Berlin's Extreme Makeover Moment should be Celebrated

We were excited to learn that North American Dismantling had set a date of September 15th for the historic Berlin pulp stacks to come down. And, while NAD is apparently hosting a luncheon for the city council, we think that's a totally underwhelming way to celebrate Berlin's Extreme Makeover Moment. You don't see the lucky contestant sitting down to lunch with the producers do you? The stacks dominating the skyline have for a century branded Berlin as a mill town, with all the pollution and smells that go with it. As the mill has been dismantled the new, beautiful Berlin has emerged with eyepopping views of the Presidential range, clean air and a river that sparkles. This doesn't warrant just a little lunch, this needs a full fledged coming out party. We're thrilled to hear that AVER might take a role in facilitating the public discussion about the proposed Laidlaw biomass plant. Why not use this historic day to get that conversation going?

Comments

[Abeer]

Uncle Michael - Wow What a beautiful baby! I pirraculatly love her in the 2 hands and w/the little bunny is she the 1st baby or what???ANDam I a proud uncle or what????God bless this little sweetie!

[nrthrngrl64]

Thanks Eri for your kudos. It gives me great pleasure to write about Berlin and the surrounding area. Having been born and raised in NJ. I continue to be called a flatlander. I however consider myself as a northern implant.
I moved to Berlin when I was 17, some 25 years ago. All but two and a half years have been spent in Berlin. I have worked here most of my adult life. Upon my first visit to Berlin I knew that this was where I wanted to live and raise my family.
It took some time to be able to go outdoors when it was raining. The putrid smell from the mill reminded me of burnt sour kraut. I learned to live with it. A kind of grin and bare it.
The town in New Jersey I was raised in was a vacation town with a man made lake. Over the years the town has grown so much with the building of an International Trade Zone as well as many businesses and big box stores. Mainly do to Interstate 80 being right there. I am glad I got out when I did. I don't even recognize this town anymore.
So I guess you could say I raised myself here in Berlin. I have had the opportunity to work with the elderly, the teens and the public. I am a stay at home disabled mom now.
I have had the opportunity to explore this area from Conway to Woodsville north to Pittsburg. From fishing, camping, cross country skiing, site seeing, berry picking, fairs, festivals, concerts, flea markets and of my all time favorites the yard sales.
I continue to see and learn more about the North Country all the time. I love it here and plan on spending the majority of my life here. That is until my bones can not tolerate the cold anymore. So I have the next thirty or so (I pray) years to continue my journey.
My mom shared a statement with her children. She told us to always remember: "The JOY is in the JOurneY not in the journey's end. author Unknown.
The You Tube idea sounds like a winner to me.

[Eri]

I think a YouTube Video contest is an excellent idea! What better way to accumulate a number of positive Berlin images than to have each person trying to capture them better than the next. Nrthrngrl64 your guest blog post and comment here are inspirational. Your compassion for the area is an excellent contribution to this site! As a side-note; I've posted discussion on my fear of heights on this site before. However, I believe I'd overcome that fear for a chance to climb to the top of the viewing tower... for the views and maybe a little because I've smelled and stared at those stacks for close to thirty years and if I could replace the image of smoke and odor with magnificent views and a new appreciation for the city I call home.. it would certainly be worth it.

[KD Paine]

What a beautiful statement nrthrngrl64 makes. I hope someone in city hall is listening and takes her up on her idea. I think we need to do a YouTube video contest to capture the moment, don't you?

[nrthrngrl64]

What a historical moment in Berlin's history. To have these Stacks so clearly visiable are a constant reminder in our daily lives. A reminder to so many of the past broken promises and broken dreams. So many lives changed,some were even shattered. The economy almost crippled and the way of life for so many were drastically changed. It is about time to put the past behind and move on.
There should be a day of celebration and rebirth of a new era. The reclaiming of our city. This day should be a day for the city to get as much publicity as possible. There should be major attention paid to the panoramic views and natural beauty that surrounds Berlin.
Invitations should be sent to Senators and Congressmen. as well as State Government. A new mission statement for our future. Why not have a contest open for residents to develop this statement and vision. We should give a new meaning to the phrase "the city that trees built". We are all survivors. A community that pulled together and supported our families, friends and neighbors through extremely difficult times. It is time to stand up and be proud of our city. We need to feed the media blitz a new area to focus on. Give the state and the rest of New England the true story instead of the negative image about the plight of burned out city buildings. Compared to other cities we are not in that bad of shape.
We need to focus on the progress made and the positive developments taking place here. I am tired of the media dumbing us down. Now is our time to show everyone what a Great City we have. There is potential for tourism and economic recovery to join forces to revive our beautiful city. The full potential to attract economic and environmently friendly business's as well as building the tourism industry. We have an opportunity here and I think we should run with at full speed.
So even if one stacks remain there are a multitude of opportunities it can be used for. I am not talking about industry here. How about a viewing tower of the mountains. there is almost a 360 degree view here.
Nrthrngrl64

[Rocky]

Keep in mind that the biggest stack of them all at the recovery boiler is staying and if my guess is right Laidlaw will fade into the sunset. A year or two from now when North American gets sick of waiting for a buyer for the boiler they'll be back to scrap it and at that time we could ask them to leave the stack for some....creative purpose. Maybe we can do better at communicating with NADC the next time around.

[pete b]

I still think somebody is missing an opportunity here. These stacks are the tallest concrete structures in NH at 320'high. There are many examples of old industrial stacks, silos, towers, etc being transformed into observation towers with restaurants and shops attached. Now that we have "eye-popping views of the presidentials" what could be better than a 320' viewing platform. The same tourists who flock to the cog railway and Mt Washington Auto road would include the Berlin Observation Tower on their itinerary.

Think about it!

[Alberto Teatro]

Shhhhhhh, we must know our place