Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm in a destination I've known my entire life.

It's a place that formed who I am and what I got to be.

And even though I love returning to what I know, it's how the area keeps evolving and thriving that makes me proud to say I'm from here.

Mom!

It doesn't get any closer to my heart than this.

-Oh!

-I'm back home in New Hampshire, exploring its coast and more.

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... [ Birds chirping ] -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and "Samantha Brown's Places to Love."

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Your world, your way.

-Anyone who's been to Portsmouth, New Hampshire loves Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

I've been coming to this city just about my whole life, and it's one of the most pleasant places to be.

It's got this rich colonial history, having been founded in the 1600s, and you can explore that in wonderful ways, like with the Strawbery Banke Museum, which is this 10-acre campus of colonial homes, to the Black Heritage Trail, which really seeks to broaden our understanding of the founding of this state.

And it's still a hardworking port city.

You've got the naval shipyard, as well as tugboats that go out and get big freighters and bring them in.

But people love Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for its locally owned cafs and shops, incredible food scene.

No matter how many times I come to this city, there's always something to find, to discover, to explore.

[ Bell jingles ] Oh!

[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh.

I wasn't expecting you.

Hi.

You're the dumb guys?

-We're the dumb guys.

-And this is your stuff.

-This is our stuff.

-Do you mind if I just, like, poke around and then -- -No.

Sure.

Go ahead.

-Oh, my gosh.

-That's what it's for.

-This isn't as dumb as I thought.

There's actually nothing really dumb about any of this.

-Well, it depends on your gender.

We didn't put a dash in the flag deliberately, because if you're a guy, you go, "Well, it's a museum of dumb guy stuff."

-Okay.

-But if you're a woman, it's a museum of dumb guys' stuff.

-[ Laughs ] So every museum has a mission statement.

What is your mission statement?

How do you describe this to people?

-If I had to, it's just the joy of making things and having -- We like kids to come in.

In fact, we have giveaways for kids.

And we like just, like, sharing.

That's what we do it for.

We don't really have any other purpose.

-Yeah, a lot of them started with World War II, because that's another interest of mine.

But then there's different countries.

These are all World War II characters up here.

Again, you're looking for the most visually interesting.

So those are characters from all around the world.

-Oh, so they're not wearing what they came with in the package?

-No, I take them all apart and I re-dress them.

I take all the buttons and the snaps off and I sew them back on, and then I go again, look at historical accuracy to make sure they've got the accurate equipment.

-So the amount of detail you put into each figurine that goes into the diorama is exceptional.

-Oh, yeah.

-Clay and Rod are now working on four dioramas depicting the history of Portsmouth, going all the way back to the Stone Age, the settlers trading, then the plague that wiped out 90% of the indigenous population here.

So you really seek to educate with your diorama.

-Well, yes, we do, and if they can see the diorama, they -- they get a much greater sense of what it actually looked like, what the people looked like, instead of just looking at a painting.

-And speaking of painting, Clay and Rod put me to work embellishing the barrels of gunpowder for the outdoor diorama.

Can I just tell you my story?

'Cause I have a story here.

-Oh, sure.

-So I've walked by here many times, and then I saw the sign -- Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff, and there was like, "Here, check out more stuff in the basement."

I was like, "That's where I stop."

Um, you know, as a woman, am I going to be able to get out of there, right?

-City girl.

[ Laughter ] Right.

-And so I'm here only because I could bring my whole crew and we could well-document it.

-Oh, okay.

-And I've got witnesses and I've got footage and I've got sound.

And I was like, "Yeah, okay, we can come down into the basement."

And this is fantastic.

It's just a really -- You guys are wonderful.

You're so friendly and lovely.

And -- And then -- then there's Harley.

-And there's Harley.

-Aww.

In downtown Portsmouth, there's a coffee shop where the owner serves coffee, cocktails, and her community.

When people walk through the door, do they know who you are?

Do they air their grievances?

