Table Of Content

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TOWN OF RYE NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 2007 HERE LAI'DED ir THE spRirG OF J623 THE FIRST BAMD OF ErGLISHUEr piorEERS rr' the plai'tii^g of NEWHAMPSHIRE cor'SECRATirG this soilto the SER\7CE OF Am GOD LIBERTY ODIORNE'SPOINT MONUMENTREDEDICATION JUNE 28,2007 2007 ej'tm dJi/KjaieMws oremt dluexemnj&'mm 0<Wie/S^tdfe/lPqaI, 9{^ej. hiurundl amitmaiMi ABOUTTHECOVERS: Front: At the outset ofWorld War II, the federal government took possession ofOdiome Point in order to protect and defend the mouth ofthe Piscataqua River. Homes were removed, orchards were transplanted to camouflage the newly constructed bunkers and a monument dedicated in 1899, proclaiming the historical significanceofthesite,wasmovedtoanoutoftheway locationwestofRoute I-A forsafekeeping. Herethe marker rested, out of sight and forgotten by most, until The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State ofNew Hampshire initiated an effort to return the monument to its original location, believedtobethevicinityofDavidThompson'sfirstsettlement inNewHampshire in 1623. OnJune28,2007, a large gathering, including descendents of some of Rye's earliest families, attended a rededication of the monument now returned to its original 1899 site. The work was accomplished in large measure through the effortsofresidentTom PearsonandourState Representative DavidBorden. RogerPhilbrickwascreditedwith donationofsitework. Insideback: WhowasDavidThompson? Back: Clockwise fromtop left; Barbara Engelbach, PresidentoftheN.H. ChapterofTheNational Societyof The Colonial Dames ofAmerica, resident Tom Pearson is recognized for his contribution by Rye/Newcastle Representative David Borden, wording on the reverse of the monument, N.H. Historian James Garvin addressingthegathering,entrancetoOdiomePointStateParkandviewofthereversesideofthemonument. COVERDESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY/EDITOR: PriscillaV.Jenness **************************5tA*******A***jtit****^jtijt***** To the inhabitants of the Town of Rye, in the County of Rockingham and in said State, qualified tovoteinTown affairs: You arehereby notified to meetattheRyeElementary School in said RyeonTuesday,the ll"" ofMarch, nextat eighto'clockin the forenoon until seven o'clockin the eveningforvoting by officialballoton allissuesbeforetheTown ofRyeunderRSA40:13. *********-k****-k*-k-kic-k-k-k-k*i:**i!-k*******-k**ic-k-k**-k**-k*-k-k-k-k-k Asrequired under Senate Bill 2, the Deliberative Session washeld on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at AM 9:00 attheRyeJuniorHightoreviewandamendthe2008TownWarrant. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/annualreportofto2007ryen THE2007ANNUALREPORTOFTHETOWNOFRYE ISDEDICATEDTO WiUiam M^ Vaxvtli 3fx, September 21, 1936-Sfulv 23, 2007 William M. Varrell Jr. was a native son, bom to William M. Varrell and Mary (Philbrick) Varrell on September21, 1936. KnowntoallasBill,hegrewup on Washington Road about a half mile from Foss Beach where, along with his sister, Cynthia, he once worked in the Salty Breeze snack bar. He was also employed at the Ocean Wave Hotel (current site of CrownColony),oneofthelastlargewoodenVictorian hotelsinRye. TheOceanWavewasdestroyedbyfire in 1960. Through these early experiences. Bill developed an interest in town history and began gathering stories, newspaper clippings, and images of Rye,whichheusedasthebasisforhisfirstbook"Rye on the Rocks: The Tale of a Town" published in 1962whenhewas26yearsofage. Bill served four years in the U.S. Air Force following graduation from Portsmouth High School and the University ofNew Hampshire. It was while studying hotel adminisfration at UNH that his ever-present broad interest in the history ofhishometownbecamefocusedontheresortsof the Victorianera. Ryeholds