Page 14 The Colebrook Chronicle Friday, December 9, 2016
Around The Region
SANTA COMES TO THE HUT
The sound of children at play and Christmas spirit was filling the air at the ANAF Unit # 318 – or as all know it,“ The Hut,”– this past Sunday afternoon as they held their annual children ' s fun afternoon and visit from Santa.
Every year around this time Kevin MacIver from The Hut makes a call to the North Pole to see when Santa can come and see the children. This year, old Santa was free Sunday afternoon and Kevin put out the word to the children. By 1 p. m., they were starting to arrive and Mrs. Claus had already arrived.( Seems she won ' t ride with Santa – something about a close call with a goose.) Mrs. Claus helped the children with crafts and over in another corner kids were fishing for toys with one of Santa ' s elves, Judy. The excitement level was rising fast though.
Santa was on his way and all of a sudden someone spotted Santa coming through the trees towards the Hut. The young boys and girls crowded to the window to watch. All of a sudden Santa was in view and coming in to greet all. Mrs Claus told him he was late – it looks like old Santa was watching the Montreal Canadians and fell asleep. But he was there now, and it was time for the children to get their gifts. Some children had long lists for the jolly old fellow, but he listened to them all.
After all had passed over his knee, it was time for Santa to head back to his toy shop. It seems when he leaves, the elves take a break, and there ' s no time for breaks right now!
– Corey Bellam
MERRY MOOSE 4-MILER
Looking for a rewarding way to warm up this holiday season? Consider coming to Gorham on Dec. 17 for the Merry Moose 4-Miler. Walkers and runners or all abilities are welcome. Race day registration will occur at Ed Fenn Elementary from 8:45 to 9:15 a. m. The start-time is 9:30 a. m. This is a pet- and strollerfriendly course. In lieu of a registration fee, new warm items of clothing( such as hats, mittens, socks, sweatshirts, and gloves) are being collected. Long sleeve shirts are available for purchase if pre-registration forms and payment are received by Dec. 9. Visit Facebook page“ Run For You” to download a registration or pick one up at The Family Resource Center in Gorham or The Berlin / Gorham Recreation Departments.
Contact runforyou1 @ gmail. com with questions.
WHITEFIELD LIVE NATIVITY
The annual Live Nativity on the Whitefield Common will take place on Dec. 11 at 6:30 p. m. All are invited to witness town children play the roles of the Bible characters. The Christmas story
Little two-month old Carter and four-month-old Lucy spent some time with Santa during his visit to the ANAF Unit 318 this past Sunday afternoon. Corey Bellam photos.
Some of the youngsters that joined Mr. and Mrs. Claus during their visit to The Hut this past weekend. Corey Bellam photo.
will be read from the Bible by the Whitefield clergy. Singing will be lead by the ecumenical choir. All who would like to sing in the choir are encouraged to meet at St. Matthews at 5:30 p. m. for rehearsal. This year the refreshments following the Live Nativity and bonfire will be available at the Whitefield Christian Church located at 3 School Street.
The Live Nativity is sponsored by the Whitefield Christian Church, Trinity United Methodist Church, Community Baptist Church and St. Matthews Catholic Church.
COG RAILWAY LOOKS TO BUILD SUMMIT HOUSE Since 1869, the Cog Railway has been chugging up and down the side of Mt. Washington. The Railway reached its height of popularity in 1873 when it built, owned and operated a 91-room hotel, known as the Summit House on the summit of Mt. Washington. This hotel burned down in 1908 and was replaced by a smaller structure several years later. By 1876 rail lines had been extended to the base of the cog railway and tourists from New York could travel to the summit of Mt. Washington in one
Sarah Heath and Lizz Warlund from Lennoxville performed at the Trinity United Church in Cookshire last Sunday. Corey Bellam photo. day and stay overnight in fairly luxurious accommodations.
After the death of railway owner Henry Teague in 1951, ownership of the railroad passed to Dartmouth College, his alma mater. Dartmouth offered to sell the railroad to the State of New Hampshire. An exhaustive study was done by a state commission appointed by Governor Dwinell in 1957. The commission recommended that the State buy the Auto Road and the Railroad, demolish the existing hotel, and replace it with a new modern facility containing 100 new overnight accommodations. The State opted to just purchase the property at the summit of the mountain in 1964, and replaced the Summit House Hotel with the Sherman Adams Visitor Center that was opened in 1980.
At the time the Sherman Adams building was constructed, it was determined that visitation at the summit would probably grow substantially over the next few years. Nonetheless, the building was constructed to handle only 400 guests on any given day, the thought being that on nice days most people would prefer to be outside. No accommodations for overnight guests were built despite the recommendations of Governor Dwinell’ s commission and a plan proposed by architects Carter and Woodruff in 1969. The food options currently offered at the summit are cafeteria style and very limited.
With the loss of the Old Man of the Mountain, Mt. Washington has become the center of tourism in the North Country. Today over 300,000 guests per year visit the summit. On some days there are more than 5000 visitors. This has put a tremendous strain on the existing facility and its infrastructure components, in particular the sewer disposal systems. The Railway has had discussions with the State about helping them to resolve some of these infrastructure issues.
There is still a demand for overnight accommodations. This demand is currently met by the ������������ ��������� ����� � Lake of the Clouds Hut( which is owned by the Federal Government) and the Mount Washington Observatory. The Observatory rents space in the Sherman Adams Building from the State of New Hampshire and offers overnight Edutrips. Both of these experiences are limited in availability and somewhat
Janis Graham on piano and Marlene Lowry singing at the Sawyerville United Church turkey dinner at the Sawyerville Community Center. Corey Bellam photo.
spartan, offering bunkrooms to sleep in and basic dining options.
The Railway has been owned and operated during the past 34 years by the Presby and Bedor families. They also owned, operated, renovated and revitalized the Mount Washington Hotel and Resort from 1991 to 2006. In response to the overcrowding, infrastructure problems, and the
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