USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > Mirror to America : a history of New London, New Hampshire, 1900-1950 > Part 6
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
A year of delay followed, but in March, 1932 the voters authorized the formation of the New London High School and decreed that it begin functioning on the second floor of the old building. It must be remembered, of course, that these were the years of the "Great Depression"; money was hard to get; and every possible economy seemed necessary at all levels of government. Despite the financial problem, enough funds were voted in 1932 to permit remodelling of the exist- ing central school, and that autumn fifty-two high school pupils were enrolled. A year later the District at a special meeting in August approved the expenditure of $1,200 in local funds, which, when added to a Federal emergency relief grant, made possible the utilization of the attic for two additional high school rooms. In these cramped quarters the New London High School remained for ten years.
As first Headmaster of the new high school, the Board retained Royce S. Pitkin, an energetic and liberal-minded graduate of Columbia University.8 Dr. Pitkin vigorously pro- moted school and community affairs. Boys' and girls' athletics were introduced, with basketball being the chief sport, and the playing area the floor of Whipple Memorial Hall. After World War II baseball became an inter-school sport each spring. The curriculum included not only a college prepara- tory course, but also typewriting, and many extra-curricular activities. Senior plays, class trips, a school paper, eventually a Yearbook for the graduating class, and the Heidelberg Prize Speaking Contest - this last sponsored annually by Herbert D. Swift beginning in 1938 - came to be important events in the school year. New London High School graduates made fine records at the University of New Hampshire, Bates College, Colgate University, Syracuse University, Boston University, and elsewhere.
It was admitted by thoughtful citizens that the "temporary" arrangements made in 1932 and 1933 to house the high school must be considered strictly as such. By 1939 the sentiment in favor of moving ahead to the construction of an entirely new school building was beginning to crystallize.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
That year a study committee was appointed by the Moderator, consisting of Dr. J. Duane Squires, chairman, Mrs. Ann F. Pardy, and Horace C. Stanley. In 1940 this committee re- ported the results of its study, but asked for the enlargement of the group to seven, including the members of the School Board, and a year's extension of time before the final vote. Both requests were granted. The new committee was com- posed of the three persons named above, Mrs. Emma L. Colby, a long-time former member of the Board, and the existing personnel of the School board, Mrs. Almina C. Barton, Dura P. Crockett, and Wayne K. Wheeler. A further twelve months of study and investigation followed.10
On March 8, 1941, the School District meeting voted: (1) to erect a new central school building, suitable for twelve grades; (2) to approve the issuance of serial bonds to the amount of $80,000 for the purpose; and (3) to authorize the existing committee of seven, together with the Moderator of the Town, the three Selectmen, and three others to be ap- pointed by the Moderator to choose the site for the new building.11 Thus ten years of effort came to fruition. The original seven were retained as the building committee, Dr. Squires continuing as chairman. I. W. Hersey of Durham, N. H., was engaged as architect; ground was broken on August 21, 1941; the corner-stone was laid on October 13, 1941; and the new building officially dedicated on Columbus Day, 1942.12
As the years went by, continual improvements were made in the new Central School. The grounds were beautified and landscaped through the efforts of the Garden Club. Courses in home economics and manual arts became an important part of the curriculum. Beginning in 1946-1947 a Federally-assisted "hot-lunch" program was developed. In 1948-1949, thanks to the driving enthusiasm of the New London Service Organiza- tion Inc., the School Board began the preparation of the Memorial Athletic Field behind the parking area. Intended as a community tribute to the men and women of New London who had served in the armed forces during World War II, the Memorial Athletic Field was to be formally
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
dedicated at Memorial Day, 1951. In 1950 the National Honor Society for secondary schools granted a charter to the Heidel- berg Chapter in N.L.H.S., and in the same year the World Book Company selected the New London High School as one of its test institutions for the nation. The latest in pedagog- ical equipment was bought by the School Board; additional insurance coverage for students and teachers was authorized by the March meeting in 1950; and more and more "tuition students" from outside communities were attracted to New London.13
