Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Ogden at St. Andrew's by the Sea

At St. Andrew's by the Sea Chapel in Rye Beach, NH there is a permanent tribute to their secretary of 25 years, Ogden Nash.

The Thurberesque signature of O.N. can be seen in the corner of a stained glass window that the Chapel commissioned in 1971, the year of Nash's death. Nash used this doodle design to sign many of his letters and autographs.

The Nash's summered in nearby Little Boar's Head for many years. One can imagine that the Chapel's meeting minutes were of a variety more lively than most church records!

I was at St. Andrew's for the wedding of our dear friends, Paula and Dan, several years ago. While I remember the distinctive tone of it's large bell ringing calling us to the service, I'm sorry that I didn't know about the window. Happily you can read all about it at http://standrews-by-the-sea.org/history.html

You can also read about the chapel in a recently published story by Karen Dandurant at:

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/NEWS/806220352/-1/PUBLICRECORDS05

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been enjoying your blog about Ogden Nash.About 5 years ago my wife and I bought the summer estate of Ogden Nash in Little Boar's Head and on July 1st the North Hampton library is hosting a tour of the house.You would probably enjoy it if it worked into your schedule...Bob Lauter

John said...

Bob,

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your note! Next weeks event sounds wonderful. I really will try to see if I can work it into my schedule to swing by during the tour.

I'm glad you enjoy reading blogden. It’s a miniscule effort compared to what the bard of Little Boar's Head deserves, but I do enjoy putting it out there.

Do you mind if I post details about the tour on Blogden?

 
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