Join us on Sun March 16th for this year’s Annual Meeting at Our Lady of Fatima Church Hall on Main Street in New London will begin with a pot-luck supper at 5 p.m.
Jean LaChance would like to hear from you about what dish you will be bringing so please give her a call at 927-4345, sooner rather than later. After dinner and a brief business meeting we will be entertained with a few songs from the North Country Chordsmen Barbershop Harmony Society.
The featured presentation “A Walk Back in Time” with Adair Mulligan, follows the singing. If you are only interested in the program, that should start at about 6:30 p.m.
A Walk Back in Time: The Secrets of Cellar Holes
This exciting talk will answer many questions about a feature central to the New England landscape. Ms. Mulligan will share some of her secrets on how to read and identify Cellar Holes.
Ms. Mulligan has worked in the conservation field for 35 years including time as a loon biologist and Education Director for New Hampshire Audubon and as conservation director for the Connecticut River Joint Commissions. In 2010 she became the Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy, the oldest local land trust in New Hampshire. A resident of Lyme Center for the past 20 years, Ms. Mulligan serves on the Lyme Conservation Commission and the Lyme Heritage Commission. She is also the author of several books including The Gunstock Parish: A History of Gilford, New Hampshire. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Biology from Smith College and has long been interested in the cultural and natural history of northern New England. Somehow, throughout this full career, Ms Mulligan has also raised three children and climbed her way into the AMC 4,000 footer club.
Wilmot NH Cellar Hole
Because many of our Greenway trails pass near old house sites, it is common for a group of hikers to pause, look and ponder when they come across an old cellar hole. What about the people who lived there? Did they really settle so far from anybody else? Does that chimney come from a kitchen stove or is it part of a sugaring operation? These remnants of the homesteads of former residents contain evidence about those who came before us; they are a valuable educational resource and as such deserve to be protected and studied.
Ms. Mulligan is currently co-leading a project to survey Lyme’s many cellar holes for just that reason. Should our towns launch similar initiatives? This is our chance to learn more about abandoned house sites and help us identify clues for imagining our past.
In the introduction of one of her books Ms Mulligan wrote “My parents bred in me a love of history and of the land, and taught me to leave my campsite in better condition than it was when I arrived.” Do not miss an opportunity to meet and hear from this remarkable woman.