Salem Observer : history

Web site helps Salem history come alive

Salem Editor — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:08:00 GMT

BY DARRELL HALEN

With just a few clicks of a computer mouse and taps on a keyboard, you can access some of the rich history of Salem.

A new Web site – Salem, NH History on Demand – was officially launched on Memorial Day. It can be accessed online at www. salemnhhistory.com.

Students, residents and other visitors can use the video on demand site to discover the early history of Rockingham Park Racetrack, view burial grounds, hear the wartime experiences of local veterans, see old photos, and much more.

“We look at it as a virtual museum,” said Bob Berthel, the audio visual coordinator for the Salem School District, and one of the project’s organizers. The Web site is a cooperative effort of the school district’s media services and Salem Community Television. It allows visitors to access the archives of those two organizations and the Salem Historical Society. “It’s a labor of love,” said Berthel who works with SCTV’s executive director, Tom Giarrosso. “We just capitalized on a lot of the content sitting on the shelves.”

The pair has more than 30 years of archived video and audio tapes to tap into. Material was digitized to make the project possible.

“This is kind of a race against time in some ways,” said Berthel, while holding a reel of an original recording that is corroding. “We have to do something quickly to preserve some of this history.”

Salem was settled in 1652, and was originally part of Massachusetts. The boundary between New Hampshire and Massachusetts was re-established in 1741, and Salem was incorporated nine years later by Colonial Gov. Benning Wentworth, according to the site.

Currently, the site’s main page features nearly a dozen documentaries focusing on Salem and the Merrimack Valley. Viewers can learn about the razed Baptist Church on Main Street, discover the history of Canobie Lake Park’s ballroom, tour the East Main Street historical district, learn about the history of Salem’s fire department and more.

From the main page, visitors can access other sections of the website, including a historical postcard and photo gallery, and video and audio recordings that have captured some of the history of the community and its people.

“It’s a great resource about the town,” said Giarrosso. “We’re trying to gather as much information and put it on one location on the web so it’s easy to access.”

In the photo gallery, there are more than 50 images, some in black in white, of Bodwell Heel Factory, the Depot, Hannah Tenney Church, Salem Schoolhouse No. 5, Spicket Bridge and other places. The photos were provided by Dan Zavisza of the historical society.

Another section includes The Salem Learning Channel series, “NH Heroes: Veterans of World War II,” which was produced by Ron Penczak and Gabriel Bruno, and video interviews with other local residents.

Among the residents featured are former teacher, coach and administrator Doug Cook who reminisces about Woodbury and Salem High schools from the 1960s through the 1980s.

The Web site also includes video archives of a lecture series by the Historical Society that Zavisza produced.

The Web site was inspired by the contributions of Salem Observer publisher Richard Noyes and lifelong resident Howard Turner, who are now deceased. The two men, who were Historical Society members, teamed up in the early 1970s to produce “Project Perpetuate.”

Interviews with friends, neighbors, and public officials were recorded on audio cassette tapes to create an oral history series.

“They were using electronic media to tell history, preserve history,” said Berthel.

Their series, converted to MP3 format, can be heard on the site. Among the people recorded were Mrs. Douglas Seed, who talked with Turner about the early telephones in Salem, and Alice Hall, one of the town’s first librarians.

Salemfest promises weekend of activities

Salem Editor — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:15:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Volunteers and community organizations in Salem are gearing up for the fifth annual Salemfest, featuring crafts, food and fun for the entire family.

The festival takes place this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21, starting at 9 a.m. Most of the events wrap up in the afternoon.

The weekend event evolved from the St. David’s Craft fair, which organizer Betty Gay said was moved from around Christmas time to autumn the year before the first Salemfest, as we know it now, occurred.

“The first fair we have (in the fall) in the middle of the fair, here comes dogs down the street wearing cute bandanas,” said Gay.

Salem’s Dogfest was happening on the same day as their craft fair. Also on the same day, Salemhaven was having their fall fair.

