Belmont economic and mill heritage was recovered in November as more than 12,000 pounds of 100 year-old metal - left the Factory Village District - with the help of a few friends. The metal was a piece of penstock, part of a 2000 foot conduit, once moving Tioga River and Badger Brook water to produce hydroelectric power for manufacturing and residential use. Belmont Heritage Commission chairman Linda Frawley called it a "perfect storm" of business, history and possibilities, after she learned of the discovery, unearthed by contractors in current village infrastructure and revitalization projects. Her first contact was artist Tom Sleeper,a juried member of the NH League of Craftsmen. She shared photographs of the century ago installation - courtesy of Historical Society records of the Belmont MIll - and he quickly confirmed the artisan and hand-pounded rivets, still prominent in the penstock fragments. New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources staff, including archaeologist Edna Feighner, encouraged documentation and exploring new uses -- as educational, artistic or visual tools. “Viewing remnants of our past, reminds us why this community was founded on the Tioga River,” she said. Feighner added that, “Natural resources were critical to a New England economy fueled by its rivers and the Industrial Revolution, fostered in well-situated communities like Belmont, Franklin, Laconia and Manchester,among others. Early penstocks of wood or metal help tell that story.” The penstock find was also shared with longtime Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Peter Harris, and shortly after, he was another partner in preservation and possibilities. And by week's end, expertise, time and storage space was very generously donated from Rusty Drewer, the second of three Tilton generations running Rusty's Towing and Recovery Service, and Blaney Auto Crashing on Hurricane Road, led by owner Frank Blaney, and his son Alex, along with local resident Brian Guyotte. Complete operation of removal, transport and storing on November 9, 2012 took just over two hours. Jeremy Perkins of Rusty's drove the first penstock from Belmont Village to Sleeper's ornamental welding studio in five minutes, crossing the Tioga River and now-breached Badger Dam, on the journey. He said it was "a proud moment to help - and he saluted Rusty Drew for "always making a difference." The artifacts rest at Sleeper's and Blaney's businesses in Belmont - while Heritage Commission considers next and best uses. Early inquiries have shown use as sculpture, ornamentation and educational display on interpretive signage. Town historian Wallace Rhodes, who has carefully catalogued vintage local photographs and researched Belmont history for 50 years, offered further details on this discovery, and its importance to the Belmont Mill & Village story: "In the earliest Mill days, water was conducted to the mill by a canal which ran from a long ago removed dam which was located near where the recently created Penstock Park is now located. The canal was replaced by a wooden penstock in the early 1890's which in turn was replaced with the metal penstock in or around 1910 after the wooden structure failed. The metal penstock was in use until 1955 when power generation at the mill was discontinued." He believes "There are very likely several more sections of the penstock still buried along its path from Fellows Dam to the Belmont Mill.” Both the Historical Society and Heritage Commission ask that any photographs taken this November when penstock was in place, or other artifacts found during Village project excavations be shared to help document local and Mill history. And the Heritage Commission welcomes ideas for creative penstock reuse through contacting any of its members or emailing at [email protected]
Transcript
Belmont economic and mill heritage was recovered in November as more than 12,000 pounds of 100 year-old metal - left the Factory Village District - with the help of a few friends. The metal was a piece of penstock, part of a 2000 foot conduit, once moving Tioga River and Badger Brook water to produce hydroelectric power for manufacturing and residential use. Belmont Heritage Commission chairman Linda Frawley called it a "perfect storm" of business, history and possibilities, after she learned of the discovery, unearthed by contractors in current village infrastructure and revitalization projects. Her first contact was artist Tom Sleeper,a juried member of the NH League of Craftsmen. She shared photographs of the century ago installation - courtesy of Historical Society records of the Belmont MIll - and he quickly confirmed the artisan and hand-pounded rivets, still prominent in the penstock fragments. New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources staff, including archaeologist Edna Feighner, encouraged documentation and exploring new uses -- as educational, artistic or visual tools. “Viewing remnants of our past, reminds us why this community was founded on the Tioga River,” she said. Feighner added that, “Natural resources were critical to a New England economy fueled by its rivers and the Industrial Revolution, fostered in well-situated communities like Belmont, Franklin, Laconia and Manchester,among others. Early penstocks of wood or metal help tell that story.” The penstock find was also shared with longtime Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Peter Harris, and shortly after, he was another