It is almost Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 and casual bird watcher and feeders in Norwich, CT know that from 6PM – 8 PM at the Norwich Agway, 217 Otrobando Avenue there is going to be a tremendous, free of charge bird feeder, food and accessories presentation of information by one of their suppliers but the real reason for the crowd is the humungous one-night-only sales after the presentation. Nowhere in Eastern CT will you find better sales on bird seed, corn, suet, wildlife equipment, treats and more. They also have great give-aways! Reservations are not required but they serve refreshments so an expected head count is nice for them to have in advance. Call Agway at 860.889.2344 or email them at norwichagway@gmail.com or check out their sales at www.norwichagway.com.
Seniors, adults and kids of all ages are welcome and accommodated. Last years star of the night was an 8 or 9 year old that watched the birds with a great-grandparent. Observing birds gave them something to do together, observe, talk about and research. The two shared a great bond and knew so much more about bird species and what was happening ecologically around them because of the bird watching. A school project on birds was also displayed at the Senior Center and then at the Library. I hope they will be back this year.
This has been a mild winter, so far, but fresh food for the birds never goes to waste especially this time of the year when it is almost time for the Great Backyard Bird Count that takes place on Presidents Day Weekend February 17 – 20th. Everyone can be a citizen scientist by taking a real-time snapshot of bird populations. No camera needed. Just count the birds on the ground during a fifteen minute period and report the sighting online at www.birdcount.org.
Anyone can take part from beginners to experts. It is now a world-wide program happening everywhere on the same weekend so if you have family or friends anywhere in the country or the world you can all participate in the same activity at the same time and check out each other’s results being added to the official counts in real time too.
Participants are not required to travel anywhere. I look out my kitchen window to the backyard for a morning count of the birds at one feeder. It just happens to be where I drink my morning coffee. I do a later count out of my front window. During my break I sprinkle cracked corn on the lawn and see who shows up to the feast. I keep a supply of cracked corn in the car so I can stop at Brown Park or Mohegan Park to feed and count the ducks. I don’t mind having to pick up or deliver people to places I don’t need to be at myself just so I can bird count at different locations. Waiting, does not have to be boring.
Each report submitted during the Great backyard bird Count helps the researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn how the birds are doing and how we can better protect them environmentally. Last year more than 160,000 people submitted their observations and this year you can be a part of it. Please visit www.birdcount.org for more information, bird lists and educational and promotional resources for homes, organizations, classrooms and businesses.
The results are in! Yes! I spit in the tube and sent it off to AncestryDNA. I have 0 (Zero) shared ancestors. 0 (Zero) starred matches. No DNA circles. 6,528 possible 4th cousins or closer, 12 possible 3rd cousins and 1 possible 2nd cousin. Not one name was familiar to me but I am in the process of messaging each and every person on the list. I will let you know what happens.
I was very excited to find out my DNA ethnicity. I have watched the television and Facebook advertisements and anxiously awaited my surprises. I was ready to be shocked. I was hoping to be shocked but that was not to be. I am 97% European. 93% European Jewish 2% Italy/Greece 1% Iberian Peninsula <1% Ireland. The other 3% is Middle East and <1% Caucasus.
European Jewish means my ancestors were mostly located in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Israel but may have also settled in Germany, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, Bosnia, Serbia and Estonia. No far reaching and traveling ancestors there. Italy/Greece might have been a stray sailor perhaps?
The Iberian Peninsula? That is in the area of Spain and Portugal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the Pyrenees Mountains.
Trade could be responsible for the 3% Middle East too. The traders could have been from Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Israel, Iran, or Pakistan. Yes I remember reading about the trade routes.
According to Ancestry, my people of the European Jewish Region, are much less mixed than most other regions and similarities to other DNA profiles are rarely seen. From a collection of 195 people a reference panel was built and all comparisons are to it.
Was it worth it? Yes. It puts to rest the questions of where my ancestors came from. I may still not know their names or identities but now I know where they lived. Give it a try.
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is coming to Norwich, CT but not for the reason that you might be imagining. They are not coming with a program of youthful support. They are coming to Norwich, CT to accept our donations of old clothing, drapes, curtains, linens, tools, books, small household items like toasters, knick-knacks, dining ware and toys on January 24th because of a company called Hartsprings Foundation from Springfield, MA. Check out their website and information at www.hartsprings.org.
Hartsprings Foundation, Inc is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western and Central Massachusetts and Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters in Hartford, CT.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a great organization filled with loving and caring individuals. There was once a very active program in Norwich, CT but like so many other programs it fell away. But still Norwich is remembered for the generous hearts of its residents. So whenever there is a need for funding, organizations place collection boxes in Norwich, CT and take our castoffs away to be sold by weight and volume for profits to be used in other cities and towns.
For Hartsprings to pick up donations at your home just call them at 1.888.413.2227 or visit donations@hartsprings.org 72 hours in advance of the desired pickup date. Then place the boxes, bags or large items on the curbside clearly visible from the street by 8 AM on the pickup day. Attach a paper clearly marked “BBBS” to the donation and you are done. Now how easy was that?
I just hope that at least some of the money that will be made on what is collected in Norwich, CT will somehow be returned to our community. It is a worthwhile cause but aren’t the residents here worthwhile too?
Some of the most interesting history of Norwich, CT is incomplete and fires up interest in discovering the rest of the story. Perhaps this article from January 28, 1848 is “A Piece of [your] family history without a parallel.”
On this 27th day of January, Anno Domini 1848, and in this our goodly, thriving city of Norwich, in the State of Connecticut, is living an aged gentleman, the progenitor, of five generations, all now living. He, (that is the said progenitor or ancestor,) was born on Sunday – his wife was born on Sunday; and he had a child born on every day of the week, commencing with Sunday morning and ending on Saturday night. All the first-born of the five successive generations were born on Sunday – all are males and all bear the same name, and all are now living. Of these, the last born is the son of the fourth or fifth (we do not know which) child of her parents. – The oldest of the five generations, is ninety-six years of age – the youngest is between two and three months old, so that the distance which separates the two extremes, is but less than a century.
What a world of history, written and unwritten, has been enacted within the period which has thus transpired since the birth of the great great grandsire and that of the great great grandson. With the latter, we have not had the pleasure of an acquaintance; but with the former we meet almost daily in our walks through the streets; and there is one place above all others, unless we except the house of worship on the Sabbath) where he is sure to be found as often as the various election days come round, and that is, at the polls. – At our last Town Election, his was the first vote deposited in the Ballot Box; and from the time he was made a freeman, down to the present, he has never failed to be present at the Annual State Election, and to give his vote for the men and the measures approved by his judgment. Perhaps it will not strike our democratic friends quite pleasantly, but we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of adding, that this venerable , intelligent, and most exemplary citizen is a Whig – a Whig of the staunchest sort, tried and true as steel.
If this is in fact a story from your family or a friend, please let me know as I am curious to know how many more generations it lasted or if this was the end..
Kick off your hiking adventure season with National Trails Day June 3, 2017. If you already have something planned, bring your activity along on this adventure in Norwich, CT. Your hike in Norwich, CT can be as short as 10 minutes or you can spend the entire day walking, hiking, biking, and exploring. No matter what you choose, you will not be disappointed.
National Trails Day is nationally coordinated and designed to unite all muscle-powered trail activities with the goal of connecting more people to trails. By coordinating a wide array of trail activities on a single day, National Trails Day attracts new trail users and helps connect existing trail enthusiasts with local clubs and organizations with the hopes of creating trail advocates and stewards. The task to protect and maintain more than 200,000 miles in the U.S. is a collaborative effort among government, trail clubs, organizations, trail advocates and stewards.
With the encouragement of the promotional program called the Last Green Valley, Norwich, CT added a whole bunch of walking trails throughout the city to the existing clearly marked hiking trails in Mohegan Park. Look up just under some of our street signs are Norwich’s own hiking trail plaques and there are new brochures to help you find your way about the city should you choose to hike Norwich on your own. Escorted tours of designated Norwich, Ct areas are available in October during The Last Green Valley promotion “Walktober.”
Coincidentally Mohegan Park published its new brochure in 2016 with its maintained trails marked in red, blue and green and has maps of the park posted at all entrances and the park center.
No worries if you will not be in the Norwich, CT area, visit www.nationaltrailsday.americanhiking.org to find a program near to wherever you are going to be.
In past blogs I have written about the differences and importance of Marketing, Advertising and Branding to the City of Norwich, CT. I identified Marketing to be the management process of moving goods and services from concept including product identification, and distribution channels using promotional and development strategies to reach the customer.
Advertising was identified as the act of calling public attention to a product, service or need through paid announcements in the media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, internet, billboard or convention.
Branding is the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.
Today I am adding Promotion, Sponsorship and Empowerment to the mix.
Promotion is an activity that supports or provides encouragement to further a cause, venture or goal. For example, “disease prevention and health promotion.” You want to stop disease and you want more people to enjoy good health.
Sponsorship is supporting an activity, event, individual or organization financially or by providing goods or services. A sponsor is the individual or group that provides the support.
My personal favorite is the empowerment portion. Empowerment is giving individuals or groups the authority or power to do something. Empowerment is a process that encourages others to become stronger and more confident.
In business and government empowerment is encouraging others to make decisions that will benefit others.
It is not necessary for a single individual, group, business or government to do all of these things. But for a successful community to grow there must be all of these things as well as collaboration, cooperation and communication. Not more definitions you say! Sorry but on the up side these are the last definitions per say. Collaboration is the action of working with another to produce or create something. Cooperation is the process of working or acting together for common benefit. Communication is the exchanging of information between parties. Communicating is making and maintaining the connection between the parties.
Now can we please work on our communication skills to empower our residents, businesses and leaders to collaborate, sponsor and promote their goods and services so the City of Norwich, CT can build a marketable brand of collaborative fiscal responsibility and residential empowerment for the good of us all?
Every January I write a tribute to William Tyler Olcott. An attorney who in 1902, with his wife Clara Hyde of Yantic chose to make their home at 62 Church Street (the Glebe House) in Norwich, CT. At the time it was a common two and a half story house with an elaborate wide cornice with heavy dentils.
Olcott was born January 11, 1873 and became a gentle and observant man. At 36 he developed a love of astronomy and observing variable stars after attending a lecture by Edward Pickering in 1909. In 1911, he and Professor Pickering founded the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). To popularize the field of amateur astronomy Olcott published several books including one for children , “to blaze a trail for you among the stars in order that you might know your way about the night sky and easily come to know the many objects of beauty and interest that darkness reveals to us… “
To the back of his home Olcott added a wooden observatory, with a revolving hexagonal tower perched behind the roof. Sadly, the observatory was removed by the Otis Library when they used the house as a children’s library.
William Tyler Olcott died July 6, 1936 but his name and the work of the AAVSO continue on.
NASA named an impact crater on the moon in his honor for his dedication to space observation. Per NASA the crater lacks any significant appearance of erosion from subsequent impacts, and its features are relatively well-defined. The rim edge is generally circular, with a slight outward bulge to the northeast and a larger bulge to the south. It has an outer terrace and slumped edges along the inner wall. Several low ridges lie near the interior mid-point, with the western pair near the center and the eastern peaks offset towards the eastern rim.
The satellite craters Olcott M and Olcott L form an overlapping pair along the southern outer rampart of Olcott, with the smaller member of the pair Olcott L overlapping Olcott M. The satellite crater Olcott E is partly overlain by the eastern rim of Olcott.
Wouldn’t it be great if Norwich, CT in some small way paid some kind of a tribute to this man of science? Perhaps an observation field for people to set up telescopes to watch the skies for variable stars?
I like a good story and history presents many of them. This is a particularly romantic tale from a newspaper called the Saturday Evening Mail, of January 7, 1871. It was titled An Indian Romance.
“A young mechanic of Norwich, Connecticut, named John Bull, lately became enamored of an Indian maiden who dwelt in a wigwam just out of town. It was there that she braided her mats and wrought her ornaments of beads for the market of the pale faces. In her romantic retreat, the ardent youth sought out his “dusky mate,” and wooed her to become his own. He found her “willin’,” and took a lover’s pride in lavishing upon her such gifts as his slender purse could buy. He no doubt clothed her with all the graces which poets and romance had bestowed upon bright Alfarata, faithful Pocahantas and other unsophisticated daughters of the forest.[Bright Alfarata is the Indian girl who sings the praises of her warrior while she travels along the Juniata River in a popular parlor song of 1844]
But Bulls hopes were destined to fade and his dream of romance to be changed into a very ugly reality. A few days ago his adorable daughter of the forest visited the city, and with the proceeds of her traffic and the pawning of her lover’s gifts, got gloriously intoxicated, and stood on her head in the open square. In this unseemly attitude she lost forever the affections of the youthful Bull. His dream of delusion is over and he goes round the dull mechanic once more a sober citizen of Norwich.”
I had never heard “The Blue Juniata” and was surprised to learn it was the first commercially successful song written by an American woman, Marion Dix Sullivan and was mentioned in the autobiography of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). Roy Rogers and the Early Sons of the Pioneers recorded it in 1937 and it is now available to be heard on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hEl25cJET8. A response to the song was written by Rev. Cyrus Cort in 1865.
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania. Juniata was called Onajutta on a 1655 Dutch map of the area in honor of the Indians who lived on it, the Onajutta-Haga, meaning vertical or standing stone people who called the waters the River of Sorrow.
It is going to happen on Tuesday, January 3, 2017! The Norwich City Council and Mayor are going to declare Hot Cocoa the official “Hot Drink” of the city. While the declaration is all in good fun I hope that the local restaurants will take this as a promotional opportunity to promote their menus. After the holidays, winter can be a bit dreary and this can add a little fun and a bright spot.
I have been campaigning for this declaration since 2008, when I thought that the history of the Christopher and Elisha Leffingwell chocolate mill established in 1770 could be a great introduction to the wide and varied manufacturing history of Norwich, CT.
The small mill in Norwich, CT helped to produce the over 320 tons of chocolate demanded by the 1773 colonial population. “Chocolate nuts” were off-loaded, roasted, shelled and ground into chocolate when the ships reached North American eastern ports. The resulting chocolate was irregular in appearance and slightly gritty in texture but when mixed with hints of cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, milk, sugar and water it was ready to be drunk as a staple with any meal, as a military pay ration and as a medicine.
While some recipes for hot cocoa have very exotic ingredients such as eggs, wine and chili peppers. I like the basic envelope mix with a basic dash of vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg but I encourage individuals, families and restaurants to create their own favorites.
In 2010 The Stir published 12 Heavenly Ways to Spice Up Hot Cocoa and they were not wrong.
I just open an envelope but they start from scratch by combining 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 cup of white sugar, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in 1/3 cup of boiling water. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes, then stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but keeping it just below a boil. Remove from heat and add in 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Serves 4.
12 Heavenly Ways to Spice Up Hot Cocoa
Mexican Hot Chocolate: Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of chili pepper to your favorite.
Toffee Treat: Stir in butterscotch chips into the original hot cocoa until melted, top with whipped cream, and then sprinkle with crushed toffee bar pieces.
Cookies & Cream: Crush Oreo cookies and sprinkle them on top of the whipped cream.
Holiday Hot Cocoa: Crush up pieces of hard peppermint candies (approximately one per cup), stir into the chocolate, and add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract for good measure. Sprinkle any leftover candies over the whipped cream.
Raspberry Heaven: Pour raspberry liqueur (preferably Chambord) into an original hot chocolate for a decadent drink. Garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger, if desired.
White Delight: Heat 6 cups of milk and 2 cups of heavy cream until bubbles form, then pour over 12 ounces of white chocolate (finely chopped) in a medium heat-proof bowl. When it begins to melt, stir to combine, then whisk in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Continue whisking until light foam forms. Serves 8.
