A History of Brookline, New Hampshire
Edited by Sidney Hall Jr.
A Magnificent Fish Chowder: Years ago a transient—then called a tramp—need only apply to the police chief or a selectman and he would be housed for the night in the jail, located beyond the doors to the lower town hall, where the police station was. As he was not a criminal, the cell door was not locked and he had the run of the basement area. Meals were provided by a neighboring housewife who charged the town a small fee for this service. . . . The Brookline Grange, a sizable organization, often served suppers in what was then called the banquet hall. On one extremely cold evening, the specialty on the menu was a fish chowder. It was a big hit. Never had a tastier, more delicious chowder been served, and folks were loud in their praise of the chef. It was not known until days later that the tramp who was housed overnight had used the huge stew kettle to boil and wash his underwear, proving the old adage, “what you don’t know, won’t hurt you.”
How did a quiet New England town, nestled among hills and ponds, come to boast of one of the largest ice houses in the world, one of the first ski areas in the country, an early speedway, an incident involving a church bell that made news in the New York Times? This history tells the story of how all these have faded into memory—and the quiet keeps returning—as a small New England town continues to reinvent itself.
—From the dustjacket
When Sidney Hall was asked by the town history committee to edit a new town history, he decided not to produce a typical history but to create a book full of feeling, knowledge, and humor, that would appeal to readers everywhere, not just those interested in New England history.
Nestled Here is not an academic work. Reading it is more like sitting on a bench in front of the village store, chatting with an avuncular old-timer, and watching the traffic go by.
—From the dustjacket