EXETER - Douglas and Stella Scamman gave the party of their lives Aug. 5, 2004, at their Bittersweet Farm in Stratham. They hosted President George W. Bush and 5,000 of the party faithful at an old-fashioned picnic.

The Scammans had been active supporters of Bush in his 2000 bid for the presidency. The idea for the picnic came from son Bruce’s wife Allison, who told her husband, "We gotta get him up here," according to Bruce.

"Getting him up here" involved an army of Republican volunteers from around the Seacoast, the Secret Service and the Stratham Police and Fire departments. By 10 a.m. on Aug. 5, 1,000 people were already on the property on Route 33. Another 4,000 arrived in time for Bush’s 12:40 p.m. appearance.

"There is no better way to spend a Friday afternoon than at a picnic in New Hampshire," Bush told a cheering crowd when he took the microphone in Scamman’s freshly-shorn hay field. "I’m back in your important state one more time to ask for your vote."

Bush talked about his accomplishments, including No Child Left Behind, his education plan; lowering the unemployment rate; and the war on terrorism. His refrain for most of his points was, "We got the job done."

Bush shared his vision for America, which he described as an "ownership society." He shared a vision for owning and managing retirement accounts, owning and managing health care, and more home ownership in America.

The president spent a half hour moving through the crowd, autographing campaign signs and shaking hands before he went on to a nephew’s wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine.

It was a good move, Bruce Scamman said later. "Every hand he shakes is worth 10 votes."