THE LANDRY & THOMPSON LEGACY: THE FOUNDATION OF THE NOTCH
This isn’t just family history; it’s the bedrock of the White Mountains. If you want to know what it means to be a “Scion,” look at the third column of the Lincoln Honor Roll and the red house on the Pemi River. We didn’t just live here; we held the line for over a century.
THE LANDRY BROTHERS: THE MUSCLE OF THE MOUNTAIN
My father, Joseph Edmond Landry (Edmond), was one of eleven children born to Peter and Obeline Landry. In a town built on timber and grit, the Landry brothers—Joseph Edmond, Henry, Leon, and Martin—were the power units.
If you go to the Lincoln War Memorial in the center of town, look at the World War II section. In the third column, you will see four names in a row: LANDRY, JOSEPH EDMOND; LANDRY, HENRY; LANDRY, LEON; LANDRY, MARTIN. They didn’t just serve; they were a wall of brothers who stood for this country while the world was in chaos. They were the “Mayors of the Palace,” the ones who did the heavy lifting in the woods and the mills, ensuring the Landry name was synonymous with hard work and integrity.
THE THOMPSONS: THE KEEPER OF THE CANE
Then there was my aunt, Margaret Thompson(born Margaret Landry). She was the leading authority on Lincoln history and the town’s official historian. She lived to be 102 years old in that big red house right on the Pemigewasset River at the end of Maltais Farm Road, near the Cold Springs store.
Margaret was a “Rosie the Riveter” who wound electrical motors during the war, and she raised seven children in that house by the water. In 2019, she was presented with the Boston Post Cane, an honor reserved only for the oldest, most respected resident of the town. She wasn’t just a resident; she was the Keeper of the History. When she spoke, the town listened. She was the one who ensured the stories of the White Mountains didn’t fade away.
THE GOLDEN GRANITE
Grandkids, you carry the blood of the Landry brothers and the wisdom of Margaret Thompson. You come from the red house on the river and the names carved in bronze on the town common. They priced us out of the land and changed the road signs, but they can never erase the Granite. We are the ones who stayed when it was cold, worked when it was hard, and never backed down from a “grumpy” truth.