History Repeats Itself

It's been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Well, I just discovered an interesting piece of New Hampshire history that might have saved me untold amounts of grief had I learned it a dozen years earlier.

Wouldn't you know that the state of New Hampshire's first official bamboozler was named Waldron. I learned about it from a very interesting book published in 1917 written by Clifton Johnson (1865-1940) titled New England: A Human Interest Geographical Reader. I first saw it on the Internet Archive where you can read the whole text.

Johnson's lively account of the early history of the Dover area is interesting in particular due to his sympathetic description of the plight of the Indians. (Click on any page to enlarge).


"For a long time the leading man of the province was Richard Waldron of Dover, and he was at length made sergeant-major of its military forces. He was largely engaged in trading with the Indians, and though Puritan in his religion, cheated them at every opportunity. It is said that he did not cross out their accounts when they paid him, and that in buying beaver skins he would use his fist as a balancing weight against the skins put on the opposite side of the scales and claim it weighed a pound."

"Another charge against Major Waldron was that he had gone to some of the Indians when they were at peace with the English and taken away their guns, for lack of which several of them starved to death. It was also asserted that he gave drink to certain Indians, and when they were drunk killed them."


On Waldron's orders two hundred Indians were carried off to Boston where several were executed. The others were sold into slavery. Some twelve years later Indian warriors attacked Waldron while asleep at home. Though eighty years of age he put up a fight. One of the warriors stunned him with the blow of a tomahawk. Then they seized him, put his arm-chair on the dining-room table and bound him in it. They smote Waldron with their knives saying with each stroke, "I cross out my account !"

Samuel C. Stevens version of the incident related in his Sketch of Dover, N.H. (1833) is even more graphic. You can read the text on the site of the Dover Public Library.

I'd love to visit the Clifton Johnson archives out in Amherst, Massachusetts. Johnson was a self-styled folklorist, an illustrator, photographer, author, and editor who wrote over 125 books.
My copy of Johnson's New England contained some aged four-leaf lucky clovers pressed between the pages.

The Old Man in Nature

Here's a fabulous painting of The Old Man of the Mountain by Garnet W. Jex from the cover of "The New England Number" of Nature Magazine dated May 1929. The back cover features an advertisement for Darwin tulips, "Heralds of Spring!"

Articles include: "Chocorua, The Abandoned Farm, New England Through the Ages, New England's Bird Guests, Over Lofty Trails, New England's Wild Flowers, New England's Land Mammals, Acadia National Park, Puritan Posies, Nature In New England, The Silvery Harvest, The Forests of New England, Meeting Place of the Insects, and New England Views the Skies.

I thought the advertisement above, totally unrelated to New England, was rather odd. (In the interest of health, a law was passed in Texas prohibiting the sale of live armadillos.)

White Mountain Scenery

I love the ornate cover to this book called White Mountain Scenery. The back bears decoration as well.

Between the covers is an accordion fold-out of sixteen well-known views of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Here's one of the Mount Washington Railway.

The passenger car is being pushed up the mountain by the engine behind.

The more intrepid members of the party could ride behind the engine on an open platform.

As you near the top, Lizzie Bourne's marker comes into view.

The marker reads: Miss Lizzie Bourne Daughter of Judge Bourne of Kennebunk Me. Perished Here Sept. 14th 1855 Aged 23 Years.

The Collections of Eugenia Skinner Shorrock

Alton Bay, New Hampshire Reptile Zoo - Part 3.

The auction catalog, The Collections of Eugenia Skinner Shorrock - Session III from Michael Bennett Auctions that I found on eBay arrived the other day. I was happy to note that it contained photos in addition to some biographical information on both Eugenia and her father, Ernest Martin Skinner (1866-1960) who founded Skinner Organ Company in 1901.

Eugenia showed a keen interest in reptiles at an early age. She graduated from LaSalle College in 1917 and married Ernest Shorrock that same year. She became the corresponding secretary for the Boston Aquarium Society, a post she held for over 11 years. In the early 1930's she began to seriously collect snakes, reptiles and curios. She was in great demand as a lecturer at schools, social clubs and other societies.

Eugenia purchased a farm in Alton, New Hampshire in 1940 to house her ever-increasing collection of snakes and exotic animals and opened 'The Reptile Zoo' to the public. She also opened 'Worldwide Gifts' in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Eugenia closed the shop in Portsmouth in 1960 and 'The Reptile Zoo' in 1967 but continued to operate her gift shop in Alton Bay until 1990. Eugenia Skinner Shorrock died on the 7th of December 1993.

