New Hampshire Glossary: Tableaux

Posted on 5 December, 2013 by Janice Brown

Also called “Tableau” and “Tableau vivant“, these words describe a custom posed scene consisting of actors (either amateur or professional), often in costume with backdrops, created for  entertainment purposes.

Notice of Christmas Festival at Amherst NH in the Farmer's Cabinet of December 19, 1861, page 3

Notice of Christmas Festival at Amherst NH in the Farmer’s Cabinet of December 19, 1861, page 3

One of the most popular stage entertainments of the nineteenth century was a form of minstrel show, consisting of plays and tableaux (a mute scene or representation). Both adults and children would participate and such performances were often used to raise money for various worthy causes, such as orphanages, sick and disabled soldiers, etc.

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Manchester NH World War I Casualty: Bernard B. Barry (1893-1918)

Posted on 1 December, 2013 by Janice Brown

An unassuming plaque sits at the corners of Hall Street and Lake Avenue in Manchester New Hampshire, proclaiming:

pvt bernard barry plaque Manchester NH

This plaque commemorating the death of Pvt. Bernard B. Barry sits at the corner of Hall Street and Lake Ave in Manchester New Hampshire. Photograph copyright by Kevin Cronin, and used here with his knowledge and permission.

PVT. BERNARD B. BARRY
Co. E. — 309th INF. 78 DIV.
KILLED IN ACTION OCT. 16, 1918
IN THE ARGONNE FOREST

But Private Bernard B. Barry was more than simply a name on a sign.  He was a flesh-and-blood Manchester resident who gave up his life for his country during World War I.

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“Thanksgiving in the Olden Time”: An 1876 Sermon Published in the New Hampshire Sentinel

Posted on 28 November, 2013 by Janice Brown

Anybody born out of New England cannot have the true flavor of New England in his mouth, and it is to the happy saints, born in New England, that I address myself this morning, not forbidding others to catch the drops that fall from the goblet. When the children came home to Thanksgiving, the scene was memorable in my father’s house in old Litchfield [CT]. In those times the community was well off, because it was poor, thriving, Antique Thanksgiving postcardindustrious, and always about to be rich. Wages ranged at fifty cents a day. Hear that, ye brick-layers! The domestic loom still clicked; I hear it now. The shoemakers came round once a month and did up the making and mending. The tailoring was done at home. The best suit was as clearly marked off from the rest of the clothes as Sunday was from the rest of the week. Every child had some of the household work to do. Before I was ten years old I learned to sew, to knit, to wash dishes and prepare them to wash. I earned whippings, made fires, went to school and didn’t study, and was a body that nobody could get along with or without. The house I lived in was large and roomy, especially for the elements. Woe to those who had to burn red oak wood, spitting out sap at both ends, while the children cried, and the older persons were cross. Continue reading →

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Four Manchester (NH) High School Graduates of 1888

Posted on 20 November, 2013 by Janice Brown

The year was 1888.  Manchester New Hampshire’s only high school was then located on Beech Street, between Lowell and Concord Streets–”a three story building with mansard roof, Romanesque style arched windows with elaborate window crowns, and two side

Manchester New Hampshire's second high school. Located on Beech Street. Original at http://manchester.pastperfect-online.com/31557cgi/mweb.exe?request=image&hex=MHAGN260B.JPG

Manchester New Hampshire’s second high school. Located on Beech Street. Original at the Manchester Historic Association web site: http://manchester.pastperfect-online.com/31557cgi/mweb.exe?request=image&hex=MHAGN260B.JPG

pediment porticos.”  At that time, the administration included Principal Edward R. Goodwin with Sub-Master, George I. Hopkins. Assistants included Misses Lucretia E. Manahan, Mary A. Buzzell, Rocilla M. Tuson, and Mary Stanton.

Among the many students of 1888 were four in particular–George W. Bartlett, Lillian J. Gray,  John B. McGuinness,  and Emma A. Putney.  Here are their photographs and stories.

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New Hampshire’s Thanksgiving Recipes from 1889

Posted on 16 November, 2013 by Janice Brown

The New Hampshire newspapers of old were a great resource for women to share their special family recipes.  In 1889 the following are gleaned for your enjoyment.  [Editor's note and disclaimer: Please repeat these recipes at your own risk, I have not tested them.]

–FOR A THANKSGIVING DINNER–
The following three recipes for a Thanksgiving dinner are contributed by Mrs. Eliza R. Parker to the current Ladies’ Home Journal, and may be recommended as reliable:

THANKSGIVING BUNS.–Boil a little saffron in a sufficient water to cover; strain and cool. Rub half a pound of sifted flour, and make into a paste with four well beaten eggs; add the saffron. Put the dough in a pan and cover it with a cloth. Set in a warm place to rise. When light mix into it a quarter of a pound of sugar, a grated nutmeg and two Victorian Thanksgiving postcardspoonfuls of caraway seed. Roll out the dough, divide into cakes. Strew with caraway comfits, and bake in flat tins.

PUMPKIN PIE.–Take a pint of pumpkin after being stewed and pressed through a colander. Melt in half a pint of warm milk, a quarter of a pound of butter, and the same quantity of sugar, stirring them well together. Beat eight eggs very light, and add them gradually to the other ingredients. Stir in a wineglass of rose-water, a large teaspoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon mixed and grated nutmeg. Put on pastry and bake.
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