partner in preservation and possibilities. And by week's end, expertise, time and storage space was very generously donated from Rusty Drewer, the second of three Tilton generations running Rusty's Towing and Recovery Service, and Blaney Auto Crashing on Hurricane Road, led by owner Frank Blaney, and his son Alex, along with local resident Brian Guyotte. Complete operation of removal, transport and storing on November 9, 2012 took just over two hours. Jeremy Perkins of Rusty's drove the first penstock from Belmont Village to Sleeper's ornamental welding studio in five minutes, crossing the Tioga River and now-breached Badger Dam, on the journey. He said it was "a proud moment to help - and he saluted Rusty Drew for "always making a difference." The artifacts rest at Sleeper's and Blaney's businesses in Belmont - while Heritage Commission considers next and best uses. Early inquiries have shown use as sculpture, ornamentation and educational display on interpretive signage. Town historian Wallace Rhodes, who has carefully catalogued vintage local photographs and researched Belmont history for 50 years, offered further details on this discovery, and its importance to the Belmont Mill & Village story: "In the earliest Mill days, water was conducted to the mill by a canal which ran from a long ago removed dam which was located near where the recently created Penstock Park is now located. The canal was replaced by a wooden penstock in the early 1890's which in turn was replaced with the metal penstock in or around 1910 after the wooden structure failed. The metal penstock was in use until 1955 when power generation at the mill was discontinued." He believes "There are very likely several more sections of the penstock still buried along its path from Fellows Dam to the Belmont Mill.” Both the Historical Society and Heritage Commission ask that any photographs taken this November when penstock was in place, or other artifacts found during Village project excavations be shared to help document local and Mill history. And the Heritage Commission welcomes ideas for creative penstock reuse through contacting any of its members or emailing at [email protected]
Historic penstock found long-buried beneath center of Belmont
. Big surprise: The water transmission line was dug up during construction in the center of town. By DAN SEUFERT Union Leader Correspondent BELMONT — Construction work on the ongoing downtown revitalization project in the center of town uncovered a century-old metal “penstock,” a link to the historic Belmont Mill and town center, town officials say. The 1910-era penstock — a structure that controls water flow, often an enclosed pipe that delivers water — was found last week, and a community coalition of businesses and preservation advocates gathered Friday to remove and protect it while new options, including educational and artistic uses, are considered, said Belmont Heritage Commission chairman Linda Frawley. “It was really fun to find something like that and have the community respond,” Frawley said. “We don’t know what we’ll do with it yet. Maybe we’ll save remnants of it, we don’t know yet.” The penstock was found near the Tioga River, close to the former location of the town bandstand. “There are very likely several more sections of the penstock still buried along its path from Fellows Dam to the Belmont Mill,” town historian Wallace Rhodes said. In the 1800s, the penstock conducted millions of gallons of water each year from the Tioga River and Badger Brook to the Belmont Mill, creating hydroelectric power for mill production and for the village. In the early days of the Belmont Mill, according to Rhodes, water was sent to the mill by a canal which ran from a long-ago removed dam. The canal was replaced by a wooden penstock in the early 1890s which in turn was replaced with the just-found metal penstock in 1910 after the wooden structure failed. The metal penstock, once one-third of a mile in length and held together with handpounded rivets, was in use until 1955, when power generation at the mill was discontinued, Rhodes said. Last week, contractors lifted two large sections of the mill’s penstock from the ground and set them aside for shortterm storage, Frawley said. After learning of the discovery, Frawley consulted with New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources’ planners and archaeologists about the significance of the penstock section and its reuse possibilities. Those discussions will continue if the selectmen decide to give the historic penstock to the heritage commission. With the help of planning board chairman Peter Harris, New Hampshire League of Craftsmen artist and steel artisan Tom Sleeper, tower Rusty Drew of Tilton, resident Jeremy Perkins, and Blaney Auto Crushing, the penstock was removed and stored in sections at Sleeper’s art studio on Route 106 and Blaney’s business on Hurricane Road. [email protected] The metal penstock, once one-third of a mile in length and held together with hand-pounded rivets, was in use until 1955.
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Voter ID law causes no problems for election officials in Laconia
By Michael KitchTHE LACONIA DAILY SUN
LACONIA — Echo-ing New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, City Clerk Mary Reynolds said yesterday that the general election proceeded smoothly and in particular the law requiring voters to show photographic identification posed no problems for election officials.