My favorite item in the catalog has to be this miniature circus:

The detailed description reads as follows:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of All Ages - It is our pleasure to offer at PUBLIC AUCTION a fascinating example of American Folk Art - THE EXCITING HOBBYLAND MINIATURE CIRCUS

On a scale of 1" to 1', the famous Edwards family began construction of this circus in the late 1920's. Their work continued for 20 years. Some of the miniature animals came from England, France, Germany and Italy years before the outbreak of the Second World War.

In 1947, Mr. Edwards sold the circus to Mr. A. Randall Crapo of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. . . Mrs. Eugenia Skinner Shorrock purchased the circus in 1952 and displayed it for only one year in Alton Bay, New Hampshire. It has been hidden from the public eye for 40 years and was only recently brought to light.

The circus covers 288 square feet of table space and will be offered in its entirety. . .

Unfortunately, the famous pair of shrunken heads obtained by Ripley's Believe it or Not! are described in a separate Session IV catalog of African, North American, Oceanic and South American Ethnographica. Here's the advertisement printed in the Session III catalog:

There is a fascinating full text pdf article by Steven Lee Rubenstein titled "Circulation, Accumulation, and the Power of Shuar Shrunken Heads," originally published in Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 22, Issue 3, pp. 357-399. According to Wikipedia it has been illegal to import shrunken heads into the United States since the 1940's.

Read more about Eugenia Shorrock in two previous posts: Eugenia Shorrock's Snakes and Shrunken Heads, and Alton Bay, New Hampshire Reptile Zoo. If you liked the miniature Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus, here's another one to check out posted by Jim at Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

And to all of you visiting from Marie's blog, have a great Postcard Friendship Friday!

Eugenia's Snakes and Shrunken Heads

Alton Bay, New Hampshire Reptile Zoo - Part 2.

Eugenia Skinner Shorrock (21 July 1896 - 7 December 1993) was the proprietor of The Reptile Zoo formerly of Alton Bay, New Hampshire. A collector of curios par excellence, Eugenia was quite some gal, I'm willing to bet! She kept her purse in a python cage where it was safe from robbers. Her father was Ernest M. Skinner (1866-1960) of Dorchester, Massachusetts, who was known as the most prominent builder of organs of the early 20th century.

According to a March 8, 1992 Gainesville Sun article titled "Ripleys Pays $22,000 for pair - Believe it or not," Eugenia's daughter made a killing on the sale of two shrunken heads. An accompanying photograph features grandson Rob Farrell's hand pointing to one of the heads:

Two shrunken heads, dark-skinned and complete with hair and headdresses, stared impassively as curious bidders examined them at an unusual auction of Indian artifacts Saturday.

The grapefruit-sized, 19th century South American Indian heads sold for a total of $22,000 to Ripley's Believe it or Not. It plans to display them in one of its museums, which feature oddities.

"The heads, I think, set a world record," auctioneer Michael Bennett said, adding that he expected the pair would only sell for about $14,000.

The heads were part of a collection of artifacts amassed by Eugenia Shorrock, 95, of Dover. Other items included tribal masks, wooden Indian statues and an antique buffalo skin robe. The robe, expected to sell for about $15,000 only brought $7,000. But some of the statues went for more that $10,000.

Shorrock, who lives in a nursing home, acquired her unusual collection from various sources over the years, but never traveled to South America herself, said her daughter, Ruth Farrell. "She became acquainted with people who had them and made it known she'd take anything," Farrell said.

The heads came from the Jivaro tribe, which collected enemies' heads after battle, removed the skulls, boiled the skins, then carefully shaped them by hand to retain the victims' features, Bennet said. He didn't know from which South American country they came.

(The Jivaro are a tribe of people from the Andes mountains. Read more in this article from EveryCulture.com .) The Toledo Blade picked up the same AP article with an additional quotation from Eugenia's daughter Ruth, who decided to sell the collection because she no longer had any interest in it: "Bureau drawers don't do a thing for shrunken heads. . . I like to see things used or displayed."

Eugenia Shorrock is mentioned as owner of two boa constrictors listed in the longevity literature for reptiles and amphibians. One citation is in: Snider, Andrew, and Bowler, K., Longevity of Reptiles and Amphibians in North American Collections, 2nd ed. And the other is in: Kevin Bowler, Longevity of Reptiles & Amphibians. 1977. For this information I give credit to Frank and Kate's Herpetological Web Page.

I also read on Melinda's Red Tail Boa Page that a boa at the Philadelphia Zoo, originally in the possession of Eugenia S. Shorrock for its first 33 years of life, lived for a total of 40 years 3 months and 14 days, longer than any snake species ever kept in captivity, to date.

And, finally (how cool is this!) I found a publication on eBay titled Collections - Eugenia Skinner Shorrock by Michael Bennet Auctions, Portsmouth, New Hampshire published Feb 15, 1992. The description reads: 'Softcover. Stapled binding. 44 pages, 8.5" x 11". This is session III, listing 583 items, many b/w photos.' I just purchased it with "buy it now" and I will share it with you all on a future Postcard Friendship Friday!