Before leaving the subject of a half century of public education in New London, a few concluding observations may justly be made. Appreciation is in order for all the devoted and faithful teachers, from the six inadequately compensated women of 1900 to the faculties of the grammar and high school grades of 1950. Likewise honorable was the service of School Board members, school officers and staff members who struggled with heavy responsibilities over the years. For ex- ample, Alfred G. Sargent became School Treasurer in 1903 and served uninterruptedly until his death twenty-four years later. Similarly, Dura P. Crockett first went on the Board in 1922, and was still in harness in 1950. Mrs. Emma L. Colby was a Board member for twenty-one years between 1914 and 1935, while Horace C. Stanley served continuously from 1919 to 1937. Walter T. Moreland has been Clerk of the District since 1938. The passing years have brought new problems to the local authorities as ambitious and energetic State Com- missioners of Education sought to remold the educational life of New Hampshire.14 The matter of "State Aid" for local schools in the late 1940's became a major issue as successive legislatures varied the biennial appropriations for this pur- pose. Yet as the eighteenth graduating class of the New London High School marched off the commencement plat- form in June, 1950, none in the crowded auditorium ques- tioned the worth of public education or failed to appreciate what the schools of the Town were doing for its youth.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
2. Improvements in Highways, Bridges, and Sidewalks
The 19th century development of the American rail- road system had left New London untouched by direct con- tacts with the "Iron Horse," and the great extension of in- terurban electric railways after 1900 likewise failed to make any close approach to the Town.15 This meant of necessity that highways and roads have always had unusual importance in local history. At the beginning of the century, as pre- viously set forth, New London roads were, by later standards, unimproved. In 1900 the annual Town appropriation for highways, bridges, and sidewalks was under $1,000, and the most ambitious type of maintenance employed by the Road Agent was a horse-drawn grader. This was usually brought out after a rainy spell or in the spring when the roads were beginning to harden again.16 The surface was gravel, sand, or just plain dirt. Almost impassable in "mud-time."17 the roads were often rough and dusty in the warm weather months, and covered deeply with hard-packed snow in the winter. The snow-rolling technique was continued in New London until the winter of 1926-1927, and the old "roller house" was not finally disposed of until 1934.
Quantitatively Town roads increased slowly during the fifty years between 1900 and 1950. Despite a few instances of abandonment - e.g., the Putney Road, the Morgan Hill Road, and the road from " ... Morgan's Corner to Grace L. Hall's Farm" - by mid- century there were twenty-eight miles of Town highway in New London, of which ten were hard- surfaced. Among the new roads in the community added dur- ing these five decades were: Pearl Street, built in 1907; the Bog Road, extended and improved in 1912 and in 1919; the Tracy Farm Road, built in 1923; Barrett Road, laid out in 1929 and lengthened in 1940; the Camp Sunapee Road, built in 1927; Everett Park, added in 1933; Burpee Lane, first laid out in 1936, and extended to meet Barrett Road ten years later; Spaulding Road, laid out in 1938 and augmented in
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
1941; and several short lateral roads leading to newly-built dwellings.
Meanwhile, the quality of the roads was steadily im- proved by widening, by the application of power machinery for maintenance, and, chiefly, by hard-surfacing. The first tarring operations were undertaken in 1924 on Main Street, but were not entirely successful.18 Undeterred, however, the Town voted almost every year thereafter to tar additional portions of its highways. In 1928 the Country Club Road was given such treatment; three years later Pleasant Street was tarred; in 1932 the road from Crockett's Corner to Goings Corner was hard-surfaced; two years later the road over Burpee Hill was given the same treatment. By 1950, as already stated, more than a third of the total road mileage of the Town had been improved in this fashion.
In the autumn of 1926 there were two special Town meetings to consider the question of purchasing a motorized snow plow, thus initiating a new era in winter maintenance.19 At the second of these meetings it was agreed to order a snow plow for trial during the ensuing cold months; the experi- ment proved satisfactory and at the Town Meeting in March, 1927, $3,000 was appropriated to purchase the plow and tractor. From then on the Town Highway Department was alert to all the latest methods of road maintenance and im- provement. In 1937 the voters sanctioned a new plow and a "wing" attachment for the same. In 1942 $4,400 was raised for the purchase of a modern road grader. Four years later, so numerous were the pieces of equipment possessed by the local Highway Department, the voters authorized the erection of a Highway Equipment Garage on South Pleasant Street. In 1950 the purchase of a $10,000 power loader with auxiliary attachments was approved. A study of the record shows clearly that New London voters have at all times since 1900 wanted good roads, and have been willing to pay for them. In the early years of the century competition for the post of "Road Agent" was keen and many individuals served in that capacity. As the task has become more complex, proved skill has come
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
to be more important than frequent rotation in office. For the last twenty years Henry M. Stanley has served as New London Road Agent for most of the time, having been con- tinuously in that post since 1938. He has a fine record of work well done and economically administered.
