My visiting daughter, Charris, told me the news. "Did you hear that the Old Man of the Mountain has collapsed?" My first thoughts were that one does not joke about such a thing. The look on her face, however, told me that it was not a joke. For days I kept saying that I found it difficult to believe that he is gone.

I grew up in New England & the Old Man was one of those landmarks that always told us that everything would be OK! For decades my family & I vacationed, hiked, camped & relaxed in the White Mountains. No vacation was complete without a good long look across Profile Lake at the stone face. We used our eyes, binoculars, spotting scopes & cameras to appreciate the geologic formation we had come to know & love. We photographed it in all seasons & in all kinds of weather. What a beautiful sight!

We are all truly sorry for the state's loss of its prized symbol. In our hearts & minds it will last forever! The Old Man may be gone, but his spirit lives on in all who came to know & love him. We hope that perhaps one day, with all of our modern construction wonders, that a fitting memorial could be erected to remind us of what was lost. The following are haiku written at the time of the Old Man's demise. Please accept them as a form of remembrance for the sake of the Old Man.
Respectfully, Shawn & Pauline Whitney, Deerfield Beach, Florida.

water, ice, wind,
time & erosion
destroy the Old Man

the Old Man is gone,
boulders in the valley,
pastel leaves unfurl

blue Chevy pickup,
a young boy, a bygone day,
Old Man, my first time

full cold moon,
the Old Man silhouetted
against a blue sky

grim news indeed,
New Hampshire's oldest man
has passed away

beneath warm blue skies,
I hear the grave news that the
Old Man is no more

we can build Rushmore,
what of the Old Man?
could he rise again?

Again, we mourn the loss of a great landmark. The White Mountains will never be quite the same again.
Pauline Whitney