Ray Berg

Sesquicentennial updates part 2

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Adding to our first article last week on our upcoming Sesquicentennial celebration later this summer, we offer the following additional information:

1. Fashion Show/Luncheon and Tea, Saturday, July 29

Fashion Show and Tea - period dress

July 29th marks the beginning of Manchester's Sesquicentennial celebration with a Luncheon and Fashion Show at Manchester United Methodist Church. This event will feature fashions from the 1860s through the current day. The Planning Committee has been collecting items from local members of the community, who are willing to share past outfits worn by their ancestors who lived in the area and continuing up to what we wear today. We will be depicting each decade as we reminisce on what was fashionable, and how the fashions were influenced by the world around us. A wonderful homemade lunch will be served using dishes from the past and a collection of tea cups, along with a homemade dessert, something like our great grandmas would have done! The models will be people from the community, some wearing their grandma’s outfit!

Mark your calendars for Saturday July 29, Noon til around 3 pm at Manchester United Methodist Church, 501 Ann Arbor Street (M-52). Tickets are available at River Raisin Antiques & Mercantile, 138 E. Main Street, for $10. There is limited seating for this event, so get your tickets early!

Anyone interested in loaning something for the show or interested in modeling please contact Teresa Benedict-Miller at 734-476-4405.

2. Gazebo Concert, Dodworth-Saxhorn Band, Thursday, August 3

The final gazebo concert of this season takes place on Thursday, August 3, 7:00 pm in Wurster Park, with a special focus on 1867. We are fortunate to have the Ann Arbor-based Dodworth-Saxhorn Band visiting us with a truly unique show involving 19th century instruments and arrangements, costumes and connections with the past. This show will feature period songs from our Sesquicentennial time, along with dancing, educational oratory of the period and all sorts of crowd interaction to put you back in that time. We’ll provide a hand-out program with lyrics, what was happening in Manchester in 1867, and all sort of fun stuff. You won’t want to miss this family event! Supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.

Dodworth Saxhorn Band

3. Sesquicentennial Parade, Friday, August 4

The Sesquicentennial Parade is growing! From music to marchers to antique vehicles to re-enactors, we are adding daily to the list. Please consider joining the parade as a group or club, a set of re-enactors, or just someone who wants to walk or drive through the historic parts of Manchester and see the same buildings our 1867 ancestors saw. The parade begins at 6:30 pm along Duncan Street by the Ackerson Building, and routes through town to the Emanuel UCC parking lot. The parade is followed by an Open House at the Manchester Fire Department, where you can see the old fire trucks and several historic tractors.

Contact Ray Berg at 428-7705 or rayberg@att.net to be added to the parade roster.

Manchester Historic Parade

4. MAHS Antiques Road Show and Silent Auction, Saturday, August 5

An 1880s bottle of Dr. Thomas’ Eclectic Oil found near Manchester with intact contents – what’s it worth?

On Saturday, August 5, 11 am to 2 pm, the Historical Society will host an “antiques roadshow” type appraisal for antiques and other old “artifacts,” which anyone can bring in for examination. A professional appraiser will be present to examine your item and provide an estimate of current value. The location is the Kingsley-Jenter House at 302 E. Main. There is no charge for the appraisal.

Concurrently, we will be conducting a silent auction of various historic or otherwise curious items at the Kingsley-Jenter House. Proceeds serve as a fundraiser for the further upgrade and improvements to the Historical Society museum now in development. The Society will have several items available, and seeks additional donations of historic, or curious, or otherwise strangely interesting items for auction. Please drop off donations with Sue LaRocque at River Raisin Antiques and Mercantile, 138 E. Main Street.

Watch next week’s Mirror for more Sesquicentennial event details….

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.
Become a patron at Patreon!

Become a Monthly Patron!

You must be logged in to post a comment Login