Bennington County

Join the Manchester Historical Society Curator, Shawn Harrington for a presentation about regional tailor "Fred" Nicklewhite. Born on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, he moved with his family in 1898 to Vermont. Trained as a master tailor, Nicklewhite spent summers working at the Equinox Hotel in Manchester. 

“A country newspaper… should not seek to create and control public opinion, but to furnish the means by which public opinion may find utterance.” With those ambitious words, publisher Charles A. Pierce launched The Manchester Journal in May 1861, just weeks after the outbreak of the Civil War. Over 165 years later, the paper remains a weekly snapshot of life in the Northshire and beyond. Join us for a fascinating journey through the history of this local institution, from its beginnings as a Union war-effort booster to its role as the town’s chronicler of everyday life.

Participants will hear the reasons why a particular passage from a 1777 letter to the Inhabitants of Vermont was selected to be reprinted for this event. During the session, attendees are invited to read and discuss the entire letter and decide for themselves whether this chosen passage, to be letterpress printed on unique handmade paper, is recognizable, relevant, and relatable to us more than 250 years after it was first written. John Vincent of A Revolutionary Press will also discuss how typesetting and printing in the New Haven, Vermont print shop compare to the methods used during the Revolutionary period in America.