May and June Programs 2014
LittleEli+Ted14
MHS Collection 032214 SH14 015
Wednesday, May 21, 2014Introducing "Little Eli," Manchester's Newly Restored 19th Century Fire Pumper"Little Eli" returns to Manchester under the watchful eye of Ted Hopkins.Ted Hopkins and Philip "Grub" Bourn will present a program on "Little Eli," as the fire pumper has always been affectionately called. Hopkins was a member of the Manchester Village Fire Department in 1951 when the Village trustees gave the 19th century pumper to the Manchester Historical Society. It had been stored for many decades in the basement of the Village firehouse which was built in the 1880s. The pumper was restored last year thanks in large part to a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. "Little Eli" will be presented at Manchester's current firehouse, 6041 Main Street, just behind Manchester Town Hall on Route 7A in Manchester Center. The program is at 7 pm and is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will follow. Thank you to Shaw Insurance of Manchester for supporting this presentation!Little Eli at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in the 1960s
Friday, June 20
Col. William Marsh, Vermont, Patriot and Loyalist
The Northshire Bookstore and the Manchester Historical Society are pleased to present authors Jennifer S.H. Brown and Wilson B. Brown who will speak about their recent publication, Col. William Marsh, Vermont Patriot and Loyalist. Their carefully researched book tells the story of William Marsh (1738-1816), an intriguing but little-known Revolutionary War soldier. A founder of Vermont, Marsh has been overshadowed by the more commonly known historical figures of Ethan and Ira Allen. A colonel in the Manchester, Vermont, militia, Marsh supported the Green Mountain Boys. He played a key role in uniting Vermont towns as they requested recognition as a state. Marsh and other Vermont loyalists and partisans secured Vermont’s neutrality in the later years of the Revolution and protected it from British raids. Marsh’s remarkable gravestone in Dorset stands as a reminder of his importance to this area. Tyler Resch, research librarian at the Bennington Museum, commented in his review, “In revealing Marsh’s little-known role in the creation of the feisty and independent state of Vermont, and his later work with the British on its behalf, the book makes a major contribution to its history, telling ‘the Vermont story’ in fresh and readable ways and making sophisticated use of a wide variety of sources.” The program is at 7 pm at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center.
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