Fred "Fritz" Wetherbee (born July 3, 1936) is a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

writer and television host. Fritz has been honored with five Emmy Awards. He was born July 3, 1936, and named for his grandfather Fred Minot Wetherbee II. For 10 years (1975–84) he was news director and general manager of radio stations WSCV/WSLE-FM in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. From 1985 to 1995 he was the host of New Hampshire Crossroads on

Public Television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

.WMUR TV Channel Nine in New Hampshire
biography article "Fritz Wetherbee" He currently has his own segment on '' New Hampshire Chronicle''.

Family

He was born on July 3, 1936, Memorial Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire. He was the first child of Frederick Minot and Mary Catherine (née Butler) Wetherbee of Milford, New Hampshire. He was one of five siblings (four boys, one girl). He is a ninth generation Yankee (John Wetherbee arrived in Boston in 1765). He resides in

Acworth, New Hampshire Acworth is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 853. History Originally chartered by colonial governor Benning Wentworth in 1752, it was called "Burnet" after William Bu ...

. He has one son, Caleb Addison, born in 1962. He has two granddaughters, Sophia and Anna, His marital status is in a “committed” relationship with NH Chronicle.

Career

He served in the US Army Special Services from 1958-1960, where he placed third in the All-Army Entertainment Contest 1959-1960 of 44,000 acts and appeared with other soldiers on the

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

from 1959-1960. He worked as a reporter and photographer for the Monadnock Ledger from 1962-1968. He began his media career as the Nathaniel Hawthorne College Theater Production Instructor in 1963, later teaching Media at Keene State College Media Instructor in 1980 and 1984. He worked as a filmmaker/cinematographer at New HampshirePTV from 1969-1975. At WSLE-WSCV radio he was general manager and news director from 1976-1984, also serving as a contributing reporter on ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. He was a reporter on the Ten O'clock News,

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's se ...

, from 1986-1994 and a Chronicle Contributing Talent for WCVB-TV, in 1990. He was the New Hampshire-Crossroads New HampshirePTV Host/producer/writer/editor from 1986-2000 and a storyteller/historian on WMUR TV, 2000–Present. He was Pitteway and Partners Advertising Creative Director from 1984-1986.

Audio

* Speak N'Hampsha Like a Native An comic audio recording. Hundreds of copies sold since 1986

Voice-over (and/or hosting)

* Ken Burns'

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, ''The Making of Baseball'' Episode 1 * The Works of Robert Frost (won New England Emmy in 1995) * Voice of

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

national radio campaign 1984 * White Mountain Enterprises (Region Association) *

Franconia Notch Franconia Notch (elev. ) is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by ...

Visitor’s Center * Mount Washington Observatory Center * Monadnock Region Association * Winnipesaukee Lake Association * New Hampshire Film Board *

Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, al ...

Visitor Center, North Adams, MA
NH Public Works Mutual Aid
information Video

Producer and Writer

* ''Just Up The Road'' Nine specials, New HampshirePTV* * ''New Hampshire Remembered'', parts I, II, III, New HampshirePTV * ''Secrets of the Mt Washington Hotel'' New HampshirePTB * ''Covered Bridges of New England'' PBS (shown nationally) * ''Josie Langmaid, The Murdered Maiden Student'' New HampshirePTV * University of New Hampshire Centennial History New HampshireP * ''A Light on the Mountain'' Funded by Olin Foundation * ''Grace Metalious and Peyton Place'' New HampshirePTV (shown nationally) * ''Styron, Plimpton, Updike'' at MacDowell WGBH * ''Francis Ouimet Story'' WGBH * ''Grover Cleveland'' New HampshirePTV * ''MacDowell, an American Artists' Colony'' New HampshirePTV (shown nationally) * ''Soul of a Woman'', the story of

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning se ...

New HampshirePTV * ''Furniture Makers of New Hampshire'' companion to Currier Art Museum Show * Wrote, produced and edited most of his New HampshirePTV segments and specials

Honors

* New England Emmy Producer, Public Affairs 1995 * New England Emmy Hosting 1996 * New England Emmy On-camera talent 2004 * New England Emmy Producer, Outstanding historical program 2006 * New England Emmy Commentary/editorial 2008 * Nominations Ten New England Emmy nominations * Golden Mike Five awards New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters * Bobble-head Doll “Fritz Wetherbee Day” New Hampshire Fisher Cats Baseball 2006 * Valley Forge Freedom Medal 1970 * National Endowment for the Arts grant 1971 * Citizen of the Year, Monadnock Jaycees 1985 * New Hampshire Historic Preservation Award 1993 * The Museum of Modern Art presented his film* “James B. Conant* New Hampshire, Harvard, and the A-Bomb” 1996. * Media Award, Molly Stark Chapter DAR 2004 * History Recognition Award, Souhegan Valley C of Commerce 2007 * Community Builder Award, Masonic Lodge #7,Milford, New Hampshire 2007 * Granite State Award, Plymouth State University 2009 * Doctor of Humane Letters “honoris causa” Rivier College 2009 * Doctor of Humane Letters “honoris causa” New England College 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetherbee, Fritz American television hosts People from Nashua, New Hampshire Living people 1936 births Writers from New Hampshire People from Milford, New Hampshire