News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

Nov. 23, 2021

In This Issue

1 Millyard Museum to Host Holiday Open House Dec. 4

2 Grant Funding and Member Support Keep MHA Moving Forward

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

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

5 Educational Field Trips Resume at Millyard Museum

6 Member of the Month: Monique Labbe

7 Manchester Trivia Question

Millyard Museum to Host Holiday Open House Dec. 4

The Millyard Museum will celebrate 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.

Open house guests will enjoy free admission to the museum, but there is a $10 fee for the Tea Party, and you can register here.

In addition to free admission, guests will receive a 10 percent discount in our gift shop, while MHA members will receive an additional 10 percent off on all items, including our historic holiday ornaments (such as our newest, at right, which celebrates Pulaski Park) and a wide array of Manchester-related books.

Santa is expected to drop down our chimney around the noon hour for free photo opportunities with the little ones, who would be well advised to bring their wish lists.

Free raffles, refreshments, arts and crafts projects and a silent auction are also on the day's agenda. The open house will run from 10-4. For more information on this program, call 603-622-7531 or click here.

Grant Funding and Member Support Through the Annual Appeal Keep the MHA Moving Forward

The Manchester Historic Association has recently received grant funding from the Norwin S. and Elizabeth Bean Foundation and New Hampshire Humanities.

The $15,000 Bean Foundation grant will finance the replacement of several plexiglass display covers or "vitrines" (see photo at left) that protect items on display in our galleries and temporary exhibits. Normal wear and tear has taken a toll on the museum's existing vitrines, many of which are older than the Millyard Museum itself.

The $10,000 grant from NH Humanities is part of the Federal SHARP Program - "Sustaining the Humanities Through the American Rescue Plan" - and can be used to cover operating expenses in the wake of lost revenues due to Covid-19.

As important as those grants may be, it is support from our members that remains the greatest source of funding for the MHA. In the week ahead, you should be receiving our Annual Appeal mailing, in which we seek your support above and beyond your annual membership dues. If you wish to donate on line, you can simply click here. Please consider supporting the MHA as we work to collect, preserve and share the remarkable history of this great city.

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 longtime SNHU basketball coach and MHA board member Stan Spirou, 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 the year.

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

Member of the Month:

Monique Labbe

Monique Labbe is one of the most active volunteers with the Manchester Historic Association, and her commitment to historic preservation is something she shares with her entire family. In fact, the entire Labbe clan was recognized with a 2019 Historic Preservation Award for their stewardship of the family home at 97 Mammoth Road.

"I am proud to support the mission of the Manchester Historic Association and its talented, dedicated staff through my volunteerism and attendance at various events," Monique said. "As an advocate for preservation in our community, and by stewarding my own historic home, I hope to inspire future generations to learn, get active and share our city’s stories and collections.

"I have made many good friends through the MHA who share a mutual passion for continuing this work for centuries to come," she added.

Can You Answer This Manchester Trivia Question?

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

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Last Month's Trivia Question: The first President of the United States to speak on a telephone did so in Manchester on Aug. 22, 1877. Who was that President?

Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
Chester A. Arthur

ANSWER: On Aug, 22, 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes spoke on the phone line that connected the office of Amoskeag's Ezekiel Straw to the home of Gov. Frederick Smyth, where Hayes was a guest.

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.