Citation: Nancy Beck Papers, MS147, Portsmouth Athenaeum
Size: 2 linear feet
Access: No Restrictions
Processed by: Roland Goodbody in 2023.
Related: Theatre by the Sea, MS056; Portsmouth Athenaeum Photo Collection, PS3477-PS3491
Scope and Content
The Nancy Reynolds Beck collection includes a small amount of personal papers pertaining to her school days at Dana Hall School, Wellesley MA and Mount Holyoke College, her marriage to Dr. Peter Beck, and personal and family correspondence, and a larger amount of material documenting her long association with a number of Portsmouth organizations, the most prominent of which were Strawbery Banke Museum and Theatre by the Sea. Other organizations she was associated with were the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation, Portsmouth Preservation, Inc.., Portsmouth Hospital Guild and the Portsmouth Public Library.
Also included in the collection are some materials related to Dr. Peter Beck, Nancy Beck’s husband of fifty-seven years.
Note: The Theatre by the Sea material originally included with this collection has been removed and incorporated into the existing Theatre by the Sea collection (MS 056), whose contents were similarly donated to the Athenaeum by Nancy Beck.
Biographical Note
Nancy Eleanor Reynolds Beck was born in Wellesley Hills, MA in 1927 and died in Portsmouth in 2019. She attended Mount Holyoke College and Radcliffe / Harvard Graduate School. She married Dr. Peter Beck of Portsmouth in July 1959 in Wellesley MA and was managing editor at Atlantic Monthly in Boston until 1969. The couple lived at 43 Austin Street in Portsmouth until their respective deaths in 2016 and 2019.
Nancy Beck was a philanthropist and a longtime board member for many civic and cultural organizations in Portsmouth, most notably Theatre by the Sea (serving as its president), Strawbery Banke Museum (twice as president of the board ), and the Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation. Other organizations she helped support were Portsmouth Historical Society, Portsmouth Preservation Inc., Portsmouth Hospital and the Portsmouth Public Library.
The personal correspondence includes a significant exchange of anniversary and holiday cards between the couple. Other correspondence includes letters between Peter Beck and Consuelo Andrade-Marin, a longtime friend of the couple and someone whom Peter Beck had known in Ecuador when young.
Nancy Beck was a proprietor of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. Her share # was 294.
Series Listing
I. Personal Material
II. House and Garden
III. Philanthropy and Civic Engagement
A. Strawbery Banke, 1967-2019
B Portsmouth Historical Society, 2006-2008
C. Portsmouth Hospital Guild, 1961-1974
D. Portsmouth Public Library, 1966-1968
E. Portsmouth Preservation, Inc., 1969-1976
F. South Church Unitarian-Universalist, 1955-2009
G. Black Heritage Trail, 1994-2009
H. Shoals Marine Lab, 2009-2017
I. Mothers’ Marches, 1960-1965
IV. Miscellaneous Material
V. Oversized Material
Folder Listing
I. Personal Material
Box 1
Folder 1
Dana Hall School, Wellesley MA and Mount Holyoke, South Hadley MA:
Dana Hall Commencement Program, May 28, 1944
Photocopies of various newspaper clippings, 1947-1962
Class of 1948 of Mount Holyoke College Class Bylaws
Class of 1948 reunion newsletter, March 1982.