aprominentplace in his second book, "Summer by the Sea: The Golden Era ofVictorian Beach Resorts", which waspublishedin 1972. In 1966, Bill married Martha Walsh ofJamaica Plain, MA. As he was employed by Filenes, Bill and Martha compromised on choice ofresidence and made theirhome and raised their family in Ipswich, MA, another historical seaside town, where he later published "Ipswich" and " Ipswich Revisited"and involved himselfintheIpswichHistorical Society. Duringthe 1990s,ArcadiabeganpublishingitsImagesofAmerica seriesandBillwasaskedtowritetwobooksincluding"RyeandRyeBeach",publishedin 1995. Rye wasneverfarfrom histhoughts; and Bill returned manytimestogive well-attendedtalks and slide presentationsonRyehistory. HewaspresentfortheopeningoftheRyeTownMuseuminJulyof2002. Bill donated many photographs, documents and other Rye related items to the Museum including the large FarragutHotelsignhehadrescuedfromburialinthelandfill. TheHistoricalSocietyplanstotranscribetapes ofhistalkstopreserveacomplete accountofthe material. His booksremain bothentertainingreadingand important references forthose interested in the history ofRye asthey build upon, extend and illustratethe informationcontainedwithinL.B.Parsons 1905 HistoryofRye,N.H. AtthetimeofBill'sdeathlastJuly,AlexHerlihy,ChairmanoftheHistorical Society,closedhistributeto Bill with the followingwords ofappreciation, "Bill Varrell gave to his hometownasonlyanative so'n can, with all his heartand with all the lore and wisdom he had gained from a lifetimeofbeingastudentofRye history. He unearthedandpreserved forusthe fabricoflife ofthosewhobuilt Ryeand heneverforgotthe villagethatnurturedhim. Wearericherforhislifeandwork". 3n illemoriam 1923 - 2007 Richard Sherwin was bom June 3, 1923, a son ofthe late James and Catherine (Forde) Sherwin. He was raised in East Boston and graduated from Boston EnglishHighSchoolwiththeclassof1941. Hewasaveteran of World War II serving in the Army Air Corps, rising to the rank of technicalsergeant. Richard and hiswife, Edna, became residents ofRye in 1974 when he transferred to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from the Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, Mass. where he was employed as a systems analyst. He retiredfromthePortsmouthfacilityin 1977. During the early 1980s, Richard Sherwin was appointed as Deputy Building Inspector to assist Rye Building Inspector Joseph May with his increasing workload. Upon Mr. May's resignation, he was appointed BuildingInspector. Mr. Sherwin was active in the Men's Club ofSt.Theresa Church and enjoyed working on a variety of local charities including local soup kitchens.TheChaseHomeandMealsonWheels. Richard Sherwin died on January 4, 2007. In addition to his wife, he leavesthreesons; RichardofHampton, EdwardofRye,TomofNewfields, and a daughter, Muriel ofNewmarket, and their families. Those of us entering or exiting Rye via the intersection of Washington and Lafayette Roadswillmisshiscarefullytendedannualdisplayofreddahlias. 3Br. ^Robert V. 0'Wvitn 1923 2007 - RobertO'BrienwasbomNovember II, 1923toJohnE.andMary O'Brien of Portland Maine. While an infant, his family moved to Portsmouth, NH. After graduation from St. Patrick School and PortsmouthHigh School, Bob (ashe wasknowntoall in Rye) served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942 - 1946. Military service was followed by graduation from the University ofNew Hampshire and Tufts University where he earned a doctorate of dental medicine degree. Doctor Robert V. O'Brien established a general practice in dentistryinPortsmouthin 1952,servinghispatientswithcareandskill for the next 35 years. In 1953, Bob and his wife, Tina, purchased a home in Rye, raised their family and remained imtil retirement to Floridain 1997. For more than halfofhis eighty-three years, Bob O'Brien called