by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday,  March 15, 2024.

In 1915, it was proposed that Exeter’s Robinson Female Seminary offer a ‘commercial’ course of study. The Seminary offered a general course, college preparatory course and, (for a time) a teacher training course. The addition of courses in bookkeeping, stenography and typewriting would allow the students better access to the growing fields in business. The following year, the town approved spending of $585.60 to equip the school with the necessary tools including state of the art typewriters.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, March 1, 2024.

A year before passage of the 19th amendment opened voting to women, suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt proposed the creation of a women’s organization to help facilitate and educate voters. Speaking before the National American Woman Suffrage Association in St. Louis, she suggested a “League of Women Voters” should the new amendment pass. The members didn’t wait, and the League of Women Voters was organized in February of 1920, months before women’s suffrage was settled in the U.S. Constitution.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 16, 2024.

Of the dozen or so history writers of Exeter, Benjamin Franklin Swasey is probably the least known or cited. It’s a shame, because his writing is filled with delightful tidbits not generally found in most historical works.

Benjamin Swasey was born in Exeter in 1837 and, except for only a few years, lived his life in town. Swasey grew up on his father’s farm on the west side of the Squamscott River. One of five surviving children, his most notable sibling was his younger brother, Ambrose Swasey, who is known for his generous gifts to the town (the Swasey Pavilion and Swasey Parkway). Swasey wrote of his father, “he was a great reader of ancient history and of the standard works on astronomy. He took much interest in the affairs of his native town and was elected on the Board of Selectmen in 1847-48.” In a period when a great deal of civic life included passing around the rum jug, Nathaniel Swasey refused to partake.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, February 2, 2024.

In the early 1960s, Exeter’s once thriving shoe industry was waning. The two shoe factories – Wise Shoes on Front Street and Alrose Shoes on Rockingham Street – were both finding it hard to compete in a growing international market. It surprised everyone when a new shoe company set up shop in Exeter on Court Street.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 19, 2024.

At one time, in the mid-nineteenth century, Exeter had 14 public school buildings. You won’t be able to find most of them today, but it’s an interesting exercise tracking down where they once stood. Charles Bell, author of “The History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire,” tells us that there were a few early schoolteachers in town as early as the mid-1600s, although there are no clear records as to where the classes were held. “The records of the town contain no information in regard to the earliest schools, as they were probably maintained, not at the public charge, but by the parents of the children who attended them.” A schoolhouse was erected opposite the meeting house around 1707. Children who lived on the outskirts of town were too far away to attend classes. They would learn basic reading and arithmetic at a dame school near where they lived – generally run by someone’s busy mother.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 5, 2024.

Exeter began 1923 with a new schoolhouse on the appropriately named School Street. The town had voted to remove two rickety old wooden schools from the same location the previous year. The new school building (which still exists as part of SAU 16), was the most modern school erected in years. It was sleek – brick and stucco – with central heating, indoor plumbing with restrooms conveniently located in the basement, large windows that provided both light and ventilation and electric lighting for those cloudier days when natural light caused the students to squint in the dim gloom. The public was invited to view the school prior to the beginning of the new term.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.

The problem of Christmas troubled Exeter’s townsfolk in the early 1800s. The Puritan roots of New England steadfastly objected to the papist celebration of what they considered a false holiday. The actual date of the birth of Christ isn’t revealed biblically, and Christmas celebrations in the old country were seen as riotous drunken bacchanalias. Yet, there still seemed to be need of marking the close of the year. What to do? Celebrate Christmas or perhaps make note of the New Year?

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, December 8, 2023.

In the late Spring of 1875, the First Unitarian Society of Exeter proposed to the other churches in town a fund-raising spelling match. Spelling had become a popular form of entertainment in recent years, so much so that the Exeter News-Letter correspondent from Danville wrote, “The spelling mania arrived in town on the 22nd and has spread fearfully.” Most often these competitions (only rarely referred to as a ‘bee’) were used to raise funds for charitable and fraternal organizations or local church groups. The proposed match in Exeter would raise money for the prize winners and eight participating churches.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, November 24, 2023.

Emory Eldredge wasn’t born in Exeter. His family arrived in town from Taunton, Massachusetts about 1896 when Emory was eight years old. His father worked at the Exeter Machine Works as a machinist. Young Emory must have shown promise, as he was admitted to Phillips Exeter Academy at the age of 14 and graduated with the class of 1906.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, November 10, 2023.

In the mid-1880s, the direst issue in the town of Exeter was water. “Those whose business it is to understand this matter have told us that the water in the wells throughout our village is more or less contaminated with impurities and unfit and unsafe for drinking purposes,” commented a writer to the Exeter News-Letter. Indeed, 1886 proved to be a year rife with water-borne diseases. Eight people in town, mostly infants, died of cholera infantum, diarrhea, and typhoid fever. The drinking water system was piecemeal. The business district, clustered around Water Street, still used an old system of hollowed out wooden logs that connected taps with lead pipes. Most homes had wells that were dug perilously close to the family outhouse. Sure, it was possible to survive these water sources, a point made by the letter writer. “Because persons have drunk questionable water and still live is no sign that they would not have lived better on pure water. How much poison is taken into the system from impure water it is difficult to say, but it is certain that experience and science again and again have traced sickness and death to this source.”

