From textiles to aircraft parts manufacture to the production of pipe supports, goods from the historic Anchor-Darling Building in Lakeport were exported across the region, the nation and the world.

It was in 1846 that the Winnipesaukee Lake Cotton and Woollen Manufacturing Company erected the first industrial building on the site.

Activities continued to be centered around textiles until 1942, when the complex was called upon to aid the war effort and was devoted to the manufacture of aircraft parts.

By 1980, the site was producing pipe supports for the power industry. And so the complex continued, declining incrementally through the mid-90's due to shifts in the region's industrial base.

In 1995, the site - by now virtually vacant and a shadow of its former self - was rezoned by Laconia Planning Department to allow mixed business and commercial use.

A preliminary feasibilty study on using the building as a convention center concluded that this use was not economically feasible.

But two years later, in 1997, a man with the ambition, drive and, most importantly, the vision, stepped up to the plate to engineer the return of the complex to its former glory.

Ray Boissoneau was born and brought up in Laconia. The 1957 Laconia High School graduate spent some of his early working life working as a stocking turner and knitter at Pitman Hosiery in Laconia, within sight of the very building he now owns.

He founded Electropac Co., Inc., a Manchester-based printed circuit board manufacturer. Electropac is now a $40 million-a-year enterprise, employing over 350 people in Manchester, Londonderry, Montreal, St Catherines (Canada) and, through an affiliate, Skelmersdale in the United Kingdom.

Boissoneau's plans for the complex are nothing if not ambitious - an ambition shared by state and county officials and residents alike.

The project has the wholehearted backing of Belknap County Economic Development Council, the Laconia/Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Lakeport Community Association. It has received the Laconia Planning Board's approval in principle.

Over the next few years, over $1 million will be spent to create the Lakes Region's state-of-the-art exhibition and function center - the Winnipesaukee Exposition Center.

Architects Alan Yeaton PA of Manchester have been retained to draw up a master plan for the 12.5-acre site.

When complete, the complex will feature:

• Over 87,000 square feet of prime conference and exhibition space, suitable for a variety of purposes, including recreational and regional trade shows and conferences;

• The Opechee Room, whose innovative, flexible floor-plan allows it to accommodate functions for between 10 and 500 people.

  The room has already hosted a number of events - including the 1998 Laconia/Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce Auction - and many more are scheduled through the end of the year.

• The Museum of Yesteryear, a fascinating collection of items and objets d'art - from automobiles and children's toys to the artifacts of everyday life - of times gone by.

The Museum of Yesteryear will be designed by BaileyDonovan LLC, also of Manchester, whose previous work includes Boots to Boards for Electropac Co.,Inc. This educational exhibit was recipient of the Manchester Historic Association Preservation Award in 1996.

Progress towards the project's fruition has so far has been the result of a shared expression of will and vision at family, community, city and state levels.