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OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN Portsmouth, NH Sunday, May 4, 2003 |
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Daniel Webster once said: "Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men." |
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The Old Man Of The Mountain Editor's Note: 5/03/03 The Old Man of the Mountain fell from the mountain today. High above the Franconia Notch gateway to northern New Hampshire there is an old man. He has been described as a relentless tyrant, a fantastic freak, and a learned philosopher, feeble and weak about the mouth and of rarest beauty, stern and solemn, one of the most remarkable wonders of the mountain world. Daniel Webster once said, ..."Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men." Thus it happens that New Hampshire has her Profile, "The Old Man of the Mountain," sublimely outlined against the western sky; a sign unique, distinctive, and inspirational as to the kind of men the sons of the Granite State should be. ** The Old Man of the Mountain has several names including "The Profile", "The Great Stone Face", "The Old Man," and "The Old Man of the Mountains". The Profile is composed of Conway red granite and is an illusion formed by five ledges, that when lined up correctly give the appearance of an old man with an easterly gaze, clearly distinct and visible from only a very small space near Profile Lake. When viewed from other locations in Franconia Notch, the same five ledges have a very rough and ragged appearance, and there is no suggestion of The Profile.* Geological opinion is that The Profile on Profile Mountain is supposed to have been brought forth partly as the result of the melting and slipping away action of the ice sheet that covered the Franconia Mountains at the end of the glacial period, and partly by the action of the frost and ice in crevices, forcing off, and moving about certain rocks and ledges into profile forming positions. It is supposed that the Old Man of the Mountain was completed during the latter part of the post glacial period, from 2,000 to 10,000 years ago.** The Old Man is formed on a shoulder of Profile Mountain, which juts out abruptly into space, some 1200 feet above Profile Lake. It is composed of five layers of granite ledge, one exactly above the other, the lateral distance being 25 feet. Of these five layers one forms the chin, another the upper lip, a third the nose and two layers make up the forehead. The Old Man has been measured as being forty feet and five inches in height. It is all together, just as it appears to be when viewed from the road or lake below.* The Old Man of the Mountain may be viewed from Interstate 93, northbound, in Franconia State Park from several cutout parking areas. The area is well marked and you will have no trouble locating the viewing areas. Southbound on Interstate 93, take Exit 2 into the Canon Mt Tramway parking lot and follow the signs for the "Old Man viewing area". Information: Franconia State Park - 603-823-5563 'Old Man' Caretaker: David Neilsen - 603-323-9309 * "The Old Man's Reader" - History & Legends of Franconia Notch - Mudge - 1995 **"The Profile" - A brief story - Rev Guy Roberts - 1920
State mourns loss of Old Man
By Richard Fabrizio The Old Man is gone. The loss of the Old Man of the Mountain will be borne by living and still unborn Granite Staters and people around the world for years to come. The venerable granite symbol of New Hampshire slid unseen down a mountain and into the past sometime Friday or early Saturday morning. A state park trails crew reported around 7:30 Saturday morning the 40-foot tall stony face was gone from the side of Profile Mountain in Franconia Notch. The Old Man was covered by clouds Thursday and Friday, so no one knows when it actually fell. The image that only nature could have crafted became a symbol of the state as countless people viewed the remarkable monument. The Old Man became a rite of passage for New Hampshire residents and a tourist attraction that become synonymous with the state and its slogan, "Live Free or Die." The profile was about 1,200 feet above Interstate 93, about 65 miles north of Concord. The cause is believed to be a result of freezing and thawing of the past winter combined with heavy spring rains. Ultimately, the hands of the time pulled down the man.
A handful of cables and epoxy on the rugged mountainside showed where the face once gazed eastward. Scrapes and shattered ledge along the slope showed the path of the fall. Park staff reported no fallen parts of the face were distinguishable from other boulders on the slope. The loss drew feelings of loss from around the state. Portsmouth’s Raimond Bowles, a native of Franconia, struggled to comprehend the loss of an icon he knew since he was a small boy growing up in the tiny mountain town. The 79-year-old former state legislature said he fought back tears when he learned of the Old Man’s demise on Saturday morning. "It’s like the world has fallen down around my shoulders," Bowles said. "I grew up at the foot of it and stood atop its brow as a hiker. If I thought there was anything in the world that was stable and permanent it was the Old Man of the Mountain." For nearly a century, the state used cables and epoxy in a doomed attempt to keep the face from succumbing to erosion. Most people knew its collapse was inevitable, but few thought it would happen in their lifetime. Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker who died in 2001, was the profile’s official caretaker from 1960 until a few years ago, when he passed the job on to his son, David Nielsen. Niels told an interviewer in 1999 he thought the Old Man would outlive him by many years. "My gut feeling is that any baby that’s born on this date, today, will not see the Old Man come down," he said. Jim Shibles, 45, of Lebanon, last year researched, produced and published a half-hour CD-ROM about the Old Man. It included its history and offered thoughts on it future. The CD has the Old Man himself telling of his concern of the effects of the forces of gravity on his face. The CD was distributed to schools and sold to tourists and residents. "It was very shocking to learn this news this morning," Shibles said. "It is quite shocking in my lifetime to find out that he’s gone." Gov. Craig Benson flew by helicopter to access the damage on Saturday. He called the Old Man New Hampshire’s cherished and ultimate symbol of those who would "Live Free or Die." "For 10,000 years, the Old Man of the Mountain had withstood the test of time," Benson said. "Overnight New Hampshire changed. ... And