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, October 27, 2023.

On a chilly September night in 1893, a young shoe shop worker named Maud Robinson was attacked on Oak Street while trying to make her way home. The Exeter Gazette reported, “her assailant grabbed her by the throat, threw her violently to the ground and excitedly and hurriedly tore portions of her clothing from her limbs. She succeeded in loosening the grasp from her throat and yelled for help, which frightened the miscreant, and he ran away.” The man was described as young, wearing a light suit and a mask. In the weeks that followed, more attacks occurred in Exeter, frightening a town that was otherwise considered to be quite safe.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, July 22, 2023.

“You talk about reunions and old home weeks, but say, wouldn’t it be a treat to get that old crowd together once more for one of those old-time picnics up stream?” asked J.I. Weston in the Exeter News-Letter in 1903. Hundred-year-old nostalgia can seem a bit quaint, but he was addressing the problem of needed improvements to Gilman Park, particularly a launch for small boats. But let’s look at his memory of picnics.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday,  July 7, 2023.

New Hampshire citizens heavily participated in the fight for American independence during the war. Although no actual battles took place in the state, there were many ways that New Hampshire, and specifically Exeter, had great responsibility. Exeter was the capital of the state during these years – our inland location with direct access to the sea made it a secure place to seat the government. When the state government was not in session, the Committees of Safety met in town to manage affairs. Extending out the assistance, when the State of New York contacted New Hampshire for help with a very specific problem, Exeter seemed ready to help.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, June 9, 2023.

Exeter doesn’t have a town common like many New England towns. In most, the town common is in the center of town surrounded by public buildings and churches. Exeter’s town center is the commercial part of town. If there is any place in the downtown area that we might think of as a gathering place, it would be Swasey Parkway, which was only laid out in 1930. Our town common is located about a mile away from all the current action in an area known as ‘the Plains.’

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Smack in the middle of Center Street, on a small wedge of land, stands a memorial to John Templeton. Like many civic markers, it can be difficult to get a good look at it, particularly since one needs to stand in traffic to see the inscription. It reads:

“IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
JOHN TEMPLETON
BORN OCTOBER 1, 1854
DIED JULY 4, 1938
A MAN JUST IN WORDS AND DEEDS WHO AS PRINTER, EDITOR, AND CITIZEN FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY SHOWED THAT THE STRAIGHT WAY LEADS TO LASTING HONOR
Erected by the Citizens of Exeter, 1938”

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, April 28, 2023.

Eight years ago, a local family donated a quilt to the Exeter Historical Society. Vivid red blocks are interspersed with appliqued scenes from Exeter. The colors are bright and the fabric, although giving off a decidedly colonial vibe, can best be described as 1970s ‘vintage.’ The donors knew very little about the quilt, except that they’d won it in a raffle during the bicentennial celebrations. This left the Historical Society scrambling to find out more about the quilt’s origins.

 by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, April 14, 2023.

In the spring of 1949, Exeter’s business district bloomed not with flowers, but with silver parking meters. After quick approval from the town selectmen, “the speed with which the holes were drilled and the hollow pipes positioned, however, caught many residents by surprise,” wrote the Exeter News-Letter on May 15th. The meters were placed along Water Street from Great Bridge to Swasey parkway on the river side and from Clifford to Center Street on the opposite side. They then extended along Center Street and Front Street around the square. “Tempers became ruffled in a few instances where residents and businessmen discovered meters being arbitrarily set up a uniform distance apart without regard to location. Thus, the meter pipes with their glistening silver paint will be found at the front doors of several residences, and in front of the Catholic and Congregational Churches.”

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, March 31, 2023.

Novelist John Knowles wasn’t from Exeter. Born and raised in West Virginia, he came to Phillips Exeter Academy as a member of the class of 1945 and set his most famous work, A Separate Peace, in Exeter. With these credentials, we can consider him an Exeter author.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Dottie Milbury recently called the Exeter Historical Society to suggest we highlight the Exeter School of Practical Nursing. She has a personal connection – her mother, Frances Buxton, was on the faculty. A highly accomplished professional, Buxton brought her training from Danvers State Hospital School of Nursing, Boston City Hospital School of Nursing and Simmons College, where she received a BS degree. The program was not the same as the Exeter Hospital Nurses Training School that had run from 1909 – 1935. That school prepared students for a career as a registered nurse. Practical nursing had different training with different certifications.

by Barbara Rimkunas

This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, March 3, 2023.

If you wanted to bake a fruit pie during the waning days of winter in 1800, the first step would be soaking the dried fruit. Fresh fruits and vegetables were unavailable until the summer months. Local fruit in New England – apples, peaches, berries, plums, and grapes – were carefully dried during the summer months. Other methods of food preservation, salting, smoking, and pickling didn’t lend themselves well to fruit. A small amount of fruit was processed into jams and jellies, but sugar was expensive and there was no sterile canning yet. For practical purposes, dried fruit was the only game in town.