July 30, 2009

A Brand New Sign for a 39 Year Old Business!

Posted to Chrissy Smith

As a marketing person, I often times get excited when I see a business doing something new, or innovative. Recently, on my way home I saw some sign posts going up at an established business in our area, but I realized, this was a business that had never had a sign. The business - Schofield’s Septic Service. Schofield’s is located on busy Route 302, just outside of Lisbon NH and they service septic systems all over the North Country of New Hampshire and beyond. I wondered, would this be a sign for them? A few days later, as my husband and I drove by, we both gasped when we saw what now appeared between the sign posts - a beautiful hand crafted wooden sign, with gold lettering - made especially for Schofield’s Septic. “Wow,” my husband said. “That is one beautiful sign. What a class act.” His words said it all, a class act. Schofield’s now had a beautiful sign to go with their always clean trucks that are precisely lined up in the yard in the evening, nice fence posts near the trucks, a nice yard. And Kevin Schofield’s sign got me to thinking, what a great statement he’s making. If you own a business in an field that not everyone talks about all the time, septic systems aren’t exactly cocktail conversation, what a way to say that you run a nice clean operation. One that you wouldn’t be embarrassed by when they come up your rural country road to pump your septic tank, or run a camera down the line, or have a NH certified septic system evaluation.

I called Kevin, I wanted to know more about this beautiful sign. He said he knew what he wanted and he found the right person to do it. He had a vision. The business was started by Kevin’s dad, Conrad in 1970 when he moved to the greater Littleton area. However, Conrad had worked for his father in Massachusetts, where they had a septic service that started in 1948. You can still find Conrad on the job sites and at the shop - I think he could probably tell you where tanks and systems are, just by memory. An amazing family, and an amazing sign.

If you ever need septic service, we have a number of great services around, including Schofield’s. Schofield’s can be reached at 603-838-6028 and by email at: schofieldseptic@roadrunner.com.

Posted by:Chrissy Smith



July 24, 2009

Enjoy a Great Country Fair this Weekend at the North Haverhill Fair

Posted to Chrissy Smith, Events & Activities

This weekend in lower Grafton County visitors and residents alike will flock to the North Haverhill Fair. The is the 65th year of the North Haverhill Fair and it is composed of all things you find at a fair – rides for the kids, farm animals, tractor pulls, arts and crafts, fried dough, vendor exhibits and much more.

As a family, we attend the fair each year and always have a delightful time. The fairgrounds are nice and clean, the price of admission is very fair, and it’s a nice time to get out and visit with friends and make new ones. Rain or shine, we always have a great time and my father drives 2 hours north each year to attend! It’s truly an eventful day and we never miss going to the North Haverhill Fair.

Wondering where North Haverhill is? North Haverhill is about 25 miles south of Littleton, NH, on Route 10 towards Hanover, NH. It is located along the Connecticut River, and just over the river is the state of Vermont. The town of Woodsville is a precinct of Haverhill, and is home to some big box stores, quaint shops, and more. With a population of 4,600 hundred people, the town is comprised of farms, lovely neighborhoods, rural sections and more. A nice feature about Haverhill, is you are only a 25 minute ride to Hanover NH, home of Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and you are only a 25 minute ride to Littleton, NH, the 9th best small town in America. So the town of Haverhill is made up of people who may work right in town, or may commute a bit, and come home to enjoy their home in Haverhill.

We have a renovated “green home” in Haverhill for sale, in Woodsville. The owners are known for green building, and this home is all about energy efficiency. It is situated on Park Street, near the Woodsville Elementary School . It is situated on a corner lot with southern exposure for passive solar heating. When they renovated the home, they kept the original charm by keeping the stained glass windows, tin ceiling and interior doors. There is a fuel efficient propane furnace, solar electric panels and more.

So this weekend, visit the North Haverhill Fair, the price of admission will even cover the concert on Friday night with John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band – remember their 80’s hit song, “On the Dark Side” from the movie Eddie and the Cruisers…and feel free to stop by, enjoy a ride around Haverhill and stop by and see the energy efficient home! Another great stop in Haverhill - the Windy Ridge Orchard – they are now in blueberry picking season! We’ll see you in Haverhill, NH!

Posted by:Chrissy Smith



July 14, 2009

The Mt. Washington Auto Road and the Stay-Cation in the White Mountains

Posted to Chrissy Smith

The stay-cation this summer is certainly something our family is enjoying. With an infant, we decided we’d take day trips to area attraction in our own backyard – this past weekend’s adventure was the Mt. Washington Auto Road.

