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New Hampshire Humor

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New Hampshire Humor and Other Lies

There's nothing funny about living in New Hampshire. Survival here is serious business. That's why New Hampshire humor is often grim. It's shaped by mud season, black fly season, swamps, stony fields, and acres of granite. In fact, New Hampshire is often taken for granite. We haven't even mentioned the politics. Most of all, New Hampshire humor is shaped by the stubborn, gritty people who did not have the good sense to go west when land out there was still cheap, and their descendants live daily with the consequences. So New Hampshire humor is often wry, as in wry neck - twisted and a wince away from pain. Enjoy!

New Table of Contents

  1. Rebecca Rule
  2. Rebecca Rules
  3. Becky Rule Entertains Us Again
  4. Live Free and Eat Pie Blog
  5. Great Rebecca Rule Stuff on Amazon
  6. Rebecca Rule Helps Us Share Our Stories Too: Check Amazon
  8. Marek Bennett's Comics
  9. Marek Bennett: The Comic Side of N. H. Life
  10. Mimi's Doughnuts a la RSS
  16. Marek Bennett Blogs
  18. Great Tolman Stuff on Amazon
  22. Great Richard Lederer Stuff on Amazon
  24. Great Summer Folk Stuff on Amazon
  25. New Hampshire Politics
  26. Donald Hall, Our Poet Laureate
  27. Donald Hall on Amazon
  28. Fritz Wetherbee, the Laughing Scholar of Local History
  29. Fritz Wetherbee
  31. Noel Perrin
  32. Noel Perrin Rural
  33. Great N.H. Animal Humor on Amazon
  34. Mount Monadnock
  36. New Orbitz! Visit New Hampshire's Monadnock Region
  38. Concord, New Hampshire: Base Station
  39. New Hampshire Puzzles on Amazon
  41. Joseph Allen Chase
  42. Great Yankee Oracle on Amazon
  43. New Hampshire Neighbors on Amazon
  45. New Guestbook
  46. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
  47. Amazon
  48. Text module

Rebecca Rule

Queen of New Hampshire Humor

Rebecca doesn't mince words. She makes us see ourselves with rare clarity and does it in a way that can bring an audience to its knees with laughter. If you have a chance to hear her in person, do so. The next best thing is to read her books.

Rebecca Rules

It's a name + s, but it could be a sentence.

Rebecca Rule was born with a funny bone in her mouth. She's a natural humorist with a distinctly New Hampshire flavor. That's not maple-syrup sweet either.
Rebecca Rule Rules
Why should I filter the humor of the funniest person in New Hampshire through me? Let's let Becky speak for herself. You are one click away from more than a chuckle.

Becky Rule Entertains Us Again

Becky Rule smiling from the cover of her new book...

From her bottomless wealth of observations and stories, Becky has created another winner.

Live Free and Eat Pie Blog

with Becky Rule

Becky Makes It Plain
Where else but in New Hampshire? Becky explores with humor the habits of language, thought, and action that we so take for granted here in New Hampshire. She makes us see ourselves and laugh aloud. She helps us revel in the New Hampshire culture that makes us who we are.

This book catalogues many New Hampshire facts with great wit. It's a tour guide with a twist. It is a wonderful introduction to those who have never set foot in the state, a witty trip down memory lane for past visitors such as those who were sent here as children to summer camp, and a jolly good review of who we are for us natives with five generations in the ground (Rebecca's definition of N. H. native.)

The book includes a bouquet of the rib-tickling tales Rebecca has gathered throughout New Hampshire on her story-telling gigs in which she invites the audience to share their stories too. She collects some hum-dingers. Thank you, Becky, for including my grandfather's story of an unusual butter barter on page 70. It does my heart good to see it in print. It was too good to be lost.

This book is too good to be lost. It's the kind of book that gets passed around among friends, its pages marked with stickies and comments. Don't miss it!

Great Rebecca Rule Stuff on Amazon

The Real Dirt on N.H. Small Town Life

Rebecca Rule has collected stories throughout New Hampshire as she traveled our byways performing them. She tells these stories, along with her own, with perfect (pine) pitch. Not for nothing has she been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Rebecca has it exactly right. Take it from a native who knows.
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Rebecca Rule Helps Us Share Our Stories Too: Check Amazon

Everyone has stories that beg to be told.

One neighbor, leaning over the back fence, said to another who was hanging her wash, "I never say anything about anyone unless it is good, and boy, is this good!" We can all use some good advice about how to make the stories in our lives sing for others.
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The Old Man: Leave it to N. H. to be famous for something that no longer exists.

One of these days we will hear that some civic group in Portsmouth, wanting the lion's share of the tourist dollar for coastal region, will advertise that, not only is the Old Man of the Mountains gone, but he never existed. He was got up in the eighteenth century as a tourist attraction. Then the illusion was perpetuated by some fellow who had the bizarre notion of putting a cog railway to the top of the mountain with the worst weather in the world, Mount Washington.

Marek Bennett's Comics

Here's how Marek describes himself. "I'm a teacher and cartoonist from New Hampshire, USA. I draw self-syndicated newspaper comics, lead summertime and afterschool Comics Workshops, teach music, study history, and chop firewood." Marek shares a bouquet of his syndicated comics on line. I especially like "Can't Go Wrong" and "Freedom of Speech," but you'll find your own favorites. Join the fun!

Marek Bennett is a graduate of Brown University. He has won major awards for musical composition, and what does he do? He teaches and runs wildly popular comics-writing workshops for kids. He has been known to perform with the local Shantytown Band. What a great example of the New Hampshire mindset: I'll do what I darn well please!

Marek Bennett: The Comic Side of N. H. Life

Marek Bennett and Comic Relief
Marek's comics are based on New Hampshire characters and issues, yet they have universal appeal. We recognize in them our neighbors, ourselves, and certain political realities. Marek is far from slap-stick. His messages are subtle, but deep. We feel his love of all who are caught in what we broadly call "the human condition," and he makes us laugh out loud.

Check out the many archives in his website.

Mimi's Doughnuts a la RSS

Marek Bennett's Syndicated Comic Strip

Marek's "Mimi's Doughnuts" is based on the growing up experiences of his wife Denise when her family ran a restaurant in the small city of Claymont [Claremont], New Hampshire, yet it reflects universal themes addressed with humor.
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Marek Bennett's Comic Workshops: Perfect Lines

With a few playful curves, Marek can capture an idea or a relationship. Add a few well-chosen words, and a scene re-enacts in our imaginations. Not only can Marek do this, but he can teach others to do it too. He engages the spirit of play and comes away with something greater than the sum of its parts.

Marek Bennett

X = Xeric

Marek just won the prestigious Xeric Award which will ensure publication of two-hundred of his favorite syndicated comics in book form. Here two of his Claymont characters discuss the matter.

Where the heck is Henniker, N.H.?

Xeric Award
There's only one Henniker in the world and there's only one Marek Bennett. How fortunate they converged! How could someone from a place named Henniker win a coveted award? How could someone highlighting a place named Claymont [Claremont], N. H. become famous? Podunk itself is well-known by comparison. Follow this link to discover the magic of local.

More information about Marek's Comics Workshops:

Marek Bennett's Comic Workshops to Go
Marek begins with the basics in a spirit of the freedom of play and in no time has his pupils expressing themselves in amazing ways. Here we have his theory of comic education, his scheduled workshops, and much more.

Marek Bennett Blogs

A Triple-Header

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New Hampshire Motto: Hard Work Never Hurt Anyone

This photograph would warm the heart of many a New Hampshirite longing for the good old days. Ah, the good old days when we arose before dawn and milked the cows before breakfast, when we grew a hundred and seven bushels of apples and prepared them for drying during evenings beside the stove, and when we cut our own firewood! No, this picture is distinctly unfunny.

Hard work never hurt anyone, but, in this state, where's it's difficult to make a living from the spare beauty, lack of hard work sure did.

As you can see, this fellow has an ax to grind. Most New Hampshire folk do ~ concrete, political, or most likely both.

Great Tolman Stuff on Amazon

Francis Tolman and Newton Tolman

The Tolmans of Surry and of Tolman Pond in Nelson, N. H. have shown New Hampshire ingenuity. When farming and the saw mill became unprofitable, they took "summer people" off the train and coddled them. When summer people began to have their own "cottages," they hit on real estate, and two of them, Francis and Newton, began to write humorously about New Hampshire experience from the inside. Whether building furniture or a story, Tolmans are excellent craftsmen with a fine sense of balance and detail. N.H. assessment of character can be a little sharp. I remember Granny Tolman saying of some lazy fellow, "He's not worth a piss hole in the snow." You see, we New Hampshire folk expect others to be as frugal and hard-working as we are. It's not just a stereotype.
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Center Pond in Nelson, New Hampshire: Tolman Country

The Tolman family has been in Nelson almost as long as this pond has. Well, at least they go back to the days when it was called Packersfield. Tolman humor is rooted in New Hampshire soil. There's nothing quite like it.

We Do Have Sophisticates. After all, we're not a bunch of hicks.

Yes, indeed! We have Dartmouth. We have Phillips Exeter Academy. We have St. Paul's. We have ... er.... Ah, well. In New Hampshire, you never know who is knocking around in the woods. I hired a man to clean my chimney a few years ago. He stayed for hours while we talked. Turns out he had a Ph.D. and a great interest in history.

The English language itself is funny. Have you noticed? Some people in New Hampshire have. (It must be the long winters.) As Richard Lederer asks, "Why is it that we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway?"
Richard Lederer
Richard Lederer is New Hampshire's academic funnyman. We are funniest when we over-extend our vocabulary, and he has a grand collection of hilarious instances. Meet Ms. and Mr. Malaprop! But even when we speak it correctly, the English language can be ridiculous. Lederer's delight in the fun of language bubbles over into laughter.

Richard Lederer at His Other Job

Here is Richard Lederer at the fountain of youth, the English teacher's source of endless delight. Someone is about to give him another treasure which may find its way to publication.

Actually, as long as the man is awake, he's on the job of collecting interesting word uses and juxtapositions. His observations are thought-provoking as well as fun. Don't deprive yourself of the pleasure.

I know. I know. English teachers can be a pain. When I was a wide-eyed new one, I attended my first convention at the now vanished grand old hotel, Wentworth by the Sea. Over the white linen table cloth, I asked an aging veteran teacher, "Please pass the cream."

"No, no, my dear," he responded. "You don't mean that. That would be messy, wouldn't it? You must mean, 'Please pass the pitcher of cream.'"

I spent the rest of the evening thinking I had chosen the wrong profession.

But Mr. Lederer is not a stuffed shirt. He is filled with keen observations sure to produce guffaws. You'll see.

Great Richard Lederer Stuff on Amazon

As a well-known New Hampshire teacher, Lederer has not wasted the many golden opportunities to cull local student bloopers.
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St. Paul's School: Lederer Country

St. Paul's, a prep school, is the one of Richard Lederer's prime sources of material. He must have thought, "If these walls could laugh, they'd crumble."

Great Summer Folk Stuff on Amazon

Who patronized the grand old inns of New Hampshire? Mostly the summer folk who arrived "for the season" (meaning summer) in droves. In fact, the summer folk patronized just about everyone. It could be that's why New Hampshire natives have a reputation for being laconic, if not downright cranky, but some of the locals can be pretty uppity too. What happened when all these folks converged, in their various roles, at the inn on the village green?
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New Hampshire Politics

New Hampshire politics is laughable, all right. We have the largest legislature in the world, numbering over 400. This is because every little town desires personal representation at our State House. Despite the huge number of heads working on the problem, we still can't figure out how to fund education.

In general, New Hampshire towns are run by folks who moved up from Connecticut and Massachussetts during the last decade, but that suits the locals just fine. Long-time residents are busy with their own affairs such as raising children and working two jobs, and they know that the newcomers moved up here to avoid paying state taxes. It's a coalition made in heaven.

When the legislature in Concord adopted the "Live Free or Die" motto which appears on our license plates, a strong contingent fought to have it shortened to "Die!" but they lost to the politically correct majority.

Why does no one write about the humorous side of New Hampshire politics? Maybe there isn't any or maybe it's just too embarrassing.

Donald Hall, Our Poet Laureate

This man seems an unlikely find in an article on New Hampshire humorists, but a fellow can wear many hats. Donald Hall's humor is a natural product of his perceptive mind. It reflects the best of New Hampshire humor.

Donald Hall on Amazon

A Poet at Play

When we think of Donald Hall, we think of his taut poetry in "Here at Eagle Pond" and "Seasons at Eagle Pond" or we remember his lovely children's books. Rarely do we recall that he made his early literary splash with gentle humor reflecting on New Hampshire ways. Although he lived north of Monadnock, being a poet, he realized that the title "North of ---------" [See Tolmans above.] was already taken.
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Fritz Wetherbee, the Laughing Scholar of Local History

Fritz Wetherbee, resident of tiny Acworth, New Hampshire, searches New Hampshire's crannies to find the most delectable historical stories. He has an eye for a good one and an ear for a certain unmistakable New Hampshire tone. He leaves no stone unturned and finds humor under each one.

Fritz Wetherbee

New Hampshire Story Teller Extraordinaire

You may have seen Fritz Wetherbee on New Hampshire Chronicle. You may even have arranged your dinner hour around his appearance. He's worth it. Fritz Wetherbee is a story teller in the old tradition. There is always a plot. Something happened worth remembering and repeating, and Wetherbee has the New Hampshire turn of phrase down pat.
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Even the women of the Ladies' Aid Society may be practical jokers.

Oh-oh! We've been flamingoed!

Most New Hampshire natives view the plastic flamingo as the ultimate symbol of bad taste. It tops even the Dutch boy and girl kissing and the fat lady picking flowers. It is a common practical joke to plant a flamingo or two in a friend's front yard. Charitable organizations have capitalized on this as a way of raising funds. They will plant a flock of flamingos on the lawn of someone whom they feel can afford a donation, and the flamingos are not removed until the victim shells out. Here's a flock near Lake Sunapee.

Noel Perrin

Our Humorous Renaissance Man

All right. I'll admit it. Noel Perrin lived most of his writing years in Thetford, Vermont, a stone's throw from Hanover, New Hampshire - if the stone doesn't fall into the Connecticut River. But, starting in 1959, he taught at Dartmouth for the next 41 years. What is more New Hampshire than Dartmouth? New Hampshire enjoyed his company at least half of his waking hours for more than four decades. I think we are entitled to claim him among our own.

Noel Perrin wrote well about many topics, not all of them humorous, but his humorous essays capture the essence of the life and attitudes of the area. To quote him: "Despite the vast changes of the last twenty years, I think it is still accurate to say that the basic New England characteristic is a kind of humorous stoicism. You expect it to snow just before you have to drive a hundred miles, and to be sleeting when you have a day off to ski."

Noel Perrin Rural

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Great N.H. Animal Humor on Amazon

No matter where we live, our relationships with the animals in our lives are an endless source of entertainment. I think we love the animals because they are as quirky as we are. Do they act like us or do we act like them?
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Mount Monadnock

The Most Often Climbed Mountain in the U.S.

On a bright fall day, the traffic on the main trails makes a hiker feel as if he is taking the middle seat in a row at a theater. "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me...." Still, if you don't mind a crowd, the view at the top is worth the climb.

This is what it looks like.

Have a close look at the Granite State.

New Orbitz! Visit New Hampshire's Monadnock Region

Keep New Hampshire green. Bring money.

Climb Mount Monadnock or admire it from afar. Dine at Fitzwilliam Inn at the corner of the green in Fitzwilliam. Tootle over to the Hancock Inn. Hancock village will charm your boots off. Take in our museums, from the whimsical Mariposa in Peterborough to Wyman Tavern in Keene to The Hood at than den of academia, Dartmouth in Hanover. Rub elbows with summer folk and natives beside New Hampshire's jewel-like lakes. Just don't plan on touring the dirt back roads in April without four wheel drive or arrive bewteen Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day without bug repellent. Bring clothing for all levels of cold and warmth. Did I mention dampness? Don't plan on climbing Mount Washington in heels and a halter top. Remember the old saw, "If you don't like New England weather, wait a minute." In New Hampshire, make that thirty seconds.

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Concord Coach: New Hampshire's Great Invention

Yes, the Concord Coach was designed and built in Concord, New Hampshire. Along with thousands of enterprising citizens, this stage coach was our main contribution to westward expansion. If you visit New Hampshire, you may not have a chance to ride in one, but, if you arrive in the spring, the frost heaves on our secondary roads will give you the same sensation.

Concord, New Hampshire: Base Station

Home of the Concord Stage Coach (but you're years too late for a ride out of town)

New Hampshire is small. From Concord, New Hampshire's capital, you can easily day trip south to the Monadnock Region, southeast to the Coastal Region, north to the Lakes Region, or on to the White Mountains. Concord too has its charms including the gold-domed capital building, The Christa McCuliff Planetarium, great museums, and intriguing shops.

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New Hampshire Puzzles on Amazon

New Hampshire is a puzzle, even for those of us who have lived here all our lives.

