USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Manchester on the Merrimack, the story of a city > Part 14
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From the standpoint of emotional effect on Manchester's people, probably the destruction of the old Granite Street bridge was most poignantly sensed as a tragedy. Built in 1851,
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a joint project of Manchester and Bedford, it had survived the floods and storms of all the intervening years, and when finally it was broken by the relentless violence of the rushing water, there was drama in its fall. A new steel structure soon replaced the old familiar land- mark, but the freshet that accompanied its ruin was a reminder that the river, symbol of the city, could become also a symbol of the might of uncontrolled nature.
But the river, in its usual peaceful, coopera- tive moods, could and did play a picturesque role in the annual log-drives, a feature of New Hampshire business from 1847 on. The decade of the nineties saw its final performance in this region. The spring of 1897 sent the last log over the falls and sped the last "knockie" on his way to the land of memories. Because a man by the name of Norcross was at the head of the greater part of this enterprise, his em- ployees, a brawny, red-shirted, dare-devil crew, came to be known as "knockies", and the name was attached to all the adventurous lads who plied their poles on the river.
There was pageantry in this exhibition of man forcing the swollen river to his purposes, using the tremendous power of the swift cur- rent to transport the products of northern forests to the mills and markets of Lowell-and
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thence to the building of a growing nation. And all along the nearly two-hundred mile course from the head-waters of the Pemigewasset, where the drive started, to the final destination, people gathered on the banks to applaud the feats of the "knockies" whose skill in breaking the jams and preventing the logs from "hanging up" provoked their admiration. At night, the crew pitched camp in some favorable spot; the site of the Cygnet Boat Club was the approved ground around Amoskeag. Here they would build their fires, set up their canvas tents, spread straw for their beds and settle down to the evening meal of beans (baked in the groun- ovens), salt pork, ginger bread and coffee. Early in the morning they would be on their way again, courting the dangers and glorying in the hazards of their chosen job. Fatalities were fre- quent, but there was a fascination in this game of pitting muscle and mind against the ruth- less river, and year after year brought applica- tions from the same men, proud, perhaps, of the privilege of being "knockies" even at a wage that never exceeded three dollars a day.
There is a nostalgic quality about the very term "the 90's"-sometimes further designated as "gay"-and every community has its own exclusive and peculiar recollections that justify that quality and make it understandable. It is,
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to be sure, fashionable at the moment to malign the decade, but underneath the mockery there is an awareness that something well worth im- mortality lingered in the wings, when the group of years known as the 90's bowed itself off the stage-the common, everyday living of a gracious age.
It was so in Manchester, and we whose memories include these years think of them not in terms of the highlights, but in terms of backgrounds. The Spanish War was a high- light; so was the depression of '93 that hit the mills but dislodged not a morsel of mortar from their foundations. So was the Semi-Cen- tennial celebration in '96, with its parades and its ceremonies, civil and military, and its sure contribution to a needed "past-consciousness" in our midst. Clear and distinct these events stand out, unmistakably history. As such we recall them, giving due credit to their signifi- cance. But the lesser happenings, things re- corded in some obscure corner of the two daily newspapers, the Mirror or the Union, wove themselves into the texture of our living and today they are good to remember.
Advertisements are backgrounds and they are significant anywhere, anytime. Man- chester's merchants never heard of psycho- logical appeal, as such, and they took no
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courses on how to overcome sales-resistance. But they knew all about both. For instance, the firm of Lightbody and Burbank held out inducements:
BIG MARKDOWN SALE OF SHOES Ten % discount and a five dollar gold piece given to the customer who buys largest amount.
And what lady could resist a trip to "The Kitchen" (R. K. Horne, proprietor) when she read:
One set of beautifully decorated lamps, with shade to match, complete with burner and chimney. 98 cents.
The Charles M. Floyd furnishing shop ap- pealed to a thrifty man's purse. Referring to hats, caps, etc., the advertisement read: "The oldest inhabitant never saw them so fine, the most fashionable man in town never saw them so stylish, the man of moderate means never saw them so cheap." J. Y. McQuesten Com- pany advertised Alaska Refrigerators, "con- structed upon strictly scientific principles", and The Junior Store, corner of Elm and Bridge Streets, waxed facetious:
It's Fly Time - And fly time is the gayest time of all the year to visit our store. It is simply the time
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when we put wings (low prices) to everything which we do not want to see and will not see in our store a month hence. Shirtwaists and wrappers fly in flocks; Windsor ties and handkerchiefs and cot- ton underwear will fly in swarms; corsets, gloves and hosiery will fly in droves."