while that symbol may have fallen, that spirit still remains." The governor is working with state officials on the prospect of restoration and Benson immediately formed a task force to examine the possibility of resurrecting the symbol. Gov. Benson said the state would open an "Old Man of the Mountain Revitalization Fund" for those who wish to donate to the fund. Information is available at www.nh.gov./governor. "I am committed to doing everything possible to restore this important monument to our Granite State," Benson said. Seacoast residents reacted to the news as if it were a joke and their faces suggested they were awaiting a punch line. "You’re kidding," said Gregg Schweitzer, 29, an avid hiker in the area around the Old Man. Many talked about when they first visited the site and said they were sad. Maureen McGill, 35, of Newmarket, first saw the Old Man when she was 19 after moving to the state. She recalled her sister and brother-in-law telling her about it and how she doubted a rock formation could actually resemble a face. The first thing McGill did after hearing the news was call her family. "It’s awful," she said. "I called my sister and she said ‘Oh my god.’ My brother-in-law was so sad. He just kept saying ‘I can’t believe he’s gone.’" Peter Hamelin, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, spent a year working in Franconia Notch for a ski marketing association and spent many hours at Cannon Mountain looking up at the Old Man. Hamelin said Granite Staters should now think about what the Old Man meant to New Hampshire. "It meant something, that we belong to the land," he said. "We don’t own the land, the land owns us. That’s the spirit and the Old Man represented that and how we took care of our natural resources." Long has this strange and uniquely geological formation fascinated women, men and children. Daniel Webster, the 19th century New Hampshire statesman, wrote of it, saying: "Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men." The Old Man of the Mountain is on hundreds of state documents and tourism promotional items. The likeness was depicted on the special series of U.S. quarters minted in 2000. Bowles mother, Ella Shannon Bowles, wrote "Let Me Show You New Hampshire" in 1938. Her work became a centerpiece of recent promotional efforts by the state’s office of travel and tourism. The Old Man graced the book’s cover. "I was just trying to think of what she would think if she were alive," Bowles said, "but I don’t think she could conjure up the right words at this time as I can’t either." Rep. Jeb Bradley was deeply saddened to learn the Old Man of the Mountain had fallen. The Old Man represented the state’s spirit of flinty independence and live free or die nature, Bradley said. "It was both humbling and exhilarating to have twice climbed the Cannon cliffs, once being just a few feet from the Old Man’s chin," Bradley said. Bowles also talked of humility when grappling with the meaning of the loss. "When something as permanent as the Old Man falls down and disappears, it makes you think of the impermanency of the way human beings do things," he said. "Without being blasphemous, God only knows what can happen next." Fascination with the Old Man’s departure will likely fuel interest as another year of tourism season begins anew. Beyond that, the impact is truly unknown. Dick Hamilton, president of the tourism group, White Mountain Attractions, said he had lost his number one attraction. Hamilton has commuted through the notch every day for the last 33 years. "I say goodnight to him every night when I go by," he said. On Friday night, he couldn’t see the profile because of the clouds. "I went by and said, ‘Good night, boss, wherever you are."’ Those wishing to contribute to restoration efforts, can send contributions to: Old Man of the Mountain Revitalization Fund, c/o Governor’s Office, State House, Concord, NH 03301. Copyright © 2003 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved.
N.H.'s 'Old Man of the Mountain' Is History Landmark Falls, Leaving Cliff Face Blank (Jim Cole -- AP) By David Tirrell-Wysocki Associated Press Sunday, May 4, 2003; Page A09 FRANCONIA, N.H., May 3 -- The Old Man of the Mountain, the natural stone profile that appears on everything in New Hampshire from the road signs to the state quarter, fell from its mountainside, leaving nothing recognizable in the cliff face Saturday. The profile, about 40 feet high and 25 feet wide, was one of the most photographed sites in the state and was considered New Hampshire's state symbol. Two centuries ago, Daniel Webster wrote of the Old Man of the Mountain: "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men." Don Bliss, the state's director of emergency management, said there were no injuries when the stone fell sometime Friday night or early today. It was not immediately clear what caused the fall, but Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, said she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide. "I knew it would go sometime; I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime," she said. The ledges that made up the profile were perched above a slope covered with other fallen granite, and for years many feared it would join the pile. Niels Nielsen, a state highway worker who died in 2001, was the profile's official caretaker from 1960 until a few years ago, when he passed the job on to his son. Over the years, the two tried to secure the ledges with cables and epoxy. It was located in Franconia Notch State Park, about 70 miles north of Concord, and to the west of Interstate 93, about 1,200 feet above Profile Lake. "You don't think about it much, but it's what everybody comes to see. It's our thing," said Eric Mueller, who works at Franconia Hardware Store. "And now it's gone."
Merrill Leads 'Old Man' Revitalization Project Gov. Benson Chooses Former Governor To Handle Restoration Efforts POSTED: 1:01 p.m. EDT May 4, 2003 CONCORD, N.H. -- Former New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill will lead the state's effort to revitalize the Old Man of the Mountain. Gov. Craig Benson announced the effort in Franconia Notch Saturday after viewing the stone profile's former perch. He said Sunday he has chosen Merrill to lead the project. Benson says the task force will examine the possibilities of revitalizing the state symbol. In an interview, Benson said he has no idea yet what the revitalization might involve. He says he's heard from people who would like to see the profile rebuilt at the original site, and others who want a memorial next to Profile Lake. The only agreement he says, is that the state should do something. |