After speaking with the organizers of Dogfest and Salemhaven, as well as other community organizations and the library, Gay said they were able to coordinate to have all of those things happen on the same day.

“So it has grown, and each year we have a couple of new groups,” Gay said.

The weekend long event is a cooperation of volunteers, businesses and organizations across town, including the Kelley and Alice Hall libraries, the Ingram Center, the Boys & Girls Club, Salem Senior Services, Salemhaven, and the town’s churches.

One of the main events is the Greater Salem Caregivers Vincent Swanson Walk-athon, which starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Boys & Girls Club at 3 Geremonty Drive. For the past several years, Salemfest has been plagued by bad weather for the event.

“We’ve been deluged with rain the last three years on Saturday,” Gay said. This year, however, weather reports indicate sun and mild temperatures for the whole weekend.

The Civil War Living Historians will be demonstrating the life of a Union soldier on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the lawn of the Old Town Hall at the corner Bridge and Main streets. The group will also provide pony rides for children from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday on the Town Common.

Kelley Library is holding a used book and media sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., one of the more popular events of the weekend, Gay said. For a dollar, you can have anything you can fit in one bag.

Most of the free children’s events are clustered around Kelley Library and the Boys & Girls Club, including face painting, a bounce house, games and contests.

A kids’ parade, for children up to age 12, walking with decorated doll carriages, bikes, trikes, wagons, costumes and teddy bears will take place at 11 a.m. at the Town Common. There will be ribbons for all who participate, and the parade will be televised on Channel 17.

Tours of some of Salem’s historical buildings will be held on both days, including the old town hall, Alice Hall Memorial Library and School House No. 5, all near the intersection of School and Main streets.

Greystone Farm, an assisted- living facility, will hold its annual Chowderfest and Apple-licious Bake Sale on the grounds at 242 Main St. Each year, the residents at Greystone choose a charity to raise money for and bake the goods themselves to sell.

SHS juniors play roles to learn about life during the Civil War

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:42:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

On most days, Carl Haroian is a Salem High School junior. But during a recent morning, he became William Turner, a young Confederate soldier.

It was part of The Southern Experience, a project where 48 juniors in Comprehensive American Studies II study life in the South around the time of the Civil War, and each take on the persona of someone who lived through that time.

“Being in battle is very scary,” said Haroian, 17, in his role of William, who enlisted in Alabama’s 38th infantry regiment on his 16th birthday and discovered that life in the army is hard and brutal. “You’re not only battling to defeat the enemy but to save your own life. Any battle could be my last.”

Throughout the classroom, small groups of students were stationed, each representing a family.

The three students sitting next to Haroian represented other members of the Turner family in the 1860s: Tom Evans as the father, Tom; Jiana Savage as the mother, Martha; and Jennifer Trickett, as daughter Lilly.

The Turners are a white middle-class Baptist family who live in Mobile, Ala., and own a department store. They own a stable and four slaves.

In addition to creating a persona, students had to read several materials, write letters, poems and other papers, watch a film, read the classic Civil War novel “Red Badge of Courage,” and produce a product or art piece. Gathered in groups, they created the persona of their family.

They started working on their assignments in late November, culminating in the showing of their work on Friday, Jan. 11.

“It starts with small projects and leads up to a big exhibit,” Savage said.

On a table in the Turners’ “home” sat candles and a plate of muffins. Next to Savage was the facsimile of a fireplace.

“My life in the regiment is very tough and brutal,” Haroian wrote in his profile of William. “We are fed small rations, we sleep in tents, and we do drills constantly in the hot southern sun all day.”

Nearby, a group of students played the role of the Stone family who live on a small farm in New Bern, N.C. Rosetta is a 42-year-old widow and mother whose husband’s life ended when he was struck by a bullet.

Jessica Wright, 16, playing the role of Rosetta, said that at the beginning of the project, her group was stressed out and didn’t want to learn about the South.

