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The GeneralThe Friends of Stark NewsPark Newsletter starkpark.com | Spring 2019 Photo courtesy of Paule Houle; flickr.com/photos/paul_houle/collecons The 70 Year Quest for a “Fitting Memorial” The History of the John Stark Equestrian Statue Inside this Issue: By Matthew Labbe This year, the Friends of Stark Park will begin maintenance on the equestrian statue thanks to a Moose Plate Equestrian Statue……….. 1-3 grant from the NH Division of Historical Resources. As we approach this important project, we thought this Board Member Profiles… 4-5 would be a good time to reflect of the history of the statue and the lifetime of planning it took to build it. Manchester Marathon……. 5 By all reports, General Stark was modest about his military service and eschewed any commemorations or John Stark Day……………. 6 monuments during his lifetime. Immediately following his death, calls for a monument were dismissed as Membership Drive………. 6 counter to his wishes. This philosophy would change decades later as the generation who knew Stark passed Egg Hunt …………………. 7 on and the country saw fundamental cultural changes that made people reconsider their historic heroes. Spring Cleanup…………… 7 When the United States reached its hun- A Day in the Park……….... 7 dredth birthday, there was a nationwide in- Concert Season…………… 8 terest in documenting, commemorating, and preserving historic sites as a means of solidify- ing the American identity. This period, known as the American Renaissance, The Board: stretched from the centennial to the start of President WWI. During this time, people began com- Brian Brady piling genealogies and town histories to estab- Vice President lish a sense of place; centennial exhibitions Matthew Labbe showed off advances in art and technology; Greco-Roman architecture and literature Secretary surged because of its association with democ- Ann Thorner racy; and historical monuments began pop- Treasurer ping up all over the country. This trend Stephanie Lewry would quickly extend to New Hampshire. While the city obtained the deed to the Stark Tom Christensen burying ground in 1876, there was otherwise An early proposal for the equestrian statue by Henry Herrick from the Daily Diana Duckoff no memorial to the General and the acquisi- Mirror and American , March 6, 1888. Erin Kerwin tion was more for maintenance than memori- Jennifer McBride alization. A group of local veterans from the Louis Bell Post, No. 3, GAR met on Memorial Day, 1886 to rectify this problem by planning to establish a park in the general’s honor. These plans were similar to the Douglas Rickard ones ultimately used for the current park, but did not include provisions for any kind of statue or monument. Tom Snow Meanwhile, the State Legislature began to look at ways to commemorate locally famous people. For example, the statue of Daniel Webster at the State House was installed in 1886, and monuments like it made people question why there was no memorial to General Stark. In 1887, both houses of the legislature adopted a reso- Contact us at lution calling for the creation of just such a monument here in Manchester. The governor chose General [email protected]! The Friends of Stark Park is a 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to develop, revitalize, maintain, and protect the heritage and recreational use of Stark Park as a historic asset to the City of Manchester, NH. The Equestrian Statue continued George Stark of Nashua to investigate the matter and make a proposal. George was a descendant of the General’s brother, William Stark. The Manchester newspapers were ecstatic about the resolution because they noted at the time that “it is now sixty-six full years since the military salute was fired over the just-departed remains of Major-General John Stark, and no fitting memorial in all that time has been raised to his memory – no me- morial except that respect and reverence which the Granite State has for its greatest and favorite hero, and the special pride which this city has in cher- ishing the recollection of his brave deeds, and in the thought of his plain, simple, manly, patriotic life.” Despite some movement on the project, no statue materialized. Yet there was still progress in developing the park itself. In May 1889, the city formed a committee to obtain the acreage, but this positive development was not enough to alleviate the increasingly embarrassing situation. In July 1889, a visiting pastor in Concord remarked during his sermon, "I am not well enough informed of your affairs to know whether your State has erected a statue of General Stark, but it ought to if it has not." This observation made a strong impression on the audience, and the NH chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution formed the following day to see to the matter. This group was more successful than earlier ones, and they had a statue of Gen- eral Stark standing on the State House lawn by 1890. In May of the same year, the city government of Manchester unanimously Samuel Blodget. From MHA Collections, Volume 1. 