Name: Launch Event: Mount Washington Valley Through the Ears 1976-2005
Start: 2024-11-22T19:00:00-05:00
Location: M & D Playhouse

Launch Event: Mount Washington Valley Through the Ears 1976-2005

Join us at the launch event to celebrate the publication of Mount Washington Valley Through the Ears 1976-2005: History, People, Places, and Fun from the Mountain Ear Newspaper. The event will be held at the M&D Playhouse at the historic Eastern Slope Inn on Friday, November 22, beginning at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30. All are invited to bring their memories of fun times and favorite Ear stories. White Birch Books will be on hand with the books. Admission is free, but the cash bar, where one can enjoy the 'Resort Report' signature cocktail, will support the theater.
It's been nearly 20 years since the original incarnation weekly Mountain Ear newspaper -- the tourist paper for the locals -- was delivered around the Valley. Filled with stories and photos that chronicled the history and unique culture of the Valley, the paper's 30 years of publication have now been condensed into a "best of" book, Mount Washington Valley Through the Ears 1976-2005: History, People, Places, and Fun from the Mountain Ear Newspaper, featuring just a few of the Ear's iconic and timeless stories.
Founded in 1976 by former friendly competitors Steve Eastman and Jane Golden Reilly, the Mountain Ear enjoyed a 30-year run until Eastman sold the publication in 2005. He had always wanted to create a retrospective of some sort, but was unable to fulfill his dream as he passed away from brain cancer in 2008. This year, former writer Karen Cummings got together with Eastman's widow Sarah Eastman and decided it was time. Once they joined with publisher Mike Dickerman of Bondcliff Books, they were off!
Former Ear writers Tom Eastman, Ann Bennett, and Rob Burbank, with Chris Stewart and Golden Reilly via Zoom, will join the book's editors Eastman and Cummings along with publisher Dickerman on stage to reminisce about their times at the Ear and some of the special people they got to interview over the years.
"Selecting the stories for the book was really a walk down memory lane in so many ways," said Cummings. "In some cases it was like opening a time capsule, in others it was remembering some wonderful characters."
The book starts with the history of the region, including stories of the early settlers, the White Mountain School of Art, and the Grand Age of Hotels. Then the focus shifts to the big personalities who are still part of the area DNA, like Carroll Reed, Betty Whitney, and Joe Dodge. No book on the area would be complete without some mention of the Volvo Tennis Tournament, along with Local Yokels, Spring Shampagne Stampede, and the Mud Bowl. The book wraps up with some places that are very unique to the area, such as the Redstone Quarry, the Mt. Washington Auto Road, and Limmer Boots.
This presentation at the M&D Playhouse at the historic Eastern Slope Inn is free and open to all.