New Hampshire by Robin K. (jubead)

New Hampshire’s state motto is “Live Free or Die”. General John Stark, who is New Hampshire’s famous Revolutionary War solider, coined the phrase and in 1945 the state of New Hampshire officially adopted the motto.  In 2009, the state felt the motto portrayed the state as unfriendly and attempted to change the motto to “Be Courteous, Its The New Hampshire’s Way”.  I remember one spring morning a couple of years ago crossing from Massachusetts into New Hampshire and seeing the new motto.   My first thought was “Huh?”.  This was a short-term campaign and when you visit New Hampshire you will once again be greeted with “Live Free or Die”, though we are all very courteous.  Thank  You Please.

New Hampshire borders Canadian province of Quebec to its north, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Massachusetts to its south and Vermont to its west.  Forests make up 80% of New Hampshire’s landscape with 1,300 lakes or ponds and 40,000 miles of rivers and streams.  New Hampshire has 18 miles of beaches (sandy and rocky).

New Hampshire is 168 miles long and 90 miles across its widest point.  As of 2010 the population reached 1,316,470 million and there are 146.8 persons per square mile.

Sales and Income Tax doesn’t exist in New Hampshire (except on meals, motels, tobacco, timber, gravel, dividends, interest, self-employed, small companies, property tax, etc.).  Unfortunately, New Hampshire property tax is among the highest in country.

New Hampshire’s official drink is Apple Cider, but we do not have any official food.   We got nothing!  Maine has Lobsters, Massachusetts has Baked Beans, Vermont has Maple Syrup, the Atlantic Ocean has fish and Quebec has Meat Pies.  NH has nothing.  Since we are better with mottos, then food, you will have to visit another state if you want to eat!

New Hampshire’s Fun Facts

• The “Old Man of the Mountain” was one of the most famous natural landmarks in the state. The head measured 40 feet from chin to forehead and was made up of five ledges. This profile was carved by nature thousands of years ago. The “Old Man of the Mountain” is 1,200 feet over Echo Lake. In 2003 the rocks making up the Old Man slid down the mountain. They are trying to raise money to restore this great old landmark.
• Mt Washington at 6,288 feet tall and is the highest in the Northeast.
• NH still has only a single area code for the entire state “603”.
• Peterborough, NH built the first free public library in 1833.

Who hailed from New Hampshire:

• Sara Hale was the first women’s magazine editor in the nation.
• Dan Brown author of the DaVinci Code
• Robert Frost who is a Pulitzer Prize poet.
• Horace Greely, founder of the New York Tribune.
• J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye
• Joseph Hale, author of “Mary had a Little Lamb”.
• Christa McAulifee was the first private citizen sent to space.

You may Live Free or Die but it is against the law to…

• Tap your feet, nod your head, or in any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe.
• You cannot sell the clothes you are wearing to pay off gambling debts.
• It is considered an offense to check into a hotel under an assumed name.
• If cattle cross state roads they must be fitted with a device to gather its feces.
• In White Mountain National Forest – If a person is caught raking the beaches, picking up litter, hauling away trash, building a bench for the park, or many other kind things without a permit, he/she may be fined $150 for ”maintaining the national forest without a permit”.
• Finally, on Sundays citizens may not relieve themselves while looking up.

New Hampshire is beautiful, friendly and steeped in history. In the fall the foliage is breath taking, in the winter, well, it is cold, but you can go skiing, in the spring it is the start of Friends of Library sales, and finally in the summer you can fish, hike, or float on a lake and relax.   It is where I live…

The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Robert Frost’s Poems

I touch the Future: The Story of Christa McAuliffe by Robert T Hohler

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

Tags: Book Suggestions, Members

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 10th, 2011 at 8:11 am and is filed under The Places Where We Live. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.