November 2013 - Historical Society of Cheshire County

Historical Society of Cheshire County
Collecting, Preserving, and Communicating the
History of Cheshire County
VOL. 29, NO. 4
NOVEMBER 2013
From a Cow Stuck in the Mud to a 19th & 20th Century Success Story:
The J.A. Wright Company
John A. Wright
And his “Red Star
Cleaning Powder”
One afternoon in 1872, Keene businessman John
A. Wright was driving along a road south of Keene
when he came across a cow stuck in the mud in a
bog beside the road. He went to find the neighboring farmer and the two men went back to the cow
and managed to extract it from the mud. As the
two men stood talking and watching the cow recover from its harrowing experience, Wright noticed
that the dark mud on the cow’s legs became lighter
and lighter in color as it dried. Wright, being an
amateur geologist and familiar with chemistry, was
quite intrigued by the mud. He collected a sample
and took it with him to be analyzed.
The analysis determined that the mud from the
bog was actually diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of microscopic hard-shelled algae. The
Massachusetts State Assayer’s Office told Mr.
Wright that the diatomaceous earth had several commercial uses, including polishing metal. The fossils
were abrasive enough to polish metal, but were so
small that they would not scratch it. Realizing that
the earth might have value, Wright purchased two
acres around the site where the cow had been mired
in the mud.
He soon went to work mining, storing, drying,
and preparing the substance for commercial use.
The earth was transported to Keene where it was
sifted and packaged in a back room of the Eagle Hotel, of which Wright was a part owner. It was marketed as “Red Star Cleaning Powder, prepared and
put up only by J.A. Wright & Co. Keene, N.H., for
cleaning Silver and Silver Plated Ware.” The unusual tale of the cow stuck in the mud begins the story
of one of Keene’s most successful and long-lasting
manufacturing firms. J.A. Wright & Co. manufactured fine metal polishes in Keene until 2006 and
continues to do so today in Gurnee, Illinois.
The fascinating story of inventor and businessman John A. Wright, his various companies, and especially the J.A. Wright silver polish company, will
Continued on page 2:
J.A. Wright Company (cont. from page 1):
Historical Society of
be the focus of the Historical Society’s winter
Cheshire County
2013-2014 feature exhibit. When the company
was moved from Keene, the Wright family donated the company archives and museum to the Historical Society of Cheshire County. These materials will form the basis of the exhibit, which will
open at the Society in January. The history of the
J.A. Wright Company illustrates the ingenuity
th
Board of Trustees and hard work demonstrated by so many 19 century New England businessmen. These men used
Sydney Croteautheir inventive skill and imagination to create new
Frechette
products and industries that succeeded in a rapidPresident
ly modernizing world. Please join us to learn the
story of this unique business and family.
Paula Page
Vice President
John Treat
Treasurer
Wright’s Silver Polish
Larry Benaquist
Doug Brown
William Dow
F. Barrett Faulkner
David Frechette
Medora Hebert
Jane B. Johnson
Jane Lane
Art Simington
Edwin Smith
Rob Therrien
Don B. Wilmeth
Peter Wright
Staff
Alan F. Rumrill
Executive Director
Rick Swanson
Development Director
Katharine Schillemat
Administrative Asst.
“Baked Beans and Fried Clams: How Food Defines A Region”
November 25th Member Meeting Features Edie Clark
The November Historical Society Member Meeting
on Monday, November 25th, at 7:00 pm will feature
Edie Clark from Harrisville. She will be speaking on our
relationship with foods of the New England region.
Baked beans, fried clams, fish chowder, Indian pudding
- so many foods are distinctive to New England. This
talk offers a celebration of these regional favorites along
with an examination of how contemporary life has distanced us from these classics. What makes them special
and how do these foods define our region? Edie Clark
draws from such diverse resources as Fannie Farmer, Julia Child, and Haydn S.
Pearson for enlightenment and amusement as well as on her own experiences, writing and traveling for Yankee magazine over the past thirty years to places where
baked beans are still featured prominently on the menu.
