"Into the Breeches!"

July 30, 2024 — It's 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. World War II is raging and the Oberon Play House's director and all its leading men are on the European front battling the Nazis. The director's wife, Maggie Dalton, played by one of my favorite actors in Tamworth, New Hampshire's The Barnstormers, Madeleine Maby, has decided the Oberon won't be shut down and plans Shakespeare's Henriad with an all-female cast in male roles.

Into the Breeches! by George Brant was directed for the Barnstormers by Sarah Rozene. Scenic designer was Richie Ouellette. The many costumes the eight actors went through were the work of Clara Jean Kelly..

Dee Nelson, another of my favorites, is the play's diva, taking on the roles of Henry IV and V. Peyton Pugmire, one of only two males in the cast, may have avoided military service because of questionable sexual orientation. He takes on the role of stage manager and also plays Mistress Quickly. Ida Green (Tsebiyah Mishael Derry), serving as maid for the group, earns the role of Hotspur. Stephanie Lynne Mason appears as Grace Richards, a newcomer to town. Lisa Kate Joyce assumes the role of June Bennett, the ingenue who plays the Kates.

The two veteran Barnstormer actors, each with forty-five years at the Barnstormers, a total of 90 years between them, nearly stole the show. Robert Bates played Ellsworth Snow, board president of the Oberon Play House. Jean Mar Brown as Winifred Snow, wife of Ellsworth, ended up playing Falstaff. These two actors, consummate professionals that they are, have no qualms about making themselves look ridiculous if the script calls for it. Brown appeared in several of the most outrageous get-ups in this show of many costumes, and I never thought I'd see the tall, distinguished, courtly Bob Bates resplendent in a woman's gown and perfectly coiffed woman's hair-do, but that's how he appeared near the end.

This was a comedy of gentle humor, with occasional lapses into slapstick, especially in the costumes. It's a warm-hearted look at a group of people in a cooperative effort to achieve a goal against all odds with a major part of the usual team missing. It was a real audience-pleaser and got a standing ovation at curtain call.

Laconia Rotary Charity Car Show

July 27, 2024 — The Laconia Rotary Club of Laconia, New Hampshire, held its annual charity car show at Weirs Beach in the second weekend in a row of sunny weather. Gone was the stifling humidity and temperatures over 90 of recent weeks. For this show it was in the relatively comfortable 80s with lower humidity.

The show featured a wide variety of interesting vehicles, although I think the numbers were somewhat below recent years. One hundred per cent of the proceeds go to local charities. Spectators pay a modest $5, show car exhibitors have to come up with $25. Seems like an incredible bargain after last week's prices at Misselwood, and I got to sit at a table at 70 Kitchen & Market (which generously made their property available for the show) and lunch was brought to me.

I'm not saying this show is in a class with the Misselwood Concours d'Elegance. It's not. But it draws a mix of high quality cars from Model A days on up and doesn't soak its participants. It doesn't have Misselwood's spectacular views above the Atlantic, but it's within sight of Weirs Beach on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, one of New Hampshire's most popular tourist attractions.

I ended up with fifty-four photos and two short videos. Make sure your sound is turned on when you play the videos. You may like my taste in musical background, or not. Not everyone does. You can experience it all that this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/lakesregion24/

 

Misselwood Concours d'Elegance

July 21, 2024 — The Misselwood Concours d'Elegance at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, is held on a promontory overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most photogenic locations on the East Coast. The scenery and quality of cars make the show a must-see for me every year. However, there have been some disappointments in recent years.

It is now the priciest show I attend all season. General admission for spectators is $50 at the gate, but you can save about $7 by ordering on their website in advance. What they call a VIP ticket has climbed from $80 three years ago to the current $120. It entitles you to enter the field a half hour before general admission ticket holders, and a free lunch (that is, after shelling out $120) in the tent, not air conditioned but out of the sun, seated at tables with linen table cloths. Alcoholic beverages are available, but you have to pay for those.

For the general admission of $50, you can leave the show area, cross the street, go down a set of stairs into a parking lot where food is dispensed from trucks. You come away with a drink in one hand, a burger or hot dog in the other, and no place to put it down or sit. Is this a rather shabby way to treat those who paid $50? There are a couple of small food concessions on the show field. I chose one selling pizza by the slice. The only beverage they had to offer was water. Finding a place to sit can still be a problem.

