The lineup of performers at the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show (Sept. 11 and 12 at Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington) has been boosted by the addition of the U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor demonstration team. The Raptor joins the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, who are returning to New Hampshire for their first appearance in ten years, along with many other military and civilian aircraft and ground displays. The F-22 is the most advanced military aircraft in the world and its demonstration will show maneuvers that no other aircraft are capable of displaying. The 14-member demonstration team, which is based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, VA, performs precise aerial maneuvers that demonstrates the unique capabilities of the fifth-generation F-22 aircraft – piloted by Major Joshua “Cabo” Gunderson. Additionally, guests will be able to get up close to dozens of military aircraft that will be on ground display. The lineup includes several KC- 46A’s from Pease ANG, F-35A Lightning II’s, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15C Eagles, A-10 Thunderbolts, P-8 Poseidon, C-130J Super Hercules and more. A complete list is available at ThunderOverNewHampshire.com. Aircraft are subject to change without notice. General admission and parking for the show are free and there is a limited amount of paid premium parking and several premium seating areas. All Saturday premium seating has already sold out and there is a very limited number of Sunday tickets at ThunderOverNewHampshire.com.
By donation of Kent Bicknell, current curator of Special Collections at Gordon-Nash Library, New Hampton School has acquired an extensive collection of personal items of the Bickford family. The archive consists of handwritten letters, postcards, daily journals, essays, photographs, New Hampton School ephemera, and a wealth of ancillary material such as records of the bed and breakfast the Bickford sisters, Ina and Grace, started in the 1930s – The Pillars. Director of the Gordon-Nash Library and School Archivist Jerrica Blackey says, “it is the largest and most substantial archive the school has received in my memory.” The collection contains over 1,000 pieces of Bickford family personal items that, when viewed, paint a vivid picture of what life was like in New Hampton in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Excerpts from early journals include references to happenings throughout the town and to New Hampton School buildings and personnel. In 1900, Emma Grace Bickford led successful efforts of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union to install a Clapp Fountain – for the use of horses, dogs and people – in the center of the Village. The fountain still stands today. This attempt to keep men out of saloons while their horses watered is captured in correspondence between Emma and the Clapp Foundry in Concord. The Bickford family was prominent in New Hampton School, Gordon-Nash Library, and the town of New Hampton affairs from the 1870s through the 1950s. Reverend Lewis P. Bickford and his daughter, Ina, were both directors of the Gordon-Nash Library for its first 50 years, both Ina and Grace taught at New Hampton School, and their parents, Rev. Lewis and Emma Fox, served on various boards and committees in town. Kent Bicknell began his relationship with New Hampton School as a child, living on campus with his siblings, and father and mother, who taught at New Hampton School and New Hampton Community School, respectively. After graduating from NHS in 1965, Kent attended Yale University where he finished as a Scholar of the House. He holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Goddard College (VT), and an Ed. D from Boston University. Kent helped found Sant Bani School in Sanbornton, New Hampshire in 1973 and served as Head of School for the next 44 years – through 2017.
Gilmanton’s Old Home Day Committee is excited to invite residents and neighbors to join them at the town’s 123rd Old Home Day celebration on Aug. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Smith Meetinghouse on Smith Meetinghouse Road. The celebration features a silent auction, vendors, kid activities, a “you participate” Art Show, Parker Hill Road Band, Lindsay the Puppeteer, an antique auto parade, tug-o-war and more. The Smith Meetinghouse School will be open for the Gilmanton Historical Society History of Quilts. The traditional bean hole bean dinner offers two dinner sittings: 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., in and around the carriage house on the meeting house grounds. The committee is still looking for volunteers to help out before, during and after the event. Check out the Old Home Day Facebook page and find out how you can be part of the team. You will find many options and ways to sign up including a virtual schedule.