When I was in high school, I read the book, Look to the Mountains, and wrote a book report on it. I enjoyed reading the book. A couple of years ago, some forty-three years after the first reading, I read the book a second time. Now, I know of only one person who has read it three times, and that is Ellen E. Webster, New Hampshire’s early quilt historian of the 1930s. In fact, I wanted to read the book again because it seems to have been a favorite of hers. The book centers on a young couple struggling to set up a home in the wilderness, and all of the travails they encounter. It is as inspiring today as when it was first written.
It is no wonder. Ellen was really interested in the early history of Hebron, New Hampshire, the town where she was born. And, her ancestors from England were here, early on. In fact, she has a Revolutionary war hero in her family tree. She could have joined the DAR, and perhaps she did, although there is no record to verify that.
How she loved history! How I love all of the stories she wrote about her community and family! Writing is such a good way to save information that otherwise would be lost. A number of her unpublished manuscripts may be lurking out there, somewhere in the world, unless they were thrown out. There is written evidence that she had some works in progress.
More each day, I love New Hampshire and can’t think of ever living anywhere else. When I did live out west for five years, I really missed the trees and mountain landscapes and even the rugged shoreline. I’m sure that Ellen Webster loved New Hampshire, too. Through her letters, diaries, and more formal writings, one can get a sense of the depth of that love. We are rock solid people here, unshakable even in the face of adversity. We are, after all, the “Granite State.”
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