Frozen Hot Chocolate: Mix 3 ounces of your favorite high-quality chocolate (melted) with two teaspoons of store bought cocoa mix and 1 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until well blended. Remove and slowly add 1/2 cup of milk, stir until smooth, and then cool to room temperature. Then blend mix, 1 cup of milk, and 3 cups of ice in blender until smooth. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Sexy Citrus: Add in 2 strips of orange peel and 2 strips of lemon peel to 4 ounces of melted semi-sweet chocolate, 3/4 cup half-and-half, and 3/4 cup of milk, over heat. Remove peels after 2 minutes and add Brandy and Limoncello to taste.
Rise & Shine: Add 1/2 cup of hot coffee to 1/2 cup of milk. Mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa, 1 tablespoon of grated milk chocolate, and sugar to taste.
Russian Hot Chocolate: Mix together 2 ounces of Kahlua, 1 ounce of vodka, and 1 cup hot chocolate made from milk.
Peanut Butter Better: Melt peanut butter cups into your favorite hot cocoa for a candy-inspired beverage or mix in a teaspoon of your favorite powdered peanut butter.
Country Cocoa: Stir in maple syrup to your original hot cocoa for a completely different (yet delicious) version.
What’s your favorite variety of hot chocolate?
For the last eight months of 2016 at every Norwich City Council meeting there was at least one person, group, organization or department being recognized for one great accomplishment or another. The Otis Library and the teachers in Norwich were all number one in the state or the nation but once the certificate was handed out, the polite applause subsided and the trip to collect the whatever was over, we have not seen or heard about their great work again.
I was thinking that what a magnificent source of pride it would be to read an article or two naming and explaining why and how all of these certificates of greatness were earned because collectively they would explain why Norwich, CT is a great place to live, work and locate your business.
By assembling all of this greatness into one document, for lack of a better and probably more appropriate term, it would be a terrific marketing tool. Who wouldn’t want to live and achieve in an environment where award winning status is the norm? Different versions could be sent to different publications in different areas to spread the word of the greatness of Norwich, CT. Imagine bringing a prospective business representative into a single hallway reserved for the display of awards earned by the city and its organizations and departments. Haven’t you ever stopped to look at the trophies displayed in a case at a school? If you do it, don’t you think others do as well? Maybe that is the reason for the display case. It is to remind everyone that award winners live or work or participate in that school. It also becomes an invitation to you to join them. YOU too can be a winner if you are a part of this team.
Norwich, CT deserves to have a team. A team of proud award winners. Winners who lead their community by example. The examples can be many established and new successful businesses leading the economy with product, with care, with example and with community support. Success does not occur over night. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes money and it takes commitment.
Norwich, CT has it all but we need to have political, business and community leaders with the dedication and commitment to push, pull, shove and remind us of what a great place Norwich, CT is. Don’t bother looking around. The person Norwich, CT needs is reading this blog. The person Norwich, CT needs is YOU. Join a group that is doing something. Get active in your neighborhood. Make certain that you vote and that your family votes too. Every vote does count. Take pride in where you live, where you work and where you play. Norwich, CT is your city. Be loud and be proud!
I have a young friend who uses the word “epic” freely to describe almost every project he is affiliated with. I understood immediately that he was using the word epic in place of impressive or just very good. That does not stop my brain from going to the first definition I know of for epic which is An epic is a long serious poem or other work of art celebrating heroic feats. They are long poems that do not rhyme but tell a story such as The Odyssey, Beowulf or Paradise Lost.
I feel the new definition of the word lessons its impact and makes it more mundane and less important. But while I was checking to make certain my definition was the same one as could be found in most dictionaries I found other lists of words that had me smirking and giggling and laughing out loud.
I now have irrefutable proof musicals transcend time and place. With apologies to Meredith Wilson, to you I present “The Music Man.” (1957) A truly epic (impressive) slick (awesome or cool) whiz-bang (impressive or flashy) musical with mad (good in reference to talent) 133t (computer speak for elite, bet you didn’t think I knew that one) stars (actors to look up to) that knock ones socks off (greatly impress a person). I wonder if Mr. Wilson realized he would be epically changing the American vocabulary forever when he wrote a musical about a peddler who was not familiar with the people or the route he was on.
Have you been hearing and using words that have a somewhat different definition than the one you used to associate with that word? What was it or what are they? What are the old and new definitions?
I recently received a surprise email from asking for a recipe I was promoting back in 2009 when I was playing around with how Norwich, CT could use Cocoa in local promotions. Hot Cocoa was great but there had to be more. Anyway, her recently retired husband has discovered competitive Bar-B-Q cooking and he was looking for something unique when she remembered the little packets I was giving out one year of Norwich Cocoa Barbecue Rub. Was I still making it? Could they purchase the recipe and tweak it to make their own?
Not having thought much about it since 2010 I said certainly if I can find it. It took a little hunting but I found it. I wish you the best but Norwich must remain somewhere in the name to stand proudly such as the names of Memphis, Saint Louis and others do in the great tradition of Bar-B-Q styles.
Depending on my mood I might increase or decrease some of the amounts slightly and I might add some hot pepper flakes too. So anyway, here is the recipe for Norwich Cocoa Bar-B-Q Rub.
Altogether it is an easy to assemble mix of pretty standard kitchen spice powders that could stand alone on the table in a shaker to sprinkle over individual servings of food, used as a dry mix to be rubbed onto chicken, meat or fish, or mixed with oil or tomato sauce for a more standard barbecue sauce.
Norwich Cocoa Bar-B-Q Rub
1/4 cup grey sea salt
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
Directions
Combine the salt, cocoa powder, white sugar, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and black pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
To use, rub spice mixture onto meat serving and let stand at least 10 minutes before cooking. Allow meat to stand after cooking.
Keep some fresh rub in a shaker on your table to spice your burgers and fries!.
I did it! I reported the birds I saw at my feeder this morning at 6 AM on 2/17/17. I went to www.birdcount.org and registered my name and user id. Pretty standard information was asked; nothing invasive. Then they wanted to know if I wanted to report a count. I clicked on yes. So far, so good.
WHAT WAS THE OBSERVATION TYPE? Choose Traveling – You traveled a specific distance – a walking trail, driving through a refuge, field birding? Or Stationary – You stayed at a fixed location – watching from a window, or a bird blind or Historical – Birding was your primary purpose, but you cannot estimate the start time, duration, or distance or Incidental – birding was not your primary purpose- but noted a bird while driving or gardening or walking or shoveling.
Then it was even more straight forward Start time. 6 AM Duration – 15 minutes Party Size – 1 You are even able to choose how you want to view the listing of birds – You can choose between seeing the list alphabetically or rarities or subspecies or my personal favorite – grouped by most likely. Comments – I did not have any. That was it, all done. YOU know you can do it and you know the kids will get a charge out of seeing how the information they enter changes the information on the larger tables. They also ask if you are submitting a complete checklist of birds you were able to identify – yes or no.
Later in the day I made my bird watching rounds at Brown Park, Mohegan Park – Lower Pond, Park Center, Rose Garden , and even McDonalds parking lot where I stopped for a cup of hot cocoa.
I will be doing it again tomorrow and Sunday and Monday. Today I strolled the Mohegan Park Trail. Who know s where you will find me the other days. But please do say hello and join me. I carry extra cracked corn if you would like to join me.
Connecticut Arts Day is Thursday, March 2nd 2017 in Hartford CT. It is a free of cost, jam packed day filled with exhibits, shows, performances, and speeches. Lots and lots and lots of did I mention this already? Speeches.
From 8:30 – 10:30 AM there are speeches by no less than 19 politically strategic people including the Governor, Representatives, Directors, Specialists, and even an Honorary Chair.
At 10:30 AM the attendees are going to march from the Bushnell to the State Capital to show support of the Arts. Then at 11 AM there are going to be two panel discussions A. On the Art of Advocacy and B. On the Impact of Cross Collaborations. Someone from Norwich needs to be there taking notes.
From noon to 1:30 PM is lunch. Where attendees will hopefully be encouraged to make new friends and to meet and chat with people they do not know. Then the real fun stuff begins at 1:30 with presentations and performances until the keynote address by Laura Callanan, founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab, located in New York City.
Upstart Co-Lab is a national collaboration of financial partners sharing their resources; strategic partners bringing their time, talent, and proprietary platforms; a small professional team; a working group of social innovators; an advisory board — and artists. Whose combined efforts nurture connections, align systems, and jump-start solutions.
Then at long last, with enthusiasm filling the minds and hearts of the listeners to the last speaker at 3:30 PM will be the honoring of the nine 2017 Arts Heroes of Connecticut. Two of those heroes come from Eastern Connecticut. Bruce John of Willimantic and Joy Supples of Groton. Congratulations and best wishes to them both. Maybe in 2018 we will be honoring someone from Norwich, CT.
If you would like to attend please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/connecticut-arts-day-2017-registration-21317951567 So now is the time we need to get loud, proud and busy in Norwich. What projects will you be participating in?.
How is Norwich, CT presenting itself to the rest of the world? How are we marketing ourselves? Which of the livability websites do we participate in?
Towns, cities and states across the country are working hard at recruiting people and businesses to support their tax base. So what is Norwich, CT doing to call attention to ourselves? What are we saying about ourselves?
Do we have a presentation that is filled with articles, photos and infographics? Are they from papers and magazines across the country or just local? Are the photos of just land and buildings or do they feature local residents and businesses?
Someday I would like to see a presentation of the comprehensive data set Norwich is using to lure new businesses to our city. The contents should not be secret or proprietary. Every resident should be well versed to the content details.
What details and information are we including in our site selection and information consultant packets? As the economy changes have the packets been re-examined with updated information, contact names and numbers? Does the city provide separate standard economic development data vs. a site comparison version? You would think they would contain the same information but they do not. They are usually very different presentations and their interpretations of even the same information may be very different.
What are the advantages of being in Norwich for the years to come? How do we describe the quality of life in our city, county, state and location? Why should visitors love your town and want to encourage others to share their experience? How does the general public define community?
Does Norwich, CT present a high quality feeling that remains with visitors for a long time? Do we encourage friendly service, great amenities, a safe environment, clean air, a unique history or culture?
Have multiple Tourism Assessment Programs been used and combined to make the best use of our collective past for the future? How are we, the residents and leaders of Norwich, CT presenting ourselves to the public?
The residents of Norwich, CT have always been and to this day remain amazing people. While other cities, towns, boroughs and even the State of Connecticut are looking for ways to entice single entrepreneurs and businesses to settle within their confines, the leaders of Norwich, CT remain resolute in their firm stand to not work with or learn from others how this might be accomplished.
For example, I attended a CTNext workshop with three featured presentations on making cities a magnet for talent. Norwich, CT was not represented by leadership or department. Other cities sent a variety of representatives, different departments, different jobs, some private, some public but all would be taking back information and sharing what they had learned. Not so for Norwich, CT although I did forward copies of the presentation to the Mayor, Council members and NCDC.
Speakers included Architect Robert Orr, former president of the New England chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, on what CNU has learned over the past 40 years on how to make vibrant, walkable places that people love and want to live and work. Norwich is perfect for those over 30 years old looking to settle down in a place where they can make a difference and put their mark on their portion of the world.
Brian Falk of the Project for Lean Urbanism shared what they are learning from their five pilot projects underway to enable startups and millennials to build their own habitats. Aren’t these the people we are supposed to be encouraging to come to our city? Astonishing to me was that Norwich, CT has done, completed and has in place many of the items and programs that the Lean Urbanism Project is working on developing in their five pilot programs. But obviously we are not using them effectively so why are we not on the phone talking to Brian Falk discussing how we can use them and others to be more effective.
Kip Bergstrom of CTNext filled in for a presenter not able to attend due to the weather. Bergstrom explained the CTNext program and how the program provides guidance, contacts, opportunities for financial assistance to start-ups, Most importantly he spoke of the importance of receptivity. Not only must the city be initially welcoming but it must remain welcoming. No city or community is perfect. Every place can be improved upon and changed and it is ok to ask the young to make their mark on your city by asking for their help. It is ok to hear new voices, thoughts and ideas. It is ok to build a stronger community by working together.
As a resident and taxpayer of Norwich, CT can we please begin working together soon?
Variety is indeed the spice of life. I am doing my best to eat a healthy diet. Strong and hearty on fruits and vegetables and light on everything else but alas from November through January I fall off the wagon and “the everything else” takes over. I love bread, cookies, pasta and almost anything else made with flour. But somehow through the magic of a space and time continuum it is now February and whether I like it or not I have to gain some control.
So I am looking once more to how I can improve my eating habits. I am not a vegetarian. A vegetarian by definition “does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacean, or slaughter by-products.”So I am obviously not vegan, as they do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics or soaps derived from animal products. So really vegetarianism is a diet, while veganism is a lifestyle. I am flexible so maybe I am a Flexitarian which believe it or not is defined as a predominantly vegetarian diet, in which meat is occasionally consumed.
But will I be defined by the other options that are all over the internet? A lacto-vegetarian includes certain types of dairy but not eggs and food with rennet. A lacto-ovo vegetarian includes eggs and dairy. A pescatarian diet includes fish but not meat. A lacto-pescatarian includes fish and dairy foods and of course there is the lacto-ovo-pescatarian who eats fish, dairy and eggs. I am investigating the plant-based diet which is being used by a bunch of diets that range from fully vegetarian to others that include a small amount of occasional meat.
It is possible to spend hours just reading the names of the various diets that are on the market today not including the diet programs that can be subscribed to.
There is the alkaline diet that avoids acidic foods, the blood type diet where you eat according to your blood type. DASH is a Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension with fruits, vegetables and high grains. Eat Clean allows no preservatives or complex carbohydrates. The gluten-free diet avoids protein glutens found in barley, rye and wheat. The Mediterranean diet is really strong on the use of olive oil. The Organic Food diet would be the absolute hardest to follow with its strict rules of ingesting only food which is organic meaning it has not been produced with chemical fertilizers, genetic modifications, irradiation or additives. The Paleolithic eats only what the hunter-gatherers would have found and the raw foodist chomps everything raw and uncooked whether its grain or meat.
So I remain an omnivore – consuming both plant and animal based foods and anything else that looks and tastes interesting.
I was recently at a meeting where there was an unusual occurrence. A multiple level combination vote was taken and one of the voting participants was not certain the recorded vote was reflective of the individuals views. So the individual asked for a clarification of the vote. Level by level in an effort to make the vote clear. The other, Well meaning committee members, trying their best to help, appeared to be, perhaps a little overly assertive. That enthusiasm, to the observers, looked a who0le lot like bullying.
Sadly, as a member of the audience, and to my shame, I was in such shock and denial at the witnessing of the behavior I sat by and said and did nothing. Nothing. Technically, as an observer I am not supposed to do anything yet I am haunted by the realization that I did nothing. So I am doing something now.
I am adapting some of the suggestions of Christine Comaford, a leadership and culture coach I am familiar with. There are many other experts but I am using someone whose work I am familiar with.
As a society we talk about not allowing bullying in school and so it follows that we should not be allowing even the appearance of bullying in the workplace or in leadership roles in our community.
We all avoid uncomfortable situations so in public places we tolerate them, ignore them or pretend it’s a part of the general normal, or sometimes we even think of it as entertainment. We are giving away our rights, compromising our integrity and demonstrating to our children that bullying is acceptable. I can assure you it is not.
But what do we do about it?
How are we enabling a bully when we are the leader? We allow inappropriate conduct during the meeting. It is the responsibility of the leader to clarify what appropriate meeting etiquette is and to make sure it is followed.