As a life long resident of Northern New Hampshire, I had never been to the top of Mt. Washington – embarrassing to say the least! Each summer I would say we’ll go and never do – so finally we went this past weekend.

We took Route 302 through Crawford Notch to Glen, NH and traveled through Pinkham Notch to the Mt. Washington Auto Road entrance. My husband said I would hate it because of my fear of heights…I wondered if I’d be able to make it also. We started up the 8 mile road to the top – great views the whole way. I took a plethora of photos, shot some video and turn arounded to the back seat many times to pick up toys our baby had dropped. The weather was clear all the way up. We got to above tree line, and shortly after around mile marker 7, we experienced fog and couldn’t even see the Mt. Washington Cog Railway car a mere 100 feet away – we could only hear it. We ate our lunch and drove the rest of the way to the top, figuring that perhaps we wouldn’t see a thing. As soon as we pulled into the parking log the fog cleared and the views were 360 degrees around, we definately saw Canada, and five states. It was simply amazing, and more than I ever expected.

We went all around the Mt. Washington Observatory, visited the Tip Top House, watched the Mt. Washington Cog Railway train head back down the mountain. We saw a whole bunch of hikers who had made their way to the top, we saw visitors from many countries, and we even saw a few people we knew! We left after spending 2 hours at the top, my 7 year old called it “awesome” and gave it 2 thumbs up. We traveled the eight miles back down, in first gear as they recommend and we didn’t experience any problems. Again, great views all the way down.

We traveled home by way of Gorham on Route 16 then went towards Jefferson, NH and ended up back on Route 302 in Twin Mtn/Bretton Woods NH.

All in all it was an amazing experience, and by the way, even with my fear of heights, I wasn’t scared at all! The stay-cation is great, and it makes me realize how much there is to do in the Western White Mountains of New Hampshire, and frankly, how glad I am to live here. Next week? Perhaps Whale’s Tale Water Park, or StoryLand or Santa’s Village….or perhaps we’ll take a trip up the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway! Whatever it is, we’ll have fun here in the White Mountains, attractions abound in our own backyard! To find out more about some of the area’s attractions, visit White Mountain Attractions; they have a great site and full of useful information.

Posted by:Chrissy Smith



July 06, 2009

Landaff NH Moose Sighting and Our One Room School House

Posted to Chrissy Smith

Just the other night, as I was heading out to our Littleton Rotary Club annual meeting, I spotted this very small moose just 15 feet of the main road leading out of Landaff NH. Landaff is where I live, a lovely town of 300 residents and the home of the “Blue School”, our one room school house. The school has been operating for 151 years and is still educating Landaff students in grades k-3 and has a full time teacher Claire Cochrane, who this year was nominated for the NH 2009 Teacher of the Year.

In Landaff you can find great residents all with diverse backgrounds from all over the world, and sometimes you can see moose. This was the smallest one I’ve ever seen, the size of a very small horse and he was about 15 feet off the road. Sometimes in this mud bog you’ll find much larger moose, however, I haven’t seen him yet and I hope I don’t if he’s in the road.

In terms of land, Landaff is comprised mainly of the White Mountain National Forest, but the part that isn’t is full of farms, meadows, forest, and homes dotted through the landscape. Its an active community with a busy Grange, who hold public socials in the winter. We also have the Friends of Landaff, a civic group that raises money for different causes, and the big event in Landaff is the Old Home Day Auction which takes place the 3rd Saturday in August and benefits our all volunteer fire department.

Every now and then we have some homes for sale in Landaff you can see some of them here. Am I passionate about Landaff? You bet! I love my town! The North Country of New Hampshire is a great place to live and work, come see for yourself.

Now, if this moose wanted to relocate to another area out of our real estate territory, I could find he or she an agency in another town - an agency that is like our own - and part of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. The moose would just have to let me know, or tell their agent and then I can help!

Posted by:Chrissy Smith



July 02, 2009

We've Got the Tent Up for the Customer Appreciation BBQ

Posted to Chrissy Smith, Events & Activities

Well the tent is up and we are getting ready for our Customer Appreciation BBQ tomorrow night at our Franconia Office. The tent rising used to take us a good hour, but after six years of this we are getting to be experts. Just half an hour. The rain was a bit drizzly as we were putting it up, but we’re hoping for good weather tomorrow! Feel free to stop by and enjoy a hamburger or hot dog, some salad, a beverage or two and some delicious cake! Its always a great time to visit with friends and make new friends. Come join us 4-7 pm, 383 Main Street, Franconia NH.




Posted by:Chrissy Smith