In 1899 the governor of New Hampshire invented an unusual new holiday, one that did not celebrate a hero or a  battle.  The new holiday was an admission of economic failure dressed  in the can-do optimism of a booster.  The holiday, Old Home Day, was a plea to return to a poor state.  Governor Rollins wanted to entice natives to return to their hometowns to see what they were missing.  He hoped they might buy an old farm or other piece of property and return regularly to the Granite State.