Are they're like, "I'll have a coffee, a Danish, and I got something to say"?

-Absolutely.

That is -- And I love it.

I think it's the benefit I have as a councillor, as the assistant mayor, is that I'm front-facing the public all day long.

So I'm hearing them, in very casual ways, kind of what they need or want in the city.

I'm Joanna Kelley.

People call me Jo.

I'm the owner of Cup of Joe and the assistant mayor here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

I grew up kind of in and out of foster care a little bit, and so community was always my saving grace, and people were.

And so I really -- You know, what's a better way to spend your day with people than to build a place that they love to go in all types of times?

The idea kind of swirled around of, like, coffee shop, bar, you know, gathering place.

You know, I felt like it could be done differently.

So I spent a lot of time trying to get community-focused things.

Like, this bar is actually the original bar from The Rosa, which had the first-ever liquor license after prohibition in New Hampshire.

-Wow!

-Yeah, we have -- The drawbridge sign is from the Sarah Long Bridge.

That ladder's from the Memorial Bridge.

The "Portsmouth Navigation" sign you see behind you?

-Yeah.

-It's from one of the original tugboat yards.

-Oh, my gosh.

-So kind of spent a little bit of time gathering these real, you know, community-driven things 'cause I wanted a community-driven space.

-Mm-hmm.

You're doing awesome.

-Thank you.

-You're just such a gift to this city, really.

-Thank you so much.

I always say that Portsmouth gave me a home when I really never had one in the traditional sense.

And so I feel like it's my duty to really give back to a place that has given me so much.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] -I'm closing my day in Portsmouth with a night on the town.

This colonial city is, by all definitions, a cultural hub for the arts.

There are galleries, museums, street art, plenty of live theater, and venues like Seacoast Rep. And there's a new club in town that is in a former YMCA building from 1905.

Tonight at Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club, Nate Smith is performing with his trio.

One of the joys of coming back to your home state more as a visitor is learning about all the things you had no idea about when you lived here.

Like, for instance, this man right here, I've come to make a pilgrimage of sorts, because this is Ralph Baer, and he settled in Manchester, New Hampshire.

He was a Jewish immigrant, and he moved here to escape Nazi Germany.

And he had an idea, an invention that would go on to fundamentally change the entire world.

He believed that you could interact with your television playing games.

And so he invented the very first handheld console.

He is the father of video games.

And I just -- You just don't know how much you changed my life.

All the fights that I got in with my mom because I was spending way too much time playing on the television.

And then now I'm fighting with my kids, too.

So we'll talk about that a little later.

But anyway, he clearly changed the world.

Ralph Baer's story and thousands of others can be explored within these massive historic brick buildings.

-The Millyard Museum really celebrates 11,000 years of history in this place.

But more important, we celebrate the history of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, which in its day was the largest textile manufacturer in the world.

I'm John Clayton.

I'm the former executive director of the Manchester Historic Association, longtime journalist, spent my career writing about Manchester, New Hampshire.

-Manchester, New Hampshire, was the very first planned city in the United States.

What does that mean?

-It was built to work.

In 1831, a bunch of wealthy Boston businessmen looked north, and they saw this pristine farmland divided by this powerful river.

And they had this audacious vision to create an industrial utopia where people would want to come and live and work around the manufacture of textiles.

-An industrial utopia.

Those are two words I've never, ever put together.

And we all kind of laugh at that now, because was it possible?

-It was, and they proved it for many years.

They set aside land for parks and playgrounds and churches and schools.

Again, part of the utopian vision was to make this a place where you wanted to live and work.

And with 17,000 employees making miles of fabric every day, it was kind of incumbent upon them to take good care of those workers.

-What will amaze you is how they harnessed the power of the Merrimack River to flow into the buildings and power the 600 looms in one mill alone.

But what will charm you is what was made in these buildings.

-They made gingham.

They made denim.

They made woolen products, as well.

