Harry T. Kingsbury was only 25 years old when he approached his grandfather for financial assistance to help him buy the fledgling Wilkins Toy Company of Keene in 1894. Young Kingsbury was already a creative and hard working businessman, operating a bicycle shop, handling the sale of the Keene-made Clipper Mowing Machines, and developing and manufacturing the Apollo exerciser for home use.

His new enterprise listed 85 different models of Wilkins toys in their 1895 catalog, including clothes wringers, fire engines and other cast iron toys. Kingsbury's concern for quality, durability, realism, and innovation made the Kingsbury name a leader in the American toy industry. The firm produced millions of toys during its half century of toy manufacturing. The company discontinued toy production in 1942 to focus on its machine tool division. The very factors that influenced Kingsbury's toy production - quality, durability, realism, and innovation - have made the toys very attractive to today's antique toy collectors.

More than 250 of these delightful cast iron and sheet metal toys were donated to HSCC by the Kingsbury Fund of Keene. These toys are the focus of a new feature exhibit and permanent display of Wilkins and Kingsbury toys at the Society. The exhibit offers an amazing variety of toys, from the original clothes wringer and cast iron trains, wagons, and fire engines, to automobiles, airplanes, zeppelins, ships, submarines, trolleys, coin banks, and much more.

The trustees of the Kingsbury Fund donated this extensive collection so that it might be preserved and exhibited in honor of the Kingsbury family and the family's many contributions to Keene and the Monadnock region. The feature exhibit "Because We Like Children:" The Toys of Wilkins and Kingsbury, 1890-1942 will be on view until September 9. The exhibits are free and open to the public during regular hours. We encourage you to visit the Historical Society this summer to view this wonderful exhibit of these beloved toys and to relive the joys of yesteryear.

"Because We Like Children" is sponsored by generous support from the Kingsbury Fund, Douglas Toy Company, Mill Toy Works, Toy City, Mr. and Mrs. James Koontz, Whitney Bros. Company, and The Keene Sentinel.

We wish to thank everyone who came out to celebrate the screening of "Four Days of Fury" on the Marlow-Stoddard fire of 1941 at our April annual membership meeting. Your response was so wonderful that we filled our meeting hall beyond capacity. We regret needing to turn folks away, and if you were one of those people we are sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused.

There will be, however, two additional screenings of "Four Days of Fury" in June. The first one will take place in Washington on Monday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. The second screening will be on Thursday June 15th at John D. Perkins Elementary School in Marlow at 7:00 p.m.

The Dublin Historical Society will host the spring meeting of the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum on Thursday June 15 at 9:30 a.m. The morning roundtable meeting will be held at the Dublin Town Library. After our noon brown bag lunch, we will visit the Dublin Historical Society's archive that is next to the library behind the Dublin Town Hall and their schoolhouse museum a short walk east on Main Street. If you would like further information on this or other Roundtable Forum meetings, please contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.org.

HSCC's fall feature exhibit will be a collaborative effort by the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum. The exhibit will be on historic meeting- houses and churches in the Monadnock region and examine the issues of separation between church and state and taxation. Meetinghouses were often the focal point in the community and served as the church. Taxes paid by townspeople went to support the settled minister. Addressing this issue, New Hampshire passed The Toleration Act in 1819 to create a separation between church and state. In response to this act, many communities stopped using meetinghouses for religious services and built churches. This exhibit will tell the story about the region's meetinghouses and the building of many churches in response to The Toleration Act.

Our spring Teacher Workshop will be held on June 28th and 29th at HSCC and Wyman Tavern. This year's workshop is on the American Revolution. HSCC is pleased to have the support of the New Hampshire Humanities Council, Ashuelot Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Keene Sentinel as a workshop sponsor. For further information, please contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895 or dired@hsccnh.org or visit our web site at www.hsccnh.org and click on Education.

HSCC and the Horatio Colony House Museum wish to thank our 2006 sponsors for helping us give a quality museum experience to the students of Cheshire County. Thank you to the Keene Lions Club, Fairfields Pontiac-Cadillac-Buick, and the Fenton Family Dealerships.

As many of you know, HSCC lost its web server this winter and is slowly reconstructing its popular web site. We apologize for this inconvenience. We now have the basic web pages back on line and hope to have our new and expanded web site fully operating by the end of summer.

