Wolfeboro Town Office Reports Call From Santa By Kathy Eaton
WOLFEBORO – Folks at the Wolfeboro Town Hall reported an unusual phone call last week. Caller ID showed the phone number as "RESTRICTED" but Anne Marble, secretary to Town Manager Dave Owen says she thinks she recognized the voice.
"It was very deep and everything he said was interrupted by a lot of "HO HO HOs," she said. "He wanted to know where he could get some of the new history books about Wolfeboro, Nothing Finer. It seems he's already had a lot of requests for it as a gift this Christmas."
"Dave (Owen) is on the 250th Committee which published the book, so I turned the call over to him," said Marble.
"I think Anne's right," said Owen. "It sure sounded like Santa Claus. He wanted to know all about our celebration of Wolfeboro's 250th anniversary. Said something about how he couldn't believe 250 years had passed so quickly, and how sorry he'd been to learn that General Wolfe had died at the Battle of Quebec in 1759.
"He also said he thought even then it a fitting tribute to name Wolfeboro for General Wolfe. ‘Wolfeboro's such a special place, so beautiful, you know,' he said. Though he never actually gave me his name, I really do think it was Santa," Owen added.
"As far as the book, goes, I told him the 132-page book has over 145 photos of Wolfeboro taken from the 1800s through 2010. The name Nothing Finer was taken from a quote by John Greenleaf Whittier, who said when he visited Wolfeboro: ‘Nothing Finer that its site can be found in New England.' "
"The "History and Tradition," written by author Dave Bowers, begins with the Abenaki Indians who were the first people to live here and continues until the present, where Granite State News Editor Tom Beeler finishes the narrative with "Wolfeboro Today."
"Santa was particularly interested to learn there's a chapter on what prices were a hundred years ago in 1910. I could practically hear him shake his head at the way things have gone up, but when I told him the book only cost $9.95, he was real pleased. ‘That's something most everyone can afford,' he said."
"When he asked where he could get the book, I told him we sell them here at the Town Hall, but he could also buy them from several local merchants including The Art Place, Black's Paper Store, Bridges' Hallmark, The Country Bookseller, The General Wolfe, Granite State News and Wolfeboro Casuals."
"Then he asked about ordering by mail because he didn't think he should wait until the end of November when he comes to Wolfeboro for the Christmas Parade. Santa said ‘The way this book keeps turning up on my Christmas wish lists, I think I'd better order them right away.' So I gave him the toll-free number for Stacks in Wolfeboro (1-866-811-1804), which is processing mail orders for $14.95, including the book and postage."
"He didn't stay on the phone long after he got that number," added Owen. "Nice guy…right jolly old elf," I'd have to say."