Fine, handcrafted bench at Statehouse dedicated to memoryof Rep. Mike Whalley

CONCORD — Family, friends and colleagues of the late Mike Whalley gathered in Representatives Hall at the Statehouse yesterday to pay tribute to the Republican legislative leader in whose memory a fine, handcrafted bench was placed alongside the well of the House, beneath the portrait of President Franklin Pierce.

Whaley was just 54-years-old at the time of his death in 2008. He was fighting cancer at the time and died of complications from a fall on the ice outside his Alton home.

First elected in 1992, Whalley served eight terms in the House, representing the towns of Bow and Dunbarton for five and the towns of Alton, Barnstead, Belmont and Gilford for three. He served in the leadership terms of four different Speakers, beginning as majority whip, then deputy speaker and finally, in 2006, as the leader House Republicans, who for the first time since 1874 found themselves in the minority.

Soon after graduating from the University of New Hampshire, Whalley, together with his brother Steve, Whalley founded Hooksett Kawasaki , which grew into HK Powersports, a major supplier of recreational vehicles. For Whalley motorsports were a passion as well as a business. He rode motorcycles and raced sports cars, cruised Lake Winnipesaukee in his Chris-Craft runabout, and plied snowmobile trails in the Great North Woods.

Governor John Lynch recalled that he first met Whalley and his wife Purr at UNH and cosidered him "a special friend." He said that Whalley brought "an enormous amount of integrity" to his role as a lawmaker. "He kept his promises and his commitments," the governor remarked, "and always did what he thought was best for New Hampshire."

Whalley's fellow legislators, including the Speaker of the House William O'Brien and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt described him as "a friend and mentor."

In the Legislature, Whalley, tall and well-dressed, cut a commanding, if sometimes stern, figure, who as Bettencourt noted "never raised his voice because he didn't need to." He was best known for delivering votes and building consensus, particularly within a sometimes divided Republican caucus. During his tenure the lounge at the rear of Representatives Hall was known as "Whalley's Woodshed," where he worked his considerable powers of persuasion on wayward colleagues. At the same time, Representative Richard Drisko of Hollis, who served on the Election Law Committee that Whalley chaired, remembered the consensus he conjured from the strife that marred the last round redistricting.

The bench, as stately and elegant as the man it commemorates, was fashioned from walnut from Pennsylvania by Jon Siegal of Wilmot, a founder and past president of the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers and member of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association.

"It is the most challenging piece I've done," said Siegal, a woodworker of 45 years. He explained that the design was inspired by the balusters of the railing before the visitor's gallery overlooking the House floor. By duplicating the balusters into the back of the bench, Siegal created a piece to match the room, just as Whalley's temperament and skills were suited to the challenges of Representatives Hall.