Misselwood was the one show where you could count on not finding a lot of the same cars year after year. If that was a requirement, they seem to be relaxing it. I found several cars that were there just last year. For several years they included a fashion show presented by Bella Sera Bridal. Nothing to do with cars of course, but it was a nice additional photo op that we've lost.

In spite of these complaints, I'll keep returning. The cars without exception are absolutely gorgeous, and in a variety unmatched by any other show I frequent. I never fail to find several cars I never heard of, never mind having seen before. And the scenery overlooking the Atlantic is spectacular! I can subsist on a slice of pizza for a few hours. But I miss the fashion show.

You can view my coverage of this year's show at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/misselwood24/

Aviation Museum Auto Show

July 20, 2024 — The Classic Auto Show at the Aviation Museum in Londonderry, New Hampshire, is a local show that always features a surprisingly large and varied exhibit of vehicles, from classics to hot rods to imports, both cars and trucks. Year after year you'll find many vehicles you haven't seen before. I've never been disappointed.

This year's show was held just as a two-week heat wave was losing its grip, with slightly lower temperatures and lower humidity. The museum is on the property of the former Manchester Airport which is still in use by small planes, and you can look across and see the new Manchester/Boston Regional Airport. There's always a chance you might see a plane taking off or landing.

The museum is definitely worth a visit. I didn't enter it this trip because I've explored it many times. You can find my pictures from inside in photo series from previous years on my website.

You'll find my coverage of this year's show at:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/aviation2024/

World War II in the Pacific

July 14, 2024 — The American Heritage Museum in Hudson, Massachusetts has done re-enactments of World Wars I and II in Europe, but this is their first attempt at the Pacific war. It was effective, but like one or two other re-enactments it was conducted in near-record heat, stressing out both re-enactors and spectators. But fortunately the museum has three buildings you can escape to. They're not air-conditioned but they're big and airy and they get you out of the sun.

The battle re-enactments were done twice a day for two days. In heavy World War II battle gear, running, shooting and risking heat exhaustion, the participants put on well-planned, realistic shows. Lots of planes were on display, a couple taking flight, tanks running all day on the tank track and a flame thrower demonstration added variety to the day's activity. I added pictures of a few cars from the museum's collection so the series could qualify for placement on my Vintage Cars page.

You can see the mix of photos and videos at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/wwiipacific/

Power at the Tower

July 11, 2024 — The show called Power at the Tower was a pleasant surprise. Held in the evening on the property of A.J. Letizio Enterprise Center in Windham, New Hampshire, it could be mistaken for a cruise night, but that's not exactly what it is. It's a once-a-year show that features some very high-quality antiques. A tower makes a nice centerpiece for photographs, there's live music and a food concession. On the evening I was there so many cars showed up that the overflow had to be parked on the local street after filling the Letizio property.

Take a look at my photos and a video of the band that was playing the evening I was there. If you like what you see, make a note to check it out next July.

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/powerattower/

Hemmings Great Race

June 28, 2024 — This was the fourth time I met the Hemmings Motor News Great Race on one of their stops. In the past, I had been present when the racers stopped for lunch in Stratton Mountain, Vermont and ended the race later the same day at Hemmings headquarters in Bennington, Vermont in 2011. Three years later, I met them in Ogunquit, Maine, at the start of that year's race. Then, in 2018, I met them at another lunch stop at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine.

This year I caught them at the New England Racing Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, another lunch stop. They're usually at a lunch stop about three hours, so you have ample time to admire and photograph the cars and talk to the owners. They would end this year's race two days later in Gardiner, Maine. Not the kind of race where the first one at the finish line wins, but the one who adheres most closely to the planners' time and mileage schedules. All cars are equipped with highly accurate clocks and odometers rather than relying on the cars' own gauges.

Begun in 1983, the race is carefully planned, test driven and mapped. It keeps pretty close to 2,300 miles in nine days, driving almost entirely on rural roads, no interstates or toll roads, over a different route each year. Vehicles have to be of an age that classifies them as antiques, but run the gamut of types, from customs, actual race cars, hot rods and classics. Plastered with decals from promoters, sponsors and advertising, the cars are quite a sight as they come rolling in.

I don't know whether the Racing Museum expected this, but many spectators brought their own antique cars, almost overwhelming the Museum's ability to find space for them all. I got pictures of these cars along with the Great Race participants. It was an exciting day. Check it out at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/greatrace24/