NH Troubadour July, 1943

IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE…

At a largely attended auction in a New Hampshire town the local physician put up a squawk that he had made a higher bid than was made by a woman farther back in the crowd. The auctioneer, who was also the town undertaker, insisted that he didn’t hear his bid. Finally the doctor lost his temper and yelled, “Trouble with you is, you made a mistake and now you’re trying to cover it up.” Pretending to be hurt the auctioneer turned sadly to his old friend and inquired, “Why Doc, don’t you believe in reciprocity? I’ve been covering up your mistakes for more’n forty years and never told a soul.”

NH Troubadour July, 1951

THE STONE WALL

by B. Telfair Mines

Men come and go, some leave a trace,
Of efforts, through the years,
A memory perhaps of joy,
A distant thought of tears.
But stone walls speak of labor,
Of toil by calloused hand
Where some forgotten pioneer,
Has said, “Here ends my land.”

NH Troubadour August, 1938

A New Hampshire lady who is fond of cats and who doesn’t object to dogs who stay at home recently inserted this businesslike ad in the local paper: “Warning to all dog owners, I am prepared to dispatch any and all dogs that enter my premises to harass or destroy my cats. No further notice will be given except the obituary. I am especially looking for a large red dog, and a large police dog.

NH Troubadour August, 1949

ON THE CONTOOCOOK

by Eleanor Vinton

From Riverhill to Blackwater
Is longer by canoe.
The river dallies all the way;
The road goes briskly through.

But Riverhill to Blackwater,
Canoe’s the way to go
To hear a tree of finches sing
Or watch a flapping crow.

From Riverhill to Blackwater
There’s Broad Cove in between
With lilies looking at the sky,
And have you ever seen

From Riverhill to Blackwater
Beyond the bend, the sight
Of four wild black ducks
In sudden startled flight?