The Member Meeting is free and open to the public and will be held in the Exhibit Hall. Ms. Clark’s talk is made possible through a grant from the New Hampshire
Humanities Council’s Humanities to Go program. For more information, contact
Kathy Schillemat, 352-1895 or [email protected].
Gail Currier
Development
Coordinator
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Give the Past as a Present
Gift Ideas from the Historical Society’s Museum Store
Holiday Members’ Sale
20% off for members on all items from November 25 until December 21
Gift Certificates and Gift Membership also available.
Choose from these titles and many other gift ideas
Holiday Sale Member Price:
$11.96
Holiday Sale Member Price:
$14.40
Our newest publication! Holiday
Sale Member Price: $15.96
Holiday Sale Member Price: $7.96
Holiday Sale Member Price:
$16.00
Holiday Sale Member Price:
$8.00
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The Auction of Historic Proportions
Grows, Entertains and Succeeds
The call of history brought many happy folks into the Ball Mansion last month as the Historical Society of
Cheshire County presented its sixth annual Auction of Historic Proportions. This event has become the Society's main fund-raising event, and once again the evening was profitable, interesting (even educational at times),
and most of all, lots of fun.
The Society would like to thank all of its sponsors, donors, and volunteers, as well as our Auction Committee and staff, and most importantly, our many patrons who did the bidding in both the silent and live auctions,
and online.
Our Sponsors : The Gravina Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Kristin's Bistro & Bakery, Sunflowers Café &
Catering, Little Zoe's Pizza, In The Company of Flowers, Monadnock Fine Art Gallery, Ward Legal Group,
RiverMead, People's Linens, g.housen, Cheshire Oil Company, Monadnock Radio Group, The Keene Sentinel,
Ingenuity Country Store, Fairgrounds Antiques, C & S Wholesale Grocers, and Frazier & Son Furniture.
Our Volunteers and Donors included friends and members of the Historical Society as well as the Interact
Program students at Keene High School, who served gourmet food from our sponsors and chocolates from Ye
Goodie Shoppe and Unbridled Chocolates. Thanks are extended to the dozens of donors of quality antiques,
collectibles, artwork, gift certificates, and truly unique historical opportunities offered for sale to benefit the
Society.
The entertainment for the evening was provided by the 20th Century Pops quartet; a quiz show presented by
the Ball Mansion Players that was written, produced and directed by Bob Weekes; and by Attorney Peter
Heed, who had the audience in the palm of his hand, and rolling in the aisles, as he returned for his third successful year as our esteemed auctioneer.
Finally, with profound gratitude a rousing thank you goes to our Auction Committee: Paula Page, CeeCee
Frechette, Jane Johnson, Dave Sutherland, Victoria Hawkins, Susan Murata, Susan Landers-Gilbert, Gail Currier, Rick Swanson, and Alan Rumrill.
Scenes from the 2013 Auction of
Historic Proportions:
Top Left: Keene High Interact
Students; Top Right: Volunteers Pat
Wright (left) and Kathleen Kennedy
Burke at the registration table
Middle: 20th Century Pops perform;
Bottom Right: Christina Christides
and Larry Benaquist dance to the
music; Bottom Left: Becky Barton
(left) and Kathy Schillemat next to
the painting of the Wyman Tavern
which Becky won in the raffle later
in the evening.
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Remembering a Good Friend to the Historical Society of Cheshire County
It is with sadness and much gratitude that we observe the passing of Ann F. Jacobs, former President of the
Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Cheshire County.
Ann F. Jacobs is pictured here with
John Wright in 1992 celebrating
the Historical Society’s publication
of the book Central Square and
Beyond.
Ann Jacobs will long be remembered for her significant contributions to the community. Alan Rumrill remembers her as a committed board president from 1991-1994 who put in a great deal of time on behalf of the
Society. "The day that Ann became President," says Rumrill, "was the day that the organization took off." She
led the Historical Society through the purchase, renovation, and endowment campaign for the Ball Mansion as
the Society headquarters. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Barry Faulkner room.