“As we went along, got more research, got to know each other more, we had more fun doing it,” said Wright who wore an old dress she got from the Salvation Army.

In her group’s makeshift dining room, fruit punch and apple sauce cookies with nutmeg were served.

Letters that Wright had written as Rossetta that were on display had been wrinkled and burned at the edges to make them look old and authentic.

Teacher John Griffin said the project gives students a better understanding of life in the South, where families were greatly affected by the war because most Civil War battles were fought there.

Not all groups portrayed slave owners. Amanda Jones and her partners represented a family of house slaves in Baltimore, Md.

“I must obey their every word and cater to their every wish,” Jones wrote in her profile of Doris, the mother, who cares for the homeowner’s children.

The only education Doris received was learning the alphabet from her father in secret. She used that to teach herself to read and write, Jones wrote.

Depot a slow go – Organizers say red tape holding up renovations

Salem Editor — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:40:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

A plan to restore Salem’s depot train station has been in the works for more than a year, but project organizers are concerned that opportunities for free labor may be passing by.

Diane Paquette, a Salem resident with a passion for old buildings who has been spearheading the project, recently told selectmen that the governmental process is moving too slowly. Some contractors who have volunteered to do some of the work may lose interest, she said.

At the Monday, Aug. 27, Board of Selectmen meeting, Community Development Director William Scott provided an update about various projects currently underway in town, including the depot.

He explained that the town will need to hire an architect to study and plan changes to the structure, including removing an addition. Licensed asbestos removers will also be required, he said.

Paquette said these services have been offered for free by various professionals in the area, but she has been unable to act without town permission.

“You can understand my frustration,” she said. “We have people who will do this but we’re not being kept in the loop and they aren’t able to offer their services as volunteers.”

Selectmen Chairman Everett McBride said the town is obligated to formally put out a request for bids before moving forward. Should a contractor want to volunteer their services, they can apply for the bid, he said.

Still, Paquette said selectmen told her that the bid process would begin in January. Now, nearly nine months later, no progress has been made.

“I’m trying to be diplomatic but I’m afraid that people will forget about (the project),” she said.

McBride said he understands Paquette’s desire to get the station spruced up but the town has been busy with other issues as well.

“The bottom line is that there have been other projects to work on and I’ll be honest, (the station) wasn’t the top priority,” he said.

Paquette requested that she and other volunteers be kept more up to date on the project’s timeline.

The move to renovate the old station began last October when Paquette appeared before selectmen with the idea. Selectmen approved releasing $15,000 from the town’s depot trust fund to study the building and identify hazards.

Paquette said she hopes to see the 100-year-old station restored to its former glory. It might be used as a museum and a stop on Salem’s proposed rail trail.

Stories of old Salem – Volunteers clean up North Salem cemetery

Salem Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:17:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

Thomas Spitalere comes to work in Salem every week armed with two hatchets, a shovel and a passion for the past.

On Monday, May 7, his suspicions about a flat stone lying partially covered by grass and dirt at a North Salem graveyard yielded an extraordinary find.

“See how flat this is?” he said as he used a shovel to pry the stone from the ground and flip it over. “Look! 1767! Check this stone out. This is incredible!”

Spitalere had discovered a 250-year-old gravestone which read “Capt. O-E,” adorned by some basic line designs and a star in the center.

“Seems like he was someone important,” he said. “In all my years of doing this, I’ve never seen a design like this.”

Spitalere, 30, is working in conjunction with the Salem Historical Society to clean up the North Salem Graveyard, unearth buried gravestones, and add names to the town register.

The clean-up project began after Elliot Duston, whose family has lived in Salem for many generations, mentioned to the Historical Society that he couldn’t find the grave of a relative that should be buried in the North Salem Graveyard. After getting the nod from selectmen, the volunteer group dispatched to spruce up the graveyard and find Duston’s relative.

