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Granite State’s Old Stone Face Gets a Senate Bow

Old Man, before and after
Old Man, before and after

New Hampshire’s senators commemorated a great loss on May 3.

It was exactly 10 years ago that the iconic granite formation known as the Old Man of the Mountain crumbled. The Old Man, located near the town of Franconia on Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, was a rock formation that, when viewed from the north, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. It is so identified with the “Granite State” that it appears on the back of the New Hampshire quarter in the 50 state quarters collection.

In its memory, the state’s senators, Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, have teamed up to propose a resolution recognizing the Old Man.

“Whereas, while Granite Staters mourn the loss of their granite man, they pay tribute with a long glance up at the bare face of the grey mountain and a pause in remembrance of the first citizen of the beloved State,” the April 30 resolution said.

The two senators also go a step further toward ensuring the support of their colleagues, quoting from the legendary Daniel Webster, a New Hampshire native who served as a senator from Massachusetts and was among the great orators in U.S. history. He helped lead to the chamber being called the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body. Webster said:

Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.

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