To the Editor:

I was so dang proud of my town of Wilton after last week’s Old Home Days celebration I just had to beg the editor for a small space this week to brag a little that no town or city in New Hampshire could ever top the unbelievable program and leadership my little town demonstrated for all the good people of the Souhegan Valley!

Band concerts or music programs every night… 3 chicken barbecues… 2 dances… a breakfast… men’s and women’s horseshoe contests… 2 parades… a senior dinner… antique auto show… and a ton of programs for kids of all ages! Add to this hay rides, class reunions, arts and crafts and demonstrations about all sorts of things and you have a week-long celebration that had to be the best ever in the history of my town!

Such an event doesn’t just happen because it needs a lot of volunteers, fund raisers, on-site workers, planners, and Marshalls… BUT… a car with four wheels, a motor, and a steering wheel doesn’t go far without a driver and outstanding leadership was the driver for the 2014 Old Home Days celebration. Gary Crooker, who has chaired this celebration it seems since the early days of the settlement called Wilton, proved once again he is the reigning New Hampshire King of all Old Home Days celebrations. From planning to being everywhere during the week, Crooker was a world class leader of the best program ever. In the next week his mailbox should be full of thank you notes from every citizen of Wilton for his work… his dedication… and his many years of taking on this task! … AND… it seemed somebody way up there really appreciated the hard work of everyone because my town had 8 straight days of sunshine capped by a magnificent day for the giant parade on Saturday.

Yep … you can bet your last bippy that my buttons were popping off just writing about the 2014 Old Home Days celebrations because it was the very best ever.

Francis Gros Louis

Wilton’s oldest living former selectman

Leesburg, Va.