Patton: The NH Airport that Melts

This long and fierce winter in New Hampshire continues to produce strange happenings across the state. For example, each year an airport in the Granite State appears in late winter, then disappears as spring approaches. That would be the one in Alton Bay on the south end of Lake Winnipesaukee, which boasts the only ice runway in the lower 48 states that has Federal Aviation Administration approval.

This airport has been appearing and disappearing for the past 30 years. Generally, it appears during January when airport manager Paul LaRochelle finds that the thickness of the ice, at least 12 inches, is great enough to sustain the weight of small aircraft. At this point, LaRochelle climbs into his truck and plows a space big enough (100 feet wide and 3000 feet long) for a runway and an adjacent space where airplanes can be parked. (The Laker, 1/5/15).
Some complications arise. Ice fishing is popular on Lake Winnipesaukee, so the ice-fishing shacks (also known as “bob houses”) must be at least 50 to 75 feet away from the runway. The challenge of landing an airplane on ice is great enough that pilots visit the airport from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. On a day with fair weather, as many as 45 to 100 planes land there. (The Laker , 1/5/15). Of course, all good things must end, so in March as the weather warms, the Alton Bay airport closes for the year, only to reappear the following January.

Less predictable are the antics of runaway horses during the cold months. The snow banks have become so high that two horses in Tilton, Aramus and Stanley, were able to use them after escaping from their stable to climb over a restraining fence.(WMUR, 2/27/15) Did the horses run wild? No, these were very smart horses. They ambled down the road to the nearest Hannafords, no doubt in search of food. Their visions of delectable treats were rewarded when a sympathetic passerby gave them a couple of bags of carrots.

Aramus and Stanley’s brief escape ended when neighbors alerted their owners, the Cooper family, and told them their horses were at Hannafords living it up with townsfolk. The police arrived and Aramus and Stanley had to do a “perp walk” back to their stable. Actually, the perp walk turned into a rather grand event with the police stopping traffic to make way for the horses. All hail Aramus and Stanley!

Even the police are taking pity on us because of the fierce winter. The Washington Post (3/3/15) reports “Police in one New Hampshire town (Farmington) are handing out the kind of tickets you want to get - for free pizza and french fries” Officers there have been so impressed with the way citizens have handled a tough winter that they have been giving gift cards for people using crosswalks and driving properly. Residents of Farmington shouldn’t get too excited. The police are still issuing tickets for traffic violations.

A Canadian news source, the National Post (3/4/15), is not impressed with the gift cards in Farmington. After all, Canadians routinely deal with formidable winters. The Post writes, “Yes, a reward for making it through winter. Forgive them; they are American.”

Harrumph! Well, at least our police don’t wear silly uniforms with bright red coats, like the Mounties do, that criminals can see from a mile away. So there.

Gary Patton is the author of Outtastatahs: Newcomers’ Adventures in New Hampshire. Outtastatahs is available at Amazon.com and bookstores in Concord, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Hampton.