News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

Dec. 28, 2021

In This Issue

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

2 "New Hampshire Now" Photo Exhibit in State Theatre Gallery

3 "Remembering the QC Athletic Hall of Fame" in Discovery Gallery

4 Educational Field Trips Resume at Millyard Museum

5 Holiday Open House Highlights

6 Members of the Month: Liz & Jeremy Hitchcock

7 Manchester Trivia Question

“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.

Millyard Museum Hosts "New Hampshire Now" Photo Exhibit

"New Hampshire Now" represents a two-year effort to record life in the Granite State. Nearly 50 photographers traveled throughout the state between 2018 and 2020, capturing thousands of images that create a twenty-first century portrait of the people, places, culture and events that characterize our state.

Eight cultural centers throughout the state are hosting geographically relevant portions of the collection. The MHA’s Millyard Museum is focused on the Merrimack Valley portion of the exhibit.

A companion book of photographs from the exhibit is available at the Millyard Museum Gift Shop. This collaboration aligns the MHA with the New Hampshire Historical Society and the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists, with outstanding support from New Hampshire Humanities. For more information, call 603-622-7531.

Remembering the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame

From 1989 to 2009, entrance into the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame became the highest accolade that the Manchester sporting community could bestow upon an athlete.

Although the QC Hall has been dormant for the past decade, the Millyard Museum recently obtained the commemorative plaques that are inscribed with the names of the honorees (like boxer Bobby Stephen, at right), and those plaques have become the foundation for the exhibit.

"We spent more than six months creating a repository of photos that had never been compiled before," said MHA Executive Director John Clayton. "It was been a challenge and a delight, and we believe we have a very representative sampling of athletes dating back more than half a century."

This exhibit at the Millyard Museum showcases athletes - male and female - from a wide variety of sports, ranging from Major League Baseball to college basketball to professional football, plus swimming, golf, track and field, gymnastics, even snowshoe racing. The exhibit will be on display through the end of January.

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 2020 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

Holiday Open House a Highlight at Millyard Museum

The Millyard Museum celebrated the spirit of the season with its annual Holiday Open House on Dec.4, with the added attraction of a holiday-themed American Girl Doll Tea Party.

Shoppers clamored for items at the Millyard Museum Gift Shop while Santa and Mrs. Claus made their annual appearance, to the delight of young and old alike.

The Open House also marked the kick-off of our On-Line Holiday Auction, and we'd like to thank all of those who donated items as well as those eager bidders who made sure the MHA had a maximum return for our efforts. Special thanks to MHA staffers Kristy Ellsworth and Beverly Peters for all of their hard work on the auction.

Members of the Month:

Elizabeth & Jeremy Hitchcock

The dynamic husband and wife team of Liz and Jeremy Hitchcock has brought a high-tech vitality to Manchester, but their passion for technologies of the future is matched by their reverence for the remarkable history of Manchester.

They were also key players in the MHA's effort to create a statute in the Millyard celebrating the work of video game inventor Ralph Baer, whose likeness is photo-bombing the Hitchcocks in the accompanying photo.

"Jeremy and I both believe in collecting, preserving and sharing Manchester's past and present and that is why we support the Manchester Historic Association," Elizabeth said.

"We appreciate every facet of the organization– from the Research Center, to the Millyard Museum and also the myriad of events," she added. "The MHA is teaching the region why Manchester is a strong community and how it was built. We love that art, music and culture are cherished for all to enjoy, alongside the incredible historical artifacts and stories shared at the Museum."

Can You Answer This Manchester Trivia Question?

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

The answer will appear in next month's newsletter.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Month's Trivia Question: On Aug. 7, 1914, a chubby southpaw named Babe Ruth pitched the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Manchester All-Stars at Textile Field. How many home runs did the Sultan of Swat hit in that game?

Two
One
None

ANSWER: Although Yankee Stadium could not contain the mighty George Herman Ruth, the confines of Textile Field were too much for the Babe, who went hitless on the field we know today as Gill Stadium.

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.