Thornton Historical Society

Annual Newsletter

2012

Note from the President Ralph Perron

Board of Directors May 2011—May2012 President Ralph Perron * Vice President Flora Boyce * Treasurer Barbara Sellingham * Secretary Christine Perron

Directors Eve Ellen Cole, Gloria Kimball, Sally Kriebel

Lots of excitement from the last year continuing into this year. Last year we had four well-attended presentations at the Thornton Town Hall. This year we are having three presentations, including the musical duo Two Old Friends from Maine, coming back for a return visit. When they were here two years ago, we had a great crowd who left tapping their feet. Other program topics will be geneal-ogy and Native Americans. At town meeting this year, the voters approved spending the necessary funds to build an 18-car parking area next to the old town house on Route 175 to serve both the town house and the nearby ball field. It will be great to see this completed, and the safety of those visiting the ball field will be greatly increased. This is the first phase of the plan to renovate the old town house. Sally Kriebel was instrumental in getting the building renovation plan completed. Included in this newsletter is an article about John Ben-ton. John was interviewed by Butch Boyce, with elec-tronic recorder in hand, about some of the highlights of John’s life growing up in Thornton. Thanks go to Flora Boyce for transcribing this piece of oral history. Gloria Kimball continues to lead us forward with the an-nual Thornton Old Home Day. See Gloria’s article for more information. Barbara Sellingham continues to keep us fiscally honest with her bookkeeping skills in her position as Treasurer. Please visit www.thorntonhistoricalsociety.org to see our newly updated website. Thanks to all for their continued support to remember our history and preserve the past.

Thornton Old Home Day 2011 and 2012

Gloria Kimball

ing derby had to be cancelled. The 12th NH Serenade

Band provided Civil War era music on period instruments while in costume of that era. There was a great parade at 11:00 AM. The 12

th NH Serenade Band played the

music for the parade. The local Boy Scout Troop led the parade of fire trucks, police cars, antique cars and trac-tors, Morgan Gilpatric on her pony, and little Isaac Benton on his toy tractor with his rooster in the back. After the parade, The Cable Guys, a local band, kept toes tapping as they played some good old country music. Food was provided by the Country Cow restaurant. Blacksmithing and beekeeping demonstrations were provided by Steve Ash and Jim Stafursky, respectively. Jackie Dearborn did a chair caning demonstration. The Friends of Thornton Public Library did a bake sale fund-raiser. A few crafters sold their wares. The Historical Society had many raffles and a silent auc-tion along with displays of old photo albums and local history books. We wish to thank all who came, those who volunteered, and the businesses that so generously donated raffle and auction items or sponsored the event. This year Old Home Day will be held, rain or shine, on September 15, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Ben-ton’s Sugar Shack Field on Route 175. There will be a parade at 11:00 AM. We would love to see more partici-pation in the parade. If you have a bicycle to ride, deco-rated or not, or an antique vehicle, horse, or anything else interesting, we would love to see you there. There will be a fishing derby starting at noon for the children and ongoing games and crafts as well. For the adults, we have several interesting demonstrations. Food will be available again. Last but not least, the Historical Society will have the ever popular 50/50 raffle, silent auction, and raffles of wonderful items donated by area merchants. So, try not to miss this day. We hope to see you there. If you want to set up a craft table or demonstration, there is no charge for space. You can call Gloria Kimball (726-7077) for more information.

The Thornton Historical Society organized the 8th annual

Thornton Old Home Day celebration last September 10, 2011 at Benton’s Sugar Shack Field on Route 175. It was a beautiful day with lots of games for the children. Hurricane Irene raised havoc with the river and the fish-

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May 2, 2012 A Night of Music With Two Old Friends Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins are back for a return visit. They will once again be singing and playing tradi-tional Irish songs and tunes using such instruments as the concertina, bodhran, mandolin, octave mandolin, guitar and banjo. They perform American country music the way it was conceived in the early 20

th century and

demonstrate how these tunes are often derived from the songs of the Irish, but have been influenced by other cultural and ethnic groups (particularly African-American) to create an original American sound. Two Old Friends, Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins, are musicians who play and sing a unique combination of CeItic and American country music, and in their perform-ances seek to show the connection between the two genres. Mac has been well known in Bluegrass music for decades. In fact, he has been inducted into the Inter-national Bluegrass Music Museum as a Pioneer of Blue-grass music. Emery is a well known performer of a vari-ety of different styles of acoustic music, ranging from traditional Irish tunes to vintage American country music songs.

2012 Programs

July 11, 2012 Genealogical Roadblocks: When the Trail Turns Cold Presented by Thornton resident and Certified Genealo-gist Diane Gravel. Traditional sources offer a solid foun-dation for the genealogist, but often lead to a point where the trail seems to end. This program will guide the researcher in creating a fresh approach, while exploring many New Hampshire and New England sources and repositories often overlooked in genealogical research. This program will examine the methodology of expand-ing the search and the significance of understanding settlement patterns in directing the path of that search. Among the sources that will be examined are account books, church records, diaries and other manuscripts, newspapers, militia/military records, town records and annual reports, and other pre-census records. Don't miss Diane's program at the Thornton Public Library on May 19th: "Branches On the Tree: A Beginner's Guide to Genealogical Research". Diane is a Certified Genealogist, specializing in genea-logical research techniques and methodology, with a focus on New Hampshire research. She enjoys sharing her passion for genealogy, and has lectured at state, regional, and national conferences. Diane currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Professional Genealogists, and is Past President of its New England Chapter. She is also Vice President of the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists, and has been a trustee of the Thornton Public Library since 2004.

October 3, 2012 Native Americans in Grafton County Roland Bixby, author and historian from Warren, NH, will share his knowledge and research on Native Ameri-cans in Grafton County with a focus on the Pemi-Baker region. Roland has written numerous local history books, including Behold the White Man Cometh: The Coming of the White Man Seen Through Indian Eyes.

All programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments are served. Programs start at 7 PM at the Thornton Town Hall on Merrill Access Road off Route 3. For further information, call 726-7178.

Photo courtesy of twooldfriends.com

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2012

Old Town House Update Christine Perron

Last year, thanks largely to the efforts of Sally Kriebel, Bedard Preservation and Restoration completed a build-ing study to identify the work necessary to restore and utilize the Old Thornton Town House in keeping with its listing on the State Register of Historic Places. This study was funded by a grant from the NH Land and Com-munity Heritage Investment Program. One of the first steps in implementing the restoration plan outlined in the study was the creation of a new 18-car parking area adja-cent to the town house. The parking area will serve both the town house and the ball field, and will greatly improve the safety of parents and children during games. At this year’s town meeting, voters approved spending funds to construct this parking area. The Thornton Historical Soci-ety will continue to work with the Board of Selectmen as this project goes forward. It is expected that the remaining work identified in the building study will be completed in phases as grants and other funding become available. Check our website for details. Donations to the Building Fund are always grate-fully accepted.

John Benton Interviewed by Butch Boyce

Oral history is the collection of living people’s testimony about their own experiences. The everyday memories of everyday people have historical importance and help pre-serve the past in a way that nothing else can. In an effort to capture a bit of Thornton history, the Historical Society has undertaken an Oral History Project. The following article was written by Flora Boyce from an interview with John Benton conducted by Butch Boyce in 2011. John is a lifelong resident of Thornton.

John’s family originated from Eng-land, then came over and lived in Canada, from there they worked their way to Thornton, from there most of the family moved to Ver-mont except for Alonso Benton who stayed in Thornton. John was born in Roxie Merrill’s house to Bert and Olive Benton. He has two brothers, Charles and Brad and

one sister Helen. John has lived in Thornton all his life. He married Myrtle and they have four children: John, Bill, Kevin and Joyce. John went to school where the elemen-tary school is now. His mother, Olive, taught school there for many years. When John was a young boy he would build fires in the old school house to keep the students warm along with sweeping floors. In that day one teacher taught eight grades. It was a white school house then. There were no inside flush toilets, just outhouses. He was paid $5.00 a month to do these chores. He bought a new bicycle with some of his money he earned. When he was in High School, he would sometimes thumb home and beat the bus home. John recalls riding down the hill on a sled he built out of an old wagon and baby carriage wheels. He would go so fast his eyes would water. He even beat a car one time. John’s family has been in the maple syrup business for many years. When he was small they would put the sap in wooden gutters. The sap was dumped into wooden tubs and would run down to the sugaring camp. They would use shoulder yokes to carry the buckets. During sugaring season they would live in an old camp up in Mill-brook. It had bunk beds built along the walls. It was a good time. Bert and Olive had big strawberry patches and raised pigs on the farm on Route 175, John’s son Bill would walk from John and Myrtle’s house on Cross Road to Bert and Olive’s farm to pick strawberries to earn money. You didn’t realize you were poor. Most people worked hard for what they had. His father made him a pair of skis out of poplar wood and used jar rubbers and rubber

from inner tubes for the bindings. His father curled the wood in hot water each night. He would ski down ceme-tery hill. He took an old Ford car hood and put rope on it and would go sliding on it. When John’s kids were small, he would pull them and Myrtle on a sled up Millbrook Road. One day while pulling them, Myrtle was pregnant and fell off the sled. She rolled down the hill. Everyone was alright. There was Howland’s General Store and Holcheck’s Gas Station on Route 3. Some of the different families were the Boyce’s living up Knockers Hole, Fadden’s lived out Mill Brook, Shores, Merrill’s and Horner’s. Archie Brown was the last house on Mill Brook Road. Archie would walk out every day to get the mail. While walking back to his house one day he met up with a bear. Archie threw nails he had in his pocket at it and ran. The next day he went back to pick up the nails and told Bert of the bear. Bert checked his trap and it was missing. He found it in the woods with a bear trapped in it. John’s parents sold milk to Robbins Nest Restaurant. He remembers one time putting a bear skin rug his father had around him and rubbing the head of the bear on the screen at the restaurant and scaring a couple of ladies walking out. They ran back inside to tell Ken Robbins. They would plow the roads with horses. Entertainment would be Grange dances.

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The Thornton Historical Society is run by a Board of Directors that consists of four Officers (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary) and three Directors. Nominations for these positions are made at the April business meeting, with elections held at the May meeting. Terms are for one year, with the exception of Treasurer, which is a 3-year term. In addition to the Board, the organization also relies greatly on the energy and participation of active members who attend meetings and programs and help out at special events such as Old Home Day. The Thornton Historical Society cannot exist without participation! There are many fun projects to work on but they all require interest and dedication. Please consider getting involved. You could attend business meetings and even run for a position on the Board. Perhaps you have special skills, talents, or interests – writing, designing or maintaining websites, interviewing, photography, genealogy, historical research – that you could offer as a volunteer. Attend a business meeting or talk to a Board member to learn how you can help.

The Thornton Historical Society Needs You!

Photograph courtesy of Larry Perron

West Thornton RR Station (Photograph courtesy of Larry Perron)

PO Box 1176 Campton, NH 03223