Franklin Historical Society-- Franklin, New Hampshire
Franklin Historical Society
July 2026
As temperatures rise to tropical levels, we are reminded that summer in NH can be synonymous with heat waves, higher humidity, and the need to keep ourselves and the gardens we treasure well hydrated.
There is no monthly meeting in July, but in August, the program is slated to be in keeping with the celebration of this country’s 250th year. The presentation is co-sponsored by the Society and the Public Library, and will be held in the (air conditioned) upstairs meeting room of the library. The speaker will be Mary Adams from the NH Historical Society on the topic of “NH in the Revolutionary War”, a subject touched on in the speech delivered by the president of the Society at the recent Easterseals celebration of the 250th anniversary held at the Military and Veterans Campus.
In local preservation news, the fate of the original railroad Trestle over the Winnepesaukee River was discussed at a city council workshop, but no decision was made on the three options presented by the McFarland and Johnson Engineering firm.. How to fund the options with the city’s share, with the exact amount determined by the option chosen, was also left for further debate. As for the renovation for Soldiers Memorial Hall, updated plans were reviewed, but no start date for actual work was disclosed.
The recognition of the high school’s 150th anniversary and its related events, resulted in a considerable amount of additional items to add to the ever-growing archive of FHS collectibles, which segues neatly to the monthly expression of gratitude for all donations gifted to the Society:
From Kathy Fuller came a “car load” of high school related items including yearbooks from the 1940’, 50s, and 80s, fundraising booklets, photos, boards with Kathy’s five generations of Gilchrists as FHS grads and the high school’s history, hats and outerwear, including William Beaupre’s 1952 football jersey (#66), Robert Cook’s 1953 Letterman’s sweater, and Susan Cook Nutile’s 1981 cheerleader’s sweatshirt (Bob Cook was Sue’s father, and Bill Beaupre her step-dad), as well as two caps from Polyclad and two laminated Polyclad placemats with the company’s picture on the front and its history on the reverse;
From Julie Fourier in the name of Gerard W. Fournier DMD, a rolled-up map from a June 1921 “Plan of Land for Bradbury Prescott’s Heirs” related to Webster Lake properties, originally saved by Jean M. Shaw, the first owner of one of the properties designated on the plot;
From Annette Cain, a 1919 framed St. Mary’s certificate for Robert A. Lorden, a folder of 1973 news articles related to the fire department, and flyers for Moise Mercier’s campaign for a seat in the NH House;
From Diane Seamans, a stack of 8 x 10 Poblenz photos from the 1950s including Class Day parades, high school activities, and special event dances;
Class of 1952, Central west of Prospect St.
From the City Clerk’s office, the hand crafted Franklin City Seal hook rug, made by Kenneth Larrivee, which hung in the clerk’s office for many years;
From Edie Stevens, a trunk and suitcase filled with 19th century clothing from her ancestors of the Thompson and Locke families, some from the Bristol area, some from Franklin, and pewter teapots, cups and plates from the Franklin side of the family;
From Ginny and Everett Blodget, Reading MA, a b&w snapshot of a railroad crew offloading new track, captioned on the reverse with mostly first names, but stating the work was done in Franklin;
From Rita Norander, a copy of the “GPF Book” detailing the history of the 303rd Field Artillery in WWI in which Frank LaPlante served, a 1917 Infantry manual signed by Benne LaPlante, and a copy of the Global Atlas from WWII;
And lastly, from Chris Lewis, a Journal-Transcript photo of a parade (date unknown, but in the fifties if the Davy Crockett hat is any indication) and a J-T photo of men working on the bank clock, which may have been captured at the clock’s demise.
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Anyone know what parade this might have been?
And are the workers dismantling the clock, or servicing it? There is a month and day noted on the back, but no year. Possibly 1972?
The photo of the bank clock above does not answer the question of where this downtown icon went, or when it disappeared, so it remains on the list of historic questions yet to be satisfied....
Save the date: August 6, 7 pm, at the Library upstairs, for “NH in the Revolutionary War” and help the Society celebrate this momentous year marking 250 years of American democracy.