Landowner Stories

Thinking of conserving your land? Here are some stories about people who have already successfully done so in collaboration with the Forest Society.

Kinship and Care in New Hampton

Three of the many reasons Liz and Dennis Hager donated a conservation easement on their 140-acres in New Hampton are carved into an interior door of their farmhouse: I.H.M.

          The three letters stand for Ichabod H. Mudgett. He was part of the family that ... read more

 

 

 

 

Close to Heaven
A Member's Donation Creates a Living Memorial to Her Parents and Sister

Mary Jane Morse Greenwood grew up on a bustling farm in Alton, where pastures extended up Pine Mountain and included vast wild blueberry barrens overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.

            At a spry 87, this petite and energetic woman with a quick laugh and abundant funny stories remembers bringing boxes of blueberries with her father to bakeries, restaurants and stores, where they sold for 25 cents a quart.  Reminiscing in her Belmont home recently, she used her hands to show the rounded shape of the mounds of blueberries her father, Albert Morse, Sr., put into each box.

            “We always used to give them a good heaping quart,” she said. 

            It’s the baker’s dozen philosophy -- “one more for good measure.” And it’s the spirit of Mary Jane’s donation of 25 more acres of land and a conservation easement on another 15 acres to the Forest Society to add to the 431 acres she donated in 2008. Read more..,

 

Conserving Family Farm Honors Parents' Hard Work and Dreams

The Darvid farm is a familiar landmark in Easton.  Heading north on Route 116, you pass its fields after emerging from the dense forest cover of the White Mountain National Forest. Many White Mountains hikers appreciate the beauty of the farm twice and from two perspectives ─ you can’t get to the Reel Brook Trailhead without passing the Darvid farm, and you can’t hike the Kinsman Ridge Trail without noticing the cleared fields in the valley below.

Anna Darvid was born on the farm and still lives in the farmhouse. She knows the land and the memories it holds, memories of how it became the picturesque spot it is today. “My mother and father worked very hard, and it wasn’t always easy for anyone,” she said. Read more...