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There is something sacred about a fishing/hunting camp: off the grid, on leased land, deep in the woods. The last quarter mile of what is almost always a hike into the camp is a near-religious experience in any season. The anticipation as one nears the camp can make the heart flutter for the average camp owner. For John Harrigan, legendary newsman and editor, New Hampshire's premier outdoor columnist and Northcountry icon, the story behind his camp is woven so thoroughly into his life that it is almost impossible to separate. Like a beautiful strand of Bittersweet whose tendrils, flowers and seeds weave through the joys and sorrows of his life. But time waits for no man or woman. Inevitably, the time comes when the trek into camp challenges the years and reluctantly the man or woman must yield to the exigencies of the moment. John is sanguine about this, yet he also recognizes the momentous import of this transition within the context of both his own history and that of the camp itself. In this podcast John recalls the serendipity of securing the land, tearing down the old camp - injudiciously placed in a swampy area too close to the water and falling down after years of deferred maintenance. Then the joyous - and bittersweet - process of planning and executing the building of a new camp. It seems almost poetic that John has opted to pass the camp along to another renowned Journalist, Gary Ghioto, who wrote for The Courier, Foster's Daily Democrat, The Boston Globe, and NH Public Radio among others and at NHPR played a central role in the reporting of the Colebrook shootings that had played such a central role in John's life.

Doug McLane is a resident of Plymouth and in my view one of New Hampshire's environmental heroes. His work in the battle to halt climate change is well known and acknowledged, but he has also been deeply immersed in the fight to restore the American Chestnut. Doug is a board member of the NH/VT Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. He is fond of saying that  "before the chestnut blight - running from about 1904 - 1950 - decimated the North American chestnut tree population, that "A squirrel could travel from Maine to Georgia on chestnut tree branches without ever having to touch the ground." So I guess you could say that for a squirrel, the Chestnuts were the Appalachian Trail of its world.

In his 96 years Bud Thompson played the pivotal role in the founding of the Canterbury Shaker Village and, with his wife Nancy at his side, The Mount Kearsarge Indian Museum, honoring the art and spiritual oneness of the Native American people of this continent. Along the way offering up their help to also preserve the legacy of New Hampshire's only US President, Franklin Pierce. He never had time to write the books. There was no author's signing for "Preserving the Shaker Legacy", There was no publisher crowing about the "Ride of the Pierce Brigade"; and there was no shelf at Gibson's Books in Concord, or Main Street Bookends in Warner dedicated to celebrating Native American Heritage in the shadow of the Mountain that the Penacook call Carasarga - today known as Mount Kearsarge.

Celebrating the Society for the Protection of NH Forests - A Conversation with Jack SavageA Joint production of New Hampshire Secrets, Legends and Lore Podcast and The Radical Centrist Podcast. I've been wanting to chat with Jack Savage, President of the "Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests" and I've had a growing list of things I hoped to ask him about from their part in the successful fight to stop Northern Pass recently and reaching back to the founding of the Society.

Superman Was Here - Writing and Running for Congress.A Conversation with Elliot S! Maggin  In his Jr. year at Brandeis University Elliot Maggin wrote a term paper about how comic books and super heroes could influence the moral and intellectual development of young people. As a component of the paper he wrote a Green Arrow story where Green Arrow ran for Mayor of Star City (Sound familiar?) His teacher gave him a B+ and Maggin objected to the grade but the professor was unmoved so Maggin took his story to DC Comics who eagerly bought it and hired him to write Green Arrow and eventually Superman - and the rest, as they say, is history. In succeeding years he would move to New Hampshire, write over a hundred Superman stories, inspire Mario Puzo to see the Superman story as a greek tragedy and to write the very first Superman movie based on Elliot's counsel. Elliot loved New Hampshire and he claims that running for Congress against Judd Gregg was mostly just a way to try and stay in New Hampshire. Though he had always had an interest in running for office. Elliot S! Maggin's shares his recollections of his New Hampshire years as well as the collection of icons, both real and fantasy with whom he has shared the colorful pages of history.

