This week on New Hampshire Crossroads, return to The Old Homestead in Swanzey.

You got that?

Now that's your cue to walk on.

Now, I heard that last night during the rehearsal.

You walked a little bit too fast.

Detour on an adult toy store fantasy.

They start out looking at this particular product and then start working themselves up through to get the best little toy they can.

And motor tour to one of the prettiest little towns in all of New England.

Hi, I'm Eloise Daniels, and this is New Hampshire Crossroads.

Music Local presentation of New Hampshire Crossroads on Channel 11 is made possible in part by Shaw's Supermarkets.

Keep New Hampshire beautiful.

Recycle your aluminum cans at Shaw's where you are someone special.

Weeks Dairy Foods Incorporated, makers and distributors of fresh dairy products and premium ice creams for your family.

First NH Banks, serving the financial needs of individuals, corporations and local governments throughout New Hampshire.

And by a grant from a Union Leader Corporation, publisher of New Hampshire's statewide newspapers.

We're right for New Hampshire.

In our first story this week, producer Chip Neal takes us to the centennial performance of The Old Homestead, a play written by a Swanzey New Hampshire resident about Swanzey and performed every year by residents of Swanzey and nearby towns.

We caught you watching New Hampshire Crossroads again, didn't we?

You know, I don't think any of these cars that are speeding by here ever get a chance to read this tired old historical marker, the kind we find all over the state of New Hampshire.

Come on in here and we'll read this one for you.

Denman Thompson, 1833 1911.

No, that's not his phone number.

Those are the dates of his birth and his death.

A famous theatrical trooper who lived and died right here in West Swanzey.

He gained a national reputation by his portrayal of the character Joshua Whitcomb, the New Hampshire farmer on a trip to Boston.

From this he subsequently evolved The Old Homestead, a play of long runs before enthusiastic audiences.

Well, we're in for a treat tonight.

Just come right over here with me.

Tonight is the centennial performance of The Old Homestead before some more enthusiastic audiences.

That's right, the centennial performance.

For those of you with math fear, that means 100.

It's been 100 years since this play was written.

And right here at the Potash Bowl tonight we're going to see it again.

Let's go check it out.

Music Hi, are these for free?

They are?

Oh, great!

Thank you, thanks very much.

We're with New Hampshire Public Television.

Say hello to the people on New Hampshire Crossroads.

Hi!

Hi!

Music Hi, you’re Jerry (inaudible)?

That's right.

Oh you are!

Then you're the director of the play?

Yes.

Why do you choose to do a play over and over again every year?

Do, don't people get tired of it or something?

I mean, why would that happen?

Well, it's not just a play.

This is Swanzey and it's about Swanzey.

It's about the people of Swanzey.

And each year the people come back to relive the past.

Music Okay, so now listen, guys, Uh, these are two of the, stars of the program here.

Listen, now, it's right here on page six is your line.

Now listen up.

Wow, they really are paying attention, aren't they?

Rickety says, well, that new hire girl don't know enough to blow hot soup.

Put the ice in the well the other day to cool the water.

She don't know nothing.

You got that?

Now that's your cue to walk on.

Now, I heard that last night during the rehearsal, you walked a little bit too fast, so we want to slow it down tonight a little bit.

Slow it down so that the people behind you can keep up.

I know you can do it.

Break a leg.

That’s probably not, not the right thing to say to a bull.

Have a good time.

We'll see you later, okay?

Music Okay, come with me.

We'll go and see if we can find Josh, the star.

Watch out for this post.

Excuse me?

Now, you are Josh, the star of the show, right?

Ed (inaudible) I'm Josh, the lead of the show.

The lead of the show.

Okay.

Can you see him in the mirror there, folks?

Okay.

Let's talk.

Ed, how long have you been doing this?

The role of Josh?

Well, this will be my 19th year.

Okay, so you know your lines by now.

That's correct.

Are you nervous?

Always nervous on opening night.

And I'm making you more nervous, right, by interviewing you just before you go on?

No, not really.

Music Westmoreland town band.

Listen, while we're waiting for this play to start, I want to read you a couple of interesting facts about it here.

It's between the opening of the old homestead in Boston in April of 1886, and his death at 77.

That's Denman Thompson's death April 14th, 1911.

He had portrayed Uncle Josh 15,000 times, and I heard and earned $3 million.

We are in the wrong business, folks.

Let's watch the play.

Music Wait for wagon, wait for the wagon Wait for the wagon and we’ll all take a ride the heavens up above Bobolink am pining for his little lady love.