1899 approved a petition to purchase the land for the park, which was then rati- fied by the voters. The city purchased 28 acres near the burying ground from the Stark descendants for $8,000. The park was finally dedicated in June 1893. The dedication seemed to negate some of the energy for devel- oping a statue and the matter sat unresolved for several years. In 1900, local mayor and state senator Charles H. Bartlett died, and this Richard Recchia poses with the study model. From the Manchester Historic Association. event would revive the statue debate again. Bartlett was an admirer of Stark, Professor J. Selmer Larson of MIT. The subcommittee to choose the word- so he decided to grant money in his will for a fitting monument. Bartlett ing for the plaque was made up of members of the Art Commission includ- specified that his interest in the Tewksbury Block on Elm Street would be ing Maud Briggs Knowlton, Francoise Trudel-Bourcier, and Fred W. Lamb. sold following the death of his daughter and the proceeds put toward the The committee turned the statue design into a competition, and 84 sculp- statue. This gift would fully fund the monument, but it meant that the city tors expressed interest. Five were chosen to make sketch models. Well had to continue waiting. This was unacceptable to some people, and there known sculptor Richard Recchia of Rockport, Massachusetts won the con- was a movement in the 1930s to fund the monument through the Federal tract and received $12,000 out of a $40,000 budget to create the piece. Art Project, one of the Depression era programs of the WPA. Yet the NH courts forced the city to abandon this plan ruling that they already had fund- Richard Henry Recchia (1885-1983) was born to Italian immigrants and ing and would not be eligible for additional grants. The city continued to probably took his cue toward the arts from his father, Francesco, who was a wait, and the Bartlett money was finally transferred in May 1944. master marble carver. He was talented in illustration and murals, but pre- ferred abstract sculpture. He traveled to Paris for his studies and appren- That same year, Mayor Josephat Benoit ticed with sculptor Bela Pratt. Recchia’s career took off when he returned to started a committee to design and build the US around 1913. Upon being commissioned for this project, he began the statue. The committee was aided by work immediately but progress was slow. The completed study model was Boston architect Frank H. Colony and eventually displayed at the Currier Gallery of Art for public commentary. About the Author: Matthew Labbe, Vice President of the Friends of Stark Park, holds a M.A. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University and works as a Project Archeologist with Monadnock Archaeological Consulting. His 2 previous research on the history of his hometown has been published by Historical New Hampshire. The Equestrian Statue concluded As with any local project, there were several complaints. The Evening Leader received letters claiming that the statue showed an old work horse, ill-suited for a ride to Bennington. Others noted that Stark’s favorite horse had a star shaped mark on its head which was missing from the statue. Still others criti- cized the artist for the angle of the horse’s head, the shape of the saddle, and the lack of traveling gear mounted behind the rider. One writer viciously remarked that, “If it is a horse, it must have the mumps or inflammatory rheumatism.” Rechhia responded that these opinions were ignorant of both history and art and that he would not change a thing. The committee even had trouble deciding which way the statue would face. Some wanted it pointed toward Bennington, but this would mean that the horse’s derriere was pointed directly at River Road. Rechhia himself advo- cated for a south facing position on artistic grounds, but others noted this would still be historically appropriate because the statue would be facing Bunker Hill. Recchia was decidedly against pointing it in any significant direction because he said the art was meant to honor a person, not a place. Regardless of the debate, the statue was eventually oriented south. Some, like composer Alonzo Elliot, did not think the statue should be in the park at all, but rather in a traffic circle at the corner of Elm and Webster Streets where it could be seen more frequently. He thought that statues diminished the natural beauty of parks. Elliot’s opinion was ultimately moot because the original funding conditions required that the statue be situated in the park.