Patriarch of Clarks Trading Post dies.

[burningstroller]

One of the best "roadside attractions" that remains in the country has lost its founder. A sad day for any New Englander that spent summers listening to Murray Clark, in his classic northern New Hampshire accent, narrate his very unique bear show. What grew around the show ring was not a ride park, but certainly a theme park. Still an amazing, family run, unique place to visit. *definitely worthy of the 3 hours from SFNE...so go see it!* RIP W. Murray Clark Sr.

 

Manchester, NH Union Leader

 

LINCOLN – In the deep of a January winter more than 80 years ago, a tired young man fresh from a mail run by dog sled between West Milan and Albany, N.Y., learned his second son had been born.

 

"I do extend hearty congratulations to you and Mrs. Clark on the arrival of William Murray Clark and also the best of good wishes for the future of the youngster," read the missive from New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith to Edward Clark, who was taking part in a publicity campaign at the time.

 

The child, W. Murray Clark, went on to have a remarkable life, shaped by his parents, Edward and Florence, who would establish what became Clarks Trading Post, one of earliest and most enduring tourist attractions in the White Mountains.

 

Clark died Thursday night, just a couple of weeks shy of his 83rd birthday, surrounded by his family. In addition to carrying on the legacy his parents founded in Lincoln in 1928, Clark was a former state legislator and a volunteer firefighter in North Woodstock and will always be remembered by generations of children, leading his beloved trained bears in shows at the trading post.

 

"Losing Murray Clark is like losing the governor of the White Mountains," said Jayne O'Connor, president of White Mountains Attractions. "He knew and honored the region's history and he understood the importance of tourism to the area's economy. He gave generations of teenagers their first jobs and taught them proper work ethics."

 

Clarks Trading Post celebrated the 60th anniversary of those bear shows last summer and in 1949 signaled a transition from the elder Clarks' deep affection of purebred Eskimo sled dogs, on which they founded the original attraction, Clarks Eskimo Sled Dog Ranch, to a place appealing to a wider audience.

 

"He was the patriarch of Clarks Trading Post for a long time," said Dick Hamilton, retired president of White Mountains Attractions.

 

W. Murray Clark, with his children, Maureen and Murray Jr., are pictured with Ursula, as the family prepared for the 60th anniversary of the trained bear shows at Clarks Trading Post in Lincoln. (LORNA COLQUHOUN)

For the Clark family, Murray's death is the second loss in just four months. His elder brother, Edward, died in September. Both men shared their parents' love of sled dogs, and when they were teenagers, at the height of World War II, both were dispatched, at the request of the British government, to bring over dozens of dogs that would be used in the war effort.

 

In the diary he kept as a teenager, he wrote on Dec. 10, 1942, "We received definite word from Washington for three teams, three sleds and gear."

 

At 15, he went to Manitoba and selected the dogs and, three days after his 16th birthday, set sail with them to England.

 

His daughter, Maureen, said the sled dogs her grandfather fell in love with on a trip to Labrador changed the lives of the generations that followed.

 

"It changed the lives of his progeny and hundreds of lives for the people who worked" at the attraction, she said.

 

For her dad, that experience as a teenager was regarded "often described this time period of his life as the most exciting adventure of his life."

 

In 1949, the brothers began entertaining visitors at Clarks Trading Post with trained bear shows, and Murray Clark would spend the next 54 years in the ring. In 2003, Maureen Clark and her brother, Murray Jr. continued the tradition, and their father would often be in the audience to watch.

 

Aside from stints at college -- he went to Brown University and Williams College and was in the U.S. Navy -- Murray Clark spent his life in Lincoln and Woodstock, where he was the second president of the local chamber of commerce and was on the Woodstock fire department.

 

As a firefighter, he fought the huge fires that destroyed two local hotels, the Deer Park and the hotel Franconia, and in 1942 was one of the first to respond to the crash of the B18-A bomber into Mount Waternomee in Kinsman Notch.

 

Murray Clark was a font of local historic information and held tight to traditions. A couple of summers ago, when Jim Fadden reopened the general store on Main Street in North Woodstock that was first opened by his great-grandfather, Clark was the first customer that morning, purchasing the day's edition of the Union Leader and some sweets from the fifth generation of the family.

 

"Murray was a big part of my entire life," Fadden said. "There is no replacement for him. I have never known a time in my life without him. He was like an M&M -- hard on the outside, and soft in the middle. He is absolutely irreplaceable."

 

Murray Clark was a pallbearer when Fadden's great-grandfather died, and Fadden will be a bearer at Clark's funeral service next week.

 

In a video in which he appeared, Murray Clark said there would come a day when people would read of his passing, his daughter, Maureen, said yesterday.

 

"He said, 'Don't be sorry or sad because I did everything in life I wanted to do,'" she said. "He always read the Union Leader and he'd tell people that if he didn't read his obituary in the paper that morning, he'd have to go to work. I guess he can take a rest now."

 

His wake will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Indian Head Resort in Lincoln. Funeral services are private. A celebration of life will be held on June 12.

 

Despite his retirement from the show, he would always be sitting between the ring and the bear holding pens and would rise and wave, with a standing ovation, as he was introduced by his son as the senior bear trainer.

[Chroniq]

Interesting post, I think I saw something about this on BSR (Bear Show Review). I've never heard of this attrraction or the aformentioned show.

 

Any chance you have photos or videos? I think Donkeys are ok, but I'm a bear enthusiast at heart.

[burningstroller]

Haha Google and Youtube. Lots of stuff.

[larrygator]

Clark's Trading Post is such a quirky little place. I choose to go here on a side trip to Canobie and Funtown Splashtown instead of a choice of smaller New Hampshire parks that had family/kiddie credits.

 

I throroughly enjoyed my 4 hours at Clark's. Besides the Bear Show, they have a Train Ride into the mountains with a cheesy character scaring the train riders, a well themed Mad House and a Tilt House with energetic hosts.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the park.

 

Their homemade fudge is awesome.