James W.
Tucker
From August 31, 1950 until his death in 1961, James W. Tucker wrote a column in The Hampton Union entitled “Our Town”, covering both historical and contemporary events. As Peter Randall states in the preface to his Hampton: A Century of Town and Beach , “From 1915, when he came to town, until his death in 1961, Tucker was an active participant in, and observer of, town affairs. He wrote about the first half of this century from firsthand knowledge, giving us all facts about our past that many people knew but only he wrote about in detail. He often devoted several columns to a single subject, producing a wealth of information that has saved hundreds of hours of research. That Tucker was given the freedom to write more than 500 columns is a tribute to Edward Seavey, editor of the Union , who realized the value of Tucker’s research and viewpoint even if he, Seavey, didn’t always agree with the columnist.”
[In some cases illustrations have been added
that don’t appear in the original newspaper articles.]
The 1915 Carnival Committee:
Left to right, back row:
J. Frank James, J. A. McAdams,
Frank Callahan and James W. Tucker .
Front row, left to right:
Edmund Langley, Byron Redman
and J. S. Dudley.
- Improvement Company Fitted In To
Calendar Of Events- [ Date unknown at this time ]
- A brief biography of James W. Tucker
- August 31, 1950
- The Sanitary Sewer System
- September 7, 1950
- Hampton Is Growing
- September 14, 1950
- Hampton’s Police Department
- c. 1950-51
- Hampton Beach Carnival — 1915
- July 19, 1951
- The Vikings in Hampton
- July 26, 1951
- William Brown, A Good Public Servant
- August 9, 1951
- The Witch of Hampton
- August 30, 1951
- Town Makes Restitution to “Goody”
- September 6, 1951
- Shipwrecks Off Our Town
- September 29, 1951
- The Trolley Era in Hampton, a 7-part series
- September 27 – November 8, 1951
- The Big Tornado of 1898
- November 15, 1951
- The “Mile-Long” Wooden Bridge
- January 3, 1952
- On Getting Together
- January 10, 1952
- Notebook Miscellanea
- January 24, 1952
- Great Fires of 1915 and 1921
- January 31, 1952
- Reminiscences Of Conflagrations
- February 7, 1952
- Golden Anniversary
- February 14, 1952
- The Hampton Beach Band
- February 21, 1952
- Bandmasters At Hampton
- February 28, 1952
- The Ashworth Story
- March 6, 1952
- Band Brevities
- March 13, 1952
- The Meeting House Green
- April 10, 1952
- Mr. Jones And The Meeting House Green Memorial
- April 17, 1952
- Presidential Candidates at Hampton Beach
- August 21, 1952
- Good Public Relations
- August 28, 1952
- Old Timers of Trolley Era
- April 16, 1953
- Good Squire of North Beach
- May 7, 1953
- Community Projects For 1953
- August 6, 1953
- Billy and Gertrude: Two Lambs Who Served Our Beach
- June 9, 1955
- Signs Of Our Time, Compared With Signs Of The Past
- July 5, 1956
- Value Of Lobster
- July 26, 1956
- Hampton Elms In Serious Danger
- August 2, 1956
- Trio of Municipal Problems: “Rivermouth.” Library & Proposed High School
- February 7, 1957
- August Happenings — Important and Otherwise
- August 8, 1957
- The Hampton of Seventy Years Ago
- January 9, 1958
- First Homes in Hampton Were Not Log Cabins
- January 30, 1958
- Surprising Development Of Our Public Library
- February 6, 1958
- Temperance More Practical Than Prohibition
- July 10, 1958
- Religious Birthright Big Help To Local Methodists
- December 4, 1958
- Methodist Church Building Project Nears Completion
- December 11, 1958
- Parties, Archaeology And Show Business
- May 14, 1959
- Themes For Memorial Day Soliloquies
- May 28, 1959
- History of the Town Clock
- June 25, 1959
- The Indians of Winnacunnet
- September 10, 1959
- A Memento From Mansion Of Last Royal Governor
- September 17, 1959
- Tribute to Luigi Marelli
- November 19, 1959
- Letter From Dr. Grosvenor, Tide-Mill Is Found
- December 17, 1959
- The Strange Tale of Ye Olde Tide Mill
- December 31, 1959
- The Poet, John Greenleaf Whittier And Hampton – Part 1
- September 22, 1960
- The Poet, John Greenleaf Whittier And Hampton – Part 2
- September 29, 1960
- The Poet, John Greenleaf Whittier And Hampton – Part 3
- October 6, 1960
- Winter Birds, Storms And A Word To Postal Officials
- January 5, 1961
- Fred Batchelder Belonged With Beach Pioneers
- January 12, 1961
- Batchelder Park Skating Rink — Put Trucks On Pike
- January 19, 1961
- The Good Citizens And Pretty Homes of Surfside Park
- May 18, 1961
- When Main Street Was Moved From Exeter Road
(also news of the Dutch Elm Disease in Hampton)- August 10, 1961
- Citizens’ Tribute Paid Jim Tucker, and Jim’s final column
- November 9, 1961