Teacher, Frederick Martin, to Give Speech at Rindge Historical Society

As reported in an earlier blog post, The Meeting School received recognition for the historic buildings and farmland on its campus - following three years of research by the schools U.S. History classes. As you might know, the school is located on historic Thomas Farm, whose buildings include the colonial-era Lieutenant Nathaniel Thomas homestead, built in 1771 by his first cousin Captain Philip Thomas; the 1839 George Thomas house, and the c. 1850 Greek Revival barn. The New Hampshire State Historic Resources Council listed the Thomas Farm on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places at its April meeting, and described the older Thomas house as "a significant example of Georgian style." In their notification letter, the state Survey Coordinator wrote, "The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources would like to congratulate the school on the listing of the Thomas Farm (now The Meeting School) to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places. We very much appreciate your stewardship and commitment to preserving an important part of New Hampshire's heritage."

Students in Frederick's History classes dug into archives at the Rindge Historical Society, the Cheshire County Historical Society and the Registry of Deeds in Keene, and even the State Archives in Concord, seeking documents that would explain the ups and downs of the Thomas Farm's growth and changes. They assembled legal, probate, and census records, and most of all, decoded the physical evidence around them in the school's buildings and landscape.

Frederick will give a lecture and slide presentation about the history of the Thomas Farm, and some of the detective work that his classes did, at the annual meeting of the Rindge Historical Society on Saturday, November 8th, from 10:00 to 1:00

Walking of the Heifers

As fall sets in and the grasses begin to stop growing the cows and sheep at TMS will take one last trip through the fields to eat what’s left before making the switch to hay for the winter. The cows have taken a trip up the road to the Bartlett Fields where they'll have a chance to graze four of the five fields. Moving them from the barn to the top of the hill is no small task. To move them with the least amount of chaos, four strands of electric wire were used to contain them in a moving box. With a person at each corner holding the wire, the wire "box" moved down the road and up the hill to the fields (its hard to see the wire in this picture). The cows were nervous about the pavement, and had a minor escape or two before finally making it to the greener pasture. Traffic that was stopped looked on in awe as the herd went walking by. Students and faculty showed great patience and persistence throughout the entire event. Lets hope the move back to the barn for the winter goes just as smooth!