Have you ever found a photograph and thought, “Wow, what is the story behind this great photo?” If there is nothing on the back to identify it, the challenge can seem daunting. I love a good mystery however, and, being a researcher, I was determined to discover more. I recently learned that through a grant the Minot-Sleeper library in Bristol, NH digitized one hundred years of our local newspaper, The Bristol Enterprise. As luck would have it, I got several “hits” when I searched for “Camp Comfort” – the sign displayed on the cabin in the photo.
The articles I found describe William and Ruth McCrillis and their cabin called “Camp Comfort” which they rented out during the summer months. The comfortable camp was in Brown’s Grove on the shores of Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. The articles were published in 1908 and 1909.
I next scanned our student magazine during 1908-1909 and low and behold, there was Camp Comfort in a piece titled “Our Senior Class Ride.” The article, written by senior M. Florence Preston ’09, described “senior day” including the “annual ride to Newfound lake, for one whole day of recreation.” Of the photograph Florence writes, “Mr. Moody, the photographer, appeared at the scene of action and was given a place of honor at our dining table. Now to have our camp pictures taken! We decked ourselves in the gayest attire which the cottage afforded and got arranged on the cottage steps ready for the proceedings. Everybody looked pleasant—and the ordeal was over.”
1909 Seniors
| Gentlemen | Ladies |
| Ernest Jewell, Bristol | Ethel F. Allen, New Hampton |
| John F. McDaniel, Barrington | Florence E. Allen, Meredith |
| Fay F. Russell, Orford | Bernice M. Clay, New Hampton |
| Earle E. Smith, Ashland | Emma J. Little, Webster |
| Leslie R. Tasker, Strafford | Ethel A. Odom, Sanbornton |
| Ralph S. Woodman, Meredith | M. Florence Preston, Rochester |
| Alice C. Smith, New Hampton |
July 2022
Jerrica Blackey
Gordon-Nash Library Director
