Historical archivist Rick Dyer poses the question: How many Manchester runners won the Thanksgiving Day road race over the years? He answers that it's complicated.

Read his lively answer here.

Saturday, November 6. Old Manchester Museum -- open the first Saturday of the month, 10:00 to 2:00, hosted by Bob Kanehl and Art Pongratz, who can help you with some research, using our collection of town directories. Located at 126 Cedar Street, the former schoolhouse's exhibits include copies of old maps, examples of Cheney silk, Pitkin glass, Spencer rifles, Case water-bottling works items. Museum open May to December. There is a small museum store with local history items: books, maps, Pitkin jewelry items, etc.

Sunday, November 14, from 1:00 to 4:00 at the Cheney Homestead -- Special program "Timothy Cheney and the Mystery(craft) of Early Clock-making." See examples of brass and wooden gear clocks and the Cheneys' significant role in this important American craft. You will learn about how the clocks were made, the lives of master and apprentice clock-makers, and our current efforts to create a permanent clock workshop exhibit at the Cheney Homestead. Our open house includes a school lesson in the 1751 Keeney Schoolhouse, and tours of the 1785 Homestead, art gallery, and gardens. The Homestead and Keeney Schoolhouse are located at 106 Hartford Road. Peter Millett and committee welcome you! Come for a few minutes or for several hours. Donations welcome.

The History Center welcomes visitors to the CBT exhibit (see info below), and to shop at the museum store or visit our offices. We're open Tuesday through Friday 10:00 to 2:00. The center is located in the former Cheney machine shop, 175 Pine Street.

Now through December 22, at the History Center, 175 Pine St., Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 to 2:00. Former CBT employees especially welcome to come and see the exhibit. At one time, CBT had 8,000 employees. The bank dates back to 1792.

The Highland News was published in the Highland Park section of Manchester. It specialized in the topic of Highland and Tonica Springs bottled water. The image on the right is a letter to the Case Brothers, owners of the water-bottling operation. The letter is from the November 1888 edition, which you can read here.

To read about The Highland News and the Tonica Springs Record, click here.

...for this Saturday's performance of "100 Days in Combat," by local author and Historical Society member Walter Scadden. The drama will be presented at the American Legion, 20 American Legion Drive, Manchester, at 3:30 and 7:00 p.m. You can buy tickets by phoning 959-333-9937. There may be tickets available at the door, but it's best to phone ahead.

The play is about Tim McCann, who was seriously wounded in Vietnam in 1970. His letters home are available on our website.

New for kids during November: “Art of China.” Click the image on the right for more info. Ongoing and new offerings. Info: art classes at the History Center. Questions may be directed to Trudy Mitchell. ONGOING: Classical Drawing -- "Learn the art and science of accurate drawing based on traditional 19th-century methods." Six-week sessions on Saturdays from 9:30-12:30. The art studio is located in the lower level of History Center, a 42,000-square-foot building that used to be the Cheney Machine Shop, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Children look into Birch Mountain Brook as it flows through the Highland Park section of Manchester. Circa 1917 photo by John Knoll. See a larger version here.

Counting down to Manchester's 200th anniversary year, which begins January 1, 2023: 422 days.

The Manchester Historical Society is planning exciting activities for the Town's year-long bicentennial celebration. Check out the activities of the 1923 celebration, documented in this booklet on our website.

Enjoy the large collection of Somanhis (South Manchester High School) yearbooks on our website. In addition to photos of the graduating seniors, these books have ads for local businesses, photos of school activities, and sometimes poetry and prose by the students. Thanking our volunteers, especially Bob Gauthier, Noreen Cullen, Jim Hall, Joshua Pruden, Dick Jenkins, Susan Barlow.

November TV show airs at noon and 8:00 p.m. Saturdays throughout this month --"Joe McCluskey Statue Dedication," a 52-minute television show recorded on November 10, 2019, at the unveiling of the sculpture of Joe McCluskey, Manchester runner and Olympic steeplechase champion, with speeches by the sculptor, Joe's family, Mayor Moran, and members of the Road Race committee. Town Troubadour Bill Ludwig and friends sang an original song about Joe. The show airs at 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m. on Cox cable channel 15 on Saturdays, and runs on all the Saturdays of the month. The show changes each month. This Channel 15 broadcasts in Manchester, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, and Newington. Some previous local-history shows can be borrowed at Mary Cheney Library, or purchased at the Historical Society Museum Store. The television show is produced volunteers of the Manchester Historical Society. You can watch some of our previous television shows online at the Town website Historical shows on demand. You can watch this month's show on the Public Access website "Statue Dedication" TV Show on Public Access TV.You can watch some of our previous shows by selecting "Manchester Program Schedule" (the second tab) on the local Public Access website and on the next screen, type Historical into the search box.

Consider a gift membership for a friend or loved one. Why join a local historical society, even if you don't live in that town? Some reasons: • support education about the history of the town • support preservation of artifacts and vintage photos • join in advocating for preservation of historic buildings and parks that make Manchester charming.

Print this online donation form and mail to 175 Pine Street. Or drop by the History Center, Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 to 2:00. Direct questions to 860-647-9983.

Additional ways to donate: Employer matching gifts! Direct United Way donations to the Society. Sign in to Amazon via Amazon Smile and have a percentage of your purchases go to the Society. .