On June 1st the Wyman Tavern opened its doors for the start of another summer season of guided tours. Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through September 2nd or by appointment. Admission to HSCC members is free and $3.00 for non HSCC members.

Looking for an opportunity to conduct genealogical research all day at one or more facilities in Boston? Looking to have a day to explore downtown Boston or to shop? If so, please join us on Wednesday July 19th when we board our bus to Boston at 7:00 a.m. from HSCC. Researchers will be able to visit the Boston Public Library, New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, State Library of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Archives. Non-researches will have an inexpensive opportunity to visit numerous places in the downtown area.

We will arrive in Boston at approximately 9:00 a.m., with the bus stopping at the New England Historic and Genealogical Society on Newbury Street between Copley Square and the Boston Common for those wishing to stay in the downtown area. The bus will continue to the Massachusetts Archives at Columbia Point. Returning, the bus will leave the Massachusetts Archives at 4:30 p.m. and New England Historic and Genealogical Society at approximately 5:00, arriving back in Keene about 7:30 p.m.

The cost for this trip to Boston is $25 for HSCC members and $30 for nonmembers. Please contact HSCC to sign up for this great research opportunity or fun day in Boston at hscc@hsccnh.org or 352-1895. We need at least 40 people participating to have this trip be possible, and we are currently only half full. So please let your friends know about this great opportunity.

Trustees:
Ernest L. Bell, Kim Bergeron, William Faulkner Joslin Kimball Frank, Verne Greene, John W. Harris, Gregory Knouff, Michael Matros, Sean O'Mara, David Proper, Jane Reynolds, Stillman Rogers, Philip Taaffe, Jim Talbert, Christine Weeks

The New Hampshire Humanities Council decided to discontinue producing the Keene Chautauqua. Members of the former steering committee, however, did not wish to see this poplar event disappear from Keene. As a member of the steering committee, HSCC is pleased to announce that a one day Chautauqua will be held on Thursday July 27th on the beautiful grounds of the Horatio Colony House Museum on Main Street. This Chautauqua will follow the same format as previous programs. The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. under the tent with live music, and the first of two Chautauqua performers will start at 7:00. This year our theme is 1806: Exploring America, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Federal style building that houses the Colony House Museum. To help explore America in 1806, William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition will talk about his experiences having just returned from his expedition to western lands. Molly Ockett, an Abenaki Indian doctress, will talk about adapting to a life in northern New England while maintaining traditional lifeways. We are thrilled to have these two Chautauqua characters come to Keene to continue this growing tradition. Spread the word to help support this poplar evening of history and entertainment so it may remain a part of the region's summer events for years to come.

Margaret Sweeney has been assisting patrons at the Historical Society's Wright Room Library for many years. Everyone looks forward to Margaret's bright cheery smile to brighten up the library every Thursday afternoon. She assists patrons with their genealogical research and is especially helpful with historical architectural research because of her knowledge and expertise in that area.

We thank Margaret for sharing her time and knowledge with us and our patrons. It is volunteers such as Margaret that help make the Society the successful organization it is.

- Business Manager Assistant: Includes membership mailings, data entry, and museum store inventory.

- Research Assistant: To work with the Director of Education.

- Office Assistant: Assist in a variety of jobs including computer work, covering front desk, and answer phones.

- Photograph Cataloger: To catalog and add photographs to the collections.

If you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions or in another way to support HSCC, please contact our volunteer coordinator Gail Currier at 352-1895 or bizmgr@hsccnh.org.

As part of our summer exhibit on the Wilkins and Kingsbury toys, HSCC will host an evening story circle and Kingsbury toy appraisal. We invite everyone who may have a Wilkins or Kingsbury toy to share your story about how you acquired the toy, your memories of the toy, and any other history you would like to share about your toy. Additional, Kingsbury toy expert Greg Bixby will be available to answer any questions you may have about your toy as well offer an informal appraisal. Please join us for this fun evening on Wednesday August 9th at 6:30 p.m. For further information, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or hscc@hsccnh.org.

Thursday - July 20     Black Yankees: New Hampshire, 1645 to Present
A lecture by Valerie Cunningham on the experiences of Black Americans from the Colonial period through the abolitionist years and how a community preserves its local history.

