Marek Keene, projects

Civil War Comics Camp

Middle school students research & draw original comics based on local Civil War era primary sources...

Marek Civil War Diary of Charles Wilcox, guest artist, Keene

August 5, 1862: Wilcox Enlists (by Abby)

Charles Wilcox makes his fateful decision ...

Marek 2000-2099, food, guest artist, Keene, NH history, ticks

“The Stream of Love” (GUEST POST)

Guest artist Rissa (age 6) brings us this romantic parasites'-eye-view of late Summer in NH ...

Marek 1990s, food, guest artist, Keene, NH history, pumpkins

Diary of a Keene Pumpkin (GUEST POST)

Guest artist Rudy takes a whimsical pumpkin's-eye-view of the early days of the Keene Pumpkin Festival...

Marek 1870s, 2000-2099, construction, education, guest artist, Keene, NH history, SOURCE=HSCC

“More Than One Million Bricks” (GUEST POST)

Guest artist Bea Reel uses her latest strip to detail the construction of the new high school in 1876...

Marek 2000-2099, environment, guest artist, Keene, NH history

Keene, 2013-??? (GUEST POST)

An imaginative glimpse of Keene's present and distant future (and past?!), drawn by guest artist Peter Fedrizzi ...

Marek 1850s, cats, guest artist, guns, hunting, Keene, NH history, rabbit

Mr. Wheelock Mistakes a Cat for a Rabbit (Keene)

Here's a double-header GUEST POST of a favorite hunting anecdote from Thomas C. Rand's "Sketch of Keene, Gem of the Ashuelot Valley"...

Marek 1700-1799, colonial, guest artist, Keene, NH history, SOURCE=Griffin, wheat

Upper Crust of Keene

Guest cartoonist Bea Reel drew this page from Griffin's History of Keene, NH during our recent FAMILY COMICS WORKSHOP at Keene Public Library:

Marek 1860s, 2nd US Sharpshooters, Civil War, Fitzwilliam, Keene, NH history, SOURCE=HSCC, turkey

White 01: To Make a String

1861: A recruiter for the new Sharpshooter Regiments arrives at Keene...

Marek events

Family Comics @ Keene Public Library (July-August 2013)

DAY 1 = 6 July (Saturday) 10-1 ~ DAY 2 = 3 August (Saturday) 10-1

Marek 1750s, cows, death, dogs, French + Indian Wars, Keene, milk, SOURCE=Griffin

Milk of War (Keene)

The fort's surrounded, but the babies need milk... What's to be done?! << BEFORE: John Colony (Biographical Sketch) ... Although Griffin's account specifies neither location nor date for this story, we categorize it under Keene (Colony's ultimate home) and 1750s (Colony served in the French & Indian War 1755-1760).

Marek 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, French + Indian Wars, Keene, Maine, marriage, Massachusetts, Robert Rogers, SOURCE=Griffin, Vermont

John Colony (Keene)

John Colony leaves his native Ireland to fight Indians (& French) in the New England... NEXT: John Colony goes out for milk >> SOURCE = Griffin's "A History of the Town of Keene..." MORE INFO:  Robert Rogers ~ Is this LFAD's first mention of Rogers?!  There will be many more stories to come...  Rogers' Rangers … Continue reading John Colony (Keene)

Marek 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, Connecticut, Cornish, death, education, glass, hiking, judicial branch, Keene, Roxbury, Salmon P. Chase, SOURCE=Griffin, SOURCE=roadside markers, sources, Vermont

Young Chase at Keene

Tragedies, travels, & teenage failures of one of New Hampshire’s most powerful exports…

Marek 1920s, entertainment, Keene, SOURCE=HSCC

Famous Professional Dare-Devil (Keene, 1923)

Tonight in downtown Keene: Stunts by a professional daredevil! Other Links: This story @ Historical Society of Cheshire County Keene's Gurnsey Block (c. 1900) Keene's Dreamland Theater (c. 1910) Originally published in Monadnock History Comics (Keene Sentinel, 2005)

Marek 1820s, environment, forestry, Marlow, SOURCE=HSCC

Trunks Like Black Bones (Marlow, 1825)

Grandpa remembers "what happened to all the forests" in the Keene area... Discussion Questions:  This story came from Elgin Jones' History of Marlow, NH. His grandfather told him about seeing this forestry done in Marlow in 1825, while the grandfather was still a boy. How is this kind of forestry different from our current systems … Continue reading Trunks Like Black Bones (Marlow, 1825)

Marek 1840s, food, Keene, mills, NH resources & industry, SOURCE=HSCC

To Work in the Mills? (Keene, 1845)

A farm family debates sending their youngest daughter to work in the mills... Originally published in Monadnock History Comics (Keene Sentinel, 2005) Discussion questions:  Why do Lucy and her mother think that working in the mills would be a good idea? Why does her father oppose the job? What clues tell us that life is hard on … Continue reading To Work in the Mills? (Keene, 1845)