Fritz Wetherbee

Fred "Fritz" Minot Wetherbee II (born July 3, 1936) is an American journalist, television host, writer, filmmaker, and author. Referred to as "The Voice of New Hampshire", while his parents lived at 19 Union Street in Milford, New Hampshire. Wetherbee is the oldest of five children and claims to be "a 12th generation Yankee", with a 2008 genealogy study on Wetherbee confirming his ancestors immigrated to the United States from England in the 1670s. Wetherbee grew up in Milford and, after graduating high school, enlisted in the United States Army, becoming a scout in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Meade. During this time, Wetherbee recited poetry for an Army talent show, securing him a spot in the Second Army Show Mobile, which led to him being featured on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1959 as part of Sullivan's yearly salutes to soldiers.

In the early 1960s, Wetherbee moved to New York City, later stating that he became "a self-professed beatnik...I played the coffee houses in New York, wrote all this poetry. It was a kind of slam poetry that I wrote."

Career Early journalism In 1962, Wetherbee moved from New York City to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, where he began working for The Monadnock Ledger. Originally, Wetherbee was hired to sell advertisements,

The positive reaction to the story earned Wetherbee a job at the paper, where he worked for nearly seven years. During this time, Wetherbee also attended Keene State College, taking classes in journalism and English before graduating in 1963. While in college, Wetherbee also wrote for The Keene Sentinel.

Television career In 1985, Wetherbee became the host of New Hampshire Crossroads, Between 2001 and 2025, Wetherbee reportedly recorded 5,000 segments for the program. Wetherbee stated "I'm an old guy. Yeah, I'm sad." In the announcement, WMUR and Wetherbee announced that every one of Wetherbee's stories would be uploaded to WMUR's website for archival and entertainment purposes, a process that began later in 2025. WMUR aired a tribute to Wetherbee on February 24, 2025, the last episode featuring a new segment by Wetherbee. The tribute included video messages thanking Wetherbee from people such as Tom Bergeron, Maggie Hassan, and John Lynch. teasing an upcoming memoir.

Voice work Noted for his distinctive Yankee accent, Wetherbee has provided voice work for various media projects. Most notably, he provided narration for the first episode of Ken Burns' documentary Baseball (1994). Wetherbee has also acted in several short films, including The Norman Rockwell Code (2006), Bighorn (2010), and the animated film The Ten Commandments of Banquet Serving (2023).

Writing Wetherbee has published several books compiling his stories from "Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire". Milestone (2012) marked 1,000 published stories of New Hampshire history by Wetherbee, Wetherbee currently lives in Acworth, New Hampshire, with his wife, Laura. for towns in New Hampshire, many of which he references for his segments. He also owns 175 bow ties.

Awards and legacy Wetherbee is often lauded as a highly-respected figure in New Hampshire television, being called "The Voice of New Hampshire" by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. In 2011, he was awarded the Council's "Voice of New Hampshire" citation at the Governor's Arts Awards. In 2013, Wetherbee was awarded the Broadcaster of the Year Award from The New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters and a Silver Circle Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Boston/New England Chapter. Rivier University and New England College have both conferred Wetherbee honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees, in 2009 comparing him to the Old Man of the Mountain and Mount Washington. Senator Maggie Hassan called Wetherbee "the trusted voice and friendly face of New Hampshire history for generations now of Granite Staters."

Published works Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2005), I'll Tell You the Story: More of Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2006), Fritz: More Stories From New Hampshire Chronicle (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2007), Taken for Granite: Even More Stories From New Hampshire Chronicle (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2008), In Good Company (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2009), As Seen On TV - More Stories From New Hampshire Chronicle (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2010), Fritz Wetherbee's New Hampshire Rocks - As Seen on WMUR's New Hampshire Chronicle (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2011), Milestone (Plaidswede Publishing; January 1, 2012),

Filmography

Film

Television