In 2011, the historic Balsams Resort shut its doors after more than a hundred years operating in the tiny town of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. With the closure, hundreds of North Country citizens lost their jobs, and the town, which had become well known for being one of the first places to cast ballots in the state’s presidential primary — at midnight at the resort — found a beloved tradition in jeopardy.
Longtime Candia residents gathered at the Smyth Public Library last week for a storytelling circle to reminisce, and consider how they would like to see their community in the future. They shared memories of well-loved Dr. Sanders, the annual Fourth of July celebration, Saturday night dances at the Fireman’s Hall, trips to Philips General Store in East Candia, and growing up riding bikes with other kids in the neighborhood.
From Politico Magazine: "When Hunter S. Thompson came to New Hampshire’s largest city to cover the 1972 presidential campaign, he described it as “a broken down mill town with an aggressive Chamber of Commerce and America’s worst newspaper. There’s nothing much else to say for it.” Manchester’s downtown business district was drying up, its sewers poured excrement into the Merrimack River and most of the massive brick mills sandwiched in between were empty husks, awaiting a revival of U.S. manufacturing that would never arrive.
"Many people think of New Hampshire’s forest industry as a North Country phenomenon. After all, that’s where the trees are, right?" This story from NH Business Review describes the success of NH's forest industry. Read more
"Thanks to an eclectic downtown, excellent amenities, and high quality of life indicators such as housing costs, Littleton has garnered national kudos as one of the Huffington Post’s best small towns in America. Just last year, a Boston Globe travel writer even declared that Littleton was “teetering on the edge of hipness.”
LACONIA - "We're not playing it safe," remarked Bree Henderson, 26, who owns and operates Polished & Proper, the barbershop and shave parlor on Main Street,. "We're taking risks."
She is one of a growing circle of young entrepreneurs who are enlivening commerce in downtown Laconia.
For the first time, the key partners in Franklin for a Lifetime presented summaries of their work to the mayor and city council so they could begin formal consideration of the many concepts and suggestions that have come from the visioning process.