by Becky Rule

Being a native carries weight in New Hampshire. Though the definition varies, most agree it’s safe to assert native status, if you can claim five generations in the ground.  One native had to move to Georgia, on account of work. She lived in that warm place for many years, raised her children there, and so forth.  One day a town official called her up. He said the cemetery was being expanded and new plots were opening up.  Would she and her husband be interested in purchasing one?

“No,” she said.  “I’ve got a plot in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and I can’t wait to get back there!”

In Alexandria, I asked a local if she were a native. The way she dropped her “g’s” and moved her “r’s” around, suggested she might be.

“Oh, no,” she said.  “I’m from Bristol. I married an Alexandria man in 1942.”

Of course, the old saw goes like this:  “I’m not a native,” says the newcomer, who’s lived in town only a decade or so, “but my children are.”

To which the old timer replies:  “Just ‘cause a cat has kittens in the oven don’t make ‘em biscuits.”

In Salisbury, a few years ago, I asked who in the crowd was born in town.  Only a couple of folks raised their hands, but several pointed to a woman in the front row.  “Are you by any chance a native of Salisbury?” I said.

“No,” she said.  “I moved here when I was five years old. But I am the oldest person in Salisbury.  The holder of the Boston Post Cane.”

“Isn’t that wonderful,” I said. “How old are you?”

“None of your damn business.”

Now, that’s what I call Yankee attitude!

This story may be apocryphal, and it may have evolved over the years, but I believe it to be true at its core.  James Cleveland, the longtime and much admired Congressman from New London, once faced a particularly aggressive opponent in a campaign.  This opponent pulled out the big guns.  “James Cleveland,” he declared, “is not even a native.”

Cleveland, naturally, had to defend himself.  “It’s true,” he said, “I was born in New Jersey.  At the time I thought it most beneficial to remain near my mother.”

Becky Rule has lived all her life (so far) in New Hampshire. She has written several popular books set in her home state, including her latest collection of stories, “Live Free and Eat Pie” (Islandport Press), and hosts live storytelling events, many sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. She posts stories regularly on her website, www.livefreeandeatpie.com.