Turn Of The Twentieth: Early 1900s Northern New England Through The Lens Of Photographer Glenduen Ladd

By Susan Zizza

STEP back in time to the Turn Of The Twentieth century world of photographer and artist Glenduen Ladd, born in 1891. Over 70 images offer an intimate view of her fast-changing world. Buggies were bumped by the auto and the Gibson Girl made fashion waves that reached even to Ladd's home at New England's northern tip. Ladd's lens and paint brush captures the peace and optimism of her era, when, as statesman Harold Macmillan once observed, people believed "everything would get better and better." Most of these images (which include a section on her art) have never before been made public.

These and related archives and interviews, provide intriguing footnotes to this region's history — the rescue of a Revolutionary soldier's grave and those of other early settlers in a Canadian border hamlet; the Adventist movement that spread north after the "Great Disappointment," when the world's end failed to arrive as predicted by William Miller; and tales of frontiersmen that bring to mind the likes of Daniel Boone and James Fenimore Cooper's Hawkeye.

So, readers, leave behind the stress of the 21st century — shut off the cell phone, push away from the computer and take an armchair trip back into Ladd's "Turn of the Twentieth Century" world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 8, 2008
• ISBN: 9781477172049

Susan Zizza

Susan Zizza is a veteran journalist who has served as editor, reporter and photographer for the News and Sentinel, Colebrook Chronicle, Lancaster Herald and Northern New Hampshire Magazine. Her work has also appeared in New Hampshire ToDo, Vermont Life, Sports Illustrated and the Boston Herald. She was selected as Editor of the Year and Spot Photographer of the Year by the New Hampshire Press Association. She and her husband, Mark, have lived in Colebrook, New Hampshire, since 1977. Her roots are in Colebrook, where her grandparents, Belford and Grace (Carbee) Cross, were born and raised.

Book preview

DEDICATION

To Beverly Uran, whose devotion to preserving artist

Glenduen Ladd’s work made this book possible.

REFERENCES

Advent Christian Church Official Website, www.adventchristian.org.

Emigrant’s Directory and Guide, Francis Evans, 1832.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com.

Historical New Hampshire, Volume 50, Richard Hamilton, New Hampshire Historical Society,1995.

History of Compton County, L.L. Channell, 1886.

King Phillip’s Territory, Everett Wiswell, 1976.

This Fabulous Century, Sixty Years of American Life, Volume I, TIME-LIFE BOOKS, 1969.

The Grand Resort Hotels of the White Mountains, A Vanishing Architectural Legacy,

Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., David R. Godine, Publisher, 1998.

Tales Told in the Shadow of the White Mountains, Charles J. Jordan, University Press of New England, 2003.

The Boys of ’76; A History of the Battles of the Revolution, Charles Carleton Coffin, Harper & Brothers, 1876.

The Colebrook Cookbook, Revised Bicentennial Edition, 1980.

Townships Heritage WebMagazine, Townshippers Association, www.townshipsheritage.com.

Copyright © 2008 by Susan Zizza. 576579

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Layout Designer: Jerome Cuyos

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

Library of Congress Control Number:2007909849

Rev. date: 10/10/2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

Children Of A New Century

Striking A Pose

CHAPTER II

Gibson Girl Goes North

Fashion, Frills And Furbelows

CHAPTER III

Move Over For The Motor Car

Buggies Bumped By The Auto

CHAPTER IV

Souvenirs Of Summering In Style

Playing Cards Recall Glory Of Grand Hotels

On The Canvas

Paintings By Glenduen Ladd

CHAPTER V

Farming On The 45th Parallel

Ledger Of Life—Diary From 1890 to 1907

CHAPTER VI

Hearth And Home

Keeping Up With Farmer Jones

CHAPTER VII

The Church On The Stream

Advent Christians And The Millerite Movement

CHAPTER VIII

Homesteaders Of Hereford

Nest Egg Of A Revolutionary War Soldier

CHAPTER IX

The Wild, Wild North

A Trek With The Tramp

CHAPTER X

Having The Last Word

Obituaries—Honesty In The Press

FIRST%20PHOTO.tif

In this 1910 photo, Glenduen is probably holding a No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak Model B-2 camera that sold for about $20. According to vintage camera expert Rob Niederman, it was produced from June 1904, to November 1906, and made 3 ¼ x 5 ½ inch ‘postcard’ images on 122-roll film. The No. 3A FPK series was introduced in May 1903, and discontinued in 1915. It was extraordinarily popular and over 360,000 were sold.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book could not have been written without North Country native Beverly (Hunt) Uran’s dedication in preserving the art, photography and memorabilia of her aunt, 19th century-born artist Glenduen Ladd. Beverly, along with her daughter Judy (Hunt) Cardinal, was invaluable as a resource regarding Glenduen’s life and work and generous in sharing her recollections, as well as her archives.

Old Hall Stream Cemetery Trustee Cheryl Clogston proved to be a great aid, providing documentation regarding the restoration of Old Hall Stream Cemetery and her own memories of Glenduen.

I spent a wonderful afternoon with the late Neil Tillotson, former Tillotson Corporation industrialist and owner of the Balsams Grand Resort, who dropped his busy schedule (at 102, his day was still filled with business appointments) and took me on a tour of his birthplace of Hereford and the cemetery he helped Glenduen restore.

Thanks must go to Patty (Ladd) McAllister for allowing me to delve into her grandmother, Grace Ladd’s trunk and loaning me the fragile letters and scrapbooks that had been tucked away for nearly six decades.

I am grateful to antique dealers Kellyann and Mark Yelle of Potato Barn Antiques in Northumberland, New Hampshire, for assistance in providing details of turn-of-the-twentieth-century life portrayed by the vintage photographs.

Much credit is due the dedicated library staff at town, state and university levels, on both sides of the border, in helping with the documentation for this book. I owe much, also, to the meticulous proofreading skills of Barbara Larssen, Ellie Gooch and Joan Chase.

Words cannot express my appreciation to Morgan Rockhill, of Morgan Rockhill PhotoDigital, for his generosity in allowing me use of his state-of-the art camera and computerized equipment to reproduce the photographs. His patience and willingness to share his knowledge of digital design was invaluable in my learning how to digitally repair photographs without compromising the images’ artistic integrity.

Thanks also go to Charlie and Donna Jordan, publishers of the Colebrook Chronicle and Lancaster Herald, for helping this book along in its infancy by printing several chapters as a serial in their publication, Northern New Hampshire Magazine. The cover design was inspired by a suggestion Charlie made for the series’ artwork.

This project has been made easier by the support of my friends and family, especially that of my husband, Mark. He kept me on balance with his sense of humor and practical good sense. His patience as a sounding board never faltered.

PREFACE

I thought you’d be interested in taking a look at these, said my visitor, gently easing her armful of vintage photo albums onto my kitchen table.

As a writer and photographer for newspapers and magazines in northern New England for over 20 years, I had become known for my interest in local history, particularly that involving the Victorian