August September 2011 Events

(last updated August 16, 2011)

SVAC Exhibit The exhibit of images of Manchester as part of the 250 celebration is at the Yester House. Admission is free and other artists are also exhibiting. The exhibit runs through August 23

August 11 At the Factory Point Town Green at noon the MHS multi color marker will be dedicated in a town wide ceremony. Larry Lee will present for MHS. See town website for more details.

August 13 MHS Board member Ted Hopkins will be displaying part of his reknown collection of hand tools. One of the finest in the US. Dana Thompson Rec park-Rod and Gun Club Building. Terry Tyler -MHS Board member- will also be displaying some of his Vermont made guns. See Town website for all details. click on 250 celebration.

August 17 MHS picnic starting at 5:00PM at Hildene prior to 6PM Woods Tea Company concert. Questions? contact Dick Smith at 362-4314

September 21 7PM MHS Annual Meeting for about 5-10 minutes before program to elect Board for upcoming year and amend if necessary MHS bylaws. The program will be Bill Badger speaking on Railroad Stations on the Bennington & Rutland and Chatham Divisions of the Rutland Railroad. Bill will have a Powerpoint slide show. The program is free and open to the public.


Arcadia Book Manchester is now on sale and available at the Northshire bookstore. See Northshire.com for details.

July 2011 Events

July 20 The Annual Walk this year will be in the Richville section of Manchester. Meet at 81 Cass Terrace at 6:30PM. This area is well known for its lumber industry history. Bill Badger and Judy Harwood will be your tour guides.

July 23 The opening reception for the start of the SVAC exhibits which include the Manchester Historical Society exhibit in the Yester House. See SVAC.org for details. The reception will from 2-4PM and is open to the public.

July 28 The Manchester Historical Society book titled "Manchester" published by Arcadia Publishing will be presented at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester at 7:00PM. See also www.Northshire.com for latest information

See the list of 2011 events elsewhere on the MHS website for more details. If there are any questions contact Dick Smith at 362-4314.

Vermont Marker Dedication: July 3

The Manchester Historical Society announced there will be dedication ceremony at 5:00PM on Sunday July 3 on the Village Green by the Soldiers Monument. Free and all are welcome. There will be reenactors and music for the brief ceremony.

The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation marker was the result of an MHS application filed over two years. The marker had to meet strict criteria such as historical significance, nearness to the events, and historical accuracy. The marker is titled "The Revolutionary War" and describes many of the events that ocurred here in Manchester. The placement of the marker on the Village Green was approved by the Manchester Village Board of Trustees.

For any questions or additional information please contact Dick Smith at 362-4314

As of 10:00AM Sunday the dedication is still on for 5PM. The First Congregational Church(opposite the Equinox)meeting room has been reserved and will be available if rain.

Historical Society Activities

In addition to the regular monthly programs, MHS is involved in many activities including some for the Town's 250th year celebration of its chartering. Since MHS is 501 (c) (3) and receives no funds from the town or state so no taxpayer dollars are used for any of these activities. There is no paid staff. Some of the activities include:

1)Writing and researching books. To be released this summer is the Arcadia book(top photo above is cover) on Manchester with many old photographs. Freddie Templeton, Judy Harwood, Bill Badger and Sue Washburn were the main collaborators on this massive effort of sorting through the MHS archives.

2)Displaying Manchester artifacts and books: The Historical Society maintains the display cases in the Kilburn Room at the town hall(2nd photo from top above) An additional display(in a separate MHS case) is the recently completed display of artifacts for the Manchester Journal which is celebrating its 150 year of publication. It was started May 28,1861.

3)Walking tours are provided to residents and visitors. Shown above(3rd image from the top) is Judy Harwood with a tour group in fromt of the Equinox Resort. Contact Judy at 802-362-3708 to arrange a tour.

4) Promoting Manchester at historic events such as Ethan Allen Days and Vermont History Expo in Tundbridge. Shown above(4th picture from the top) are Bob and Sally Treat along with Manchester's Ed Knight at Ethan Allen Days in Bennington

5) Coordinating and arranging interpretive markers for the town. Several are planned including one for the Factory Point Town Green. Shown above(5th image from the top)are some members of the MHS Board discussing the future location of the Vermont State Historical Marker on the Manchester Village Green opposite the Equinox Resort.

6)Exhibiting at SVAC. A month long exhibit of MHS prints will shown at the Yester house starting July 23, 2011

7) Assisting in Geneology research: MHS gets several requests for Geneology studies. Since the MHS archives contains many unpublished family histories we provide access to these as they are not available on line. Contact Judy at judyannh@together.net or 802-362-3708.

8) Conducting field and in school programs for childrem such as those at MEMS.

Terry Tyler Collection-Shelburne Museum

Terry Tyler has been collecting firearms for over 5 decades. His collection of over 100 pieces of Vermont firearms is now on display at the Shelburne Museum. It will be on display until October 30, 2011. Terry is a long time resident of Dorset and Manchester Historical Society Board member. The Shelburne Museum held an opening reception for Terry and his world class collection. An entire building was set aside by the museum. Also in attendence at the opening reception was MHS board member Ted Hopkins and his wife Lois as shown.

"So you think you know Manchester" bus tour May 22

As of Sunday, May 16 the tour is SOLD OUT. If you wish to be on a waiting list please call Dick at 362-4314

May 23: The bus tour was a success based on comments from participants. If there is interest MHS will do another. Please contact Dick at RBSBUS@aol.com or call at 362-4314.

To help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the chartering of Manchester in 1761, Manchester Historical Society (MHS) is sponsoring a fundraiser bus tour of Manchester. Your hosts will include MHS Board members Dick Smith, Judy Harwood and Bill Badger . Lasting approximately 2 ½ hours, the tour will visit sites many people didn’t even know existed. Come see the hidden history of Manchester. Have you seen the remnants of the canals that were in Manchester? Do you know where the town whipping post was? Fun facts and trivia will be frequent and the goal is to have everyone go home learning at least one new thing about Manchester they didn’t know prior to the tour. Some prizes will be offered. We will get out about 2-3 times for a couple of minutes but no long walking. There will be handouts showing places as they existed way back when.

For non-members of MHS, the donation will be $15 payable by check made out to the Manchester Historical Society. Send the check to Dick Smith-Tour, Manchester Historical Society, PO Box 363, Manchester Village, VT 05254-0363. Please indicate the check is for the tour, your name and contact number. For members of MHS the cost will be $10. Any questions? email Dick Smith at RBSBUS@aol.com or call Dick at 362-4314. Please be 15 minutes early for check in so we can be back on time. There has not been a tour like this in decades in Manchester. Check the MHS website, www.manchesterhistoricalsociety.org for updated information.