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Your Granite State Ambassador Word-of-Mouth Marketing Team IS HERE FOR YOU. 

Granite State Ambassadors appreciate all the support you have shown our organization over the years. LET US BE THERE FOR YOU NOW. Please answer a few questions at https://forms.gle/55yA48HQQnnuvM66A so we can help spread the word to our volunteers and front-line partners. With this information we will run a campaign encouraging our GSA volunteers to purchase gift certificates and to take advantage of promotional offers.

Tell us about your:

• Gift Certificate / Sales Promotions
• Your virtual tours or virtual learning activities
• Renovations, additions…
• New or upcoming programs, rides, or exhibits
• Special events
• Social Media promotions so we can cross promote
• Your hours

Additionally, you are always invited to submit your content and news to our daily Sunny Gazette designed to keep our GSA Welcome Center Volunteers engaged and learning about New Hampshire until we can greet our guests again – https://nhgranitestateambassadors.org/gsa/read-gsa-sunny-gazette. Our GSA volunteers and friends are loving the virtual tours, news and educational activities we are sharing.

Here are some of the thoughtful feedback paragraphs we’ve received from our GSAs about your virtual tours:

After Taking the Virtual Tour of New Hampshire Historical Society I was surprised by the location. The building is right across from the State House, 30 Park Street. It is 1 of 5 oldest societies in the nation founded in 1823 by NH native Edward Tuck. The President of the society is Bill Dunlap. The cornerstone (Siena Marble) was put in place in 1909, and the building was dedicated in 1911. Atop in the Rotunda is the Greek Alphabet and 4 distinct categories Abenacki Heritage, Pine trees, Apples and the Owl (symbol of wisdom). The design of the building was by Guy Lowell in the Bowl Arts Style. The building is filled with famous paintings, sculptures, artifacts, portraits of our founding fathers of The State of New Hampshire. Among them are the first wooden Eagle that sat atop the State House from 1818 to 1957 (1of 4 states in our nation). Portraits Of John Wentworth and his son Benning Wentworth. There are also 2 flags of the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment. There are artifacts of Indian dugout Canoes to Skimobiles. A puzzling egg shaped stone with connection to Meredith New Hampshire. There are 5 key themes related to different parts of New Hampshire. Everything is related to local, state, and national, First In the Nation Politics, famous people like Benjamin Thompson noted for his inventions of Thermodynamics, Range Top Stove , Drip Coffee Maker and the Chimney.

I watched the virtual tour of the Currier Art Museum. I have been there in person but didn’t look much at some of the art featured. I often have gone to see the special exhibit and pass by the permanent collection. I never read about the outside sculpture and was interested in what it represents. I had been to the FL Wright house so skipped that. The Picasso of Lady in a Chair was very interesting. I never stopped to analyze how the image was constructed. Picasso was indeed clever. I read the description of Hamlet and realize that I have to read it again to understand the play within the play. I never read Othello and didn’t realize it was about race and that Othello was black married to a white fair maiden. The mirror pictured Othello. The Currier is a treasure and I would highly recommend it to visitors.

The Karner Blue Butterfly: This is such a tiny butterfly with only a one inch wing span and such a particular diet – wild lupines. The only spot that suits its needs in New England is right here in the Concord Pine Barrens. I had to look up what a ‘pine barren’ actually was. It is an area of dry, acidic, sandy and infertile soil with grasses, forbs (broad-leaved non-woody plants usually with very showy flowers like red and white clover and Jerusalem artichoke), low shrubs and small to medium-sized pines. It amazed me to learn the steps necessary in this project to keep the Karner Blue here by creating and maintaining a habitat for it, along with capturing them, releasing their eggs, and even marking their wings to see which ones return. The only time to see them in flight is from the end of May through June.

1. Mt. Monadnock: I never knew it was the only tall mountain in the southern part of the State at 3200 feet.
2. St. Gaudens: The Civil War Monuments are truly impressive at this National Historic Site and the only national park in NH!
3. The MacDowal Colony: This was something that I had never heard of before…an exclusive artist retreat here in Peterboro. What a perfect site for those artists wishing solitude to free their mind for their project and get a great hand packed lunch delivered in a wicker basket daily.
4. Yankee’s General Stores in NH had me getting hunger pangs!! From the Shepherd’s pie, pizza, dome-topped chicken pot pie and soups combined with maple syrup soda and Anadama bread, it makes you want to go on a dining tour!!