This is an example of a loom from around 1910, and their equipment kept getting more and more sophisticated as the company became more sophisticated, as well.

-And they were actually making denim for Levi Strauss?

Like, they had a contract directly with that man?

-Yes, the denim for the first Levi's ever made was manufactured right here in this mill in which we're standing today.

-And they recruited the Scottish and the Irish for their weaving techniques.

-Yes, as well as their dyeing techniques.

They were very skilled at creating these bright colors that women were now demanding in their dresses.

So they came here armed with their own dye recipe books, very specific about what chemicals or what particular natural things might be used to create just that hue of green or just that beautiful hue of pink you're wearing today.

As the foundry, the machine shop for Amoskeag grew, think about the technologies that they were working on.

They needed engineers and machinists.

The best in the world at that time were in Germany.

So Manchester is really an immigrant city, and it is because of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.

-How much -- Give us a sense of how much fabric was made here, I don't know, in a day, in a week.

-We say 470 miles of fabric every day.

-No, 475 miles?

-From here to Washington, D.C. every day.

Think about 75 buildings and all those different looms operating simultaneously.

And that was their daily output, 470 miles of fabric.

-I had no idea.

One thing I do have an idea about... -[ Vocalizing ] -...is singing.

The Palace Theatre in Manchester is one of the most beautiful in New England.

I was a theater kid growing up in New Hampshire, and so I jumped at the chance to do a vocal warm-up with the cast of its current production of "Rent."

-[ Vocalizing ] -Whoo!

What note was that?

I can't hit the high notes anymore.

But a high point for me now is connecting with people and the places they love.

I mean, Peter, this is a beautiful theater.

I mean, it just knocks your socks off.

And this is my reaction in 2023.

What was the reaction to the Palace in 1914, when it was built?

People must have been awestruck.

-Yeah, it's always been beautiful.

And it was built by a Greek immigrant who had made a lot of money in New York City.

He designed this himself from the Palace in Times Square.

It's half the size.

It's the only historic theater in the area.

There's not one in any city around us, and it's become incredibly popular with the people.

The productions we do are all professional, everyone paid, but at the same time, we call it community because the community owns it.

For example, our ticket prices are $45.

-Wow.

-Unheard of in America.

-So affordable.

-But on purpose.

-Mm-hmm.

-We want people to attend.

-I look at a stage like this and I get very emotional because I am who I am because of community theater.

My parents always knew that if you have theater, you'll be able to do whatever.

And I've done really well.

Like, I love -- I love who I've gotten to be.

And it was all because of theater.

I wouldn't call this community theater.

You're saying that, but I'm looking at a very professional stage.

So what is it like for -- You have your youth theater.

People on the stage are locals.

What is it like for them to be on a Broadway stage like this, of this caliber?

-It's all about dreams.

It's -- So, a child who's 6 years old who has a role in "A Christmas Carol" and he's surrounded by professional actors from Hollywood, from New York City, from Toronto, and all of a sudden, that little 6-year-old becomes a little bit braver and a little bit more self-confident, and his life changes.

It's a fact.

It happens every single day here.

And it's wonderful.

-Whoo!

Nice.

-From being onstage with the cast of "Rent" to... cats.

In Manchester, there's a sense of community in the slimmest of spaces.

What came first, the cats or the murals?

-The cats came first.

Back in the early 1900s, there was a bunch of business owners who regularly witnessed herds of street cats kind of brawling and claiming territory of the area.

-Basically "West Side Story" but with tails.

You know, like... -[ Laughs ] Was the mission to kind of change this from a place that you would just kind of, like, scoot by quickly, not think a lot about to something that really connects a community?

-Yes, the mission was to reimagine it, 'cause we love this place and the community loves this place, and we wanted artists to have freedom to express their own style and ideas, with the only underlying factor is it has to be about cats.

And that's why there's all these different bold color palettes and all these completely different aesthetics coming together.

