Kingston New Hampshire…A peek inside

I recently asked a Kingston local what it was that made the town of Kingston New Hampshire so special to her.

As a New Hampshire REALTOR and a New Hampshire Real Estate Blogger, I find it fascinating to talk to the local folks and get their take on their town.

Many times potential buyers ask questions about what it is like living in a town and what better than having someone who lives and knows the town intimately answer that question.

I have written about Kathy Radford and her art in the past. If you missed it you can read it here… Kingston NH Hidden talent (opens in a separate window)

Aside from being a busy artist and photographer Kathy and her husband also own Radford Courier Services, which specializes in rush/same day deliveries.

Among other things, they do a lot of deliveries for lawyers to the registry of deeds in both Rockingham and Hillsboro counties. Which as a REALTOR is a very good thing to know, because you never know when you might meet a lawyer who could use their services…especially for a rush closing.

Kathy has been a Kingston resident since 1970 when she and her husband moved north from Belmont, MA. Her husband she says, being brought up in Sudbury, MA didn’t like city living and they would always go to the White Mountains, one of their favorite places, for vacations each year.

Kingston was always was a stop off point along the way.

Kathy explained that back then they would stop at the old Mill Stream Restaurant, which is currently The Pond View Restaurant.

Back in the 70’s, she said it was just a small hamburger stand with old fashioned barrels as tables and chairs.

The Pond View is still owned by the same family, but it has evolved over the years and it is now a wonderful upscale restaurant but still maintained by the original family.

The senior owners were also the towns EMTs and drove the only ambulance in town.

Kathy says that they always enjoyed talking with the locals at the hamburger stand and one day they met Gordon Brown there, who had his real estate office across the street in the A-Frame.

Gordon Brown is a real estate icon…his daughter Barbara also a REALTOR is a good friend of ours.

Eventually, Kathy goes on to say they bought their Kingston NH home through Gordon Brown Real Estate.

When I asked her why she bought in Kingston she told me more than I expected to hear and I quote her.

“We absolutely fell in love with the warm country charm of the town with the town plains dotted with all the historic homes and the wonderful old Church on the Plains, the Town Hall, the bandstand and the majestic old Sanborn Seminary.

Kingston’s proximity between Boston and the White Mountains with the added bonus of the Seacoast area thrown in made for the perfect spot to raise three children in a relaxed friendly community where everyone was your friend.

We were limited to southern NH because my husband had to commute to Norwood, MA every day to work in the family run trucking and warehouse business.

The Town Clerk and Chief of Police knew everyone in town on a first name basis. I might add we are fortunate enough to still have the same wonderful and accommodating town clerk, Betti Ouelette, who is a walking book of knowledge.

Whenever you have a question about something in Kingston, Betti always has the answers. She is the only town clerk, that I know of, that calls local residents near the end of the month to remind them that their auto registration is about to run out at the end of the month.

She is the most caring and giving town clerk I have ever heard of. A pearl comes one in a million and that is exactly what she is to the town, a true pearl. She has given so much to the town over the years; no one will ever be able to fill her shoes.

For many years we have attended the Kingston Carnival Days with its huge bomb fire every year where they would place a car on top and set it on fire to see how long it would take for the car to fall.

This was always the highlight of the year and drew huge crowds from both NH and MA.

Kingston has grown over the years, but I think we have always tried to maintain our quaint little country town quality of life.

We’ve come a long way through the years, from having a high school that had split session classes where half the students went to school in the morning and the other half went in the afternoon, to the sprawling new high school complex it is today.

I hope we never lose our wonderful small town country charm and close community ties that have made Kingston what it has always been and continues today. “

I was so impressed with Kathy’s willingness to share her thoughts and feelings about Kingston that I knew I had to publish her words as she said them. Thank you Kathy for an excellent description of Kingston!

Check out some of Kathy’s art work www.betterphoto.com?kathyinnh or catch her displaying her art at many local craft fairs or holiday bazaars. All photos used in this post are copyrighted by Kathy Radford and used with her permission.