It was built as a two room school house in 1934 and used until 1962. It opened again in 1971 for four years for first and second grade while an addition was being built on the current building. Later, through an agreement with the school board, it became the town hall.

Campton Elementary School (CES) owns the old town hall and the town owns the library attached to the school. After the new town hall was built, management of the old town hall reverted back to CES. The building is currently vacant as CES does not have a need for it. A small group of concerned residents formed a committee to look into a possible use for the neat old building in upper village. They came up with a rough estimate that it would cost almost as much to rebuild it as to build new. They presented their findings to the school board and then the selectmen. By word of mouth it was determined that there is enough interest in town and that this was a unique opportunity that should be explored.

Currently the construction firm CCI is doing a building study to see what it would take to make the old school/town house into a library. The goal would be to get it up to standards and energy efficient. Personally, I am hoping that it can be done at a reasonable price as it is a neat old building with a lot of history and character coupled with being an ideal location to anchor a shrinking village. Look for a warrant article at this years town meeting regarding this opportunity.

UPPER V ILLAGE SCHOOL BY : PAUL YELLE

FALL 2013

CAMPTON H ISTORICAL SOCIETY

Recently a graduate student from Poland requested information about F Skylar Matthews. It is one of many requests Robert Mardin, Sandy D. and Bob Pulsifer research and respond every year. I had a chance to check out the packet of information they put together. Below is his obituary and some pictures. Thanks to Jonathon Dickson of Campton Elementary for typing up photo copy of the obit.

F SKYLAAR MATTHEWS

In the summer of 1868 a New York family brought a tall spindling boy of fourteen to the well-known boarding-house of Joseph Blair, on the main highway, just above the turn-off to Blair Bridge in Campton. The boy was Ferdinand Schuyler Mathews, Jr., born of an old New York family, May 30, 1854, at New Brighton on Staten Island. That summer at Blair not only started a summer residence, which terminating by death last Saturday, is probably the longest in our vicinity, but one which has had a wide influence upon the cultural life in the United States.

As a boy Mr. Mathews was interested in music and art. His formal education ceased when he was graduated from the Old Worcester St. Grammar School. “Old Mo. 10,” in New York City. But by a ceaseless, determined individual effort he gained a wide knowledge of music and trained himself, expecting for a limited time spent at the Cooper Institute Night School, for his artist professions. Travel in Italy later added much to his artistic ability as an art designer and expert illustrator. For many years he was connected with the old firm of L. Prang & Co. of Boston, Lithographic Art Publishers, as a special artist upon decorative designs: and many of their cleverest conceits were the result of his facile brain and hand. At the same time from his brush came small worthwhile bits of New Hampshire scenery, now treasured by their owners.

In later life Mr. Mathews’ artistic work was chiefly as an illustrator. He served as Illustrator on the staff of the Gray herbarium at Harvard University and he also did illustrations along anatomical lines for the writing of scientific books. One of his big achievements was the collection of colored drawings for the famous Dr. Ezra Brainerd herbarium of North American Violets. The illustration work was done with very fine pens and much of it under a magnifying lens. It was painstaking in its requirements and exacting on his eyesight, which in the last few years began to break down under the strain. Nevertheless he Continued on page 3

Membership runs from October 1st to September 30th.

Membership is the primary source for mailing our monthly program notices and newsletters.

The more members the merrier. Please help recruit friends, family and neighbors to help keep this great organization going.

DON’T FORGET YOUR MEMBERSHIP !!!

www.CamptonHistorical.org

Campton Historical Society PO Box 160 Campton, NH 03223

Business Membership

The Campton Historical Society is a not for profit organization dedicated to gathering, preserving and promoting the history of our Town and the surrounding area. In our town, we are fortunate that the people have chosen to assist the Campton Historical Society financially by allocating money for maintenance and upkeep of the historic Campton Town House. In addition, we are lucky to have the support of many members who donate their time and skills to assist with the many projects and events that are completed throughout the year. However, we could use your financial help as well. I am asking you to show your support in the form of a business membership. Your membership fee of $100.00 will entitle you to membership through October of 2014. Your membership fee would be earmarked exclusively to offset the cost of printing and mailing our newsletter (which we produce twice a year) and delivering our monthly programs which are open to the public at no cost.

In return for your membership Campton Historical Society will provide you with the following benefits:

Link to your Web Site from our Web Site

Your business membership listed on our monthly programs and listed on the bi-annual newsletter

along with your logo and email address. We mail approximately 250 flyers per month and posters are displayed at various businesses throughout Campton, Thornton and Plymouth. Between 40 and 60 people attend our monthly programs.