The leader does not become a go-between between parties but makes it very clear that they need to work things out together.
The leader does not compromise their integrity by giving voice to their own temper and by inadvertently demonstrating that bullying is acceptable.
The leader must interrupt the pattern. Take a five minute break. Reset the stage by re-stating the reason for the meeting, the progress made and the steps left to be accomplished. Co-create with the group what is to be accomplished within the next 5, 15 or 30 minutes. Establish a consequence if possible. Table the discussion or motion. Request a ruling. Check the understanding of the issue.
Above all else have and demonstrate respect for one another even when your views differ.
She is back! I don’t know if I am my usual angry because she is a destructive little thief or relieved because I was so afraid she was a casualty of a car, or the weather or perhaps time. I don’t really know how old the gray squirrel is.
Maybe three years ago now she discovered my porch. Then she discovered the cushions on the furniture on the porch. It was so cute to see her curled up on the rocking chair. We lived in harmony so long as we were not using the rocking chair at the same time.
Then she met a boy squirrel and they made a nest high in a nearby tree. Once they were all settled there was a lot of scampering to find the right leaves, branches and food store. But the nest was just not right. It needed something soft with perhaps a bit of insulation. That’s when she must have remembered the nice soft pillow she used to nap on.
At first there was a tiny tear on the side of the cushion and just a hint of the stuffing peeping out. A little needle and thread and it was all fixed. No big deal. Then she was back for a larger chunk of stuffing and she was littering the lawn with pieces she was stealing but had to drop because they were too large for her to carry up the tree. But when she had the babies all was forgiven. They were so cute! One day my neighbor and I watched her move her babies one at a time to another tree across the street away from a very watchful cat.
Then I didn’t see her. When a body was found on the street I was certain it was her and I mourned for her and the babies that were probably out on their own by then but they would always be babies to me. To those who would say take the cushions in the house and they won’t be destroyed by wild animals. Well, there is my neighbors’ cat who likes to sunbathe and nap on the porch cushions and a little puppy from up the street who runs down the street to hop on the cushions and visit with his friend the cat.
It is so funny to watch that I just leave the cushions out all year round and keep the “good set” in the house for when the humans plan to sit out there. But I guess it must be spring because the puffs of stuffing are peeping out of the cushion and bits can be found blowing around my neighborhood. I tell myself that its not littering and other animals may be using the stuffing for nesting as well. Happy spring!
How many people want to see downtown Norwich filled with shops, stores, restaurants and people? How many of us want to see the downtown completely revitalized and glistening while still surrounding us with the imagined security of the past? I want that old time feeling with the cleanliness of fresh and new and I am not afraid to say so.
What has stunned me however, was a recent business meeting with a while I am in the neighborhood quick shopping stop. The shopping stop was to a David’s Tea store for a re-supply of fresh loose tea. I had not been to the shop here in Connecticut before located in the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk, 501 Evergreen Way, South Windsor, CT. Not far from the Buckland Hills Mall.
I need to take a deep breath to begin to describe the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk. It is a beautiful layout that instantly made me feel as if I was in a very successful metropolitan area. It has a very similar layout to downtown Norwich, CT. Evergreen Way is the main street with the cross streets of Tamarack, Laurel, Pine, Hemlock and possibly others whose names I did not catch. There is a huge rotary at one end so drivers can turn around easily. Store front parking on Evergreen and then there are fifteen additional parking lots behind the buildings for staff, visitors and shoppers. One parking lot was designed with the restaurants in mind for valet parking. When not reserved for an event the lot is open to the public.
The cross streets help divide the shops into blocks. Each block has a wide sidewalk, huge showcase windows into the stores, trees, benches and speakers playing soft familiar music. Some of the buildings had only one or two stores while other buildings were filled with boutiques.
I did not have a lot of time so please excuse this short list of the types of stores I saw while I drove through – multiple individual and collective men’s, women’s and children’s apparel stores, outdoor gear, shoes, jewelry, beauty, health, spa, eye wear, electronics, home & house ware, stationery, gift, pet, specialty food, grocery, services, restaurants, grills, bars and food stands. The only thing I do not recall seeing was a bookstore but I could have just missed that. The layout was all that I want for Norwich, CT with the addition of the book store, and the library. I could even imagine the legal and real estate offices on the second floors and gorgeous apartments on the third and fourth floors.
I know of two other Promenade Shops although I do not know if it is the same developer. There is one in Saucon Valley, PA and another in Colorado Springs, CO. Norwich, CT needs a vision. The size of the streets and the blocks and the buildings are very similar and close in size to what we already have here in Norwich, CT. To compete we need to add more open spaces, clean and safe mini-parklets, better lighting and an emphasis on safety. Downtown Norwich has the potential to create a “Promenade Shops” of its own. A bigger and better one but it means that as a city we need to be out there promoting what is right with our city instead of complaining about what is wrong with it and doing nothing to correct it.
Attention candidates running for local office in November 2017. I want to hear your vision. I want to hear your plan of how you are going to accomplish your goals. I want a time line of what you are expecting to do by when. In Norwich, CT we make plans for 99 years in the future and we can no longer do that. We need plans that we can start immediately and have results in one to twenty-five years. The clock is ticking..
I just read an article called The Perfect Crossing by Tim De Chant in Wired magazine. De Chant talks and defines some things I have never heard mentioned or even whispered when we talk about resurrecting downtown Norwich. Whether we like it, or approve of it, or even want it to happen, the future is coming. Eventually, the future will even come to Norwich, CT. Probably 30-50 years after its been everywhere else but come it will. So while we are daydreaming about bringing back the good old days of American society and Norwich in particular why don’t we add a few of the items that will prepare us for the future. Small things that our children and grandchildren will be living with and question with awe how we ever lived without. With apologies to Tim DeChant I am going to use his item numbering system.
1. Self-Driving Vehicles – Autonomous cars studded with sensors that respond to automated intersection commands. As do some present day emergency vehicles. Intersections might not have visible traffic signals.
2. Traffic Sensors – In use since the 1960’s some intersections have induction loop sensors that detect the bulk metal of cars/trucks and talk to the signal lights.
3. Sidewalk Bump-outs – Squeeze the roadway as it nears the intersection to slow the traffic navigating the area.
4. Protected Bike Lanes – Those tiny alleyways behind and between buildings too tight for cars have been endorsed by the US Department of Transportation for use as “low stress bicycle networks.”
5. Bike Rails – Metal railings for cyclists to lean on while waiting for lights to change.
6. Bike Signals – A light timed for cyclists to give them a few seconds head start before the regular traffic moves on.
7. Speed Tables – Raises the crossing so the crossing pedestrian and the driver are at the same eye-height.
8. Scrambles – Little islands in the center of large intersections that allow pedestrians to move in different directions safely.
9. Parklets – offer pedestrians a bit of respite.
10. Trees – The bane of traffic engineers but a signal that the area is part of a walkable community.
11. Dedicated Shelters – protect waiting riders from the elements.
12. Induction charging – Chargers embedded into the pavement can juice up the electric busses as they move along their routes.
13. Cool Stations – Leaving the bedrock exposed at certain underground passages offers relief from summer heat.
14. Sidewalk cafes – Are the key to a great urban street. Diners should not be level with car and truck exhausts.
15. Corner stores – Stores that people visit more than once a week are the best use of a corner. Package stores, green grocers, flower shops, and pharmacies.
16. Third Places – “Your first place is your home. Second is work. The third place you spend time can be a coffee shop or a bar.” Where is your third place?
When you think about downtown Norwich, CT you think about the old buildings and alleys. Now it is time to start thinking about the streets and not just creating more or removing the one-ways but how our streets and alleys can be most effectively be used in the future.
Norwich, CT has a future. But we, as residents must build the future by using the strengths we have of our past in new and creative ways. We cannot bring back the past, although we can use it to propel us forward. Share your vision of future Norwich, CT.
Have you received the advertising post card from Garde Art Center in New London? It is brilliantly done and Norwich theaters should take note of the concept. The Garde and New London had a lot to work with so they used a 5 ½ by 11 inch post card. On one side eight shows are listed with a photo, date, time, event description, address, website and promotion name. On the reverse side, are the names, addresses and phone numbers for forty-one mostly downtown New London restaurants. With the slogan Grab a Bite… Make it a Night! Dinner and a Show! boldly across the top. You choose between a snack or fine dining.
Norwich, CT is home to two tiny theaters. But it is very difficult to find out what is being performed, the dates and times. I almost get the impression they are not really open to the general public but that would be silly. Wouldn’t it? There are four active art galleries in our downtown alone but if you are not on Facebook you may not be aware of the First Friday promotion when the galleries are open late, with music, wine and snacks. It happens the first Friday night of every month from 6 PM – 9 PM. That is twelve times a year when you can stroll and see the talents of neighbors, friends, and visiting artists. You could enjoy a dinner and thirteen eateries where are our promotions?
Occasionally there is a punch card for the downtown bars after the exhibits but nothing to make it an evening. Why don’t we have cards we can put by the phone at home to remind us there are things to do, places to go, places to see and eat? I am not suggesting a large and very pricy promotion but certainly one that can serve as a bulletin board reminder and if more than one organization worked together certainly everyone could benefit.
Once in a while the churches of downtown have an activity as does Bully Busters on the First Friday of a month too. Perhaps some of the youth are interested in making informational signs with arrows that could be adjusted to point to the locations of the various venues.
The signs would not need to be complicated – Food, Performance, Art Gallery, Entertainment, Antiques & Collectables. The signs and there placements could be used as lessons in marketing. Who, What, When, Where, This Way, That Way, How Much, Parking. They could even be in charge of putting them up and taking them down to be used again.
Comedy for a Cause is coming to Norwich, CT. Comedian Mike Hanley and a few of his funny, funny, friends are coming to Norwich, CT on Saturday, April 1st for a special fundraising show for the Gallery at the Wauregan. The comedy show will be in the ballroom of the Wauregan in downtown Norwich beginning at 8 PM so there is lots of well-lit close by on the street parking in addition to the three free garage parking structures within a block walking distance. Tickets are only $20. Per person in advance or at the door. Make a reservation by calling Dan Topalis at 860.334.2669.
Plan for a very full night of laughter and fun. The doors will open at 6:30 PM for a silent auction with some wonderful items including a television, DVD player and unique art work as well as a tasting display of delicious local food, wine and beers. New restaurants have opened in the area and this is a great way to try some of their special treats and brews. If you are fussy, bring a favorite bottle to enjoy during the performance.
Maybe you caught Mike Hanley’s act at one of our casino’s here is Connecticut? Or at one of the local comedy competitions? Or maybe it was in Massachusetts, New York or Rhode Island where he frequently performs. When you see him he reminds you of the guy next door but under the spot light he explodes with high energy and a unique story telling style that will have you nodding your head, because it’s a familiar story and you know you have been there, to crying with laughter while at the edge of your seat. He is all about finding the many funny sides to relationships, kids, work and life in general. Seeing one of his shows is always a treat that makes you feel good. You always leave his show with a smile on your face, and a new story to re-tell. Can you tell I am a long-time fan?
Hanley will be bringing at least two other comedians with him that I guarantee will give you an evening of laughter and delight. Just a reminder, donations to a silent auction are a great way to advertise your goods, products or services. You can bring the item that night or drop it off at the Gallery at the Wauregan before hand. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Offer to plant 50 flower bulbs. Fish sit for a long weekend. Prepare a special meal, snack or picnic. This is a fund raiser among friends for a great cause so let’s relax and have a good time.
Every day of the year is a National Something Day. There are more national something days than there are days of the year. Some days are easier to participate in than others. For example Saturday, June 3, 2017 is National Trails Day.
Everyone is invited to go outside and take a walk. A long walk. A short walk. A stroll or a jog. On pavement or on earth. Alone or in a group. It is a goal most of us can accomplish. The National Trails Day organizers, the American Hiking Organization, really does like to keep things simple and wrote the 11 steps to planning a successful event that work for just about any event.
1. Clarify your goal. Write down in a short declarative sentence your desired outcome for your event. For example: Increase membership by five people.
2. Envision your target participants. Based on your goals, what type of participants will help you reach your goals? For example: Families with young children. Or People outside your existing network.
3. Choose your activities. Select appealing activities for your target audience that will help you reach your goal. For example: A hike or walk. Educational or learning projects or demonstrations.
4. Find an ideal event location. Accessibility, Terrain, Approvals (Organizational and legal if necessary.)
5. Evaluate possible partnerships. Many of the most successful events are collaborative events organized by two or more organizations. Who are you willing to work with and share responsibilities with?
6. Define the logistics. Who is specific will help with signage and parking, participant sign in, event introduction, tool coordination, activity leaders, and rainy day plan.
7. Gather resources. Based on your event create a list of items you will want for your event. Who has access to the materials? For example: Event signage, snacks, sign-in sheets, hand-outs, first aid kit, tables, chairs, activities, clean up materials – trash bags, gloves, recycling.
8. Promote the event. What are the best ways to communicate with my target participants? Social media? Images, graphics, logos? Downloadable or posted fliers? Press release?
9. Where can you register your event for FREE? Which calendars are available in your area and are read by your target audience?
10. Don’t forget to include your sponsors and partners logos on everything that goes out to the public about your event.
11.Remember to breathe and have a plan for success as well as for oops, there is always next year..
What is wrong with Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT? Why aren’t there on-line pages filled with photographs during all the different seasons and from the many events that are held there? I constantly see beautiful photos of other places, individual plants, statues, trees, paths, clearings, trails, waterways from other places but from Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT.
No one seems to think that the tiny streams that crisscross the trails have any interest or beauty. The little wooden bridge near the Lower Pond is never interesting to someone. How sad that in a 100 wood park there is not one tiny bloom that causes one person to stop and ponder the wonders of the universe. The individual trees do not seem to stand out to photographers and they fail to have interest when they are grouped together.
From other places I have seen photos of mushrooms, grass, insects, abandoned and lively insect homes. Seeds lying about in other places and those just beginning to sprout or all the way to those in full bloom to those who have passed. But none were from Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT.
The Park wildlife must be supremely ugly as no one risks the breaking of a lens to photograph them gamboling about. When was the last time someone spoke of the cacophony of bird song they enjoyed while resting on a bench or while fishing? Have you ever spotted the home of a wood elf at the base of a tree or seen the castle of their king? No photos of a child discovering the wonders that are sure to live amongst the trees, ferns, flora and fauna.
Why doesn’t someone find the ducks and the geese poised or smart or funny when in the water they dive, play, feed or as they walk on land? Is there something wrong with the hoof and paw prints that are left in the soft mud or earth? Something that makes them less interesting than a similar print found in other parks and places?
How can the park become the place where the views seen in the distance, or the sky or the ground at their feet become appreciated? Are we the taxpayers and residents of the Park doing something wrong? Please tell me what we as a city can do to improve your perception of Mohegan Park.
The elected, appointed and employed officials of the City of Norwich, CT have all said at one point or another they endorse tourism to be an economic driver for Norwich, CT. 2017 is the perfect time to add structure, organization and planning.
The following is my suggestion as a place to begin. There is much more to be listed but this is a start. Not everything applies to every group, event, or location. Norwich has a lot to offer and it is long past time that we stopped keeping it a secret. If there is a reason to keep the public facilities of Norwich a secret or for private and selected use only I would like to hear it and then maybe, I will stop asking for organization, transparency and equality. That is a big maybe.
