Gale Thomson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gale Thomson
First Lady of New Hampshire
In role
January 4, 1973 – January 4, 1979
GovernorMeldrim Thomson Jr.
Preceded byDorothy Peterson
Succeeded byIrene Gallen
Personal details
Born(1919-05-17)May 17, 1919
Meldrim Thomson, Jr.

Anne Gale Kelly Thomson (17 May 1919 – March 8, 2010)

Meldrim Thomson, Jr.[2]

Early and personal life

Thomson was born Anne Gale Kelly[3] in Brooklyn, New York, in 1919.[2] She was the oldest child of parents William and Anne Kelly.[3] She graduated from high school two years early and took a position with the Edward Thompson Law Book Company, a law publishing company in Brooklyn.[3]

Kelly met her future husband,

Meldrim Thomson, Jr., while she was working as a secretary at the Edward Thompson Law Book Company.[2][3] The couple married in 1938 and had six children during their marriage – Peter, David, Thomas, Marion, Janet, and Robb.[2][3] The family initially resided in Brooklyn and Stony Brook, New York.[3]

In 1954, Thomson and her husband decided not to raise their family in New York City.[2] They moved with their six children to the Mt. Cube Farm, a 19th-century farmhouse in Orford, New Hampshire, in the fall of 1954,[3] where Thomson and her husband lived for the rest of her life.[2][4][5] As Mel Thomson's book editing company, Equity Publishing, grew, Gale Thomson largely ran the day-to-day operations of the farm and family.[6]

Political and business career

Thomson became the

pancakes served with maple syrup collected at her Mt. Cube Farm in Orford.[2][3] Gale Thomson (and her husband) used the breakfasts as a way to network and lobby legislators and businesspeople on behalf of her husband's political goals.[6] She notably lobbied Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis, who had announced plans to construct an oil refinery in New Hampshire, reportedly winning him over with a bottle of Blue Nun, an inexpensive wine.[6]

Thomson remained First Lady until they moved out of

Bridges House at the end of his tenure in 1979 after three consecutive terms.[2]

Gale Thomson remained a vocal supporter of Mel Thomson's policies, especially after his death in 2001.[6] She was strong proponent of the former governor's tax policies, including "The Pledge," in which he had promised to veto any state income tax or sales tax.[6] Thomson also defended her late husband against charges of racism, including in a 2001 profile published in The "New Hampshire Century: "Concord Monitor" Profiles of One Hundred People Who Shaped It."[7] The former Governor had visited South Africa under apartheid rule, after leaving office and had come under fire for referring to the late Martin Luther King Jr. as a person "of immoral character" and a "leading agent of Communism."[7] Gale Thomson dismissed the accusations of racism against her husband, noting that he had appointed Ivorey Cobb, the first African American judge in New Hampshire state history.[7]

The former First Lady published op-eds and other opinion pieces in the New Hampshire Union Leader.[6]

In 2000, Thomson, a prominent state political figure and activist, expressed concern that New Hampshire residents were beginning to ignore their responsibilities as the

first state to hold a presidential primary.[8] She told the Hartford Courant, "People are apathetic.... The working people here, for the most part, don't get too involved in the primary – they're a little bored with it.... I was born the year that women were first given the chance to vote. It's not to be squandered."[8]

In 2005, Gale Thomson, her son, Tom Thomson, and other homeowners drew international attention when their homes were levied with a so-called local "view tax" in

panoramic view from the house.[9] Gale Thomson joined with other property owners, including David Bischoff, to form the "Axe the View Tax" campaign to challenge the proposed "view factor" tax.[9] Thomson told a British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, "My husband would have been furious. He'd have supported these boys all the way."[9]

Thomson ran a maple syrup business based out of her Mt. Cube Farm in Orford.[5]

Public and private sector philanthropy

She served as a trustee of the Youth Development Center, the Robert Frost Farm in Derry, and the Vermont-New Hampshire Visiting Nurse Alliance.[3][6] She was also an appointed member of the Governor's Lilac and Wildflower Commission, which was established by Governor John H. Sununu in 1984.[3][5]

2008 presidential campaign

In December 2007, Thomson endorsed former

Washington."[10] Romney had previously traveled to Thomson's home to meet with her on February 1, 2007, to seek her endorsement.[12][13]

Death and honors

Gale Thomson died of

half-staff in her honor.[14] Her funeral was held at the Baker River Bible Church in Wentworth, New Hampshire, on March 13, 2010.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Obituary for Anne Gale Kelly Thomson at Ricker Funeral Home".
  2. ^
    Boston Globe. Associated Press
    . Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  3. ^
    Nashua Telegraph
    . 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  4. ^ a b c Distaso, John (2010-03-09). "Gale Thomson's sons, state officials pay tribute to her grace and service". New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  5. ^
    Boston Globe
    . Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Looking back at Gale Thomson". Journal Opinion (STPNS). 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  7. ^
    OCLC 45420198.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  8. ^ a b Halloran, Liz (2000-01-31). "In Villages, Vote Doesn't Hit Home". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  9. ^ a b c d Sherwell, Philip (2005-11-13). "Veteran anti-tax campaigners rally to fight the 'view levy' in New Hampshire". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  10. ^
    Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008 (University of California, Santa Barbara
    ). 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  11. ^ Thomson, Gale (2010-03-21). "Gale Thomson: On taxes, Mitt Romney really gets it". New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  12. ^ "Former Gov. Mitt Romney: New Hampshire Visits through January 8, 2008". George Washington University. 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  13. ^ DiStaso, John (2015-01-31). "Granite Reports: As frontrunner, Romney would have been daily target of GOP competitors". NH Journal. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  14. Boston Globe. Associated Press
    . 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-03-21.

External links

Honorary titles
Preceded by
Dorothy Peterson
First Lady of New Hampshire
1973–1979
Succeeded by
Irene Gallen