Letter, Nancy Beck to Helen Gustafson Fifield, May 8, 1982
Class of 1948 reunion newsletter,, March 1983
Mount Holyoke Alumnae News and fortieth reunion notes (photocopy and original page), 1984
Letter dated February 3, 1988 from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley MA 150th anniversary Sesquicentennial: Committee informing Nancy that she was to be awarded a sesquicentennial award by the Alumnae Association, with a citation of her accomplishments to be read at the awards ceremony
Alumnae Biographical Questionnaire,
Sesquicentennial Banquet Program, April 30, 1988
Mount Holyoke Alumnae News (photocopy), 1989
Folder 2
Wedding, July 17, 1959: various newspaper clippings and written marriage vows
Folder 3
Atlantic Monthly Press: News articles, correspondence, 1955-1969
Folder 4
Correspondence: Peter Beck to Nancy Beck, various love notes, postcards from travels and a 1988 letter
Folder 5
Anniversary cards, Nancy Beck to Peter Beck
Folder 6
Valentine’s Day cards, Nancy Beck to Peter Beck
Folder 7
Birthday cards, Nancy Beck to Peter Beck
Folder 8
Greeting cards, Nancy Beck to Peter Beck
Folder 9
Anniversary cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 10
Valentine’s Day cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 11
Valentine’s Day cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 12
Birthday cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 13
Birthday cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 14
Christmas cards, Peter Beck to Nancy Beck
Folder 15
Birthday, anniversary and Valentine’s Day cards from Nancy’s and Peter’s mothers, from Tanti Mau, Cam and Charlotte, and Richard Kraetke
Folder 16
Twelfth Night guest lists and invitation cards, 1990-2001
Folder 17
Correspondence: Nancy and Peter Beck to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1967-1975
Folder 18
Correspondence: Nancy and Peter Beck to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1980-1987
Folder 19
Correspondence: Nancy and Peter Beck to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1988-1989
Folder 20
Correspondence: Nancy and Peter Beck to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1991-1994
Folder 21
Correspondence: Nancy and Peter Beck to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, undated fragments; fragment of letter from Consuelo Andrade-Marin to the Becks, undated
Box 2
Folder 1
Correspondence: Justina Legoe, Peter Beck’s second cousin from Adelaide, Australia to the Becks, Jan-March 1992
Folder 2
Correspondence: Justina Legoe, Peter Beck’s second cousin from Adelaide, Australia, to the Becks, April 1992-1999
Folder 3
Correspondence to and from Franz and Sylvia Fankhauser, Bern, Switzerland, 1998-2001
Folder 4
Correspondence from and to various:
Evelyn F. and Mrs. W. G. Wendell, The Warner House Association to Nancy Beck, September 5, 1964 re gift of two bills of David Kimball, one of the former residents of the house on Austin Street (see S1767 )
T. M. Reynolds (Nancy’s father) to Nancy Beck, June 16, 1969, Nov 6, 1969 and an undated Christmas card
Anne Walker, NYC to Nancy Beck, March 19, 1970
Mrs. Bryant Reynolds, Alburg Library Association, Alburg VT, April 15, 1970
Nancy Beck to Mrs. Reynolds, Alburg Library Association, Alburg VT, May 26, 1970
Nancy Beck to Mrs. Reynolds, Alburg Library Association, Alburg VT, July 21, 1970
Mrs. Bryant Reynolds, Alburg Library Association, Alburg VT, July 27, 1970
Nancy Beck to Louise Prairie, Alburg VT, Sept 15, 1970
Louise Prairie, Alburg VT to Nancy Beck, Oct 20, 1970
Nancy Beck to Louise Prairie, Alburg VT, Oct 29, 1970
Richard Kraetke, Alburg Springs, VT, June 7, 1975
Hugh J. Gallen, NH Governor to Nancy Beck, Nov 1, 1982
