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Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Blog – December 2009 Archive (6)

Annie Londonderry and her “Extraordinary Ride”

Last year Peter Zheutlin, the author of the nonfiction book “Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry’s Extraordinary Ride,” came to the Leach Library, here in Londonderry, New Hampshire,

to give an interesting lecture about his ancestor. Annie Kopchovsky, was “Annie Londonderry,” the first woman to go around the world on a bicycle. She was actually paid $100 by Londonderry Lithia Water, a very popular drink of the era, to carry their logo on… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 18, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

Astronaut Alan Shepard, of Derry, New Hampshire

The first American in space was born in Derry, New Hampshire in 1923. Alan Bartlett Shepard grew up on the family farm, which is now just a house on East Derry Road. He ran errands at Grenier Field (now Manchester Airport) when he was still just a Pinkerton high school student. The Shepard family attended the First Parish church in East Derry, and his father was the organist. He graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis and served during the… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 15, 2009 at 5:30pm — 2 Comments

Samuel Eliot Morison’s Nutfield Connection

My daughter lives in Back Bay, Boston. It’s a lovely neighborhood for walking, and my favorite section has always been the Commonwealth Mall. It’s a green oasis in the city, a long avenue divided by a green park dotted with statuary of famous Bostonians. I had never examined these statues up close until recently, when I noticed that all the statues seemed to be literary figures. One of my favorite statues is that of Samuel Eliot Morison.

Morison… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 12, 2009 at 5:15pm — No Comments

Flying Santa- the Historian Edward Rowe Snow

Last year I saw a TV newscast about the work of Edward Rowe Snow and the Flying Santa program in New England. It was a service provided by Wiggins Airways, and every time I pass by the Manchester Airport and see the Wiggins sign, I think of the Flying Santas – even in the heat of summer!

Since colonial times the New England lighthouses were manned by families, and in 1929 William Wincapaw started a tradition of dropping presents… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 9, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

Robert Frost, Derry resident

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California, taught school in Massachusetts, and died in Vermont, yet he will forever be loved as a New Hampshire Poet. He lived in New Hampshire between 1895 and 1938. His first book was title “North of Boston” and his fifth book was titled “New Hampshire”.

As another nod to his Derry residence, Frost’s eighth book was titled “West Running Brook” after the stream near his farmstead. This fame has caused a… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 4, 2009 at 9:06am — No Comments

Healys and Crosbys from Massachusetts to Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

From Cape Code to Nova Scotia to Beverly, Massachusetts

My ancestor Joseph Edwin Healey arrived in Massachusetts from Nova Scotia sometime between his marriage in 1848 and the birth of his first child in Beverly, in 1852. I’m not sure if he arrived on a boat, but being a mariner, he probably sailed to his new home with his new bride. He is listed as a sailor or mariner on his children’s birth records in Beverly, and as a fisherman on the… Continue

Added by Heather Wilkinson Rojo on December 1, 2009 at 3:00pm — 5 Comments