This May 3 will mark the 20th anniversary of the demise of the Old Man of the Mountain. Thought to be there for 12,000 years and formed by the Ice Age, it was the symbol of our state. Daniel Webster and Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote eloquently about how the Old Man symbolized the honesty, grit, hard work and courage of NH citizens. I remember 20 years ago well. Greg Benson was five months into his only term as governor and was inviting the Free Staters (new term to me then) to move to and populate the future NH. When the Old Man fell I was wondering, after 12,000 years, why now and even today I wonder why then.
Daniel Webster, the patron saint of NH, wrote the following almost 200 years ago: “Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades. Shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers, a monster watch; even a dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Franconia Mountains, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that in New England He makes men.” If there is a God Almighty part of me thinks She (maybe He) knew that the Free Staters would come in large numbers. Honesty, grit, hard work and courage were no longer going to be the region’s mantra. People are always welcome in NH, but not to come here and change our way of life. God decided to spare the Old Man the pain of seeing the changes.
Nick Perencevich
Concord