Robert J. Hankins, Director, Division of the Arts, Dept of Libraries, Arts, and Historical Resources, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts to Nancy Beck, April 1, 1986
Portsmouth Athenaeum to Nancy Beck, July 1, 1992
Nancy R, Beck to Mayor Eileen Foley, Sept 8, 1997
Maryellen —, Nancy’s cousin, Feb 2001
Chris Rudolph to Peter Beck; Peter Beck to Chris Rudolph, Jan 25, 2002
Card from Florence Alley to Nancy Beck congratulating her on her Arts award, undated
Card from Jana to Nancy Beck, undated
Folder 5
Correspondence from and to various:
Peter Beck to Arlene, Peter’s cousin, May 29, 2003
Peter Bucher to the Becks, Allschwill, Switzerland, July 29, 2003
Helen & Andrea — ? to Peter and Nancy, Zurich, Sept. 22, 2003
Peter Beck to Sylwya, Oct 14, 2003
Christine Beck to Peter Beck, PB to Christine, April 12-13, 2004
Kate — in Poland to Peter Beck, May 30, 2004
Peter Beck to Kate —, Krakow, Poland, May 30, 2004
Peter Beck to Martina Kuczyinska, Krakow, Poland, May 31, 2004
Christine Beck to Nancy and Peter Beck, May 31, 2004
Nicolas —, Tegucigalpa, Honduras to Peter Beck, Jan 4, 2005
Andrea — ? to Peter and Nancy, Jan 19, 2005
Agnes — in Poland to Peter Beck, and Peter to Agnes, March 5, 2005
Peter Beck to Sibyl — , March 6, 2005
Elaine Lawrence (flight attendant) to Nancy and Peter Beck, June 6, 2005, July 3, 2005,
Peter Beck to Keith Eveland, pediatric dentist in Portsmouth, June 12, 2005
Folder 6
Letters of condolence to Nancy Beck on the death of Peter Beck, May-June 2016
Folder 7
Condolence cards to Nancy Beck on the death of Peter Beck, May 2016
Folder 8
Correspondence: Trina Margeson Ingram to Nancy Beck, May 1, 2017
Folder 9
Correspondence: Ofelia Bici de Heath to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1983-1989
Folder 10
Correspondence: Martha Koch to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, 1983-1989
Folder 11
Ligia —? to Consuelo Andrade-Marin, Rome, Italy, Oct 24, 1983-April 30, 1984
Folder 12
Becks’ itinerary to the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, 1982
II. House and Garden
Box 2
Folder 13
History of 43 Austin Street, Portsmouth NH
Abstract of title (Peter Beck bought the house in 1956)
Will of Harriet McEwan Kimball, May 3, 1913
Notebook containing a ist of the house owners by date
Course paper, “The Harris-Heffenger House, 1790-1813” written by Marcy Hampton, March 20, 1973
Real estate flyer from Nancy M. Carey with a note to Nancy Beck – “just wanted you & Peter to know this is on the market” (about the Harris-Heffenger house, 53 Austin St, i.e. next door to the Becks)
Letter from Sue Sulloway to Nancy Beck, January 22, 1991 re 43 Austin St.
Letter to Marion Craig from Nancy Beck re the date the house was built, research Nancy was conducting for a course she was taking at Strawbery Banke called :The Dating Game: How To Resrach the History of Your Home,” January 16, 1991
Notice about above course
Background materials: How to Date A House, David M. Hart, The 8 Most Common Mistakes in Restoring Historic Houses, Morgan W. Phillips, Insulating the Old House, Guidelines for Restoring Old Buildings, Refinishing Floors, The Old-House Journal, Feb 1981
Folder 14
Research on former owners of 43 Austin St.
Folder 15
Research on former owners of 43 Austin St.
Folder 16
Contents of a folder originally labeled “My Garden”:
Certificates for the winning bids for two of Strawbery Banke’s silent auctions: “Strawbery Jam,” a bid for a personal landscape consultation by Cindy Brockway of “Past Designs” (and former head of the Horticulture Department at Strawbery Banke), September 16, 1989, and “Come Join The Circus,” another bid for input by Past Designs/Evergreen of Rye and Cindy Brockway.
Letter from Cindy Brockway to Nancy Beck, May 1, 1990 re a rough draft of a garden design for the Becks with a list of plant suggestions.