Frank Fitts announced "Three Fads".
Fad One: Brownie stick pins 10c and 25c. Fad Two: Belt pins, silver, gold and black. Fad Three: Side Combs, horn, imitation shell and real shell.
C. A. Trefethen also mentioned shell: “Do you admire shell? We have received a large as- sortment of side combs, back combs, hair pins and daggers. Price, 42c to 2.50."
The transition from horse-drawn to motor- driven vehicles for street transportation was, to be sure, a highlight. But a highlight that shaded off into backgrounds. Trolley-rides, for a few years, were as popular as the joy-rides of - a later day, and one got nearly as much wind- blown pleasure on the front seat of an evening trolley to Massabesic as the youth of today in an open convertible skimming over the high- ways to the beaches. There was the same thrill of accelerated speed, for the comparison was with year before last when one had jogged
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along behind a horse. Trolley-rides, not only for the purpose of reaching a destination, but for fun, were part of Manchester's background in the 1890's. Massabesic Lake, for years a quiet summer colony, became, as a result of con- venient transportation, a small copy of Revere Beach. The newspapers announced the attrac- tions of the "Big Zoo-from Boston with all its collection of wild animals together with exciting and sensational performances." And there was General Williams' "palace-car", called the "City of Manchester", with wide observation platform at each end enclosed in elaborate grill-work and boasting an interior like a Victorian parlor. Whenever celebrities visited the city, they were invited to join the mayor and other guests in a ride about town in this "queen of the rails".
This development of the electric railroad in Manchester was an accomplishment indeed and a tribute to the enterprise of General Charles Williams, head of the company and leader of the project. The work was put through within an incredibly brief time. April, 1895, saw the beginning of the undertaking, no small one involving as it did changing the road from narrow gauge to broad gauge, and the initial trip up Elm Street was made on June
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8 of that year. In August the road was ex- tended to Massabesic and by September the whole system had been completely trans- formed, and a record made in the history of street railroad construction. Only eighteen years earlier, Manchester had felt herself mod- ernized with the advent of the horse cars. But time worked swiftly in this particular branch of city growth. Perhaps it is significant that in 1895 when the arduous feat of electrifying city transportation was accomplished, General Wil- liams presented Manchester with a clock for the City Hall tower.
But the spectacular automobile was treading hard on the heels of the trolley. The very next year after that which saw the first electric car making its proud trip down Elm Street, the window of the William P. Farmer Shoe Store turned all eyes away from the highway toward the wonder on exhibition there: a two-seated runabout built by two local men, Peter Harris and his son Leander. This vehicle, operated by steam and fueled with wood and soft coal, was said to be the very first rubber-tired automo- bile on New Hampshire roads. It should be noted, however, that as early as 1868, a "horse- less carriage" was driven around Manchester streets. This also had been the work of two Manchester men, James S. Batchelder and Wil-
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liam H. Writner, who doubtless conceived the idea for their invention from the work they were doing under Nehemiah S. Bean, in the Amoskeag Shop. They appear to have lost in- terest in their venture before it went beyond the trial stage. By 1900, the popular products of motor car manufacturing were finding their way into town, and the age of the automobile had begun.
Albert L. Clough, a trained engineer, was presumably the first private citizen to own and to drive one of these vehicles. His example was soon followed as Aretas B. Carpenter, Walter M. Parker, William J. Hoyt, Byron Chandler, Dr. Arthur F. Wheat, and Norwin S. Bean be- came owners. The "Thomas Flier", first four- cylinder car in town, was the property of Charles M. Floyd, later governor of New Hampshire.
The automobile had come to stay, and the early devotees endured without protest the en- veloping clouds of dust, part of the motoring experience of that day, and the ignominy of being pulled out of mud holes by work-horses. Perhaps they foresaw oiled roads and through highways. Perhaps, too, the railroads foresaw the approaching competition of trucking com- panies. But, the Boston and Maine courageously
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built a freight depot in Manchester in 1897, and the present passenger station in 1898.