On the City of Norwich, CT website I want a list of all of the available venues that can be rented by the public for activities. A pick list that includes but is not limited to the school gymnasiums, auditoriums, meeting rooms, parks, walks, meadows, fields, rinks, links, pagodas, parking areas, stadiums, buildings, basketball and tennis courts and anything I have left off that is owned/managed by the City of Norwich (Anything that has an official and sanctioned committee, board, or department) and is available for rent during all or part of the year, and times when applicable. I want to know the amenities (will additional porta-potties be needed?) of the location, maximum capacity of the facility, is seating fixed in place, and I want to know the cost of the rental or deposits required. Are there site plans available? What is the list of the permits and licenses that may be required, what emergency services may need to be notified of the event taking place, clean up expectations including removal of litter, traffic cones, barricades, signs. Traffic plans and parking, control methods. Traffic plans and event routes for runs, walks, hikes etc. , safety features, volunteer scheduling and strategy, first aid plans, and written support from other businesses/groups affected by course layout or road closures. Health codes, food handling, permits, licenses the list goes on.
Power, generator and electricity required for the event. Is a deposit required? How much? Payable to whom?
Insurance requirements? The amount? Proof of insurance?
Is there a minimum bond for the equipment of the city being used required? Payable when and to who? Who is responsible and pays for the transportation of the municipal equipment? Who gets billed if the cost is greater than the bond? When will the bond be returned in full or in part? How Is any additional policing billed and paid?
I want to see payments for bonds, fees, and charges to be centralized and should be able to be made by cash, check, money order, charge or debit card at City Hall. Having people go to different departments, in different buildings, that have different rules for what they can or cannot accept demonstrates lack of organization.
I hear the term One City a lot lately. So lets treat Norwich, CT and all of its various parts, Laurel Hill, East Great Plains, Taftville, Chelsea, Downtown, Greeneville, Occum, Yantic, West Side and Norwichtown as one city equally and with the respect and dignity they each deserve.
I am tired of waiting for the next election, or until we hire someone, or we have never done that before. We need it now. Let’s start now and let the new people catch up and add or change the progress we are making. You can’t move forward without taking the first step.
The Community Foundation of Eastern CT hosted the first of the Thriving Community Conversations and had NPR’s John Dankosky moderate the conversation on the arts at CT College and another will soon be held in Norwich, CT although I do not have the subject, time and date I know that it will be held at Kelly Middle School.
The questions asked in the hour long free discussion were “Do the arts lift us from our circumstances, make us smarter, more tolerant and better able to navigate our modern world? Or is public money spent on the arts a waste, an investment in something relevant and beneficial to only a privileged few?”
The audience was students and people already working in the arts. Most of those people were from not-for-profit businesses. Missing from the meeting and the conversation were the people who make a profit from using people in the arts to make their business better and more profitable. Like who you ask?
Trained actors make great sales staff, teachers, demonstrators, and instructors. They are trained to speak clearly. Hide their personal reactions to people and places. They are trained to sell, convince, to spark the imagination, to put the observer in the place they want them to be and to make the imagined real. They are the story tellers and the product, the business, the whatever is their story.
Engineers, drivers, medical personnel and mechanics are often singers and musicians because they see and hear the tones, pitches, murmurs and beats of every day sounds differently than many of us. They hear the stress, the whoosh, the thump before they are visual. They feel when the beat or beep of a machine or a body is just slightly off. Frequently they are the predictors of future events because of their observation abilities. Singers and musicians are trained to lead, to stand back, to share, to match, to meet, and to work with others for the greater good.
Those crafty people are the ones that can fix anything and make it appear as though it were part of the original plan. They are the ones with vision, with patience, with the alternate plan that was not needed ten minutes ago but is desperately needed right now.
The organization of the supply room. The decoration of the aisle end caps or the reception room or the conference room display or organization or project explanation chart was done with someone with an eye toward color, size, and organization quite possibly an artist.
For people frequently called loners, artists are the people who make your business team better.
I would like to see a follow-up forum with big and small businesses of all sorts represented discussing, “Should you hire people with an arts background for your business? Where and how do the arts play a part in business?”
Yes. This is another blog rant about the budget process going on in Norwich, CT. I am angry, hurt, insulted, disgusted and saddened by the budget presentations in the City of Norwich.
In order for the City of Norwich, CT to function it must have revenue called income and sometimes taxes. In order to know how much revenue the city needs to operate each of the departments, services, etc. presents an outline or budget of what they spend or think they will need to be spending in the next year or so and the estimated total is used to calculate the increases or decreases in our taxes and fees to live and work in this fine city. That is a very simplified version of what is involved. I am not disputing the process or the budgets themselves.
I am more than disgruntled about the department heads coming to the public budget meetings without their bringing their line item budgets and not being prepared to answer questions. Some did not feel it necessary to even bring a copy of what they submitted to the City Manager. These leaders felt they could speak the details just fine off the top of their heads. Trust me they could not. Some did bring computer presentations with pretty pictures, colorful graphs and charts of trends that when examined said nothing of how the money was actually spent over the last year.
A favorite was to line up the employees on a bench to look as pitiful as possible and say how they have not had raises and ask if that isn’t incredibly sad. What I did not hear about was how the money over the last year was spent. No one explained what their office actually did, how it served the public , how it operated, how its functions were governed by local, state, federal rules, laws, regulations and choice. Not one of the presentations discussed the dollars used, required or necessary. Some departments generate an income for parts of their services but that part of the discussion was brief and quickly dismissed as trivial.
I listened to lots of the departments say how they have won a national award for this program or service. But what that translated to in my head was someone has time to fill out contest forms but not the time and staff to get the work of the city done.
At a budget hearing I want to hear facts, figures, numbers, amounts, services, successes and yes even about the failures. Some very well intentioned stuff does not work. That is ok. It means that you tried. Do not come to a budget meeting or hearing or anything else to do with a budget unprepared with facts, figures or numbers. You are wasting our time. You are being disrespectful to the people paying your salaries. For those non-department public services that come to the City for support donations you should be ashamed if you came to the public hearing without a copy of your budget submission and back-up information to speak off the top of your head about how wonderful you are.
Budgets are about numbers. Demonstrate your leadership skills by bringing the numbers or be prepared for the consequences of not substantiating your claims.
The Norwich City Manager has presented his proposed budget for Fiscal year 2017-18 to the City Council and copies are available to the public for review and comment. Have you looked at it? I mean really looked at it and examined it?
There are very clearly spelled out long-term goals and whose responsibility it is to meet them. “1. Foster an environment that increases the number of commercial entities in the city. 2. Increase the self- sufficiency of the City. 3. Develop and promote the inner city and inner harbor. 4. Prioritize the citywide long-term capital improvement needs and identify funding sources for them. 5. Provide adequate funding to meet the needs of the Board of Education’s goals for educating Norwich children.
Budget priorities presented simply are 1. Provide relief for taxpayers. 2. Collaboration and sharing of departments. 3. Maintain the city infrastructure 4. Provide for some increase in education funding.
Detailed are the changes in education funding, the grand list, expenditures and other cost drivers including the decrease in the 10% Norwich Public Utilities will by City Charter return to the City Consolidated District and the General Fund. NPU does not choose to return any part of its profits to the City of Norwich, NPU is mandated by law to return the funds to the City. Residents and taxpayers get to enjoy double and sometimes more taxation through utility purchase and state and federal tax payment.
Then comes the really enjoyable bits of the budget. The part where everyone has their part to do. It takes a while but eventually there is a plan to make changes in personnel and the list of what everyone including you should do. That is right. YOU. What you should do. Pay your taxes on time and on line. Use the online resources of the City website. Maximize your recycling. Maintain your own burglar and fire alarm systems. Shovel your snow and clear your fire hydrants. Keep your property and neighborhood neat clean and tidy. Seriously, that is what it says.
But before you throw the novel down in disgust check out page 16 with the economic and demographic data. Now we are getting interesting. The names and numbers of your elected and hired officials are on pages 21 and beyond. There is even an organization chart with the voters at the top. Honestly it shows that the government is supposed to be working for you. YOU, the voter are the boss. From page 24 through 124 are the individual budgets, mill rate calculations, salaries, job and department descriptions, grant descriptions, and at the back of the novel is the glossary.
Before you complain. Before you shout that something must be done. Take a look at the Budget. The part that includes the numbers and the names and the figures. Don’t just parrot “Something must be done.”Make suggestions. Make contacts. Learn how your government operates and ask the workers how they can do their jobs better and more efficiently for you. When it comes down to making Norwich, CT a better community; it really is up to you.
First you start with a single thought. A hope. A wish. A dream. Then you begin to talk about it. You give the thought a voice and hope that someone else will join in. And then you begin to set up a structure to follow the road to get to the dream. To get to the project. To make the single thought a reality. Then you follow through. You join together and make a plan and a time schedule. Soon you have taken a single thought and created a movement.
The movement means that you have found friends or a group to stand with you and to make it happen. Congratulations to the Greeneville Community of Norwich, CT on the completion and dedication of the Greenville Mural on 8th Street in Norwich, CT.
On Saturday, April22, 2017 at 10 am The Greeneville Mural painted on the side of Quercias Automotive at 499 North Main Street , Norwich, CT will be officially dedicated. When you look at the mural depicting the history of the community you can’t help but admire in awe at the work of lead artist Faith Satterfield of Murals by Faith. Color, size, shape all the details the imagination and the imagery. I am a bit of a control freak and allowing others input and to help would make me crazy but Faith and her husband Tariko Satterfield of Realifempire managed painters with reservations for specific hours and times and drop-in volunteers with enthusiastic professionalism and ”Focusing on the goal and doing your best.”
Zechariah Stover was the lead coordinator. Zechariah coordinated schedules, ferried the paint, ladders, brushes, cloths in his car and sometimes borrowed vehicles. Arranged for lunches. Talked and schmoozed and convinced people and organizations to help and finance and volunteer. Zechariah was the face of the Greeneville Revitalization Zone members at the mural but his back was covered by the members of the Greenville NRZ who were ever present and at the ready to help whenever they could.
I can’t wait to see the next project come to life in the Greeneville community of Norwich, CT. Congratulations to all on this very successful project and credit to your community and city.
Are you dissatisfied with the services of your City? Do you have a better idea of how things should be run? Have you a better idea of how your tax dollars should be allocated? Is there something in particular you would like to see in your City? Are you just a bit curious as to why things are the way they are?
Have you looked at the budget of the City? Yes. That is correct. I asked if you have looked at the proposed physical budget of the City of Norwich available in bound book copy in the Office of the City Clerk for $10.00? It is also available on the City of Norwich, CT webpage www.norwichct.org. Do you want to know how the school system is spending your tax dollars? A copy of their budget is also available at their office and on-line. So is the budget for Norwich Public Utilities and yes you have to travel separately to their office to get a copy. I could not find it on-line on their website. That just might be carrying transparency in their operations just a little too far.
There are services that the Federal Government says are required. There are services the State of Connecticut says are required. There are services the Court says are required. There are services that, well you get the idea. There are a lot of services that a City is forced to provide without compensation from the ruling body the mandate comes from. Do you know what they are?
If you want to complain, you have to earn the right. First you have to live, or work, or play, or care about the City. YOU, have to be concerned about the City and the people who are living and working and being educated in it. It is your responsibility to check out the situation you are concerned with. Have you called the appropriate department and voiced your concern over the situation? Did you write a letter or send an e-mail? Are you just parroting words given to you to say by someone else or did you check the situation out yourself?
When was the last time you attended a public meeting? Public Hearing? Debate? City Council Meeting? When did you voice your concern to the person representing you in government or on a committee? The common denominator to all of these questions is you. You, have to be the person to show the interest. You, have to be the person to show the concern. You, have to be involved. You, have to be the one that demonstrates to your children that being a part of the community means participating in the things that are important to you. I am really not suggesting that you attend every meeting or every event. I am suggesting that you attend the meetings and events that are of concern to you. That as a tax payer you become familiar with how and why your tax dollars are being spent a certain way.
Participating in government is more than lining up as a protest speaker when something is on the chopping block or making rude comments after an action has been taken. Participating in government is choosing to be a part of the solution and not just choosing to be a part of the problem. This is a local elections year. The winning candidates will be making the decisions that will be most closely affecting your local living conditions and taxes. The choices of how your city will be operating and serving you and your children will be made by the people the majority of those voting choose to vote for. Let your voice be heard. Learn the facts. Talk to people. Talk to the candidates. Attend a meeting or two. Demonstrate that you care.
Caught in the act of cleaning my kitchen knife drawer I became curious about the history of my favorite knife. It’s a slicing knife with a round natural wood handle. Near the top and bottom of the handle are three thin stripes going around the handle. I do not see any other markings.
The blade is not at all loose and is as firmly held in place as when it was new. The length of the top of the blade is 9.5 inches from the handle. The length of the blade bottom to tip is 10 inches. The width of the blade at the handle is 1 ½ inches and is one inch at the tip.
The bottom of the blade is scallop serrated. The mid-points of each scallop are a ½ inch apart. The appearance is a beautiful ruffle.
The handle is 5 ½ inches long in natural wood. The top appears to have been flattened by use.
I know this sounds a bit like a feel bad commercial but these are the real reasons I love this knife. It cuts soft bread without crushing it and it cuts through crusty bread with a minimum amount of crumbs. I have used it to cut fresh tomatoes so thinly I really could read the print of a magazine. I really did try it just to see if I could. And I did! The knife was great on slicing cucumbers lengthwise too but not so great with carrots. I have never tried the knife as a meat carver but have no doubts it would do an awesome job.
But what is the proper name for this kitchen knife with a very unique blade and who is the manufacturer? Are they still being made? I called Cutco and they do not have anything similar to what I described and the two knife manufacturers in Rhode Island have not emailed me back. Do any of you know what I am talking about?
A gentleman in Maine has asked for our help in finding a “Brass Wheel” Long case clock that was sold from Quoketaug—an Old Mystic Conn. family home about 1959– (for $5,000). It was a 1776, Thomas Harland made clock with a SILVER face. His great Aunt Emma POLISHED it. Family lore is that the face was done by Paul Revere. Anything is possible until we locate the clock and take a look at it. It was originally purchased by Park Williams and stayed in the house for almost 200 years. Perhaps someone in your circles would know about its whereabouts?
Long case clocks were first made in America around 1695 in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and then in Connecticut. Two distinct styles of design quickly emerged. Those in the Philadelphia style spread from New York down the Delaware Valley through to Virginia and the Carolinas. Followers of the Boston designs were scattered throughout New England.
The tall-case or grandfather clock cost about $70, or approximately one year’s pay in the early 1800’s but by the 1850’s the prices had reduced drastically and they became quite common.
The early 18th century clocks had brass dials or faces some and some could be very elaborate but the casings remained very simple. The tall-case clock needed the cabinet height to house the pendulum (about 3 feet long). The weights need several feet of drop to run the clock for a week. You wind them up once a week, and then they fall almost to the floor, before you do it again.
Later clockmakers learned how to make clocks run for a week using shorter drop lengths. A six and a half foot tall clock was considered short and in Philadelphia there is a display of some very elaborate 9 foot tall cases. The average tall-case clock though is about seven to eight feet tall.
Just a side note here, I have to mention my favorite type of tall-case clock; the dwarf clock has the same design and proportions of the full sized tall-case clock but is only half the size or about four feet tall. I have only seen a couple but they always give me a delightful Alice in Wonderland feeling.
Connecticut clock makers preferred Cherry to be the primary wood while other coastal states preferred mahogany. Pennsylvania preferred walnut. All used maple, birch and white pine as the secondary wood.
Contrary to what I thought, some clock makers did not put their names on the dial or face after all the effort of creating the movement. The movement could have been assembled by the master craftsman or by his apprentice and sold individually or in lots to the cabinet maker who then sold the finished clock to the consumer. It makes sense when you consider all the fine little details from perfect measurements, and balance that are involved in the fine craftsmanship of the clocks.