Even if you have not listened to the NH Secrets episode about the proposed cell phone tower on historic Cone Mountain in Thornton, NH, you have undoubtedly heard tales of small towns embattled by armies of lawyers, consultants, engineers and others over a proposal to site a cell tower on a cherished spot. Most people respond to such a proposal with the usual frustrated sense of powerlessness, resigned to the belief that there is nothing that can be done to halt the seemingly inevitable process. But did you know that a town has the right to hire a land-use attorney and other engineers and consultants - paid for by the applicant? Did you know that the town can require that the applicant cover the cost of maps, alternative site plans and other studies to verify - or refute - claims made by the applicant? These are only some of the rights outlined in the Telecommunications Act that covers the rights and responsibilities of both the companies seeking to site a tower and the communities who will be affected.

More than 50 years of breaking the rules have made Alex Ray not only a corporate icon but a New Hampshire legend. 16 "Common Man Family" restaurants; rest areas and other welcome centers later, plus the Flying Monkey Theatre in Plymouth NH have allowed Ray to develop his own unique, homespun style that's still a favorite of NH folks and visitors alike. Above Ray describes his vision for the Common Man Inn in Plymouth during the mid-years of his career.

The wit and wisdom of John Harrigan. Remembering the glory days of Sporting Camps.

In early 2019, a proposal for a large regional landfill emerged as a new threat to our North Country environment. NCABC is now preparing to engage with government regulators once again to preserve this important ecosystem and natural habitat in the area where Dalton, Littleton, Bethlehem, and Whitefield converge. HB 177 Who is opposed to the Dalton dump? And who favors HB 177, a bi-partisan bill before the Legislature setting a 2-mile buffer around state parks from landfill encroachment? All the town conservation commissions in the area, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Ammonoosuc River Advisory Committee, the NH Sierra Club, the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and hundreds of local residents, as well as Grafton and Coos county lawmakers. Check out this compilation of letters opposing the ill-suited and unwanted Granite State Landfill proposal currently up for permitting by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services:

Nearly 1000 citizens have signed a petition opposed to a cell tower on the historically important Cone Mountain in Thornton NH where the unlit tower exceeds height restrictions imposed by "Yankee 2" National security rules to protect Jets training in evasive maneuvers but the proposal appears to be greased and no wonder, the land on which the tower is going to be built belongs to the Sununu family.

Mark Fischler: College students, instructors need vaccination priority Mark Fischler is Coordinator of the Criminalv Justice Program at Plymouth State University and has taught Criminal Justice for over 17 years.

A Man Called Crow Maverick, mentor, conservationist and a man who loved a good story these are just some of the ways that people describe Howard "Crow" Dickinson who served in the NH General Court, also known as the NH House of Representatives for 38 years, and who died in 2014 at the age of 78. First elected during the Presidency of Richard Nixon, Crow crafted landmark environmental legislation during his lifetime including New Hampshire's Current Use Law, responsible for the conservation of open land from one end of the state to the other. In the late 1980's Crow was a co-sponsor with me on the New Hampshire Rivers Management and Protection Program (RMPP) - New Hampshire's statewide version of the national Wild and Scenic Rivers act protecting critical shoreline resources for the benefit of present and future generations through a unique combination of state and local resource management and protection. The law also declared an immediate moratorium on the approval of new dams on the following rivers:  Pemigewasset, Saco, Swift, Contoocook, Merrimack and Connecticut south of the Israel River in the Town of Lancaster.

