Andrew Cushing loves Grafton.
A lot.
So much so, the 25-year-old jokes, that his dating situation in Philadelphia, where he’s halfway through graduate studies in historic preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, has gotten to the point where “in some ways, your first question has to be, ‘Do you want to live in a small town in rural New Hampshire?’ ”
“I’ve lost so many potential relationships because of my attachment to this town,” says Cushing, with a laugh.
That’s not to say he never left the 50-acre tract on the dirt road where he grew up. A 2008 graduate of Mascoma Valley Regional High School, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine before bicycling across the country with a friend from Hanover.
The pair spent many a pit stop thinking and talking about their hometowns and the differences in how they’re portrayed and perceived, concluding that a town line — such as between Hanover and Canaan, the border of the Mascoma school district — can have an “amazing” impact.
“A lot of it was just me being really defensive,” Cushing recalls. “I don’t know exactly what I wanted from him. … We know everything about Lebanon and Hanover, but people in Lebanon and Hanover don’t necessarily know anything about people in our areas. That always blows my mind because we’re only two towns away.”
So what is it about the small Upper Valley town of Grafton that makes an ambitious 20-something such as Cushing so eager to return, stay and defend it to Hanoverians?
In addition to the buildings and the landscapes, Cushing — who was in town this summer utilizing his historic preservation skills as a volunteer engaged in such tasks as restoring windows at the one-room schoolhouse and organizing fundraisers — says the answer is the people, whom he’ll miss when he returns to Philadelphia tonight. And while he generally leans to the left of the libertarian Free Staters who have famously set up shop in Grafton, he says their presence has “galvanized” people of all viewpoints in a good way, increasing participation and debate in local politics.
He’s proud that townspeople stick it out during Town Meetings, which in recent years have topped 11 hours.
“Being in a small town, I think, makes you care a lot more about what happens,” he says, “and when you have a presence like the Free Staters … ultimately (we) have a lot in common because we all care about crafting a community that we find ideal.”
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Andrew Cushing
Age: 25
Hometown: Grafton
Current town: Grafton this summer; Philadelphia during the school year
Where were you five years ago? Working an internship for the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. “Ultimately I walked away with a pretty good understanding of both a community’s unyielding passion to save a place that they think is important and that office’s job of trying to convince legislators that that’s a good investment in New Hampshire’s economy.”
Where do you see yourself in five years? Living in a historic building in town — hopefully “the proud owner of a handyman special” — and volunteering in local government. “My dad was pretty active in town government and my mom was a public school teacher, so I think civic engagement has always been important to me.”
What does the Upper Valley offer 20-somethings? An opportunity to get involved in your small town at an early age. His interest in historical preservation stems from a desire to care for the town’s old buildings. “As early as age 14 I was on the Grafton Historical Society. . . . I think it’s a lot harder to get involved in a town if you don’t feel like you’re noticed.”
What is lacking for 20-somethings in the Upper Valley? A lack of “cross-pollination” and equal investment among “economically stratified” towns. “We kind of have the haves and the have-nots, and . . . my friends and I, we’re fine with that, and we’re not at all disappointed, but it would be nice for some more investment in the towns outside Hanover and Lebanon.”