(8/03 - Tuesday)
 |
| Pequawket Pond. |
It was 7 am - I was reading William Styron whose moody Lie Down in Darkness seems to fit the morning weather (fog and drizzle) on this last full day of the NH vacation. The book is set during WW II in Virginia where the protagonist, Loftis, is a browbeaten lawyer who is arriving by train to his home town on the seacoast for the funeral of his oldest daughter. The action of the book including the funeral will take place during that sorrowful day.
The author develops the story of the lives of the major characters through inner dialogs, soliloquies and flashbacks. It is a book of the country club centered South of old money, boozing and decadence.
No one was stirring while I read Styron’s words on the screen of the iPad; Not even a mouse-- the mouse having run across Charlie's baited mouse trap during the night. The mouse was first discovered by us last night during the Red Sox game when we saw it scurry behind the stereo CD-player in the living room. The trap was baited with peanut butter, fatal attraction for mice it turns out.
Today Nate will travel to Maine to pick up two pieces of his art from a gallery. The pieces will be on display at the Sunapee fair next week. The fair is stagged annually by the League of NH Craftsmen and is one of the most prestigious fairs in New England.
The first NH Craftsmen’s Fair was held in 1933 in the Crawford House barn in Crawford Notch. Throughout the years the fair had been held in various locations, but in 1964 the Fair was moved to Mount Sunapee State Park (now Mount Sunapee Resort) in Newbury and that has become the permanent location.
I’ve never been to the fair, which always begins on the first Saturday in August and runs for 9 days, 10am-5pm, daily, rain or shine. Read more about Sunapee Fair on the league web site:
 |
| Chimney at old CCC camp, Blackberry Crossing. |
This morning after breakfast we drove the Kancamagus Highway. The plan was to stop at Lower Falls on the Swift River, then visit Blackberry Crossing where Jean’s father was superintendent of the CCC camp starting in 1936 or 1937, and then we would travel over Bear Notch Road to Bartlett. From Bartlett we planned to drive to Conway via N. Conway and West Side Road. Some years ago I traveled this circuit on my bicycle; it’s quite scenic and not too strenuous for a bicyclist.
There were swimmers at Lower Falls braving the cool weather. We had a pleasant walk along the bank, but were not tempted to go into the water.
 |
| Plaque honoring CCC camps Blackberry Crossing Camp, Swift River. |
Out next stop was the Blackberry Crossing campground, which is the site of the former Swift River CCC Camp. At one time there were 4 CCC barracks and about 200 volunteers in this camp. The CCC voulunteers worked on the Kancamagus Highway and on forestry projects along the Swift River. The link below is to an article published in the Mountain Ear about the White Mountain CCC camps.
http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-c-2009-09-09-149458.113119_Civilian_Conservation_Corp_camps_from_the_30s_dot_the_Valley.html
http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-c-2009-09-09-149458.113119_Civilian_Conservation_Corp_camps_from_the_30s_dot_the_Valley.html
All that remains of the Swift River camp are two large brick chimneys. There are plaques explaining the site; one of them shows a picture of F. R. Macomber, Jeans father. The camp provides pleasant camp sites and has a resident camp manager in the summer.
 |
| Camp Superintendent F. R. Macomber (3rd from left). |
###
