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E4 • Herald Sunday • December 11, 2005BOOKS AUTHORSWetherbee, Clayton offer tales of Granite StateFritz Wettwrbee's New HampshireFritz Wetherbee PlsidswedeYou Know You're in New Hampshire When...John Clayton Insiders'Guide“I’m at the check-out counter at Anies in Concord buying a T-shirt and a lady in front of me turns and says, ‘Oh,’ six* says, ‘You’re Fritz Wetherbee. I watch you all the time.’ “Thanks,’ I say. She leaves and the kid behind the counter is looking at me. ‘You on TV?’ he asks.“‘Yeah,’ I say. He’s looking at me. He hasn’t a clue.“‘Is it a comedy?’ he asks.”No, “New Hampshire Chronicle is not a comedy, but Wetherbee does find the humor in many of the stories he tells.I don’t know where this check-out kid has been (maybe he doesn’t watch television), but Wetherbee, seems to me, is one of the most recognizable personalities in our state.Why, he’s practically as famous as Adam Sandler, but, of course, Sandler’s not around much and Fritz walks among us. We know his faceand his wonderful resonant voice with its rare Yankee lilt. That voice comes through loud and clear in his new book, “Fritz Wetherbee’s New Hampshire, a collection of more than 100 essays, many performed on “Chronicle, which prove Wetherbee’s extensive knowledge of New Hampshire character, characters, and history. He even includes (scandalous) stories about his own family like “Father Sees His First Naked Ixidy.”“Fritz Wetherbee’s New Hampshire covers pretty much the whole state. It spans considerable time, too. “Man Kills Bear with Bare Hands” takes place in Rindge in 1799. “Ironic Fritz, which include s the check-out kid at Ames anec dote, took place within the last few years surely. When exactly did Ames go out of business in Concord?Here’s another anecdote from “Ironic Fritz:“I am standing at the* counter at Dunkin’ Donuts and I say, ‘I’d like* a ce»ffe*e* ... ah, an iced cot fee.’“And the woman be*hind the counter says, ‘Say iced first because* I’m not a mind-reader.’ “‘Sorry,’ I say. ‘And milk, ah, skim milk.’ And she* says,Well. I almost put plain milk into the cup. Say skim milk if you want it.’“‘And a regular hot coffe*e with just cream ’“‘What size?’“‘Ah. small, I guess.’ “‘1 have* to know the size*,’ she* says.‘“I know,’ I say.“‘You look like that guy on tele vision.’ she* says. ‘I ge t that a lot,’ I say. ‘You sound like him. too.’ ‘Ye ah. I know.’ ‘He’s knowledgeable, though,’ she says.”Re ading “Fritz Wetherbee’s Ne w Hampshire is like* watching him on I V only without the* TV. He ’s as much a charae te r as the* characters he* writes about like Two-gun Perkins, Bezeleed Beckwith, or He rmit Ben I.e ar He*’s not a write*r who dubs around; he* has the* storyte-ller’s gift for starting at the* heart, which — of course* — catches the* reader right away. From “A I e rrible Death’’: “The* kids came to school one day anel tound something so horriblethat, to this day, it is remembered in the ‘History of Jaffrey.’Sometimes he tells the whole story in the first sentence, then fills in the holes over the next page or two. From “Cutter Gravestones”: The stone tells us that Mrs. Cutter was accused of lying by members of the congregation and, as a result of her excommunication, she died of a broken heart. Sometimes he starts with a question: “Did you ever hear of the Boston Beaneaters? Or a provocative fact: “I once peed on Bette Davis.”Every time he boils a story down to its essentials and seems to let it tell itself. This is his gift: to make this look easy. On the air. And on the page. No wonder he’s an icon.You may remember that years ago, Fritz Wetherbee hosted NHPTV’s “New Hampshire Crossroads, now hosted by John Clayton, who also recently published a book all about New Hampshire. Crossroads, indeed! Wetherbee’s essays are short fl’V demands short), and Clayton’s are even shorter in his clever guide to “101 quintessential places, people, events, customs, lingo, and eats of the granitestate” called “You Know You’re in New Hampshire When ...Arranged alphabetically, the guide begins with Aerosmith (yup, Steven Tyler summered at Sunapee) and ends with The World Championship Sled Dog Derby in Laconia. In between: more than 1(H) tids and bits on topics such as ITie Black Fly, Passaconaway. J.D. Salinger, and Live Free or Die. Here, too, you’ll find stories from history (the origin of Fast Day, John Paul Jones' visit to Portsmouth, Sarah Josepha Hale. Amy Beach. Amos Fortune) as well as observations about the state today and contemporary heroes like Bode Miller.Here, too, is a writer with a strong, distinctive voice — honed in the hundreds of columns Clayton has written for the Manchester Union Leader.The fact that Wetherbee's stories and Clayton’s don’t overlap much, if at all, shows New Hampshire’s chock full of interesting stories. Plenty of room in these Granite hills for two fine homegrown storytellers to spin their yarns and never tangle.Rebecca Rule of North wood reviews books by New Hampshire authors She may be reached at rebeccaruleu metrocast netMARKSRebecca Rule
Newspaper Details
Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US
Sun, Dec 11, 2005
Page 36
Full Page
Clipped by
Anticomposite N.
NA, 07 Mar 2025
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