New Hampshire

While it may not seem like a big deal to some, my upcoming trip to majestic New England will be topped off with a visit to Madison, New Hampshire. I have not been to the Atlantic colony states in over 40 years, but I look forward to a wonderful reunion.

New Hampshire is bordered in the Northwest by Quebec and the East by Maine. To its far western border is Vermont, and the south is covered by Massachusetts. It was one of the 13 original colonies inhabited by English settlers and the ninth to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Most of the state is filled with huge mountains and dotted with small communities that survive today on a combination of tourism and manufacturing. A lot of events are held there on an annual basis stemming from its inception in 1776, when it broke away from Great Britain.

One of New Hampshire's recreational attractions includes skiing and other winter sports, observing the fall foliage, summer cottages along many lakes, motor sports at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Motorcycle Week, a popular motorcycle rally held in Laconia in June.

A lot of famous people were born in New Hampshire, including founding father Nicholas Gilman, Senator Daniel Webster, editor Horace Greeley, founder of the Christian Science religion Mary Baker Eddy, poet Robert Frost, author Dan Brown, and comedians Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman and Seth Meyers. New Hampshire has produced one president, Franklin Pierce.

It was also the home of Alan Shepard Jr., an astronaut and the first man in space. Augustus Saint - Gaudens, a sculptor that designed the $20 U.S. gold piece and also the $10 gold coin was also born in New Hampshire. Salmon P. Chase, who was Secretary of the Treasury during the Lincoln administration and whose image is on the U.S. $10,000 bill that was mainly used for bank transfers, until it was retired, was also from New Hampshire. Benny Binion of Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas had a display of 100 sequential $10,000 bills on display amounting to one million dollars until a few years back when the ownership was sold off.

It will be just a short two-hour flight to Manchester from the Detroit airport and then about another two hours by car to reach my destination. Bp. Jason Sanderson is the host for the weekend festivities coming up and expects between 50-100 guests at the housewarming and reunion of East Coast wrestling stars and legends.

I am going to take a few items with me to help with the fun, one being my Cribbage board and the other my new laptop that is filled with movies and music. I checked the weather forecast, and it looks like a pleasant weekend, but a bit chilly, probably in the low 50's.

More on my trip next time…

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree