Looking Back: 1988
Excerpts from the Hollis Times
February 1988
In the 1988 presidential primary, Hollis saw strong voter turnout with 2,083 residents (61.5% of registered voters) participating on February 24, exceeding the state average of 48%. Vice President George Bush visited Hollis twice — on February 1 for a reception and on February 11 for a town meeting-style forum that was later aired nationally.
The town's budget hearing on February 10 drew only about 60 residents, despite proposing zero tax increase for operations.
March 1988
Joan Tinklepaugh's "Flashbacks" column featured "The Last Town Meeting," describing Monson's final town meeting on April 9, 1770. Residents of the struggling 25-year-old town voted to petition the General Court to divide and merge Monson into neighboring towns including Hollis, Amherst, and Milford.
April 1988
Forest Fire Warden Edward Chamberlain reminded residents that fire permits were required for all open fires except charcoal grills.
The April 27 edition featured a 1906 photograph of the Always Ready Engine House, recalling "the excitement of Henry Wilson's big gray horses being hitched up to the fire engines and thundering off." As the Police Department moved into its new building, citizens organized to preserve this historic structure.
May 1988
Community events included carriage drives, a horse show, a high school senior play, and a Revolutionary War reenactment at Nichols Field commemorating the 1780 encampment of the 1st New Hampshire Regiment of General George Washington's Continental Army passing through Hollis en route to New Jersey.
June 1988
The Hollis Times published a schedule for the July 4 Constitutional Bicentennial celebration, beginning with a 3 pm parade followed by ceremonies at Nichols Field featuring flag ceremonies, recitations, speeches, and the Hollis Bicentennial Chorus. The day would conclude with a chicken barbecue and bonfire.
Albert E. Hills submitted a letter titled "Memorial Day Remembered," detailing traditions from his youth — the Women's Relief Corps making bouquets, veterans visiting cemeteries, and parades led by veterans and Boy and Girl Scouts proceeding from the G.A.R. hall to town hall for speeches and the Gettysburg Address.
July 1988
Three traditional summer activities were covered: the Hollis Strawberry Festival, Fourth of July festivities, and wedding and anniversary announcements. The Helsing family celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Hollis Seniors' annual picnic with an anniversary cake, cards, a money tree, poetry reading, nostalgic remarks, and group singing.
August 1988
A drought exposed the foundation of an old dam below Runnells Bridge, part of a gristmill with "chestnut logs laid over 100 years earlier" that hadn't been fully visible in 50 years. The town purchased the Old Engine House for $1, with citizen volunteers planning restoration efforts.
September 1988
Photos showed June Litwin and Shirley Cohen renovating the firehouse, scraping, hammering, and painting to restore "an even brighter side of our little old lady in white satin."
U.S. Secretary of Education William E. Bennett visited Hollis Elementary School on his last day in office to recognize it as one of 287 schools nationwide cited for "Excellence in Education." He visited a second-grade classroom and attended an outdoor ceremony with approximately 1,000 attendees.
October 1988
The Hollis Apple Festival received front-page coverage, celebrating "the fragrant smells of apple pies, apple crisp, cider, old-fashioned Granny donuts and piping hot coffee."
The sixth annual Applefest Half Marathon drew a record 650 runners despite "unseasonably cold and raw" weather. The Fall Freedom Ride/Race under "beautiful Indian Summer skies" featured 150 bicyclists from 27 New Hampshire towns and 39 Massachusetts towns.
November 1988
Selectman Jim Belanger's newsletter, headlined "Have we seen the end of a tradition?", noted that the Fireman's Ball had to be canceled due to insufficient ticket sales. He suspected that the community's "spirit and need to gather was now disappearing" and that "1988 may have signaled the end of the community's banding together for a common purpose to promote volunteering."
December 1988
The Special School District Meeting approved a warrant article by a vote of 238 to 65 to raise $100,000 "to study the suitability of potential school sites, to put a down payment on land, and to employ an architect." Two potential sites were under investigation: the Parkhurst property at Muzzey Road's end and a portion of the Town Forest called Big Dickerman.
The Senior Citizens' Housing Committee proposed "a public Senior's Hall" with apartment-like units and standardized cottages for seniors unable to manage existing homes.