Reynolds said that personnel posted at the six polling stations asked voters for their photo IDs when they arrived and directed those without it to a table where they were asked to complete a “challenged voter affidavit” before cast-ing their vote. She said that some voters refused to present a photo ID as a gesture of opposition to the law, but readily com-pleted the affidavit. On instructions from the Secretary of State she declined to dis-close how many affida-vits were submitted.
Attorney David Bownes, who served as a legal observer in Laconia during the election, said he was
see Id page 10
88% turnout in Laconia – here’s how the city votedLACONIA — Voters in Laconia turned
the clock back to 2008 on Tuesday, when Democratic candidates made their stron-gest showing in decades.
President Obama again carried the city, polling majorities in four of the six wards,
but by a slimmer margin than in 2008 when he took 53-percent of the vote to top John McCain by 468 votes. This year, the city gave Obama a majority of just 79 votes — 3,938 to 3,859 — over Mitt Romney. Romney, like McCain before him, ran strongest in Wards 1 and 6 while losing the other four.
In the 1st Congressional District, Demo-
By Michael KitchTHE LACONIA DAILY SUN
crat Carol Shea-Porter failed to match her performance of 2008, when she won 53-per-cent of the city vote on her way to ousting incumbent Republican Jeb Bradley. But, after losing the seat in 2010 to Republican Frank Guinta, who swept all six wards and captured 57-percent of the vote, she fared
see ELECtION page 6
Revitalization project uncovers century old penstock sectionsBy Gail OBer
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
BELMONT – Part of a 100-year-old pen-stock has been unearthed as part of the Belmont Revitalization Project.
A penstock is a length of pipe that chan-nels water from one place to another, usu-
ally to be used for electricity generation.In this case, Belmont historian Wallace
Rhodes said the original Penstock Park site was purchased in 1794 by Joseph Fellows who built a dam and a sawmill. His heirs held on to the property until 1817 when it was deeded to the Belmont Mill.
Rhodes said the Gilmanton Village Man-ufacturing Company built a larger dam in the 1830s that allowed the water to be diverted into a canal that crossed the street and eventually ran down Main Street to the new mill.
see PENstOCK page 9
Tenant’s sensitive nose raised alarm over leaking furnace fumes
By Gail OBerTHE LACONIA DAILY SUN
LACONIA — The tenants of the Pleasant Street three-story apartment building where there was a carbon monoxide scare Wednesday night took the woman who called the fire department out for a thank-you dinner Thursday night.
Sherry Roderick said she hadn’t been smelling some-thing funny all day as was previous reported but that she and her service dog were in their apartment in the early evening when she started feeling very drowsy.
She said she opened her window from some fresh air. She also noticed her service dog wasn’t acting as ener-getic as she usually does.
Roderick said walked down the stairs to go out-side for some fresh air when she noticed a much stronger
see NOsE page 7
THE LACONIA DAILY SUN, Saturday, November 10, 2012— Page 9
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Two pieces of the old penstock sit behind the Belmont Library and await removal to storage homes. The penstock was unearthed during recent construction during the Village Revitalization. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Gail Ober)
In the 1890s the dam was removed, and a wooden pen-stock was built from the upper dam off Church Street. The wooden penstock was removed around 1910 because failures during seasonal high-flow periods.
A metal penstock was installed in its place until it was discontinued in 1955 when the Belmont Hosiery Company dissolved.
Last week, construction crews working on the bridge unearthed about 100 feet of the metal pipe, two equal sections of the penstock and placed it behind the Belmont Library for temporary storage.
After some inquiring by Heritage Commission member Linda Frawley, Rusty’s Towing agreed to
move one piece to a Blaney’s Auto Crushing and the other piece to Sleeper’s Welding.
Both will store the penstock while Heritage Com-mission members try to find a buyer for the metal, funds from which selectmen will consider donating to the Heritage Commission fund for the bandstand renovation project.
Had the local companies not offered to move and store the material, Town Administrator Jeanne Beaudin told selectmen, it could have cost the town as much as $1,000 to cut and move the penstock.
An employee from Rusty’s said yesterday that he thought there may be as much as 15,000 pounds of metal in the two pieces of penstock.
