The Editor Writes
The Editor Writes
This month we have a New England oddity from James Chenoweth (our most recently published author).
The wine series begun last month will return next month. Space and time precluded using the column I have in hand this month.
That's it for this column. Switching hats...
Howes Things
A few days ago I received a notice from the national office that said that the AMC voted at their last meeting to stop reporting scores to prospective members who take our tests. I don't have the full minutes of the meeting but it has been reported that this was necessary because some states have tightened restrictions on who can legally give "IQ tests". Test takers will only be told whether they qualified in the future. I have an opinion on this but will reserve it for now. I'd like to know what you think. Drop my alter ego the editor a line if you want your voice to be heard on this topic. Results of this highly unscientific poll will appear in the June issue.
Our membership at the end of March was 247. I hope that all of you whose membership was up this year have renewed.
If you are interested or even curious about one of our vacant offices please get
in touch with me.
Paws for Reflection
March's AMC meeting was held in Chicago. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend due to illness. I do know what happened though! Thanks to Sallie Banko (RVC 2) for sharing this information and actually writing this column.
The National membership count as of 3/31/01 is 48,380. Next year, let's all do what we can to help Mensa reach the big 5-0, as in 50,000!
Those of you who count the beans for the local group will be happy to know that the Corporate Subscription and newsletter exchange reimbursement rate has been increased from $0.55 to $0.65.
New investment policies were put into place - these are a little more conservative than what we had been doing earlier. This new policy stresses preservation of capital with a predictable return on investment by investing in CDs, U.S. Government Securities, etc.
One change you will be seeing if you subscribe to Interloc (you DO get this newsletter, don't you? If not, contact the national office and ask for a subscription. It's free!) is that the full minutes will no longer be published there. The mini-minutes will continue to be published and a notice will be included directing those interested in reading the minutes to the AML website. Members can also request a paper copy from the National Office.
Why is this being done? It is believed the space available in the Interloc can be put to much better use than the dry reading of the minutes. This is where the officers of the organization can interact and react; where anyone can offer ideas, suggestions and opinions. It is where new programs can be presented, analyzed and their impact discussed.
The cyberspace committee has been directed to research the possibility of offering "Mensa" e-mail address. (Sort of like vanity plates on the electronic highway) Keep an eye out for this in the near future.
There will be a colloquium held in the year 2002 in Michigan. (If you want to help shape what is to be presented, go to http://colloquium2002.org and take part in a survey.)
The 2003 Annual Gathering is scheduled to take place in Minnesota.
The Mud Turtle Monument
As our editor mentioned in the April issue of Momentum, my book, Oddity Odyssey, has been published. It is a collection of places and events in New England which are peculiar, unique, and occasionally bizarre. Of course, New Hampshire has its share. A building, still standing in Exeter, once housed the White Cap Society, a group of financiers who hunted at night for buried treasure and were directed by instructions from the spirit world. What appears to be a large champagne bottle still perches on top of a church spire in Hampton Falls. In Henniker is the grave site of a woman who saved a ship from pirates while she was a mere baby. The tiny Rock of Ages Church is balanced precariously on a boulder in North Woodstock.
One of the oddest monuments in New Hampshire still exists but cannot be seen. It was created out of a legal debate over the boundary line dividing New Hampshire from Vermont. Conflicting deeds issued over the years cast legal doubts about where the line should be drawn in the Connecticut River. In 1936 the U. S. Supreme Court decided that New Hampshire owned the river as far over as the low water line on the Vermont side. So it then became necessary to survey the river and place markers identifying that line.
Exactly where should the survey start? With magisterial wisdom, the Court decided it should start at the spot where the western edge of the river crosses the Massachusetts border. That's where the "Mud Turtle" monument had been built in 1895. From there the boundary line snakes its way northward.
No one has seen the monument since 1970. It has been described as a granite pyramid with a copper bolt at its apex. The granite was fastened into a bed of concrete, which was then embedded twelve feet into the ground. It got its nickname from the profile it developed as river mud and silt began swirling around it after construction.
What does it look like today? Who knows. When dams built for hydroelectric power began impeding the river's flow, the water level slowly rose - and the monument gradually disappeared. Since then, it has appeared only once, when work was being done on the Turner Dam in 1969 and the river was running low. Completely buried by then, the monument's location was eventually pinpointed and a digging operation began.
The Mud Turtle finally emerged on October 26. It was viewed by curious visitors for a few months but when the new dam was finished in 1970, rising waters slowly covered the Mud Turtle again. Now three fathoms deep, it still performs its vital function, anchoring the boundary line between New Hampshire and Vermont.
Speaking of that boundary, here's a puzzle for eager Mensans. Is it possible to
drive from New Hampshire into Vermont without crossing the Connecticut River (and without
making an end run through Canada)? It can be done.
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