Heroes come in many forms. There are those who provide inspiration to us because they are thrust into the firmament by a single act or event; there are those associated with a movement - whether brief or sustained - who summon our better angels. Then there are those who live a life so exemplary- so filled with rich example - that the entire arc of their lives cries out for a deep appreciation of how a life, well lived, can lift us all to greater heights - inspiring us to live our own lives with greater purpose, clarity and impact. Jack Dunfey was just such a man. From his earliest years, the middle child of 12 - born to an immigrant family living in the Industrial hub of Lowell, Massachusetts. His parents, Roy and Katherine Dunfey, working every free moment in the family business in the “Acre” section of Lowell, Massachusetts; to his years as a fighter pilot and later flight instructor, having enlisted in the service following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; to his years as the spark plug that took the family from a single lunch counter to ownership of a clamshack on Hampton Beach and then - one by one, rung by rung, hotel by hotel - to ownership of flagship hotels and restaurants that would eventually propel him to CEO of Dunfey Hotels and the international chain of Omni Hotels. If only a career in service to his beloved country and ascension to leadership of one of the world’s premier hotel chains were the hallmarks of Jack Dunfey’s life that probably would have been sufficient to qualify him for hero status in the eyes of many. But the full story of Jack Dunfey was how he wove his dreams - dreams he shared with his 11 brothers and sisters - dreams of social justice, peace and equality, into this already tight tapestry with the enthusiastic participation of those siblings a became a leader of a heroic family in an age where heroes were desperately needed and where their emergence would move mountains. By the time that Jack Dunfey died at 92 he would stand at the side of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu and celebrate a new beginning for South Africa; Rejoice a new day for the people of Ireland with John Hulme and George Mitchell; convince a stubborn Fidel Castro to free more than 80 political prisoners and to remove landmines from the war torn country of Angola. He would also set an example for color and gender blind promotion and the ethical respect for employees that was the forerunner to today’s socially responsible business practices - not only because it was the right thing to do but because it was good business. In part 1 of this podcast we followed the course of Jack and the Dunfey family as they grew from a Lowell lunch counter and a Hampton Beach clam shack to International Hoteliers including their purchase of the Parker House and their discovery of its connections to the Saturday Club of Emerson, and Oliver Wendall Holmes that would inspire them to create the New England Circle - and Global Citizens Circle. In the final part of our podcast - Jack Dunfey: American Icon - Global Citizen we look at the evolution of both a family and a brand - from hard working immigrant roots to their part in the social justice struggles of their times. So we bring you part two: The Peacemaker - Jack Dunfey: Crusader for Constructive Change

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~ Jack Dunfey Jack Dunfey: American Icon - Global Citizen Part 1: From Clams to Corporate Titan Heroes come in many forms. There are those who provide inspiration to us because they are thrust into the firmament by a single act or event; there are those associated with a movement - whether brief or sustained - who summon our better angels. Then there are those who live a life so exemplary- so filled with rich example - that the entire arc of their lives cries out for a deep appreciation of how a life, well lived, can lift us all to greater heights - inspiring us to live our own lives with greater purpose, clarity and impact. Jack Dunfey was just such a man.

There are few folks who would like to see the Balsams remain a viable hotel and destination more than John Harrigan. He has grown up in the shadow of this Grande Hotel, caddied its golf course, dined with owners Neil & Louise Tillotson at their special table and generally observed more than 60 years of its history from within and without. Yet, today John is not optimistic about the future of the beloved hotel. In this episode of New Hampshire Secrets, Legends & Lore John Harrigan reflects on the history of the Balsams and its tenuous future prospects.

Can Sound Heal? A conversation with Shannon VanSickle of "Sound Healing" in Meredith. Shannon has traveled to the far reaches of South America to learn more about ancient medicines and religions. Today she practices Sound Healing at the Grace Wellness Center in Meredith, New Hampshire. For 3000 years or more Tibetan monks and Indigeneous Shamans in Peru and others have used sound as a means of healing. Grace Wellness Center, Meredith https://www.facebook.com/gracewellnessnh https://www.facebook.com/shannon.vansickle.3/ Show notes: NHSecrets.blogspot.com

John Harrigan - Traveling to New York City by truck, bus and train; and the demise of the mid-day Dailies.

Flying Monkey, Common Man July 5 Concert 2020 at the Italian Farmhouse and Barn on the Pemi Rte 3 Plymouth, NH. This interview features plans for a July 5 drive in concert at the Italian Farmhouse Barn on the Pemi in Plymouth, NH. 4pm dinner, 5pm Chicken BQ, 6pm Concert.

An interview with George Epstein, co-founder of the Echo Group of Conway, NH, a national software company serving the needs of the behavioral health and human service markets nationwide for over 30 years, receiving numerous awards and honors over the years. George has served as moderator of both its town meeting and school district meeting in the town of Madison for more than 30 years and has been on the Board of Trustees of the University System of NH and numerous other non profit organizations. Show notes: NHSecrets.blogspot.com

The Wit and Wisdom of John Harrigan. More about Mountain Lions, The trek from Colebrook to Lisbon, Teaching Latin at Lisbon High, Where the Eff(ingham)is Dalton?