Glad to have your help at the Homestead grounds cleanup and work party on Saturday, April 15

Chairperson, Bettylou Sandy, says, "Thanks to all who helped! So much was accomplished. Gardeners are always appreciated for the flowers and herbs throughout the season, too. Call me at 860-268-6270. For last Saturday, THANKS SO MUCH!" The picture shows Linda Findlay and Bev Logan taking a break on some mossy rocks.

Plan to visit the art exhibits, and take the trolley from place to place. The trolley runs from 10:00 to 4:00. There will be free activities in Center Memorial Park -- yoga, music, vintage games. See many more bicentennial events here.

Be sure to visit the art exhibit at the History Center, 175 Pine Street. Original works by local artists, some for sale.

The use of rebuses as puzzles for a fun activity became popular in France during the 16th century before spreading further around Europe.

May 6 and the first Saturday of each month through December, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Open house and socializing at the 1859 former school, located at 126 Cedar Street. There are exhibits, artwork, old maps, and a small museum shop with local-history items for sale. Come for a few minutes, or stay longer. Our hosts may be able to help you with some research -- there is a collection of Town directories at the museum.

Sunday, May 7 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., open house and spring time fun at the Woodbridge Farmstead, 495 East Middle Turnpike. Free, donations welcome. It’s Manchester’s 200th birthday year and Woodbridge Farmstead was there on day one! We're hosting a colossal egg hunt: 200 jellybean-filled plastic eggs will be hidden all over the farmstead. The hunt starts at 12:30 and lasts until the last egg is found. The 1830s-era farmhouse will be open for one guided tour at 1:00 p.m., space is limited. You can also take a self-guided tour through our 18th-century barn and check out the displays inside our Visitor Center Barn showing some of the history of the Manchester Green area. The Farmstead is located at Manchester Green, near the intersection of East Middle Turnpike with Woodbridge Street. Visitors can park at the municipal lot behind the Senior Center, in the lot behind the barns, or along the street between the Senior Center and the farmstead itself. From the street, walk to the backyard using the grass driveway between the house and Woodbridge Pizza. Additional open houses will be held throughout the summer. For a poster with old and new photos, click Woodbridge open house.

Sunday, May 14 from 1:00 to 4:00. Experience Early American lifestyle -- the 1785 homestead with period furnishings as the people experienced life at the time. The house is staged, on the first floor, in 1818. The second floor reflects 1840. A $5 donation is appreciated for upkeep of the 1785 Homestead. The Homestead is located at 106 Hartford Road. Come for 10 minutes or stay for hours. PLEASE NOTE, no open house in April.

Whether you take the trolley (see above) or drive to the History Center, you'll enjoy the original artwork depicting Manchester's past. 175 Pine Street. The art show will have its grand opening on Saturday, May 13, with light refreshments, and will continue to be open during the History Center's regular hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturday 12:00 noon to 4:00.

Open Wednesday through Friday 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturdays 12:00 noon to 4:00. The exhibit tells the story of Manchester's past as it relates to the future. Photos, artifacts, stories! While you're here, peruse other displays, including vintage signs from former businesses in town.

Museum store items: Local-history books, maps, t-shirts, coffee mugs, magnets, Herald cookbooks, note-cards, etc.

←click the image to solve.

Picking potatoes at the Woodbridge farm, about 1900. Read about more Manchester Green.

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Our online booklet: 23 hikes for 2023 lists free history hikes. Printed copies of the booklet are available at the History Center, 175 Pine Street during regular hours, Town Hall customer service, and Town libraries. Upcoming walks of interest to history buffs and area residents -- FREE. These events will be held rain or shine. Details in the booklet, whose link is above.

90 years ago in The Manchester Herald

The Friday, April 21, 1933 Herald contained Depression-related stories -- "relief" (financial help for the needy), national and international news, sports news, photos, obits, and police reports. The first item, top left -- The Herald was seeking information from the bank, saying, Depositors want to know "What had become of their money." See the whole edition: April 21, 1933 Herald, or to peruse all our Heralds, see: Index of Heralds. See a history of The Herald on our website.

Enjoy the large collection of Somanhis (South Manchester High School) and junior high 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.

The answer, in the next day's Herald, was hard to read, so I've transcribed it: "After all, depression is just a pain in the neck that business incurs by looking up too long." Many of the Herald articles in that April 22, 1933 edition evoked the Great Depression -- if readers only knew the number of years that the Depression would continue to drag on....

←click the image to view the booklet.

This booklet was published in 1923, the Town's 100th anniversary of incorporation. Lots of interesting info, photos, and advertisements from 100 years ago.

You can watch this month's show right now by clicking "Living without Electricity" show. If you live in the Manchester area, you can watch it on TV, Saturdays at 12:00 noon and at 8:00 p.m. on Cox cable channel 15 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. "Living without Electricity in 2018 and 1818” is a 67-minute television show featuring gardener and Homestead volunteer Bettylou Sandy, who spoke at the Manchester History Center on February 4, 2018. Bettylou says, "Historically, most people in Manchester have lived a lifetime without electricity. Today the power goes out and we panic. In this talk, demonstrations, and discussion, we will relive 200 years of history to learn to save electricity and live a simpler lifestyle, while saving money!" The TV show is produced by Historical Society volunteers. You can watch this month's show ANY TIME on the Public Access website, by clicking here Current TV Program on Manchester Public Access.

The Homestead at 106 Hartford Road, Manchester, was donated to the Manchester Historical Society by the Cheney family in 1968 for use as a house museum. It's usually open to the public on the second Sunday of the month and for special programs at other times throughout the year. For old photos and history of the Homestead, built in 1785, visit Cheney Homestead history. The replica Keeney Schoolhouse is on the grounds of the Homestead. Originally built in 1751, the schoolhouse had deteriorated so much that new materials had to be incorporated in the 1976 reconstruction.

The History Center at 175 Pine Street, Manchester, was purchased in 1999. Our offices and many collections are in this building, which is the former Cheney Brothers Machine Shop, a 40,000-square-foot building constructed in several phases beginning in 1895. For the current exhibit, it's open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 to 2:00, and Saturday noon to 4:00. Visit: photo tour of lower level of History Center.

The Old Manchester Museum at 126 Cedar Street, Manchester, is owned by the Town of Manchester, and the Society has rented it since the 1980s. We store collections there, and open it to the public on the first Saturday of the month, May through December from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., staffed by hosts Art Pongratz and Bob Kanehl. The building was formerly a school, built in 1859, and moved to this location in 1914. More: Old Manchester Museum.

Woodbridge Farmstead at 495 East Middle Turnpike, at Manchester Green, is a charming combination of vintage buildings and a bucolic landscape. The farmhouse dates from 1830. The Woodbridge Farm and Meadowbrook Dairy once encompassed many acres at Manchester Green. Today, the house and grounds are owned by the Manchester Historical Society – a gift from the late Raymond and Thelma Carr Woodbridge, who gave the property in 1998, reserving a life use. Weather permitting, the farmstead is open for free tours and programs generally on the second and fourth Sundays of the warmer months, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. Closed for the season.

Silk Vault Building at 110 Elm Street, Manchester, was purchased by the Society in 2017. A unique building, constructed in 1920. More: Silk Vault. The vault is rented out, and isn't open to the public.

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. .