Only a Picture Stops Time

  Forwarding Address I used Blogger as my first foray into the world of online writing in December 2006. Over the years I created several other blogs and a few websites. I finally settled down a bit and decided to put my energy into a self-hosted Wordpress site named My Strange Life . The Orphans What was to become of these sites after I stopped adding content? Nothing at all. Everything on the internet seems to last forever, or at least in the span of a lifetime. There are multiple orphans and WebCrawlers dutifully work their way through the internet finding links and keywords. I won't delete this blog but want want to freshen it up a bit with new information. My Strange Life Below is a RSS "ticker tape" of my latest postings on my website My Strange Life. This are recent postings.

Aug 15, 2009 White Elephant Sale - 148th New Ipswich Children's Fair  Bob with his pile of treasures The 161st Children's Fair will be held on August 20, 2022 on the grounds of the Congregational Church in New Ipswich, NH. However it will not have the White Elephant sale that was a popular attraction a decade ago. This is a look back at what it was like back then when Bob and Wendy Grippardi would organize the piles of donations and attempt to make them attractive enough for sale. Wendy keeps it tidy Rummage Sale The White Elephant sale shared the space with a clothing rummage sale which always featured some stylish threads. Dress for comfort This was BEFORE the Green Center existed

 A Fire-Breathing Dragon I guess it was inevitable that Bill Tobin would come up with something special for the 1987 Regatta on Water Loom Pond. He was a builder with a creative mind. He wasn't going to settle with just a Loch Ness replica, this was a fully operational FIRE BREATHING Loch Ness replica. The Seal Of New Hampshire Years later, Bill would create his masterpiece. A larger than life three dimensional replica of Seal of New Hampshire. It made many appearances over the years such as this on in the Amherst, NH 2011 Fourth of July parade. I never did learn what became of the dragon. Perhaps some misty morning I might spot it at Water Loom belching fire.

  New Ipswich Transfer Station We no longer have a dump in traditional sense. We have a transfer station. However I have fond memories of Scofield Town Dump picking with my dad on Saturday in Stamford, CT. Old habits don't fade away, so I still check out the metal pile in New Ipswich to see what treasures I might find. Imagine my surprise when I saw an Oscilloscope. I wasn't just any run of of the mill oscilloscope, it was made by DuMont Laboratories . They were pioneers in television technology. They were famous for their Cathode Ray Tubes, which is the heart of an Oscilloscope. What the hell is an Oscilloscope? In my opinion an oscilloscope is the ultimate electronic test instrument. It can graph an electrical signal in X-Y coordinates and display it on a CRT screen. If you've ever watched Outer Limits or Ernie Kovacs , you've seen an oscilloscope display. Usually the electrical signal is plotted against time but if two sinusoidal signal are plotted against each othe...

  GREENVILLE NEW HAMPSHIRE RaiL-HISTORY-Road Some historical information gathered about the activities of this railroad terminal. It was fully active from the time it was built around 1850 to 1950. It served the textile industry, chair industry, and wood turning industry, serving New Ipswich, N.H. Temple, NH, and Greenville farmers. There were three round trips of the passenger trains per day, six days a week and one round trip on Sundays. The hours of departure at 6.45A.M., return at 10.15AM, next train departure 11.45 AM. return at 215P.M., last train departure at 4.45 P.M., return at 7.15 P.M. Sunday departure at 6.45 A.M., return at 4.00 P.M. Mileage to Ayer Junction Mass. was about twenty miles going through Pratt Station, Mason N.H, West Townsend, Townsend Center, Townsend Harbor, West Groton and Ayer Mass. There was freight service six days a week, once every day. Ayer Junction terminal has served passengers and freight traffic coming from Boston on the Fitchburg Division, f...

  The 1946 Appleton class photo brought back some memories for some readers. Here is something a bit more "recent". The Appleton Academy class of 1958 in Washington, DC. It appears that the photographer spent some time arranging everybody by height with one exception.

  The Senior Class Trip to Washington, DC and a chance to meet New Hampshire Senator Charles W. Tobey in 1946. Appleton Academy senior class in Washington, DC on a sightseeing tour. Senior Class Trip chaperones were Emil Saari and Virginia Aho. Emil Saari, chaperone for the Appleton Academy Senior Trip in 1946.

