Newspapers / The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, … / June 2, 1938, edition 1 / Page 2
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WHITE MOUNTAINS Looking Up at the Old Man of the Mountain. "Second Greatest Show on Earth" Barnum Called New England Range Prepared by National Geographic Society. Washington. D. C.-WNU Service. INCE 1866 visitors to the White mountains have as cended Mount Washing ton, New England's highest eminence, to scan the sea of northern New Hampshire peaks. Soon another grand stand will be available when the new tramway to the top of Cannon mountain which will whisk passengers 2,025 feet above Franconia Notch begins operation. "This is the second greatest show on earth," P. T. Barnum said when he stood on the summit of Mount Washington and scanned the jumble of peaks and ridges of the White mountains, spreading from the waistline of New Hampshire to Can ada and from its Maine border to tiie Connecticut valley, which sep arates this Granite state from Ver mont. Many New Englanders, dyed-in the-wool White mountain fans who insist that nowhere has nature en dowed a region with such fascinat ing heights, on first thought ques tioned Barnum's judgment. To them, the White mountains' show is second to none. However, when they recalled the showman's love for his trained ani mals, gaudy trappings, and strange creations of nature that drew mil lions into his acres of canvas, they felt that his exclamation was the highest praise. Origin of the Name a Mystery. How and when the White moun tains got their name is as mysteri ous as many of their often-told leg ends. "White mountains" appeared in a manuscript as early as 1672; and even before that time they were called the "White hills" by mariners on the Atlantic, 60 miles away, for whom they formed an important landmark. ! To modern eyes, too, the name seems apt. whether it be derived from the white mist that often hangs over the higher peaks, from the whitish-gray effect of the sun upon rocks of the mountain tops above the timberline, or from the snow that normally covers the peaks of the Presidential range for eight or nijie months of the year. The White mountains are divided into two distinct areas. Between Plymouth on the south and the vicinity of Gorham on the north is the high mountain region where every year more than two million men and women enjoy test ing their leg muscles among New England's highest peaks, motoring on excellent highways, and utilizing ? -th? umiT? al-fcjea'ional facility, ?r just looking up from spacious hotel verandas toward the lofty em inences sweeping from quiet val leys. Beyond Gorham is a challenging wilderness with Dixville notch its crowning glory and Berlin its only large population center. Here is the paradise of the sportsman searching streams and lakes for trout, salihon, pickerel, horned pout, perch, and small-mouthed bass. The forests shelter bears, deer, and ruffed grouse. It is the high mountain area that has been the White mountains' chiei lure to vacationists for more than t century. Praised by the Great. "We know our mountains are no1 the highest in the East,"' a residen recently remarked to a visitor "Mount Mitchell in North Carolini f?wi several peaks in the Grea Smoky Mountains National pari ?lightly top Mount Washington. Bu the impressions of Hawthorne, Whit tier, General Grant, Webster, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and scores of other men outstanding in politics, literature, and the arts of their day certainly warrant the en thusiasm of those of us who see the White mountains in every mood." "But Grant came to the moun tains for relief from hay fever," said the visitor. "That is true, but he, like many others, then and now, came here without knowing the mountains, and left with an indelible impression of their lofty summits, their tree-clad slopes, their cascades, lakes, and scenic curiosities, and their legends that have inspired multitudes of artists, writers, and just plain peo ple." Darby Field, a son of Erin, was the first man to conquer the heights of Mount Washington, highest peak in the White mountains. It thrusts its summit 6,288 feet above the sea and a mile above the valleys at its base. It was just 22 years after the May flower had deposited its human cargo on the shores of Massachu setts when Field struck out from the coast on