May 3 2003 is a day many New Hampshire residents will never forget...like remembering where you were when JFK or Bobby got shot...9-11 and Martin Luther King...of course that day is nowhere near the same tragic scale and magnitude of those events, it is a day that traumatized the state of New Hampshire.
It is the day that the Old Man fell.
It sounds a bit strange to be celebrating an event that changed the face of our state but that is indeed what will happen this weekend.
There will be a huge celebration in Franconia Notch State park this weekend...actually five years to the day that the Old Man fell.
There will be all sorts of events, music, food and outdoor activities at The Old Man in the Mountain Festival and Salute which will be held to honor his passing.
In case you've never heard of the Old Man, let me tell you a little about my old man.
He was a very old man indeed, some say he was born an estimated 2,000 plus years ago during the post-glacial period.
Even though he was very old his passing was deeply mourned by New Hampshire residents as well as those of its sister New England States.
The Old Man in the Mountain.
What a sight he was...so majestic...so proud. He sat boldly on the shoulder of Profile Mountain, which juts out into space, some 1200 feet above Profile Lake.
His profile was not to be missed by anyone visiting New Hampshire's Majestic White Mountains.
We have often pulled off the highway to stop at the viewing station simply so we could look at him, take pictures and just marvel that he was there.
Riding up route 93 is just not the same without him.
He was a natural phenomenon...not created by man, but cherished by many.

The joy never wore off...never became a yeah so what...been there done that type of attraction.
And then one day when we least expected it, he was gone...simply gone.
We didn't have a chance to say good bye or take one last photo.
We knew he was ailing a little bit and had heard about tentative gentle repairs being done and minor mending needed but no one expected that he would fell.
The Old Man of the Mountain, whose stony countenance simply vanished overnight and was discovered missing on May 3, 2003.
I'm sorry if you never got to see him in real life...my shots don't do him justice at all.
I've included some links that have great photos of New Hampshire's Old Man in The Mountain for your viewing pleasure.
RIP

Monika McGillicuddy,REALTOR
Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County
Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training
NewHampshireRealEstateBlog.com
Prudential Verani Realty
Hampstead NH Real Estate
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