You is mighty lucky Babe of old Kentucky Close your eyes in sleep Fly away If you money enough to pay your fare, will you go home?

Yes.

And stop drinking?

Oh, say, old gentleman, that's a corker.

But I'll try it.

That's right.

Then I've got a boy away from home tonight.

Maybe he's in want.

And if he is, I hope some kind hand is stretched out to help him.

Where is my wandering boy tonight?

Applause Good old American values.

Honesty, people caring about each other and heart wrenching happy endings.

Gets me every time.

This is Chip Neal at Swanzey center at the centennial performance of The Old Homestead.

See you next time.

(applause) Thanks, Chip, you old softy.

The next performance of The Old Homestead happens next weekend with evening shows on the 17th, 18th and 19th at the Potash Bowl and Center Swanzey.

In our next story, Fritz Wetherbee takes us on a tour.

It's not a political tour, but the birthplace of a president and the wedding place of a U.S.

senator are two of the stops.

Let's motor tour with Fritz as he takes us Just Up The Road.

Hillsboro, New Hampshire has some of the most beautiful stone arch bridges in America.

Just look at the delicate detail on these stone bridges.

They were built nearly 200 years ago by the Scots-Irish settlers.

Now, this bridge is very, very special.

More special than the other bridges, because this bridge was built with counterfeit money.

The man who paid for this bridge also built this house where Mrs.

Eleanor Judd lives nowadays.

Captain Jonathan Carr, he fought in the War of 1812.

And when he came back, he built this house.

The house was built on counterfeit money, according to the story.

There were five groups who were connected with this at the time that he was selling down on the docks in Boston, which is the rest of the story.

There was a arrest.

He hoped that Franklin Pierce would defend him.

He, Franklin did not, and eventually, Jonathan Carr did serve time.

Went to jail?

Went to jail.

Well, we opened today's segment with a beautiful bridge and if you stay with us to the end of today's segment, we're going to close with another beautiful bridge.

Today's trip takes us from Hillsboro up Route 31 to Hillsboro, Upper Village, then to East Washington and Bradford, and then down Route 114 to Henniker and then west on Route 9 back to Hillsboro, 34 miles in all.

But no visit to Hillsboro would be complete without a stop at the Franklin Pierce homestead.

Thomas Allen, the head of the local historical society, was kind enough to open up the boyhood home of New Hampshire's only president especially for us.

Came here live at a very tender age in the year 1804.

That's the year this mansion was built by his father, Benjamin Pierce, and he was here until eight, he stayed here until the age of 16.

And he went away to Bowdoin College and graduate from Bowdoin College in 1824.

Just up the road from the Franklin Pierce homestead is Hillsboro Upper Village, with Bill Williams’ Fine General Store and Fuller Hall.

My father used to come to this building for dances way back in 1922, and he remembers there used to be a little old Yankee woman who dressed all in black like a Sicilian widow.

She sold hot dogs and coffee, and the thing he remembers about her is that she kept her change in an old black sock.

A little further up the road, and Route 31 goes left but we go right, following the sign to East Washington.

And just look at this.

This is Hillsboro Camp, a family vacation place.

But for 50 years this was a girls camp.

And before that it was a physical education camp for young ladies.

Back then, in the 30s, it was called the Posse Nissen Camp, named for the Baroness Rose Posse and the Swedish physical culturist Hartwig Nissen.

Hartwig's granddaughter, Harriet Nissen, still runs the camp.

Did you ever turn out any really good athletes back when - Oh yes, we had three in the Olympics in the 30s.

One in swimming, one in track and a, or two in track, one in racing and one in disc throwing.

And nowadays you have family camping.

What does that mean?

That means families come in and bring the children.

They have a cabin.

We feed them all.

And then we have a long log group camping with the kids coming in.

So it's all fun.

It's good.

This is the village of East Washington.

This is the reason for today's trip.

I wanted an excuse to stop and visit in this beautiful town.

In fact, I consider this town one of the loveliest places in the whole of New England.

We are, incidentally, in the belfry of the Baptist church.

This is the church where US Senator Gordon Humphrey was married.

The inside of this lovely church is completely restored.

(no dialogue) When you leave East Washington, follow the signs to Bradford bearing right all along the way until you get here.

This is Bradford Center.

This is where we go left.

A couple of miles up the road from Bradford, we come to this beautiful old covered bridge, and just beyond the covered bridge we turn right on 114 and head toward Henniker.

But first, a quick stop at Lake Massasecum and this absolutely gorgeous beach.

