History of the New Year’s Day Paddle on the Lower Winni by Ken Norton

Skip Church asked me to give a history of the New Year’s Day Paddle on the Winnipesaukee River - here’s what I know….

With the potential for the end of whitewater paddling on the lower Winnipesaukee River on the horizon, the first formal New Year’s Day paddle began on January 1, 1998. Local developers, under the name Franklin Hydroelectric, had filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)in 1992 to study construction of a new hydro dam on the lower Winni (project no 11281-000). The proposed 150 foot long and 22-foot-high dam was to be located on the Franklin/Tilton town line just downstream of the bridge on Cross Mill Road. The proposal also included a 12-foot (later increased to 14 foot) diameter penstock running ¾ of a mile downstream to a hydro generating plant just above the Trestle in Franklin. The penstock would effectively dewater the river. Under the organizational name Friends of the Winnipesaukee River, I filed a motion to intervene with FERC on Behalf of the Merrimack Valley Paddlers (MVP), the Central Canoe and Kayak Club, Belknap County Sportsman Association, Basil Woods Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and Ducks unlimited.

In 1988, Friends of the Winnipesaukee River had previously intervened with FERC on a similar proposal on the lower Winni (project #10476-000). It is interesting to note that the Merrimack Valley Paddlers had declined to be included as an intervenor in that proposal stating the Lower Winni was “rarely” used by MVP members and due to it being “trashy (rebar debris etc.).” The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) also declined. From a historical perspective, the Winnipesaukee River carried raw sewage and was not considered a recreational resource until the completion of the Winnipesaukee River Basin project around 1980. The project laid sewer lines from Meredith/Center Harbor to Franklin and included newly constructed sewage treatment plants in Laconia and Franklin. With deference to the Abenaki and Penacook people who traversed the Winnipesaukee River for centuries, the first known modern day whitewater descent of the Lower Winni (I’m sure there were previous ones) took place around 1983/4 and included a cohort of NH’s best paddlers: Sonny Hunt, Mark Ciborowski, Brad Helfer, John Aldridge, Bill Zeller, and Jim Sindelar. (They were mostly canoers - WW kayaking was only starting to take off. The Perception Dancer which popularized and revolutionized the sport, came out in 1982) . Rebar poked a hole in Jim’s boat, and word soon spread in the paddling community to avoid the Lower Winni. However, seeing the potential for a great white water run, they returned armed with portable sawzalls and began removing rebar, dam remnants, trees, trash and other obstacles. Other paddlers including also took up the cause. But I diverge from the story…..

Unlike the previous dam proposals on the Lower Winni (there were 3 others in the past decade), this proposal had a high likelihood of moving forward. The developers were local and had constructed the Clement Dam in Tilton several years earlier. They had the engineering skills, knowledge of the Winnipesaukee River, and financial backing to pull it off. They had also been filing required reports with FERC and making progress on their proposal.

In an effort to foster mutual interests of paddlers and hydro producers, Friends of the Winnipesaukee had previously partnered with these developers on Earth Day events including tours of the Clement Dam. Based on that relationship, the developer agreed to a meeting at Cross Mill Road with myself Representing Friends of the Winnipesaukee River, and George May from the MVP to discuss their proposal and concerns of the paddling community and other interested parties. The meeting was sobering; the developer drove off leaving George and I standing on the bridge talking about the seriousness of the threat, the lack of any common interests between the proposed dam and paddling, and brainstorming strategies for how to generate more public opposition to the dam proposal. Solutions identified included having a high visibility New Year’s Day paddle which would increase the awareness and interests of recreational opportunities on the Lower Winni and engage local stakeholders in promoting those efforts and opposing the dam proposal.

Running the Winni on New Year's Day wasn’t entirely a new thing, the River Rats, a group of folks from the Lakeport area, had been doing it off and on in tubes, during the 80’s. Fred Zimmerman, one of the River Rats, had taken up whitewater paddling and Fred had invited a few kayakers to join the River Rats on one of their New Years’ Day runs in the late 80’s. It should be noted that cold weather gear then was pretty limited. Dry suits were relatively new and few paddlers had them. When I paddled with Fred and the River Rats on one of those runs, we had farmer john wetsuits and wore nylon shells/jackets over them. Fred wore Playtex gloves which he duct taped to his wrists. I wore nylon ski over-mitts. The following year Fred enticed a few more paddlers by offering lunch afterwards. He was a good cook and served shells stuffed with Ricotta and pieces of Italian sausage. His apartment in Northfield was tiny and could only seat two people at a time. There were only a few intrepid paddlers those first couple of years, and we would have a beer out in the parking lot and take turns going up to Fred’s apartment for lunch.

What was envisioned was building on this informal tradition by formalizing it. We would attract more paddlers by renting a hall/offering a warm place to change, and serving lunch afterward. We would encourage spectators by publicizing it, and doing it at a set time, not the old “MVP time” of whenever everyone finally showed up. And we would engage the media by issuing press releases, offering interview and quotes, and by changing the narrative from focusing on wild people paddling in the cold to people paddling in the cold for a cause - opposing the dam and promoting the Lower Winnipesaukee as a recreational resource.

The first year was a big success with about 30 paddlers and great media coverage locally, statewide and throughout New England. The MVP rented the Masonic Hall in Tilton, and Fred cooked for everyone. Momentum and coverage built over the next few years with less experienced paddlers doing the Upper Winni. We made a big splash in 2000, when we capitalized on the Y2K hysteria by hosting a Y2Kayak New Year’s Day Event. In subsequent years, Hall rental moved from Tilton to Franklin and Nancy Gero (and John) took over cooking/hosting duties. The MVP gave annual awards to local people who helped promote recreation on the Winnipesaukee River. With paddlers returning to paddle the Lower Winni throughout the year, the Franklin community began to embrace the event and the role recreation could play in Franklin’s rebirth. Toward that end, the economic development group Choose Franklin adopted the event as First Day Franklin and began setting up a warming tent for spectators and paddlers.

Another threat to whitewater paddling on the Lower Winni was safe take-out access. The takeout was the parking lot of The Silver Bullet, a nefarious Franklin bar. It was a Class III+ take out which included a poor eddy line, lots and lots of broken glass, and a crumbling 10 foot brick wall between the river and parking lot, which involved passing boats up over the wall and climbing a broken ladder to get out – or trying to climb the ladder with your boat. The bar burned down and the lot was put up for sale. Had it been sold and the river fenced or blocked off, it would have essentially ended paddling the Lower Winni as there were no alternative take outs. Having watched the growing numbers of paddlers, and with encouragement from the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association (WRTA), the Grevior family bought the land, put it into conservation easement for perpetuity, and worked with the WRTA, the City of Franklin, the National Park Service and others to create Trestle View Park which opened in 2005.

Faced with growing opposition and construction costs, uncertainties about electric utility regulation, and a city that was now embracing whitewater paddling and river recreation as a driver of economic development, plans for hydro development of this section of river were dropped. With the success of using the New Year’s Day paddle to highlight opposition to a hydro project which would have dewatered the Winnipesaukee River, the annual New Year’s Day Paddle has been used to raise awareness of other important issues including construction of the Winnipesaukee River Trail, and Trestle View Park, inclusion of a take-out ramp at Riverfront Park in Tilton (2006), proposed summer whitewater releases, and most recently construction of Mill City Park and New England’s first whitewater park. Whether a paddler, or spectator, come on out and join the fun on New Years’ Day!

Newspaper article from the Laconia Citizen on the 1998 run