A Convivial Social Feed

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all who celebrate! May everyone find happiness, light, and peace during this holiday season. 🎄🕎 🕯🎅 🕊

Here`s a Christmas-time view of a lobster pot tree at the LaCava Lobster Co. at 95 Mechanic Street in Portsmouth`s South End. The photograph was taken for the Portsmouth Press newspaper circa 1990.

Daniel LaCava (1895-1971) emigrated from Italy in 1911, and in 1918, he married Grace Galvagno (1904-1990) in Lawrence, MA. The couple had four children, and by 1930, they were living in Portsmouth. Four years later, he established Dan LaCava & Son (later Dan LaCava & Sons), the seafood and fishing business on Mechanic Street, which was in operation for over 70 years. Sons Antonio "Tony" LaCava (1919-2013) and Salvatore "Sam" LaCava (1920-2003) were lobstermen, and daughter Benedetta "Bessie" LaCava Sheppard (1922-2015) also worked for the family business.

The building above was constructed in 1949 as a fish market and lobster pound. After Tony LaCava`s death, the City of Portsmouth purchased the property. Empty for several years, the store collapsed into the back channel of the Piscataqua River in 2019 and was ultimately demolished.

As the views might change around us, the Athenaeum looks to collect, preserve, and share our local history.

Thank you to all who contributed to the Athenaeum and other archives and historical societies in 2024. We look forward to your continued support in 2025.

As a reminder, we will be closed for the holiday break, and we open on January 2, 2025. As always, you can access more seacoast history in our online catalog 24/7.

[Portsmouth Press Photograph Collection, P0031_0057]

#merrychristmas #happyhanukkah #happykwanzaa #lacavalobsterco #lacavafamily #southend #portsmouthnh #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory
...

55 2

With trumpets, horns, and trombones, the Portsmouth Brass Quintet will herald all that is glorious about the season of Advent, Hanukkah, and Christmas. Come one, come all to celebrate and be filled with a joyful mix of traditional music, seasonal favorites, and music from the Renaissance to pop. The concert is the Athenaeum’s gift to its membership and to the community at large, although contributions will be gratefully accepted at the door. 🎄 🕯 🎅 🕎

⛄️ The Portsmouth Brass Quintet includes key brass players from the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra:

• Adam Gallant and Greg Bechtold, trumpets
• Orlando Pandolfi, horn
• Brandon Newbould, trombone
• Chris Quade, tuba

🎶 Here`s the concert program for Thursday, December 12:

❄️ Three English Carols
• I Saw Three Ships arr. Keith Snell
• In the Bleak Mid-Winter by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst, arr. Tim Higgins
• Gloucestershire Wassail arr. Richard Price

❄️ Carol of the Drum by Katherine Kennicott Davis arr. Ray Wright, Adam Gallant, and Mary Barba

❄️ Hanukkah Trilogy arr. Chris Hajian and Ronald Romm
• Sevivon
• Maoz Tzur
• Dreydl

❄️ Las Posadas arr. Erroll W. Schlabach

❄️ Farandole by Georges Bizet, arr. Rolf Smedvig

🕯Intermission🕯

❄️ Selections from Home Alone and Home Alone 2
• Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas by Leslie Bricusse and John Williams, arr. Adam Gallant
• Somewhere in My Memory by John Williams, arr. Adam Gallant

❄️ Christmas Waltzes arranged by Angela Morley, arr. Justin Leach
• A Luther Henderson Christmas
• The Christmas Song
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The FREE concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the South Church, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, NH.☃️

See you there!! 😊

#holidayconcert #portsmouthbrassquintet #portsmouthathenaeum #portsmouthnh
...

33 1

Portsmouth tree lighting in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH. 🎄 😊

#PortsmouthNH
...

411 10

Today, we honor military veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. Thank you to these brave men and women.🇺🇸

Here, Civil War veterans are seen marching down Congress Street in Portsmouth in 1912. These men were members of Storer Post No.1, the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. This real photo postcard was captured by St. Clair Studio.

In the background is the North Church, and the buildings at right were later lost to fire.

The origins of Veterans Day are from Armistice Day, which began after World War I, so in 1912, this scene was most likely from the Memorial Day parade. The Portsmouth Herald mentioned the day was rainy, but the afternoon parade was described as an impressive sight with a large number of people turning out.

"Major David Urch was, chief of staff, and so carefully had he made his arrangements that there was not a hitch, and the parade started on the time assigned for it."

Born in Wales to English parents, David Urch (1844-1921) and his family immigrated to Boston when he was four years old. After growing up in Portsmouth, his family moved to Illinois, but following his service in the Civil War, he returned to Portsmouth. He and his wife lived on New Castle Avenue, where he was the proprietor of the New Castle Bridge Co. and the Portsmouth Aquarium. He was the owner of a rattan works (in one of the buildings seen in the background of this photo) as well as an alderman, member of the school committee, and a representative in both the NH House and Senate. He was also an inventor and deserves a separate post about his marine bicycle and aquarium, which was featured in a 2016 article by historian J. Dennis Robinson.

PS1804.172.

#veteransday #grandarmyoftherepublic #veterans #civilwar #congressstreet #northchurch #stclairstudio #realphotopostcard #rppc #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH
...

92 2

Did you remember to put your clocks back?🍂

Allll your clocks back?!🤔⏰️🕛🕰😳

Here, Carol Cook stands above a table of wall clocks at the former Sherburne School on Sherburne Road, Portsmouth, NH. Cook was helping to prepare the school for the arrival of the Learning Skills Academy.

Established in 1987, the Portsmouth Press was a local newspaper, a subsidiary of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., which began with a morning edition twice a week. Its final edition was Sept 16, 1993.

📸 Photographer Jane Tyska @tyskagram captured this image, which was published on August 6, 1992.

[Given in memory of Jay Smith, former Press Room owner and journalist, Portsmouth Press Photograph Collection, P0031_1257]

#daylightsavings #clocks #sherburneschool #JaneTyska #PortsmouthPress #90s #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #seacoast❤
...

27 2