A year-by-year plan for planting the garden, 1989-2006
Printed handout, “Restoring Your Landscape,” from Cindy Brockway, 1996
Source list of historic seeds and plants, June 1998
Rye Ridge Greenery list of hostas plants, July 3, 1998
Soil sample analysis, UNH Analytical Services Lab, Durham NH, with accompanying note from Ann Duncan, undated
Children’s Garden Training Manual, printed sheets, undated
“Some plants I grow in the shaded garden,” Susan E. Dumaine, typed sheet
Breck’s Planting Handbook and Deluxe Perennial Tulips brochures
Newspaper articles: “An Old Time Garden In This “Old Town By The Sea” by Harriet McEwen Kimball, The Town Crier, October 1910; “Gardenia is finicky but worth the effort,” George Taloumis, The Boston Globe, May 11, 1986; “Well, the Christmas Cactus can flower in ’93,” Doug Rutley, Portsmouth Herald, February 13, 1993.
Folder 17
Material re the European Beech in the garden of 43 Austin St. and its qualification as one of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forest’s “Big Trees”, ca. 1990
Folder 18
Material re the collection of china at 43 Austin St.
III. Philanthropy and Civic Engagement
A. Strawbery Banke Museum, 1967-2019
Strawbery Banke Museum was a pioneering historic preservation effort in Portsmouth, N. H. incorporated in 1958 as one of the first institutions in the United States to utilize a federally-funded urban renewal project as a means of preserving and interpreting a historic neighborhood. Established in the old waterfront area called Puddle Dock, its purpose was to preserve the buildings already there and later to move four houses to that location. The decision was made early to use the buildings to interpret change over different centuries, rather than, as in the cases of Colonial Williamsburg and Plymouth Colony, to confine it to a specific time period.
The contents of this series pertain primarily to Nancy Beck’s tenure as president of the museum from 1994-1996. Hence, the series starts by listing her public addresses in that capacity. Her involvement with the museum dates from the early 1960s when she helped James Garvin, then the assistant director, and Dorothy Vaughan, the city librarian, produce a small booklet for a Society of Architectural Historians annual meeting held in Portsmouth. Subsequently, in 1966, the trio published the first Strawbery Banke guidebook and for ten years Nancy produced the museum’s quarterly newsletter. She became a trustee, then an overseer, and in 1991, rejoined the board of trustees, serving as its vice-president from 1992-1994. In May 1994, she became its president.
Box 2
Folder 19
Addresses as President, 1994:
Overseers Spring Meeting, May 3, 1994
Speech to kick off the Campaign for the 5th Century, held at the Sheraton Hotel, September 30, 1994
A Report to the Committee of Overseers on the State of the Museum, October 1, 1994
Dilemmas in Board/Staff Relations, New England Museum Association, Portland ME, November 2, 1994 (with Susan Davis’s introductory remarks)
Brief comments, Board of Trustees Meeting, December 1994
Remarks given to the Pitt Tavern Buisnees Benefactors, December 12, 1994
Folder 20
Addresses as President, 1995:
Remarks testifying to the House of Representatives in Concord re HB 592, January 25, 1995
Friends of the South End Meeting at the Treadwell House, April 2, 1995
35th Annual Meeting, May 2, 1995
Report to the Commiittee of the Overseers on the State of the Museum, May 7, 1995
Remarks to the Board of Overseers, October 1, 1995
Remarks made before the Portsmouth City Board of Adjustment , October 17, 1995
The President’s Message, 1995 Annual Report
How Did I Arrive in Portsmouth? Remarks for York Hospital Auxiliary, 1995
Folder 21
Addresses as President, 1996:
Remarks made at the Strawbery Banke Museum Retreat held at the New England Center, Durham NH, February 1996
Testimony given on HB 345 before the NH Senate Ways and Means Committee in Concord, March 26, 1996
Remarks made for the Board of Overseers Meeting, May 5, 1996
36th Annual Meeting, May 7, 1996
President and Director’s Reception, May 14, 1996
Thank You Speech given to Director and Staff of Museum, May 20, 1996
Remarks made on the occasion of Jameson French, the new president of the museum, receiving an award from the National Society, September 8, 1996
Outgoing President’s Annual Report, 1996
Folder 22
Addresses 1998-2002:
Remarks made at Mount Holyoke College (and also at Dover Public Library), 1998
Easter Morning and the Struggle To Become Professional, January 29, 2002 (2 copies)
Box 3
Folder 1
Overviews of the museum, 1973-1994, includes:
“Economic Benefits From Restoring and Preserving a Historic Townscape,” John Dorrer, Citizens Concerned for the Preservation of Portsmouth, 1973 (?)
“Strawbery Banke – A Brief History,” 1980?
“The Impact of Strawbery Banke on the Seacoast Economy,” Robert Puth, 1992
Description of project originally undertaken at Old York Historical Society on the colonial revival in the Piscataqua region, Sara Griffens, Summer, 1992
“The Strawbery Banke Experience: What It Is; What It Might Be: The Patrons’ Views,” Davidson-Peterson Associates, Inc., Oct 1993
Executive Director’s Message, 1993-1994
Folder 2
Overviews of the museum, 1995-1998, includes:
Fact Sheets, 1995 and 1997
“The Impact of Seven Arts and Historical Organizations on the Seacoast Economy,” Portsmouth Arts and Historical Collaborative, October 26, 1995
Community Image Survey, RKM Applied Research for Strawbery Banke, January 27-28, 1996. A phone survey of Portsmouth residents about their views of the museum.
“Population Trends, Age Distribution, Mean and Median Incomes, Travel Tendencies, etc.,” Board of Trustees, Feb 1996
“Strawbery Banke: Agent of Change, Agent of Preservation” by James L. Garvin, 1998
“Preserving the Past/Securing the Future,” 1998
Fragment of “People, Place, and Time: Telling the Three-Hundred-Year History of an Urban Neighborhood,” An Educational Plan for Strawbery Banke Museum, 1995-2005
Folder 3
By-Laws, 1998 and 2003
.
Folder 4
Mission Statement Drafts
Folder 5
Long-Range Plans, 1989-1995
Folder 6
Master Plan, October 2000
Folder 7
Master Plan, 2001-2008
Folder 8
Strategic Conversation, 1996-1998
Folders 9-10
Capital Campaigns (including Campaign for the Fifth Century)
Folder 11
Board of Trustees, 1992-1998
Folder 12
Board of Overseers , 1979-2000
Folder 13
Board of Advisors (renamed from Board of Overseers), 2001-2006
Folder 14
Code of Ethics, 1995
Folder 15
Annual Meeting Notices, 1993-2002
Folder 16
Annual Fund Committee
Box 4
Folder 1
Building Committee, 1995-2006
Folder 2
Carter Collections Center, 2006
Folder 3
Disposition of Wentworh-Winebaum House, 2006
Folder 4
Development Committee, 1996-1999
Folder 5
Policy and Planning Committee, 1990-1996
Folder 6
Policy and Planning Committee, 1997-2000
Folder 7
WARD (Waterfront Archeological Resources Development) Committee, 1995-1999
Folder 8
Personnel Material
Folder 9
Miscellaneous Budget and Financial Reports (including information on investment criteria), 1994-1997
Folder 10
Grant Application, IMS (Institute of Museum Services) General Operating Support, 1991
Folder 11
The National Council for Strawbery Banke Museum
Folder 12
Newsletters, 1990-1993 (incomplete)
Folder 13
Newsletters, 1994-2019 (incomplete)
Folder 14
Printed articles about Strawbery Banke, 1977-2008
Folder 15
Newspaper articles, 1864-2007
Folder 16
Correspondence re Revision of SBM Guidebook, 1967-1968
Folder 17
Various correspondence to and from Nancy Beck, 1974-2007
Folder 18
Material about running non-profit organizations
Folder 19
Volunteer Recognition Awards, 1995
Folder 20
Miscellaneous Material, 1967-2006
Folder 21
Various flyers and brochures
Folder 22
Blank Letterhead and Museum Logo Folder
Box 5
B. Portsmouth Historical Society, 2006-2008
In December 2007, Portsmouth Historical Society finalized an agreement with the City of Portsmouth to expand into the former Portsmouth Public Library premises on the corners of Islington Street and Middle Streets. Thus began a major effort to make the agreement viable. For the first year of the project, Nancy Beck was a trustee/ director to help launch a significant fundraising campaign to finance the renovation of the building.