In the matter of bridges and sidewalks, however, the Town lagged somewhat behind its accomplishment on the highways proper. In 1906 the voters approved the construc- tion of a concrete bridge in Elkins at the outlet to Pleasant Lake; just thirty years later after the high waters of 1936, the bridge was necessarily rebuilt.2º In 1913, $200 was raised for the improvement of sidewalks on Main Street, while three years later a slightly larger amount was expended on similar work in Elkins. In 1925 $1,600 was authorized for the further improvement of Main Street sidewalks. Twenty years later the voters instructed the Road Agent to keep the principal sidewalks of the Town clear of snow in the winter-time, and in 1950 made an appropriation of $500 for additional im- provements of the sidewalks on Main Street. New London was one of the few towns in the State which used its sidewalk and highway snow removal equipment to plow out residential driveways, and greatly was this service appreciated after a heavy snowfall.
Of course, the whole problem of highway building in any contemporary American community is but an aspect of the tremendous social changes induced by the coming of the automobile. Some of the other implications of this develop- ment will be treated below in Chapter Five. Local highways in modern America are inextricably interlocked with public aid programs of larger political units like the State and the Federal government. The New Hampshire Highway Depart- ment was established in 1903, and for most of the period covered by this history a New London man, Frederic E. Everett, was its head. Regular annual State aid for town roads became a reality in New Hampshire in 1903, and has con- tinued since that time. So far as New London is concerned, however, State highway assistance began as a result of a
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
special legislative enactment of 1903. That law authorized the use of State funds in the construction of local roads to open up several lakes in New Hampshire potentially useful for sum- mer recreation. Among these was Little Lake Sunapee. In 1904, therefore, the Town's first "State Road" was constructed from Cutter's Corner to the Springfield Town line. It cost about $2,000 and was built chiefly by the pick and shovel power of Italian laborers.
Thus began the "State aid" assistance for New London roads which has subsequently proved so important both for main highways and for "Class V" roads in the Town. In 1907 Fred B. Gay was named State Road Foreman for New London, serving with marked distinction in that post until his death in May, 1935. Foreman Gay built the first hard-surfaced State road in the Town near Lakeside in the year of his appoint- ment, and during his term of office supervised the construc- tion of more than thirty miles of such road, counting State and Town mileage together.21 Following Mr. Gay, Kenneth E. Rich was appointed State Road Foreman. He has held that position continuously since then, save for his years of naval service in World War II. State Highway headquarters are near the eastern edge of Little Lake Sunapee. Foreman Rich's district in 1950 included not only the entire extent of the three State Highways in New London itself; but also the King Hill Road, the Little Lake Sunapee Road, and the section of Highway 114 from New London to Bradford, a total of ap- proximately thirty-one miles. His powerful equipment and skilled personnel in action were a familiar sight at all seasons of the year. Especially noteworthy was their work in the winter months, when they started to function as soon as snow began to fall and continued steadily until both primary and secondary highways were clear once more.
Federal highway aid to State and local governments began by Congressional statute in 1916, and was much enlarged by subsequent legislation in 1921 and after.22 How quickly this became a reality in the affairs of New London is shown by mention of Federal aid for local highways in the Town
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
Report for 1918. By that year the national highway system familiar to a later generation was clearly envisioned. Trunk highways, bearing U. S. route numbers, were projected to criss- cross the country at frequent intervals. Those running East and West were to have even-numbered signs; those running North and South were to bear odd numbers. In this national grid, New London was located about midway between U. S. Highway 3 at Franklin and U. S. Highway 5 along the Con- necticut River Valley. U. S. Highway 4, however, passed through Potter Place. Parelleling Federal example, the New Hampshire State Highway Department established a number system of its own. State Highway 11 ran along New London's Main Street; State Highway 114 coming up from the South made junction with Highway 11 at Crockett's Corner; and State Highway 103A ran from the Newbury line along Lake Sunapee's eastern shore to a junction with Highway 11. Extensive improvements on Route 11 were made possible by a generous use of State and Federal funds. In 1948 the section between Homan's Greenhouse and the Harold Messer Corner was splendidly rebuilt, and a year later a similar project was carried out from Crockett's Corner to the cemetery in Elkins.
