A Convivial Social Feed
![On Sept. 13, 1939, the nose of the USS Squalus (SS-192) surfaced during the recovery efforts of the ill-fated submarine, which had sunk while on its 19th test dive off the Isles of Shoals nearly four months ago on May 23, 1939. #onthisday
According to the US Navy, that May, a failure of its main induction valve resulted in the immediate flooding of the aft torpedo room, both engine rooms, and the crew's quarters, killing 26 men. Surviving crewmen acted quickly sealing off other compartments as the submarine sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean--a depth of 243 feet. In what was called the "Greatest Submarine Rescue in History," 33 men were then saved; however, the bodies of the other crew members and the submarine remained on the ocean floor.
After 114 days and 628 dives, the salvage and recovery efforts were successful. According to the Portsmouth Herald, thousands of people watched from the shorelines of New Castle & Kittery as the Squalus was towed up the Piscataqua River toward the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, accompanied by a procession of military and civilian vessels.
"The ship having been brought alongside the coal pocket," reported the Herald, "only its conning tower above the surface. The slow-moving tower, en route to the yard, marked the steel tomb of the Squalus victims whose bodies, officials said, will be removed as soon as the after compartments are opened."
Named after a shark, the Squalus had been constructed at the Shipyard and launched there in September 1938. After its recovery, the submarine was overhauled and recommissioned as the USS Sailfish (SS-192) on May 15, 1940, and went safely through World War II.
Decommissioned in October 1945 and sold for scrap in 1948, the Sailfish conning tower was preserved and returned to the Shipyard as a memorial to the lost crew of the Squalus and to the service of the Sailfish during WWII.
👉 You can find more information and photographs of the Squalus and its rescue and recovery efforts in our online catalog.🔎
[Photograph attributed to Jimmy Jones of the old Boston Post, PS2847]
#squalus #usnavy #portsmouthnavalshipyard #kitterymaine #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖
#localhistory #otd](https://portsmouthathenaeum.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
On Sept. 13, 1939, the nose of the USS Squalus (SS-192) surfaced during the recovery efforts of the ill-fated submarine, which had sunk while on its 19th test dive off the Isles of Shoals nearly four months ago on May 23, 1939. #onthisday
According to the US Navy, that May, a failure of its main induction valve resulted in the immediate flooding of the aft torpedo room, both engine rooms, and the crew`s quarters, killing 26 men. Surviving crewmen acted quickly sealing off other compartments as the submarine sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean--a depth of 243 feet. In what was called the "Greatest Submarine Rescue in History," 33 men were then saved; however, the bodies of the other crew members and the submarine remained on the ocean floor.
After 114 days and 628 dives, the salvage and recovery efforts were successful. According to the Portsmouth Herald, thousands of people watched from the shorelines of New Castle & Kittery as the Squalus was towed up the Piscataqua River toward the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, accompanied by a procession of military and civilian vessels.
"The ship having been brought alongside the coal pocket," reported the Herald, "only its conning tower above the surface. The slow-moving tower, en route to the yard, marked the steel tomb of the Squalus victims whose bodies, officials said, will be removed as soon as the after compartments are opened."
Named after a shark, the Squalus had been constructed at the Shipyard and launched there in September 1938. After its recovery, the submarine was overhauled and recommissioned as the USS Sailfish (SS-192) on May 15, 1940, and went safely through World War II.
Decommissioned in October 1945 and sold for scrap in 1948, the Sailfish conning tower was preserved and returned to the Shipyard as a memorial to the lost crew of the Squalus and to the service of the Sailfish during WWII.
👉 You can find more information and photographs of the Squalus and its rescue and recovery efforts in our online catalog.🔎
[Photograph attributed to Jimmy Jones of the old Boston Post, PS2847]
#squalus #usnavy #portsmouthnavalshipyard #kitterymaine #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖
#localhistory #otd
Happy Labor Day!
On Sept. 2, 1902, the entire front page of the Portsmouth Herald detailed the "monster celebration" for Labor Day or Labor`s Day, held on Monday, Sept. 1, where this Labor Day Celebration Committee ribbon comes from. On the ribbon is the motto, "In Union Is Strength."💪
1800 men marched in the morning parade through the city, followed by various afternoon outings and celebrations across the seacoast.
The parade included marchers, bands, and floats. The different unions marching offer us a glimpse of Portsmouth`s workforce and industry over 120 years ago. It`s certainly changed. There were longshoremen, coal teamsters and general teamsters, granite cutters, boot and shoe workers, box makers, masons, blacksmiths, painters, decorators, hod carriers, typographical and laundry workers, coopers, brewery workers, bottlers, carpenters, joiners, barbers, retail clerks, and mixers and servers. Interestingly, the Herald mentioned that the mixers and servers walked beneath bright red "umbersols," which were not large enough to be umbrellas but too small to pass as parasols. ☂️
"The main object of the celebration, of course, was to furnish a practical demonstration of the strength of labor unionism in Portsmouth," wrote the Herald. "And this object was clearly attained."
[Labor Day Celebration Committee ribbon, 1902, E 3321]
#laborday #labordayweekend #parades #ribbons #ephemera #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #portsmouthnh
In this month`s "At the Athenaeum" featured in the Portsmouth Herald, Sherry Wood trekked to the city outskirts and to the site of Lawn Farm, a 210-acre estate owned by Ezra H. Winchester and family of Portsmouth and San Francisco, CA.
In 1921, a Winchester heir sold the 19th-century estate out of the family. And while no Winchester family members remained in the area, descendants of the estate employees did.
The Winchesters` coachman was Bartholomew "Barthy" Molloy. Barthly emigrated from Ireland as a young man in the 1880s, and according to his family, he was the coachman for about 15 years.
For the first 13 or 14 years, Barthy and his family lived in one half of an old house owned by the Winchesters on Lafayette Road (Route 1). Further up the street, the Molloy children attended the old Lafayette School, a relic of the farming neighborhood that once existed in the area.
Sherry interviewed Barthy`s descendants, including his great-granddaughter Julia Robb, who visited our research library last winter looking for more information on the farm.
Link in bio for @editorofthenight Sherry`s article.
Robb was lucky enough to have the recollections of her grandmother, Julia Twomey (1888-1965), Barthy`s daughter.
"Last night I dreamed about the Winchester Farm and the dream was so vivid it lasted til I woke up and I started to remember various things and places," Twomey wrote in a notebook discovered in 2007 at Robb`s South Street home.
Twoomey recalled the Lawn Farm mansion as being "castle like," with "all the Victorian highlights bay windows, piazzas & turret & all."
Many of the estate outbuildings were lost in a 1920s fire & the mansion was gone by the 1950s when the estate grounds were transformed into a mobile home park, now known as Hillcrest Estates.
At the time of Robb`s visit, not much on the Winchester farm was readily available in the library, but the Athenaeum staff were busy cataloging three scrapbooks once owned by Ezra Winchester`s granddaughter, Marion Hackett Rogers. Two photos featured come from Marion`s scrapbook. The boy with the foal could be Barthly`s son, Bart Jr. (born in 1890).
#winchesterfarm #lafayetteroad #portsmouthnh
With the Portsmouth Historic House Associates Twilight Tour tonight, we thought we`d share this view of Market Square taken at night in 1956 by commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009) of Kittery, Maine.
We cropped the full photo in sections so you can zoom in on two sides of Congress Street and those night scenes and neon signs. 👀 🌃 😍
On the left side, you can see the Economy Market and the Colonial Theatre. Later and for many years, Eagle Photo occupied this site. Further down are the Rogers Block and an adjacent building, which were destroyed by a fire in 1964. Today, a new block stands on this site, including Popovers and the Good Vibes Life Is Good store among other businesses on the first floor and condos above. Beyond is the extant National Block.