Box 5
Folder 1
Official Strawbery Banke Guide, revised edition, 1966, includes inked suggestions for change by Nancy Beck (?), edited by Nancy Beck, 1966
Second edition of the above, 2008
The Strawbery Banke Coloring Book of Historic Portsmouth, Guild of Strawbery Banke, 1973
Folder 2
Trustees Orientation Notebook, June 2007, and Nancy Beck’s appointment as a director of the Portsmouth Historical Society, January 1, 2008.
Folder 3
Items related to the Society’s takeover of the former public library, 2008.
Folder 4
Annual Reports, 2006-2008 and the Development Committee meeting agenda for Dec 30, 2008.
Folder 5
Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, April-Dec 2008.
C. Portsmouth Hospital Guild, 1961-1974
Folder 6
Booklet, “A New Era of Service,” Portsmouth Hospital, 1959
Dedication of New Building, Sunday, February 16, 1964 with a list of trustees, administration staff, and officers
Three newspaper clippings showing Nancy Beck’s involvement in various fundraising efforts
D. Portsmouth Public Library, 1966-1968
Folder 7
Fragment from “North Country Libraries,” Sept-Oct 1966 and two newsclippings showing a photograph (incl. Nancy Beck) of the Portsmouth Public Library receiving a large collection of material on the Isles of Shoals from the Rev. Lyman Rutledge.
Newsclippings about the need for a new library and the removal of Nancy Beck as president of the board of trustees for her support of it in 1968 by City Manager Robert C. Violette.
Draft of a speech delivered by Nancy Beck (to the City Council?) in the early 2000s.
E. Portsmouth Preservation, Inc., 1969-1976
Formerly the North End Preservation Committee, a group of citizens organized itself in late 1968 into PPI, a realty development corporation, in order to save and preserve ten acres and 67 buildings, or approximately one third of the Vaughan Street Urban Renewal Area. Ultimately, it was successful in saving only 14 of the buildings and preserving them in the area known as The Hill.
Folder 8
Background descriptions of Portsmouth Preservation Inc. and its mission, a press release, undated, but likely 1969, a prospectus for Portsmouth Preservation, Inc., Jan 1969, a proposal for realty development , Feb 25, 1969, a list of shareholders, a letter to stockholders, March 1969, a first offering circular, July 1969, a newsletter, April1970, a news release, Nov 10, 1970, a second offering circular, June 1, 1971, a letter to stockholders, dated April 29, 1976, and the second draft of a case study written by Jack Gold of Cornell University on the Vaughan Street Urban Renewal Project and Preservation Plan, Nov 12, 1976.
F. South Church Unitarian-Universalist, 1955-2009
Folder 9
A three-part history of the South Parish U-U Church, written by Paul Costello for the Portsmouth Herald in 1955; a booklet of the Women’s League of the U-U Church, Portsmouth NH 1957-1958 with a list of its members; a pledge form; article, “Revisiting Unitarian Universalism” by Rich Barlow for The Boston Globe, July 17, 2004; a newsletter 2007; 2008 Board of Trustee Proposed Budget;; a “sound bite” approach to Unitarian-Universalism adapted from a sermon by Rev. Roberta Finkelstein, undated; and a flyer “South Church Baptizes African Americans 1717: A Place on the Black Heritage Trail,” undated but between 1997-2005.
H. Black Heritage Trail, 1994-2009
Folder 10
Remarks made by Nancy Beck at the Urban Forestry Center on diversity before the Greater Portsmouth Community Fund, March 23, 1985; article on Valerie Cunningham and Portsmouth’s “first lesson in black history”; Boston Sunday Globe, Nov 20, 1994; flyer for the self-guided walking tour, 1999; letter to BHT supporters, Aug 27, 2007; description of a proposal to develop a permanent exhibit of the history of Portsmouth, including a revision of the Black Heritage Trail, as part of the planned renovation of the old Portsmouth Public Library into the Discover Portsmouth Center, 2008-2009; a solicitation flyer for the Discover Center, 2008-2009; photocopy of a broadside, “CAUTION!! Colored People, ” and a two-page fact sheet about the population of Portsmouth between 1790 and 1830 and its racial and gender makeup.
