(Courtesy photo) The Rev. Andrew Armstrong on the steps of First Church Nashua with the bicycle he plans to ride 2,000 miles to raise funds for the church's tower restoration project.

Since he was in college, the Rev. Andrew W. Armstrong — he much prefers “Rev. Andy” — has embarked on more than a few long-distance bicycle trips, pedaling fast and slow, uphill and downhill, under hot sun and chilly rain as he passed through state after state, often stopping to visit people or places.

So it would seem fitting that Armstrong, for the past 6 years the senior pastor at the historic First Church of Nashua, would choose to spend his upcoming summer sabbatical aboard a two-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle on a 2,000-mile journey from a little town named Nashua to a mid-size city named Nashua.

The latter Nashua would, of course, be “our” Nashua, the home of one of the Northeast’s earliest congregations and, since 1894, the handsome, Romanesque Revival landmark prominently sited atop Library Hill.

Now, in the midst of his “fourth attempt at retirement,” as Armstrong jokes in his message in the church’s monthly newsletter, he is in the process of planning the nearly cross-country jaunt that will begin May 15 right in front of another church with a handsome tower and deep historical roots: the Little Brown Church in the Vale.

If you suddenly find yourself humming a tune that has “the Little Brown Church in the Vale” among its lyrics, you’ve got the right one — although the name of the song, which is actually a hymn, is “The Church in the Wildwood.”

Thereby the Nashua-to-Nashua connection: The Little Brown Church in the Vale is off Cheyenne Avenue in Nashua, Iowa. Built during the Civil War era, “Little Brown” was dedicated in 1864, a ceremony at which a Dr. William Pitts, a music and voice teacher from neighboring Bradford Academy, had his class sing the “Church in the Wildwood.”

Armstrong, meanwhile, said the plan is to drive out to Nashua, Iowa, with his wife, who will drop him and his bike off in Nashua then continue on to visit their daughter in Minnesota.

As soon as Armstrong secures his few accessories to his bike frame, swings a leg over the bar and settles into the seat, the odometer will start ticking off the miles in what is officially called “Tower to Tower Historical Ride.”

Armstrong said he’s looking forward to meeting people he’s been in contact with, seeing sights he’s never seen and visiting churches — some of which offered to put him up for a night or two — but the overall purpose of the trip is to raise funds for the church’s Tower Restoration Fund.

The project is a comprehensive restoration of the church’s bell tower, a three-year, roughly $325,000 undertaking that is well on its way to completion.

A New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) grant received in December helped the cause, as did a number of other donations and pledges.

Armstrong’s goal is to raise $75,000 for the project through the online fundraising site GoFundMe. Nearly $4,000 has been raised so far, an amount that is expected to swell steadily as Armstrong’s start date draws nearer.

What inspired Armstrong to delve into the history of “other Nashuas” was a chance sighting of a road sign he passed while pedaling through Montana on a bike trip he took during the year-off he took while attending Seminary in Boston.

The sign welcomed people to “Nashua, Montana,” and it caught Armstrong’s eye because one of his Seminary friends happened to be from “our” Nashua.

“I took a photo and sent it to him,” Armstrong said. One contacted the other, and Armstrong’s Nashua friend ended up hosting him for a summer while Armstrong was teaching at the Boston area Seminary.

His interest in the history of First Church Nashua and the “other” places named Nashua led Armstrong to old church records, where he came across names of members of the Greeley family, who were prominent businessmen, and they and their families were First Church Nashua communicants.

He also discovered that it was a couple of the Greeleys, wealthy industrialists who, after moving west as part of the U.S. westward expansion, settled in a small Iowa town they named “Nashua” after their hometown.

Armstrong also discovered another Nashua — in California, of all places. As it turned out, that Nashua, along with one in Minnesota (population 68), were rural, unincorporated places, and the 6th Nashua turned out to be a neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas.

As for his upcoming journey, Armstrong says he estimates he’ll be on the road for about a month, and expects he’ll cover around 60-80 miles per day.

The reason he chose the route he did? “I love middle America,” he said. “Plus, it’s mostly flat, fewer hills,” he added with a laugh.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting people along the way,” Armstrong said.

“This is not a race.”

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HOW TO HELP

The Rev. Andrew Armstrong, senior pastor of First Church Nashua, is embarking on a 2,000 bicycle trip from Nashua, Iowa, to Nashua, New Hampshire in May to raise funds for the church’s Tower Restoration Fund.

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TO MAKE A DONATION

https://gf.me/v/c/mmrv/tower-to-tower-historical-ride or go to www.gofundme.com and search “Tower to Tower Historical Ride-Rev Andy Armstrong.”

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MORE INFORMATION

For more information on Armstrong and the church’s history and restoration project, go to https://tfcucc.org/inform.

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.