Literary allusion made by Hamilton to Washington
As Rep. Adam Schiff opened the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in January 2020, he began with a quotation from Alexander Hamilton: “When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits—despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have […]
The body is that of Mary N. Chase (1863-1959), the subject of my essay that highlights her place as a distinguished resident of Andover, 1899-1948. When she died, December 30, 1959, aged 96, she lived in a comfortable retirement home for indigent women in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Boston newspapers on December 31 […]
Summer memories
Summers as a kid in Andover begin and end with memories made at Highland Lake. There are so many, but the snippets that follow rise up and gather as bubbles do where the water meets the sand. Memories of puttering around the lake in our family’s 10 foot “power” boat, designed and constructed totally by […]
Open House Sunday, June 9, 1–3 PM
A handrail has been installed 187 years after the Tucker Mountain School opened to provide education for the children of District # 9. Thanks to the expertise of Jay Aubertin of Wilmot, the new-old railing looks authentic for the period. He noted that farmers in the 19th century would have reused material found around the […]
All-time record snowstorm in 1956
The lights flicker wearily, and sleety snow raps on the kitchen window. Mom and I are eating dinner together in silence, lost in our own thoughts. I’m guessing she’s worried about my dad, driving home tonight in this yucky weather. For me, our big house feels empty and lonely with my brother, newly married now, […]
Folks escaped the city heat
Around the turn of the 20th century, many city dwellers escaped the summer heat by vacationing in the country. Some even spent the whole summer, staying with local farmers, where they became known as “summer boarders.” Andover was one of these destination towns. This article (edited and condensed) appeared in the July 28, 1893, in Merrimack Journal. It was saved by W. A. Bachelder, […]
Next in a series of a family's Andover history
Every animal living on our tiny farm on Route 11 has a job to do – the cat, the dog, cow, pig, goat, chicken, but, as an eight year old, they’re pets to me. What I want more than anything is a pony, but my Dad does not believe a pony could be “helpful.” So, […]
Next in a series of a family's Andover history
It is 1946; the deed was officially transferred. David and Ellen, my parents, were the proud owners of the property, now known as Pine View Haven on 85 Franklin Highway, with a few acres along Morrill Hill Road, where now several lovely homes comprise a neighborhood. Our address, back in the day, was simply “Route […]
Previous Beacon articles described Mary N. Chase
I frame my remarks below in the context of an opinion piece by David Brooks, the conservative writer for The New York Times. Writing in 2016, he defined moral capital as the “shared habits, norms, institutions and values that make common life possible.” Two weeks ago, when I came across Brooks’s essay, I realized that […]
A new beginning in Andover
“The house is big – four bedrooms – one for each kid or maybe the girls in one, so we might even have a guest room.” David smiles to himself, “How American.” He wonders if Ellen, sitting in the passenger seat beside him, is thinking the same. How fun it would be if Lotta and […]