I have heard about Strawbery Bank but not really considering going to Portsmouth, going there was low on my list of things to do. It has now risen to the top thanks to these videos. What did I learn – too much to mention, but was enticed by hearing about all the different gardens, we used to visit Longwood Gardens in PA, now we’ll visit Strawbery Bank, not just for the gardens but for the history and hopefully to catch some of the presentations by food historians. And I’m thinking of growing strawberries. I was at the American Heritage Museum earlier this fall and I got to see black walnut trees, the pods were on the ground and I took some home, now have some black walnuts as souvenirs so hearing about them was a great tie-in. What was also very appreciated was how the videos tied the 17th century to the 21st century.

Children’s Museum of NH did a nice job on their video and it sounds fun. I had my 10 year old watch it with me and he said it would be a place he would like to go. I thought the topographical sand map attraction was neat and he really liked the cave exhibit.

I was always curious about the Children’s Museum of NH. I had no idea it was so sophisticated. Just a wonderful place for kids to explore science and spark their imagination. As a retired postal worker I was surprised to see the post office setup and it reminded me as a child that was a favorite game. The museum covers so many areas of creativity from art to building to science. Something they experience here may play a big part in what they pursue. Love the submarine and they make it so lifelike.

John Clayton did an amazing presentation of the virtual tour of the Manchester Millyard Museum Walking Tour . I did not realize the rich history the Factories have contributed in the past. How the first Denim for Levi Strauss was manufactured here. How President Lincoln’s visit to Manchester played such a big part in the Civil War. All due to the location of the river, Amoskeag Falls and the vision of the men who developed the Mills. Not to mention the future Dean Kamen will play with all the inventions and his new vision of A.R.M.I. . It seems as though history repeats itself again over time. The Millyard has played such an Important role to Manchester , New Hampshire and the United States.

How great that Yankee Magazine is letting the public watch their Weekends with Yankee segments! Saint Gaudens National Historic Site is my go-to field trip for family and friends from out-of-State. I always recommend it to State House visitors who say they have a National Parks Passport. The segment on General stores and Harrisville has put that on my bucket list for post-virus travel. The segment on Mt Monadnock brought back memories of my days as a camp director when I went rappelling on Mt Monadnock. It did not cure my fear of heights!

After taking the Virtual Tour of Peterborough NH, I was amazed at the beauty of the Town and the country side of the Monadnock Region. All the nature trails Like Wheeler Loop, Shielding Forest II trails. The beautiful Bocelli Gardens and its steeped tradition it plays in the Arts world. How it is closely related to the tradition of New England Style Candlepin Bowling. I enjoyed the Virtual Tour of Peterborough NH immensely.

The “In the Far Pasture” tour by the Historical Society of Cheshire County presented a wonderful educational tour. I really enjoyed going back in time to learn about so many different aspects of farm life through the years. The growth of farms and farm products, the knowledge and skills that enabled folks to develop needed tools, and the feeling of community and helping hands speak volumes to their continued success despite all odds. Things like the ‘red ear of corn’ and ‘cow-turd frolics’ added a sense of their playfulness despite such hard all day labors. Bringing us to the present with agritourism, maple syrup production and the definition of ‘local’ at 400 miles also added to this wonderful tour. 

I found it interesting to learn of the progression of agriculture throughout the history of Cheshire County. From subsistence farming to sheep herding to dairy to the maple sugaring industry. The one fun fact I particularly enjoyed is that with farm gatherings like barn raising, etc. which were as much social gatherings, if a young man found an ear of red corn he had earned the right to kiss a girl before dinner!

 

The virtual tour of ” Currier Museum of Arts ” was very interesting. Such a beautiful Building (1928), I was impressed with the flow of the museum. Having two floors consisting of the main and Lower level. The painting ( 1950 ) of Frank Lloyd Wrights House and the explanation of materials used hanging in the gallery entrance. The 8 different galleries on the Main floor, including the art works of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. The “Winter Garden” and the natural lighting of it, and how they do special events. How the second floor has one common gallery, a library, 3 class rooms and an auditorium. The canvas painting of Claude Monet 1869 and the 1857 painting by Jasper Francis Cropsey. I intend to go and see this spectacular place with my wife.