Isn't this gorgeous?

And I got to show you something else.

Look over here.

This is a casino.

This is a casino just like every casino.

Every lake in New Hampshire used to have a casino that looked exactly like this.

This one used to be owned by Max Israel.

I remember dancing to the music of Zaza Ludwig on a hot July evening.

Cheek to cheek, with the smell of Vitalis and Sen-Sen in the air.

I remember the dip.

Remember the dip?

And now on to Henniker, the only Henniker in the world.

Home of New England College.

And on the campus, this new and beautiful covered bridge, all handmade.

And there isn't a bit of structural steel in it.

It's all pegged.

Isn't it beautiful?

Well, there you have it.

Bridges, the birthplace of a president, a casino, an old grange, a wonderful old summer camp, and maybe the prettiest village in all of New England.

Nice trip, wasn’t it?

Hey, happy motoring.

One place Fritz didn't take us on that tour is the Ocean Born Mary House in Henniker.

That's a haunted house with a wonderful old legend.

Just ask any of the residents there and they'll probably tell you the tale.

Our next story takes us to Cornish, New Hampshire and the banks of the beautiful Connecticut River.

It was there at the turn of the century, that famed American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens established a summer residence.

Now the estate is a national historic site and many of Saint-Gaudens works are on exhibit.

Let's take a tour of these magnificent grounds and view the work of one of America's foremost sculptors.

He worked in a period when American art was more or less coming of age.

Music He was well known during his lifetime.

He was a very popular artist, his name spoken in the same breath as Twain and Thomas Edison in that period.

Music He was significant in the transition from the allegorical neoclassicism to the heroic realism.

So instead of portraying subjects in the togas and laurels and the ideal features, Saint-Gaudens portrayed the subjects as they were.

Music He also revived the art of portrait relief, the art of relief portraits, which more or less had died out with the Renaissance, and he's credited with being the master of that type of art since the Renaissance.

Well, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was America's foremost sculptor in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Music Augustus Saint-Gaudens, arguably one of this country's most accomplished sculptors, and while his name may not be familiar to most of us, we've all seen his work in New York, Chicago and in Boston.

It was here, at his home in the heart of the famed Cornish colony in Cornish, New Hampshire, that Saint-Gaudens created many of his most memorable pieces.

The Saint-Gaudens home is now a National Historic Site, and the only unit in the national park system dedicated solely to an American visual artist.

The pillars that adorn the main house, known as Aspet, and the Little Studio, reflect the artist's love for Rome and things classical in design.

But Saint-Gaudens’ work demonstrated an affinity for realism.

The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial that honors Colonel Robert Shaw and the all-black 54th Massachusetts Regiment that fought in the Civil War, may be the most striking example of that.

Museum technician Suzanne Wallace relates the story of what one person called Saint-Gaudens’ Symphony in Bronze.

This was done by Saint-Gaudens beginning in 1884, and he spent almost 14 years working on this.

He received the commission from a committee, and by the time the statue was ready for its unveiling, unveiling, there was only one member left alive on the original committee.

His original idea was just to do Shaw as an equestrian.

However, some people felt it wasn't proper because he was only a colonel and that was generally something reserved for a general.

Saint-Gaudens modeled over 40 black heads before he came up with the final ones that are sitting in monument.

If you notice against the back wall, they’re in very low relief And then as they go out, they become more of a sculpture in the round.

So he incorporated several different techniques.

Music While his heroic works, like the Shaw Memorial, The Puritan, and The Standing Lincoln are among the more spectacular pieces Saint-Gaudens created, it was of a more subtle form of sculpture that he proved to be the master.

Jim Barnett, chief Ranger at the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, explains.

Saint-Gaudens was known for his portrait reliefs, primarily his low reliefs called bar reliefs, and it really varies from a very high relief, very tangible, three dimensions, such as the Amor Caritas, the angel with the tablet, and Saint-Gaudens did pieces like that, but he also did very low, shallow reliefs like this, and it's much more difficult to do a lower relief.

One of the reasons being is you get lower on relief.

You work away from those very tangible three dimensions back into a flatter, two dimensional space, similar to what a painter works in.

And you're essentially creating the illusions of three dimensions with just two dimensions.

(inaudible) called them paintings in clay.

And one of the Saint-Gaudens’ lowest relief was less than an eighth of an inch off of the surface.

A prime example of Saint-Gaudens’ exquisite relief work can be seen in the $10 and $20 gold coins he created at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Considered by many to be the most beautiful United States coins ever designed, these pieces were minted from 1907 to 1933.

