Program

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK – Celebrating 100 Years of the Red Arrow, America’s Most Beloved Diner by Mike Morin (2022, Hobblebush Books), shares remarkably surprising stories of the diner’s founder, owners, employees, patrons and unlikely celebrities that form a mosaic of this community’s heartbeat. The founder, David Lamontagne, immigrated as a child to New Hampshire in the early 1900s due to an unfortunate encounter with a trusted educator. What happened as a result of leaving Canada, truly encapsulates the reality of achieving the American Dream. The people in Lamontagne’s orbit from family members to employees to the esteemed Rockefeller family, former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, actor Paul Newman and others, bring the Red Arrow’s cast of customers and fans to Morin’s readers. Mike Morin has compiled the results of their lives in his book about the diner. To tell the story, Morin has created a slide show with photos, sound bites and lively in-person narration to share vivid details in a one-hour program that has become popular with libraries and social organizations.