The Darker Side of Manchester NH’s Pine Island Park

Posted on 12 April, 2015 by Janice Brown
Pine Island Park Gate, circa 1953, photograph by Peter Caikauskas. Manchester Historical Association Photoprint Collection. Used with permission.

Pine Island Park Gate, circa 1953, photograph by Peter Caikauskas. Manchester Historical Association Photoprint Collection. Used with permission.

There are people alive today who have fond, happy memories of Pine Island Park. This amusement area was located in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the vicinity of the current Pine Island Park.

During the 61 years of its existence, at varying times it hosted recreations including swimming, dancing (with live bands), skating (ice and roller), boating, bowling, a restaurant, amusements and rides, summer theater plays, a drive-in theater, and a giant Moxie bottle.  Often there were evening fireworks displays. Continue reading →

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Missing Places: Lucy Hastings Hospital of Manchester, New Hampshire

Posted on 8 April, 2015 by Janice Brown

Hospital Lucy Hastings postcard2 watermarkedThe Lucy Hastings Hospital was a small general hospital located at 1038 Union Street in Manchester, New Hampshire.  The building still exists, now being used as a private home.  The hospital was founded in on 25 February 1925 by George Sanford Foster, M.D., who named it after his great-grandmother, Lucy Hastings, and it closed in 1945.

Continue reading →

Posted in Genealogy, History, N.H. Missing Places, New Hampshire Men, New Hampshire Women, Structures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Current Events: Peterborough NH Seen Through Bette Davis Eyes

Posted on 4 April, 2015 by Janice Brown
Old postcard of the Mariarden stage where Bette Davis performed.

Old postcard of the Mariarden stage where Bette Davis performed.

Bette Davis’ connections to New Hampshire are fairly well known.  Her ancestors hailed from here, and she spent some of her adult time in the Sugar Hill area, where she met one of her husbands.  Much less known is her connection to Peterborough, New Hampshire, that had several acting camps, including the The Out-Door-Players and Mariarden.  Bette Davis was “discovered” there.  In fact 2015 is the 90th Anniversary of that event. Continue reading →

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Pioneer Watchmaker and International Watch Company Founder: Rumney New Hampshire’s Florentine Ariosto Jones (1841-1916)

Posted on 3 April, 2015 by Janice Brown

Is this Florentine Ariosto Jones?

Is this Florentine A. Jones?  [SEE original below. This is a closeup, and enhancement of same.].

Florentine Ariosto Jones is a name well known to watch makers and collectors.  He was the son of Solomon and Lavinia (Craig) Jones. He was born, grew up, and attended school, in the still small town of Rumney, New Hampshire.

Family stories say that two of his great uncles encouraged him to learn and become a watchmaker, and so he did. According to a book published by the IWC, Florentine apprenticed with a (unnamed) watchmaker in Concord, New Hampshire. [Editor’s note: my thanks for Roger Daniels former president of the Rumney Historical Society for his help with research into Florentine’s early life]. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire Tidbits: Easter Traditions Past and Present

Posted on 2 April, 2015 by Janice Brown

Easter has always been a holiday celebrated with great enthusiasm in my family.  Part of it Easter old cardwas due to their Catholic tradition–after the long Lenten season it was time to celebrate.  But honestly, after a long New England winter, wearing a pretty bonnet or enjoying a meal of ‘spring lamb’ was just the thing to provide a more hopeful outlook on life.

I remember as a child receiving a colorful “Easter chick.”  Being close in age, each of my three siblings received one and the baby birds were kept in a large cardboard box until they began to grow, then they were transferred to the chicken coop in the back yard.  Today of course there are laws against such things, to prevent cruelty to animals. Continue reading →

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