Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above the Train Station

I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #382?  Scroll down to find the answer.

This feathered arrow weathervane can be seen above the train station at Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, New Hampshire.  The simple arrow is "gussied up" with a fancy eagle finial, and scroll work supporting the cardinal points.  This weathervane can be seen from almost anywhere in the little amusement park, and by drivers cruising along U.S. Route 3 heading up to the White Mountains.

The train station here loads visitors onto the Climax steam locomotive for a 30 minute, 2.5 mile scenic loop along the Pemigewasset River and over a covered bridge.  This is the train that children remember as the train chugs into the territory of the infamous "Wolfman".  Generations of children have enjoyed ( or perhaps were terrorized by) this train ride.

The "Wolfman" chased our train!

Clark's Trading Post website:    http://www.clarkstradingpost.com/ 

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Above the Train Station", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 26, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/08/weathervane-wednesday-above-train.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Bear, seen at a famous roadside attraction for bears in New Hampshire

I post another in a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting.  Often my readers tip me off to some very unique or unusual weathervanes, too!  If you know a great weather vane near you, let me know if you'd like to have it featured on this blog.

Today's weather vane was photographed in New Hampshire.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #381?  Scroll down to find the answer.

If you have ever visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire you might have driven right past the famous trained bears at Clark's Trading Post in the town of Lincoln.  These bears have been a roadside attraction on U.S. Route 3 since the 1930s.  This attraction has grown from a small trading post with a few bears to a family run amusement park.  Above one of the museums in this park is this shiny two-dimensional copper bear weathervane.  It is still shiny and copper colored, so I don't think this is a very old weathervane.

The Clark's Trading Post website:   http://www.clarkstradingpost.com/ 

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ A Bear, seen at a famous roadside attraction for bears in New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 19, 2018, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/weathervane-wednesday-bear-seen-at.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Bears at Clark's Trading Post, Lincoln, New Hampshire

These tombstones were photographed at Clark's Trading Post, Lincoln, New Hampshire.  This little cemetery is located right in front of the train station, by the front entrance to the amusement park. 

Clark's Trading Post opened as a roadside attraction on U.S. Route 3 in Lincoln, New Hampshire in 1928.  To draw people to their store, the Clark family opened up a viewing area for the public to see their sled dogs. Florence and Ed Clark were avid sled dog racers, and Florence was the first woman do drive a dogsled to the top of Mount Washington.  They first displayed a black bear here in 1931.   

In 1949 the sons of Ed and Florence Clark began to train the bears to do tricks.  Around the same time they began to collect old steam locomotives on the property.  Over the years this visitor attaction has grown into a small family run amusement park which includes the bear show, a train ride, several museums, and other family amusements. 

The bears at Clark's are orphaned bears that cannot be returned to the wild.  The family rehabilitates bears, and only a few have the "personality" for performing for the public.  The rest live in luxury on the property for more than 25 years.  Bears in the wild live only an average of 5 to 6 years.  One of their bears lived over 35 years.  The Clark family considers these bears members of their family, and have respectfully buried them in this little cemetery.

Twin Sisters

Saphire                 Pearl

Jan. 10, 1971       Jan. 10, 1971

Mar. 31, 2000       Nov. 30, 1993

HERE LIES

"RUFUS"

N. H. BLACK BEAR

OLDEST ON RECORD

JAN. 1953 - AUG. 1991

38 YRS - 7 MOS.

TWINS

SISTER AND BROTHER

URSULA                ONYX

JAN. 21, 1987       JAN. 21, 1987

MAY 28, 2014      JUNE 1, 2002

HERE LIE

EBONY AND MIDNIGHT

1949 - 1973        1949 - 1967

SHOW BEARS

HERE LIES

MY FRIEND

JASPER

SHOW BEAR

SANS EGAL

1961 - 1988

                  W.M. CLARK

We also noticed two planters with names on them in this little cemetery.  Perhaps they are also in memory of some of the famous trained bears?  The red planter reads "Abenaki and Spooky" and the blue planter reads "Moxie".

For the truly curious:

Clark's Trading Post website:   http://www.clarkstradingpost.com/

From Yankee Magazine, an article about the Clark family and the trained bears:
https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/travel/new-hampshire/white-mountains/clarks-trading-post/

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~  Bears at Clark's Trading Post, Lincoln, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 11, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/09/tombstone-tuesday-bears-at-clarks.html: accessed [access date]).

Are Presidents Washington and Lincoln your cousins?

Happy Birthday, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln!  When these birthdays rolled around on my calendar, I was curious enough to look up Presidents Washington and Lincoln’s roots in my copy of Ancestors of American Presidents by Gary Boyd Roberts. 

This book, Ancestors of American Presidents, lives on a shelf right next to my computer desk.  I use it often, since many presidents have early New England colonial ancestors.   I share common ancestors with nearly half of the presidents.  Gary Boyd Roberts’s sources are impeccable, and his research is much more advanced than my research.  I’m often surprised to see how many non-New England presidents connect to my family tree. 

George Washington is my 5^th cousin, 8 generations removed.  His grandmother was Mildred Warner (1671 – 1791).  Our common ancestors are her great great grandparents, William Warner and Alice Hunt, who are also my 12^th great grandparents.  To me this was a very cool discovery, since I never expected to be related to a Virginian president! We also share a Spencer ancestor, much further removed on the time line.

And what about Abraham Lincoln?  Everyone knows he was born in Kentucky, and ran for office while living in Illinois, so why am I looking for him in my family tree?  Well, I know his immigrant ancestor was Samuel Lincoln (abt. 1622 - 1690), an early resident of Hingham, Massachusetts.  I found this out when I noticed about a dozen Massachusetts Lincolns marrying into my family tree.  Here is a list of some of these marriages:

Enoch Howes Snelling (1816 – 1877), my 1^st cousin, 5 generations removed, married Caroline Matilda Lincoln, daughter of Frederick Lincoln and Hepzibah Bouve, on 24 March 1845 in Boston.

Daniel Treadwell (1791 – 1872) my 1^st cousin, 6 generations removed, married Adeline Lincoln, daughter of Levi Lincoln and Desire Thaxter, on 6 October 1831.

Samuel Lincoln (abt 1622 – 1690) the immigrant ancestor of President Lincoln, mentioned above, married my 9^th great grand aunt, Martha Lyford, step sister of my 10^th great grandmother, Rebecca Hobart (1611 – 1679). 

According to my Family Tree software, President Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) is the great grand nephew of the husband of my 2^nd cousin 7 generations removed.  This cousin is Samuel Lincoln (1650 – 1720), who married Deborah Hersey, my 2^nd cousin 7 generations removed.  Her grandfather, Edmund Hobart (1673 – 1647) Is the father of the Rebecca Hobart mentioned above.  A very distant relationship, but the software was able to figure it out!  I’m sad I don’t have a common ancestor with President Lincoln, but maybe someday I’ll find one if I go far enough back in our English origins.

For the truly curious:

Ancestors of American Presidents, by Gary Boyd Roberts, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009

William Addams Reitwiesner's Genealogical Services website http://wargs.com/  a great place to check for celebrity, political, and royal cousin connections.

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To Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Are Presidents Washington and Lincoln Your Cousins?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 17, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/are-presidents-washington-and-lincoln.html: accessed [access date]).