[mowtorman]

Fun to see the picture of the 4th of July Parade. Longwood I remember as a true family restaurant...there weren't many choices coming off Moultonborough Neck. JoJo's was McCormick's, the name is still in the box across the street. Kona sold for $250,000 with hundreds of acres of land. The par 3 golf was in great shape and actually had greens and sand traps! Mr. Ross owned Moultonborough Marina until a man from MA walked in and offered him "more money than he could ever have dreamed of"...$300,000. He had purchased the small marina next to him and consolidated. John Almand and Chrysler boat dealer super nice man.

The old classic white buildings next to Nichols Store were dilapidated Belknap housing with students hanging out in front. The students were in contrast to the seminary students or brothers from up the road. They wore the same clothes as Mennonites when they marched as a group in the parade.

A huge event every summer in Center Harbor was the August firefighters clambake. They were buried deep in coals on the beach. It was the only time I have ever seen the little brick beach boathouse open.

Having lived in Vermont there are many boomers who headed for Canada to avoid the draft and settled in Vermont after Gerald Ford's pardon. Belknap had a reputation as a school that anyone could attend with as an alternative education similar to Goddard College.

Dick Tower was my first boss as daytime dishwasher at $1.75 per hour at the Woodshed. Genuinely gracious man he also had something to do with the Red Hill Dairy as we stored the containers of soft serve at the Woodshed. Rick was the head chef and may have been the life of the party at 2 am but he was no fun when he showed up late am in the kitchen. Not a pleasant person to deal with firing cooking pans into the double stainless wash basin. The servers were super nice, I remember a few named Vicki, Susie and Kristy. Any of you girls out there? The dishroom was hotter than heck with no AC and the steam coming out of the double sided dishwashing machine. I made some good friends working there. Marie was the sous chef who then opened Marie's Diner. A woman in town made the best carrot bread you could ever imagine that she would deliver still warm to the restaurant...just add butter)).

Our family stayed many times summer and winter at the White Diamond later the Staffordshire Inn. Their bar was busy in the 70s. We skied Waterville when it was just Snow's Mountain (a rope tow and a t bar plus pot belly warming hut), Gunstock , Mittersill and Loon...."if the grate be empty put coal on")). There weren't any students living at the White Diamond when we stayed in the 60s. It was kept up very well and clean. Ice fishing, snowmobiles, dogsleds so much happening. One of 2 gas docks in Center Harbor I think they had a game room down to the left by the water.

The next summer I was being trained as a prep cook when I took a job with A and P in Meredith with a huge pay increase to $2.50 per hour. I can still smell the 8 O'clock coffee grinding at the checkout while I bagged. It was a great job..... everyone had to shop there.

Boy am I getting old. Now Shangri La.... that's a whole other story...... the Brickyard.