Please take a moment to complete the membership form and mail your check today. I thank you for becoming a business member with Campton Historical Society and helping us to continue our tradition of providing quality programs and informational newsletters to our members and the public.

To find out more about us visit one of our programs, which are held on the third Monday of each month in January and then from April through November or attend one of our special events. You may also visit our website at www.camptonhistorical.org.

animated descriptions of the birds and listened to his meticulous mimicry of their songs is a rare memory.

One seldom hears about the bookplates designed by Mr. Mathews, but there was another field in which he excelled. The last one he made was for E. W. Warren’s books. Like many of the illustrations in his nature books its motive is local,-a bit of Echo Lake framed in an artistic border of native wild flowers. Fortunate are those owners of books which are graced by bookplates from his pen. Like the early editions of his books they will become collectors items.

On November 17, 1886, Mr. Mathews married Miss Caroline A. Maynard, daughter of Prof. George W. Maynard of Morristown, N.J. The Mathews and Maynard families were related, and Mr. Mathews used to like to jokingly tell how he held Mrs. Mathews as a baby in his arm one summer when the Maynard’s were visiting in the East at his father’s home. For years the Mathews and Maynard families came to Blairs. Then in 1884 the Mathews built a cottage upon a part of the Blair property and this, after the fire of 1893 was rebuilt by Mr. Mathews and name El Fureidis, The Garden of Happiness. There have gathered each summer for work and play the family, which included his sister, Miss Mary Mathews, his daughter, Genevieve, the wife of Francis Alley Hubbard of Mapplewood, N. J., and his son, Carroll Schuyler Mathews, who died in 1915; and now the children of Genevieve, Edwin Schuyler, and Carol Hubbard, who make a fourth generation.

Mr. Mathews’ tall figure has been such a familiar figure on our village street in the summer time of the last seventy years, that he has become a part of us. His were not two-week vacations but six months of country living. He was among the first to wear knickerbockers and for many years he used to come to town in them upon his friendly wheel. On the earlier trips the road was sandy and he had the Plymouth and

Franconia Mt. stagecoach for company. In the latter days before he gave up wheeling the sand had given way to a tarvia surface and he was being driven off the road by the increasing motors. He knew everyone, was vibrant and friendly, and his lore of data about the flora and fauna of the countryside was for everyone to enjoy. He was never too busy to analyze and classify a botanical specimen which some boy wanted to know about, never too busy to chat about the earlier days of leisurely vacationing in

persisted doggedly at his drawing board until about a year ago.

Most people know Mr. Mathews’ artistic work through his books and usual situation of Blairs Boarding House on the dividing line between the Northern and Southern classifications of flora and fauna, in the midst of a square of the White Mountains, where the Connecticut Hardwood Forest reaching around through the States of Ney York and Vermont, thrusts a big arm in between the natural spruce forest to our North and the white pine forest to our South, thereby providing a larger variety of tree life than elsewhere and nesting homes for varied kinds of birds, made a deep impression upon the inherent artistic and musical makeup of the young Mathews when he came here as a boy with his parents. The stimulation which he got from the surroundings are reflected in the numerous books later written and illustrated by him. There are;-THE BOOK OF BIRDS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, THE BOOK OF WILD FLOWERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. Next came the set of grown ups;-FAMILIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN, FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES, FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST; and later the series of FIELD BOOKS on AMERICAN WILD FLOWERS, on WILD BIRDS AND THEIR MUSIC, on TREES AND SHRUBS. There was also a book on the GOLDEN FLOWER. The chrysanthemum and a book on THE BEAUTIFUL GARDEN. All have had a wide sale and are still in demand. Only last year came from the printers a Revised Edition of FAMILIAR FLOWERS OF FIELD AND GARDEN. In the books are to be found illustrations taken from actual objects found in the vicinity of Plymouth. A look in one of the earlier editions of FAMILIAR TREES is like a pilgrimage among the trees, fields and hills surrounding us.

