Dues are now payable, and are subject to the increases approved by the board in February.
The new rates:

Individual Membership - ($20 Annually)
Family Membership - ($40 Annually)
Business or Professional Membership - ($60 Annually)
Student membership – ($2 Annually)
Individual Life Membership - ($250 One Time Payment)
Couple Life Membership - ($450 One Time Payment)

For those who have not yet paid, checks can be brought to the meeting, or mailed to the Society at PO Box 43, Franklin, NH 03235. Most have already submitted their payments, for which the Society is very grateful. Some members have inadvertently paid twice, and have subsequently been credited with being paid through 2025. These individuals will be notified as a reminder, prior to the next dues period, that they need not pay again until 2026.

Once again, more donations have made their way to the Society even during the hiatus. “Thank you’s” are gratefully extended to those below who have been graciously added to the Society’s collection honoring friends and relatives no longer with us except in memory.

John Benham gifted the Franklin High School yearbooks from 1955 and 1957, and an advertising yardstick from Wallace and Judkins, purveyors of stoves, touting Crawford Ranges.

And Mountain Ridge Home (courtesy of Nikos Kazantzakis) gave an oversized, framed photo of the FHS class of 1898, which resulted in an interesting story... When the item was accepted, it looked very familiar. Prior to 2016, when the owner John Starie moved to Mountain Ridge to live, the Society was contacted to come to a private residence and meet Mr. Starie who had something to share. The treasured object was this photo, which pictured his grandmother in the front row. Mr. Starie was reluctant to part with this link to his past, but allowed the Society to borrow it to capture a digital image for its records. Fast forward to 2024, two years after Mr. Starie’s passing, and the photo is now permanently protected in the Society’s archives.

Franklin Historical Society

April 2024

FHS class of 1898. The young woman seated front row left, is Grace Taylor, John Starie’s grandmother. The others in the class were identified on a slip of paper inserted behind the glass.

From the slideshow to be presented April 4th, is this group from Franklin, is this Webster Lake, and why are they risking capsizing by standing up in the boat?!

In the ongoing saga of Soldiers Memorial/City Hall, the attic space, particularly the overflowing storage area in the tower, has been targeted as a hazard in case of the outbreak of fire. The Society has been active in attempting to save materials which are not required by law for the city to retain, but are historically important. Once a decision is reached on how to safely remove papers, book, old receipts, even original doors and windows, and salvaged original wainscot, it is hoped that the Society will be included in the removal process. Had it not been for the Society’s expression of interest in the reorganizing of the downstairs safe several years ago, material such as the town of Franklin’s first voters lists (starting with 1829!) may have been lost forever. Who knows what treasures await in the attic?
Stay tuned.

Education has always been a prime objective in the Society’s mission. At the end of March, the Society offered a slideshow to a high school class on the history of the NH Home for Orphans, followed by a trip to Webster Place to view the buildings from the outside (as work is in progress to repurpose the interiors for the Veterans Campus of Easterseals). The students and two teachers were then treated to a short tour of the Society’s museum, which elicited a very positive response.

The yearly talk to the fourth graders of Franklin introducing them to Daniel Webster is also in the works for late May.

The Society is always active in furthering its goal of preservation, illumination, and beautification. Which means a garden clean-up day will be scheduled very soon. Keep an eye out for emails and updates on the Society’s website and FB page.

Current Newsletter

Society News

Is it spring, winter, or springinter? A foot of snow, inches of rain, freezing temperatures at night. No wonder the New England rule is “never plant before Memorial Day”. Regardless of the forecast, the first meeting of the new season (whatever name one deems to use) is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th at the Society’s Webster Place museum at 7 pm. The subject for those brave enough to venture out in uncertain weather conditions will be “Mystery Photos”, a slideshow of images collected over time and unfortunately never identified. The story that accompanies these pictures is often a sad one, but there is always a chance that some lost information could surface adding dimension and meaning to images once cherished and now whose only value is in the medium on which they were preserved. The event, as is always the case, is open to all and free of charge. Light refreshments will be provided between the entertainment and the first business meeting of 2024, which can be entertaining in its own way.

Franklin Historical Society-- Franklin, New Hampshire