[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S804-S805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG:
  S. 227. A bill to establish a locally oriented commission to assist 
the city of Berlin, NH, in identifying and studying its region's 
historical and cultural assets, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                 THE BERLIN, NH, COMMISSION ACT OF 1997

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 100th 
anniversary of Berlin, NH, and to introduce legislation that will 
assist Berlin in preserving this history.
  While the city of Berlin is 100 years old this year, its history goes 
back further. The first settlers came to Berlin for no apparent reason. 
They were farmers and the land there did not promise to be any more 
fruitful than the land they left just down the Androscoggin River; but, 
they were restless and independent so they came across the mountains to 
start a new community in this isolated area.
  The Plantation of Maynesborough, as Berlin was called, was named 
after the most illustrious of the English gentlemen to whom it was 
granted by the Crown in 1771. Although the land was rugged and it was a 
hard place to live, food was plentiful. The woods consisting of 
seemingly endless stands of timber were filled with deer and game; the 
brooks and river were loaded with trout.
  Those first farmers who made the move from down the river found good 
farmland upstream from the falls. In 1824, William Sessions cleared 5 
acres of land on the east side of the river and came back in 1825 with 
his nephew to plant crops and build a log house. William Sessions did 
not stay around long enough to see Maynesborough become officially 
incorporated as the city of Berlin 1897, but his nephew Cyrus Wheeler 
did.
  Nearly half a century before, however, the character of Berlin began 
its change from farms to industry. In 1851, J.B. Brown and three other 
businessmen from Portland, ME, formed a partnership under the name of 
H. Winslow & Co. and purchased the land on top of the falls. They 
started a successful lumber business in the thick forest and used the 
natural water power of the river to power their mill. The J.B. Brown 
Co., saw the railroad coming to Berlin, thus, opening a direct line of 
transportation to Portland and market centers for the first time.
  In the 1920's, Berlin, NH, was the capital of the papermaking world 
and was becoming known as the city that trees built. The Brown family's 
Berlin Mills Co., controlled 3 million acres in New England and Quebec 
and was world renowned for cutting-edge forestry, research, and 
papermaking. The mills along the Androscoggin River made not only pulp 
and an array of paper products but also lumber, wood flour, conduit 
pipes, and furniture. Brown's staff of 4,000 to 5,000 swelled Berlin to 
a population of 20,000.
  The growth of Berlin reflects the diversity of people who came to 
stay: French Canadians, Yankees from northern New England farms, 
Norwegians, Italians, Irish, and Russians. They sought a chance to make 
a better living and found it in the mills, blacksmith shops, machine 
shops, farms,

[[Page S805]]

stores, railroad yards, and in the winter logging camps. Berlin 
deserves recognition for many other reasons as well. For example 
tupperware and the Feron Rap and Rule, the first retractable ruler, 
were invented in Berlin. But one aspect of the city calls for special 
attention: Its heritage as a leader in introducing skiing to America.
  Scandinavian immigrants were highly sought after by mill recruiters 
not only for their expertise in logging, but also because they were 
acquainted with long, severe winters similar to those of the North 
Country. They chose to develop their individual neighborhoods in 
clusters as did most of the immigrants. As a whole, the entire 
Scandinavian neighborhood was commonly known as Norwegian Village. 
Because of their love for winter, they, more than any other groups, 
forged the way for winter sports in Berlin. Both cross-country ski 
racing and competition ski jumping were introduced to the region by the 
Scandinavian community. These events were featured at many of the 
winter carnivals that Berlin hosted.
  Other than its socioeconomic forest-based heritage, Berlin is 
probably best known for its major contribution to the development of 
skiing in the country. The use of skis by newly arriving Scandinavians 
was at first utilitarian, winter travel around the community. In time, 
cross-country ski racing became popular and Berlin became known as the 
Cradle of Nordic Skiing in America. The Nansen Ski Club, which is named 
in honor of arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, was founded in 1872 as the 
Skii Klubbin. Today, it remains the oldest continuously organized ski 
club in the United States. Starting in the 1890's, skiers used a small 
hill in Norwegian Village to practice and perform their jumps.
  Then, in 1936, a new jump was constructed here at this site thanks to 
a cooperative effort between the city of Berlin and the Nansen Ski 
Club. This 80-meter jump has a 171.5-foot tower, a 225-foot vertical 
drop, and a descent angle of approximately 37.5 degrees. For almost 50 
years, this was the largest ski jump in the Eastern United States and 
the foremost jump in the country. Also, this was the site of all major 
championship ski jumping competitions, as well as many Olympic tryouts. 
Several famous ski jumpers were competitors here including a host of 
Berlinites who went on to compete in the Olympics.
  Mr. President, I have only touched on a few of the historical aspects 
that make Berlin, NH, unique. The legislation that I am introducing, 
the Androscoggin River Valley Heritage Area Act, will establish a 
locally oriented commission to assist the city of Berlin in identifying 
and studying its region's historical and cultural assets of the past 
100 years.
                                 ______