Building A Self-Sufficient Community
THE IRONY OF A college eduction! Larry Collins, class of '32, is famous in the White Mountain region as a professional artist in wrought iron, and as the owner and host extraordinary of one of the most unique recreation centers in New Hampshire.
An English major at Dartmouth, Larry was forced to withdraw at the end of his junior year because of financial troubles. But since that time he has not been idle. At the time of his withdrawal, although his finances would not permit him to return to Dartmouth, still he had enough capital to live on for a while, and rather than dissipate it in the city hunting down an elusive job he decided to make an initial payment on a farm which he had seen while working in the summer for the New Hampshire State Forestry Department.
His idea was, however, not to use the farm as such, but to ultize its very unique location and physical characteristics for the development of a resort which would be in perfect harmony with its surroundings, and where nature-loving people would want to live. The farm Larry bought is peculiarly adapted to the development of a project of this sort, for it is situated in Littleton, N. H., in the midst of the White Mountain summer resort region. Yet its six hundred acres of forest land in the secluded Gale River Valley make possible the complete isolation so essential to a place of natural beauty.
The farm consists of rugged mountainforest land through which flows a swift mountain stream in a series of alternate rapids and quiet pools. The farm forms the nucleus of what Larry has named "The Rock Pool Club" because of the presence of a very sporty swimming pool carved by the river from the solid rock of the gorge. Around Rock Pool are centered Larry's present activities of livelihood, for although he plans to develop Rock Pool into a nature community having all the requisites of such a place, his lack of capital up to now has prevented it. The remarkable progress he has made in but three years has been done most economically, and for the most part by his own hands, which are certainly skilled if one is to judge by the beauty of the log cabins, metal work, and other handiwork that this "Collegiate Squire" has done and plans to do in the future.
These plans consist in making of Rock Pool a self-sufficient community. A power plant will be installed on the river to carry the power needs of the farm. Cabins and clubhouses are being built for the use of the members of the club. Riding, swiming, tennis, archery, golf and all the other sports are possibilities for amusement here. Hunting and fishing are forbidden in order that the place may be the home for wild life as well as human beings. All of these plans Larry has carried out and is carrying out in such a way as to preserve the natural wild beauty of the landscape.
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS are well represented at Rock Pool. Larry first undertook amateur blacksmithing to help him in his logging and other heavy out-door work. He later found he could make things easily from wrought iron, at his forge, and began to create "some of the oldest antiques ever conceived." He says that some of them must be hundreds of years old, at least, that they look that way after a 50-below-zero winter outside the window of his"shoppe."
Visitors to the White Mountains were not long in discovering his talent, on seeing his beautiful replicas of antiques around the farm, and now blacksmithing is one of Larry's greatest assets, from which he derives both pleasure and gain. This business of his has reached the point where he accepts contracts for the installation of hardware for complete homes, and he has to employ other blacksmiths to carry out his designs.
Larry's newest idea came from noticing on the river terrace near the mouth of the river, the presence of a natural amphitheatre. He expects to make this an openair theater, ultimately to be used by guests of Rock Pool, but until it has expanded sufficiently, groups of travelling players will present their plays here before gatherings from all over the mountains. When the weather is inclement the plays are produced in an old barn which is part of the original equipage of the farm.
And speaking of barns, Larry gets most of his "new buildings" by buying old houses and barns in the vicinity very cheaply, dissecting them carefully and trucking them to Rock Pool where he reassembles them, including therefore modern conveniences with the beauty and attractiveness of the old buildings.
LARRY COLLINS SAYS that he is happy at I Rock Pool and that he would not trade positions with any one in the world. And why should he? He has stability and security, certainly, and a definite interest in life—that of developing his place to suit his dreams, and he does not have to hurry about it. Every effort he makes has a definite result and shows up in the work. He has something in which he may take pride —seeing the actual results of his endeavors when looking back to gain a perspective of what he has done—a creative life, interesting and of service to humanity. No man could ask more, and Larry asks no more.
From his garden to his forge—from his swimming to his plans for the futurefrom his woodlot to his books—from his delightful guests of summer to his periodical descents upon the cities' civilization in the winter—Larry is happy, and says that going back to the soil is not so bad. He expects to return to Dartmouth for his degree in a year or two, and says in the meantime to tell his friends in college and his teachers that he'd like to see them, and that if they'll come to Rock Pool he will serve them a feed in the Rock Pool styleout-doors—under the stars—on the beachby the river, and that as a feed they will never forget it.
Larry Collins '32 at "Rock Pool"
A Unique ProjectPlanned
