On the 15th of December, 1998, Colin Haley a business reporter for the Patriot Ledger, a daily newspaper covering the South Shore of Massachusetts, was working on a story about Kevin Craffey and the Mountian View. He spoke to Kevin earlier and believed his effort to revitalize the hotel was a great story.
I followed them around as the interview progressed, and as Kevin Craffey gave us a tour of the facilities. You can see the pictures below.
Colin Haley's E-Mail is chaley@ledger.com.
1 - Colin and Kevin view the dining room restoration.
2 - Some of the fellows restoring the plaster by the windows that surround the top of the dining room.
3 - The kitchen area.
4 - Mr. Craffey points to an area where the floor, ceiling and roof will need replacement.
5 - Colin (left) listens as Kevin (right) explains how the restoration of the kitchen will proceed. The bakery area is behind them.
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7 - Some of the machinery from the bakery area looks in good shape and is ready to use after being cleaned up.
8 - One of several meat lockers.
9 - Another meat locker.
10 - The tables in the background were used by the butchers as they prepared fresh meats for the guests.
11 - Colin and Kevin in front of one of the meat lockers.
12 - Part of the dorm area that was for workers.
13 - this dorm area would be a great place to stay and be awakened by the aroma of breakfast being cooked!
14 - One of the cafeteria areas with well... shall we say "interesting" decor.
15 - The old Dodge house where it all began many years ago.
16 - The house is in pretty bad shape. Kevin is going to see if he can save it, but it doesn't look good.
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18 - One of the employees' cottages.
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20 - Inside one of the cottages.
21 - The greenhouse where fresh vegetables and flowers were grown. Weeks State Park on Mount Prospect is directly behind the greenhouse.
22 - Percy Peaks in Groveton, NH is directly above the chimney.
23 - The greenhouse looks in pretty tough shape, but really all it needs is new glass and a good cleaning.
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25 - Another greenhouse.
28 - This is a real gem! A Ford Fairway golf course maintenance truck. It has attachments to pull reel mowers to maintain the golf courses. This is a very rare vehicle!
29 - Don't be misled by the Toro logo!
30 - The horse barn is in excellent condition with a lot of potential.
31 - It has a unique hay lift that looks in good shape.
33 - Colin and Kevin were kind enough to hold my slave flashes to get a picture of part of the barn. It looks like a great place to hold concerts in.
34 - Part of the silo area for loam, sand, fertilizer, etc. storage.
35 - The place came equipped with everything to maintain a golf course.
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37 - They walk to the convention center.
38 - Kevin at the entrance of the convention center.
39 - And the project manager, James Conathan.
41 - There are plenty of golf carts! This stage is a great place to hold events!
43 - The cafeteria and kitchen in the convention center.
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45 - The view of the Presidentials is superb from the east end of the convention center.
46 - The golf clubhouse.
47 - This huge moose head is in the main dining room of the clubhouse.
49 - The view of Mount Washington from the clubhouse dining room.
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52 - The pool covers inside the clubhouse. The pool is of Olympic proportions.
53 - The clubhouse kitchen is in excellent shape and pretty much ready to use.
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56 - Several pictures of Kevin Craffey in front of the Mountain View House.
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