City of Dover N.H. Honors Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles With Manhole Cover

DOVER, N.H. (WBZ NewsRadio) — It's been 40 years since a group of fresh-faced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles emerged from the imaginations of New Hampshire natives, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, and now the city has it's very own TMNT commemorative sewer manhole cover.

Co-creators Eastman and Laird created the comic icons back in November of 1983 in a small house located at 28 Union Street. While the house is long gone, the Granite State is marking the location permanently, with a historical marker at Union Street and Central Avenue.

"I hope as we stand here in, maybe not the shadow but rather the sunlight of where this house used to be... I just hope that this just goes to show that great artists can come from anywhere and great ideas can come from anywhere," said Griffin "The Hansen," with the Animation Education Association. "I hope people in the crowd today who might be thinking that the ideas they've had for a comic book, a movie, or just a new additional to their house that seemed crazy or seemed out of pocket or anything of that sort, can be inspired by the work that Mr. Eastman and Mr. Laird have done."

During the festivities this week, Dover Mayor Robert Carrier spoke about his own personal experience with TMNT, recalling a Halloween where his son, who is now grown, dressed as a turtle using a green sweat-suit and garbage can strapped to his back.

If you're unfamiliar with the franchise, TMNT follows the tale of four turtles who stumble upon radioactive 'ooze,' which transforms them into human-sized anthropomorphic turtles. Under the teachings of Master Splinter, the turtles Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael train in various martial arts to fight crime on the streets of New York City.

Now, Dover isn't the only New England community that has history with the turtles. Earlier this year, the City of Northampton paid tribute to both Eastman and Laird, who lived in the town during the 1980's.

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