The last decade of the nineteenth century saw the rise of literary clubs in Manchester, those organizations devoted primarily to study, but giving, nevertheless, secondary considera- tion to sociability symbolized by the tea table. Woman's horizon was widening; the mother of the newly-popular college girl did not pro- pose to be completely out-distanced by her daughter, and if, after a suitable period of ap- praisement, she was invited to join one of these groups, she duly rejoiced and at once sought the seclusion of the library in search of material for her first "paper".
She might decide upon some such subject as "The Legal Status of Woman", "Conversion of Niagara to Utilitarian Purposes", "A Com- parison of Raphael and Michael Angelo", or she might prepare herself to discuss Ralph Waldo Emerson, or to read Act I of the Mer- chant of Venice. There were the Shakespeare Club, the Interrogation, the New Century, the Outlook, the Current Events, the Nineteenth Century, the Review. And they have survived the years. In spite of the radio and the Reader's Digest and all the other stepped-up opportuni- ties for self-education, the successors of those women with outreaching minds still carry on,
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fitting their meetings into the vastly busier schedule of modern living. Nearly all these clubs, averaging twenty members each, al- though still retaining their individual status eventually allied themselves with the Man- chester Federation of Women's Clubs, which was dissolved in 1935 when the Manchester Women's Club was organized.
Lectures were popular and provided another avenue of information and enlightenment. The Mirror's society column of January 6, 1896, refers to a Monday morning lecture by Mrs. Frances Bellows Sanborn, who discussed the subject of "Lying". "I do not think," said the speaker, "I have known in the whole course of my life six people who would tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This vice at- tacks us on every side, on our selfish side, our sympathetic side, our loving and our intel- lectual (sides). The temptation is perfectly terrible." Resignations from the Ananias Soci- ety that followed this talk are not recorded. The next lecture in the course is announced as "What Modern Woman Will Be". This subject of tomorrow's woman appears to have been popular with the feminine readers, and the Women's Columns surely made use of its appeal. Tucked into this department, in August, 1894, along with "Delicious Ways To
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Cook Shad", and a hint to biscuit makers, is an article on "The Future Woman", credited to a well-known New York society woman. "She will not wear trousers," declared the writer. (Alas, dear lady, for your convictions!) "On the contrary, her garments will be prettier, and she herself will be, if that is possible, more effeminate, more gentle and tender than she is now. Why? Because she will realize that by being all these, her power is increased in a cor- responding ratio. Women's rights are invari- ably associated in a man's mind with the loud- voiced woman-the woman who is indifferent to her appearance, who wears big boots and would like to wear high hats." Such were the prophecies for the girl of the 90's who pedaled down Elm Street on her "wheel", wearing her new freedom and a heavily-stitched "bicycle skirt" with equal pride.
But the outreaching of these women was not alone for more freedom or for widened "cul- ture", it was also for opportunities to be of service. Increasingly, they were becoming "civic-minded".
The Thimble Club, composed of a small group of women, was organized in 1895 and has been of inestimable service to Manchester during the intervening years, raising thousands of dollars for philanthropy and contributing to
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the needy quantities of clothing made by its members. It is interesting to note that six of the original group are among those who are still meeting regularly and carrying on the traditions: Mrs. James S. Evans, Mrs. Elliot C. Lambert, Mrs. Robert L. Manning, Mrs. Edgar L. Martin, Mrs. Perley Parker Pillsbury and Mrs. Gordon Woodbury.
The Senior Associates, devoted to the cause of providing supplies for the Elliot Hospital was organized in 1890, immediately after the in- stitution opened its doors. The first president was Mrs. Charles S. Murkland, wife of the pastor of the Franklin Street Congregational Church who soon became president of New Hampshire University. For twenty-five years Mrs. Elliot C. Lambert was at the head of this organization, retiring in 1945 to become honorary president. It was Mrs. Lambert who, in 1920, organized the Junior Associates of the Elliot Hospital, a group notable for its social and charitable activities. It was during this period, in 1897, that the District Nursing As- sociation, outgrowth of the City Missionary Society, was formed .*
* Miss Mattie Strong, City Missionary, gave devoted service for twenty-seven years, and was responsible for establishing the Fresh Air Fund and Bethany Cottage at Hampton Beach.
