Engine Company Organized - 1928

May 1928 Newspaper Clipping

Southern Hero Company

The new fire engine company was organized April 9 with Edward R. Wheeler as foreman, Alexander Anttila first assistant, William T. Thompson second assistant, and Harold P. Hurlbut clerk.

The present company comprises 12 men and the fire engine company's meetings are to be held the first Tuesday of each month at 7.45 o'clock in the fire engine hall.

Originally there were three fire engine companies in New Ipswich, the "Tiger" company in the center of the town, the "Water Witch," in Bank Village and High Bridge, and the "Southern Hero" company in Smith Village, now Smithville.

When a large modern fine engine was purchased by the town last year with all necessary equipment, it was voted at the March town meeting to disorganize the two remaining companies and reorganize a new company. It is probable that the three companies mentioned were organized about 1860.

Records of the "Southern Hero" company show that it was organized Aug. 22, 1860, meeting in Richard H. Davis' shop. The subscribers were Richard H. Davis, Henry A. Hildreth, John K. Walker, Stephen Sylvester, John C. Nutting, Allen A. Wheeler, Jeremiah Smith, John F. Knowlton, George Smith Charles Goen, Jonas Nutting, Joseph Knowlton, John C. Hildreth, Roby Fletcher, Edwin F. Blanchard, James Chandler, Charles Taylor, Harrison A. Bucknam, Augustus C. Wheeler, Charles S. Nutting, William H. Hildreth, George W. Shattuck, James B. Davis, John U. Davis, Stephen T. Sylvester, Henry W. Nutting, Charles S. Gibson, Charles Wheeler, William R. Knowlton, John S. Gibson, Nathaniel Brown, Russell Farwell, Charles Bateman, George Fox and Richard Wheeler.

On Sept. 1, 1860, the subscribers met and chose. Jeremiah Smith moderator, Richard H. Davis clerk and treasurer, George Fox foreman, John C. Nutting, second foreman, John K. Walker third foreman and James Chandler steward.

Jeremiah Smith, Richard H. Davis and Stephen Sylvester were the committee to draft the constitution and bylaws.

"Southern Hero" was the name given this company.

Tiger Company - Smithville

Tiger Company - Charles Wheeler, Fred Chapin, Archer Proctor, Isham Aldrich, A.G. Howe, Clinton Maxwell, William Chander, Herbert Chandler, Levi Newell, Fred Stacy, Lweis Nutting, Daniel Putnam, Alfred Woodward, Frank Mansfield, Edwin Blanchard, Guy Blanchard, John Parmenter

James Roger Diaries May 1908

NOTE:

Sadly I do not have diary entries for May 1909. In keeping with the daily sequential flow, we will jump back a year to the 1908 entries. I doubt there will much difference in the entries. James was a man of routines, cleaning the hall and writing to Hamish.

5^th May 1908 (Tuesday)

Cool but fair. Wind N.E. to E. David at Walker’s till dinner time. Finished hauling wood. Went to Depot in afternoon in afternoon for hall chairs. Got only 7 and step ladder. D. Maynard went with him. Shaw the vet and W Thayer left horse here until they should go to C. Willard’s whose mare was sick and died also the foal. I took 196 chicks out of incubator. John Preston arrived today to set his house in order. I dug place for his sweet peas near Mr. Gordon’s. Peacock commenced his young men’s class tonight in the vestry. Only 4 or 5 present. F. Mansfield called tonight. He has not been very fortunate in his hatch. Miss Goldsmith is getting tombstone erected to memory of her father and mother.

6^th May 1908 (Wednesday)

Frost. Meadow white. David at Ashburnham. Got letter from Chapinville saying that brother Bob had got his foot amputated. P.C. from Hamish busy in brooder house and cleaning incubator.

7^th May 1908 (Thursday)

Cold raw day. East wind rain commenced in the afternoon. David teaming with Daniel in the afternoon. David teaming with Daniel in the forenoon, then lifted some stones in Davis field and cleared out cow place also shelled some corn. I chored around brooder house.

8^th May 1908 (Friday)

Rainy day. East wind. David choring around cleaning up end of brooder house. Mother, Jim and I went to club house for two hours in afternoon. Cut lawns and fixed up closets &c. Had letter from Hamish who is coming tomorrow

9^th May 1908 (Saturday)

Dull and cloudy. Wind west. Rain in forenoon. David and Jim went over mountain for wood. D. took horses to Chandler’s in afternoon to get feet fixed. Jim went at 6³⁰ to meet Hamish. John Preston went on 11^th to Boston this afternoon. Hamish came at 8³⁰ pm all well in Ayer. Mr. Sampson died at Topald.(?)

10^th May 1908 (Sunday)

Cool but fair. Mr. Peacock preached from Ex 2”What is that in my house”. Mr. Thompson dispensed Communion, and was very earnest in his prayer for Mrs. Sampson in her sorrow CE. 20 present Mr. Corbett leader.

11th May 1908 (Monday)

Cool morning warm during the day wind west. David took Hamish to Depot also a crate of roosters for Wentworth &Co. Boston. Went to plough but broke plough. Then him and I furrowed out Gordon’s garden. He and Jim went for settees from Baptist church for hall and went to club house and took cover of chimney. Got hall ready for lecture tonight.

Upcoming Program - June 7, 2025

Contra Dancing in New Hampshire

Presented by Dudley Laufman

© Lindsay Holden

Saturday, June 7 at 1:30 p.m.

New Ipswich Library (6 Main Street)

Since the late 1600s, the lively tradition of contra dancing has kept people of all ages swinging and sashaying in barns, town halls, and schools around the state. Contra dancing came to New Hampshire by way of the English colonists and remains popular in many communities, particularly here in the Monadnock Region. Dudley Laufman brings this tradition to life with stories, poems and recordings of callers, musicians, and dancers, past and present. Live music, always integral to this dance form, will be played on the fiddle and melodeon.

In a career that spans over seven decades, Dudley Laufman is recognized around the country for his artistry as a folk musician and dance caller. While working on a NH dairy farm in the late 1940s, he was introduced to contra dancing and immediately smitten. Mentored by Ralph Page, a master caller from Keene,

Dudley called his first dance in 1948. By 1965, he was known throughout New England and was invited to perform at the Newport Folk Festival. In 1999, Laufman performed at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC. Other awards soon followed, including the NH Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement (2001) and the Country Dance and Song Society of American Lifetime Achievement Award (2007). In 2009, he earned the National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor for traditional artists. A poet and song writer as well, he co-authored Traditional Barn Dances and has recorded several CDs. A resident of Canterbury, Laufman regularly performs with the Canterbury Orchestra, which under his leadership has produced five recordings. Generously supported by the Stearns-Burton Lecture Fund, this program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.