Tourism has been an area of focus this year for the Meredith Historical Society, and the next program in the society’s speaker series will focus on a key venue of that industry. Dean Dexter of Concord, whose family has a many-generations-long association with Lake Wicwas, will be the featured speaker at the October 1 program titled “The Smiths of Wicwas Lodge.”
Dexter grew up in Laconia, spending summers during his childhood at a family cottage on Lake Wicwas “in the shadow of a great summer boarding house,” he said. Set on a hill overlooking the lake, Wicwas Lodge was also a working farm operated by his grandparents on land owned by the Smith family since the 1800s. It replaced the Wicwas Lake House, which was destroyed by fire in 1935. A large four-story edifice, the Lake House was where his grandfather Joseph Smith Jr. and siblings grew up. The Smiths went on to become successful in business, education, veterinary medicine, and politics.
Dean Dexter has had a long career in journalism and public service. He is a past president of the Lake Wicwas Association and a current board member. He is a former editor and reporter for two former Lakes Region newspapers, The Laconia News and Laconia Evening Citizen. He also served a stint as editorial writer for the Manchester Union Leader; for several years was contributing editor of New Hampshire Magazine; and conducted a public issues interview program for a Manchester cable company for a decade. Active in politics himself, he has served on the Laconia School Board, as Belknap County Commissioner, and three terms in the New Hampshire House representing Laconia. He was the prime sponsor of legislation in 1983 and 1987 that created Ahern Park on Lake Winnisquam and preserved over two hundred acres of the pristine natural area on part of the former Laconia State School property. He is currently on the staff of the New Hampshire Secretary of State.
On the personal side, he collects vintage typewriters and confesses to occasionally posting “Dean Dexter Blogging at Random…” online. “Wicwas Lodge was one of the more popular tourist destinations in Meredith for many years,” noted John Hopper, president of the Meredith Historical Society. “Dean’s program