Alton Bay, New Hampshire Reptile Zoo

Here's an interesting New England oddity preserved on a picture post card from my collection: The Alton Bay Reptile Museum. It reminds me a bit of Perry's Nut House (also re-visited here) of Belfast, Maine. Look at the cute monkeys framing the second floor windows!

The owner, Eugenia Shorrock, was mentioned in a "miscellany" article published in Time magazine on September 4, 1944: "Safe. In Alton, N.H., Mrs. Eugenia Shorrock, keeper of a reptile zoo, kept her purse in the python cage."

I found an advertisement from 1950 for the Reptile Museum (image here) which reads: "REPTILE ZOO AND GIFT SHOPS. PRESENTING Living Reptiles, Animals & Curios. A choice line of Jewelry, and Gifts for all occasions. Miniatures & Collectors Items. Toys - Souvenirs - & Greeting Cards. NEW Arrivals from the Far East. Bicycles. Row Boats for Rent. Live Bait for Sale. ALTON BAY, N. H. Tel. 156. ON LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE. EUGENIA S. SHORROCK, Prop."

Alton is the largest town in physical area of the lakes region. Since the mid-1800s, tourism has been the principal business. In 1872, the Boston and Maine Railroad launched at Alton Bay the steamer Mount Washington, the first side-wheeler and largest vessel on Lake Winnipesaukee. When destroyed by fire in 1939, a replacement ship was found, also christened Mount Washington. Today, it continues to carry summer tourists between stops on the lake.

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire. It is approximately 21 miles long (northwest-southeast) and from one to nine miles wide (northeast-southwest), covering 69 square miles with a maximum depth of 212 feet. The lake contains at least 253 islands, half of which are less than a quarter-acre in size and is indented by several peninsulas, yielding a total shoreline of some 288 miles. The driving distance around the lake is 63 miles. Winnipesaukee is the third-largest lake in New England after Lake Champlain and Moosehead Lake.

A site called OldPostcards.com has an interesting array of old stores and shop postcards, which includes the same view of the Reptile Zoo. Wishing you all a happy Postcard Friendship Friday!

Postcard From the Edge or Back From the Dead?

Found in a book from the dump. I'm offering this up as an 2-day early post for Postcard Friendship Friday!

Little Scenic Views of N.H. - Part II.

Here's the second installment (check out the first installment here) of my little New Hampshire photos measuring 1.75 x 2.75 inches. Each one is numbered on the back in pencil.

No. 11 - Flume Cascade, White Mountains, N.H.

No. 12 - Ammonoosuc Upper Falls

No. 13 - Lower Ammonoosuc Falls, White Mountains, N.H.



No.14 - Echo Lake, Franconia Notch, N.H.



No. 15 - 42. The Flume, White Mountains, N.H.

No. 16 - Eagle Cliff, Franconia, N.H.

No. 17 - Indian Head Camping Ground, White Mountains

No. 18 -Glen Ellis Falls, White Mountains, N.H.

No. 19 - Mt. Willey, Crawford Notch, N.H.

I think my favorite from this group is the shot of the old Indian Head Camping Ground. Those tents behind the automobile remind me of the ones we used to sleep out in at Camp Paradise with the Girl Scouts. They leaked in the rain, blew down in the middle of the night, and make todays ultra-light improvements seem like nothing short of a miracle!

Another interesting detail is the appearance of the numerals 42. on what was marked No. 15. I guess this is a portion of a larger set of images. Happy to be part of this Postcard Friendship Friday!

Little Scenic Views of N.H. - Part I.

I bought a set of tiny New Hampshire photographs some years ago in an antique store up in Ossipee for the picture of the Old Man. Here are the first ten in a set of nineteen. They measure 1.75 x 2.75 inches. Each one is numbered on the back in pencil.

No. 1 - Observation Tower, Indian Head, N.H.

No. 2 - The Three Bears at Indian Head, N.H.

No. 3 - The Basin, Franconia Notch, N.H.

No. 4 - Mt. Chocorua, White Mountains of N.H.

No. 5 - The Indian Head, White Mountains of N.H.

No. 6 - Old Man of the Mountains, White Mountains, N.H.

No. 7 - Hall of the Ships, Lost River, N.H.

No. 8 - The Guillotine, Lost River, N.H.

No. 9 - Crystal Cascade, Tuckerman Ravine, White Mountains of N.H.

No. 10 - The Flume Cascade, White Mountains, N.H.

So there you go, New Hampshire beautiful, even in black and white. I can see Chororua from the highway. Sadly, the Old Man is gone now, along with the Three Bears. (continue to Part II.)