News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

Jan. 27, 2022

In This Issue

1 "Manchester's Most Wanted" Event Coming on Feb. 17

2 The People's Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers

3 Nominations for Historic Preservation Awards Due Feb. 15

4 Educational Field Trips Resume at Millyard Museum

5 Celtic Tunes with Jordan TW Trio at the Millyard Museum March 12

6 Manchester Trivia Question

Come and Meet 'Manchester's Most Wanted' on Feb. 17

Get ready to meet some nefarious pre-Victorian villains when the Manchester Historic Association and the Majestic Theatre team up for an interactive night of high crimes, misdemeanors and mischief on Feb. 17 at the Millyard Museum.

Meet Manchester's Ten Most Wanted, as depicted on a poster from the U.S. Post Office in the Queen City, circa 1896, and enjoy cocktails, food, fun and the odd felony.

Among the characters in this rogue's gallery? Consider Michael Sherlock, a.k.a. "The Gentleman Burglar of Stockbridge," the British bigamist known as James Canham Read and the "Knock-Out Mollies," Nellie Brown and Georgie Adams, whose M.O. included knock-out drugs in the beers of their victims, clearing the way for them to empty their hotel rooms of all of their valuables.

The event will run from 5-8 p.m. Admission is $20 for MHA members, $25 for not-yet members. Join in the mayhem and merriment via this link.

“The People's Sculptor:

The Life and Works of John Rogers”

This spring, the Manchester Historic Association will unveil a new exhibit: “The People's Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers” at the Millyard Museum.

Rogers was a well-known artist whose statuary "groups" became extremely popular in the mid-to-late 1800s. He was the first American sculptor to mass produce his work and worked mostly in plaster to make his sculptures more affordable.

The artist came to Manchester in 1850 at the age of 20 and went to work as a draftsman at the Amoskeag machine shop, where he began dabbling in sculpture using clay he discovered near the Merrimack River in Hooksett.

In 1856, Rogers left Manchester for New York City and began mass-producing his sculptures. Between 1860 and 1893, Rogers created 80 different groups - many Civil War-related, such as Council of War seen above - and sold more than 80,000 sculptures, which made art attainable to the American middle class for the first time.

Jeff Barraclough, formerly director of operations at the MHA, will serve as guest curator for the exhibit. For more information, call 603-622-7531. If you would like to assist the MHA in staging more exhibits such as this, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our Heritage Fund by clicking here.

Nominations Due for Historic Preservation Awards

Just a reminder that the Manchester Historic Association is seeking nominations for its 30th Annual Historic Preservation Awards.

Recent honorees include the Pulaski Statue Restoration Committee and the City Parks and Recreation Department for its efforts to improve Pulaski Park. Others include the Rex Theatre (at right) and Frank Lloyd Wright's Kalil House, plus individuals such as Fred Matuszewski, Raymond Wieczorek and Sylvio Dupuis.

The deadline for nominations is Feb. 15. To view the nomination form, click here.

Educational Field Trips are Back at Millyard Museum

The Millyard Museum has resumed its schedule of educational field trips, and educators are encouraged to take advantage of the program. Many field trips are available at little or no cost, thanks to grant funding from Amoskeag Industries and the Manchester and Queen City Rotary Clubs.

Because of Covid-related cancellations, most of the 2021 school year was devoted to improving and enhancing the content of school visits, which include tours of the Millyard Museum and multiple hands-on options with Museum Educator Kristy Ellsworth and a dedicated group of trained volunteers.

To find out more, call 603-622-7531 or email kellsworth@manchesterhistoric.org

Jordan TW Trio at Millyard Museum March 12

Join us at the Millyard Museum on March 12 for a performance by the Jordan TW Trio, featuring award-winning fiddler and singer Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki.

Jordan's last solo performance at the museum was completely sold out, so get your tickets now for this group's fresh spin on traditional Celtic music. Jordan will be joined for this appearance by New Hampshire natives Matt Jensen and Chris Noyes in a show that blends traditional music of Ireland and Scotland with their own original material.

This 2:30 performance will be the perfect prelude to get you in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. For tickets, click here.

Can You Answer This Manchester Trivia Question?

Last Month's Trivia Question: The Manchester soldier pictured at right with President Harry Truman was presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor on Oct. 12, 1945.

He was honored for "his heroically and voluntarily undertaken" one-man attack that captured five enemy machine gun positions and killed eight German soldiers. He also took 22 prisoners, "making it possible for his battalion to occupy important commanding ground" on Oct. 1, 1944 at Casoni di Romagna hill near Bologna in Italy. The soldier's name is:

Henry J. Sweeney
Christos H. Karaberis
William F. Jutras

ANSWER: Christos Karaberis. After the war, he legally changed his name to Chris Carr.

The Manchester native died in September of 1970 at age 56 and was buried in Los Angeles National Cemetery.

______________________________________________________________________

This Month's Trivia Question: Manchester's first mayoral election in August of 1846 ended without a victor when none of the four candidates received a majority of the vote. A second election was held two weeks later and Manchester's first mayor was:

John S. Wiggin
Isaac C. Flanders
Hiram Brown

The answer will appear in next month's newsletter.

The Manchester Historic Association is an independent tax-exempt charitable 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization with the mission to collect, preserve and share the history of Manchester, New Hampshire USA. The Association operates the Millyard Museum and Research Center.