Wendell Old Home Day

Research materials > Wendell Old Home Day

WENDELL OLD HOME DAY

a newspaper clipping from the files of Dick Chaisson in Athol suggests that Wendell’s OHD may not have been started until 1922 (it refers to the 1937 event as the 15th Wendell OHD, although it isn’t clear whether the tradition was continuous or there may have been breaks in it over those 15 years)

according to Ted Lewis, the event continued into the 1950s, and was generally run by the Grange and/or the Ladies Aid Society – it was revived in the late 1960s

according to Annie Diemand Bucci, Pat Judice was the person most responsible for starting the event again in the late 60s

video of late 1960s Old Home Day in Wendell by Lois Ellsworth, 2675 Simpson Mill Rd., Mt Airy, NC 27030 (see LarryHarmonicaEllsworth.com)

comment by loisdedois (Lois Johnson Ellsworth), who posted it:

  • “This particular Old Home Day was the first of it’s specific kind, thought up and promoted by Pat Judice, others, and myself, brainstorming new directions for the town to go into, seeing as how we had so many new “creative back to the earth” folks who had moved into town. It certainly was a wonderful day, and seemed to bridge the gap between the old and new families, bringing a sense of understanding for all! GO WENDELL, a great little town.”+ “Looking to get this into the email boxes of all those families who are represented here, the Noyes, Fisher, Ellis, Lewis, Tenny, Wetherby, Burnett, Carey, Wilder, Pratt, Johnson, Ricketts, Diemand,Stebbins, Hildreth, and more, all these familiar wonderful families who make up this quaint, unforgettable and diverse home town of ours. Please forward this to anyone you might think would like it. Thanks, Loisdedois”

Wendell Post articles on Old Home Days:

1977 invitation to participate

GENERAL HISTORY OF OLD HOME DAYS/OLD HOME WEEKS:

founded by Frank W. Rollins (1860-1915), governor of NH, in the 1890s

  • on CowHampshire history blog, June 8, 2008:  background on the Rollins family – “Frank West Rollins, son of Edward H. & Ellen Elizabeth (West) Rollins was born 24 Feb 1860 in Concord NH and d. 27 October 1915 in Boston MA. He is buried at Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord NH. He received his B.S. degree from MIT, and a degree of A.M. from Dartmouth College. He then studied law at Harvard University. He practiced law in Concord NH, and was head of the firm of E.H. Rollins & Sons, bankers of Boston MA, New York, and San Francisco. He was also a director of the Great Western Power Company. He was Adjutant General of NH from 1890-95; President of the State Senate from 1895-6, and from 1899-1901 he was Governor of New Hampshire. He was a trustee of St. Paul’s School in Concord NH, the Concord Public Library, the Orphan’s Home of Concord, and MIT. He was a former president of the New England Business Federation, and was President of the New Hampshire Good Roads League, the Church Settlement Society, and was a member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce. He belonged to many clubs including the University Union, Exchange, Authors, Dartmouth, Technology of Boston, the Wonolancet, Snow Shoe and Beaver Meadow Golf of Concord NH. He married 6 Dec 1882 to Katherine Wallace Pecker, dau of Frank H. & Anna H. (Wallace) Pecker. She b. 10 Aug 1861 in VT. He was an author of several books including “The Ring in the Cliff (1877), The Twin Hussars,” “Break-o-Da Tales” (1895), “The Lady of Violets,” (1898). Today the Governor Frank West House can be found at 135 N. State Street in Concord NH. His office was located at 19 Milk Street in Boston MA.
  • and piece by Janice Brown on “New Hampshire: The Origin of “Old Home Week” and the Rollins Family”
  • his obit in the NY Times mentions that he pleaded guilty to customs fraud after a 1910 incident after he returned from England on the Lusitania
  • New Hampshire’s Opportunity,” an essay by Rollins in The New England Magazine Volume 22 Issue 5 (July 1897) in which he sets out his vision for how NH should and could attract summer tourists as its next big economic opportunity