April 15, 2024

1 2024 Annual Meeting and Exhibit Opening

2 Special Exhibit: Who Wore It? The Forensics of a Dress

3 Save the Date! 2024 Historic Preservation Awards

4 Book Talk & Signing: "War Fronts Home Fires" by Joseph McQuaid

5 Manchester Trivia Questions

2024 Annual Meeting and

Exhibit Opening



"Who Wore It?

The Forensics of a Dress"

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Millyard Museum, FREE Admission

Join us at the Millyard Museum THIS WEEK for the Manchester Historic Association’s Annual Meeting. Members will hear a review of the past year from officers and vote to approve new trustees.

Following the business meeting, we will be opening a special exhibit that examines the changes in style over 200 years in women’s fashion featuring dresses from the MHA’s collection and the stories of the women who wore them. 

Staff will speak briefly about some of the dresses on exhibit and the stories behind them, followed by a first look at the exhibit.

"Who Wore It?

The Forensics of a Dress"

This special exhibit features 200 years of dresses worn by amazing women from Manchester’s past. These matriarchs of Manchester lived incredible lives as entrepreneurs, philanthropists, doctors, teachers, activists, New Hampshire First Ladies, and homemakers.

Generously donated by loved ones and lovingly preserved by the Manchester Historic Association, these dresses tell the stories of the vibrant women who wore them. Bearing witness to the happiest and saddest moments in the lives of their owners, these dresses witnessed both unspeakable joy and unbearable pain and every emotion in-between.

As you travel though the history of fashion and evolution of design and fabrication, we ask that you imagine the memories these gowns might hold. Motherhood, careers, and the simple tasks of everyday life become immortal through every worn hem and altered seam.

On exhibit April 18 through November 1, 2024 

2024 Historic Preservation Awards

The 32nd Annual Historic Preservation Awards will be held on May 21 at the Dana Center for the Performing Arts at Saint Anselm College.

Tickets are now on sale! Click here to purchase tickets.

Sponsorship opportunities are also still available. Click here to learn more or click here to purchase a sponsorship.

The Historic Preservation Awards program recognizes and supports the efforts of individuals, businesses and organizations that have made significant contributions to the preservation of buildings, neighborhoods, traditions, and other historic resources in the Queen City. 

Congratulations to the 2024 Historic Preservation Award honorees:

Neighborhood Preservation Award

NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire for the RENEW II Project at the Smith & Dow Block (1426 Elm St) and Carpenter & Bean Block (1382 Elm St)

Homeowner’s Award

Craig St. Pierre for the Clarence M. Dodge House, 278 Myrtle Street

Nostalgia Award

Brady Sullivan Properties for the replica of the “Lollipops” sculpture

Restoration of a City Landmark Award

Saint Joseph Cathedral, 145 Lowell Street

Private Development Award

Richard Dryer, Dryer Management Inc. for 901 Union Street

Design Award

Manchester Fire Department Station 9 (575 Calef Road) for incorporating historical elements related to Manchester firefighting

Book Talk & Signing:

War Fronts Home Fires by Joseph W. McQuaid

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

5:30 p.m.

Millyard Museum, FREE Admission

War Fronts Home Fires by Joseph W. McQuaid, Editor at Large for the Union Leader, chronicles the lives of McQuaid’s parents during a pivotal time in history. As a World War II newspaper correspondent for the Chicago Daily News foreign service, B.J. McQuaid covered American and British front lines from the frozen Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the steaming jungles and seas of the South Pacific, at Tarawa and Guadalcanal, and then to Europe from D-Day forward in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. His stories were published in more than 70 newspapers.

Back in New Hampshire, Peg McQuaid watched for her husband’s news stories to track his whereabouts, and supported herself and their two small children while dealing with rationing, cold winters, and loneliness. 

The couple were together just once in three years of war. 

The book showcases his remarkable reporting and their touching love story.

Last Month's Trivia Question:

What Manchester woman was the first woman to receive the New Hampshire Medical Association gold medal for 50+ years in the field of medicine?

ANSWER: Dr. Zatae L. Straw (1866-1955) was one of the first female doctors in Manchester. She was very active in the American Legion Auxiliary, serving as their president, and was also an active suffragist with many affiliations to women’s suffrage organizations across the state.

Her 1891 wedding dress is one of many that will be on display in the "Who Wore It?" exhibit at the Millyard Museum.

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This Month's Trivia Question: What annual event/exhibition was held for decades at Manchester City Hall until it was banned by the Committee on Land and Buildings in 1905?

The answer will appear in the next newsletter.