Our condolences go to her husband of 71 years, Carl B. Jacobs, and their son Carl Jacobs, Jr., who followed in her footsteps to serve as a board president of the Historical Society, as well as the other family members and friends she has left behind.
Book Signing Event at the Museum Shop on Saturday, December 7th
Several of the Monadnock region’s most acclaimed authors have graciously agreed to visit the Historical
Society for book signings on Saturday December 7th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Their books will be available
for purchase at the Museum Shop. Members of the Historical Society will be entitled to a 20 percent discount.
Charles Butterfield is the author of In the Shadow of Cedars: The Life and Times of a Disgraced Citizen
Soldier in Revolutionary Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He conducted extensive research over five years for
this book, which has been published jointly by the Historical Society of Cheshire County and the Westmoreland Park Hill Meeting House & Historical Society.
Edie Clark has written for Yankee magazine for the past 35 years and is the author of six books, the most
recent of which is What There Was Not to Tell: A Story of Love and War. The book is about the loss in World
War II of a man Edie Clark’s mother had hoped to marry.
Ernest Hebert is known for his Darby novels, which show changes in the imaginary north country town of
Darby, New Hampshire over twenty-five years. His historical novel, The Old American, is set in the early
days of the French and Indian Wars, and tells the story of an aging chief and his captive, an English Colonist,
based on Keene’s Nathan Blake.
Howard Mansfield writes about architecture, preservation, and history in his quest to understand the soul of
American places. He is the author of ten books, the most recent of which is Dwelling in Possibility: Searching
for the Soul of Shelter. The book is a search for the qualities that make houses homes, and public places welcoming.
Sy Montgomery’s 15 books for both adults and children have garnered many awards. The Good, Good
Pig, her memoir of life with her pig, Christopher Hogwood, is an international bestseller.
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Historical Society Volunteer Spotlight
By February she had already called the planning committee together to start working on this year’s Auction
of Historic Proportions. She set a stretch goal to make it the biggest fundraising event ever for the Historical
Society and she started nudging committee members to sign up sponsors and donations of auction items.
Early on she obtained a wonderful raffle item for the auction – an original painting of the Historical Society’s most important artifact, the Wyman Tavern. As donations of auction items began to roll in, she made sure
there was a good system to evaluate whether to accept the items. She often did research on the values of antiques and their provenance.
As the date of the event got closer, she was always available to take photos of auction items and write descriptions of them for the website. She recruited more sponsors than anyone else and she sold more tickets.
She worried about details such as menus, decorations, tablecloths, flowers, you name it.
Towards the end, she was at the Historical Society on a daily basis, and she
always arrived with a big smile and encouraging words. Her enthusiasm and
vision were ingredients for success, and she represented the heart and soul of the
Society’s most important event.
At the end of the day, this year’s auction was the best yet for the Historical
Society, and it couldn’t or wouldn’t have happened without her unflagging support. We would like to recognize this volunteer of “historic proportions,” Auction Committee chair and former Board president Susan Landers-Gilbert.
Thank you, Susan, for all your hard work!
Many Thanks to Susan Landers-Gilbert for
chairing another successful Auction of Historic
Proportions
Making the Case for Planned Giving:
A planned gift can support the Historical Society of Cheshire County
without coming up with any money out of pocket
Having the foresight to make a planned gift can make it possible to strengthen the future of the Historical
Society of Cheshire County. For example, a bequest in 1995 from F. Marion Wood (1906-1994) allowed the
Society to successfully complete a capital campaign to create a home of its own at the Ball Mansion. A bequest from Harold Kendall in the 1980s allowed the Historical Society to preserve its noteworthy collection of
glass.
A planned gift can be as simple and easy as naming the Historical Society of Cheshire County on a beneficiary form such as a savings account, retirement account, or insurance policy. Or it may require the help of a
professional advisor if you are using a vehicle such as a will, a living trust, or a gift annuity.
You can have a real impact for the Historical Society without coming up with a cent out of pocket today.
