"CHRONICLE." SHAYNA: >> THIS IS LOOK AROUND.
>> WE ARE KNOWN AS THE COURIER AND IVES CORNER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
SHAYNA: AND LISTEN.
ANTHONY: IT’S A MILL VILLAGE THAT STILL FUNCTIONS.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
SHAYNA IF THESE COVERED BRIDGES COULD TALK, THEY WOULD SAY OUCH.
>> THE COMPANY THAT GREW LIKE GANGBUSTERS.
>> IT’S A VIRAL T-SHIRT THAT JUST EXPLODED ON THE INTERNET.
SHAYNA: THE FARM THAT GROWS HOPE . >> MANUAL LABOR IS GOOD THERAPY.
SHAYNA: THE MAIN STREETS AND BACK ROADS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S MONADNOCK REGION, NEXT, ON "CHRONICLE." ANTHONY: NEW HAMPSHIRE’S CHESHIRE COUNTY.
>> WE’VE OFTEN BEEN VIEWED AS THE FORGOTTEN CORNER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
ANTHONY: AT ITS HEART, THE CITY OF KEENE.
THE BACKDROP FOR THE 1995 ROBIN WILLIAMS MOVIE, JUMANJI.
AND THERE WAS ONE MORE CLAIM TO FAME, EXPLAINS ALAN OF THE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ASK OUR MAIN STREET IS NOW 166 FEET WIDE.
IN THE EARLY 1900S, THE TOWN VOTED TO PAY MAIN STREET.
THEY ADVERTISE THAT WE HAD THE WIDEST MAIN -- PAID MAIN STREET IN THE COUNTRY.
ANTHONY: WHEN KEENE STARTED OUT BACK IN THE 1700S, THERE WERE NO STREETS AT ALL.
>> THE ORIGINAL EUROPEAN SETTLERS CAME HERE TO FARM.
THEY WERE FARMING THE LAND, EVEN THOUGH IT’S PRETTY ROUGH TERRAIN THROUGHOUT.
>> FARMING A WAY TO MANUFACTURING, BUT THAT DIDN’T LAST, EITHER, LEAVING OLD-TIME NEW ENGLAND PRETTY MUCH INTACT.
>> WERE KNOWN AS THE COURIER AND IVES CORNER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
MANY OF THE SMALL TOWNS WERE NEVER DEVELOPED SO THERE WERE NO CHANGES.
ANTHONY: THAT IS EXACTLY THE STORY OF NEARBY, PICTURE-PERFECT HARRISVILLE, FROZEN IN TIME.
IT IS A MILL VILLAGE THAT STILL FUNCTIONS.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
>> A FAMILY STARTED AN OPERATION IN KEENE.
THEY MOVED HERE AND COMPETED WITH A HEADER IN THIS VILLAGE.
THE HARRISES LET THE INDUSTRY IN THE VILLAGE IN THE LATE 1880’S AND MY FAMILY STAYED UNTIL 1970.
ANTHONY: JOHN COLONY GREW UP WHEN HARRISVILLE.
HE KNEW THAT SOMETHING SPECIAL WAS ABOUT TO BE LOST, BOTH THE MILL AND THE CLASSIC VILLAGE IS SUPPORTED.
THE YEAR WAS 1970.
>> THE MILL CLOSED ALONG WITH 53 OTHER MILLS IN NEW ENGLAND THAT YEAR.
THE REASON THEY CLOSE AT THAT TIME WAS BECAUSE OF DOUBLE NET FABRICS.
ALL THE WEAVING MILLS STOPPED.
ANTHON HARRISVILLE CLOSE, BUT ONLY FOR A FEW MONTHS.
JOHN AND HIS FRIENDS HAD AN IDEA, A TWO-PART CONCEPT TO SAVE THE VILLAGE AND ITS INDUSTRY.
>> HARRISVILLE DESIGNS IS THE TEXTILE SIDE OF IT.
ANTHONY: THEY PRESERVED 20 PLUS BUILDINGS, NOT AS A MUSEUM BUT AS A REAL WORKING, LIVING COMMUNITY.
>> WE HAVE QUITE A MIX, WE HAVE 10 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES THAT WE HAVE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES IN, AND SOME OF OUR KEY TENETS, THE HARRISVILLE GENERAL STORE WHICH WE OPERATE
AS AN ANCHOR.
WE ALSO HAVE THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, HARRISVILLE CHILDREN’S CENTER, SOME OF THOSE CORE COMMUNITY FUNCTIONS.
AND THEN WE HAVE BUSINESSES.
ANTHONY: THAT IS WHERE THE OTHER PART OF THE PRESERVAION PLAN COMES IN.
HARRISVILLE DESIGNS IS JOHN’S WOOL SPINNING BUSINESS, HIS END PRODUCT, YARN.
YOU’VE HEARD THE EXPRESSION DIED IN THE WOOL?
THIS IS IT.
YOU START WITH YOUR RAW WOOL AND YOU D IT VARIOUS COLORS, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, AND YOU BLEND ALL THESE COLORS UNTIL YOU GET, IN THIS CASE, A PURPLE COLOR YOU WANT.
AND THE WOOL IS DYED IN THE WOOL, THE COLOR GOES ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
FROM THE MIXING MACHINE, THE WOOL IS FED INTO THIS INTEGER 1924 HARDING MACHINE THAT LINES OF THE FIBERS AND SEPARATES THEM INTO BANDS OF FULL THAT ARE THEN TWISTED INTO YARN -- INTO BANDS
OF WOOL.
FROM THERE IT IS WOUND ON TWO BIG BOBBINS.
THE NEXT DEVICE IS CALLED A SKEIN WONDER.
IT MEASURES OFF THE LENGTH OF YARN WHICH DEPENDS ON ITS WEIGHT , EITHER 50 OR 100 GRAMS.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.
HER STILL DESIGNS DOESN’T JUST MAKE YARN, THEY BUILD LOOMS AS WELL.
AND HERE ARE THE FINISHED PRODUCTS, LOU AND YARN WORKING TOGETHER IN AN OLD-FASHIONED FACTORY STORE RIGHT ON SITE AT THE HARRISVILLE MILL VILLAGE.
WE FIRST STARTED, THERE’S A FELLOW WHO LIVED IN TOWN AND HE SAID HARRISVILLE IS WORTH SAVING, NOT BECAUSE IT IS OLD, BUT BECAUSE IT IS GOOD.
SHAYNA: I NOTICED THAT SOME WATER WAS STILL RUNNING UNDER THOSE OLD MILLS.
ARE THEY STILL WORKING?
ANTHON THE ABILITY TO USE WATER TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY HAS BEEN OFF-LINE FOR GENERATIONS, BUT THEY ARE BRINGING IT.
THEY ORDERED A HYDROELECTRIC GENERATOR THAT WILL ARRIVE BEFORE LONG AND PRETTY SOON, WATER WILL BE POWERING THE MILLS AT HARRISVILLE AGAIN.
>> THEY POST AT SIGN WITH A