CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Old Man of the Mountain, New Hampshire’s granite profile that tumbled to the ground 10 years ago, is showing up on a limited edition commemorative liquor bottle.
Gov. Maggie Hassan and the New Hampshire Liquor Commission introduced the circular bottle with a picture of the Old Man and the state motto “Live Free or Die” on Wednesday. A bottle costs $29.99 and contains vodka. Proceeds from bottle sales — there are fewer than 9,000 — will go toward the preservation of more than 100 deteriorating military flags that greet visitors when they enter New Hampshire’s Hall of Flags at the State House.
They include flags from the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. Many of the silk and cotton flags, some with gold leaf and lead-based paint, have been displayed in the same large oak cases since 1899 and have slowly degraded. The cases are not air-tight. Officials estimate it will cost more than $1 million to preserve the flags.
“More than 30,000 schoolchildren visit the flags at the State House every year,” said Virginia Drew, director of the State House Visitor Center. “These children look in awe of these flags and a history lesson immediately becomes real for them. These were carried by New Hampshire men, many of whom lost their lives.”
The bottles are available at New Hampshire’s liquor and wine outlets.
The famed rock outcropping that has long served as the state symbol hung 1,200 feet above Profile Lake in Franconia Notch State Park before falling on May 3, 2003. It appears on the state quarter, highway signs and license plates.
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