PENSTOCK from page one
Then Obama said he would not accept any approach to federal deficit reduction that doesn’t ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes. A spokesman later said Obama would veto legislation extending tax cuts for families making $250,000 or more.
The Dow began sliding just before Obama spoke, at 1 p.m., and had lost its gain for the day by 1:30.
As they head into talks with Obama next week
on the fiscal cliff, congressional leaders no doubt remember what can happen on Wall Street when investors are worried and watching Washington’s every move.
In September 2008, at the depths of the financial crisis, the House defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue of the nation’s financial system, sending the Dow plunging 777 points.
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THE INSTALLATION of metal
penstocks in 1910, replacing
wood, and the last stop of a
delivery system bringing
millions of gallons annually to
the Village for commercial
manufacturing and residential
use. Town historian Wallace
Rhodes believes there are "very
likely several more sections of
the nearly one third mile long
penstock still buried along its
Artifacts of Belmont industrial heritage unearthed By BENJAMIN C. KLEIN
BELMONT — Linguistsfrom the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation met with stu-dents of Belmont HighSchool last week to spreadthe word that bilingualismcan lead to exciting careersas the world’s economychanges and the war on ter-rorism grows.
“When I was in highschool, languages were notviewed as being important,but 9/11 changed all of that,”said Kathy Hartman, a 12-year veteran of FBI linguis-tics.
She and fellow linguistRania Dagher traveled toBHS as part of NationalFrench Week, and spoke tostudents there from bothFrench and Spanish classes,encouraging them to contin-ue with their studies of oth-er languages.
“The learning takes a longtime. You have to pursue it,put a lot of effort into it, butin the end, it broadens yourhorizons,” Dagher said.
She herself was schooledin Lebanon, where studentsstart early to learn French,English and Arabic. Theneed for multi-lingual peopleis growing, she said, and heradvice was to simply “putthat effort into it.”
Languages most in need
right now, the women said,are Arabic, Russian and Chi-nese, whether they be for in-tellectual property theft, es-pionage or terroristicthreats. With a growingSpanish speaking popula-tion in the United States,that, too, is important in to-day’s world, especially in do-mestic cases handled by theFBI and police.
Hartman said her love oflanguage and travel eventu-ally led her to apply for theFBI. She began her career af-ter college as a teacher but intime, kept coming back toher childhood fascinationfor a neighbor worked for theagency.
“That wasn’t somethingwomen did then, however, soI taught for a while instead,”
she said.Through her skills in
Spanish and French, Hart-man eventually wentthrough the lengthy processof testing to be a governmentlinguist and, through theyears, also came to enjoy herlove of travel through theagency.
TILTON — Tilton PoliceChief Robert Cormier re-cently returned from the LawEnforcement Torch Run con-ference in Indianapolis, Ind.,where he and more than 2,500officers from all 50 states and48 countries gathered forawards and training sessionsto help them better supportSpecial Olympics athleteswho compete in the global or-ganization. They also heardfrom some of the SpecialOlympics’ Global Messen-gers, who told the officers
how much LETR has meantto them.
Each year, as the SpecialOlympics summer games areset to begin, officers from allacross New Hampshire runtorches more than 850 milesto raise awareness in com-munities about the event andshow of their support for theathletes as they prepare tocompete. They also take partin the opening and closingceremonies and in the medalpresentations.
Five years ago Cormierwas asked to head the New
Tilton Police Chief shows support for Special Olympics
COURTESY
Chief Robert Cormier of the Tilton Police Department took part in the Law Enforcement Torch Run conference in Indianapolis earlier this month insupport of Special Olympics. He and fellow officers Sgt. Larry Hesseltine of Vinalhaven, Maine and Lt. Don Crabtree of Wethersfield, Conn. present-ed the torch that has become a symbol of Law Enforcement’s global pledge to protect and serve the athletes of Special Olympics.
Winter Farmers’ Markets returning to TiltonTILTON — The Tilton
Winter Farmers’ Market ispleased to announce thatthanks to the generous sup-port of the AutoServ Familyof Dealerships the Lakes Re-gion will, for the second win-ter in a row, have a conven-ient location to pick up farm-fresh local food and home-made goodies.
Due to the success of lastyear’s market, the TiltonWinter Farmers’ Market willnow be open two days a week.Every Saturday and Sunday,from January through the
end of March, the “old Ag-way building,” located at 67East Main St. (Route 3) inTilton, will be transformedinto the Tilton Winter Farm-ers’ Market. The location isconveniently located rightoff I-93 at exit 20, diagonallyacross the street from Au-toServ of Tilton, with plentyof parking for everyone.Soon every Saturday andSunday, you will be able tofind market fresh food in themiddle of winter.
The Tilton Winter Farm-ers’ Market is sponsored by
the AutoServ Family of Deal-erships. AutoServ is a proudsupporter of healthy eatingand lifestyles.
Dennis Gaudet, owner ofAutoServ, knows the impor-tance of fresh foods andhealthy living.
“I am excited for the op-portunity to once againsponsor the market and helpbring fresh offerings to thecommunity,” Gaudet said.“In the summer, there aremany places to buy freshfoods, but the options dwin-dle during the winter
months. Inside AutoServTilton, we opened the Auto-Cafe as a quick alternativefor our employees, cus-tomers, and the general pub-lic to grab healthy breakfastand lunch offerings insteadof fast food. In December wewill be opening the AutoServFitness Center, so all of em-ployees have free access tohealthy activity. It is impor-tant that healthy options areeasily available, and theTilton Winter Farmers’ Mar-ket offers just that. The mar-
COURTESY
Rusty Drew, checking cables, ensures the safety of a century-old metal pen-stock remnant...first fashioned in wood, and replaced by metal in the early1900s, it was unearthed by contractors working near the Tioga River banksite, occupied until just recently by the historic Village bandstand.
Belmont Village road project unearths
a link to the pastBELMONT — A Belmont
Village road extension andinfrastructure project hasunearthed a century oldlink to its historic 1833 Milland Town Center. And acommunity coalition ofbusinesses and preserva-tion advocates gathered Fri-day, Nov. 9 to remove andprotect it while new options,including educational andartistic uses, are consid-ered.
Project contractors liftedtwo large sections of themill’s penstock from theground, nearby the historicbandstand location frommid 1920s to this July, whenrevitalization necessitateda temporary move. The pen-stocks were set aside for ashort-term storage andeventual disposal. HeritageCommission chairman Lin-da Frawley learned of thediscovery and consultedwith New Hampshire Divi-sion of Historical Resourcesplanners and archaeolo-gists about their signifi-cance and reuse possibili-ties.
She credits them andlongtime Planning Boardchairman Peter Harris,Volkswagen expert betterknown by his “Automahn”business, and New Hamp-shire League of Craftsmenartist and steel artisan TomSleeper, with critical help.Both Harris and Sleeper re-sponded enthusiastically,and in a few short days thevolunteer team grew to in-clude:
-Third generation towingpro Rusty Drew of Tilton,aided by Jeremy Perkins –also seen around the regionas a Tilton-Northfield fire-fighter
-Frank Blaney and sonAlex of Blaney Auto Crush-ing, along with their Assis-tant Manager Brian Guyotteof Belmont
The full operation of re-moval, transport and stor-ing at Sleeper’s art studio offRoute 106 and the Blaney op-eration on Hurricane Road,took just over two hours.Belmont Public Works Di-rector Jim Fortin, on handfor the first penstock deliv-ery, commented about its“good condition” for ageand wear.
For many years, waterfrom the Tioga River andBadger Brook, through asystem which included sixdams culminating in thepenstock, conducted mil-lions of gallons of water an-nually to the Belmont Mill,creating hydroelectric pow-er for mill production andthe Belmont Village. The sixdams were reduced to twoafter Grimston and Beandams deteriorated and thetown breached both Fellowsand Badger Dams after re-ceiving ultimatums fromthe State of New Hamp-
BHS students learn the importance of a bilingual education
DONNA RHODES
FBI linguists Rania Dagher and Kathy Hartman were invited by the French classes at Belmont High School tomeet with their language departments and explain the importance of bilingual skills in today’s world.
LACONIA — Jim Rood, aSubway® restaurants fran-chisee, received the NewHampshire Caterer of theYear award from Subway®Development of New Hamp-shire, on Oct. 1.
“It’s great that all of ourstaff at Subway is being rec-ognized for their excellencein service and sales forcatering,” said Rood. “All ofus work hard to ensure thateveryone’s event, large orsmall, is stress-free and sat-isfying. We have fulfilled re-quests for over 1,000 peopleand it’s always great to see
how quickly we can get itdone.”