So please help me, help this gentleman from Maine.
In a recent visit to the veterinarians office was the brochure “101 Things You didn’t know could harm your pet.”
In the good weather pets spend more time outside with and without us humans directly by their side watching and controlling their every movement.
Outside the house some of the dangers listed were algae, burns from fire pits and grills, wounds from fences and gates, eating of cocoa mulch and compost, pesticides, fertilizers, and ingesting chemicals when drinking from fountains, pools and hot tubs.
Broken wiffle ball pieces can tear the stomach or intestine lining when eaten. The calmest and most trusting of pets may be frightened by the sounds of fireworks and run off to hide and get lost or may run out into traffic.
Different types of chocolate have different levels of toxicity but its not the only danger to pets and wildlife at a picnic. Grapes and raisins, avocados, onions, garlic, coffee, alcoholic beverages, spoiled foods and fatty foods are all dangerous and encouraging animals to eat them may result in very costly veterinarian bills for treatment.
When you choose to eat outdoors bring a few special treats for your pet so they can feel a part of the festivities while staying safe. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Use a small melon baller to create mini-canned food balls and freeze them overnight. In the morning empty the frozen balls into a plastic bag for convenient dog treats in hot weather. Freeze filled water balloons. Use the balloons to keep your food cold and then remove the plastic and let the animals enjoy the cold water or frozen ball. My cats loved their kibble fresh from the freezer too.
Pets are just like us. Just because we like it, doesn’t mean that it is good for us. Demonstrate your love for your pets and wildlife by keeping their health and well-being in mind by spending time with them and supplying them with healthy treats that are good for them.
Happy Memorial Day!
Norwich, CT is indeed a great place to be from if you were raised, lived or worked here from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. There were stores, good schools, manufacturing, parks and recreation programs for all ages and interests, an accessible library you weren’t afraid to send children by themselves and a YMCA that had two pools. Then something happened.
An adjustment of the world economy descended on eastern CT and Norwich, CT. It hit harder than other places and we have never recovered. Norwich, CT is now not only a not so great place to be from but it is a not so great place to be now.
I can’t change the past. I can’t change the actions of the past to make the present different. However, I can change the present to make the future different. I cannot make the future what Norwich, CT was in the past but together we can work to make Norwich, CT a better place to be now and in the future.
Taftville is sprucing itself up for the Fireman’s Parade in September. Personally I think it is a shame no group in Taftville wanted to take on the project of painting their fire hydrants like Greeneville did. But with the work being done on the mill Taftville will still look awesome when all the Fire Departments of the State of CT come to visit.
Greeneville is having a growth spurt with new stores opening and one of the best parks in the city for all ages and likes basketball, grass to play on, swings and slides, a mini-library and a gazebo.
East Great Plains has some new retail places getting ready to open and has become an area Mecca for lovers of fast food. Have you eaten some of the slower foods available downtown? Yeah. Downtown. There is parking close-by and some decidedly tasty treats from around the world.
Did you realize there are three different restaurants at the Stop & Shop Center? Three! A sandwich shop, a Chinese restaurant and an American food shop as well as a yogurt shop for anyone looking for sweet snack or dessert.
The biggest promoters of Norwich, CT souvenirs are our drug stores. Have you ever checked out what is available at the Uncas Pharmacy? I guarantee you will find the perfect Norwich, CT postcard or gift.
I am working on getting the Highway signs on route 395 to say that Norwich, CT has FIVE active art galleries. FIVE! How many have you been to? Four of them participate in a year-long project called First Friday. The galleries are open late from 6 PM – 9 PM the First Friday of every month. All twelve of them. Rain or shine. Start with dinner at one of the eateries and then enjoy the galleries before attending a live theater or music show. Yes. The very same night. The galleries are free and the shows have very reasonable rates. Now if we could just get a coffee, tea, hot cocoa and sweet shop to be open late for the after the show crowd.
Employment is plentiful in medicine, law, and retail. Our business park has room for more businesses that need extended square footage. You can rent part of a building until you are ready to expand. For anyone just starting out for a very reasonable rate you can become a member of a business incubator located in the old Norwich Bulletin building downtown. Not one, but two Chambers of Commerce will encourage you to join them as they promote the area within the region. We have some beautiful solid and roomy old mills on the Shetucket River that are perfect for manufacturing too.
Humph. Maybe I was wrong and Norwich, CT is not such a bad place to be now.
Modern women are loud and proud about what they can and can’t do and so are some of the modern males. Both are acting as if the abilities of women were never before appreciated at any time in history. Not exactly the case as this article from the Norwich Packet of October 24, 1797 titled the Rights of Woman demonstrates. I wonder when precisely the opinion of woman fell out of favor. What caused the change. How do we as a modern progressive society keep it from happening again?
“At the late election in this town the FEMALES asserted the privilege granted them by the laws of this state, and gave in their votes for members to represent them in the State-legislature.
Though it is a general opinion that females ought not to intermeddle in political affairs, yet the Emperor of Java never employed any but women in his embassies, and those are generally widows. The court of Java is persuaded that women are better calculated than men for negotiation, that they are more accustomed to dissimulation and constraint, that they have more address and ascendancy, and that they possess greater resources of a creative fancy, as well as servility in expedience.
A Correspondent asks – Is it not probable that we should have obtained better terms in a certain treaty, had some WIDOW been appointed to negotiate it, instead of an extraordinary MALE minister.”
I was just wondering who this very public barb was aimed at.
Soon we will be shopping for holiday and other occasional gifts and I am still looking for the made in Norwich, CT items and especially the posters.
The reprinting of the photographs is old tired and boring. Especially when there are no people, no time period and so many of the pictures are of buildings ready to be torn down or my favorite, after a fire or other disaster has taken them down. I am more interested in seeing the beauty and life of the area.
Where are the photo’s of pride? The photo’s of the ribbon cuttings? The passing of the gavels? The beautiful brides and the handsome grooms, graduates of the many area schools in full regalia, and more importantly where are the photos of the inventors of Norwich, CT with their inventions and their patents. Certainly there are a few of those around somewhere? Norwich, CT residents had hundreds of the early patents. Why are we not seeing their drawings or renderings on our walls?
Connecticut was once a center of creativity, manufacturing, and the arts. I did a small search of the records of the United States Patent Office. There were thousands of patents originating from Norwich and then there were few. Times and circumstances changed. The paperwork and lengths of time to obtain a patent changed. But where there was once curiosity, drive to discovery, and vision is now blanket acceptance of whatever is handed to us.
As a community, as a city, as a state we need to be visually reminded of how we created what we envisioned. It is time for Norwich to be a leader. Let our past be our leader.
Posters have an ability to communicate the pride of community and the ‘can-do’ attitude to our students and entrepreneurs that need some encouragement. Posters can show not just what was done before but posters can encourage what can be done starting today, for tomorrow.
I would like to see these posters framed on the walls of city hall, in the hallways of our schools, and wherever people gather. It is time for the residents of Norwich to take back the City of Norwich, to make suggestions and to once more be loud and proud about the community we live in.
In October of 2013 I wrote with great hope the following blog all about marketing to the residents of Norwich all the reasons why Norwich, CT is a great place to live. “The American Planning Association had named Norwich, CT as one of the top ten cities in the country. That’s nice. But what does it mean? 40 years ago some well-meaning citizens placed an inventory of the downtown buildings on record. More recently we, the voters approved a bond. Now we are being rewarded with a nice title. But what does it mean?
By itself this new award means little. But if it were combined to be displayed with some reminders of some past awards there is a chance that it could be – useful.
I would like to see the marketers of Norwich make a list of the prestigious titles and awards Norwich has been awarded in the past 30 years. Then I would like them to choose the top 15 and create a display or a billboard that reminds visitors and residents of these honors. A visual reminder of the good things about Norwich.
I would like to see a series of well written articles about how these various awards are individual pieces that lend support to one another creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
We as residents need reminders because we have lost focus of the good bits. Speaking for myself I am inundated with all that is wrong with Norwich, all that makes me sad, and unhappy and angry. I have not seen one article, one advertisement, one commercial that demonstrates the positives of our community.
It is time that we see that. That we, the residents, be reminded of what is right with Norwich. Reminded of what we have to be proud of. The successful marketing of Norwich is not what we do on the outside but the successful marketing of Norwich will begin on the inside. The successful marketing of Norwich must begin with us.”
Our elected, appointed and very well paid marketers of Norwich, CT have still not made this a priority. The only thing that is a priority in Norwich, CT as well as many other local Connecticut communities is raising the taxes, fees, charges and everything else so that things can remain the same. I don’t want things to remain the same in any community of Connecticut. I want things, people, places and circumstances to improve, to get better. I don’t need ribbons, certificates or awards. I need actions to be taken. I need attitudes to change that will make me feel better about the state I have made my home. I need to have others besides myself to have pride in the place we call home. I need those in charge to stop telling me how they can’t do their job because they don’t have the funding (tax dollars) they think they need but to use their funding more judiciously, effectively and in some cases to work with others for the greater good. Let’s take back our City of Norwich CT from this so-called experienced leadership and do what needs to be done ourselves. Let’s start concentrating on saying what is right with Norwich, CT
Sunday, May 14,2017 is the traditional Mother’s Day in America. But if you are looking to give Mom a non-traditional gift, consider giving her a wild flower garden that she can enjoy but does not have to tend. With some help from your local garden center choose some plants and seeds that celebrate her heritage. You will also be helping the bird, bee and other helpful critter populations.
For example – An Irish Wild flower garden might have a mix of poppies, sweet pea, wild viola, cornflower, calendula, nasturtiums, baby blue-eyes, maiden pinks, forget-me-nots, snapdragons, clarkia, and baby breath.
Every motorway in Germany has been sewn with a meadow mix of poppies, corn flowers, daisies, yellow rattle, pink nettle, phacelia, roses and red orach.
Lawns are meadows in Poland filled with hay, ox-eyed daisies, meadow buttercups, ragged robin, St. Johns Wort, field poppies, marigolds, dark mullion, and scabious.
Canada is not so far away and so the possibilities are an endless mix of familiar annuals and perennials. Lupin, brown-eyed susans, coreopsis, golden Alexander, New England asters, Wild Indigo Blue, milkweed, Smooth Penstemon, Gay Feather, Eastern Columbine, anything that blooms in red, white, blue, yellow, pink or lavender.
A Harry Potter fan I loved learning the names of the blooms in the gardens and meadows of Scotland that change with each season. Yarrow, wild thyme, wild strawberries, marjoram, giant bellflower, slender St Johnswort, Devils Bilscabious, cornflower, foxglove, white campion, toad flax, seapink thrift, teasel, tansy, vipers bugloss, water avens, violets, sneeze wort, selfheal, primrose, bluebells, burdock, common knapweed and burdock.
Italian gardens are labor intensive geometric topiaries and shaped greens with few flowers. The hedges are shaped into balls, cones and other shapes that bring interest. If it’s not a hedge there are trees and plants will grow to a huge size in giant container pots. Pergolas will be smothered with fragrant climbers such as wisteria, jasmine, and roses. Around the hedges or perhaps in the center of the perfectly coifed hedge will be lavender or rosemary.
Red geraniums are often the only flower to contrast the green. You will see Bear’s Breeches, Boxwood, Italian Cypress, Eucriphia, Holly, Myrtle, and Yew.
Domestic window boxes are filled with green herbs and the flowers are left to be decorations for the markets. So maybe a small dish garden of herbs might be a great gift that keeps giving throughout the year?.
How can Mohegan Park in Norwich, CT be made to appear more user friendly? Much of the park has been left in its natural state on purpose. The park is a tribute to the past. For the residents and visitors to see what was and can marvel at how far civilization has progressed. I can follow a mostly paved path around Spaulding Pond or I can select to follow more natural paths through the woods. There are age appropriate play grounds, swimming in the summer, picnic areas all year round, basketball courts, tennis courts nearby, soccer fields and ball fields and fishing too.
But what would you like to see in Mohegan Park? How can it be made to appear friendlier to visitors? What signs would you like to see? How can the wording be changed to be more positive? What would be useful to you? What are your concerns about the park? How do you use the park? Do you drive there? Take the bus? Walk? Go only with a group for an annual picnic? Are you worried there is a charge? Do you understand the signs? Would you be interested in guided tours of the flowers? Wild herbs? The geology of the park? Are you a cross country runner? What are your interests?
If no one says anything, then nothing will change. Complaining in generalities won’t get anything changed because the people who can make changes can’t set priorities of what needs to get done first so that momentum can be built and momentum is important.
Speaking up and speaking out does not need to be rude or angry. An example of a helpful suggestion might be “Better marking of the trails.” Or “Add colors to the Welcome to Mohegan Park signs.” Or “Update the bathrooms. They are smelly and dark.”
Would your family, group or organization be willing to take on a project at Mohegan Park? Your choice of project. Your choice of date, time and place. All ages are encouraged to participate. All help is appreciated. Together, we can be the leaders that make Norwich, CT a better place to live and work.
On the 5th of May 2017 I had the privilege of performing a wedding service at the Norwich Memorial Rose Garden. I wandered around a bit and found the “Cinco de Mayo Rose.” Do you know where to find those particular rose bushes? The hedge bushes are going to be gorgeous toward the end of June. The flowers will be a blend of lavender and a rusty orange-red with a bright yellow center button. The leaves are a deep glossy green that hold up well throughout the summer and deep into the fall.
Does anyone else recall the concerts at the Rose Garden? It has been a long time since the sound of music echoed back from the hill behind the Gazebo. Parking is always a challenge but the evening was so worth an extra few steps. How I wish we could bring back a few of those concerts. Some places are forced to build a band shell but in Norwich, CT our natural setting goes to waste. Next time you are there, imagine the sounds without electronic intervention of a Spanish guitar, or a trumpet, hear a string quartet whisper their songs, or how a harp might sound with the bird songs in the background.
If you need a break from the storytellers of the many historical walks of Norwich, CT wander the pathways of the Rose Garden and read the memorials to those who walked the aisles before. Is there interest in learning the back stories of these people?
Indulge me as I list a few (who you may not know) with the personal hope that they somehow know they were thought of today with blessings and gratitude – – Mary was remembered by her son, 1952. Mildred Chapman, recalled by the Trinity Church Parish, 1957. George F. Chase, 1892-1974, William A Norten, for 25 years as Secretary of the Park Board. Henry D. Johnson 1872-1956 Park Commissioner 1920-1949. Walter Adamcewicz 1921-2003. Ebenezer Learned, 1950. Margaret Taber, 1888-1976. Lucille Howard Batchelder, 1940. Cosmo J Quercia, 1915-1974. Dr. Glen R. Urquhart, 1949. E. Arnold Smith, Jr., Herb – How much we miss you. Edna O. Gilman. In memory of Elmer Rose. Matthew E Zawacki, Cox USN, 1928-1945. 22 years old WWII. Antonia Rozance Matteson 1892-1976. Myrtle Buteau Stanley, 1904-1979. Wilbert Perkins, 1945-1977. Wilbert Perkins, 1945-1977. Alexander Winn Abbott, 1952. Robert Mankowski, 1911-1977. Robert E Ennis Jr, MM1/C USN, USS Corvina SS 226, 1922-1943. Dr C G Thompson, 1889-1955. Catherine P. Shea, 1905-1975. Thomas W. Dutton. Rose Curran. Alexander G. Rygielski, 1928-1977. Eva Annie Freeman. Leroy E Saunders. Janet A Beattie and Thomas J Dorset, 1956-1973.
My apologies. My apologies to each and every one of my fellow Norwich, CT taxpayers and Norwich Public Utilities rate payers. I did not take advantage of the public hearings to openly discuss the now adopted Norwich Public Utilities Budget.
