Center for the Book at the New Hampshire Book Notes State Library Fall 2005 Vol. 1 , Issue 2 National Book Festival 2005 A New Hampshire Perspective By Charles Shipman Center for the Book were in atten- state maps and Center for the Reference Librarian, dance and we were free to roam Book magnets were gone as well. New Hampshire State Library the grounds as we mingled. It was Fortunately our stamps never ran a wonderful way to meet other out of ink, and we had plenty of For the fourth consecutive year, Book Center staff and librarians bookmarks to hand out. representatives of the NH Center from around the country. for the Book and the NH State Li- We had a very special treat at our brary attended the National Book But Saturday morning was time for table in the afternoon. Children’s Festival in Washington, D.C., and work. The book festival is held on author Jennifer Ericsson stopped once again the festival was a rous- the National Mall, with tents spread by our table to meet the kids and ing success. This is the fifth year of out throughout the grounds. We stamp their maps. Jennifer the National Book Festival but it set up shop in the Pavilion of the Ericsson seems to have a gift for was my first chance to attend. My States, an enormous tent housing capturing aspects of life that read- advice to fellow book lovers, what- tables for each of the fifty states, ers can immediately relate to. To ever your taste in books may be: if the District of Columbia, and sev- cite just one example, my wife you ever have the chance to make eral territories, including Guam, sometimes has to travel for work, it to this event, by all means do it. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. and Ericsson’s book, Home to Me, Each state distributed goodies to Home to You, about a girl whose This year’s New Hampshire con- children (and adults) advertising mother is on a business trip, so tingent consisted of Mary Russell, their state’s libraries and centers for perfectly captures my own family’s Director of the NH Center for the the book. But the main attraction rhythms and routines it’s uncanny. Book, Michael York, State Librar- for the kids was a colorful map of Jennifer was a delight, enthusiasti- ian, myself and Mary’s husband, the U.S., upon which each state cally engaging each child in conver- Todd. We arrived Friday after- placed a distinctive stamp or sation and welcoming each family noon (Sept. 23) and hadn’t walked sticker. The crowds started rolling to our table. Beth Blair, an illustra- 100 feet before our first celebrity in by 9:00am and never really tor who has worked with Ericsson sighting: John Kerry, getting a stopped until 5:00pm. Luckily we shoeshine. At the baggage claim had volunteers from the Junior Continues on page 10 we spotted Donald Hall, who was League of Washington to help us a featured author at the festival. throughout the day. I’m pleased to INSIDE THIS ISSUE Quite an auspicious start to the report that most kids can in fact NH Books Column 2 weekend! find New Hampshire on the map, NH Humanities Council 3 though some of the little ones Sarah Josepha Hale 4 That evening we were treated to a needed a bit of coaxing (“It’s in the MEMBERSHIP FORM 5 reception sponsored by the Center northeast. Top right corner. Keep Letters About Literature 6 for the Book in the Library of Con- going. Tiny little triangle. It’s red. Reader Recommendations 8 gress and hosted by the Center’s You FOUND it! Great job!”) Our IMPAC Dublin Award 9 director, John Cole. The reception only mistake was that we didn’t Children’s Historical Collection 10 was held on the grounds of the bring more loot. By late morning Award Notes 11 Botanic Garden of the United our 300 NH Primary pins were NH Authors Database 12 States. Guests from each state’s gone, and by early afternoon our Fall 2005 - 1 Center for the Book New Hampshire Books at the By Donna Gilbreth New Hampshire State Library In the last few years some of New Hampshire’s surviving grand hotels have been beautifully restored and are once again catering to pampered guests. The Mountain View Grand in Whitefield and the Wentworth by Mary A. Russell, Director the Sea in New Castle are magnificent hotels recently restored and re- 603-271-2866 opened to the public. In addition, the venerable Mount Washington Ho- [email protected] tel is now open year round and competing with The Balsams in Dixville Notch for winter tourists. New Hampshire’s history as a tourist mecca 2005 Advisory Board began simply with rooms in small guesthouses. But by the mid-1850’s, especially with the expansion of railroad lines, large hotels with 200 or Chair more rooms began to spring up. At its peak around 1900, there were Carrie Thomas over 30 large hotels operating in the state. However, changes in tourism, Colby-Sawyer College plus the changes wrought by two