Rood has been a Subway®restaurants franchisee for12 years, and currently ownsfive restaurants throughoutNew Hampshire.
“Subway is the onlyrestaurant that has been en-dorsed by the AmericanHeart Association, and it’san amazing feeling to get therecognition for providinghealthy meal options,” con-tinued Rood. “Customerscan feel confident with whatis being served to friends,family and coworkers. Sub-
way® restaurants has alsorecently enlarged its cater-ing menu to include meetand cheese platters, meat-ball trays, desserts andmore.”
To place a catering order,customers are encouragedto call 1-877-360-CATER orcontact the store directly.
Rood’s stores include loca-tions in Laconia (527-6222);Belknap Mall (527-6002);Franklin (934-4391); Fish-erville in Concord (753-1077)and Main Street in Concord(225-5955). To place an orderonline, customers shouldvisit www.subwaycater-ing.com.
LOCAL NEWS A9■
WINNISQUAM ECHO November 22, 2012
shire. The remaining twonow retain water for Sar-gent Lake and SawyerLake.
Town Historian WallaceRhodes believes, “Thereare very likely severalmore sections of the near-ly one-third mile long pen-stock still buried along itspath from Fellows Dam tothe Belmont Mill.”
In the earliest Mill days,according to Rhodes, waterwas conducted to the millby a canal which ran froma long ago removed damwhich was located near
where the recently createdPenstock Park is now locat-ed. The canal was replacedby a wooden penstock inthe early 1890's which inturn was replaced with themetal penstock in oraround 1910 after the wood-en structure failed. Themetal penstock held to-gether with hand-poundedrivets was in use until 1955when power generation atthe mill was discontinued.Rhodes has meticulouslycatalogued vintage localphotographs and researchfor 50 years and led effortsto save the main Mill build-ing from demolition twodecades ago
BELMONTCONTINUED FROM PAGE A1
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COURTESY
Vintage postcard/photo showing metal penstock entering BelmontVillage as part of a six dam system conducting millions of gallons ofwater annually to the Mill. Once known as "The Best Town by a DamSite,” dams were reduced to two after Grimston and Bean deteriorat-ed, and the Town breached both Fellows and Badger Dams. Theremaining two now retain water for Sargent and Sawyer Lakes.
Bank of NH sponsoring Good Scout Award LuncheonMEREDITH — Bank of
New Hampshire is proud tobe the presenting sponsor ofThe Daniel Webster Council– Boy Scouts of America 21stAnnual Lakes Region GoodScout Award Luncheon.
The Good Scout AwardLuncheon will be held onThursday, Dec. 6 at The Car-riage House at Church Land-ing in Meredith at noon. TheDaniel Webster Council willhonor both Melcher &Prescott Insurance and Ir-win Automotive Group as
Corporate Good Scout Hon-orees.
This year’s Good ScoutLuncheon will be chaired byBarry Leonard, SVP - Com-mercial LendingOfficer/Team Leader forBank of New Hampshire.The fundraising goal of$60,000 from this event willbenefit and enrich scoutingthroughout the Lakes Re-gion. If you are interested inhelping to meet this goal,there are several sponsor-ship levels and tickets avail-
able to support this greatcause. Scouting remainsstrong in New Hampshireand throughout the entire na-tion.
For more information onhow to support the Lakes Re-gion Good Scout Award Lun-cheon, please contact BarryLeonard at 527-3935 or [email protected].
Bank of New Hampshire,founded in 1831, provides de-posit, lending and wealthmanagement products andservices to families and busi-
nesses throughout NewHampshire. With 21 bankingoffices throughout NewHampshire and assets ex-ceeding $1 billion, Bank ofNew Hampshire is the oldestand largest independentbank in the state. Bank ofNew Hampshire is a mutualorganization, focused on thesuccess of the bank’s cus-tomers, communities andemployees, rather thanstockholders. For more in-formation, call 1-800-832-0912or visit www.BankNH.com.
Local Subway franchisee named Caterer of the Year
1THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, December 20, 2012
COMPLIMENTARYTHE WEIRS, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H., THURSDAY, DECEMbER 20, 2012VOLUME 21, NO. 51
Presorted StandardU.S. Postage
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Permit No. 177
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Pages 14-19
Belmont Keeps moving Forward with the past
The Town of Belmont, New Hampshire, has be-come a shining example of the importance of heri-tage preservation.
