The Town Clock Fund

Time for a town clock

1913

The Town Clock Fund. 

   The money contributed for the town clock is now sufficient to pay all bills. To secure the needed amount Mrs. Tucker has worked long and perseveringly, and to everyone who has contributed towards this useful and lasting gift to New Ipswich, she now returns her sincere thanks. The clock cost $450 and weighs 1200 pounds. The expenses necessary for its installment were $81.36 for carpenter work, $25.50 for painting, $2.50 for stones for weights, $4.50 for insurance making a total of $563.86.

   The following names should be added to the list of donors already published. Children's Benevolent fair: W. R. Thompson, Walter and Arthur Hardy, Myron Whitney, Mrs. S. F. Ames, James M. Blanchard, Delbert Hudson, Robert Walker and James M. Barrett of New Ipswich: John S. and George B.., sons of J. W. Cummings; Rev. G. Ernest Merriam and E. S. Cragin of New York; Joseph Merriam of Mt. Kisco, Mrs. Sarah Huntee and Henry Maxwell of Amherst, N. H., Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Ames and Miss Florence Ames of Chicago, James Roger of Albany, N. Y., Mr. Plummer of Roxbury, George W. Shattuck of Ayer, Mr. and Mrs. John Bourgault, Charles Sawyer and Mrs. C. E. Hall of Green- ville, Mrs. Hattie Murphy Spauiding of Newport, Vt., and Prof. E. F. Chandler of Dakota. 

   Miss Katherine Preston has the distinction of being the first contributor. Money for the sweet-toned bell which made the clock possible was secured through the efforts of airs. Mary Blanchard and Mrs. Alice Wheeler, who had the satisfaction of hearing its cheerful call to worship in less than four months from the time of the first subscription. Very generous givers to this fund were Mrs. Caroline F. Jones, Dr. J. L. Hildreth, George R. Wallace of Fitchburg, L. W. Chick and Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett of Boston. 

   Others no less kindly and benevolent gladly lent the helping hand. The bell was made in Troy. N. Y.. and weighs 815 pounds. Its cost, including transportation to Greenville, was $272.50. The lumber and labor required to put the belfry in order for its reception cost $126, making a total expenditure of $398.50. 

Town Clock

Baptist Church, Main Street

Baptist Church 1906 - No clock

Baptist Church with clock

James Roger diary entry

September 10^th 1908 (Thursday)

Dull and Smokey, sun red like copper wind west.  David and Henry spreading hay and grading Webber lot.  I went for grain in morning and chored round after.  Got letter from Alice and views of Oyster House.

---

September 14, 2024 - 13:30

New Ipswich Historical Society cordially invites the public to its Annual Meeting and Program.

FINNS:  An Oral History of Finnish-Americans
in New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region

Presented by Patricia Kangas Ktistes

New Ipswich Museum of History (72 Academy Road) - formerly Appleton Academy

   Our 30-minute business meeting will be followed by this year’s featured speaker, Patricia Kangas Ktistes, who will describe her experience of interviewing Finnish-Americans in New Ipswich and surrounding communities for the purpose of preserving their stories for future generations. 

   In addition to sharing interesting anecdotes and audio clips that she collected for her Master’s thesis in the 1990s, Patricia will provide participants with her recommendations and useful tips for collecting family histories before elders pass and their knowledge and experiences are lost to time.

   Patricia Kangas Ktistes was born in New Ipswich in 1952, and attended town schools through ninth grade. In 1967, she moved out of state with her family. In 1987, she earned a B.S. from Colby-Sawyer College and received her MALS degree at Dartmouth College in 1997. Her master’s thesis is entitled FINNS: An Oral History of Finnish-Americans in New Hampshire's Monadnock Region. Patricia has two daughters and five grandchildren; she and her husband John Ktistes reside in Rockport, MA

---