Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Most of N.H.'s Old Man of Mountain Falls
Yahoo ^ | 5-3-03 | unknown

Posted on 05/03/2003 10:05:15 AM PDT by jmc813

The Old Man of the Mountain, New Hampshire's natural stone profile that looks like a gnarled human face, fell from its mountainside overnight, a state official said Saturday.

Photo
AP Photo

 

Don Bliss, the state's director of emergency management, said there were no injuries. A Franconia emergency dispatcher also confirmed that the rock profile had fallen.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the damage, but Amy Bahr, president of the Franconia Heritage Museum, said she has long been aware that the natural profile could slide. There had been several efforts over the years to stabilize it.

"I knew it would go sometime, I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime," Bahr said.

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, appearing on travel brochures and even the state quarter.

It was located in Franconia 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. And now it's gone," said Eric Mueller, who works at Franconia Hardware Store.

___

On the Net:

http://www.nhparks.state.nh.us


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Maine; US: Massachusetts; US: New Hampshire; US: Vermont
KEYWORDS: cannonmountain; cannonmtn; franconia; i93; oldman
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-72 last
To: jmc813
Let us hope that nothing happens to that famous rock formation in Sedona, Arizona. That would be a huge tragedy.
61 posted on 05/04/2003 6:25:42 AM PDT by Urbane_Guerilla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Celantro
Article in the Boston Herald today quotes NH Gov. Craig Benson as saying that the "Old Man" will be rebuilt on the mountain. I don't see the attraction in that. I mean, the whole appeal of the "Old Man" - like the Natural Bridge in Virginia - was that it was a naturally formed rock formation. A man-made substitute just isn't going to be the same.
62 posted on 05/04/2003 6:26:34 AM PDT by SamAdams76 (California wine beats French wine in blind taste tests. Boycott French wine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: jmc813
A metaphor for the left is no more.

Cobbled together and straining to resist the natural frces, the friction on the fracture face diminished to the point it could no longer stay in place. The Gravity of conservatism overcame all the careful and expensive cobbling and the face fell apart.

63 posted on 05/04/2003 8:15:42 AM PDT by bert (Don't Panic !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jmc813
Rather symbolic.
64 posted on 05/04/2003 8:16:42 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (Further, the statement assumed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SamAdams76
Yeah, rebuilding a fake "Old Man" would be like "Old Faithful" drying up so the parks department sticks a hose under ground with the spout facing upward and once an hour they turn the spigot on for a water show.
65 posted on 05/04/2003 8:33:49 AM PDT by Celantro
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: nutmeg
Thank you, nutmeg. That is sweet of you. I didn't know there were still so many little villages like that left in New England.
66 posted on 05/04/2003 10:14:44 AM PDT by Aliska
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Redleg Duke
You have my apologies.
67 posted on 05/04/2003 10:29:02 AM PDT by El Sordo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: TrueBeliever9; 2sheep; babylonian; Jeremiah Jr; Prodigal Daughter
Concord

Reminds me of a winepress. Or the aircraft that crashed and burned at the same time as Camp David II. Concord = peace treaty.

N.H. Old Man of the Mountain Collapses

By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI, Associated Press Writer

FRANCONIA, N.H. - New Hampshire awoke Saturday to find its stern granite symbol of independence and stubbornness, the Old Man of the Mountain, had collapsed into indistinguishable rubble.

The fall ended nearly a century of efforts to protect the giant mountainside landmark from the same natural forces that created it. Only stabilizing cables and epoxy remained Saturday where the famous ledges had clung.

"There's only so much you can do," said Mike Pelchat, a state parks official who hiked up the mountain Saturday to make sure there were no signs of foul play.

"With heavy rains and high winds and freezing temperatures, the combination was just right to loosen him up," he said. "We always thought it was the hand of God holding him up, and he let go."

It was unclear when the outcropping actually fell from Cannon Mountain because clouds had obscured the area Thursday and Friday. A state park trails crew reported Saturday morning that the Old Man of the Mountain was gone.

The Old Man is a natural rock formation that was created by a series of geologic events beginning an estimated 200 million years ago.

Over time, nature carved out a 40-foot-tall profile resembling an old man's face, and it soon became New Hampshire's most recognizable symbol. The face appears on the state quarter, state road signs and countless souvenirs and tourist brochures.

Millions of tourists have traveled through Franconia Notch to view the profile, 1,200 feet above Interstate 93 about 65 miles north of Concord. In the 19th century, the profile inspired New Hampshire statesman Daniel Webster to write: "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

Dick Hamilton, president of White Mountain Attractions, a tourism group, has commuted through the notch every day for more than 30 years, and said goodnight to the Old Man every night when he drove by.

On Friday, with his view blocked by the clouds, he said, "Good night, boss, wherever you are."

"I've just lost my number one attraction," he said Saturday.

The state had used cables and epoxy to try for years to keep the rock profile from falling from erosion and the natural freeze-and-thaw cycle. Those who did the work had warned that a collapse was inevitable, but few thought they would live to see it.

Gov. Craig Benson quickly declared that the face should be "revitalized" and said he was meeting with state officials to determine how it should be done and planned to form a fund to take donations.

"This closes a very long chapter in New Hampshire history, but we'll begin a new chapter immediately," Benson said. "The old man is counting on us not to forget his legacy, and we won't let him down."

David Nielsen, whose father was the profile's official caretaker for decades before passing the job on to his son in 1989, had tears in his eyes as he looked at the mountainside Saturday.

"The oldest person in my family just died," he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030504/ap_on_re_us/old_man_mountain_16

Chaff of the summer threshingfloors bump.

68 posted on 05/04/2003 11:57:43 AM PDT by Thinkin' Gal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
The state needs to just get busy and commission a
sculptor to do a more solid replica of the old man
profile 25 ft. wide and 40 ft. high (or bigger if
possible) and put it on the site and create a park
and museum around it. Lemons? Make lemonade!
69 posted on 05/04/2003 12:13:16 PM PDT by Twinkie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: El Sordo
Thank you. You have my respect for that act.
70 posted on 05/04/2003 8:04:19 PM PDT by Redleg Duke (Stir the pot...don't let anything settle to the bottom where the lawyers can feed off of it!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: jmc813
Kinda reminds me of an old song...

THE OLD MAN IS DEAD

VERSE 1:

NOW AND THEN AN OLD OF MINE

I’VE NOT SEEN IN SOME TIME

WILL STOP BY AND ASK ME

WHERE’VE I BEEN ? WHAT’S ON MY MIND ?

THEY WONDER WHY I’M NOT DRINKING

AND STILL PAINTING THIS OLD TOWN RED

I TELL THEM I’M SERVING JESUS NOW

AND THE OLD MAN IS DEAD

CHORUS

THE MAN YOU SEE BEFORE YOU

MAY LOOK A LOT THE SAME

I MAY WEAR THE SAME CLOTHES

AND HAVE THE SAME OLD NAME

BUT YOU’RE LOOKING ON THE OUTSIDE

IF YOU COULD SEE INSIDE INSTEAD

YOU WOULD SEE A BRAND NEW MAN

‘CAUSE THE OLD MAN IS DEAD

71 posted on 05/07/2003 2:02:02 PM PDT by Preech1 ("Rain drops on roses and Duct Tapes on Muslims...a few of my favorite things...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jmc813; maclogo
In a related story...


72 posted on 05/07/2003 2:04:55 PM PDT by SerpentDove (Each post focus-group tested for maximum wallop.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-72 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson