HISTORY OF OLD HOME DAY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

By Dick Woodside

Chairman of past Haverhill Old Home Day Committee

....The rich heritage of the Town of Haverhill was celebrated with a day long series of events centered on the historic Haverhill Commons, located just off Route 10 in Haverhill Corner.

The Old Home Day is a unique New Hampshire tradition. Back in 1899 Governor Frank West Rollins called upon the old New Hampshire Board of Agriculture to coordinate something then known as Old Home Week.

Over the years, this traditional local celebration was changed to Old Home Day and it is used by communities to highlight the best things their town has to offer. The Town of Haverhill will be doing just that on August 14.

At one time, as many as 120 communities were celebrating Old Home Day. Because of the great migration out of the Granite State over the years, many area communities now see a dwindled population compared to what their town once was.

Governor Rollins hoped to hold celebrations in communities, which would be heralded as a reunion. He wanted former residents to come back to the state and see all that they had missed during their absence.

The idea was an instant success and other states in New England, then communities across the nation picked up the Old Home Day idea. Maine and Vermont adopted the Old Home Day program in 1901 and soon Massachusetts and Connecticut were holding their own celebrations.

Today, Old Home Day around the state is a dynamic local tradition and in many towns such as Haverhill, the special day dates back many years.

Dick Woodside

Chairman of the 2004 Haverhill Old Home Day Committee

(603) 989-5357

Rlwoodside@aol.com

Committee Members:

Lynn Wheeler

Edith Celley

Jane Darby

Marcia Welsh

John Page

Anne Ballam

Chuck Chandler

Bernie Marvin

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