Jen Palmatier Interview

Jen Palmatier

By Emma Baker 

Jen Palmatier moved to Milton Mills, NH in January of ’95. Jen, her husband and their three children moved to Milton Mills because it was inexpensive and not like other model “boxes” that people tried to sell off as homes. They loved the feel of the town. They said it felt a lot like Mayberry, and how it seemed like a great place to raise kids. Over the years, Milton Mills has changed and evolved but its still a decade behind the rest of the world. It is such a small town that you cannot find on accident and you have to want to be there.


Jen works at the Milton Free Public Library and she started to work for the library 9 years ago when a large problem arose. A patron with the library was supposedly censoring a book, but she just wanted to go to a librarian trustees’ meeting and talk about why it was bad. Then someone spoke against her and it had a snowball effect. Jen went to the meeting and realized that everything that was going on was ridiculous so she became a board member so she could do her part to help the town.


The towns of Milton and Milton Mills were conservative republic towns at first but they are slowly changing. Most of the community were people that have been in Milton Mills for a long time and not very welcome to newcomers. They were not very welcome to Jen and her family when they arrived. The town of Milton Mills is very old fashion and they have a lot of community spirit.


The New Hampshire Farm Museum was founded in the early 1900s to help support the community. It was an inexpensive and safe place for people of all ages and way to pass along history. Jen volunteers with the New Hampshire Farm Museum and does a lot of work in the gardens but she is slowly burning out with it. She also helps with a children’s day camp. It’s a junior’s volunteer camp, to be exact. They sell locally grown food, but in a place where they don’t have to compete with other farmers.


But the New Hampshire Farm Museum isn’t the only safe, local place for the residents of Milton and Milton Mills. The Milton Town Beach or Milton Three Ponds has always been a very special place for Milton. It is an inexpensive and safe place for kids. Awhile back, they offered free swimming lessons. After each year of swimming lessons completed there was a big party with prizes for the kids. Unfortunately, they had to shut down the swimming lessons because they couldn’t get a Red Cross certified volunteer teacher. One of the yearly things that takes place at the beach is the Beach Day, which is when the students from Nute high school spend a day at the beach.


Nute high school in Milton used to be a private but in the ‘50s it became a public school. The graduating class size is slowly lowering but rumored to be on the rise starting with next year’s class. Unlike many other schools they still honor the old fashion holidays like Veteran’s day by having the Veterans of Milton come in and talk to the kids.