The future of the Society holds many opportunities such as our vision for a cultural heritage center. Planned
gifts can support a range of long-term resource needs and objectives so that our programs will continue to offer
relevance and a sense of place well into the future.
Over the long term we want to be able to care for our buildings, be good stewards of our collections, and
engage the community through education and outreach. If you would like to create a legacy for generations to
come by making a planned gift to the Historical Society, please contact Rick Swanson, Development Director,
603.352.1895, [email protected].
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E-Newsletter or Not to E-Newsletter; That is the Question
The Historical Society of Cheshire County would like to offer the option of receiving the newsletter via
email as opposed to the current print version. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter electronically,
please email the Historical Society at [email protected] or call 603-352-1895.
If we don’t hear from you, you will continue to receive the newsletter in print. As always, additional print
copies are available at the Historical Society to share with friends and neighbors, and the newsletter may be
viewed on our website: www.hsccnh.org. Thank you for sharing your preference with us.
Historical Society 2013 Program Sponsors
Keene Lions Club
Keene Rotary Club
Monadnock Lions Club
Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc.
Munsonville Ladies Group
New Hampshire Humanities Council
Savings Bank of Walpole
Toy City
U-Save Car & Truck Rental
UNFI
Website Sponsor
Yankee Bottle Club
Ariel Printing
Ashuelot River Hydro, Inc.
Carin Torp
Connecticut River Bank
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Keene Elm City Rotary Club
Keene Lions Club
Fenton Family Dealerships
Faulkner Family Fund of the
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Harrisville Designs
2013 Tavern Keepers
The following donors make the Wyman Tavern programs and activities possible in 2013
Larry Benaquist & Tammy Armstrong
Megan Burke Kidder
Juliana Bergeron & Arto Leino
Harriet & Claus Knappe
Chris, Mary & Julia Booras
Lee & Paula Page
Cambridge Trust Company of NH
Charlton & Diana MacVeagh
Richard & Donna Cohen
Monadnock Garden Club
Richard & Betsey Church
Jane Reynolds
Robert & Alfrieda Englund
Tim & Talu Robertson
Philip Faulkner, Jr.
Phyllis & Jim Rogers
Frechette Fund
Joan Kibbe & Richard Scaramelli
David Frechette & CeeCee Croteau-Frechette
Dr. Arthur & Lynn Simington
Susan Landers Gilbert
Kimball & Maria Temple
Elizabeth & Peter Hansel
Rob & Lianne Therrien
Dr. & Mrs. H. Roger Hansen
Tony & Barbara Tremblay
Peter and Tricia Heed
John Treat & Eloise Clark
Carl B. & Ruth Jacobs, Jr.
Robert & Jan Weekes
Neil, Peter, & Cathy Jenness
Barbara & Norman Woodward
Greg & Jane Johnson
Bob & Lisa Wyman
Keene Masonic Lodge
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NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
KEENE, NH
PERMIT NO. 102
Historical Society of Cheshire County
P.O. Box 803 – 246 Main Street
Keene, New Hampshire 03431
603-352-1895 – www.hsccnh.org
Hours: Tues., Thurs., & Fri.: 9 am - 4 pm
Wed.: 9 am - 9 pm
First and Third Sat., 9 am– 12 pm
First Sat, 9 am –12 pm, Jan.-Apr.
Collecting, Preserving, and Communicating the History of Cheshire County
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Calendar
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 24 and 25,
Historical Society closed for Christmas Holiday.
November 2013
Monday, November 25, Exhibit Hall, 7:00 pm,
Member Meeting: “Baked Beans and Fried Clams:
How Food Defines a Region” with Edie Clark.
January 2014
Wednesday, January 1, Historical Society closed
for New Year’s Day.
Monday, November 25, Museum Store, Member
Sale begins. 20% off all items in store.
Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29, Historical Society closed for Thanksgiving Holiday.
December 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2:00 pm, Exhibit Hall,
Book signing event with Charles Butterfield, Edie
Clark, Ernie Hebert, Howard Mansfield and Sy
Montgomery.
Saturday, December 21, Museum Store Member
Sale ends.
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