The group of about half a dozen volunteers spend their Monday afternoons trying to fix damage that years of weather and neglect have done to the markers of Salem’s past.

According to the town’s register of names, there should be 31 people buried at the small graveyard, but digging has revealed multiple headstones of people not already listed, most of which are from the mid-1700s.

Spitalere, who works at a Haverhill museum and has had a lifelong passion for all things old, worked the graveyard frantically, making discoveries within minutes of starting.

Using his shovel, and his knowledge about cemetery layouts, he quickly determined where a grave could be. A quick jolt to the ground from the shovel often revealed the sound he was looking for – the scraping of metal against rock.

“We’ve got another one!” he shouted as he uncovered the base where a headstone had once stood in between two others.

Scraping up dirt with his bare hands and cutting roots away, he considered his discovery.

Only 10 feet away, a lone gravestone sat flat on the ground bearing the name “Isaac Hale.” It was a match for the recently discovered base. With the help of other volunteers, Spitalere moved the solid marble headstone to its original location, between the graves of two relatives.

“This was one heavy resurrection project,” he said with a laugh as he wiped the sweat running down his face. “You’re back home where you belong, Mr. Hale.”

This type of discovery is what Spitalere lives for. He said he’s passionate about preserving a piece of the town’s heritage.

“Each stone has to be treated with the utmost respect,” he said. “They tell the story of people’s lives and of Salem itself.”

The project has turned out to be much more involved than expected, since there have been so many discoveries, Spitalere said. It will likely continue until the end of the year unless more people volunteer.

Spitalere said he encourages anyone to help with a variety of tasks including digging, unearthing and raking the grounds. Because the degree of labor involved also varies, almost anyone can take part.

“It can be hard work but it’s also rewarding,” he said. “We could really use at least 15 to 20 more volunteers.”

For more information on how to volunteer, contact Spitalere at (978) 376-2807.

While Spitalere did most of the digging, other volunteers who were raking said they enjoyed doing something that will help residents research their families.

Alfred and Anne M. LeClair helped break apart tree limbs and gather other debris to clear the way for Spitalere’s search.

Plans to record each grave’s location with GPS devices are also in the works, said Historical Society member Beverly Glynn.

“I’m hoping someone will see what we’re doing and say ‘Hey, that’s my great-grandfather,’” she said.

Preserving the past – Town wants to put museum on state historic site list

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:21:00 GMT

BY MATT HERSH

The Salem Historic District Commission is making a push to protect the town’s former town hall, which is now the Historical Society Museum.

Beverly Glynn, chairman of the commission, has begun the process of registering the building with the state as a historic site.

“We want to save (the building) for our children,” she said. “It’s the oldest meeting house in the state still in use.”
The building, which is located on Main Street, has been standing since 1740. Over the years, it has served as a meeting house, a school, a church, and now, a museum, Glynn said.

Registering the building with the state won’t provide it with any funding or protection, but it might encourage residents to remember the town’s past.

Getting this recognition from the town could make it easier for the commission to seek funds in the future when applying for national recognition, which takes a substantial amount of time and money, Glynn said.

National registration could cost Salem thousands, but Glynn said the price tag would be worth the benefits. Historic buildings and sites in the state are “a vanishing breed,” she said.

The money would have to be approved by voters at a future Town Meeting. Currently, the town already pays for the building’s upkeep and volunteers spend many hours cleaning it.

If the building does become nationally recognized, it will be protected from development and will receive money from the government, Glynn said. There are currently about 700 federally registered historic sites in the state.

In addition to the museum, Glynn said she’d also like to see three other structures get registered – School House No. 5, Pump House No. 2 and the Alice Hall Memorial Library. These three buildings are located next to each other, she said.

Town Manager Henry LaBranche said he approved of the idea and that selectmen should move forward with Glynn’s proposal.

LaBranche and Glynn are working on a hefty amount of paperwork to send to state officials. The forms should be ready by the end of the month, Glynn said.