3. The New London Fire Company
In 1900 New London depended on two "bucket brigades" for protection in case of fire. One was organized in Elkins, and the other in the village on New London Hill.23 In examining the record of local fires during the opening years of the cen- tury, the reader is impressed by the tardiness of the citizens in authorizing some better safeguard against this hazard. In 1904 the Town named a committee to investigate the possi- bility of purchasing fire-fighting equipment, but nothing came of this study. In 1906, despite two destructive local fires just prior to the Town Meeting, the voters rejected an article calling for the acquisition of chemical equipment. A lively protest against this public apathy was presented by the New London Grange three weeks later in a drama satirizing the current slackness of fire-fighting methods in the Town.
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
Wrote the newspaper correspondent: "The fire scene with its inefficient fire apparatus, its noisy, undrilled crew, was a fine commentary on New London's lack of fire-fighting appliances and organization."24 In 1908, tired of waiting for Town ac- tion, the members of the Ladies Benevolent Society of Elkins, sponsored a "Tom Thumb" wedding to raise funds for better equipping the Elkins bucket brigade.25
Impressed by these evidences of popular feeling, the citizens in March, 1909, finally approved the purchase of a chemical engine, and gave instructions that it be kept ready for use at all times. It was carefully stipulated, however, that not more than $750 should be spent on the machine. This extinguisher, employing a mixture of water and "soda" in its operation, was a horse-drawn affair. Since Charles E. Shep- ard acted as fire chief, the extinguisher was stored at Shepard's stable. On more than one occasion it gave excellent service in local fires. At the scene of action, its two thirty-five gallon tanks were replenished with water from nearby wells, while a proper admixture of "soda" generated enough gas pressure to keep the stream flowing, and made an effective fire-killing solution.
Not until 1920 was there further progress in fire protec- tion for New London. In that year the Town Meeting author- ized the expenditure of $2,500 for a new fire truck. At the same time the voters instructed the Selectmen to appoint a Fire Chief for the Town and to determine his compensation.26 Among the early Chiefs thus appointed were William M. Kidder and Frank D. Andrews. Ten years after the original decision to have a Fire Chief, the Town voted to make this an elective post. During subsequent years the office was filled by Horace C. Stanley, A. S. Little, Frank Cordtmeyer, and Harold Densmore. The Selectmen still continued to name two assistants to the Chief, and the three together were listed in the annual Town Report after 1928 as the "Board of Fire Engineers." This group of public officials, while not members of the New London Fire Company, had the latter group in charge in the event of fire. The New London Fire Company,
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
reorganized in its present form in 1926, consisted of twenty-five men, all of whom were volunteers. In joining the company, they agreed to undergo the training and discipline required for membership in the group. The Fire Company elected its own captain and lieutenants, held regular meetings, and made a diligent effort to keep abreast of all improvements in fire-fighting techniques. Members were paid a nominal fee for attending meetings and for service at fires, but received no other compensation. They comprised one effective unit in the great army of 750,000 American volunteer firemen who han- dled two-thirds of the 1,700,000 fires which blazed annually in the United States.27
Following the formation of the new company, there began a period of lively Town interest in fire protection. In 1926 the voters approved the purchase of a "triple combination LaFrance fire-fighting apparatus," by far the best equipment the Town had owned to date. In that year also the Fire Com- pany scheduled the first "Firemen's Ball," a social affair which was to become one of the annual events of the summer season in New London. In 1930 the Town voted $6,000 to erect a fire station on land on North Pleasant Street given by Mrs. Calvin E. Sargent for that purpose. Until its completion the LaFrance truck was stored in the Kidder Garage. By July, 1930, the new building was ready, the equipment in place, and a siren installed.28 The second floor was fitted up as a meeting place for the Fire Company. A decade later, during World War II, a cupola for airplane spotting was erected atop the building, and used regularly for many months.