 January 28, 2020 I took this photo of Daniel M. Ziarnik-Case standing next to the New Ipswich Time Capsule in 2020 at a quilting presentation at the New Ipswich Library. At this point the capsule was already 20 years old. I'm not sure how old Dan is. I've named this blog "Only a Picture Stops Time". However that might also apply to the time capsule Which  was dedicated for the town's 250th anniversary. June 17, 2000 (The Dedication) Dedication of Time Capsule Box with Christopher Rodier & Kristina Salokangas, June 17, 2000. Photo by John C. Cooke. Dedication of Time Capsule Box - John Sterret, Christopher Rodier & Kristina Salokangas, Photo by John C. Cooke.  Dedication of Time Capsule Box - John Sterret has a word with  Kristina Salokangas What's Inside? I doubt I'll be around in 2050 when they open this thing. To me 2000 doesn't seem like a long time ago, but it was 22 years ago. A gallon of gas was $1.26. The Backstreet Boys were popular . ...

The Samuel Tarbell-Ames House is one of the homes located in the National Register of Historic Places, New Ipswich Center Village Historic District. Center village is bounded roughly by Turnpike Road, Porter Hill Road, Main Street, Route 123A, Preston Hill Road, Manley Road and King Road. This is the description of the #34 property in the National Register: This large residence was built by Samuel Tarbell Ames (1810-1897), probably around 1890, as he is listed as owner on the 1892 Map. He was a Boston businessman who summered in New Ipswich, presumably before he built this house, as his wife was Mary Hartwell Barr, a daughter of Dr. James Barr, who lived at #33 across Appleton Common, and a sister of George Lyman Barr and Caroline Frances Barr, and whose cousin Elizabeth Keyser, lived at #30. The house then passed to Samuel's son, James Barr Ames (1846-1910), who was an Assistant Professor and Dean of the Harvard Law School. He was esteemed for his teaching and writing on l...

  I would guess that most people were unaware that one time there was a house next to the old town hall on Main Street in New Ipswich, NH The house belonged to Mary Mansfield. Mary was grandmother of Mrs. Allen Balch. The house torn down by Ms. Phillip Gordon. Photo was taken by Leon R. Willard, the New Ipswich town photographer and donated to the New Ipswich Historical Society by Mrs. Allen Balch. The Town Hall Corner This photo which I took in February 2018 provides a bit of perspective as to the location of the house. It was right next to the old town hall (left side of photo). This is an older shot of the same corner, also without the house. I have no dates for this photo but obviously it was taken after the house was torn down. Mary Louisa Mansfield I was curious if there were  any photos of Mary Mansfield. I found this one of a group of bicyclists in front of the house on Taylor road in Smithville. Cyclists at the home of Charles Taylor in Smithville. (Left to Right) - D...

This is one of the homes located in the National Register of Historic Places, New Ipswich Center Village Historic District. Center village is bounded roughly by Turnpike Road, Porter Hill Road, Main Street, Route 123A, Preston Hill Road, Manley Road and King Road. This is the description of the #83 property in the National Register: This house was built, probably about 1835, by Charles Shedd, who was Preceptor of New Ipswich Academy from 1835 until 1841. The Academy was then housed next door to the south at #84. Under his leadership the Academy's first dormitory, Students Hall, now disappeared, was built just north of this house. The next owner was Charles Keyes Bullard (1801-1860), who owned it by 1850. It then passed to his sister, Clarissa Granger (1802-1879), and then to her daughter, Martha, and her husband, William A. Preston (1834-1902). Preston was also Perceptor of the Academy, from 1874 until his death, for 28 years. In 1853 the Academy had moved to its new location (#31)...

 It is just matter of a few weeks. The sun will be warmer and the road will change into an obstacle course. Considering that the temperatures have been in single digits, I will welcome this sign.

The time has come to simplify my online presence. I have too many separate blogs, emails and addresses. I'm rolling them all together into my website with a simple address. poltrack.net Some blogs like this one haven't been updated for some time, so I am "retiring it". However you can feeds to my latest posting on the sidebar. Too Many Blogs January 22, 2022 Update! This blog is coming out of retirement, It is an appropriate medium for some of the historical photos of our town. Wake that guy up and tell him to get to work. Visit my Marketplace