A recent unearthing of a good portion of 100 year old metal penstocks, only happened as a re-sult of another preserva-tion project.
A penstock is conduit used to carry water to a water wheel or turbine;
in this case, they once powered the Belmont Mill, which was built in 1833 to manufacture cotton and wool goods and even hosiery under its last owner.
Originally the water-power came by construc-tion of a dam which di-verted a portion of the Tioga River (then known as The Great Brook) through a canal which joined a small stream which then flowed to a
See belmonton 22
A 1910 photo from Belmont Historical Society and Mill records shows the penstock installation for the Village. Belmont resident Joseph Frasier, with his trademark corncob pipe, is the only one files currently identify. (Inset photo) Two volunteers from the community, Peter Harris (left) longtime Belmont Planning Board chairman and Jeremy Perkins of Rusty’s Towing and Recovery Service, with a piece of the recently unearthed penstock they are helping to move.
On Saturday, January 19th at 7:30pm the Lakes Region Big Band comes to the Franklin Opera House for a gala evening of big band music and dancing. Celebrate the new year with the Opera House staff and volunteers and enjoy complimentary bev-erages and hors d’oeuvres with the price of your ad-mission.
The Lakes Region Big Band is a fine group of accomplished musicians from all around the Lakes Region.
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Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Box Office at 316 Central Street.
Call 603-934-1901 or visit www.franklinoperahouse.org.
by brendan SmithWeirs Times Editor
courtesy Photos
22 THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, December 20, 2012
small pond. The water then flowed to the rear of the mill through a canal. On the river bank behind the mill was a large water wheel which connected to a system of belts and pulleys which transferred power to the mill.
Around 1890, wooden penstocks were used to bring water from Fellows Dam, bringing greater
water pressure. In 1910, the wooden
penstocks were replaced with steel ones; these were the ones recently unearthed.
The Belmont Mill saw its finals days in that capacity in 1970. Over the years following, some small industries occupied the building but lack of maintenance caused its
belmont from 1
See belmont on 23
Wallace Rhodes and Linda Frawley of the Belmont Heritage Society, in front of the Tioga River. In the background is a metal penstock which has been a fixture in the town for years. Frawley laughs as she notes that people don’t realize its historic significance and call it “that old rusted pipe.” Rhodes is Belmont Historical Society President & Vice Chairman of the Belmont Heritage Commission. After chairing Belmont’s Master Plan in 2001-2 and advocating rural and historic assets, Frawley led establishment of the Heritage Commission, founded by citizens at the 2004 Town Meeting, supported by Rhodes and others as “another needed voice to celebrate Belmont’s past and future relevance.”
The bandstand was moved during the extension road renovation and will have some work done to it to make it more stable before being put back into use.
courtesy Photo
BreNDAN sMIth Photo
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belmont from 22
An early photo of the Belmont Mill back in the day when it was a bustling manufacturer of cotton and wool goods.
The bandstand in Belmont was built in 1909 and continues to serve the community with concerts in the summer. This photo shows an early concert. The Belmont Heritage Society is looking for old photos of the bandstand.
deterioration. On August 14, 1992,
a five-alarm fire ripped through the mill, virtu-ally destroying it. It was left in that condition un-til it was acquired by tax deed through the town.
Belmont had applied Community Block Grant for another building in town that was denied. They dec ided to use $100,000 that had al-ready been appropriated towards the denied proj-ect and use it for demoli-tion and cleanup of the mill.
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courtesy Photos BeLMoNt herItAGe coMMIssIoN
24 THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, December 20, 2012
belmont from 23
A piece of the 12,000 pounds of metal penstock recently unearthed in Belmont during the extension road project.
It proved to be a wise decision in keeping, what would soon be a valuable asset to Belmont once again.
In January 1996, Plan NH and the Office of State Planning held a charrette that resulted in three proposals for re-use of the mill and recommend-ed another year of study. It was the first “PlanNH Charrette” ever; dozens have since been held in communities around the state.
During the summer of 1996, the town and Belknap County won two Community Development Block Grants totaling $1 million, and the town approved a $215,000 bond issue as its finan-cial match at another special town meeting in October. Aided by private donations, including an anonymous $25,000 gift, the mill was rehabilitated as “Belmont Mill Commu-nity Center” from designs by architect Christopher Williams of Meredith dur-ing the summer of 1997.
