A Short History of Pinkham Real Estate
A SHORT HISTORY OF PINKHAM REAL ESTATE
Pinkham Real Estate first opened its doors in 1963. The name at that time was Pinkham Associates and was founded by Charlie and Gertrude Pinkham. Gertrude had sold real estate as a hobby in Topsfield, Mass., but Charlie had been in advertising as Marketing Director for the family business – Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co. in Lynn, Mass. before moving to New York as Chairman of the Plans Board of Erwin, Wasey Advertising Agency. So both needed to learn the operation of a real estate business in North Conway from the ground up. Their first need was to find an office.
They had “retired” to Intervale, where Gertrude’s father, P. J. Harney, had built a home (now Riverside Inn) in the early 1900s. As it happened, the Pinkhams’ son Peter at that time was owner/operator of Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway, and housed his front office personnel in a building a few blocks down Main Street, named Birchmont Villa. It was a former guesthouse, which Peter leased from Mrs. Gibson, Harvey Gibson’s widow. He rented the Villa’s former dining room and kitchen to his parents, which they remodeled for their new venture.
Real Estate business at that time was in a rudimentary stage. There were few real estate agents, and Charlie realized how difficult it was to get them working together to market properties. Thus, through his efforts, the White Mountain Board of Realtors was born. Today information on properties in what is now called Mt. Washington Valley, is distributed to real estate agents through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service.
Charlie was a strong environmentalist, who recognized the land needed to be protected from unwise uses. He fought many battles in this cause, the most famous probably with the Power Company when it decided to string electric lines along Route 16. Charlie observed they would pass right across the middle of the panoramic view from Intervale Scenic Vista, and waged a fierce and finally successful campaign to stop them.
Pinkham Associates’ first agent was a young man named Dick Badger, who had been publishing an area humor newspaper. The second was the Pinkhams’ son-in-law John Wyatt. When the elder Pinkhams decided to sell the business it was purchased by Wyatt, and Badger founded his own agency, Badger Realty.
A few years later Wyatt was killed in the crash of his airplane. By that time Charlie had also died, and Peter Pinkham was Wyatt’s executor. In the process of settling the estate, and having sold Eastern Slope Inn, Peter got interested in real estate business and decided to carry on the Pinkham name in the same location at the Villa. He first changed the business name to Pinkham Mountain Properties, but after a number of complaints from customers who couldn’t find “Pinkham Mountain”, it was renamed Pinkham Real Estate, which it remains today.
One day in 2004 a young man stopped at the Pinkham Real Estate office to see if there was an opening for a salesman. He talked a while with Peter Pinkham, the owner, who told him no one was being put on at that time
A week later the applicant was back saying he’d surveyed the other real estate offices in the area and Pinkham was where he wanted to work. Peter repeated that the agency wasn’t adding to its staff.
Apparently not taking notice of anything Peter said, the would-be agent was back again a few days later saying he’d be a great salesman. Peter said he was sure of that but was still not ready for anyone new. When the performance was repeated the fourth time, Peter said to himself anyone with that persistence will be gangbusters in real estate.
46 years of real estate experience have given the firm the respected ability to satisfy the needs and improve the living of buyers, sellers and the community of North Conway and Mt. Washington Valley.