Let's say you decide to visit New Hampshire. Perhaps your ancestors left here in the 1860's. (Most of the smart ones did.) You may love the golf courses and the leisurely dinners overlooking a lake. You may even enjoy rocking on the porch of some old inn, but what about your pre-teens wrenched away from their computers and play stations? How about those, "Are we there yet?" rides? Here's just the solution. The fun and informative puzzles and games will provide hours of learning and wholesome entertainment.
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Moose! Native advice: Use the telephoto lens.

Awesome!

Just remember, Bullwinkle has a brain about the size of an apple. He can't see far, but he can smell you about a mile away. He knows you're there. He'll probably ignore you, but he could be a little testy, especially in the fall. He has the dubious talent given by double-hinged knee joints. He can kick forward, not that he needs to.

Joseph Allen Chase

Yankee Magazine's Oracle, A Professional Curmudgeon

From the little town of Dublin, New Hampshire comes Yankee Magazine. For years, Joseph Allen Chase was a fixture of that venerable publication. In those days we real Yankees in New Hampshire looked forward to the "Yankee Swap" pages. What New Hampshire citizen can resist getting something for nothing? We read every entry in the genealogy section. We are nothing if not curious about who hangs in someone else's closet. We skipped the recipes. What real New Hampshire person would put fennel in a salad? But we always read what the Yankee Oracle had to say about some conundrum, either first because we couldn't wait, or last, if we were true New Hampshire "save the best for last" folks. He'd always raise a chuckle, but it was a chuckle of recognition.

Here is The Oracle on cyclones:

Dear Oracle: "...and you never know what real wind is until you have seen a Kansas cyclone."

Answer: "You may be right, but we have seen enough to satisfy us! Back in the Seventies we had a breeze hit...Heman Athearn had been shearing sheep and he was covered with ticks that had boarded him and made fast. The wind blew those ticks right off of him, every cussed one of 'em, and they hit the side of his corncrib just like bullets, busting right through the siding! Elihu used to show the holes to people for years. But do you know the ticks were so cussed tough that most of them revived!"

That's The Oracle, master of understatement and overstatement at once.

Great Yankee Oracle on Amazon

Even curmudgeons deserve a little respect.
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New Hampshire Neighbors on Amazon

A Few Neighbors by Henry Shute

If you are willing to go into New Hampshire archives, say about a hundred years, you will find a treasure in this book. Henry Shute of Exeter, N.H. was actually a judge. In that position, no doubt he had ample experience noticing human foibles, but it's clear he viewed them with humor. You could say he threw the book at us. This book, published in 1906, gives us a rare view of New Hampshire at the turn of the century, a view spiced with the gentle humor of the time. What humor, you say? You'll see.

Unfortunately it is now considered a rare antique book, and that is a joke on us.
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Squamscot River, Exeter, N. H. ~ We came all this way to see a row boat, Daddy?

Our rivers are like memories of quieter times. Perhaps Judge Henry Shute sat here to ponder his cases and his neighbors. The New Hampshire mind set is a curious mix of "minding your own business" and pondering the neighbors. That in New Hampshire it's possible to do both might explain the irrepressible humor bubbling up in these hills. All that sublimation is a creative force!

New Guestbook

  • VillaDejaBlue Jan 5, 2012 @ 2:06 pm | delete
    Nice lens.
  • Mortgage411 Jul 24, 2011 @ 10:32 am | delete
    Excellent NH lens! Don't forget, we've got all 4 season: Mud season, August 2nd, Leaf peeper season and, of course, winter ...
  • spirituality Nov 22, 2009 @ 10:23 am | delete
    Great lens, but you knew that :) Just wanted to remind you that this is featured on the Humor and Hilarity Headquarters: http://www.squidoo.com/groups/humor_hilarity

    It's now transformed into a lensography and I would love it if you could feature it here, or lensroll it or something.
  • gmarlett Jan 17, 2009 @ 11:46 am | delete
    New Hampshah is funny for sure! Welcome to the Parody and Satire Group!
  • OhMe Jul 27, 2008 @ 5:51 am | delete
    Excellent lens. Very enjoyable. 5*
  • ElizabethJeanAllen Jun 13, 2008 @ 4:51 pm | delete
    I've read some of Rebecca Rule's stuff. Its hilarious.
    Great lens.
    5*
    Lizzy
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I hope you enjoyed the ride.

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owlperson

I'm an educator and a sometimes watercolor artist and writer. I am interested in history, conservation, and social issues.

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