Mr. Mathews’ sensitive musical ear flowered in his lectures upon our native bird songs. He not only knew birds by their bodies but by their voices, and often told them by such without seeing them. He was the first of the lecturers upon nature to deliver lectures upon bird calls and songs. For his lecture he made a series of more than life-size colored pictures of the native song birds. With them he whistled their respective calls and songs to delighted audiences. To have heard his

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A big thank you to Judy Landry as she was an awesome as president. She will be continuing as program chair as well as all around volunteer. Kevin Luce finished his second term as vice president and, as per by laws, will take at least one year off. Nancy Mardin is moving from treasurer to president. Dede Joyce is moving from secretary to treasurer. Martha Aguiar is moving from board of directors to secretary. Ann Knowles will be the vice president. Additionally, we have a number of people who attend the monthly board meetings and are very active in the happenings at CHS. It is a fun crew and I highly recommend attending. Meetings are typically on the first Monday of the month from 7:00-8:30 pm.

THANKS TO THE PAST WELCOME TO THE NEW

MAKING IT UP AS HE GOES ALONG

Accompanist will improvise scores to classic silent comedies on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Campton Town Hall Taking his place to play the score for two Buster Keaton features, there's a reason accompanist Jeff Rapsis will have no sheet music on his keyboard. It's because he'll be making up the music right there on the spot. And it won't be rinky-tink piano accompaniment. Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based musician and composer, will use a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra, complete with pounding drums and clashing cymbals, all produced in real time by a traditional keyboard with 88 keys. Rapsis will create music for two classic Keaton comedies, 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928) and 'Sherlock Jr.' (1924), to be screened at Campton Town Hall, Route 175, Campton on Saturday, Feb. 8. The program, sponsored by the Campton Historical Society, begins with a potluck supper at 5 p.m. The film program is slated to start at 6:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For Rapsis, the goal is to create a movie score that brings to life the Keaton comedies and other classics from Hollywood's silent era—the films that caused audiences to first fall in love with the movies. "These films retain a lot of their magic over audiences if you show them under the right conditions," said Rapsis, 50, of Bedford, N.H. "Good restored prints projected on the big screen, with a large audience and with live music—all those elements contribute to making silent film a unique experience, and different from anything you'll see in a multiplex today." The live music aspect of silent film is one way that movies from nearly a century ago can still connect powerfully with contemporary audiences. "It's kind of a high wire act to do the music this way. But it provides an energy and excitement that contributes to the experience," said Rapsis, who prepares minimally for each screening. "For a film I don't know, I'll run through it once or twice on DVD prior to the public screening, to make sure I understand the story's arc and any big moments. Any more than that, and I find a movie begins to get too familiar, and I find I start to overthink the film or anticipate things during the screening, and that

gets in the way of things flowing in the theater." Once a film is underway, Rapsis plays continuously, providing music that underscores what's onscreen—not just the action, but emotional shifts and plot twists that can often build to powerful climaxes. He provides full orchestral scores for dramas, westerns, action/adventure films, and comedies, all of which first became popular as the silent film era peaked in the 1920s. Buster Keaton emerged as one of the three giants of silent film comedy. Along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, Keaton made films that continue to get strong reactions from audiences around the world nearly a century after they were made. Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton's "extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, [when] he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies." In 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.,' Keaton plays the shy son of a brawny steamboat captain. When a rival boat owner connives to put Buster's father behind bars, Buster is forced to come to the rescue even as a cyclone bears down on the town. The movie, often cited as among Keaton's best, contains several classic sequences, including a scene where a huge building front collapses directly on top of Keaton, but he is spared just by standing in jsut exactly the right spot. 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will be preceded by a shorter Keaton picture, 'Sherlock Jr.,' in which Keaton plays a movie projectionist hoping to become a great detective. The fun begins when he dreams himself into the plot of his theater's latest crime melodrama, with unexpected results. 'Sherlock Jr.' is hailed by critics as a masterpiece of visual humor. Rapsis, a newspaper publisher by day, is a lifelong silent film fan who studied classical piano separately. He began

to accompany silent film screenings only in 2005, after composing the score for an independent feature film, 'Dangerous Crosswinds.' "It's kind of a lost art, but once I tried doing it, I found I could naturally come up with music that helped silent films come to life," Rapsis said. "And I really enjoyed the process because it combined two things I really loved: silent film and music. For me, it was like putting chocolate and peanut butter together. And I never had time to prepare anything elaborate in advance, so that led me down the improv path." Although he uses a digital synthesizer, Rapsis creates music that maintains a traditional "movie score" orchestral sound. His music, however, differs from what audiences might have heard in the 1920s. "Audiences today have several generations of film music in their head," Rapsis said. "There's that shower scene in Hitchcock's 'Psycho,' for example, with composer Bernard Herrmann's dissonant high strings squealing away to create a sense of terror. So while I maintain a traditional sound, I try to use that wide-ranging musical vocabulary to help make silent films work for modern audiences." Buster Keaton's ‘Steamboat Bill Jr.’ and 'Sherlock Jr.' will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 8 by the Campton Historical Society at the Campton Town Hall, Route 175 in Campton, N.H. The event begins with a potluck supper at 5 p.m., with the films to follow. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.camptonhistorical.org. For more info

