An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain Summer Event Series
This project was made possible with support from New Hampshire Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Old Man and the Artists
Presented by Inez McDermott
June 15, 2023, 7-8pm
The striking image of the Old Man of the Mountain, silhouetted against blue skies, or emerging suddenly, haloed by clouds, captivated visitors to Franconia Notch for nearly two centuries. For nearly as long, professional and amateur artists sought to capture the impressive and peculiar details of the natural curiosity. From large painted canvases to affordable stereographs in every parlor, images of the Old Man were ubiquitous in 19th century homes. Inez McDermott will discuss the artists who sketched, painted and photographed the icon and how these images resonated with the public. We will look at paintings by Albert Bierstadt, David Johnson, Edward Hill and Samuel Lancaster Gerry, among others, as well as the first photograph taken of the Profile in 1841 and the prevalence of the photographic image well into the 20th century.
Inez McDermott is Senior Professor of Art History at New England College where she has taught since 2000. Her research interests focus on historical and contemporary New Hampshire art and artists with a particular interest in 19th century photography. She has curated major exhibitions at museums in the region, including A House of Dreams Untold, the story of the MacDowell Colony, at the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1996, was co-curator of Mount Washington, The Crown of New England, (2017) at the Currier Museum in Manchester, NH.
Inez has served on arts and humanities boards in the state, and currently serves as a board member and Exhibition Committee chair for the Saint-Gaudens’ Memorial, which supports the work of the only national park dedicated to an artist, in Cornish, NH.
The Old Man of the Mountain Would be Pleased: Preserving Franconia Notch
Presented by Kimberly Jarvis
July 13, 2023, 7-8pm
The successful creation of Franconia Notch State Park (1927-1928) and the building of the Franconia Notch Parkway (1947-1988) depended upon the importance of the Old Man of the Mountain to New Hampshire’s history. This talk will trace the history of the Old Man of the Mountain and New Hampshire’s focus on preserving its home in Franconia Notch.
Kimberly A. Jarvis is Professor of History at Doane University in Crete, Nebraska, where she has taught since 2003. She is the author of two works about the environmental history of New Hampshire: Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It (University of New Hampshire Press, 2007) and From the Mountains to the Sea: Protecting Nature in Postwar New Hampshire (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020). Kim grew up in Connecticut and spends time every summer at the family home on Highland Lake in Stoddard, New Hampshire.
From Mountains to Sand: Bedrock Weathering and Rockfall at Cannon Cliff
Presented by Matthew Maclay
July 20, 7-8pm
In Franconia Notch, the imposing Cannon Cliff looms over a massive heap of rock debris, ranging from pebbles to boulders, creating the largest talus slope in the Eastern US. This slope has been formed by the efficient weathering of bedrock and frequent rockfalls, including the 2003 collapse of The Old Man of the Mountain. Investigating the factors that contribute to the rapid erosion of Cannon Cliff is crucial, as it has implications that extend beyond Franconia Notch. Bedrock weathering plays a significant role in landscape evolution, affects the carbon cycle, degrades infrastructure, and poses a risk of erosional hazards. In this presentation, Matthew will discuss his research on the environmental conditions of Cannon Cliff and key factors that contribute to rockfall.
Matthew Maclay is a graduate student in the Earth Sciences department at Dartmouth College, studying mechanisms of bedrock weathering, erosion, and rockfall. Originally from the drift-less area of southwest Wisconsin, Matthew completed his undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy at Carleton College in Minnesota. Before joining Dartmouth, he spent three years in Baltimore, working on the scientific operations of the Hubble Space Telescope and contributing to cutting-edge optics and astronomy research. Matthew’s passion for exploring and understanding the natural world extends to his free time activities, which include hiking, biking, and skiing. In his talk, he will delve into the natural processes driving rockfall and erosion at Cannon Cliff.
The Great Stone Face: The Making of an Icon
Presented by Marcia Schmidt Blaine
August 3, 2023, 7-8pm
Despite his fall in 2003, the Old Man of the Mountain remains the symbol of New Hampshire. Why? How did a rock formation become so important to us? Attachment to the Old Man developed during the 19th century as geology and romanticism merged to bring increasing numbers of tourists to Franconia Notch. Over time, the stone face drew tourists into the Notch and became one of the important stops along the way. When the forests around the Old Man were threatened, fear of a denuded Profile Mountain helped galvanize a national movement that helped to lead to the creation of the eastern national forest system. The MWM’s exhibit on the Old Man is the perfect time to consider why we continue to have strong feelings for NH’s Profile.
Marcia Schmidt Blaine is a recently retired historian of early America and, closer to home, the history of New England and the White Mountains. She earned a year-long Fellowship with the American Council on Education in 2015-2016 to study models of academic leadership and gained a certificate in strategic planning from the Society for College and University Planning. After returning to Plymouth State, Blaine reorganized and re-energized the Museum of the White Mountains, a highlight of her academic life. She also served as Executive Director of Government Relations and Special Projects for the University.
Geologic History of the Old Man of the Mountain: A Remembrance
Presented by Brian Fowler
August 10, 2023, 7-8pm
In May 2003, the Old Man of The Mountain collapsed into Franconia Notch ending a nearly 200-year relationship between the people of New England and the Profile. Fowler, who supervised more than 25 years of stability studies on the Profile for the State of NH, will present a uniquely illustrated “remembrance” that describes the Profile’s formation, its geologic structure, the mechanisms of its stability and collapse, and the effort that’s been made to remember him.