It's a great representation of different artists in the community.

-Dave was one of those muralists with his "Nosfer-cat-u," a takeoff on the classic vampire movie "Nosferatu."

Vivian's contribution was the design and creation of cat-shaped bike racks.

-We have the scaredy-cat, the mischievous cat.

Of course we're thinking of the Cheshire Cat up in the woods And the little chubby cat.

So, playful, right?

But also structurally pulling people into the alley.

One of your jobs as a public artist is to add delight and curiosity so that your daily life is better.

And that's, like, something that this does very well.

-I'm having lunch in Dover, New Hampshire.

Dover is a small city known for its local shops and businesses, as well as a beautiful river that runs through it.

Dover has no shortage of Asian restaurants, but the newest has become one of its most popular, primarily because of the authenticity of its noodles and broths.

-My name is Joey Lin, and I'm the one of the owners of the Hong Asian Noodle Bar.

-The restaurant is a labor of love for Joey and her long-time friends Vivian Lin and Tin Zhang.

-At the beginning, we all servers, and then, like, Tin-Tin start learning, like, stir fry stuff.

And Vivian is kind of in charge of the noodle soup and the ramen section.

And I'm, like, pretty good with the communication and I'm basically hosting and serving.

Can you handle spicy?

-I can, I can, Joey, I hope.

We're about to find out.

But they also specialize in steamed pork-filled buns.

And today they've invited me to pitch in as I attempt to master the art of making them.

-Maybe you can try longer a little bit, then we get it -- -Oh, they're a little short.

-Yeah.

-We'll sell these for less money.

[ Laughter ] When did you open up Hong Noodle Bar?

-One and a half years ago, in June.

-Okay.

You are three friends?

-Yeah.

-All three of you worked at a restaurant.

But then you decided to own a restaurant.

-We all lost job, you know, like, during the pandemic.

Like, the restaurant closed for good.

So we were like, "Okay, think that we need to look for job during pandemic."

And then we always want to own -- you know, try to do something by our own -- American dream.

-Yes, exactly, to own your own business.

-Yeah.

-We have to figure out the food that we're going to serve, and this is you guys all around a table figuring this out, as well?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-We would practice almost every single day at the time.

-Oh, did you get sick of eating buns?

-[ Laughs ] Yeah.

-Yeah.

Not only were there so many buns to make, but to open the restaurant on time, anything that didn't require a permit, they did.

[ Bell dings ] -We do basically everything here, like all the wallpaper and then all the printing.

We cannot hire people.

So three of us basically, like, buried in here and doing all the stuff without -- without a license we do all by ourselves.

-Wow.

The extra hard work paid off.

Lines formed outside their door from day one, which continues today.

And as a result of this experience, Joey, Vivian, and Tin have learned a valuable lesson.

-Yeah, we're not friends anymore.

We are family, really.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-The area around New Hampshire's seacoast may be small, but it's incredibly varied in its landscape.

From Dover, I headed to North Hampton, which is minutes from the ocean and known for its beautiful farmland.

-Throwback Brewery is a brewery, a restaurant, and a farm.

And we do all of it here.

I'm Annette Lee.

I'm the head brewer, I would say chief problem solver and co-founder of Throwback Brewery.

100% women-owned, 50% of which is on a cruise in Bermuda right now, leaving me solo for this gig.

-What's great about a brewery is they exist everywhere, right?

In city centers and in tight quarters and warehouse districts.

But yours you have on a farm.

How does the farm play into your vision of making really great beer?

-Nicole and I set out to make beer with local ingredients within 200 miles as much as we could.

It's such an integral part of what we do here in our food and our beer, and then to be able to utilize the farmland and grow our own produce for the food and the beer.

Like the hops, you know, we put the hops in.

New England was the hop-growing region of the country pre-Prohibition.

-Okay.

-It was like one of those things where, like, let's show people we can grow hops here.