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In 1892 another Manchester institution was born that was the direct result of the civic- mindedness of a woman who had died in 1876. Mary G. Gale, wife of Dr. Amos Gale and daughter of Richard Ayer, first president of the Amoskeag National Bank, had conceived the idea of a home for aged women, and had made provision in her will for its eventual establish- ment. David R. Leach also bequeathed the res- idue of his property for the same purpose, and this decade of the 90's saw the plan consum- mated and the home in operation on the Hazel- ton property. The present large and commodi- ous building was erected in 1907.
In line with civic-consciousness, a sense of obligation to the present, is loyalty to the past. Thus the formation of Molly Stark Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, in 1892, was a logical parallel development to the rise of the philanthropic organizations as part of women's new public activity. The service of this chapter to the city has been noteworthy. Already mention has been made of its contribu- tion of suitable markers for the site of the old church on Mammoth Road, and for the Stark homestead and the Molly Stark well at the homestead on North River Road. The sites of the old fort near Nutt Pond and of the town pound also have been marked. And it was due
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to the efforts and energy of this organization, that the Archibald Stark house, where the gen- eral spent most of his boyhood, has been re- stored to its original appearance and furnished appropriately. The ell has been converted into an auditorium where the regular meetings of the chapter are held.
With the approach of the fiftieth anniversary of Manchester as a city, in 1896, not merely the women but the whole community became "past-minded" and prepared to do honor to a momentous date in local history. Preparations for a suitable celebration led to another signifi- cant event, the formation of the Manchester Historic Association. Hon. John C. French was the first president, with Henry W. Herrick and Joseph Kidder acting as vice-presidents and Herbert W. Eastman and John Dowst as sec- retary and treasurer respectively. The constitu- tion adopted stated that the object of the as- sociation was "to collect, preserve and publish whatever may relate to the early and later his- tory of the city of Manchester, and the sur- rounding towns that formed in the early history and settlement the same community, and to preserve such articles or relics of the aborigines and early settlers of the country, and records of colonial and later wars, as may be obtained by the association." The society has grown
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with the years, and now has its headquarters and its historical museum in the classic-lined building on Amherst Street, gift of the late Frank P. Carpenter. For many years the cus- todian of Manchester's yesterdays was Fred W. Lamb, whose knowledge of local facts and legends was inexhaustible. Since his death in 1946, Frank O. Spinney has been in charge, in- novating the custom of holding exhibitions and arranging programs that have proved very pop- ular. In 1905, the City Government furnished proof of its cooperation by giving the His- toric Association five hundred dollars for the purpose of printing the records of Old Derry- field.
The arrangements for the Semi-Centennial celebration were planned with skill and effi- ciency, Mayor William C. Clarke acting as gen- eral chairman, assisted by former Mayor Edgar J. Knowlton, John C. Bickford, Frank O. Clement and Joseph Quirin. From Sunday, September 6, to Wednesday, September 9, in- clusive, the community remembered and paid tribute to its past. And the manner of its re- membering was in itself a tribute to its aware- ness of debt and obligation to that past and to the men and women who had been the founders of today. Briefly, the program was as follows: Sunday, special services in all the churches and
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a large mass meeting in the evening. Monday, a mammoth parade of military and civic or- ganizations under the direction of Chief-Mar- shal Henry B. Fairbanks and his Chief-of-Staff S. S. Piper. Monday afternoon, laying of the cornerstone of Weston Observatory, with im- pressive ceremonies by Trinity Commandery of the Knights Templars (Masons). Tuesday, literary exercises held within the shelter of the huge tent on the Straw estate grounds. Hon. Charles H. Bartlett was president of the day. Hon. Henry E. Burnham delivered the oration, and the Rossini Quartet* sang the memorial hymn of which Rev. Burton W. Lockhart was the author, with music by E. T. Baldwin, a local musician. Tuesday afternoon, grand parade of firemen and trades companies under the di- rection of Henry B. Fairbanks with Captain John Gannon acting as Chief-of-Staff. Wednes- day forenoon, Children's Day exercises under the direction of William E. Buck, Superin- tendent of Schools. An original poem by Rev. Allen Eastman Cross was also a feature of this program.
* The Rossini Quartet comprised Zilla McQuesten, Mrs. Frank P. Cheney, Annie E. Gordon and Mrs. Frank H. Puffer. Other prominent local musicians of these years were Walter H. Lewis, the composer and producer, F. T. E. Richardson, Dr. A. Gale Straw, DeLafayette Robinson, and Roscoe K. Horne.
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Sports programs were held both Tuesday and Wednesday on Merrimack Common, under the direction of Alderman Richard G. Barry and Dana M. Evans. One of the outstanding features of the four-day celebration was the in- dustrial and historical exhibition in the Ken- nard Building. For the thoughtful, the arrange- ment of these exhibits under one roof carried an undertone of deep significance. Here, side by side, were the records of double achieve- ment, that of the mills and that of the city: duality, interdependence visibly expressed. Here, too, was proof of that fusion of forces that had made Samuel Blodget's vision a reality.
For the thoughtful, also, there was food for pondering in the subject considered at the Sun- day evening mass meeting by Dr. William J. Tucker, President of Dartmouth College: "The Spiritual Life Of The Modern City".
It is interesting to note that when, just a year later, September 10, 1897, Dr. Tucker again addressed a Manchester audience at the im- pressive dedication services of the new High School building, he chose as his subject, "How Far Shall We Make Utility The End Of Modern Education?" This stressing of the menace of materialism was significant.
A feature of the dedicatory exercises was the presence on the platform of Elizabeth Allison
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Wallace, widow of Rev. Cyrus W. Wallace, and first graduate of the original High School, in 1848. Her diploma was on display at this important occasion.
The erection of the new High School, de- signated in various congratulatory letters to the mayor as the finest High School building in New England, was only one of numerous achievements in the direction of culture and education that characterized this decade of the 90's.
Outstanding as a part of the community's cultural life were the Chandler courses of lec- tures and concerts which were annual events eagerly anticipated and widely attended. Through the generosity of George Byron Chandler programs by renowned speakers and artists were provided at a very moderate charge to the public.
In 1895 the sculptor John Rogers presented to Manchester his famous statue of Abraham Lincoln and came to the city to superintend its placing in the public library on Franklin Street. The artist's connection with Manchester, though lasting a brief six years, covered an important period in his career. It was in the kitchen of Mrs. Nancy Richardson, his board- ing mistress on Middle Street, that he began experimenting with clay from the banks
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of the Merrimack for modeling his figures, fore- runners of the "groups" eventually to become famous throughout the country.
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1829, John Rogers came to Manchester in his early twenties and found employment as a draftsman in the Amoskeag Machine Shop. He began to study mechanical engineering, but much to his disappointment an affection of his eyesight in- terrupted his plans. Strolling through one of Boston's side streets one day, he chanced to see a man modeling in clay and conceived the idea that this was something he might do without the close application forbidden by the condi- tion of his eyes. One may wonder if John Rogers' creative urge that resulted in his re- nowned groups might never have come to the surface but for the misfortune of impaired vision. Though his training included study abroad, he originated his own "style" and per- severed with his own ideas. The simplicity of his subjects, their human appeal usually touched with a bit of humor, is an outstanding characteristic of his work. From an Italian he had learned the art of reproducing his models in plaster and thus he was able to sell a large number of each group. The Manchester His- toric Association has a valuable collection of these, and but for the misfortune of the fire in
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the Kennard Building, the Institute of Arts and Sciences would be in possession of some eighty subjects. His famous Lincoln statue has been cast in bronze and placed on the grounds of Central High School, a fitting memorial to the man who is part of the city's cultural heritage.
Other artists were contributing notable work in the city during this period. William E. Bur- bank, whose achievements in oils was outstand- ing, and Mrs. John B. Varick were early in- structors in the Institute. So also was Mrs. Maud Briggs Knowlton, later director of the Currier Art Gallery, whose artistic abilities are many and varied, and whose work includes oils, water colors, block printing, weaving and other handicrafts. Her talent has been given widespread recognition and her canvases are among the permanent possessions of metropoli- tan galleries. Victor E. Stevens, descendant of the Ephraim Stevens who distinguished him- self at the battle of Trenton, has left a lasting imprint of his genius in the familiar trade-mark of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company -The Old Man of the Mountain.
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