Thursday - August 24     Amos Fortune: The Man and His Legacy
A lecture by Peter Lambert on one of Jaffrey's most renowned citizens.

Thursday - September 21    Cheshire County's African American History
A lecture by HSCC's Alan Rumrill and Tom Haynes on the lives of African Americans in Cheshire County from the Colonial period to the Civil War.

All Wyman Tavern Lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public with reservations suggested. For further information or to make a reservation, please contact HSCC at 352-1895. Keene's Historic Wyman Tavern is located at 339 Main Street.

This trip ties together our recent exhibit and programs on Barry Faulkner with some of his contemporaries, friends, and mentors. Our first visit will be to the Cornish Colony Museum in Windsor, Vermont to view Coming Home! A Retrospective Exhibit of Parrish, Manship, Faulkner, and Zorach. Our second visit will be to Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire. Here we can have our brown bag or picnic lunch (you provide) and view the 30 minute orientation film before we take an hour long ranger led walking tour at 2:00 p.m. After the walk we have until 4:30 to wander the park or take part in additional programs the park service offers before they close. We will return to Keene at about 5:30 p.m. The cost for this field trip is $13.00 for HSCC members and $18.00 for non-members, which includes all entry fees. To reserve your place for this wonderful trip, please contact HSCC at 352-1895 or hscc@hsccnh.org.

We want to thank all our 2006 sponsors. They help provide support so we can continue to offer many of our educational events and activities. For this wonderful support, thank you.

Ashuelot Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution - June teacher workshop on the American Revolution.

Douglas Cuddle Toys, Inc. of Keene - Spring/ Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

Dublin Historical Society - February Membership Meeting on the Dublin Art Colony.

Fairfields Pontiac-Cadillac-Buick of Keene - Transportation Fund.

Fenton Family Dealerships of Keene - Transportation Fund.

The Keene Sentinel - April Annual Membership Meeting on the Marlow-Stoddard Fire of 1941; Spring/Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit; and June teacher workshop on the American Revolution.

Keene Lions Club - Transportation Fund.

Kingsbury Fund - Spring/Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

James & Joy Koontz of Keene - Spring/ Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

Marlow Historical Society - April Annual Membership Meeting on the Marlow-Stoddard Fire of 1941.

Mill Toy Works of Keene - Spring/Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

New Hampshire Humanities Council - June teacher workshop on the American Revolution.

PC Connection, Inc. of Merrimack, NH - April Annual Membership Meeting on the Marlow-Stoddard Fire of 1941.

Kim Temple of Keene - April Peter Forbes program.

Toy City of Keene - Spring/Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

Whitney Bros. Company of Keene - Spring/ Summer Kingsbury Toy Exhibit.

WKNE - Monadnock Radio Group of Keene - April Annual Membership Meeting on the Marlow-Stoddard Fire of 1941.

If you would like to become a sponsor of any of our educational programs, please contact Tom Haynes at 352-1895.

For further information on any program or event, please call 603-352-1895 or email us at hscc@hsccnh.org.

Thursday - June 15
Roundtable Forum. 9:30 a.m. in Dublin (See related article).

Wednesday-Thursday June 28-29
Teacher Workshop. HSCC (see related article).

Monday-Tuesday July 3-4 HSCC will be closed for the July 4th Holiday.

Thursday - July 13
Cornish/Saint-Gaudens Field Trip. Leaves HSCC at 9:00 a.m. (see related article).

Wednesday - July 19
Genealogy Research Trip to Boston. Bus leaves HSCC at 7:00 a.m. (see related article).

Thursday - July 20
Wyman Tavern Lecture. 7:30 p.m. at Wyman Tavern (see related article).

Thursday - July 27
Keene Chautauqua. 6:00 p.m. at Horatio Colony House Museum (see related article).

Wednesday - August 9
Wilkins & Kingsbury Story Circle & Appraisal. 6:30 p.m. at HSCC .

Thursday - August 24
Wyman Tavern Lecture. 7:30 p.m. at Wyman Tavern (see insert)

Saturday - September 2
Wyman Tavern closes for the summer season. Fall tours by appointment only. Call 352-1895.

Thursday - September 21
Wyman Tavern Lecture. 7:30 p.m. at Wyman Tavern (see related article).