I. Shoals Marine Lab, 2009-2017
Folder 11
The Becks were supporters of the Shoals Marine Laboratory and this folder contains letters and a card from William Bemis, the Kingsbury Lab director, personally thinking them, all 2009. It also includes a newsclipping [2017?] on the bequest that Nancy Beck made of $650K after Peter’s death in honor of him. Jack Kingsbury, the founding director of the Shoals Marine Lab, considered Peter Beck to be an “indispensable ally in the establishment and construction of the lab’s campus facilities.”
J. Mothers’ Marches, 1960-1965
During the severe polio epidemics of 1949 and 1951, mothers everywhere feared their young children would contract this highly contagious, disabling and potentially fatal disease. They were determined to raise money to find a cure for polio. In the 1950s, fundraising through corporations and special events were essentially a man’s world. But when it appeared that there would not be enough money from other sources to meet all the needs, women in the United States undertook an extra campaign of their own. It was soon dubbed a “Mothers’ March,” and was held each year after other phases of the polio campaign were finished.
Each mother was expected only to go out for an hour and canvas a few of her immediate neighbors. Women were encouraged to go out on the same evening at the same time. The media then asked people to turn on their porch lights to light the way for the Marching Mothers as an indication of their willingness to give. The Marching Mother Campaign grew through the ’50s and ’60s, and by 1962, over 50,000 volunteers raised $650,000. A miraculous cure was found for polio, thanks to Dr. Jonas Salk.
Folder 12
Newsclippings: Mothers March on Polio, 1960; Mothers March for the National Foundation, 1961; Mothers March of Dimes, 1962, 1963 and 1965.
Newsclippings: re Nancy Beck’s involvement with The Community Improvement Program Citizens’ Council, Feb 3, 1972; Graffort Club, undated; Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation, March 3, 1992, and Feb 12, 1992
Folder 13
Arthur J. Gerrier Memorial Award from Portsmouth Advocates presented to Nancy Beck “in special recognition of your service & commitment to our historic community,” 1998
Newspaper article about the above award, June 11, 1998
Certificates of Tenure, Portsmouth Athenaeum Share Number 294, 1992 and 2011
Letter of thanks from the Athenaeum to the Becks for a donation of $500 toward the J.S. Blunt project of Deb Childs, April 26, 2007
Program for a celebration of the life of Nancy Reynolds Beck held at Strawbery Banke, November 15, 2019 (3 copies)
Folder 14
Plaque, Rotary Vocational Award, Vocational Excellence in the Public Sector, Rotary Club of Portsmouth, N.H., 2013
Mounted certificate of appreciation from the University of New Hampshire Foundation for Nancy R. Beck as a member of the Benjamin Thompson Society, October 20, 2016
IV. Miscellaneous Material
Folder 15
Reynolds Family genealogical material
Folder 16
Two handwritten unofficial wills of Anna Reynolds, one dated 1970
Laminated tribute to Anna Reynolds (Nancy’s mother) published in the The News-Tribune, Waltham MA, Nov 5, 1973
Four typed poems: Anon, “Our House (dedicated to Dr. and Mrs. Peter Beck); Mary Denslinger (?), “Ode To The Lady in Blue” (about Nancy Beck), “Bee Lady,” Patricia Mees Armstrong, and Anon., “Ode To Doris” all undated
The Creek Farm Project Program Proposal, May 2008
Folder 17
Miscellaneous: Three pencil sketches: “Farmer Bristow’s Barn,” dated September1953, cabin in the woods, and campsite in the woods. Provenance unknown
