Ron Resden's Photo Set 01 of Old SHH Resort

In Summer of 2017 a friendly stranger walked up our drive
He introduced himself as Ron Resden, a gunsmith from Guildhall, Vermont
He recalls both the old iron mine of Sugar Hill, NH and the 1880 Sunset Hill House Resort that was torn down in 1974
At one time he worked and lived in the resort's dormitories

Our cottage sits where the main hotel of the 1880 SHH Summertime Resort was located
I previously wrote about the history of this resort
Scroll down to Cottage History at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm
To date you will see eight sets of pictures Ron has sent me.

Ron still keeps feeding me history pictures of the SHH Resort that he buys over time.
In Set 8 you will find some of his latest finds

The SSH Resort was most popular 1890-1960 along with the many other summer resorts in the mountains and along water fronts.
Before the days of air conditioning families from the sweltering cities would check in for weeks or even months to cool off in these White Mountains
Children were often parked in nearby summer camps, and husbands commuted by passenger trains on week ends
On week days vacationing wives enjoyed reading on the big front porch, bowling, hiking, and playing golf, tennis, shuffle board, etc.
There was also a casino that guests found entertaining
This is the historic context in which the following pictures should be viewed (explaining why women are featured in so many of the photographs)

Ron Resden was a young man who lived in one of the employee dorms
This is why he knew some the folks mentioned by him below
Of course most of the photographs were taken before his time
The SHH Resort was closed in the winter season

Hi Bob,

At long last I’m getting things together on the group of likely unpublished items bought from a dealer in South Royalton VT. Been a very busy spring over here on my mountain.

Attached is a copy of a “snap shot” taken on a lower slope of the golf course. The ladies are identified as Edith Cole on the left, Kate Robinson on the right and Eve Green in the background. Likely taken in 1910. All “snap shots” are dated 1910~1911.

Note the bowling ally and clubhouse in the background.

More to come!

Ron.

I really prize the first photograph shown below sent by Ron because it features our retirement home when it was still a cottage on the golf course
Most of the SHH Resort buildings were torn down by 1974, but several remain standing, including the cottage shown below
A local man named George Foss bought this cottage for a residence and had it moved in 1977 to the former site of the SHH main hotel
While the cottage was still on the golf course it was once the club house and later the tennis "Pavilion" and later a SHH Resort rental cottage

I think the picture below was taken in 1933 when this cottage was the tennis "Pavilion"
The tennis court to the left is not shown in this photograph

This is a photograph of our retirement home after the cottage was moved over a new basement
In the back of the cottage a master bedroom was added over a new garage
The front porch, now winterized, was originally an open porch
It was quite an accomplishment to move most of the building below with its four fireplaces

This was the big SHH Hotel that had a capacity for over 300 summertime guests
It was the largest of eight quite sizeable hotels in Sugar Hill
Before the days of air conditioning families booked long stays in these mountains to escape the stifling heat of big cities to the south

The postcard below shows more of the entire resort
The barns housed horses and carriages used to carry passengers from nearby train stations in Sugar Hill and Lisbon
The SHH Resort raised much of the food before days of refrigeration
The White Mountains to the east and and Green Mountains to the west are not pictured in the colored postcard below

This is an old postcard that names the mountains to the east that were visible from the porch of the historic SHH Hotel
The three visible White Mountain ranges are the Presidential Range (30 miles), the Twin Range (20 miles), and the Kinsman Range (10 miles)
Many of these mountain tops are on the Appalachian Trail's most difficult hike
Mt. Washington is the highest mountain and Mt. Lafayette is the second-highest mountain in the White Mountains

I took the photograph below in our living room located about where the dining room of the SHH Resort once stood
As the crow flies, Mt. Lafayette is 10 miles distant, Twin mountain is 20 miles away, and Mt. Washington hidden in the clouds is 28 miles to the northeast
The bright light to the right is a camera flash reflection caused by the careless photographer who took this picture

I took the zoomed picture of Mt Washington below from my desk

Now I return to some of the photographs Ron sent to me showing life in the SHH Resort
First the photographs of some of the cooks and other staff relaxing
Many of the workers like Ron Resden lived on site in dormitories

Hi Bob,

Hi Bob,
This is another photo taken on the golf course.
The ladies are identified left to right standing as Angie Yates, Islay Stratton, and Alice Smith. Kneeling is Elsie and CLB. I have come to suspect CLB is the “Top” caddy.
Ron.

Hi Bob,
Two more photos taken on the golf course. One of “Elsie” Note your home in the background and one of Elsie and CLB. The girl in the white dress I suspect is Edith Cole in both photos.
Ron.

What is now the Sunset Hill House is a renovated resort building called the Annex that was once one of the dormitories for hotel staff ---
The Sunset Hill House --- https://www.thesunsethillhouse.com/

Question
Are there trails in our White Mountains of New Hampshire that have ice in summer as well as winter?
See "The Ice Gulch, Would I do it Again" by John Compton, August 5, 2011 ---
http://1happyhiker.blogspot.com/2011_08_05_archive.html

On May 14, 2006 I retired from Trinity University after a long and wonderful career as an accounting professor in four universities. I was generously granted "Emeritus" status by the Trustees of Trinity University. My wife and I now live in a cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ---
http://facuolty.trinity.edu/rjensen/NHcottage/NHcottage.htm