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White Mountain Memories
An NHPTV Special Production

Henry David Thoreau, when asked what he would pack if he were to trek up to the summit of Mt. Washington, listed simply a jackknife, waterproof matches, salt pork and bread, a watertight vial, string, paper, India rubber outerwear, a tent, a map and compass. Items that would suffice even today.

Although tourism is now the Granite State's second largest industry it is nevertheless, historically speaking, a recent one. Such a vital enterprise has been influenced by many factors, but perhaps none has been as instrumental as the incomparable beauty of the White Mountains.

When a father and son opened an inn catering to merchants and farmers travelling through "The Notch," little did they know that their small venture would give birth to era of the Grand Hotels, or that their name, Crawford, would forever be synonymous with this region.

In White Mountain Memories, narrator Paul Lally takes us back to the origins of tourism in New Hampshire's north country and introduces us to such colorful characters as Chief Passaconaway, Samuel Willey, Benjamin Champney - and of course Abel and Ethan Allen Crawford - all of whom were lured by the splendor of the White Mountains.

White Mountain Memories recounts the story of the ill-fated Willey family who, as legend has it, gave their name to the spine-tingling chill we call "the willies." Also included are many wonderful and often humorous anecdotes - such as NASA coming to the NH legislature to ask for the right of the way to the moon, which had previously been granted to the developer of the Mt. Washington cog railway.

The documentary features archival photographs from the New Hampshire Historical Society's extensive collection, as well as stunning examples of the White Mountain School of Art - courtesy of The Old Print Barn in Meredith, NH.

Preview the program (RealPlayer required.)
Available for purchase at the NHPTV web store.