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House for Sale: Bethlehem, NH

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Turns out that neither Len nor Joan are Bethlehem natives, although Joan comes close. Raised in Concord, New Hampshire, she spent a summer waitressing in one of the hotels in Bethlehem. No, she didn't meet Len that summer. That came later, when, as a student at Colby Junior College (now Colby Sawyer), she traveled with a group of girls to West Point for a gala weekend. There she had a couple of dances with, among others, Len, class of '54, who told her he was off to Korea shortly and asked whether she'd mind receiving a letter from him once in a while. He wanted someone to whom he could write. She said fine. Well, the "once in a while" turned out to be every single day throughout his tour of duty. And she wrote back every day, too. Upon his return home, Len drove his new Olds from Chicago to Boston and met Joan with a small box in his hand. In it was a ring. How romantic is that?

So Len and Joan married and spent some years in Washington, D.C., and overseas until Len retired from the Army in 1974. They had three daughters and a son. When Len was offered a position as director of development at a prestigious hospital in Littleton, New Hampshire -- just northwest of Bethlehem -- in 1978, they jumped at the opportunity to live in Joan's native state.

Before buying, they looked at no fewer than 30 properties in the Littleton, Bethlehem, Easton, Franconia, and Sugar Hill areas. What convinced them to decide on this particular place? "The crystal doorknobs did it for me," Len laughed, and Joan agreed. But now, with their children and nine grandchildren living elsewhere, a house with four corner bedrooms (including a master bedroom with fireplace and sleeping porch), three bathrooms, a separate guest suite with bedroom and bathroom, a pantry, a full attic and cellar, a sitting room, and a study, besides the living room, dining room, and kitchen -- 3,700 square feet in all -- is more house than they need.

"After all these years here, won't it be sad to leave Bethlehem?" we asked as we worked our way into a second scone.

"It'll be sad to give up this beautiful home of ours," Len, now retired, replied, "but we have no intention of leaving. We have our eye on a condominium just down the street." Guess that alone says quite a lot about New Hampshire's little town of Bethlehem. Happy holidays, everyone.

For more information, contact Len Reed: 1884 Main St., Bethlehem, NH 03574-0609; lenreed1@verizon.net

Lots of fun holiday events going on in Bethlehem over the next two months, particularly on Nov. 22, when The Rocks Estate opens its Christmas tree farm for the season, and on the weekends of Dec. 6-7 and 13-14, with festivities scheduled all across town. For details and information on places to stay, call 888-845-1957 or 603-869-3409, or visit: bethlehemwhitemtns.com