-On the farm, you'll find two high tunnels where produce is grown for the kitchen and brewery year-round.

It's the seasonal transition from winter crops to spring, and seedlings of tomatoes and peppers will be going in soon.

[ Bleats ] Cheers.

-Yeah, cheers.

-You are a head brewer.

And that's not just a title.

That's an effort.

That's a love.

-Being a woman in this field is important, and I love the chemistry of it.

I love the science of brewing.

I love that we can change little things in our brewing process and create a wholly different beer.

So that's just always been really appealing to me, but also the impact that we can have on people.

You get to taste this farm-fresh food, drink farm-fresh beer and really just have an experience here just being close to the land and what we do.

-I think it's knowing that this way of life is possible.

-Yeah, sure.

-That it's not just a throwback.

It really can be our future.

-It is.

Yes.

It's important.

It's important to support these local farms and what they do.

You know, everyone just kind of do their part.

Yeah.

-Towards the end of my childhood, my family moved here to the great island of New Castle.

When I would tell people I came from an island in New Hampshire, I would always get two questions.

One, New Hampshire has a seacoast?

Uh, yeah.

And two, did I row a boat to school?

No, I didn't.

But we moved here when I was 16, and I immediately loved it.

And what's not to love?

Charming homes with beautifully tended gardens, a cute caf, and everywhere on the island is walking distance to the beach.

But New Castle has something no one expects to see on an island in New Hampshire.

This is Wentworth by the Sea, an iconic hotel here since 1874.

Presidents have stayed here.

An international treaty was drafted here.

But when I lived on the island, it was vacant and, for nearly 20 years, almost totally abandoned until it was saved by concerned locals.

Well, I've come back for the first time in years to catch up with Mary Carey Foley, who's been its concierge for nearly two decades.

Your grandmother was the very first female mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

-That's right.

-Your mother became the mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

And you are the mayor of the Wentworth.

-That's right, that's right.

You're absolutely right.

-Well, I'm really excited, 'cause I get to stay here.

-Yeah, I know you do.

-And you know me.

I'm always here with my kids, my minivan.

And it's always, you know -- Now I get to be pampered a little.

I'm like, "No, no, I'm staying at the Wentworth by the Sea."

-That's awesome.

That's awesome.

-It's wicked awesome.

-Yeah, it is wicked awesome.

I say that all the time.

[ Both laugh ] -I'll be returning to the Wentworth later tonight for an equally awesome dinner with my mother, Elsie Mae.

Mom!

-Oh, hi.

Oh, sweetheart.

-But first we'll be enjoying the beach, which for people who live on the seacoast is a year-round activity.

It's nice to be here, too, because there hasn't been a lot of changes.

I mean, there have been some, of course.

But it's still -- it's still much like how I remember it when we lived here.

-And they haven't added anything to make it more quaint or whatever.

It's just very natural, the way -- the way it's always been.

-A traveler to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is going to find a diverse community full of arts and music and amazing food and a community that's welcoming and that wants everyone.

-You don't have to be running for president to come to Manchester, New Hampshire, although everybody does when they run.

Come and see what Manchester's all about.

-I love Dover.

I love New Hampshire.

It's been my second home.

People here are super open-mind and super welcoming.

-I love New Hampshire.

This is where I grew up, and especially the New Hampshire seacoast.

And you don't have to just come here June, July and August.

You can come here any time of the year.

And it's a beautiful spot on the earth.

And that's why I so enjoy coming home to New Hampshire.

For me, it's the original place to love.

[ Both laugh ] For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... [ Birds chirping ] -Oceania Cruises is a proud sponsor of public TV and "Samantha Brown's Places to Love."

Sailing to more than 600 destinations around the globe, from Europe to Asia and Alaska to the South Pacific.

Oceania Cruises offers gourmet dining and curated travel experiences aboard boutique, hotel-style ships that carry no more than 1,250 guests.

Oceania Cruises.

Your world, your way.