Your Letters From the October 2013 Issue
Send letters to Editor Rick Broussard, New Hampshire Magazine, 150 Dow St., Manchester, NH 03101 or e-mail him at editor@nhmagazine.com.
Slight Miscalculation
In the August issue of your magazine, your “Last Laugh” page written by Tincan Caldwell titled “That Sneaky Sales Tax” is much in error. That $.99 cent cup of coffee he was charged $1.07 for in Massachusetts was subject to their 7 percent meals tax. Massachusetts has never subjected food or drink to their sales tax. Had he bought that $.99 cent cup of coffee in New Hampshire, he would have paid a 9 percent meals tax on it, thus $1.09 instead of $1.07. A medium-sized iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts is listed at $2.39, but it will ring in at $2.61 at the check-out in New Hampshire. Get your facts straight, Tincan, before devoting an entire page to an error.
Cynthia Sweeney
Merrimack
Editor's Note: If only he had bought a Snickers bar instead.
A Few Things …
To our delight, we received the NH magazine in the mail yesterday. What a superb job you did ["The Naked Truth About Tomatoes," September 2013]. The article was informative and colorful with some humor sprinkled throughout. I think it is a testament to the three hours of time [Susan Laughlin] spent with us on a Saturday day off and the filtering/synthesis of the plethora of information we provided.
We would like to pass along a few corrections and/or omissions that you might want to post with the online version of the article before that one to two people (out of 100 other tomato experts/aficionados out there) take exception with some things.
The number of tomato plants we have planted is close to 600 plants vs. 300.
The description of Angora Super Sweet is very similar to Shaker Village but they are much different. Angora Super Sweet (aka Velvet Red), developed by Joe Bratka, is a cherry tomato.
OSU Blue was not developed by Tom Wagner. It was developed by Dr. Jim Baggett at Oregon State University, hence the name. We have grown it a few times because it was a novelty (being a blue tomato) when it was first introduced. Our personal opinion is that it is of average taste and therefore we do not sell it, either as plants or for tomato sales. There was a later version released called Indigo Rose that is a little bit better but still not up to our standards. The other tomatoes mentioned — Bing Cherry, Primary Colors and Blue Green — are all Blue type tomatoes developed by Tom Wagner.
On the tomato skin quiz, the answer should be A and C, not A, B and C. There are several different tomato flesh colors — red, pink, brown, yellow, purple, white, orange, green and bi-color (green and red or red and yellow). The skin type is either clear (for a pink tomato) or yellow (for a red tomato), for instance.
This is the list of restaurants we currently supply: Republic, Manchester; the Hanover Street Chophouse, Manchester; Granite Restaurant & Bar, Concord; The Crust & Crumb Baking Company, Concord; and Country Spirit, Henniker.
There were a couple restaurants that were mentioned that we do not supply yet — The Barley House in Concord and High Street Farmhouse in Goffstown.
Again, many thanks for the honor/recognition for being selected NH Magazine Editor’s Pick for Heirloom Tomatoes but also for all your efforts putting together the article about us. When the tomatoes are more plentiful, we’ll bring some into the home office and have y’all and staff sample taste test some of Rusty’s tomatoes.
Ken & Greta Cook
Dunbarton
Hey, don't forget me, Rusty
A Century Off
We just moved back to NH after almost 20 years away. Your magazine has helped us get reacquainted with our beloved Granite State. Keep up the great work.
I think in your "Loving the 17th Century" you meant to say Loving the 18th Century. The flintlock viewed in the article and shot by most of us modern muzzleloader fans are from the 18th century (1700s).
Rick Diehl
Merrimack
Deeper in the Woods
I am a retired school principal and lifelong resident of New Hampshire. I read an article in your magazine about New Hampshire's one-room schoolhouses [September 2013], The article stated that Stephen Taylor was a one-room schoolhouse expert. Hmmm.
In 1990 I started a campaign to locate and research all the remaining one-room schoolhouses in New Hampshire. I converted a room in my home for this purpose. I installed a large foam board map of New Hampshire and used various colored push pins to locate schools. My criteria was very clear, I would only photograph and research schoolhouses that were basically unchanged. I excluded the one-room schoolhouse in Waterville Valley because it is now being used as a library. The same for the one-room schoolhouse in Holderness, which has been modified and is now a secondhand clothing store.
I started my search by mailing a form letter to every town or city historical society in NH requesting information about their one room schoolhouses. I soon had hundreds of leads for locations. Over that decade from 1990-2000 I drove to, photographed and researched all the one-room schoolhouses in New Hampshire. I spoke to students who attended these schools and I took thousands of photos.
I spoke at the County School Association convention held at Rivier College. I have spoken to various historical societies across NH. And, thanks to John Clayton and a slow news day, I appeared on the front page of the Union Leader as John did a story about my research.
So, Stephen Taylor may be the expert but I seriously doubt he has been where I have, taken the photos I have and interviewed the folks I have, some now gone. I have stories about the runaway horse team and wagon bringing children home, and my favorite is the first grader girl who got lost while walking home from school in the winter. Her brothers found her around midnight! That would have been an Amber Alert and helicopter search today. I have them all cataloged and my plan is to turn them all over to the State Historical Society when I pass away. I have a book in the works as well as a photo calendar.
I am glad your magazine is shedding some light on NH one-room schoolhouses. The ones you mentioned in the article are nice but the real treasures are a bit "deeper in the woods."
Jeff Murray
Better "Best"
I wanted to bring to your attention that your magazine has The Black Bear Café in Ossipee listed as the best regional coffee house in the Lakes Region. That café closed some time ago. I say the best Lakes Region coffee house is Lydia's Cafe in Wolfeboro, located at 33 N. Main St. They have a great selection of coffees, coffee drinks and teas. They serve breakfast and lunch and are open every day all year long. I often wonder why New Hampshire Magazine never mentions this delightful café. They mention other restaurants in Wolfeboro that are not half as good as Lydia's. So please check it out. I am a summer resident, soon to become permanent one. I always enjoy reading your magazine.
Susan Emory
Bryn Mawr, Penn.
Good Guidance
It is always so much fun enjoying New Hampshire Magazine. My daughter and wife get so much more out of the magazine. We enjoyed our trip to Cornish and Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site after reading the article in the NH Magazine.
Dennis Moore
Jaffrey