Brian Fowler is a multi-State licensed Engineering Geologist with 50 years consulting experience in the mining and heavy construction industries in the United States and Eastern Canada. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed maps and professional articles on various geotechnical subjects, including the only geomechanical study of New Hampshire’s Old Man of The Mountain. He has completed numerous surficial geologic mapping projects for the U.S. and N.H. Geological Surveys in the high-peaks region of NH’s White Mountains and has for many years conducted independent and cooperative field research on the deglaciation of that region. He is a Past-President and Life Trustee of the Mount Washington Observatory, a 40-year member of the American Alpine Club, the Founder of the Mountain Rescue Service, and currently the President of the Old Man of The Mountain Legacy Fund. He lives in Grantham, New Hampshire.
The Enormous Impact of Two Icons Upon New Hampshire Tourism: The Old Man of the Mountain and Dick Hamilton
Presented by Mark Okrant
August 17, 2023, 7-8pm
The Old Man of the Mountain became the state’s official emblem in 1945. Moreover, it was a leading attraction for both residents and visitors to New Hampshire. When the formation fell on May 3, 2003, we lost a symbol as well as a leading revenue generator. Everyone from the governor to town officials had an opinion about how to venerate the Old Man. Enter Dick Hamilton, dean of New England tourism marketers.
Mark Okrant is the author of fourteen books, including the beloved Kary Turnell mystery series, praised for its geographic settings and surprising twists. He is a former professor of geography and tourism management, and past president of the Travel and Tourism Research Association, a leading global organization for tourism researchers. Aside from coordinating tourism research in New Hampshire for sixteen years, Mark has done studies in Maine, South Dakota, Alaska, Canada, Romania, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. His articles have been read in magazines and newspapers for the past thirty years. An avid traveler, Mark is also passionate about collecting Inuit art, watching classic westerns, playing golf and table tennis, and most importantly, spending as much time as possible with his family.
The Birth of the Old Man: A Geologic Tale of the Mountains, Volcanoes, and Oceans
Presented by Jill VanTongeren
August 31, 2023, 7-8pm
Twenty years ago this spring, the iconic 200 million year old “Old Man of the Mountain” fell from Franconia Notch. The Old Man of the Mountain was made of White Mountain Granite, a representative of one of the three major granite-forming events in the history of New Hampshire that gives the state its well-deserved title as The Granite State. In this lecture I will describe the unique confluence of tectonic events that set the stage for the birth of the Old Man and the other granites that dot the region. I will track the geological development of New Hampshire from the closure of an ancient ocean basin and the formation of the supercontinent Pangea, through a giant super-eruption of magma and major global mass extinction, and ultimately to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean we see today.
Dr. Jill VanTongeren was born and raised in Michigan and fell in love with geology while completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. During her PhD at Columbia University, she focused her studies on the formation of magmas at mid-ocean ridges and the geochemical evolution of a (now solidified) large magma chamber beneath an ancient ‘supervolcano’ in South Africa. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale, she was a professor of geology at Rutgers University for 7 years prior to moving to Tufts University in 2020, where she is now Chair of the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences. Her work has taken her to all seven continents, and she maintains active research projects in Antarctica, South Africa, Oman, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She spends her free time skiing, hiking, climbing, and gardening in the White Mountains with her husband and their four children.
Hearing the Old Man: Poems of the Old Man of the Mountain
Facilitated by Midge Goldberg
September 13, 2023, 7-8pm
Join host Midge Goldberg along with Liz Ahl, Melanie Chicoine, Robert W. Crawford, Gordon Lang, Josh Nicolaisen, and special guest Don Kimball to “hear” the Old Man through contemporary (and a few older) poems about The Old Man of the Mountain and the White Mountains.
Midge Goldberg is the editor of the anthology Outer Space: 100 Poems, published by Cambridge University Press in December 2022. Her third collection of poetry, To Be Opened After My Death, was published by Kelsay Books in 2021. Her book Snowman’s Code received the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award as well as the 2016 NH Literary Awards Readers Choice in Poetry. She lives in New Hampshire with her family, two cats, and an ever-changing number of chickens.
Liz Ahl is the author of A Case for Solace (Lily Poetry Review Books, 2022) and Beating the Bounds (Hobblebush Books, 2017), as well as several chapbooks, including A Thirst That’s Partly Mine, winner of the 2008 Slapering Hol chapbook prize. She is professor of English at Plymouth State University.
Melanie Chicoine lives in Amherst N.H. with her husband, poet Ala Khaki. Melanie’s poems have appeared in Poets’ Guide to NH: More Places, More Poets, COVID Spring – Granite State Pandemic Poems, and others. Melanie is currently serving as president on the Board of Directors for the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, and was a recent chief editor of PSNH’s literary journal, The Poets’ Touchstone.
Robert W. Crawford is the author of The Empty Chair (University of Evansville), winner of the 2011 Richard Wilbur Award, and Too Much Explanation Can Ruin a Man (David Robert Books). He has twice won the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award. He is the Director of Frost Farm Poetry in Derry, N.H., which includes the Hyla Brook Reading Series, the Frost Farm Poetry Conference, and the Frost Farm Poetry Prize.
Gordon Lang is a retired high school English teacher who raises Irish wolfhounds and gypsy horses. His work is collected in two books, Graphic Sax & Violins and No Match for a Scarecrow.
Josh Nicolaisen lives in Campton, New Hampshire with his wife, Sara, and their daughters, Grace and Azalea. He is a professional gardener and former high school teacher. He holds an MFA from Randolph College and is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Josh’s work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Colorado Review, Clockhouse, So It Goes, Appalachian Review, and elsewhere.
Special guest reader Don Kimball’s latest book is Late Autumn Raking: New and Collected Poems, from Kelsay Books. He is a former president of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire.