Tuesday, July 16, 2013

~ Homeward Bound ....

♪.....and each town looks the same to me.
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound.♫
 
If you haven't already, you need to head over to Kathy @ You'll Shoot Your Eye Out
and play along in her new link-up of Song-ography.
The first song-ography is "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel.
 
 
I was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.
My family are all still there.
This is a shot of one of the many "mills" running along the canal.
  Not only are they architecturally stunning but I also love the history they hold.
"The city of Manchester is located on the banks of the Merrimack River in Hillsborough County,
New Hampshire.
Prior to receiving its final name of Manchester, the city had other names starting with Nutfield, Tyng’s Town, then Harrytown [Old Harry's Town] and Derryfield.
Manchester was settled in the early 1700's, and was originally incorporated in 1752,
by the name of Derryfield.
In 1810 it received its present name of Manchester, and was incorporated as a city in 1846. Manchester has been called "Elm City of New England" and the "Queen City of New Hampshire."
Known by our French-Canadian ancestors as “la Main Street”, the shopping district was really on ELM Street, which runs through the city in a north-south direction, and it passes directly through the center. It was named Elm Street because of the many Elm trees that lined a great portion of the street. The American Elm trees typified both the north and south ends of the street, where families liked to build their homes. In 1938, many of the original elms were felled.
Elm Street is the longest dead end street on either end in the country!"
 
Whenever we head up to Manchester I never tire of seeing these buildings.
I remember one of my aunts working in one of the mills.
Every summer an uncle would come down from Canada
and at around 4:00 he would load us into the station wagon
and we would head to the mills to pick her up.
I still remember the sounds and the smells.
Unfortunately, some of these beautiful mill buildings were taken down.
Some remain and have been turned into businesses.
The buildings that do remain still take my breath away.
 
This is my "Homeward Bound"
 
 
 


10 comments:

  1. Wonderful story, stunning picture.

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  2. Wow! D...this shot is perfect. Love the story behind it too. U rocked this one sis.

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  3. Oh wow...not only is your photo stunning, but I loved learning more about your home. It's so evident the fondness and love you have :). Thanks so much for joining in on Song-ography...Janes Taylor's "up on the Roof" is next Sunday :)

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  4. Gorgeous building. Would love to see more. :)

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  5. Years ago.. maybe 33 yrs ago .. more.. one of our daughters wanted a MY FRIEND doll..(Mandy..Jenny..) they were so cute and very hard to get in Canada at that time..Fisher Price..
    Someone my husband knew was visiting MANCHESTER NH.. and offered to see if she could get us one..and she did:)
    And I always kept fond memories of that exact town because of that one incident...
    You always want Santa to bring the exact thing your daughter wants:)

    We have been back to NH.. And we love it..
    It's been a long time..hope to go back one day..
    Your photo is travel guide worthy:)
    Love the song..and S &G~

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  6. Such a wonderful story to go along with a wonderful photo.. It really is an amazing photo...

    Hugs~

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  7. Love the history. I also find it funny how a lot of the names on the east coast are the same as those in the UK.

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  8. This is so interesting, thanks for sharing! It is beautiful isn't it?!

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  9. Beautiful photo! I love all the background information too...very interesting.

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  10. Great post. I'm a New England girl, too, and home will always be Connecticut, though I've lived in New York City since 1975.

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