I did not follow up on the questions I had when I reviewed a draft copy of the NPU budget. Draft copies of the budget were available to the public at the Customer Service Office if you spoke very firmly. If you just asked nicely, there were no copies available. It was not posted to the website. At the meeting to adopt the budget, the Commissioners were quick to say that they already had their questions answered. I wonder if theirs were the same as my unanswered questions.
To look at the 18 page is daunting. It is 18 pages of numbers. The numbers are in five columns titled 2017 Budget, 2017 Forecast, 2018 Proposed and Difference to Forecast (It’s the proposed number minus the Forecast Number).Revenues have a note “(minus interest inc).” Inc? Then its broken down to Gas, Electric, Water, Sewer, Gas and Electric Supply, Payroll and Benefits, Operations and Maintenance, General and Administration Summary, and again by division and finally there is a Debt Service Schedule.
There is no mention of what specific fiscal year is being planned for. No descriptions, highlights, definitions, budget formats, planning approaches or processes or glossary. No budget review schedule. No executive summary, receipt highlights, capital improvements, operating expenditures, and independent financial statements. No statements of cash flows, economic assumptions, key financial ratios. Capital Projects are not explained or even enumerated. Would it be too much to show the budget year amount and the Total Project Cost? Fund Balance Summaries? The list goes on.
This excuse for a budget should not have been accepted until each and every entry was explained, in detail. I looked on line at eight other public utility companies throughout the country and not one just handed out pages of numbers as their draft budget. Some of them had other problems but they were still closer in format to the Fiscal Budgets most of us are used to seeing even perhaps a bit overwhelming in the amounts of information they contain.
It is time Norwich, CT residents stop being complacent and trusting of our public officials. Look at everything and do not be afraid to question anything. It is your wallet that they are emptying.
Fishing has long been a favorite past time in Greeneville, CT and while the fish caught today are farm raised and stocked periodically throughout the year that was not always the case.
Take this story from the Friday, May 1, 1880 Norwich Bulletin.
“The shad fisherman at the Greeneville dam caught five hundred pounds of Shad yesterday which makes nearly half a ton caught in two days. That is old fashioned hard work.”
I am not certain where Mr. Patrick O’Mahoney lived in Norwich, CT but from the May 1, 1880 Norwich Bulletin I learned he had “over a quarter of centuries experience as a gardener,” and had had “ripe strawberries of his own raising for several weeks and some of which measured over four inches in circumference.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could enjoy such strawberry largess today? Perhaps Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie? Strawberry jam? Strawberry Catsup? Strawberry Ice Cream?
No doubt when a tour of Norwichtown, CT is given Adams Tavern receives a mention or two. I can only hope that some of the stories are retold with fun and humor such as this story called Not fooled that appeared in the January 1, 1891 Norwich Bulletin.
“Some jocose individual, yesterday started the story that the two ladies who won the bottle of wine by being the first to sleigh to Adams Tavern this winter were not women but masquerading young men. Mr. Adams was interviewed concerning the story last evening. He laughingly remarked that though he was an old bachelor, he could tell the difference between real and imitation ladies. His eyesight was never dazzled in broad daylight, This report might answer for a New Years joke.
By now we are all aware of the Reid & Hughes building in downtown Norwich, CT was once rented to a locally famous department store. Everyone in town knows someone who had a relative or a neighbor who worked there at one point or another. But frequently the stories stop there. No further information is related, re-told or even really available. There are few photos of the store in its celebrated hey-day but hundreds of thousands of photos detailing its decayed state.
So I want to discuss the large advertisement for the Reid & Hughes Company that appeared in the May 1, 1900 Norwich Bulletin on page 5. It is a unique ad and not one seen often on the collectors pages. There is a photo of a woman holding up a lace doily above a bowl of soapy water. The advertisement is sponsored by The Priscilla Mfg. Co., of 41-43 Kinsley St, Hartford Ct and addressed to the “Art Needle Workers and all who are interested in artistic embroidery and the cleansing of the fabrics without fading or or injury are cordially invited to attend our demonstration of Priscilla Compound and its work at the Art Department of the Reid & Hughes Company during the present week.” The art department? What items might they have sold in that department?
“We shall show a beautiful collection of Old Embroideries, Laces and fine Garments that have been laundered with Priscilla Compound and greatly restored and improved.” A bargain at 25 cents for a ½ pound box. They also displayed Priscilla Expansion embroidery hoops, universal hoop holders, embroidery sets, stamping powder and hand powders.” I want to know the name of the demonstrator. I want to hear the funny stories. I want to hear the story of the housewife who brought her old, stained embroideries and laces to be cleaned by the demonstrator. I want to know what the demonstrator used to keep her hands soft after keeping them in water and cleanser all day. I want to know the “Story of Priscilla.” In another ad there is a hint the company was named after “Longfellow.” Priscilla was from 1858 narrative the Courtship of Miles Standish. Most people know the poem as the source of “Taking three steps in advance, and one reluctantly backward,”
Norwich, CT had its own very distinctive needlework style and even its own needlework schools. Did they have a field trip to the store? Did any men participate in the demonstrations? “This presents a great opportunity for all who are interested in embroidery work or the preservation of the same , or in renovating fine fabrics of every description, to learn how this beautiful work can be done quickly and easily, and also how all kinds of fine articles can be renovated and still retain their original beauty and newness.” Have any of the pieces survived?
Once more I want to know the rest of the story. What will you share with me?
It is not often that a business is given the truly brilliant gift of a cut in public funding. No I have not lost my mind. I am just encouraging those affected in Norwich, CT to look at the cut in their funding by the Norwich, CT City Council a little differently.
The cut in funding represents a unique opportunity to change how things are currently being done to something new and different without question. This is perfect as a reason to change or drop programs that have not been working out so well but so much time, or money was invested the program was continued anyway. A large loss in funding also is a great door opener for new program funding grants.
After a few cycles it becomes difficult to re-fund on-going programs. A large loss of funding means that you have the opportunity to re-present your program as something new and different. However, while the old program can no longer be presented due to lack of funding, you can now say you have experience presenting the program and can present a new program with lessons learned from the old program. You get to keep the good stuff, the stuff that works and change the items out for new things that didn’t work. Congratulations you have a brand new and improved program you and your clients are familiar with.
Advertising, marketing and promotion are not the same thing. Advertising costs a lot of money so creativity is the key to making your marketing and promotions work for you. You will have to rethink and re-work how you network with your clients, neighbors, and fellow businesses. Go out there and make new friends and alliances.
By working together you may be able to build promotions that you can jointly market and advertise. It’s great when a Chamber of Commerce can do this for a large area with many businesses involved but for an individual business to have greater impact its better to keep the number of involved businesses low.
Don’t be afraid to use your words. Whenever you take an action, write about it. Tell people what you are doing, what you are working on, what you are planning, what you are envisioning. Take photos and circulate them widely. This part is scary but take a deep breath and bring in Senior Interns learning to use various media. Semi-retired and retired adults interested in learning about and using social media and other medias such as podcasts and local cable. Mature presenters have a built in trust factor. The trust factor is why I admit there is extra work in the beginning but then with a bit of practice things will smooth out and you have a new audience and possibly some new funding resources.
The City Council of Norwich, CT has inadvertently given you a tremendous gift by reductions in funding. Don’t squander your time and opportunity lamenting the losses. Make the most of this opportunity. I believe in you and your abilities.
It is so rare especially in Norwich, CT to see someone reaching out so far in advance with the plans for a community celebration. Well done to Greg Schlough, the Taftville Fire Department and the community organizers.
At least once a month someone is reminding the community residents that in September there is going to be a parade in Taftville and representatives of every fire department in the state of Connecticut is coming. Never mind my reciting it here is the Facebook posting from Greg Schlough –
“PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO YOUR TAFTVILLE NEIGHBORS !!
On September 17, 2017, the Taftville Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting the 134th Annual CT State Firefighters Convention Parade. This will be the 1st time this Convention Parade has been in Taftville !!
As part of this, there will be a PARKING BAN on part of Norwich Avenue, North 2nd Avenue, part of South B Street (at the Sacred Heart end), Hunters Avenue (same as South B) and Providence Street.
Roads will begin to close at 11:15 am on this day. If you live on the North Side of the Village, if you do not leave before this time you will not be going out. If you live on the North Side and plan on not staying, put you vehicle(s) in the TVCCA parking lot ASAP on this day so you can leave. We are taking precautions for everyone and will have, minimally, 1 Ambulance located in the North Side.
This is a BIG celebration, and honor, for the Taftville Fire Department and for all of the people living in Taftville. If we all cooperate, this will be a memory that you will have for a lifetime !!”
I only wish Taftville would get together and paint their fire hydrants the way Greeneville did. Firefighters and dogs will still recognize the hydrants as hydrants and they will still wear their florescent collars.
This is an opportunity for Taftville residents to participate in a history making event. Take this future opportunity and make the most of it. Be a loud and proud participant!
Downtown Norwich, CT is on the move with the opening of another brewery. I have not been there yet but I have heard the brews are great and the lines to taste them are out the door!
Three buildings close to City Hall have been sold and more rumors are promising two with new restaurants and one will open a coffee shop. Be still my heart that a cup of coffee will once again be available in downtown.
The new two way traffic arrangement is interesting to say the least but I suppose that eventually the locals will all get used to it and only the visitors to town will have issues being in the correct lane. It is really important that there is planning and observation of the circumstances of an area before changes are made. But I am not going to fret because I know that in a few years someone will have the new and fresh idea to make it one way again.
The rest of the news about downtown will be from City Hall. That is if they start speaking to the public again. The budget issues have them all pretty quiet as everyone is wondering what everyone else is going to do.
The Norwich Plant Swap brought people together and the damp weather was perfect for making the plants happy in their new homes. Thank you to all who participated!
Enjoy the warm weather and many thanks and Good Job! To the Norwich City Council and the Norwich Department of Recreation for choosing to continue the beach at Mohegan Park. Swimming is a necessary skill in a city of three rivers.
Taking a stroll around the neighborhood is always interesting. I live in the older and well-established area of Chelsea Parade but there is always something new for me to discover.
This time my discovery was on the far end of Sachem Street. My mind was busy imagining the area in the late 1800’s when the Falls School was still standing and the houses on the streets were the homes of bank presidents, community leaders, teachers and doctors. That’s when I found it.
Nothing historic but a newly noticed at least by me addition to the community at the home of The Arc, New London County. Surrounded by a lovely white picket fence is a small patio with tables, benches and chairs. On the fence is a welcoming sign that says “Please feel free to enjoy this community patio. – brought to you by our generous neighborhood partners –
Eastern Federal Bank Foundation,
Knights of Columbus,
Norwich Public Utilities,
Chelsea Groton Foundation, and
Mystic Rotary.
All are welcome to enjoy this beautiful space as we make a commitment to supporting our neighborhood in the City of Norwich.
Thank you for leaving this patio as you found it. Please respect our smoke-free zone.
-Achieve with us”
With so many homes throughout Norwich, CT being re-zoned for small and domestic business use and Norwich continuing to work on becoming more of a walk-able community wouldn’t it be pleasant and refreshing if more of these community patio’s appeared?
What a great draw one would be to a small neighborhood business. Instead of just being another business, the business location itself becomes a destination for the walking locals and so the name and the location of the business becomes more well known and fixed throughout the neighborhood. Free word of mouth advertising.
Thank you Arc – New London County for bringing this great and attractive idea to
Why don’t Norwich, CT residents have confidence in their own leadership abilities?
While the residents will adamantly refuse to seek out advice and use the experiences of other communities to solve our local economic woes; we will however allow and encourage nonresident and non-taxpayers to decide and tell our residents and city councilors how to spend our tax dollars.
Look to the leadership of the most powerful community organizations in Norwich, CT and check out for yourself who their leader is and where there town of residence is. Why are we, the residents allowing this? Why do we not have the confidence in ourselves to step up and take control of our own destinies?
Our Norwich, CT residents have leader abilities. Our Norwich, CT residents have training and education and even leadership experience. So what is the problem? What is it that others see in our community of Norwich, CT that we do not? Why do we, the residents, insist on depending on others to lead our local groups and organizations?
This is especially true for the organizations that are consistently asking for our tax dollars. The leadership has no skin or penny in the game so they make great speeches, pleas and demands without a qualm while we the residents acquiesce, nod our heads and pay up. Then these great leaders go home to their own communities and laugh about what a bunch of fools the residents of Norwich, CT are to follow their costly leadership.
Why are the voters, residents and taxpayers of Norwich, CT so willing to give up the leadership of their wallets to non-resident, non-voting, non-taxpaying people? Why won’t the residents of Norwich, CT step up, believe in themselves, their skills, and their abilities and take control of the leading organizations of their own community?
Everyone talks about our children are our future but what sort of demonstration of leadership are we providing when we, the residents of Norwich, CT so steadfastly refuse to take control of our own community and the destiny we claim we are so concerned about.
Ignoring organizations and leadership opportunities. Not joining or belonging. Not taking an active part. Not participating. IS not working for Norwich, CT. Let’s change the present and future by being more active. Let’s build Norwich, CT by taking back control of our city, our government, our organizations and make the decisions that matter to us and our pocketbooks ourselves.
1905 Jail Renovation
Been on the walk for Jail Hill in Norwich, CT? Then you have heard the lecture of how the modern neighborhoods, those from the 19th Century through the present have developed a cyclical growth pattern of growth (establishment), stability, decline and revitalization.
When did Norwich leaders and its residents decide to encourage the decay of neighborhoods? Why did they choose decay over revitalization? Why does the City of Norwich allow their buildings to decay rather than either maintain them or sell them. Exactly how long has this been the case? What are your thoughts on the county setting an example for the residents of Norwich? Directly from the July 31, 1905 Norwich Bulletin is this tale –
IMPROVEMENTS AT JAILS. Considerable Sums to be Expended on Norwich ad New London Institutions,
The county commissioners have decided on improvements for the Norwich and New London county jails which will involve the expenditure of a considerable amount of money. The New London jail is to have a new tin roof and new concrete walks which will put the building into first-class condition. The Norwich jail, which though built in 1835, is a good solid building today, will be thoroughly renovated. The room containing the cell blocks will be entirely repainted and refinished and a new granolithic floor will be laid in it. The living apartments of the jail for the new jailer, John A. Bowen, are to be painted, papered and generally renovated. The concrete sidewalks about the premises, as well as all walks inside the grounds are to be relaid. This will be an extensive improvement, as there are more than 8,000 square feet of sidewalk connected with the jail and grounds. The county is setting the citizens of Norwich a good example in thus voluntarily going to considerable expense in keeping their sidewalks in shipshape condition. When these improvements have been made the jail will be as good as new.
There are lots of stories about Norwich, CT back in the good old days. Usually it is the same old stories told and re-told, over and over again. Usually the tale originates in a book someone “researched” and wrote using the writings of other people. It’s a written version of the children’s game telephone. Each version having a subtle change so the eventual ending version bears no likeness at all to the original story.
I like to discover, new old stories. Stories that have not been retold many times. I cannot verify the truth of the story and I have my doubts about many of the stories. The stories I re-tell are from the back issues of the Norwich Bulletin. Would an article of untruths be printed in the newspaper? Could a report contain errors or misquotes? If no one is left that recalls the error in the report does the error in time become the fact or the truth? I can’t say for certain one way or another but in the mean time I present to you – From the Norwich Bulletin July 15, 1905, Half Million for Holdings. Offered Former Norwich Boy, F.B. Adams for Mining Property.
