Each week, I usually do my "Seacoast Sunday Scenes" post, but this week, I wanted to pay tribute to New Hampshire's beloved state logo - our "Old Man of the Mountains".
Five years ago this past weekend, May 3rd, the rock formations that created the "Old Man of the Mountains" profile slid into history and fell at the basin of Cannon mountain. Sometime between midnight and about 2-3am on the morning of May 3, 2003, he slid down the slopes, and when the fog lifted that morning, he was really gone.
It may seem trivial to some who are not from New Hampshire or who came to love our "Old Man in the Mountains" on their visits to NH, but I must say this came as a total shock to those who cherished him. Many remember just where they were when the got the news that we'd lost our Old Man, just as they do when JFK was shot or Martin Luther King was shot, or when the terrible events of 9-11-2001 took place.
He's the logo on many of our symbols here in New Hampshire, some are pictured below.
Families for generations have visited the Old Man on family trips, many school children over the years were there for school field trips, and certainly millions of tourists from all over the world have seen him, especially during glorious fall foliage trips. I know I've been there many times over all the years I've lived here in New Hampshire.
My first trip to see him is the one I probably remember the most - I'd never seen rock formations, never mind one that was as revered as this one was, and one that I came to love as well. Every trip through the Notch - Franconia Notch - was marked with who could spot the Old Man first, and then we'd crane our necks trying to keep him in our view for as long as we could, until we couldn't see him anymore.
To read some great history on our beloved, and never forgotten, New Hampshire Old Man in the Mountains, be sure to check out these articles. There's some great reading here, and you'll soon see why all who live here miss his presence.
"The Old Man of the Mountains", also known as "The Great Stone Face"
"The Old Man of the Mountains - the old man fell from the mountain today" - an account from one person's perspective about the loss of our Old Man
"The Old Man of the Mountains - New Hampshire Poems and Verses" - this site has some great poems about New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountains
"The Old Man of the Mountains - That Great Natural Curiosity" - a wonderful timeline and history-telling about our Old Man
Here are some pictures & postcards depicting the "Old Man of the Mountains in New Hampshire" - enjoy them!
Gone, but never forgotten - New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountains.........
Ann Cummings, New Hampshire and Maine REALTOR
Real Estate Broker - NH and Maine
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth NH
ann@anncummings.com
888-349-5678 x 3839
Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine 
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Ann,
I hadn't heard that the formation had fallen. That's really sad, as it's been a fixture since forever. Thanks for posting. (Wish this was an April 1 post.)
Mike in Tucson