Patch

Object Name:

Patch

Object ID:

2018.003.13

Creator:

Felt Crafters -- Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

Plaistow, NH

Date:

1955

Description:

Patch worn during visit of Dwight D. Eisenhower to Concord, NH, 1955. Owned by State Senator Mary Louise Hancock (1920-2017) of Concord. Circular; white silk face; cotton backing; machine-stitched edge. Obverse: "NEW HAMPSHIRE WELCOMES / PRESIDENT EISENHOWER / JUNE 23-25, 1955" printed in red block letters in horizontal band; figure of the Old Man of the Mountain on blue flocked felt band above and "PRESS" in white reversed in blue flocked felt band beneath; blue border. Reverse: "The Felt Crafters / EMBLEMATIC SPORTSWEAR / FOR CLUB-CAMP-CAMPUS / FACTORIES-PLAISTOW, N.H. / MADE IN U.S.A." printed in green. Brass safety pin on reverse.

Material:

Textile
Cotton
Silk

Dimensions:

Dia-4 inches

Provenance:

Born in Franklin, NH, Mary Louise Hancock (1920-2017) moved with her family to Concord in 1928. It was in her father's drug store that she grew up and absorbed a steady diet of politics from discussions of state workers and politicians who frequented her father's store at 132 North Main Street. Although stricken with polio at age 3, she overcame her disability, going on to graduate from the University of New Hampshire in 1942. In 1943 Hancock began working for the New Hampshire Travel Division, and went on to hold a succession of jobs in the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, and Office of State Planning, serving as its director from 1960 to 1976. In 1976 she began a career in state politics, serving as the first woman and Democrat representing Concord in District 15 of the State Senate. She became a force in state politics and an advocate for women's rights.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Estate of Mary Louise Hancock

People:

Hancock, Mary Louise (1920-2017), Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890-1969)

Subjects:

Old Man of the Mountain, Presidents, Press