Volume 41, Issue 1
Improvement
Im • prove • ment (noun)
1: the act or process of improving
2: a: the state of being improved, especially : enhanced value or excellence b: an instance of such improvement : something that enhances value or excellence
Progress and Patience
Message from the President
First and foremost, the Franconia Area Heritage Council wishes to thank our members and visitors to the Franconia Heritage Museum for their patience during the 2024 season! The second floor of the Museum has been closed for the duration of the season as we renovate the upstairs rooms and install adequate climate control in the form of Haier mini-splits. The second floor of the Museum has never had heat, let alone air conditioning. We have installed new sheet rock ceilings in all rooms and closets, and made repairs to the plaster walls where necessary. Fresh paint has been applied, and the floors have been sanded and oiled Our “Staff Room” houses a new computer, printer, and archival scanner. The former “Dow Room” will now be used as our “Archive Room”, housing filing cabinets and shelving to accommodate our collection of genealogical files and historical artifacts unique to our community. The library will continue to be used as such, and the landing area at the top of the stairs will be available to Museum visitors as a comfortable research area. Most importantly, our collection of historic files and publications will now live in a consistent, climate controlled environment.
Our 2024 Exhibit
These improvements have been made possible through a $50,000 donation received from an anonymous donor in the early spring, and specifically directed for technology and structural/environmental improvements to the second floor of our 1872 farmhouse.
LOOKING FORWARD - PHASE II OF PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS
The second floor of the Museum also has a large attic area in which we store items that are not currently on display, including furniture, our inventory of publications for sale, and other items of historical significance. Our challenge is that, this attic area is uninsulated, and has no finished walls. Our vision for this space is a storage environment appropriate for housing our irreplaceable collection of historic artifacts, with insulation, finished walls, electrical, shelving, and heating and cooling. This endeavor will likely approach $100,000.00, a sum which will require a significant fund raising effort.
“Stitches in Time”
Forty-Six Signature Quilt Squares, or quilt blocks, were recently found in the attic of Franconia’s Pinestead Farm; built in 1852, owned and operated by the Whitney - Sherburn family ever since. These Squares were created and embroidered by local ladies (and one man) between 1876 and 1895, and are remarkably well preserved. It is thought that this community of 46 quilt makers came together at Pinestead Farm in support of Harriet Jesseman Whitney (1831-1878), who had been stricken with a debilitating infection in her knee. Harriet died of bone cancer on September 5, 1878 at the age of 46. It is believed that the majority of the squares were made between 1876 - 1878.
Biographies of each square maker, many with photos, are presented with references to their squares. A large family tree presents a dramatic display of the families of the square makers, their origins and how the families are intertwined, representing many of Franconia’s earliest settlers.
Our website, www.franconiaareaheritage.org, has a complete list of the square makers. Please inquire about opportunities to support the Museum by purchasing replicas of these pieces of history.
This collection of signature squares is presented in the barn of the Museum as our Exhibit: “Stitches in Time”, curated by Alyssa Sherburn. The Exhibit opened May 25, 2024 and will continue through the 2025 season.
Old Home Day 2024
The Franconia Area Heritage Council participated in this years Old Home Day parade, with a float in support of our “Stitches in Time” Exhibit. Our team put together a backyard laundry scene with an antique quilt hanging on the clothesline. We did not defend our “Most Creative” title from last year, but we look forward to next year!
Annual Meeting
Franconia Area Heritage Council Annual Meeting
Please RSVP on our website at www.franconiaareaheritage.org
FAHC welcomes you to our annual meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at Chef Joe’s Bistro in Franconia. We will meet in the downstairs dining room at 5:00 PM. This year’s event is free of charge, serving Chef Joe’s famous heavy hors d'oeuvres, with a cash bar available. We will be featuring a speaker from New Hampshire Humanities:
Robert Frost on the Farm: New Hampshire Farming in 1900 as Told by the Poet
Presenter: Jeffrey Zygmont
Upcoming Events
While it makes spoken words sing like sauntering music, Robert Frost’s poetry can also help us appreciate the rigor of life on a New England farm in the early 20th century. (Hint: It was hard.)
In an exploration of both New Hampshire history and Frost’s poetry, author and poet Jeffrey Zygmont recites a selection of Frost’s poems about farming. Alongside each recitation, he provides background on Frost’s life, offering insight into the poem’s origins, and commentary on the work’s artistic beauty, as well as the experiences and emotions it expresses. Participants will join a lively discussion celebrating Robert Frost’s unique gift for capturing farm life in poetry.
Halloween at the Museum
Thursday, October 31st, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Annual Meeting and Dinner
Chef Joe’s Bistro, Thursday, November 14th, 5:00 PM
Program: Robert Frost on the Farm: New Hampshire Farming in 1900 as Told by the Poet, with Speaker Jeffrey Zygmont
Santa Comes to the Franconia Heritage Museum
Saturday, December 14th, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Call for Volunteers
FAHC needs you! We are a 501c3 non-profit corporation and presently have a Board of 10. We are recruiting docents for our Museum open hours, presently 1:00 – 4:00 PM on Saturdays between Memorial Day and Columbus Day. With additional help, we can potentially expand our hours to include Sundays. We also need help in other areas, including collecting oral histories, digitizing our collection of photos and other ephemera using our new computer and scanner, and helping with special events and parties at the museum. Recent activities have included moving furniture and painting second floor walls. We DO have fun! We would also like to speak with you if you have an interest in joining our Board of Directors.
Interested? Please send an email to info@franconiaareaheritage.org
Membership and Donations
Please consider adding your name to our membership and/or donating to the Franconia Area Heritage Council. As many of you who live in the area are aware, the cost for heating oil is quite high and as we’re only open for a few months a year, there are months when our expenses are higher than our income. We need your help keeping the building heated throughout the winter and in repairing and maintaining the building from the usual wear and tear that come with living in a full four-season location. Our priority lies in protecting and preserving the objects, artifacts and ephemera that have been donated to the museum so that we can continue to share these stories today and for future generations as well. Membership is $25.00 per year.
Board of Directors
Jeff Bartlett, President
Mary Jo Girard, Vice President
Alyssa Sherburn, Recording Secretary
Katherine Whitcomb, Corresponding Secretary
Phil Krill, Treasurer
Sara Daley, Archive Committee Chair
Shepherd Holcombe, Archive Committee
Bob Desimone, Archive Committee
Timothy Brown, Archive Committee
Ted Cammann, Building Committee
Franconia Area Heritage Council
553 Main Street
Franconia, NH 03580
FAHC Annual Meeting – Thursday, November 14, 2024
Chef Joe’s Bistro
651 Main Street, Franconia, NH
Franconia Area Heritage Council invites you to its annual meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at Chef Joe’s Bistro in Franconia. We will meet in the downstairs dining room at 5:00 PM. This year’s event is free of charge, serving Chef Joe’s famous heavy hors d'oeuvres, with a cash bar available. We will be presenting guest speaker from New Hampshire Humanities, Jeffrey Zygmont: Robert Frost on the Farm: New Hampshire Farming in 1900 as Told by the Poet.
Please RSVP at www.franconiaareaheritage.org
