1939 World's Fair: Norway

Here is another book Madeline picked up at the World's Fair.  This is the front cover:

And here is the back cover:

Royalty!

No cell phones or email back then!

You wouldn't see an ad like this today!

So we can thank Norway for cod liver oil.

Hope you enjoyed this little taste of  Norway in 1939.

Next up:  The Dominican Republic

Some Photos of a Young Madeline

I like to skip around the years in Madeline's life.  Today is about Madeline as a very young child.

This is the house where Madeline mostly grew up in on Washington Street in Keene, NH.  It looks very idylic in the pic with the snow on the roof and the ground.  The inside of the house was just spectacular!  I was only at the house one day in my life, but I was overwhelmed by all I took in.  Pocket doors, old wood everywhere, the biggest soapstone sink I've ever seen in the kitchen with an overhead sprayer, a dumb waiter, beautiful old wooden stairway, and more dishes in display cabinets than I had ever seen. 

Madeline and her chickens.  This picture would have been taken at her first home in Newburyport, NH.  Her father raised chickens for a time.  I might not have put a child that young in with the chickens. 

Madeline flies the flag.  She was one of the most patriotic people I've known. 

With her umbrella.  Always with a prop.  Love the old car in the back.

With cousins Don and Harry.  Don't you love her big bow that is almost bigger than her!

Madeline's Wedding

Madeline and Archer were married on December 17, 1946.  They had only been dating for a few months. The engagement was properly announced in the local newspapers:

The announcement makes it seem that Madeline had done nothing with her life up to this point other than college, when in fact she worked at Paine's Furniture store in Boston.  I love how it says that Archer was well known throughout New England for his distinctive style of decorating.  He was an interior decorator with good taste and we were fortunate to have him decorate our first home at Fort Bragg, NC in 1980. 

The wedding invitation.

Madeline as a bride.

The bride and groom.

Wedding party.

Cutting the cake. 

This is a letter that Archer wrote to Madeline before their wedding.  He was staying with his mother who was quite ill and would pass on before the wedding.  Madeline had asked him what he thought of a certain silverware pattern.  It was very typical of Archer to take control of the event.

This beautiful card is from Archer to Madeline after their engagement dinner.  I'm thankful he sent her so many beautiful cards because now we all get to enjoy them.

Blodgetts' Landing Group Photo

This photo has been sitting on my desk for a few weeks now.  I pulled it out of a stack when I was unpacking a box.  The people and the setting really appealed to me and I wanted to know more about it. 

The sides of the photo tell us it is from J. B. Warren Photography Studio, Franklin, NH & Views and Groups are a Specialty. 

This is the reverse side:

You'll notice that on the side written in pencil is "M Rowe" (Madeline's mother).  So I am assuming that this is her handwritting and explanation and those are her parents (Madeline's grandparents) in the photo. 

I was curious what the occasion of the group photo was and what was with the long aprons that the women and men wore.  Notice some are holding plates or glasses and one man is holding a big pot.  The man in the middle of the front row appears to have a plate of  food.  Because some of the women in the back row are wearing some kind of  hat cover on their heads I thought they might be the hired help of a prominent family.  

I did a little research on Blodgetts' Landing and found it was a Spiritualist Meeting Camp  and this could be their annual camp meeting.  George Blodgett was the first resident.

This is an old postcard of Blodgett's Landing.  You can read more info about the place here.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the photo.

Annie's 1800s School Autograph Book

Madeline's parents traveled quite a lot with her father's business and she was basically raised by a woman named Annie who may or may not be her real grandmother.  (It's the family mystery, and we all have our theories.)  I believe Annie was the one who started Madeline on this path of saving everything and scrapbooking, as there are a few very old scrapbooks that Annie made with old cards and store trading cards.  This is Annie's school autograph book from the 1800s.  The penmanship alone is beautiful, not to mention the verses and little drawings from her classmates.  Hope you enjoy these selections:

One Room School House

Madeline went to school in a one room school house in South Newbury, NH called South School.  This unique experience was a major factor in shaping her personality I believe.  Here are a few school photos:

This photo was taken in 1929.  Madeline is the second from the left, first row.

This pic is from 1933.  She is smack in the middle of the first seated row.

Here is one of her school books:

This is a workbook with lessons and quizzes.

Example of inside page.

I found a test paper inside.  (You knew she'd have one!)

Back side of test.

Here's an old spelling book we found at the house.  It's too old to be one of Madeline's school books I believe.  Here is some info I found about one room school houses in South Newbury:

Much of the vitality of a village came from its young population, and schools are required for their education. The original South Newbury Schoolhouse, in need of repairs, was moved from its site next to the church in the 1850s to Sleepy Street, where it was renovated and where Lorenzo Heath lived. A new school house (the present Friendship House) was built in 1853. When Newbury became part of a seven-town centralized school district, elementary school children were sent to Bradford, and the many small one-room schools were abandoned or put to other use.

By the 1900s, South Newbury abounded with children. Richard Perkins reports that in the late 1930s and early 1940s, there were up to 35 students in the one-room school house. Some of the seventh graders were sent to the Center School in Newbury to alleviate overcrowding. After eighth grade, students went by train to Warner for high school, and some to Newport. School was an opportunity for socializing as well as learning. Several residents who grew up in the area in the 1930s remember winter toboggan and double-runner bobsled rides that started up on Old Post Road. Perkins says, “Ten kids would climb aboard and take a run down Old Post Road, ending up in the parking lot of the Church on a really good ride.” This was before the new Route 103 brought traffic and barriers that put an end to the toboggan runs. “Often in winter,” says Perkins, “we would skip lunch at school to go skating on the ponds. There was a ski jump built for the Grange Winter Carnival across from the church. The hill there was much higher before the state took much of it for road fill for Route 103.”


A summer term was usually taught by a woman; students included the youngest children. During the winter a male teacher taught the older boys, who had less work on the farms during that season. Students throughout the year ranged from tots of 4-5 to girls in their late teens to young men in their 20s.


The school in South Newbury, now known as Friendship House, was built about 1853. In 1855 Martha S. Shepard was paid $18 for teaching nine weeks of summer school. George W. Skinner received $43.64 for teaching nine weeks in the winter. A broom and chalk purchased for the school cost 37 cents; a water dipper cost 15 cents.


Here is a photo of Madeline's school: