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2010-10-21 16:20:09.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist

After working at the Observatory, a place steeped in history, for more than three years, you hear a lot of stories. From the inception of the organization to the silly stories of napping during the night shift to the valiant stories of rescues and amazing weather, each story is unique and it adds to the many layers of the Mount Washington Observatory. One of the most prominent layers in the strata of the organization is Marty Engstrom, also known as Marty of the Mountain.

Yesterday afternoon during shift change, Brian gathered everyone around the computer. He had been digitizing some old VHS (they still exist!) footage and came across Mt. Washington: The Second Greatest Show on Earth! (the first greatest show is The Ringling Bros. Circus). Marty Engstrom tells the Story of the Moose. Having only seen one or two of his transmissions, it was a hilarious treat to hear about the moose through a heavily Maine-accented voice. For those of you who don’t know about the moose, a long while back a confused moose climbed to the summit on Thanksgiving day. One of the observers went to fetch a camera, and on his way back outside, he met the moose. The moose, frightened and probably suffering from hunger and slight altitude sickness, turned around and ran – right off the deck and sadly to her death. In the Second Greatest Show on Earth, Marty Engstrom says, “…apparently a moose on Thanksgiving day does not have the same flight characteristics that a reindeer has on Christmas,”.

Favorite. Story. Ever.

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist