Manchester Historical Society
All welcome to a special online event.
Black History in Connecticut: Artifacts from the CT Historical Society
We are sponsoring a special Black History Month event on Sunday, February 28 at 3:00 p.m. -- a virtual tour of items from Connecticut Historical Society's collection representing a spectrum of the Black experience in Connecticut. The event is free. Registration required: to register click https://www.eventbrite.com/e/140920299409. When you've registered, you'll receive an email with information on how to attend the online event.
Manchester quiz. Can you answer these questions?
Where is this field-stone house located? For whom was it built? Extra credit: Who was the builder, and what is particularly significant about that this month?
Photo by Christopher Wigren, CT Trust for Historic Preservation.
90-year-old puzzle
Another quirky puzzle from a 1931 Manchester Herald.

Notice that the puzzle's title is Stickers, but, when you scroll down to see the answer, the title above is Stickler Solution. Is it a Sticker or a Stickler? Part of the fun!


Scroll down to see the answer to the puzzle.
To browse all the years (that we have) of The Herald, see the news calendar.
Lincoln's birthday 75 years ago
This cartoon ran on The Herald's editorial page on February 12, 1946. Also reported in that edition: strikes, shortages, inflation, taxes. Madison Square Garden closed because there was not enough fuel to heat the building. See the edition here.

JIGSAW PUZZLE

Click the image on the left to try the puzzle.

Case water-bottling plant.

See a portfolio of John Knoll photos in the Case Mountain area.
Find us on Facebook!
For frequent photos and tidbits, check out our Facebook page.
Art classes for you or for a gift
Ongoing and new offerings -- Info: art classes at the History Center. Questions may be directed to Trudy Mitchell.
NEW: Long-stitch bookbinding workshop on Saturday, February 6 -- three spaces left. Students will gain experience in printmaking and embossing in addition to learning book-binding skills. Wouldn't this make a fun gift for Valentine’s Day for someone special?
ONGOING: Classical Drawing begins again on January 30. "Learn the art and science of accurate drawing based on traditional 19th-century methods." Six-week sessions on Saturdays from 9:30-12:30.
Pictured above right, art studio, 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. The Center was built beginning in 1895, although this part of the building dates to the early 20th century.
Counting down to Manchester's 200th anniversary year, which begins January 1, 2023: 688 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.
Follow up on last week's Royal Ice Cream topic
From subscriber David Ware: "I enjoyed reading about Royal Ice Cream, and it reminded me when I worked for L.T. Wood Co., the ice and oil business on Bissell Street. I worked there the summers of 1969 through 1973 – earning money to help with my college tuition and expenses. I remember that, from time to time, I would make deliveries of ice to Royal Ice Cream. I think those deliveries were at times when the summer heat was such that the refrigeration systems at Royal needed a little help keeping things cold. During those summers, I also made deliveries to one of the Cheney mansions, where an elderly Cheney family member was still living. Mr. Wood, who was also rather elderly at the time, had been good friends for many decades with the “Mrs. Cheney” in this mansion. Mrs. Cheney still had an old-fashioned ice box on her back porch, where she kept her beverages and fruits cool during the summers. Mr. Wood instructed me to keep an eye on the temperature outside throughout the summer, and to make sure that I brought a 25- or 50-pound block of ice for Mrs. Cheney whenever needed. Mrs. Cheney was the only remaining residential ice customer of Mr. Wood’s at that time -- the old days of the ice man coming to people’s homes had long since ended... I had the distinct impression that Mr. Wood wanted to provide ice to Mrs. Cheney as a favor to an old friend, but that Mrs. Cheney insisted on paying for her ice. When I made my delivery to Mrs. Cheney, I would grab the block of ice off the truck with my ice tongs, ring the service bell at the back porch door, shout out “Ice Man!” and enter the porch. I put the ice in the ice box, and left the yellow receipt stuck on a nail on the wall. I have often wondered whether, as a result of the special friendship between Mr. Wood and Mrs. Cheney, I might have been the last bona fide “ice man!” ...I have very fond memories of working for Mr. Wood. It was a great job, and he was an interesting person." Thanks, Dave! Maybe you'll inspire a reminiscence from others on local history topics!
February TV show airs at noon and 8:00 p.m. Saturdays throughout this month --"Parachutist Adeline Gray and her Jump into Fame,” a 46-minute television show about Adeline Gray (1917-1975) presented by Historical Society member Jim Reuter, an engineer who retired from Pioneer Parachute after 52 years. He describes Adeline's life and times as well as parachute history. Adeline began parachute jumping in 1935, was Connecticut's first true skydiver, jumping from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, free-falling to 1500 feet before opening her parachute. Adeline was nationally famous for being the first person to test-jump a parachute made from nylon rather than silk, which she did in June, 1942. Pioneer Parachute began in the Cheney mills in the 1930s when parachutes were made from silk. The show airs 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. You can watch this month's show right on your computer, right now, via the Public Access website "Parachutist Adeline Gray" show.
Unfortunately, during the pandemic, the cable TV studio and equipment are unavailable, so we will not be able to make new TV shows for a while.
Answer to
Herald puzzle

Here's the answer to that 1/12/1931 puzzle. →

When you browse the 90-year-old Heralds, you'll find more puzzles -- some quite creative! Sometimes the answer is in the same edition and sometimes it's in the next day's edition.

Answers to the questions at the top of this e-newsletter
The Walter Bunce house, 34 Bidwell Street, was constructed by Alpheus Quicy, who was Black (February is Black history month). Quicy also built dams in Manchester. The Walter Bunce House is privately owned and not open to the public. The Bunce house is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, more info here, and is also featured in Christopher Wigren’s book, Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places (Garnet Books) published 2018, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Mr. Wigren spoke about the book and about this house and the Hart Porter house at the Manchester Historical Society a book talk at the History Center on April 7, 2019. Mr. Wigren’s book is available for sale online.
High school yearbooks
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.
Pandemic writers wanted!
Please jot down your thoughts about
-- and experiences during -- the pandemic!
Please share your Manchester COVID reflection! Details about contributing... Think about how life has changed, how we've been negatively affected, what benefits we've noticed. School e-newsletter editor, Jim Farrell, is calling upon us to write a 200-800 word essay, and if it's published in the newsletter, it will also be printed in a hard-bound book to be donated to the Manchester Historical Society and displayed at our museum. More info: Manchester essays wanted. Send contributions to Jim Farrell, communications director of the school district at [email protected]."
Membership for yourself or --
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. .