Rye hishome. Duringthattime, inadditiontodevotiontofamilyand despitethedemandsofhisdentalpracticeandavid interest inboating, fishing and golfing, he considered participation in the civic affairs of his town to be an important responsibility. His participation was diverse as he served his community on the Budget Committee from 1962 to 1965, the Recreation Commission (ex officio) 1965 - 1966, and the Planning Board from 1962 to 1966 (as chairman in 1963 and againin 1965). In 1969,BobwaselectedtotheRyeSchoolBoard. He served in thatcapacity until 1975. All would agreethatBobO'Brien wasaneloquentandpersuasivespeakerforcausesinwhichhebelieved suchasanadditiontotheschool. Bob died January 12, 2007. In addition to his wife, he leaves a daughter,Kathyleenandtwosons,RobertV.,Jr.andJonathanandtheir families. We rememberthe constancy ofhisdedicationtohisfamily, hispatientsandhiscommunity. *.-, iWanning H. I^cmick 1927 - 2007 ManningLeighton Remickwas bom on September 19, 1927,theson ofAlbert M. and Ethel(Shapleigh) Remick. A lifelongresidentofRye, he was familiarly known by his middle name, Leighton. He graduated from Hampton Academy and attended Rutgers University and was a United States Navy veteran, having served in both World War II and Korea. Following in the footsteps ofhis father, a former Rye Police Chief, LeightonservedtheTownthroughthePoliceDepartment. HewasChief of Police during the early 1950s, a deputy sheriff for Rockingham County, a Rye volunteer fireman and a member ofthe Rye Ambulance Corps. During the 1940s and 50s, he played semi-pro hockey with the Rye SeaHawksandcoachedRyeLittleLeaguebaseball. Leighton grew up on Locke's Neck and the sea was important throughout his life. He loved fishing, setting up to 300 lobstertraps a season. For several years he owned a draggerbased out ofGloucester, Mass. For 32 years he was employed in the plannmg/estimating departmentofthePortsmouthNavalShipyard. LeightondiedSeptember25,2007. Heissurvivedbyhiswife,Jane (Brown)Remick,andtheirfamily. CljrisftopJjcr ^. Cljristto 1923 - 2007 Christopher Christo was a long time resident of Rye, bomApril6, 1923,thesonofStephenQandTana(Dimitri) Christo.Likesomanyofhisgeneration,Christopherputhis education on hold because ofWorld War II. He left the UniversityofNewHampshiretoserveintheU.S.ArmyAir Corpsforfiveyears. Uponleavingtheservice,hereturned to UNH, graduating with the class of 1949 having completed his BA degree in sociology and his master's degree in counseling. He went on to attend Suffolk UniversityLawSchool. Mr. Christo, known as Chris to his many friends, broke new ground by being the first male child-welfare worker hired by the New Hampshire Department of Welfare. Following seven years in Cheshire County, he was then hired by the N.H. Probation Department and based in Rockingham County serving as probation officer for Rockingham Superior Court in addition to all District and Municipal Courts in the county. He was promoted to southemdistrictdirector,supervisingbothRockinghamand Strafford counties for 25 years. He was Clerk ofthe Rye MunicipalCourtfromI960to1999. Chris Christo's volunteer efforts were diverse and far- reaching. During hiscareerheassistedintheestablishment ofGroupHomesforJuvenileOffendersinSalemandExeter and was involved in the seacoast Big Brother/Big Sister Organizations. He helped to found the Volunteers in Probation program in Rockingham County. Through St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, he chaired the Kosovo ReliefProjectofPortsmouththatresultedinthesendingof morethanfortytonsofclothingtorefugeesinAlbania. ChrisChristodiedJuly 17,2007. He issurvivedbyhis wife,JulieMinaChristo,hisdaughterPatricia,sonStephenandtheirfamilies. Devotedtofamily,heespeciallyenjoyed backyardbarbecues;but,apersonofmanyinterests,hemanagedtofindalittletimeforgolf,gardeningandtheRedSox.