on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

TWO OF CAMPTON ’S COVERED BRIDGES GETTING F IXED UP

Blair Bridge just plain needed work and Turkey Jim got washed down stream. Arnold Graton of Arnold M. Graton Associates is leading the charge to fix up Blair Bridge and Stan Graton of 3G Construction worked on Turkey Jim. Pictures are from Dede Joyce and Paul Yelle.

Nancy Mardin, President

Ann Knowles, Vice President

Martha Aguiar, Secretary

Dede Joyce, Treasurer

Robert Mardin, Librarian

Sandy Decarie, Curator

Judy Landry, Program Director

Mary Ellen Bourque, Publicity

Directors:

Ann Verow

Patricia Barker

Mary Ellen Bourque

Barbara Currier

Scott Pulsifer

CHS Officers and Directors

Upper pictures are Blair Bridge, middle are Turkey Jim Bridge and bottom is from clean up day at CHS”

LIFE WITH SLED DOGZ Submitted by: Lidia Dale-Mesaros of Valley Snow Dogz

Life with sled dogz is one of unconditional love and commitment. A wonderful, reciprocal relationship of commitment and love. In return for the human nurturing of our animals and husbandry, our furry family provide us with hours of adventure on the trails in the Fall and Winter months, entertaining play in the dogyard and lovable companionship in the home.

Mornings start early at around 6am during the Fall and winter. Every musher’s kennel has its own routine and style of management. Our dogz live in family units in large pens nestled between several large play areas. Play is the first order of the day. Kennels are swept clean, hosed and fresh water placed in the water buckets. Meals are fed and after 2 hours of chores and play, the dogs settle down for a morning nap.

Water buckets are refilled during the day and play occurs a few hours after the morning chores. During the summer, chores begin again towards the end of the day with their second meal fed around 6-7pm, once the heat of the day has passed. During the Fall and Winter months, training or tours usually take place towards the end of the day and into the evening so those training or running get loaded into the truck and given a soup with meat and rice and those remaining, usually retired dogs, are fed their second and last meal of the day.

Off we go with a fully loaded truck. Training runs can last anything from an hour to six or more, plus drive time, then setting up the equipment and dogs and of course, putting everything away neatly after the run and ready for the following day. We also feed the dogs who just ran right at the truck so that when we arrive home, they can go right to bed. If we are training we typically run a big team of 10-12 dogs or more in front of our four wheeler which they pull. During the winter months, we split the dogs into two teams and run them with our sleds. It’s a similar schedule when we add tours into the mix. If we are busy, all the dogs get to run every tour, if we are a little less busy, then we rotate the dogs so some can hang out in their truck boxes. We train our dogs for distance, typically up to 60 miles in one stretch so doing tours of 2-15 miles or so, is really easy for the dogs and quickly builds up an incredible amount of stamina for the longer distances that we do in training or racing. Running 60 miles in wilderness country in northern Maine is very exciting. It can take anything from 7-9 hours depending on the weather. It is pretty much non-stop besides a few short stops for meat and fat snacks and some fluids. By this time of the season, the dogs are in tip top shape and have incredible endurance and efficiency. It’s a very full day each and every day and often a very full night too!

There’s always a pot on the stove, often times cooking up bones for stock or making a meat and rice soup for the dogs. Meat is always cooked, never given raw and sometimes the dogs get a boiled egg as a protein treat on the trail. It takes a little organization to schedule feeding, hydration, trail snacks, food for after their run with thought for their calorie needs as each dog is slightly different and burns calories differently. Of course, not forgetting the humans, along with this routine we have our own and likewise, we have to make sure we are fed and watered too!

Hours upon hours goes into the care and welfare of our animals, seven days a week,

every day of the year. We get some down time from training during the summer

months, but that is usually filled with lots of obedience training, raising and teaching

pups or taking the retired dogs out for walks. During our active months from

September through April, we put over 1500 miles on the dogs and ourselves. We

spend hours in union with our dogs, working as a team, living as a family and hanging

out as best friends.

For more information on our Sled Dog Excursions, please contact Lidia

at valleysnowdogz@gmail.com or call us on 603-340-2390.

