IS MAKING BIG HEADLINES AS. NESTLED NEAR THE PERKY PEAKS JUST OVER THE FAMOUS COVERED BRIDGE, YOU’LL FIND THE COMMUNITY OF GROVETON NEW HAMPSHIRE, A SMALL VILLAGE OF NORTHUM, IRELAND, ONCE KNOWN FOR A BOOMING PAPER INDUSTRY, IT’S NOW HOME TO ABOUT A THOUSAND RESIDENTS. YOU CAN OFTEN FIND AT THE NORTH COUNTRY FAMILY RESTAURANT, RIGHT ON MAIN STREET. THIS IS WHERE EVERYONE COMES TO MEET. EVERYONE GATHERS, EVERYONE FEELS LIKE FAMILY AND WE JUST THINK IT’S WONDERFUL THAT INCLUDES ERNIE ROY. HE USED TO WORK AT THE PAPER PLANT, THEN HERE AT THE RESTAURANT WHEN I TURNED 80 YEARS OLD ON JUNE 12TH, I STOPPED WORKING AND I’VE DONE SOME WORK SINCE THEN, SO IT HASN’T REALLY STOPPED. NEITHER HAS THE DELICIOUS FOOD MADE FRESH IN THE KITCHEN BY CHEF PATRICK. THIS IS THE BROCCOLI SHRIMP ALFREDO, WHICH I’M ABOUT TO TRY HERE. PARAG PATEL IS THE NEW OWNER AND IS ADDING NEW MENU ITEMS. PIZZA THAT’S WHAT WE ADDED. NEW AND THE WRAPS. WRAPS ON PIZZA DOUGH. THAT’S A NEW THING WHICH WE HAD TO TRY. REALLY GOOD ON. NICE WAY FOR TOURISTS TO FILL UP WHO OFTEN COME TO GROVETON TO PLAY IN THE SNOW. THE GROVETON TRAILBLAZERS SNOWMOBILE CLUB WAS FORMED IN 1966 AND NOW HAS 500 MEMBERS. ONE OF THEIR MOST IMPORTANT JOBS. VOLUNTEERS GROOM THEIR 145 MILES OF SNOWMOBILE TRAILS. WITHOUT THIS DAILY WORK, I GUESS I WOULD EQUATE IT TO IF YOU WENT DOWN THE MOGUL SECTION OF A SKI SKI MOUNTAIN, YOU WOULD JUST A BUNCH OF A BUNCH OF MOGULS WOULD FORM AND IT WOULD BE A ROUGH RIDE. AND IT REALLY ISN’T THAT ENJOYABLE. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, CLUB VP KEVIN SPOTTISWOOD SAYS THESE GROOMERS CAN STAY OUT SOMETIMES EIGHT HOURS A DAY, BUT IT’S IMPORTANT FOR SAFETY, FUN AND BRINGING IN TOURISM DOLLARS. WE REALLY SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND THE SNOWMOBILERS SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AS WELL. SO I THINK IT’S A REALLY A POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY UP HERE. OTHERS COME HERE FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF WINTER FUN. IT SEEMS LIKE MOST TRACKS KIND OF WRAP THINGS UP FOR THE WINTER MONTHS, BUT YOU’RE STILL GOING, RIGHT? YEAH, WE GO YEAR ROUND. MIKE HUMPHREY RUNS RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY AND ADVENTURE PARK, WHICH RUNS RACES IN THE WARMER MONTHS, AND CAR AND SNOWMOBILE EVENTS IN THE DEAD OF WINTER WITH SOME PRETTY HEARTY FANS. TWO YEARS AGO IT WAS LIKE 18 TO 20 BELOW. ON SATURDAY MORNING, AND WE HAD PEOPLE SITTING IN THE STANDS WAITING FOR THE CARS TO GET OUT THERE. JUST DOWN THE STREET, A SPACE RACE IS UNDERWAY AT GROVETON MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL. IN EARLY 2024, A GROUP OF STUDENTS WON A CONTEST PUT ON BY NASA. WHAT WAS THE REACTION FROM THE KIDS WHEN THEY HEARD ABOUT THIS? SOME OF THEM ARE REALLY EXCITED. OTHERS WERE STILL KIND OF SITTING THERE LIKE, IS IT REAL? BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THEY’RE REALLY EXCITED, MEGAN BLISS SAYS HER MIDDLE SCHOOLERS ARE GOING TO ENGINEER AN EXPERIMENT TO FIT INSIDE THIS TINY CAPSULE TO READ RADIATION LEVELS IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE, GROFF. TIN WAS ONE OF 60 SCHOOLS CHOSEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A LOT OF. THEM GOING INTO THIS WEREN’T ENTIRELY SURE THAT THEY COULD DO IT, AND SO BEING PICKED AS A SCHOOL THAT IS ONE OF THE DECLARED WINNERS IS A HUGE THING. THEIR WORK WILL SOON FLOAT UP IN A HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON LIKE THIS TO COLLECT THEIR DATA. THE STUDENTS ARE THRILLED. GOSH. I COULD WIN THIS. YOU KNOW WE WON NASA. WE COULD DO THIS. SO IT’S OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES FOR THEM. DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME FUTURE ENGINEERS OR SCIENTISTS HERE IN GROVETON? ALMOST DEFINITELY. AND SPEAKING OF ENGINEERING, THAT THAT OLD PAPER MILL ON THE RIVER WILL SOON BE HOME TO SOME UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY. WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE GROVETON OF ALL PLACES? I SPOKE WITH THE OWNER OF A COMPANY CALLED CU HYDROGEN ATTRACTED BY NEW HAMPSHIRE’S ENERGY REGULATIONS, THE UTAH BASED COMPANY CHOSE THE SITE OF THE OLD PAPER MILL TO BUILD A HYDROGEN POWER PLANT, BASICALLY TAKING THE HYDROGEN THAT STARTED. OUT AS WATER AND THEN USING IT IN A MODIFIED ENGINE TO PRODUCE POWER. THEY EVENTUALLY PLAN TO TAKE THE WATER FROM THE UPPER AMMONOOSUC RIVER AND RUN IT THROUGH SPECIAL TURBINES. INSIDE THIS BUILDING THAT WILL EXTRACT THE HYDROGEN, THAT HYDROGEN FUEL WILL BE USED TO MAKE ELECTRICITY. WE LOVE THE EVENTUAL IDEA OF BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY THAT WE CAN SELL DIRECTLY TO USERS ON THE SITE, AT RATES THAT WOULD BE COMPETITIVE WITH THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN US. THAT WOULD THEN BRING IN INDUSTRY THAT NORMALLY WOULDN’T CONSIDER BEING UP THERE BECAUSE OF POWER RATES. THE WATER AROUND GROVETON HAD ALREADY BEEN A BIG DRAW FOR THE AREA. YEAH, WE GET A LOT OF TOURISTS. UH, A LOT OF HUNTERS. PEOPLE COME UP TO GO FISHING. JOHN RICHARD RUNS JOHN ARCHERY. I DECIDED I WANTED TO DO THIS INSTEAD OF GETTING A REAL JOB IN THE COLDER MONTHS, HE SWITCHES TO SELLING ICE FISHING GEAR. ARE THERE GOOD PLACES TO GO? ICE FISHING? GO HUNTING AROUND HERE? ICE FISHING? YES, IT IS. EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN SPOTS. SECRETIVE. FIRST THEY HAVE TO LOAD UP ON THIS. WHOA! GROVETON WINTER SUPPLY OF LIVE BAIT. BUT THESE ARE OUR, UH, GOLDEN SHINERS. THESE ARE LITTLE FISH THAT ARE GOING TO CATCH BIGGER FISH. BASICALLY. YES. WHICH YOU CAN CATCH USING ONE OF JOHN’S CUSTOM MADE RODS. BUT THAT’LL CATCH ME SOMETHING. OH, YEAH. I’M. I GUARANTEED TO CATCH SOMETHING WITH THIS. NO, MAR, I MAY NOT BE BRINGING HOME DINNER TONIGHT.