Three postcards to Hobart Darby in Alburgh VT, dated 1908-1911; postcard of the Swiss National Festival from “Mother” to Mademoiselle Josy Walker in Wassen, Uri, Switzerland (in French)
Viewbook of Swiss Alpine Passes, 12 color photos
Folder 18
Peter Beck correspondence, 1943-2013:
Prospectus for Far View Farm on Lake Champlain, Alburg Springs, VT run by Mrs, F. Beck (Peter’s mother) as a guest house, undated
From Fritz Beck to Dr. Rolf C. Syvertsen, Dartmouth Medical School, April 24, 1943 (thanking Dartmouth for accepting Peter to the Medical School)
Letter, Peter Beck to Charles Reynolds, Nancy’s brother [1959]
Letter, Peter Beck to Superintendent, Dartmouth College Cemetery, Hanover NH, July 14, 1970 (re putting his mother’s ashes next to his brother and father’s in the cemetery)
Letter, Peter Beck to John F. Meck, Vice President and Chairman of Investment Committee, Dartmouth College, December 2, 1972 (re earmarking property of 40 acres and a twelve-room 1850 house to the college)
Letter, Peter Beck to Richard Kraetke, Alburg Springs VT from Quito, Ecuador, Jan 20, 1975
Letter, Peter Beck to Hon. Daniel J. Lynch, Alburg Springs VT, Sept 17, 1979 (re disposition of his properties in Alburg)
Letter, Peter Beck to Kagyu Tenjay Choling Buddhist Retreat, 2012-2013
Folder 19
INDE 1941, Hanover High School Yearbook
Folder 20
U.S. Army Honorable Discharge papers, March 24, 1946
Certificate, Vermont State Board of Medical Registration, July 1, 1948
York Hospital letter of appointment to Consulting Staff, December 5, 1955 (3 copies)
Announcement card : R.A. Malek, M.D. will be an associate of Peter’s opthalmology practice on Austin Street
Notice in Portsmouth Herald that Peter Beck will be on vacation and that Mark Abelson, a post-graduate teaching fellow from Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary will be taking over until he returns, Sept 16, 1976
Blank prescription sheets, envelope and letterhead for Peter Beck, M.D.
Newspaper articles including Peter Beck: two articles about guests at Portsmouth Rotary Club – Paul Bofinger (June 5, 1987) and Bruce Babbitt (Sept 15, 1987 – Beck incorrectly identified as Thomas Dudley), and one about the visit of Civil Rights activist Julian Bond at a NAACP rally held at Yoken’s restaurant in Portsmouth, Dec 12, 1991. Also a photo of a razed barn belonging to Peter Beck at the Cutts Mansion, June 3, 1965 and an article about the Cutts Mansion and the possibility of there being ghosts in it, May 20, 1990
Notice of Memorial Service for Peter Beck at Webster’s at Rye, June 21, 2016
Typed sheet inventory of the Edward Cutts Mansion on Maplewood Ave., part of the inventory of historical structures in Portsmouth, completed by Dorothy Vaughan, City Librarian, Feb 13, 1972
Two photocopies of genealogical information, presumably about Beck’s ancestors, Gustav Eduard (1142) and Friedrich Theodor Beck (1215)
V. Oversized Material
Oversize Box 5
Anna Reynolds’ degree certificate from Radcliffe College, 1948
Marriage license, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, authorizing Reverend Adrien R. Aeschliman of Rye NH to marry the couple, signed by the Governor of Massachusetts, Foster Furcolo, July 14, 1959. They were married three days later in Wellesley Hills MA
Membership certificate of the Portsmouth Marine Society for Dr. & Mrs. Peter Beck , June 17, 1982, signed by Joseph P. Copley, President
Certificate of Appreciation for Nancy Beck as a Trustee of Strawbery Banke, May 6, 1997
Official Proclamation from the City of Portsmouth, May 6, 2019 honoring Nancy Beck’s contributions to the city
Needlepoint sampler representing Dr. Peter Beck’s ophthalmologist’s vision chart