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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.
Feature Photo
The peninsula adds space for informal seating but also opens it up to the dining room for larger gatherings. (Dover, NH)
Fall Fairs
By: Wayne Coolidge
When I think of fall, I think of fairs. From the small weekend local fairs to the larger county fairs – I have so many vivid memories (some good, some bad). Like the time Wendy and I attended the Stratham fair back in 1984 when she was 9 months pregnant. We were walking through the mid-way and surrounded with food concessions on both sides… did I mention how I love fair food? Not the quality, but the diversity and quantity. Hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries, pizza, italian subs, steak bombs, cotton candy, candy apples, fried dough, and my favorite: apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. (But I digress- and just got hungry). So there we were, walking through all the mobile food booths of delectable goodies when all of a sudden we heard screaming. As I looked up, the crowd before us parted and then, I saw it. Only 20 feet away and charging fast, was an enormous draft horse that had got loose. I instinctively grabbed Wendy, pushed her into the front of a food cart, and covered her body with mine. The horse brushed past me and continued on its way. We didn’t get hurt and my hero status was elevated. As my heart rate slowly returned to normal, I noticed where we were standing. “Hey,” I said, “how about some fried dough?” As the years progressed and we had children, we kept the tradition alive by attending at least one fair every fall. Now I know that if you’ve seen one goat, you’ve seen them all. The same can be said for chickens, pigs, sheep, etc.– but the cow barns were always an adventure and posed the biggest challenge. The cows are all tied up with their heads facing the wall and their rear ends on the edge of the pedestrian walkway. We quickly learned that when you see one of the tails go up in the air- get out of the way because they are about to poop. So as you enter the cow barn it is advisable to scope out the length of the long walkway, calculate the congestion of other on goers, and proceed with caution. You know the game “Frogger” when you have to jump safely from one log to the next? I call this came “Pooper”. Get it… jump safely from one log to the next? (I crack me up!) Wendy really enjoys the arts and crafts barns. She could spend all day walking through those exhibits. Me? Not so much. She stops to look at every dried flower display, 4-H presentation, fruit arrangement, and quilting. Wendy: “Oh my gosh, look at that stitch that was used!” Me: “Oh yeah, that’s awesome. Did you see the sausage stand next to the exit door?” My all time favorite thing to do, which is a feature at the Fryeburg fair, is to bet on the horse racing. When the girls were younger, it was hard to keep their attention on this, so I never really got a chance to do it. But as they got older and I explained how they could win money, they became attentive. Wendy thought there were better ways to spend her time and she would go off exploring. So there I am with my two girls sitting in the stands, each of us with our race betting books, selecting our horses between events. They learned how to select ‘win, place, show, trifecta, and parlay’ betting. Oh yeah, I was working towards my father of the year award. More importantly though, we were all having fun and bonding watching the exciting race finishes. As the races concluded, Rebecca added up all our winnings and declared, “We won $100 today. This is awesome, wait until I tell Mom.” Me: (teaching lesson) “Yes, but we spent $200 dollars. So how much did we really win?” Rebecca: (jumping up and down) “We won $100 today!” Me: (laughing) “okay, let’s go get some apple crisp with our winnings” Many years have passed since that day and now I have four grandchildren. Hopefully one day I will be able to bring them to the fair to enjoy the festivities and maybe some horse racing. I can picture them now, sitting in the stands with me while we share a dog bowl of french fries… right next to their moms jumping up and down. View our entire fall 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: SeptemberTangle-free fishing rods. Ever throw a few fishing rods in the back of your vehicle to end up with them tangled or broken at your destination? It’s worth spending an extra buck or two to purchase a pool noodle to help. Simply cut down the length of the noodle and slip it right over your fishing rod. Protected and easy to pile into the vehicle without worry!
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