Since New London was situated in a heavily wooded ter- rain, the local Fire Company of necessity on numerous occa- sions had to combat forest fires. As did so many of its sister commonwealths in the twentieth century, the State of New Hampshire through its Forestry Department developed an elaborate system of lookouts, wardens, and other protective devices against the scourge of forest fires. Beginning in 1909 New London had a Forest Fire Warden, who held office by appointment of the State Forester. At times there were several
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A HISTORY OF NEW LONDON
deputy wardens also. It was the duty of the warden or wardens to issue burning permits for fires in the woods, and to enforce State regulations concerning fire prevention and protection. On occasion, as in the Mount Sunapee forest fire of October, 1947, the State Fire Warden had much to do. Among the New London men who held the post over the years were Ira S. Littlefield (the original appointee who served continuously from 1910-1939), Horace C. Stanley, and Merle C. Gay.
As mid-century approached, the Town continued to man- ifest a concern for adequate fire protection. At the Town Meeting in 1938 it was voted to construct water holes at stra- tegic intervals throughout New London, outside the water precinct, where hydrant service was lacking. New equipment was regularly added. In 1950 the Town owned three trucks capable of pumping 900 gallons of water a minute; approxi- mately 2,000 feet of hose; ladders and hand extinguishers; and an emergency truck for chimney fires and forest fires equipped with shovels, rakes, adzes, axes, and a portable pump able to deliver 150 gallons per minute. At a cost of approxi- mately $2,000 annually, New London maintained a fire pro- tective organization marked with efficiency and high morale. It is a proof of these qualities that in the entire decade before 1950 there were only two serious fires in the Town, and both these conflagrations were effectively kept from spreading.29
4. Police Protection and the Municipal Court
An F.B.I. survey in 1946 ranked New Hampshire as the most law-abiding State in the Union.30 Such a record is re- flected in the five decades of New London history from 1900 to 1950. There was no crime involving capital punishment in the Town during that entire period, and comparatively little in the way of lesser crime or misdemeanor. In the early 1900's law enforcement in New London was in the hands of annually- chosen constables. In 1933, however, the Town Meeting in- stituted the practice of electing a Police Chief, who thereupon appointed his own deputies. The first man thus honored with the official title of "Chief" was Carl Duffett. When
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NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1900 - 1950
Whipple Memorial Hall was built in 1918, there was included in the basement a small cell block. But its use was infrequent, and often intervals of many months elapsed when it was en- tirely untenanted.
One of the principal efforts of the New London police was furnishing protection to the large amount of summer property that was included within the Town Limits. As early as 1908 an appropriation of $100 was made to permit the offer- ing of awards for information leading to the ". .. arrest or conviction of any party that has broken into any cottage in New London."31 In 1921 $400 was voted for a winter patrol of the shores of Lake Sunapee. In 1937, after a minor epidemic of cottage breaking, a similar appropriation appeared in thé Town Warrant, and was repeated for several years thereafter.32 The problem was somewhat eased after 1937, however, by the activities of the newly-established State Police.33
Traffic control problems naturally increased with the advent of the automobile. In 1909 the Town constable first posted warnings against speeding, and a relieved local cor- respondent wrote:34
"We are pleased to see the new auto speed notices. Signs forbidding horse racing on Main Street are also needed before anyone is seriously injured or some child killed."
In 1936 the police authorities painted yellow lines on the pavement in front of the local stores to control parking, and the next year began an effort to enforce the "Stop" signs at the entrance to State highways. In the years just before World War II, Traffic Officer Ralph Gay watched the Four Corners at school time, endearing himself to a whole generation of children. After 1945 the great increase in motor vehicle traffic in New London through the summer months led to the practice of maintaining an officer at the Four Corners during July and August.35 In 1950, largely because of traffic matters and problems related thereto, the Town voted to increase the compensation of its Chief of Police to $2,000 a year, and to make the post a full-time position.
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