Col. and Mrs. F. B. Adams are the guests of Henry J. Adams, their brother at Gales Ferry. It may be of quite a little interest to know that the Colonel, who in his boyhood days was known as “Grizzly” Adams when in the minstrel business, and later on as “Yank” Adams, won the championship of the world as a billiardist, was a Norwich boy. Twenty years ago he entered the newspaper field in Chicago, meeting with the same success as in his previous occupations. Less than three years ago he invested in California mining and oil stock, which has increased in value over 2000 per cent and yesterday he received an offer by wire of half a million for his holdings. Fifty years ago the Colonel carried the Bulletin on the Fall and Norwich towns route.
So what happened? Did he sell? Did he keep his investment? Was this a hoax of some kind? I have questions and no answers. The only item of interest I could find on Col or Mrs. F. B. Adams was an entry by the Art Institute of Chicago, listing a show of the Portraits of Drypoints and Drawings of Elisabeth Telling January 3 to January 23, 1922 with a pencil drawing of “Janey” lent by Mrs. F. B. Adams.
In the search for old Norwich recipes its important to keep an open mind. Some of these helpful hints are useful. Some of these you’ll have to try and report on the results because they won’t be happening in my kitchen. Some require a camping trip. All were printed in the Norwich Bulletin be sure and let me know if you like any of them.
July 24, 1905 French Toast – Beat one egg in a shallow dish, add one teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and one cup of milk. Soak six slices of stale bread in the custard. Drain and brown them on each side on a well-buttered griddle. Spread them with jelly or marmalade and pile them lightly on a dish Serve at once. This is suitable for a dessert for luncheon or for a warm supper dish.
Watermelon Cake – For the white part stir to a cream two cupfuls of sugar with one of butter; then stir in one cup of sweet milk, mix two teaspoons of cream of tarter and one of soda with three and one-half cupfuls of flour; then stir in with the other ingredients and add the beaten whites of eight eggs. For the red part, take one cupful of red sugar, one half-cupful of butter, stirred to a cream; then add one-third cupful of sweet milk, two cupfuls of flour, in which has been mixed one teaspoon of cream of tarter and one-half teaspoon of soda; then add the beaten whites of four eggs and a cupful of small seedless raisins; bake in a round baking pan; put in a layer of white dough in the bottom of the pan, then all the red in the middle, then all the rest of the white dough around the sides and on top; bake in a moderate oven. [300-325 degrees f.] – Kate D.
July 25, 1902 – Baked Bananas, Lemon Sauce. – Peel the bananas and set close together in a baking dish that has been buttered generously. Dust lightly with sugar and bake until soft. Melt two-thirds cup of sugar with three tablespoonfuls of water, and half a level tablespoonful of butter and a scant tablespoonful of lemon juice. Cook the syrup six minutes before adding the butter and juice, then bring to the boiling point, stirring well, and it is ready to serve with the bananas.
August 14, 1905 – Iced Strawberry Pudding: Boil two heaping cups of sugar and two cups of water together for thirty minutes, watching carefully that it does not get too thick. Beat the yolks of six eggs very light and add to the boiling syrup; stir a moment over the fire, then turn into a large bowl and beat continually until cold and thick like cake batter, then add one pint of strawberry juice and freeze. Other fruit juices can be used instead of strawberries if desired. (This reminds me of the soft serve strawberry custard served at the West Main Street stand of my youth.)
August 15, 1905 – To keep butter cool – Here is a very simple arrangement for keeping butter cool, one of the greatest troubles of the housewife in summer. Get a common flower pot and a piece of new flannel and soak both in cold water all night. Put the butter on a dinner plate, put the flower pot over it, and then cover with the flannel, which you have wrung out of the water. You must wet the flannel afresh every day.
The danger of burned fingers from handling hot pie plates and pudding pans is lessened by means of a simple holder consisting of three metal prongs attached to a long wooden handle. The prongs are bent so that it is possible to get a firm grasp on the edge of the pan.
As we whine about the heat and humidity of the summer of 2017 let us give thanks for the modern fashion freedom which allows us to wear sandals and flip flops. The freedom that encourages us to have clean feet on display and sympathy for the tired and dirty looking feet we so often see at the end of the day.
Such was not always the case. There were rules for almost everything and etiquette is a historic leader in rules. An etiquette column could be found in most newspapers throughout the country and territories. The column was not to be missed and its dictates were to be followed as carefully and as exactly as possible. The writer of this column from August 15, 1905 would be very disheartened to see the state of most of our modern street footwear today.
SHOE ETIQUETTE
The rules for shoe etiquette as adopted by the short skirted girls of a certain town are these:
Put in new shoestrings every day.
Match your stockings to your shoes.
Have your shoes polished twice daily.
Learn how to tie a fetching wide bow.
Never wear a worn out or worn down shoe.
Wear low shoes all you can. They make the ankle look smaller.
Be careful of your heels. One run over heel will spoil the effect of the walk.
Study your shoes and walk properly. Each pair of shoes has its own peculiarities.
And finally, don’t have corns.
In the August 10, 1905 paper it was noted One of the bridesmaids at the marriage of a Nelson (England) cotton manufacturer a few days ago was Miss Minnie Ogden, who is 1 year and 2 months old. The baby bridesmaid looked very pretty in blue.
These days we are still following some of the dictates. When dressed for success its fashionable to match light or dark shoes with light or dark stockings and clothing. Polished and cleaned shoes are still eye-catching and attractive to the eye. Worn heels and soles are usually a sign a replacement is needed. To all the rules I add stride with pride and dignity.
There were many different issues and displays in the windows of the flourishing shops of Norwich, CT in August of 1905. They were not addressed with the horror and disdain they would meet with today but with curiosity and good humor. This tickled my fancy and I hope it does yours too.
WHILE CLERKS ARE AWAY THE MICE DO PLAY.
Many Attracted by Rodents Catching Flies in Display Window. –
One of the large display windows of a store on Franklin Square is receiving more attention recently than if it was just filled with merchandise, and it is seldom that a number of people can be seen gazing into this window, both during the day and evening. At sometimes during the afternoon the number of spectators cause passersby to wonder if there has been a fire or accident. The firm owning the window do not proceed to keep a menagerie, but for the past week a continuous afternoon and evening performance has been given by several inhabitants of the store.
One of the animals is a little mouse which has the time of his life playing hide and seek among the artifices displayed in the window and amuses himself in its leisure moments by catching flies which are crawling on the plate glass window. The little fellow does not seem to be alarmed at his proximity to human beings and carries on his antics seemingly unaware of their presence. In the evening its place is taken by a large rat almost the size of a wharf rat, which is not nearly as lively as its predecessor and does not indulge in as many capers, but prefers to crouch on the piles of merchandise displayed and watch the passing people with wondering surprise. Several nights ago another of about the same size was noted keeping him company and residents of the neighborhood are beginning to wonder if the owners of the store have lost their store cat. Whatever is the trouble, it certainly makes a paying advertisement for the goods displayed in the window, which are not, however, of the eatable kind.
Sometimes the truth and the facts are lost amongst the embellishments of making a story more interesting. On your next passage along upper Washington Street consider this article from the Friday, Norwich Morning Bulletin, January 9, 1891 The New Hospital. Magnificent Building and an Increased Endowment. –
“No announcement has given more satisfaction to the people of Norwich than that of the erection of a splendid building having every modern appointment for a public hospital on “the Reynolds Place,” with an endowment which seemed ample. The present legislature will be petitioned to grant a charter for such an institution, and the prospects now are that it will be completed the present year.
It is now stated that the projectors of the institution have had a conference with reference to increasing the total fund for the object, and that William W. Backus of Yantic, who is a descendant of one of the original settlers of Norwich and the settler who gave the name of Norwich to the town, gives $75,000 to put up the building, and Mr. William A. Slater, who is ever ready to sustain and advance a worthy public object, will give at least three times that amount [$225,000] to endow it. Their noble generosity will not only be warmly appreciated by the present generation but by many generations yet unborn.”
Much has changed in the years since that article was written. The buildings, the owners and the endowment ,but, the gratitude grows with every generation since who feel the benefits of their forethought and generosity.
What were the businesses of Norwich, CT at the turn of the 20th Century? What was the commerce that made Norwich, CT a destination and not just another big city of Connecticut? Where did residents and visitors shop and have their needs attended to?
In Norwich, CT there has long been a hue and cry to bring businesses back to city and to make it the hustling and bustling place it once was as residents and visitors have heard on the guided walks throughout the city. So lets take a look at the Norwich Business Houses of July 1, 1902.
What were the businesses that filled the shops when Norwich was a destination to shop and would those same shops really be appropriate and profitable today? This directory is from the Norwich Bulletin Norwich Business Houses of July 1, 1902.
It states “It was a Directory of the leading Financial, Professional, Manufacturing, Wholesale and Retail Firms. It is published daily for the benefits of traveling salesmen, strangers and the public generally.
Bakeries- I. B. Brunelle, 20 Fairmont St.; A. Shapiro, 10 Thames St; Star Bakery, Taftville.
Bicycle Repairing – D. E. Hubbard, 230 Franklin;
Blacksmiths – Wm. Blackburn,15 Myers Alley, L.C. Day, Town Street;
Boots and Shoes – L. Markoff & Co, West Main St; James Moriarty 454 North Main Street
Carriage Buildiers – Geo. W. Harris, 354 West Main St; A.K. Keables, Norwich Town
Carriage Painters – George F Adams, Town St; Arthur R. Parker, 28 Chestnut St
Cigar Manufacturers – J. P. Conant, 11 Franklin St
Dentists – S.L. Geer, 59 Broadway; Dr. W. W. Clapp, 237 Broadway
Grain Dealer – Slossberg Bros. 11-13 Cove St
Grocers – C.L. Botham, 44 Main St., Preston
Harness – J.B Standish, 56 Main St; Shetucket Harness Co, 22 Broadway
Hotels – American House, 79 Shetucket St; Del-Hopp, Broadway; Roberts Tavern, 110 North Main St; The New Market, 715 Boswell Ave
Florists – Miss R. L. Spencer, 24 Elizabeth St
Horseshoeing – H.C. Lane, 17 Chestnut St; J.B. Pfeiffer, 208 West Main St; M. W. Sterry, Norwich Town Green.
Junk Dealer – Norwich Bottle & Junk Corporation, 41 Forest St; The Max Gordon & Son Corp Willow St
Livery Stables – John D. Stoddard, 127 Franklin St
Markets – Falls Market, 50 Sherman St
Merchant Tailors – A Greenberg, 227 Main St
Millinery – Mrs. Lavalle, 257 Main St
Newsdealers – P.C. Lewis, 187 Main St; E.J. Starr, 53 Franklin St
Painting & Graining – L.W. Whiting, 499 No. Main St
Restaurants – Cafe Detroit, 58 Shetucket St
Wall Papers & Paints – Archibald Buchanan, 11 Chestnut St”
Are all of these businesses appropriate for today’s society? What would you purchase from these businesses on a regular basis that would allow them to meet their bills and stay in business today? What are the types of modern day businesses that could be encouraged to become established in our city? Lets start working and talking together truthfully and honestly to create a vision of our future that we can all work towards.
In July of 1903 amid great pomp and circumstance was the dedication of the Hubbard Gates at the Norwich Town cemetery by Henry P. Goddard of Baltimore, MD.
In a long reminiscence of his life in Norwich, CT more than fifty years prior was a tribute to the women of Norwich, CT and the impacts to the city they had made. He first made mention of a list of women that he felt indebted to for their “loving acts of kindness,” then he went on to speak with eloquence of “the fairest of a fair sisterhood, famous not only for her personal beauty but her musical accomplishments, Miss Louise Downing Reynolds.”
Then Mr. Goddard reminded his audience of a few names and accomplishments that remain familiar to the audience of 2017. Well at least some of them do.
“Next to the name of our beloved and ever-to-be-honored war Governor, William A. Buckingham, our soldiers loved the Norwich Soldiers Aid Society founded by those two fair women of blessed memory, Miss Eliza Perkins and Miss Lizzie Greene. I know, no one knows it better; all Norwich aided in this good work and the names of those who labored for it would fill volumes – but I mention these two prime movers in it, as they have gone over to the great majority and I cannot help dropping a rose of remembrance over their graves.
But it is not only the storm and stress of war that we trace the legend of good women in this town. How is it that the “Rose of New England” is the cleanest, sweetest, prettiest town in the commonwealth? The women of Norwich have made it so. Who put up the monument to our ally Uncas and the Narragansett patriot Miantonomoh? The women of Norwich. Who founded the village improvement society, the Sheltering Arms and Rock Nook Home and the School House Club? Aye, who was it that rescued this ancient hallowed ground from desecration? The women of Norwich again. Every time it is the women of Norwich.”
The list of “good women” who have thought beyond themselves and taken action for the improvement
of the community and the city has grown exponentially in the years since Mr. Goddard spoke. Now it is our responsibility to take a moment now and again to say their names aloud and to recall their accomplishments and once more give thanks for their vision and dedication to the preservation of their past and present that makes our present and future richer and possible.
Thank you ladies one and all.
Are you looking for a different but healthy snack? I saw this Fish on Toast recipe in the July 4, 1902 Norwich Bulletin. I do not know where they got if from. – Take a cup of cold cooked halibut or cod, freed from skin and bone and finely chopped; set a cup of milk or cream into hot water until hot, melt a tablespoon of butter, add one tablespoon of flour, a dash of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt; add gradually the hot milk or cream , one teaspoonful of lemon juice, the fish, and three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese ( Parmesan, if convenient.) When thoroughly hot spread on buttered toast or thin crackers, sprinkle with minced parsley [or chive or dill] and serve. Hint: I skipped the lemon juice and sprinkled with grated lemon rind.
Rice Muffins – Measure a pint of flour after sifting; add a level or less teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and sift thoroughly to mix. Then rub in a large tablespoonful of butter. Beat two eggs light and add them to a cup of milk; stir this into a cup of cold cooked rice and add in the dry mixture and beat to a smooth batter. Pour into buttered gem pans or muffin rings and bake in a quick oven [375 – 400 degrees] for half an hour.
Its summer and this sounded wonderful but being as lazy as I am, I prepared the filling as directed (mostly. I left out the sugar and used cool whip instead of whipped cream) and brought it to a picnic to serve with vanilla wafers. None was left. Hint: If the mix is too juicy, add the extra juice to the hot or cold drinks such as water, tea, soda or lemonade.
Princess Tart – This is a delicious dessert, and not difficult to prepare. Bake a crust shell; when ready to serve fill with slightly crushed strawberries, shredded pineapple and one orange cut fine, the juice of another, one-fourth of a cup of pulverized sugar [powdered sugar]; cover with whipped cream seasoned with grated orange peel.
Once in a while a quote or article from a newspaper, however old and dated just makes you feel good. This quote is from the Norwich Bulletin of July 8, 1891.
“The Bulletin does not believe in double-dealing, duty-shirking, false-pretenses or pedagogical masquerading; but it does believe in that fundamental American principle, the will of the majority. It knows that the people of this city, as with one voice, have three times declared in favor of the granting the use of electricity to the Norwich Street Railway company, and that still the legislative resolution is unendorsed.”
In 2017, though the Norwich Bulletin owners are different. The publisher is different as is the staff. Time moved on and the Norwich Street Railway is no more. Yet I have confidence that the Bulletin still maintains the same beliefs and fundamental American principle it stated in 1891.
Have you ever heard of Norwich’s Conflagration District? You most certainly have according to this article from the July 7, 1906 Norwich Bulletin. Do you think there is a parallel between Norwich bragging about the wealth of its residents and success of its businesses and the insurance rates rising?
Sections of City where the Advance in Rates will take effect- Exceptions Include Private Dwellings.