one of his many trips into the unknown wilderness that lay immediately behind colonial vil lages. Some settlers feared to wander far from their settlements, but Dar by Field was one of those bold ad venturers for whom even the hard life of the colonist was too tame. He was accompanied by two In dian guides. On a June day in 1642, Field stood on the summit of Mount Washington. As the Colonies grew and demand ed wood for building, for paper, and for other manufactures, lumbermen carelessly swung their axes over the White mountain slopes and stripped them of their trees. All but a few thousand acres of primeval forest were cut over. The forests one sees today are largely second growth, but no long er are they in jeopardy. "Great Stone Face." Mount Washington is admittedly the dominating feature of the White mountains and nearly every visitor to northern New Hampshire hopes to stand on its summit. But if your time is short and storm clouds thwart that hope, there are scores of other features that are well worth a ramble among the heights. Chief among these is the Proflle, popularly known as the "Old Man of the Mountain," or as Hawthorne's "Great Stone Face," peering from the rugged granite ledges of Proflle mountain above the highway through Franconia notch. It was a man's appetite for par trlcTgVTBr trfikfast -that led to the discovery of the Proflle in 1805. Na thaniel Hall was a member of a road-building crew. Early in the morning he shouldered his gun and left camp. With only a well-browned par tridge on his mind, he silently crept along the shore of a small lake, his eyes penetrating the undergrowth. For some reason unknown to Hall he looked up? and for a moment was stunned by "the most wonderful face" he had ever seen. News of the discovery spread rapidly over New England. The road Hall was working on was pushed through the notch. Men and women came on horseback, by stage, carriage and cart. The popularity of the Profile was one of the factors that influenced the build ing of ? railroad into the Franconia region and the erection of the fa mous Proflle house, since destroyed by fire. Fun for the Whole Family THE FEATHERHEADS IF ttw ,CHW SOME 6/UtDCN TOOLS TO A NEI&HBORj lOU CAN gxpecr h/m| To COME BACK FOR| MOWER By C. M. PAYNE kv FINNEY OF THE FORCE PHooLOtt/frt N Tiwwey ^ WHAT DVA WANT THAT FOR 1 THAT BE SC> Ol DON'T FERGlT WKUT "THIS MUCr LOOKS LOIKE WILL VEZ TiE A Knot in This SHTr/nCt PER. ME ? Ol'LL HOLD Can You Tie It? WlDOUT A SooO MEM'Ry 'TlS riARRD f PLACE A SuSPEC< ? WHERE He belonSj! POP ? Counted Out MOO GAVE. ME TEN CENTS 1 SPENT FOUR hereJs your six cents CHANGE. ? TWO COINS.' AND ONE OF THEM ISNY A NICKEL I TW3 COINS AND ONE OF THEM ISN'T A By J. MILLAR WATT tmt THt OTHER I 9 B?H Svndl<-?t? _wtt 0[ SCHOOL W JUNE By GLUYAS WILLIAMS ]D Wi HMD ON ? MMM M JUMf * odkinmivm wwr TWOW K9MM6 uort wstjiW ?r euc jk/ M Of WIMDOW MP LltftNt ? ruMMr souhp or uwm - l ?HUCtXM*V PROM w BACHfOSOOk WBNVm Mbi W/?I CM NOW fcXUW IH ??. 6 ?W flUCf w sat, JKJ Kf?mr?wP0f in UMtfntMOi CVt? ?U* vim WiW m? StwttK rttiwt TtMMns Wt ON MM, WV STi lot' urwfcMT lwift T> look (TIWWl wwj Bo?r??tB ????? hmkk now iohi ??s * ? starem i?u*c wTMLHun n?R wt?? res w IOC, BO*, WW* HMI sawut ft** HI *? MM nun m mhc cnurp on ? WOW, MMB.OMKW, ?MP ft sum w it BtiL BKfrM6 If TMAT NOMCNf SMART CLERK The prospective customer ap proached the art shop. "I want to see some of those pic tures that are done by scratching," he advised an attendant. The clerk thought a moment, and then his (ace lighted up. "O, yes," he said, "you mean itchings." Aerial Scenery "I've been cheated I" stormed the irate guest at a resort hotel. "You said there Wis a beautiful view for miles and miles from my room." "So there is, mister, so there is," soothed the hotel owner. "Just stick your head out the window and j look up!" Looking Ahead Father (to young son sucking his thumb)? Hey, kid, don't bite that thumb off. You may need it when you get old enough to travel. A Future President Mother? Tommy, how did you get that black eye? Tommy? Because I did not choose to run. - - Curse of Progress Neven mi no twb ^--VOU s 6-r R|0HT\ o OWN TWCR? AND STUOV UP RDQ MDUR hestep ex> 0? CISC.'
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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June 2, 1938, edition 1
2
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