Dixville Notch, New Hamphshire and the Loss of Innocence

With elections much in the news, I am reminded of this political junkie’s exploration of history and loss of innocence.   

Since I am a political animal I have long been fascinated with the, “first in the nation” vote that comes out of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.  Due to a curious New Hampshire law i.e. when all the registered voters in a precinct have voted the polls may close, the10 registered voters of Dixville Notch, started gathering at midnight on Election Day, voting as a group and then closing up.  They achieved notoriety as the first Americans to vote (they weren’t, but they had good press agents) and the media presented it as a grass roots event. In my naïveté I accepted this story as it was sold.  Here were the simple, down home folk of New Hampshire gathering around a wood fireplace in a cabin in the woods.  The whole thing was reminiscent of Calvin Coolidge being sworn in by kerosene lantern in his father’s Vermont home after Warren G. Harding died.  I ate that stuff up.  Americana at its simplest and best! 

Wrong!

This American version of the Red and Green Show does not take place in a cabin in the woods, or the village church, or a simple town hall.  Dixville Notch is the home of the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel.  While the Balsam’s is now closed, at the time I visited there it was in its glory.  This place was gorgeous, high end, dripping old money and filled with every luxury.  The wood-fired voting actually takes place in the, “Ballot Room” a paneled room just off the billiards parlor.  It is filled with photos of the Presidential candidates who have visited the Balsams.  There are plenty of those photos and every candidate, far from roughing it, probably had a darn fine time in the lap of luxury.  There is nothing grass roots about this place.  What a shattered illusion!

Well, as it turns out, the first in the nation vote is not going to occur at the Balsams any time soon.  In May of 2012 there was an auction to sell off most of the items from the hotel after its sale in December of 2011.  Evidently the economy has taken its toll on this very high end, but architecturally worthy resort.  The resort is now under new ownership and is undergoing a painfully slow rebirth.  Frankly, given the beauty of the main building and remarkable countryside it will be worth the effort and the wait.  I’ll never be able to afford this place, but knowing others will is good enough for me.

But what about that much storied (and much misrepresented) first-in-the-nation voting?  Fear not, the voters will continue their tradition at a local ski lodge, but it won’t be quite the same.  I am sure the media will continue to present this in a slightly skewed fashion.  God forbid they indicate that our recovering economy isn’t off life support yet.  But I will never see this balloting as quite the piece of Norman Rockwell’s America that I once did. 

If you want to hunt for modern parables, however, there are some in this story.  First of all, whether the voting in Dixville Notch looks like a Currier and Ives painting or a photo from Fortune, the action still takes place.  The people in this small community choose to come as a group and vote.  It even one eligible voter does not show up the polls can’t close and they may not tally their results and publish them as “first in the nation.”  There is something to be said for this kind of local pride and dedication to what is certainly a good cause.  The lesson then becomes what do you value?  The costume or the play? 

When we look only at the wrapper of an election, instead of the candidates themselves we can fall for the marketing.  Abraham Lincoln had neither the looks, voice nor demeanor of what media would call an “electable” (i.e. marketable) candidate.  He was the best President we ever had.  So, whether you vote off the billiard room of a high end resort or in the fire station annex (as I do) look hard, think clearly and enjoy your moment of power.  At all times, keep the faith.