Manchester Historical Society
|
|
|
|
Manchester trivia! Can you answer these questions?
Which famous architect designed the expansion of this house? What paper-manufacturing family lived here? When was this picture taken?
|
|
Important COVID-19 notice
The Historical Society's Board of Directors has voted not to open the History Center or any of our other museums during Phase One reopening. Society president, Jack Prior, notes, "We need to get protocol in place and our self-assessment for the State along with possible purchases of PPE and disinfectants. We will continue to assess the situation at our next Board meeting. I will be working with staff members Gerry and Sonya on these items, and assume we will open on or after June 20."
|
|
Memorial Day tea
Your invitation
Monday, May 25 at 3:30 p.m.
“Virtual Tea” with Glastonbury Poet Laureate Dr. Michael Lepore, who will share his poetry and discuss the importance of "Poetry & Remembering.” Dr. Lepore draws on his own service during the Vietnam War, and on the lives and stories from other veterans of combat up to our present time, to reveal stark truths and moral realities in our shared human experience. There will also be a time for participants to ask questions, share and learn about poetry opportunities in our region. New to Zoom? Enter the Zoom Meeting Room at 3:15 p.m. for an intro. Join Zoom Meeting here:
https://zoom.us/j/96361909083 Meeting ID: 963 6190 9083 or phone in using one tap mobile
+13017158592,,96361909083# US (Germantown)
|
|
Pictured above, a John Knoll photo of a children's tea party on School Street, Manchester. Pouring the tea is Anna Grimason, whose
family album is on our website.
|
We plan to continue hosting virtual teas on various local-history topics on
Mondays at 3:00 p.m.
Learn about this
and other "virtual" events on our
Facebook page
.
|
|
Pictured above
, 1917 view of the Orford Clubh
ouse, 417 South Main Street. The building is still there, but it's now a private residence.
|
|
Recently featured on Facebook,
golf in Manchester
, including information about some golf courses that no longer exist -- Red Rock, Fox Grove, and for many years a golf course off East Center Street, where the high school tennis courts are today.
Also, recently featured on our Facebook page:
Jigsaw puzzle
of the old North End.
|
|
Ongoing volunteer work at the History Center!
Gerry Gallo, our Operations Manager, notes the progress made in stabilizing and weatherizing the shed that's behind (north of) the History Center.
Pictured, left to right, Gerry Gallo, Ed Buzawa, Chris Malone (on ladder), and Tom Waldo. Notice they are all wearing Elks shirts, and are all members of this historic organization. Not pictured are volunteers and donors: Manchester Elks, Bob Giola, Aaron Ansaldi, John Parla.
|
|
On the left of the picture, you can see the back of the History Center. Straight ahead, past the shed, is our parking lot, and then Pine Street. Maybe you didn't even know this shed exists!
Want to volunteer for outdoor projects?
|
|
|
|
Teensy videos on our website
Watch a
38-second video of a merestone at the Manchester / Glastonbury boundary. In former times, there were more merestones -- and more perambulations of the boundaries -- than there are today. Read more about the traditional walk to check boundaries in this
Hartford Courant article.
Photo on left, merestone, April 2020. Watch other short
videos here.
|
|
Recommended by our movie hosts --
David Garnes and Peter Millett recommend the 1941 Frank Capra movie, available free on YouTube,
Meet John Doe
, for your Memorial Day weekend. David and Peter have been hosting our movie nights at the History Center, but due to the pandemic, we'll need to watch the movie on our own!
|
|
|
David Garnes notes, "Also free on YouTube are all the documentaries that Frank Capra made for the government during World War II. Excellent history and also related to Memorial Day." You can watch the series
"Why We Fight" free.
|
|
Time to jot down your thoughts about and experiences during the pandemic!
Be a part of history in the making.
The Historical Society will have a complete book for our archives, replete with stories that you contribute.
"It takes time to put current events in context, and that will certainly be the case with the pandemic we are living through, but even now, in the middle of it, we know this is a big, big deal -- for Manchester, for our state and nation, for the world.
" -- Jim Farrell
|
|
Writers wanted...
Guess what?! I finally wrote up
my own reflections on coping during the Covid-19 pandemic! It's easy and kind of fun -- to think about how life has changed, how we've been negatively affected, what benefits we may have noticed. The editor of our school's e-newsletter,
One Manchester, Jim Farrell, is calling upon us to write a 300-800 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.
YOUR OPPORTUNITY to contribute.
Don't delay!
|
|
Decisions on what to include will be made by Jim Farrell, communications director of the school district. Simply submit your contribution to
[email protected]."
|
|
May TV show --
An informal visit to the History Center -- was filmed in 2018. You can watch the show on the Public Access website:
this month's television show. We'll visit exhibits and introduce Linda Findlay, whose mother collected Manchester memorabilia. Linda describes some of the items that are part of the eclectic donations to the Historical Society. The artifacts, such as postcards, ink blotters, newspaper clippings, and high school yearbooks, spark memories and bring up stories of the past. Some items from the collections can be viewed on our website:
Postcard collection, ink
blotter collection. 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.
Unfortunately, the cable studio and equipment is unavailable through the end of May, so we will not be able to make new TV shows for a while.
|
|
Below: Postcards of Center Church in 1915, and the Odd Fellows buildingClick the image for a
more postcards
|
|
You can watch more of our history TV shows online by selecting "Manchester Program Schedule" (the second gray tab) on the
local Public Access website -- then on the next screen, type
Historical into the search box.
|
|
Answers to the trivia questions:
It was Stanford White who designed the expansion of the Rogers family mansion, pictured in a 1965 photo above. Read more about
the mansion, which formerly stood at 65 Prospect Street.
|
|
Pictured above is a photo by Sinch Ofiara of the demolition of the mansion on during the construction of I-384.
Pictured on the left, businesswoman and philanthropist Gertrude Rogers (1866-1943), whose remarkable story is documented in a nine-minute video
documentary here.
|
|
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. .
|
|
|
OUR MISSION
The Manchester Historical Society educates the public about the history of Manchester, Connecticut; collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits information and artifacts about the town and its diverse population, and advocates for the preservation of significant historic resources.
Although all our facilities are closed indefinitely, we are listing the regular hours in anticipation of the end of pandemic restrictions:
The History Center, 175 Pine Street, open Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., except holidays. • The Cheney Homestead, 106 Hartford Road, generally open the second Sunday of the month 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on special occasions • The Old Manchester Museum, 126 Cedar Street, open the first Saturday of the month from 10:00 to 2:00 p.m.; closed January through April, usually reopening in May. • The Woodbridge Farmstead grounds and barn, 495 East Middle Turnpike, at Manchester Green, open the second and fourth Sundays, noon to 2:00 p.m. May to October.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
