past crew member from when I was in the U.S.Navy. I was stationed there from 10/1971 to 12/1972. Maybe you can start up a past crew member page. Just thought I would write to let you know. It was an experience being stationed there as well as an honor to be chosen. I was only 1 of 2 people in my basic training company to be chosen for that duty. At the time, it was called the Naval Honor Guard assignment.<p>

I was very young at the time so I was thrilled to be there as I had many opportunities come my way from that experience. On the other side of the coin though, it was a very somber time for me as well because all the rest of my basic training company was shipped out to Vietnam. None of which returned. Needless to say, I was both grateful for my survival and saddened by the loss of my friends as well as the guilty feelings.
Bob Lavallee

April 5
SEEKING PHOTGRAPHER NEWELL
Hello.....I am looking for information on L. V. Newell.....I have a civil war soldier image and the backmark is : L. V. Newell.....do you know if he was a N. H. photographer ? Also......what years was he in business ?
Nancy Pelletier

EDITOR’S REPLY: We’d love to post a copy of that Civil War image. Lafayette V. Newell (1833-1914) was born in Barnstead, NH and made his way to Portsmouth in the mid-1850s. Having learned some photography while in Concord, NH, he was invited to set up a photo business at Point Lookout, Maryland in 1862 thanks to his twin brother who was in a New Hampshire regiment there. Newell ran a lucrative business since 25,000 Confederate soldiers were being guarded there by his brother’s division. Newell photographed many of the officers and men on both sides. Sadly, most of the glass negatives in his historic collection were smashed by vandals after he returned to Portsmouth. After the Civil War he ran a successful photography business here. Many of his Portsmouth-area images are collected at Strawbery Banke Museum. They can be seen in the paperback Historic Portsmouth by James Garvin, retrained in 1995.(Photo courtesy Strawbery Banke)

April 3
BACK HOME HISTORY
I love this site and am so glad that I came across it! I love the opportunity to learn more of the history of "back home" without actually being physically there. I miss NH but love it's history. Thanks for all of the great work that you do. I heard about you online surfing the net originally about the Wentworth Hotel and the old prison at the Portsmouth Naval Yard
JA Luty of Hudson, FL -- originally from NH

April 3
LOVE YA
I love this site and am so glad that I came across it! I love the opportunity to learn more of the history of "back home" without actually being physically there. I miss NH but love it's history. Thanks for all of the great work that you do. I heard about you online surfing the net originally about the Wentworth Hotel and the old prison at the Portsmouth Naval Yard JA Luty of Hudson, FL -- originally from NH

April 3I love this site and am so glad that I came across it! I love the opportunity to learn more of the history of "back home" without actually being physically there. I miss NH but love it's history. Thanks for all of the great work that you do. I heard about you online surfing the net originally about the Wentworth Hotel and the old prison at the Portsmouth Naval Yard JA Luty of Hudson, FL -- originally from NH

April 3
INDIAN DEER ANTLER PIPE?
A friend of mine found a deer antler pipe in a load of dirt. The dirt had been brought in to fill a construction site. He would like to find some information on it. It has detailed carvings on the mouth piece and on the end (bowl). The carving on the bowl is of an eagles head. The ones on the mouth piece are of crossed arrows and tomahawks. There is also an arrow on both sides of the bowl pointing up. I have pictures that I can email if you would like to see them. Thanks.
Stacy S in Leesburg, GA

EDITOR’S REPLY: It looks to us amateurs like a contemporary carving in the shape of a finger. We asked an expert in Indian archeology and got the following reply without seeing the images: The pipe sounds new to me. Eagles and arrows are typical modern themes. Less so before the nineteenth century. Antler does not preserve for long in soil without shell, and left on the surface gets chewed by rodents.

April 3
OLD MAN SHOULD LINK FREE
Link Free or Die, your biography section, might want to consider the addtion of the "Old Man of the Mountain" as it is as much a part (although I personally believe more) of NH as is Ocean Born Mary. Just a thought. Perhaps one might also consider the addition of Adam Sandler who was born in New Hampshire.
Blessings, Dawn

EDITOR’S REPLY: Great idea. We should add a biography of the former Old Man. We have been listing only deceased famous people, and although he was only an optical illusion created by a rock formation, he qualifies. Comedian Adam Sandler is another issue. He’s still alive, although some might say, about as funny as the Old Man.

April 2
PAUL WENTWORTH KUDOS
Thanks for the fabulous article on the Col. Paul Wentworth House website and project in Site of the Week. Your words of praise, as well as your suggestions, are very much appreciated. I love the webcam idea. This article is sure to give a boost to the project. Thanks again for your on going support.
Lucy Putnam, Rollinsford