On the right, the buildings have remained, but the storefronts have changed. People are standing under the neon sign for the New China Restaurant (on the upper floor) and the Jarvis Restaurant on the ground floor. Today, this is the Best of British. In the foreground, there is a "ghost bus" in front of the Boston & Maine Transportation Co. bus stop and Green`s Drug Store. Until this spring, there was a Starbucks here.
We tagged all the participating historic sites involved in tonight`s Twilight Tour from 4 to 8 p.m.
Each Twilight Tour ticket is valid for one admission to the many participating sites on the night of the Twilight Tour. Tickets are valid for the balance of the 2024 season for admission to most of the sites if visitors are unable to tour the night of the event.
[P15.235]
#douglasarmsden #marketsquare #nightphotography #neonsigns #twilighttour #historicsites #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖 ##localhistory
Today is 7/11, and while we don`t offer slurpees like @7eleven, we can offer a taste of local convenience store history. From our archives, here is a South End neighborhood grocery store in 1967.
In the 1960s, Gaetano "Guy" Salvatore Penta (1935-2007) operated Penta`s Market at 279 Marcy Street, opposite the South Meetinghouse in Portsmouth.
From Medford, MA, Guy toured the Bay State in the 1950s with fellow classmates in the musical group "The High Notes," according to his obituary. The Portsmouth city directories indicate he operated Penta`s Market from 1964 to about 1970. He later worked for many years as a toll booth operator at the Hampton Tolls. He and his wife, Inge, had two daughters. His lovingly-crafted obituary described him as a "bon vivant" who surrounded himself with positive energy.
Guy rented the store from Salvatore Fargi (1911-1985), who had briefly operated Sam`s Market from about 1961 to 1963. Salvatore had purchased the property from the Freedman family who had operated Freedman`s Market, a South End staple for over four decades.
Russian-Jewish immigrants Barnet "Barney" Freedman (1893-1961) and his wife Annie Halprin Freedman (1894-1966) ran the grocery store for 42 years, and they raised their three sons Max, Herbert, and Julius above the store. Barney and Annie were active in Temple Israel, and the couple were laid to rest at the Temple Israel Cemetery.
Before the Freedmans, Hyman Black operated a bakery there, and before that, James W. Sowersby used this building as part of his bakery complex on Meetinghouse Hill.
Today, the building still stands as residential condos.
[Portsmouth Housing Authority Photograph Collection, P0057_0192]
#ohthankheavenforlocalhistory #711 #pentasmarket #samsmarket #freedmansmarket #marcystreet #southend #neighborhoods #portsmouthhousingauthority #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory
Remembering a Portsmouth July 4th over 65 years ago! 🎆 🐝 ⚓️
Who remembers the visit from the USS Wasp?
Stationed at the Boston Navy Yard since January 1957, the Wasp was said to be the largest ship to visit New Hampshire, dropping anchor two and one-quarter miles off the coast of New Castle from July 3-5, 1957.
A fold-out souvenir program from the US Navy included a full-page history of the Wasp. With over 1,700 men aboard, the carrier had an 879-foot flight deck, weighed over 40,000 tons, and dubbed itself a "city unto itself." During WWII, the Wasp`s "sting" made almost daily headlines for its battles.
The Wasp`s visit was part of the Portsmouth Jubilee Week, which was in its third year and presented by the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce. Jubilee 1957 also included a drum corps competition, parades, fireworks, and a beauty contest.
Hundreds were lucky enough to get tickets for guided tours on the Wasp, and many more took small boats out to get a closer look at the carrier. The 35mm slides come from George H. Kimball (1913-1988), one of the lucky ones aboard the Wasp in Boston and NH. The owner of Kimball`s Department Store on Market Street, Kimball lived in New Castle (one of the slides is from the New Castle coastline with a large crowd gathered off of Great Island Commons), and he was also the chairman of the Jubilee 1957 budget.
We hope you had a great Fourth and have a safe weekend!
[Images: E 2665, PS2808_01, PS2808_19, PS2808_31, PS2808_34, PS2808_37]
#usswasp #USNavy #PortsmouthJubilee #carrier #georgehkimball #slides #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #portsmouthnh #newcastlenh
With #Juneteenth honoring the end of slavery after the Civil War, we are highlighting the town-funded and pre-Civil War Portsmouth African School, so-called, which operated off and on from 1827 to 1855. This endeavor provided an education for the town`s Black children who were not attending the public schools.
Prior to the African School, Dinah Chase Whipple (1760-1846), an emancipated slave and leader in the free Black community, opened the first school for Portsmouth’s Black children in about 1806 under the auspices of the Ladies Charitable African Society. The private school’s tuition was paid by either parents or benevolent individuals.
According to the Portsmouth Journal, in the summer of 1827, the "African School was kept in Portsmouth, the expense of which was principally defrayed, for the first time, by the town. Nearly all the colored children, amounting to about 30, attended the school."
Sparse records indicate the school did not operate annually or consecutively. Perhaps it was changing demographics, but during the 1820s to 1850s, a small Black population existed in #portsmouthnh, & the children were not attending school. An 1836-article in the Portsmouth Journal provided an explanation as to why.
“It may be said that our common schools are open to colored children as well as to others. But in fact this is not so. The law may give them privileges, but the prejudice which exists against people of color, virtually and effectually shuts these children out of our public schools."
The African School is the subject of our monthly "At the Athenaeum" column in the Portsmouth Herald @seacoastonline. Our Photographic Collections Manager James Smith wrote a more in-depth look at the school while acknowledging more research & analysis needs to be done.
To understand more about the school, James researched newspaper articles, town & city annual reports, census data, & school records. Without a school roster, the 1850 census provided the names of students. The annual reports provided locations for the school, including the former South Parish Sunday School on Court Street.
👉 Link in bio.
#africanschool #blackhistory #localhistory #collectpreserveshare📖
Happy Father`s Day! 👨🏻 🎉
Pictured is a snapshot of a young father standing behind "Dad`s New Car," a new baby carriage with a bow, circa 1950s. 👨🍼
While unidentified, the man might be Arthur "Bing" Argereow Jr. (1918-2002) of 428 Pleasant Street, Portsmouth, NH. Born in Portsmouth to Greek immigrant Arthur Angelo Argereow (1895-1977) and Elsie Louise Cammett (1900-1978), Bing married Irene Purcell in September 1952, and they had a son in May 1953. For 25 years, he worked for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and he played drums for big band-era musical groups. The photograph comes from the collection of Margaret Argereow Dominguez (1919-2011), Bing`s sister, who also lived at 428 Pleasant.
To all the fathers, we hope you enjoy the ride this weekend!
[Margaret Argereow Dominguez Photograph Collection, P0058_0024.]
#fathersday #Argereowfamily #pleasantstreet #southend #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #portsmouthnh
Happy Market Square Day, Portsmouth! 🎈 🥳
Just a reminder, the Portsmouth Athenaeum will be closed to the public today (June 8). We will reopen at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. 😊
Pictured is the Portsmouth Magazine official guide to @pro_portsmouth Market Square Day Weekend in 1984.
🎈Forty years ago, the Thursday preliminary event included the Piscataqua Regatta featuring a parade of pleasure boats, commercial and military vessels, the U.S. Coast Guard`s Nantucket, the Piscataqua Gundalow, vintage aircraft, and helicopters.⚓️
🎈Friday included historic tours of Market Square from former Athenaeum member Bruce Ingmire (1947-1993).⏳️
🎈Saturday was the Artisan Outlet 10K Road Race along with the displays, demonstrations, entertainment, and artist exhibitions--what we all love about Market Square Day. 🎊
🎈Sunday included the Children`s Fun Run, the Market Square Day Parade, and "A Salute to John Philip Sousa" concert in Prescott Park with free hot air balloon rides, clowns, puppets and magicians before the concert. 🎶
Quite a lot to pack into a weekend!! 😍
As a bonus, we included the Pro Portsmouth Board of Directors and Staff page from the 1984 program.
[E 2854]
#marketsquareday #marketsquare #proportsmouth #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #nh