You can also visit our website at www.valleysnowdogz.com

This past year we had the trifecta with Campton’s Sled Dogz. They were nice enough to present at a program night, do a house tour and finally were on display for Q&A at Old Home Day. We thank them for giving their time, energy and knowledge - it is much appreciated.

Old Home Day had some extra excitement at CHS this year. Jim Aguiar

kept the mode festive with a string of musicians. The fire department did their BBQ, Shelley Thompson ran the book swap and Dede Joyce organized the vendors. Martha Aguiar and Robert Mardin lead a history bus tour, Sharron Dunigan was throwing pots, Dick Mardin demonstrated how to make a fiddle, Jackie Dearborn demonstrated chair caning, George Short presided over an antique tools quiz and display, Priscilla Whitney made bread the old fashion way, the ladies set up a make-your-own-sundae table and I did my best attempt at bean hole beans. Kevin Hamilton and OHD helpers ran kids activities, Campton Park and Rec did face painting and the Rey Center had a kids booth as well. CHS crew put together a silent auction. Prior to all this, Campton Baptist had a hymn sing Friday night, Saturday morning, David Mortiarity organized the 5k race/fun walk, and Campton Congregational served a mega breakfast. The festivities were capped with Campton Baptist having a chicken BBQ that evening. We look forward to doing it again next year!

Despite the cold and wind, a sizeable crowd showed up for the annual

Halloween History Walk at Blair Cemetery. The sounds of bag pipe

and drum set the atmosphere as Pedro Pinto gave kids hay rides out back. The fire department served hot cider and the best home made donuts. The library set up a book walk—this year’s book was Carl Riener’s A Scary Story (But not too Scary). The CES Afterschool Program brought painted and carved pumpkins. Thanks to RMI of Holderness for donating the pumpkins! Afterwards the Campton Conservation Commission sponsored a Rey Center naturalist to lead a nature walk and Campton Congregational had a church supper.

The cast of characters were as follows: Jim Aguiar portraying Henry D. Wyatt (1836-1917) Civil War veteran; Alan Hill portraying Samuel Holmes, the founder of Holmes Academy later known as Plymouth State University; Russell and Cindy Petrie portraying Senator Henry Blair (1834-1920) and his wife Eliza (1837-1907); Martha Aguiar portraying Kate Simpson (1868-1957) female Morticaian; Chris Rand portraying George Page (1838-1863) Civil War veteran and Barbara Currier portraying Jemima Avery (1798-1877) a farmer’s wife

New Hampshire, the days which the smaller type of hotel like Blairs typified, or to tell about the great flood of October, 1869, which as a boy he saw, and which held the record until the floods of ‘27’ and ‘36’ came along, or to talk about art or music, with both of which his life was wrapped up.

As the years went on, El Fureidis,- The Garden of Happiness, changed from just a summer residence to a legal residence, though he returned to his Cambridge house or to The Hubbard’s for bits of the winter. When the war of 1914 came and in 1918 was brought home to us locally by the losses of local boys and girls, his fondness for the home of his adoption welled into a desire to express itself in some tangible form. So he designed and executed a Memorial to the boys and girls who went to war from Campton. It is in the nature of an Old Italian Tryptic; the middle panel holds the name of ?ch side panel has sy? figures. Inter? ? are the flags of the Allies and the native wild flowers of Campton. The whole is done upon vellum and its richness of design and coloring have the glow and beauty of an illuminated page of Medieval Manuscript. He couldn’t get a framer to build the right kind of frame for the Memorial so not dismayed he built one himself, doing all the necessary carving, in order that the frame might be keeping with the tryptic idea. The Memorial hangs in the quiet simple country town hall of Campton and is probably the most unusual memorial to the late war in this country. ? a worthy climax to a long life of artistic achievement; a memorial to Mr. Mathews as well, as to those whom it memorializes; and may well become the object of a pilgrimage for those who cherish Mr. Mathews’ friendship either through himself or his books, and who desire to get at the heart of a great lover of nature, including man himself.

Services were conducted by the Rev. James Henderson of Washington D.C. at ?

F SKYLAR MATTHEW CONTINUED

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Chesley Mini Mart www.chesleys.net

Community Guarantee Savings

Bank www.cgsb.com

Colonial Spencer Inn www.colonelspencerbb.com/

The Country Lady Bug Greenhouse

Meredith Village Savings Bank

www.mvsb.com

Mountain Fare Inn www.mountainfareinn.com

Campton Mobil www.mobilstations.com/

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