Today, the renovated mil l houses the Bel-mont Senior Center, the Belknap Family Health Center and the Food For Thought Café, a culinary
arts program of Lakes Region Community Col-lege that serves lunch and dinner to the public ( a great story for another issue).
The mill stack was tak-en down in 2001 as it was considered unsafe.
Saving the mill wasn’t enough for Rhodes.
“We saved the mi l l and nothing happened around it after that,” said Rhodes. “Now things are happening around it and I think we are going in the right direction.”
The unearthing of the penstocks was a surprise during the second phase of the renovation which included a new exten-sion road, as suggested by the charrette, which runs behind the library to the mill.
“I knew there might be some of the penstock there,” said Rhodes. “But wasn’t sure how much.”
What was uncovered was 12,000 pounds, once part of the 2000-foot conduit feeding the mill.
“When we heard , I thought it would be the perfect storm of busi-ness, history and pos-sibilities,” said Linda Frawley, chairman of the
Wallace Rhodes, Bel-mont historian, and oth-ers decided it might serve the town better to save the Mill.
State architectural his-torian, James Gavin ex-amined the building as the demolition of the mill was planned to begin. He prepared a report on the
capacity of the building to be rehabilitated.
“We went to court and said they weren’t autho-rized to demolish it,” said Rhodes.
Along with Rhodes was attorney Carolyn Bald-win. The court ordered and injunction to halt the demolition.
At the time, the demo-
lition crew was already at the mill site and had taken down the existing outbuildings which were part of the mill.
At a town meeting in November of 1995, the voters denied the select-man the permission to finish the demolition and approved further study of the building.
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An aerial view of the bandstand before it was moved to make way for the road extension. It is uncertain at this point where the bandstand will be placed after its renovation.
courtesy Photos BeLMoNt herItAGe coMMIssIoN
25THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, December 20, 2012
Belmont Heritage Com-mission.
Frawley contacted Tom Sleeper, a juried mem-ber of the NH League of Craftsmen who ad-mired the artisan and hand-pounded rivets of the penstock fragments. Frawley then showed the discovery with the Chairman of the Plan-ning and Zoning Board. Peter Harris who was on board with preserving the penstocks.
On Friday, November 9th, Rusty’s Towing and Recovery donated their
belmont from 24
A five alarm fire in 1992 destroyed the mill and years later it was in danger of being torn down until an effort was made to save it.
The Belmont Mill today.
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26 THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, December 20, 2012
services in transporting the penstocks to Sleep-er’s welding studio as well as some to Blaney Auto Crashing on Hur-ricane Road, where they now sit as they figure out their best use.
“We are looking for ar-tistic ways to use the penstocks,” said Fraw-ley. “Maybe something to help educate children about the town’s his-tory.”
Using a penstock for educational purposes makes sense as pen-stocks aren’t unknown in Belmont.
Penstock Park in Bel-mont, got its name from an old, above ground metal penstock which comes out f rom the
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ground and hangs over the Tioga River.
“People always call it ‘that old rusty pipe,’” laughed Frawley.
As Belmont awaits the final use of the unearthed penstock, they are at no loss in pursuits in keep-ing the heritage alive.
Before the extension road was built, the 104-year old bandstand be-hind the library needed to be moved. The band-stand had been located on the Town Green in Belmont Village since it was built. It was moved to the Tioga River bank in the late 1920s to make room for the new library. In the most recent move, it sits on a temporary spot where it will be re-stabilized and be back in
action, hopefully, by the spring of 2013.
“We’re not sure where it will be located yet,” said Frawley.
While waiting for the second phase to be com-pleted, Wallace Rhodes has killed a little time with smaller projects, like the complete exterior restoration on the Prov-ince Road Meetinghouse on Rte 107.
Seems like there will al-ways be some good work going on in Belmont to help preserve that town’s heritage.
The Heritage Commis-sion is looking for any old photos of the bandstand, especially those from the 1950s and 1960s. If you have any or know where some might be located, you are urged to contact the Belmont Heritage Commission at [email protected] or contact Chair-man Rhodes at 603 267-6272.
An early photo of the Belmont Mill and the outbuildings. Many of these buildings were torn down just before the wrecking ball was to take down the Mill.
belmont from 25courtesy Photo BeLMoNt herItAGe coMMIssIoN