President Roosevelt wrote about the coins, It is the best coin that has been struck for 2000 years, and no matter what its temporary fate, it will serve as a model for future coin makers.

Music Augustus Saint-Gaudens, born in 1848 and died in 1907, one-time apprentice cameo cutter who studied his art in the schools of Paris and Rome.

A mentor for many young sculptors.

Creator of the haunting Adams Memorial, the elegant Diana and the heroic Standing Lincoln.

A man whose life and work is celebrated in the studios and gardens of his home in the lush greenery of Cornish, New Hampshire.

Music Saint-Gaudens Historical Site is open from the end of May through October and offers special programs such as Sunday concerts, which feature well-known musicians.

In our final story, producer Chip Neil takes us on a detour to the fantasy department of our own minds as we visit the local adult toy store.

Hi folks!

Do any of you have trouble going to the mall?

I know I do.

Let me explain what I'm talking about.

When I go to the mall, it's as if all the merchandise in there is just swirling all around my head, and sometimes I get so dizzy, physically dizzy, that I have to sit down in a chair and wait for it to pass.

You know, I actually read an article not too long ago about studies that were done and people actually are affected by this, and it turns out to be a medically proven fact.

Maybe it's like a disease.

I don't know if they gave it a name, but mall-aria might be an appropriate name for this particular malady.

But there's another thing that I found out.

There's one place that, that this particular malady, mall-aria or whatever it's called, does not affect me.

And that's right here at the hardware store.

I've actually found that I could spend hours and hours at the hardware store without the slightest hint of mall-aria.

And, you know, I think I figured out why.

Most of us don't want to admit this now, but I think it has to do with the fact that the hardware store, at least for me, is an adult toy store.

I think I'd have to go back to the time before I got into this business, and it seemed like every Saturday morning, my, my first trip was to the local restaurant for coffee, and then the second trip was right in to the hardware store, and I pretty well had the hardware store memorized for all - It was my extended tool bench, and I always wanted to see what was here and what was there and what was new.

A lot of people come in with a preconception of some of the things they want, but there's always that, that gleam in their eye looking for, looking for a new tool or a new product.

And a lot of times, it's over in the power tools, especially in the bright blue tools that we have and things like that, that it's a toy to them.

And they, they start out looking at this particular product and then start working themselves up through, to get the best little toy they can.

That was Dick Houghton, and he's the owner of this hardware store, adult toy store in downtown Durham.

You know, normally when I come to the hardware store, I can keep this fantasy of adult toy store under control.

But just for the purposes of this story, why don't we see what happens if I let fantasy go completely out of control.

Bluegrass Music Oh, let’s see.

Think this is all just about it!

Wow.

And that, that... Man, that’s these will be the left (inaudible), okay.

That’s good.

And this, of course.

Comes to $1394.36.

$1,300?

Yes.

Okay.

Let's see.

Do you take Visa?

Yes we do.

Oh, you do, great.

Here, here you go.

I'm sorry, sir, I can't take this one.

It just expired.

Expired?

Look, 5/87.

Oh, no.

Um, how about personal check?

Would you take a personal check?

Yup, sure.

Local bank?

Yeah, it's a local bank.

But listen, can I, can I post-date it?

I have to post-date it about two weeks.

I don't get paid for.... Oh, well, I don't know not for this much merchandise.

You sure?

Well, you might want to ask the manager.

Music It's a dream, Chip, a fantasy.

Just remember, it's not real.

Phew Well, that's our show for this week.

We hope you enjoyed it.

And we hope you join us again next week when we'll sample some of the aerial acrobatics of the Thunderbirds at Pease Air Force Base recently.

And we'll visit the last lighthouse keepers at Nubble Light in York, Maine as one more lighthouse becomes automated.

We'd like to close now with some glimpses of summer in the Granite State.

For New Hampshire Crossroads, I'm Eloise Daniels.

(river flowing) Local presentation of New Hampshire Crossroads on Channel 11 is made possible in part by Shaw's Supermarkets Keep New Hampshire beautiful.

Recycle your aluminum cans at Shaw's, where you're someone special.

Weeks Dairy Foods Incorporated, makers and distributors of fresh dairy products and premium ice creams for your family.

First NH Banks, serving the financial needs of individuals, corporations, and local governments throughout New Hampshire.

And by a grant from the Union Leader Corporation, publisher of New Hampshire's statewide newspapers.

We're right for New Hampshire.

Theme Music