world wars and the Great Depression, destroyed the leisurely luxury hotel visit. Sadly, many hotels burned and Vice-Chair Jackie Gardner, CHILIS others were eventually torn down. Now, we just have the four hotels mentioned above plus some smaller hotels like the Eagle Mountain Van McLeod House and Wentworth Hall in Jackson. NH Dept.of Cultural Resources These plush hotels are a pleasure to visit and dine at, but a bit expensive Cathy Higgins for those of us living on state salaries (especially when facing the pros- NH Dept. of Education pect of paying for my son’s college tuition the next four years!) So, I will have to fulfill my fantasies of living in luxury by strolling around the Michael York grounds of these swank hotels and reading some of the beautifully illus- New Hampshire State Library trated books about these historic hotels. Katie Goodman New Hampshire Writers Project I have listed below some of the books, old and new, that survey the splendors and the history of New Hampshire’s grand old hotels. Deborah Watrous NH Humanities Council McAvoy, George E. And Then There Was One: a History of the Hotels of the Summit and the West Side of Mt. Washington. Cynthia Huntington Littleton, NH: Crawford Press, 1988 Poet Laureate of New Hampshire A history of the Crawford House (burned in 1977) and other defunct hotels in the Bretton Woods area, culminating with a brief history of the Becky Albert Mount Washington Hotel. Author McAvoy is a former owner of the NH Educational Media Association Crawford House. Andrea Thorpe Emerson, David. White Mountain Hotels, Inns, and Taverns (Im- NH Library Association ages of America series). Dover, NH: Arcadia Publishing, 1996 Sally Jones A brief history of lodgings in the White Mountains, from the early inns NH Library Trustees Association and boarding houses to the extravagant hotels of the railroad age. Pat Frisella New Hampshire Agricultural Department. Gems of the Granite Poetry Society of New Hampshire State. Edward N. Pearson, 1893 The state, in an effort to promote tourism, created this directory of sum- Eleanor Strang mer resorts in the state. It includes several photographs of popular natu- Urban Public Library Consortium ral resources and detailed information for people wishing to visit the many lodgings. In 1893 one could stay at the Mountain View in Micheal Herrmann Whitefield for $2.50 per day! Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord Continues on page 9 Katie McDonough Kimball Public Library, Atkinson New Hampshire’s Literary Community New Hampshire Humanities Council By Deborah Watrous Executive Director, NHHC Since 1983, the NHHC has Since its beginnings in 1974, The worked to improve the teaching of New Hampshire Humanities Coun- the humanities in NH’s public cil (NHHC) has nurtured commu- schools by funding summer insti- nity by connecting people with tutes and developing teacher work- ideas. Its programs have sprung shops on subjects as diverse as NH from a deeply-rooted need to pass history, the Silk Road, the separa- on our rich heritage, expand our tion of Church and State, and the understanding of the world, and teaching of Shakespeare. In 2006, rediscover the joy of learning. the Council will pilot “Scholars in Through the years, the NHHC has programs and scholars. Last year, the Schools,” an initiative designed offered challenging, provocative the NHHC awarded over $55,000 to provide scholarship and re- public programs that explore our in Humanities To Go! grants to 120 sources to public school teachers in common humanity. different community organizations their schools, even in their class- for such programs as lectures on rooms. In 1974, the National Endowment the founding of NH towns, a dis- for the Humanities established the cussion of the Israel-Palestine con- The NHHC is supported by a grant NHHC to grant funds to local flict, an appearance by Abraham from the National Endowment for groups for programs that explored Lincoln, and an evening of New the Humanities as well as by contri- public policy issues through the lens Hampshire humor. butions and grants from individuals, of the humanities. Community corporations, and foundations in projects funded by the NHHC The NHHC has made a significant New Hampshire. Each month, the include “Energy - The Individual commitment over the years to fos- Council publishes a free calendar of and the Community,” a series of tering a love of reading and talking events which lists 30-50 free public conferences and lectures at which about books, funding hundreds of humanities programs taking place over 800 participants deepened scholar-facilitators and purchasing around the state that month plus ar- their understanding of environmen- thousands of books for library- ticles on special programs and tal policy decisions; and “Humani- based discussion series.