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Our Specialties:
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W.A. Coolidge Company is a full service construction company serving the Seacoast of New Hampshire, Maine, and Northern Massachusetts. The owners, Wayne A. Coolidge and Wendy A. Wentworth Coolidge have been partners for over 30 years. We specialize in high quality residential and commercial building, renovations, and restorations.
The Coolidge Company is about flexibility, innovation, and results. Our company will focus on your precise wishes in order to deliver cost-effective solutions to any project. We strive to offer superior quality by using and overseeing the best and reliable subcontractors and suppliers in the area. We believe that every project that we undertake will be completed within a timely fashion as if it was our personal home. We offer first class craftsmanship and attention to detail from start to finish. We want to make your dream project a reality along with providing a fun and memorable experience.
Happy holidays from our family to yours!
Feature Photo
Home Sweet Home for the Holidays! Everyone at the Coolidge Company wishes all "Happy Holidays and Happy New Year"! (Dover, NH)
Christmas Kitty
By: Wayne Coolidge
It was 1989 and the day before Christmas. Rebecca was 5 years old and Melissa was 1 1/2 years old and walking and talking. Our discussion that morning was what should we get Mom for a present? Rebecca says, “I know, how about a cat?” Melissa, even with her limited vocabulary, was quick to agree. We had lost our previous cat about a year earlier, so I figured maybe it was time. Any doubt was washed away as I looked into the pleading eyes of the two girls. I figured Wendy would probably be excited too, so I said, “Okay.” The excitement and anticipation on the ride to the Dover SPCA was overwhelming. As soon as we got inside and saw all the dogs and cats - our hearts melted! What really caught the girls’ eyes was a litter of kittens that was just eight weeks old. After playing with the kittens for about 10 minutes, they both decided on the same one. “Done,” I said to the woman who let us play with the kittens, “we’ll take this one.” “That is wonderful,” she said. “Give me your information and you can come pick her up next week.” “Excuse me,” I said perplexed, “We want to bring her home today.” “Oh no,” she explained, “Our policy is that everyone must wait a week before picking up the animal. We need to make sure that the adoption isn’t an impulse decision.” I assured her that it wasn’t, but she insisted that ‘policy is policy’. The three of us sat there totally dejected. I don’t know if it was the Christmas spirit, or the woman didn’t want to have three people crying before her, but she said, “Wait here.” A few minutes later, her supervisor came out and asked us to follow her into a side room. Privately, she repeated the policy and I told her we understood – but I pleaded one more time and said that we would make a loving home for the kitten. She looked at us and said, “I believe you will, that is why I am breaking the rules and allowing you to take this tabby cat home with you.” I was astounded. The girls jumped for joy and hugged the supervisor. Soon after, we were driving home with our new kitten, which the girls fittingly named Tabby. As I put the car in gear, I realized that I hadn’t figured out this part of the plan. Where can you hide a kitten for a day? The answer seemed so clear– so I headed to my brother’s house a few miles down the road. Bryan and his fiancée, Denise, were home and as giddy with the kitten as the rest of us. I explained how we wanted to surprise Wendy on Christmas morning and if they didn’t mind cat sitting until then, it would be most appreciated. With all that kitty cuteness and energy how could they say no? Christmas morning was as wonderful as anticipated with the girls opening their presents with a special twinkle in their eye. As we finished, I declared that there was one more present and I would be back in about 15 minutes with it. Wendy was confused but said she would start breakfast while I was gone. I quickly drove to my brother’s house, ran up the walkway, and rang the doorbell with anticipation– everything was going exactly as planned. The door slowly opened, I smiled as I saw a playful kitten running in and out of Bryan’s legs. But fear and dread overcame me as I then looked up into my brother’s face. It instantly reminded me of the movie, RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES. His skin was ashen, his face had no expression, and the look in his eye was one that I had only seen once before in my life when we were having a playful slap fight and I caught him with an accidental right hook… I slowly backed away. “Oh no you don’t,” he said, “you’re not leaving without this cat!” Guess what 8-week-old kittens do the first night they are away from their mother and siblings? They howl. A screeching, can’t be comforted, howl. Denise said they hadn’t got a minute of sleep all night. I quickly scooped up the kitten, wished them a Merry Christmas, and hightailed it out of there before they wanted to eat my brains. The moment I pulled into our driveway and put the car in park, the girls were outside with Wendy jumping up and down. I opened the door and handed Tabby to Wendy and said, “Merry Christmas from all of us!” She gave me the ‘what have you done’ look but that was quickly replaced with a huge smile. Tabby went on to live for 17 years and brought us countless hours of love and enjoyment. She was the only cat we had that would actually jump up and give you a hug when you got home. Her last year, she helped raise our schnoodle puppy, Ella. We still think of her fondly as we watch Ella groom herself like a cat. Too funny! A special shout out to all the SPCA's who have enhanced so many lives - thank you and Merry Christmas! See our entire winter newsletter here Recent Job: Renovation ProjectYou never know what you will discover hidden under a ceiling, floor, or in a wall during construction. Like this home, imagine how delighted the owners were to find beautiful beams hidden in the ceiling, which we incorporated into the new ceiling!
Tip of the Month: December
Create a strap winder. Do you have a pile of messy straps or wish you had an easier method to keep them rolled up neatly? Try making your own strap winder for your drill- an easy and cheap solution. Use a 3/8” dowel and cut a slot at the end. Insert the dowel into the drill and slip the end of the strap into the cut slot. Hold the strap end of the dowel against another surface and pull the trigger.
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