Brook Trout, School, Fast Day & The Month Of May In 1952
by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr.
Weirs Times Contributing Writer
It was the month of May in the year 1952 and I was finishing my last year at the New Hampton Community School, the last of two because the “consolidated school” for the town’s school students up to grade 8 had opened in 1950. I was looking forward to the 8th grade graduation ceremonies in June, but probably had other things on my mind on the first day of May.
That day in that year marked the opening of brook trout season in New Hampshire.
Whether then or now, I can’t claim to be an accomplished fisherman or even a frequent participant in the sport, or endeavor, or whatever you want to call it. But even now I can feel the excitement of visiting a brook in the hopes of catching some brook trout.
There was a legal length limit of 6 inches for brook trout in those days and I remember carefully stretching out a just caught fish on a ruler hoping that the end of the tail would reach the six inch mark. I think there was a limit catch of ten fish a day in 1952, but I don’t remember ever reaching that goal. I wasn’t the only one stricken with “fish fever” on that day, and I suspect that many employers were short some workers because of that ailment.
The weekly publication of The Bristol Enterprise reported that in a surprise move the public schools in Bristol delayed their opening on May 1st to nine o’clock, the opening of the brook trout season. This caused some controversy because, an Enterprise editorial stated, “since people like to argue about matters not too important… ” Besides, the editorial continued, there was suspicion that the decision was made more for the benefit of some adults than for the children. Also, the discussion about the school delay “…took a little pressure away from the general Taft-Eisenhower debate which still continues its unconvincing course.”
I recall back when party presidential candidates were actually decided at the conventions which made results less predictable and added excitement that is lacking in today’s national party conventions.
That was my experience when we listened to the radio broadcasts of the gatherings because we had no TV.
The editor of The Bristol Enterprise had an interesting suggestion involving the first day of brook trout fishing and Fast Day. The latter was a holiday observed each March or April in New Hampshire which had nothing to do with somehow speeding up a day, but was fasting in the sense of giving up eating for a day and giving time to prayer and church attendance, at least in its beginnings.
The day was initiated when New Hampshire’s provincial president, John Cutts was sick in the year 1681 and the province’s inhabitants were asked to set aside a day free from work and play to fast and pray for the president. The name of the position was later changed to governor.
The observance of a Fast Day was continued the next year and beyond as a State holiday until it was discontinued in 1991 in favor of Civil Rights Day, which was later changed to Martin Luther King,Jr. Day.
The Bristol paper suggested combining the first day of trout fishing with Fast Day, thus making the fishing day a holiday. The editor insisted that “brook trout day” was better observed than “Fast Day.”
The relationship between Fast Day and fishing was addressed in another column of the newspaper titled “The People’s Forum.” The writer of that column identified himself as being from Alexandria and signed his column with the name Habakuk Hasdrubal Winterbottom. Mr. Winterbottom announced that he was considering a run for Governor of the State and that his platform consisted of one three inch, red oak plank which said: “Open the brook trout season on Fast Day.” His objective was to close up everything on the first day of brook trout season (Fast Day) and get people out in the open.
He wrote “I want the fish hatcheries run on double shift and I advocate burning lights in them all night. If that makes hens lay more eggs, it may do the same with trout. I want big signs on the fish planting trucks and State Police to regulate the traffic following behind them. ‘More and better fishing for residents and visitors.””
If that weren’t enough about fishing one might suspect that a mystery having to do with the Calley & Currier crutch factory might also allude to that activity. Under their “Shop Notes” column they note that they had trouble with their shaper one day which left a pile of crutches waiting for their tops. Then the item: “Mystery of the vanishing supervision: Where…were the vice-president, foreman, forester, and assistant foreman one day last week when all hi-de-ho broke loose?” One of the names I remember from my youth is that of H. Thomas Urie. He was said to have been on a fishing expedition at Rangely Lake in Maine.
One of the people I admired in my youth was the then local Fish and Game officer, Slim Baker. Hearing about him and watching him I’m sure was one reason that I had dreams and ambitions of one day becoming a Fish and Game warden. That didn’t happen, but the admiration and inspiration I experienced was not mine alone. Another column in the same newspaper about a fishing derby said this: “Slim Baker is at his very best with the youngsters and we always enjoy any meeting in which he takes part doubly even at, today when he is badly in need of rest from daytime trout fishing and nighttime smelt checking, to say nothing of fish planting. He has a knack of bringing out the best in the boys and girls and they love him and are honored by his attention, which is what we for one so heartily desire in our conservation officers.” The fishing derby was at Bebee River and sponsored by the Pemigewasset Valley Fish and Game Club and the Draper Corporation.
Another Springtime enjoyment at the New Hampton Community School was being able to be part of a baseball team that played against another school. Those type of games were few, maybe only a couple, and I didn’t impress anyone with my ball-playing skills, but it was a satisfying experience. We also had a Father-Son game which my Dad participated in. Unfortunately that game was shortened by rain, but not before I was moved from the shortstop position to the outfield because in the rain my glasses were wet and I couldn’t see a ball that was hit at me (or nearby) and there was no stop at short.
Nevertheless, it gave a young fellow the satisfaction of playing even if he was embarrassed by his infirmities.
My thanks go to Mr. Rochfort and the other teachers at New Hampton Community School. Nineteen of us graduated from the eighth grade that June in 1952. That was a large class for New Hampton in that era. And whatever brook trout anyone in our family caught on that first day of fishing was fried up for supper.
Among my few Spring night outings thanks to my parents, and once or more with the help of Guy and Evelyn Davis, involved catching smelt in nets. These small fish which came up a stream out of Lake Winnisquam proved to be an exciting experience and another meal of small fried fish.
Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr., welcomes your comments at danahillsmiths@yahoo.com.
