Manchester History, Industry Artifacts, Silk; Marvelous Mycology
A door opens to wonders. A Jacquard loom, punchcards. Precision machines, parachutes. Silk in gorgeous colors.
Jacquard loom and context. Punchcards to program the silk patterns. Context in an image, captioned “Alfred Leidholdt at work on a Jacquard Loom” which also contains reflection of Dennis Gleeson, president of Manchester Historical Society. Silk threads glow in the natural light, gorgeous.
Makers work, indigenous artistry in tools.
History is people, choices, the shaping of the future.
Stories on innovation and pioneers. The display of a fearless woman running in the annual road race in the 1960s–before female runners were allowed to do so. The namesake of Elisabeth M. Bennet Academy in Manchester, Connecticut, and why her life work is honored.
Riders. Part of the history of people and place, time, at Manchester Historical Society's exhibits. Amazing, really. Zoom in to see what looks like a collie at left in the enlarged black-and-white image.
When a certain temperature is reached, the component melts and the fire door swings shut. A process explained by Dennis Gleeson president of Manchester Historical Society during an impromptu tour of two floors of objects and history, people and stories contained within a former factory building.
The fire door, how it works as explained by MHS President Dennis Gleeson.
A carved of wood silkworm greets visitors to two floors of exhibits at Manchester Historical in Connecticut.
The visit was not planned Friday after a half day at Odyssey Community School. One street over from a turn and handsome rick buildings repurposed for apartments. Yarn. Velvet. Ribbon. Turned around and went back to park beside the MHS building that had an “open” sign out. Oh, yes, curiosity leads places. Learning.
The Manchester History Center (MHS), 175 Pine St., Manchester, Connecticut; (860) 647-9983. Factory floors full of exhibits, collections; workspaces for weavers. MHS also offers special events, lectures, a museum store on site. Books for sale. Exhibits and the museum open weekdays, except holidays; please phone ahead to be sure it is open. (If Manchester's schools are closed due to inclement weather, the museum may also close.) Suggested admission for the Old Manchester Museum, Cheney Homestead, exhibits at all sites: $5. Free for members and for those younger than 16. Costs for lectures, history walks, and other programs are listed on the Events page.
Julia Chase, determined pioneer.
Stay tuned for part two, to be continued with more images of this tour and visit.
Now for a conversation on Twitter. Shared knowledge after a rain storm.
A story, so to speak, unfolds.
What is that beautiful yellow goo?
— Kim Krieger (@Epitopic) December 1, 2022
Tremella mesenterica, witches butter. A common fungus on recently fallen branches.
— Tom Kimmerer, PhD (@tomkimmerer) December 1, 2022
Editor's note: A portion that follows below originally appeared in October 2009 after attending a foray. Republishing this after seeing a yellow blob. More excellent people to know about.
Bill Yule, CVMS member, identifies mushrooms and shared interesting details at a recent Connecticut Valley Mycological Society potluck and foray gathering. Meg Driscoll of Waterford, along with her son, Max, and daughter, Nina, attended as guests.
The Sam Ristich Foray 32nd Annual Northeast Mycological Federation (NMF) Foray took place on Cape Cod (2009) and was hosted by the Boston Mycological Club.
Mycologists (hunters of fungi) gathered to learn and exchange information about cooking, dyeing, cultivation and other diverse aspects of fungus and related life forms.
Members of the Connecticut Valley Mycological Society (CVMS) in attendance, including Joe Lenoce, at the time CVMS president and past NMF president.
Mycologists forayed alongside experts such as Roy Halling, principal mycologist, New York Botanical Gardens; Bart Buyck, National Museum of Natural History, Paris; Gro Gulden, Natural History Museum, Oslo; David Hibbett, Clark University; Sue Hopkins, mushroom dyeing expert; Renée Lebeuf, renowned mushroom photographer; Gary Lincoff, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms; Bill Neill, Mushrooms of Cape Cod and the National Seashore; Donald Pfister, Farlow Library and Herbarium, Harvard University; Anne Pringle, Harvard; and Elinoar Shavit, contributing editor, Fungi Magazine.
Member Mary Kallio, (then) a computer repairer at Connecticut College, and a fiber arts teacher, spinner, dyer, with special interest in the dyeing workshops at the NMF event. She noted, “I need to learn a lot more about mushrooms and this is the best season to collect them.” Kallio dyes fiber with mushrooms, lichens, gathered plant materials.
Resources: CVMS welcomes guests with an interest in mushrooms and fungi identification, dyeing, cooking, microscopy, mushroom cultivation, photography, etc. (In 2009, Lenoce led a mushroom identification walk at a Coventry Regional Farmers' Market.) For a listing of mushroom groups across North America see www.mushroomthejournal.com or www.mykoweb.com. Also see Mycological Society of America).
End of 2009 story excerpt.
The universe is so big. And I am so smol. — Moshi Moshi pic.twitter.com/W2BWHurapR
— Zed Zha,MD | Call the Country Doctor (@DrZedZha) December 2, 2022
This story has been updated.