Sleeping on floor at Clamshell Alliance

Cathy Wolff shares memories on Friday, December 9, 2022 of life in Portsmouth from the early days of the Clamshell Alliance just prior to a major occupation at the Seabrook nuclear power plant. Wolff is one of many writers contributing essays of Portsmouth life in honor of the city's 400th anniversary in 2023.

The pursuing is an excerpt from a short story about the Clamshell Alliance submitted to the Portsmouth NH 400 Commemorative E book Venture by Cathy Wolff. The Portsmouth Herald/Seacoastonline.com, in collaboration with the Portsmouth, NH 400th Anniversary Committee, is sharing these stories to assistance highlight the city’s history, and also stimulate others to submit their recollections. Take pleasure in.

The jackhammers started at 7 a.m., perhaps before. At least which is what I don’t forget.

It was 1977 and Portsmouth had released its downtown beautification system — setting up gaslights and changing the city’s ragged cement sidewalks with brick.

The jackhammers produced the partitions shake in the Clamshell Alliance business, jarring me awake from a not terribly snug sleep — on the ground, in a sleeping bag, in the vicinity of the mimeograph equipment, an workplace important in those people pre-personal computer decades.

Our occupation of the Seabrook nuclear ability plant internet site — which would outcome in 1,414 arrests — was just months absent and there was a whole lot to do, so I put in the night in the office at least a couple of instances a 7 days somewhat than push house to Hopkinton, New Hampshire. The occupation acquired worldwide media coverage and aided encourage comparable anti-nuclear companies to type about the region.

In people days there was a good deal of inexpensive housing and place of work room downtown. The Clam moved into a huge next-floor room at 62 Congress St. in 1976. We furnished it with a three-legged card table, a mobile phone, numerous donated, mismatched chairs, a file cabinet and a lot of power. We ordinarily sat in a circle on the ground for conferences, which, due to the fact we built decisions by consensus, could final many hrs.

For a swift break, there was Eddy’s, a lunch counter and adjoining bar just beneath us. Or we may stroll to Teddy’s Lunch in Market Sq.. For for a longer time, article-perform breaks, we’d head for the Push Room or the Prevalent Crossing. If we were being feeling wealthy, which was uncommon, we’d splurge on meal at The Rosa or possibly even Pier I.

Though the brick sidewalks heralded a new period, downtown by now had the Blue Strawbery and Theatre by the Sea on Ceres Road Salamander Glass on the corner of Bow and Church streets and Pontine Motion Theatre. The first Prescott Park Arts Pageant was in 1974. Market place Square Working day launched in 1978.

(Even with the protest of at minimum one town councilor, Evelyn Marconi, the Clamshell Alliance was authorized various several years later on to join Industry Sq. Working day. We displayed an ice carving of a nuclear electricity plant and asked persons to guess how extended it would just take to melt down.)

To this working day, whenever I search down at the sidewalks in Portsmouth, I feel of that enjoyable time in my lifestyle, as nicely as the shed sleep – and the smell of a mimeograph equipment.