News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

July 14, 2022

In This Issue

1 30th Annual Historic Preservation Awards

2 "An Early Glimpse of Manchester" Walking Tour

3 "The Peoples' Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers"

4 MHA Elects New Trustees and Officers

5 Collection Highlight: Elliot Hospital Patient Admission Log

6 New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail Passports

7 Manchester Trivia Questions

30th Annual Historic Preservation Awards

Tickets are now available for the Manchester Historic Association's 30th Annual Historic Preservation Awards, to be held Thursday, Sept. 8 at Manchester Community College.

General admission for the event is $125, and $100 for MHA members. The awards event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the MHA, and proceeds will help in creating more interactive exhibits and expanding educational programs at the Millyard Museum.

To purchase tickets, please click here,

Lead sponsor for the event is RBC Wealth Management. Information about additional sponsorship opportunities may be obtained by calling (603) 622-7531, or clicking here.

The following individuals and businesses will be recognized at the event for their contributions to the historic preservation of Manchester:

Homeowner’s Award

Robert B. and Claudette O. Perreault

For their home at 187 Warner Street

Adaptive Reuse Award

The Factory on Willow

252 Willow Street

Restoration of a City Landmark Award

The Gresley Residence

669 Chestnut Street

Stewardship Award

Manchester Water Works

For the Operator’s Residence at 1583 Lake Shore Road

Individual Achievement Award

Gary Samson

Also being recognized at the event with a Centennial Award is the Red Arrow Diner, for a century of service to the community.

For more information, please call 603-622-7531 or click here.

"An Early Glimpse of Manchester"

Walking Tour

Thursday, August 25, 2022

5:30 - 7:00 pm

Stark Park

Collaborating once again with the Majestic Theatre, the Manchester Historic Association is pleased to announce a living history tour of Stark Park. This interactive, actor-led tour will give first person accounts of Manchester's own war hero General John Stark and his wife Molly, and some of their contemporaries, including Samuel Blodget, Robert Rogers, Samantha Plantin, and Elizabeth Stark.

Space is limited, please register today!

Purchase Tickets Here

For more information, call 603-622-7531

"The People's Sculptor:

The Life and Works of John Rogers”

The Millyard Museum's current featured exhibit is “The People's Sculptor: The Life and Works of John Rogers.".

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.

Rogers' connections to Manchester run deep, from his work as a mechanic at Amoskeag to his gift to the city of the Abraham Lincoln statue that stands in the courtyard at Central High School.

The exhibit is free to MHA members and included with general admission for other visitors. 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.

MHA Elects New Trustees and Officers

The Manchester Historic Association elected two new trustees at the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Susan Gelinas is the Operations Assistant at Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics in the Millyard and handles all facilities issues for seven offices that make up the Northeast Region for parent company BCP Group. She is a member of the MHA and has been on the association’s Historic Preservation Awards event committee since 2019.

Christopher Messier is a lifelong resident of Manchester and is a graduate of Manchester High School West and the University of New Hampshire. He is employed by the City of Manchester in the City Clerk’s office. He serves on the NH Ballot Law Commission and was Moderator in Ward 10 for several years.

The Board of Trustees has also elected officers for the coming year. Colleen Kurlansky has been reelected to another term as President. Vice President Selma Naccach-Hoff and Treasurer Ryan Gough were also reelected, and Shannon Sullivan was elected Secretary.

Elliot Hospital Patient Admission Log

A recent addition to the Manchester Historic Association's archives is the first patient admission log of the Elliot Hospital. This book is a valuable historical resource, documenting the name, age, residence, occupation, and nationality of each patient admitted to the hospital from 1890 to 1902. The log also lists the date of admission, disease, "result", date discharged (or date of death), and physician of each patient.

The Manchester Historic Association is grateful to the Elliot Hospital Associates for arranging this donation and making this valuable resource available to researchers.

New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail Passports

The New Hampshire Heritage Museum Trail's Passport Program allows participants to experience 21 different museums in the Granite State. Passports ($150 value) are available for purchase at each participating museum for only $25.

The Trail Passport provides buyers with one free admission ticket to the 21 museums that are part of the museum trail.

The Passport is good for one person for one year from the date of purchase, and is non-transferable. The Passport includes brief summaries of the museums, organized by location that can be stamped upon entry.

The Millyard Museum is pleased to be taking part in this program! Passports can only be purchased at participating museums:

Albacore Park (Portsmouth), American Independence Museum (Exeter), Aviation Museum of NH (Manchester), Belknap Mill (Laconia), Canterbury Shaker Village, Castle in the Clouds (Moultonborough), Currier Museum of Art (Manchester), Lake Winnipesaukee Museum (Laconia), Lee Scouting Museum (Manchester), Libby Museum (Wolfeboro), Millyard Museum (Manchester), Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden (Portsmouth), Museum of the White Mountains (Plymouth), New England Racing Museum (Loudon), NH Boat Museum (Wolfeboro), NH Historical Society (Concord), Portsmouth Historical Society, Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm (Tamworth), Strawbery Banke (Portsmouth), Woodman Museum (Dover), and the Wright Museum of World War II (Wolfeboro).

Did You Get Last Month's

Manchester Trivia Question?

Last Month's Trivia Question: An unusual bridge in Manchester was once featured in "Ripley's Believe it or Not." Can you identify the bridge and the distinguishing feature that made it worthy of national renown?

ANSWER: The Kelly's Falls Bridge, which featured a 20-degree curve in the bridge until it was rebuilt in 1973. __________________________________________________________________

This Month's Trivia Question: What Manchester-born composer and songwriter

is best known for writing the music to “There’s a Long, Long Trail,” which became very popular during World War I and was frequently sung by American and British troops and at Liberty Loan rallies?

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 (Commercial and Bedford St.) and Manchester Research Center on Amherst Street.