Queen City Quilts

Tuesday, August 15, 2017
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Millyard Museum

Join us for the opening of "Queen City Quilts", an exhibition featuring some of the treasures of the Manchester Historic Association's textile collection.  The quilts in the collection span three centuries and are a unique vehicle for telling the stories of textile manufacturing in Manchester, the quilt makers as members of the workforce, and their communities.

One of the quilts to be featured is a friendship crazy quilt made by the Ladies of the First Congregational Church for Miss Mary Dana. Her role first as Parish Visitor and then as assistant to the pastor, made her a much loved and respected member of the church which is reflected in the quilt, purported to be made of fabrics from dresses worn by the ladies to functions at the church.  Many of the squares are initialed by the makers and lovingly embellished with fine needle work.  Other quilts include fabric scraps brought home by workers from the local mills, and one is of linen and wool likely grown, spun and woven here in the area. 

In the Charles Whittemore Discovery Gallery in the Millyard Museum
Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. - Included with museum admission

 An exhibit highlighting Manchester’s rich and diverse cultural tapestry is on display at the Millyard Museum. Artwork and essays by young students from the Inti Academy, along with photographs of the youth by NH photographer Becky Field, can be seen in the Discovery Gallery. The young artists in this exhibit come from families that have resettled in Manchester from other countries.

The exhibit features the artwork and writings by the Inti students, along with Field’s photographic portraits of each young person, which is part of a larger exhibit that was on display in the summer of 2016 at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. Through the Museum’s partnership with the Inti Academy, a not-for-profit after-school program that works with Manchester’s inner-city youth, young people created artwork and wrote essays about their lives in this city. Then the Currier commissioned Field to take portraits of the young artists in their neighborhoods.

Field has been taking photographs since 2012 as part of a larger project to illustrate and honor the lives of NH’s refugees and immigrants. Her recent book, Different Roots, Common Dreams: New Hampshire’s Cultural Diversity (on sale at the Millyard Museum's gift shop), includes over 100 photographs from her project, as well as six essays by NH immigrants about their journeys and with an introduction by former NH Governor Maggie Hassan.

The goals of Field’s photography project, the Currier Museum and the Inti program fit well together: though we may have different backgrounds, we all share common dreams to have safe homes, good jobs, and a bright future for our children.

The exhibit will be on display through August.

Saturday, August 12, 2017 
10:00 a.m.- noon
$5 Manchester Historic Association members - $10 General Public 

Pre-registration is required - Please call (603) 622-7531

Visit St. Augustine Cemetery with local historians Dick Duckoff and Matt Labbe. Hear fascinating stories about local Franco- American pioneers from all walks of life. Learn about Mayor Moise Verrette, Lieutenant William Jutras, Edmond Pinard, and Tancrède Pariseau, among others.

Meet at the Old St. Augustine Cemetery on S. Beech Street, next to the Hebrew Cemetery.

Saturday, September 23, 2017 
10:00 a.m.- noon
$5 Manchester Historic Association members - $10 General Public
Pre-registration is required - Please call (603) 622-7531
Meet at the Chapel at Pine Grove Cemetery

Local historians, Dick Duckoff and John Jordan, will lead this tour through Manchester's only active municipal cemetery.  The cemetery was first developed in 1851.  Over the years the city made several additional land purchases, until the cemetery grew to around 275 acres. Many of Manchester's most prominent citizens were buried at Pine Grove.These include philanthropist Frank P. Carpenter, industrialist George A. Leighton, and 13 Manchester mayors.  Also buried there are some now forgotten people whose compelling stories will be retold. The cemetery includes beautiful monuments of many different designs such as the Ursula Chapel built in 1905, the City Mausoleum built in 1980, and 17 family mausoleums.  The tour will begin at the Ursula Chapel.  Pre-registration is required - Please call (603) 622-7531.