Norwich fire insurance agents have received from the New England Insurance Exchange blue print maps showing the so-called “conflagration area” in this city as outlined by the insurance experts of the exchange, and where an advance of rates is ordered beginning with June 30, 1906.
For all policies written to take effect on or after June 30, 1906 covering in this area an advance of twenty cents is ordered to be added to the present rate (either flat, 80 per cent or minimum) on both buildings and contents, with some exceptions. A score or more other cities throughout the state have been mapped in a similar manner and the advance ordered.
Beginning on Young’s block on Franklin Square, the area takes in the territory included between the east side of Franklin street, the south side of Oak, and the west side of Cliff. Along Main and North Main street the district runs along the south side as far up as Roath street, bounding southerly by the Shetucket river, but the triangle between Cliff, Main and Park streets, where the new post office is, is not included. Going up Franklin street everything on the west side is included up to Chestnut avenue, and all the buildings on the east side of Chestnut street down to Broadway, including also the rectangle bounded by Willow, Broadway and Chestnut. In the center of the city all buildings on the south of that to the river, comprising also the block bounded by Bath, Broadway, Franklin and Main with all to the South.
The boundary line that runs over to the west side, including all of Central Wharf, down Thames street to the end of the McCrum Howell plant and takes in the section bounded by Thames. High and West Main streets. On the south side of West Main the area comprised between Spring, Mechanic and West Main is the western limit. North of West main street the line runs along the wet branch of the Yantic to a point opposite the juncture of Ann and Forest street to West Main.
The advance does not apply to private dwellings and private stables and their contents not specifically rated, but written under minimum rates, even if within the territory described. This means that ordinary dwellings with no business occupancy or hazard are not affected by this advance. Other exceptions made, such as risks rated by the factory improvement committee, the railway and lighting or electrical hazard committee and fireproof buildings, do not affect the local situation, although the Industrial buildings and the American Woodworking Machinery company escape the raise under the first of these provisions.
Norwich insurers, already impatient over what they have considered the high rates prevailing in this city, will view with little complacency a further addition to the charges, and the path of the agent who has aspirations falling due upon which he must charge the additional rate will need to be smoothed with many explanations.
I thought you might enjoy reading The Matter of Official Decorum as explained in this Letter to the Editor of the Norwich Bulletin of July 1906.
Mr. Editor – In the Bulletin’s report of the last common council meeting I find the following: “W. A. Breed appeared before the council in his shirt sleeves and Alderman Fitzpatrick suggested that the gentleman appear before the council properly dressed and the mayor considered the point well taken.”
I am glad to learn that at last the mayor and Alderman Fitzpatrick agree on one thing – the important matter of what a citizen should wear in appearing before such a dignified and deliberative body.
Were William to be a candidate for governor in the fall, he would undoubtedly have studied up the proprieties of official garb more and suspected that Alderman Fitzpatrick would play the role of Lord Chesterfield upon him for the sake of calling out one of the mayor’s bon mots.
But, as it was, I think that William was all right in not appearing in full evening dress. Appearing only in his shirt sleeves showed his good sense in meeting the requirements of the present sultry weather and the high price of ice.
The next question of propriety that should come up before the city fathers should be what brand of cigars shall be smoked in the council chamber. Now that a full dress suit has apparently been decided upon for gentlemen, the council will evidently leave the garb for ladies visiting the council chamber on business to their own innate taste and fastidious discretion.
One of the Uninitiated
Norwich, July 3, 1906
Some things don’t change. There is still much discussion of dress within the chambers but cigar choice has been decided by no smoking being allowed in city buildings.
Is a photograph worth more than a thousand words? Maybe. Sometimes. But then there are times that the written word gives a fuller picture of the matters heart.
For example on April 18th, 1906 there was a terrible earthquake in San Francisco, California. There are photographs, actual movie footage, articles, books and a few movies made of the historic event; but I introduce to you a letter published in the July 5, 1906 Norwich Bulletin. Kings Daughters Boxes Bring More Thanks – ‘Frisco Refugees Very Grateful for Norwich Favors.
“Another interesting letter has been received from ‘Frisco by Mrs. H. H. Gallup in reply to the boxes of goods sent by the King’s Daughters of this city, and, like the others, shows the gratitude of those assisted. The letter follows:
Jefferson Square,
San Francisco, June 24, 1906
Mrs. Irena Gallup, 127 Washington Street, Norwich, Conn.:
Dear Madam: – Permit me the favor of addressing a few lines to you in order to thank you for the benefits which I have received from you through the kindness of Mrs. Matilda brown of Oakland. I had not seen that good lady for a long time and it seemed the good God directed me to her home at the time your box reached there. It was lucky for me, as I received from her kind hands some beautiful new underwear, shoes and other articles of clothing that I was very much in need of. And, O, the bag, I must not forget that, as it is such a complete little treasure in itself. Every time I open it I pray for the kind hearted ones from whom I received it. Dear Mrs. Brown also gave me a complete outfit for a little refugee whose mother had not the first thing ready, and O I wish that you could only have seen how happy she was when she received it. So right here I will take occasion to thank you for her also. No one can realize what we poor refugees have suffered since that ill fated day of April 18th. Thrown out of bed, and every second while the house kept rocking I expected to see the walls fall in and crush me to death. When that shock was over I looked out and saw all the houses that had fallen and the people trying to extricate the dead. O, it was so sad, so awful, but that was not all. When I looked out a few minutes later I saw the houses on fire all around me. My son came rushing in and said: Mamma, dress as quick as possible; our house is doomed. We must get out at once. And in ten minutes I walked out of where I had lived for twenty-two years with nothing but what I had on my back, my scotch collie and my dear little parrot. My son took his grip, a pair of blankets and a rug. We crossed the street and while my son went to find a room for me I stood and saw all the beautiful things that I had treasured up from different parts of the world for forty years, many with sacred associations that can never be replaced, go up in flames, and not one dollar in insurance. My son found a room several blocks away and in going there my collie became frightened and ran away. So my son went in search of him, and before he returned the house I was in was condemned and I had to take my poor little parrot and go out in the street again, all alone. Then I started for the home of a friend ten blocks from there, but while resting on the way a lady who was standing at her door told me that she would care for my bird until I could come for it. I was gone two and one-half hours, and when returning met the lady, who informed me that she had been ordered out by the military and had left my pet on the sidewalk. Someone carried it away. Meantime my son returned to where he had left me, but found the whole block in the charge of the military. Then he was almost frantic looking for me, and I the same about him. I stayed that night at my friends house and at 7:30 a.m. The soldiers gave us the three minute limit to get out. So we started for the parks and squares and in less than ten minutes after we had reached Van Ness avenue we were all lost to each other, and when my friends husband found her five days later she was hopelessly insane and is now in the Napa insane asylum. O, how many have gone her way! I drifted out to where I am now, but did not find my son for seven days later. But my case was not the worst, as there are many who have not found their dear ones yet, and, what is worse, never will.
Now, my dear madam, pardon me if I have wearied you, as I could not help thanking you for your great good heartedness; also that you may know that what you have sent came into the hands of really needy refugees and not to those who are making a fortune out of our misfortune.
Hoping that God will remember you as kindly as you have us, I am always,
Yours gratefully,
Jennie I. Ojedor
This letter tells me more than a photograph. How about you?
I have been searching out the animal stories of Norwich, CT. This story appeared in the Norwich Bulletin of August 25, 1906. The story has a few missing details so I am not certain of its veracity but I am not the judge of newspaper truth. I simply thought, Met a Roosevelt Bear, – A Norwich Party in the Woods in the Night, a story worthy of being shared again.
“Those who drive over the country roads of eastern Connecticut at night in these times do not expect to meet a bear. That is only expected in Yellowstone Park or the northern wilds of New England; but an automobile driver woke up a bear one night the past week that was sleeping in the dusty highway and he was careful not to run the animal down.
It was late in the evening and he was on a lonely, woods road full two miles from a residence. He had not been reading any of Ernest Seton-Thompson’s bear stories, or the illustrated Roosevelt bear rhymes which proved an entertainment for the public so long. He wasn’t dreaming of other days, but was just intent upon reaching Norwich as speedily as possible. When his four-lighted car showed up an animal ahead he thought only of sheep, calves, or swine, bovines and horses; but as the glare of his headlights became more intense the animal spring to its feet and then reared up on its hind legs as fighting bears do. The driver shut off and put on the breaks- his eyes were open wider than usual, as were the bear’s, his heart beat quicker and it seemed as if the Adam’s apple in his neck ahd made a new core and doubled its size. He reversed his power and the machine began to recede, which was as pleasing to the bear as to the party in the automobile – he then betook himself to the tickets and the incident was closed.
Everybody has laughed who has been told this tale because this is not a bear country, but the driver got a view of Bruin – in fact, observed that it was an old bear with the hair almost all off its haunches. The question now is, who has lost a bear? Did this fellow come down from the north, or has he escaped from some private preserve or park? That he is in eastern Connecticut woods there seems to be no reason to doubt.”
So what is your take on this tale? Where did the bear come from? Where did he go? How did he come to be in Norwich? Write your own adventures of the “Norwich Bruin” in your own time or the past or the future. It is your story and its time and place are up to you. Stories and illustrations should be emailed to the Norwich Bulletin for display and publication.
I love re-discovering bits of forgotten Norwich history. I take pride in once more giving a name to the people of action who grasped responsibility and took the actions necessary to get things done. In Norwich it was usually a struggle and against the odds and the advice of others. As people travel past the fountain on Washington Street I hope someone will remember to tell this little tale. Bravo Mrs. Hubbell! May your fighting spirit continue to live on in the residents of Norwich, CT.
From the August 25, 1906 Norwich Bulletin, The Fountain and Birds and Beasts. – What a persistent little woman did for God’s creatures.
It “is always a pleasing sight to passengers waiting on the Trolley cars in Franklin Square to note the enjoyment obtained by the birds and the cats and the dogs of the little low-down troughs in the Franklin Square fountain and the large dogs ‘ bathtub on the back of that quencher of thirst for human beings and horses; but few people remember how that fountain came to be such a perfect boon for man and bird and beast.
In the days when that fountain was designed Mrs. Lucretia Bradley Hubbell was a more active woman for years than any other woman in Norwich and, like her friend, Dr. Walker, she was doing things for others whenever she could find an opportunity. When she first broached the subject of making those little animal troughs her views were simply laughed at, but by her persistent effort that fountain was made a perfect servant for all God’s creatures.
When the birds are drinking and bathing there on hot summer days and the setter dogs are bathing in the rear trough and the pet pugs and smaller dogs are rolling in the little pools of water beside the fountain, those familiar with its history witness the fruits of one persistent woman’s sympathy and love for dumb creatures. The wisdom of her work is shown by the creatures she spoke for in these close and sultry days.”
The fountain has moved but God’s creatures are still enjoying the troughs now filled with flowers. Thank you once more Mrs. Lucretia Bradley Hubbell for your caring, persistence, and foresight.
When Norwich residents talk about the great history of Norwich, CT more modern history tends to be ignored. When do events become old enough to become interesting history?
Is 111 years long enough to be more than a footnote? When is the appropriate time to acknowledge that on Friday, July 13, 1906 the deeds for Spalding Pond (The big pond in Mohegan Park.) were read into the record of the Norwich, CT Court of Common Council meeting? Is it important to note that there were a number in attendance “outside the rail?” Or that “Sheriff Rouse passed around cigars which kept the council in good humor.” I learned those tiny tidbits in the Bulletin of July 14, 1906.
I also learned Mayor Thayer was out of town for the meeting and so “the meeting was called to order by Acting Mayor Lewis, and immediately after he announced that it was opened, Alderman Breed; addressing the chair said: “Your Honor, I wish to enter a protest against Alderman Lewis presiding at this meeting, and wish a record of the same be made by the clerk.” Aldermen Fitzpatrick and Robinson also protested against Alderman Lewis presiding, and wished their protests recorded. “Are there any more?” inquired the acting Mayor, but there were no others.
Then there was some more very uninteresting items dealt with before it was time for the Spalding Pond Deeds. The deeds of Spalding’s pond were received from C. W. Comstock and N. S. Gilbert. Both being similar only one was read by Clerk A. G. Crowell, and the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That the deed of Charles W. Comstock to the City of Norwich, dated July 2d, 1906, and the deed of N. S. Gilbert and others to the city of Norwich, of the same date, be and they are hereby accepted and ordered printed in the appendix of the journal of the Court of Common Council for the year 1906-07, and that one thousand two hundred and fifty ($1,250) dollars be appropriated to said Charles W. Comstock, the same being the amount of purchase price of his interest in said property, and that the sum of one thousand, two hundred and fifty ($1,250) dollars be also appropriated to Nathan S. Gilbert, S. Alpheus Gilbert and Nathan G. Gilbert, being amount of purchase price of their interest in said property, and that the clerk cause each of said deeds to be recorded in the land records of the town of Norwich.” And so with that little fan fare Spalding Pond came to become property of the City of Norwich and a centerpiece for Mohegan Park, a true gem of our City.
Spoiler alert! This blog is about shopping. Yes I wrote shopping. Norwich, CT has a store where you can have a personal shopper! I am not so certain its supposed to be that way but at Deja Vu Consignment Boutique at 67 West Town Street in Norwich, CT that is certainly the case for me.
I saw a sales ad on Facebook for a plus size boutique in Norwich that I had not known of. For the directionally challenged it is next door to D&D Dry Cleaners and on the opposite side of the street from Huntington Elementary School. (Some of us need landmarks to find places.) Anyway, I popped in one day and was greeted by a spitfire, crackerjack of a sales person named Beverly. She greeted me like an old friend as I was getting the layout of the store and after a brief conversation of styles, colors and a size check. She got them all right! Even my shoe size with barely a glance. She began bringing me clothing pieces and outfits and anything she thought would interest me. There was a lot. Fall is quickly approaching and I my wardrobe has been sadly neglected.
In what seems like just a few minutes I was in a dressing room trying things on. Choosing and rejecting items while Beverly checked in with even more items and accessories. For a little shop Deja Vu has it all. So many of the items still have the original tags on them its hard to believe its a consignment shop. Business and casual are all there. I spent a wonderful afternoon with Beverly and shop owner Michelle Falvey and had a great interaction with some of their regular customers. Many of which were not plus size. They have the nicest and friendliest clients anywhere I have been.
The shop is an absolute treasure for Norwich and if you have not been there yet you need to stop by. Tell them I sent you. They are open Tuesday thru Thursday 10 – 6 and Friday and Saturday 10 – 5. See their web page dejavuconsign.net and Facebook: dejavuconsignct Looking for something special? Give them a call at 860.383.2326. If they don’t have it currently, they will help you find it. Their wealth of information is enormous.
In the August 20, 1962 Norwich Bulletin was this announcement that would have wonderful potential today. Maybe the Chelsea Botanical Garden folks could erect something like this as a temporary structure on their cleared land? One step toward the environmental education of the public to their own goal of a butterfly pavilion? This would be a temporary structure that could be a demonstration of their environmental education, as well as financial and management skills.
The article was titled Glass Aviary to Shelter, Show Mohegan Park Birds.
“The glass aviary to shelter and show off birds at Mohegan Park is planned to be erected this week.
The aviary is practically all glass so that persons can view it from any direction and have a clear look inside. It is a ten-sided structure, ten feet in diameter and ten feet high. Its roof is glass and cone-shaped.
Public Works Director Harold M. Walz said Monday that stocking the aviary with some 20 to 30 different colored finches and canaries may begin next week.
The setting inside the cage will be made as natural as possible. A tree will be planted in the center of the aviary, and grass will also be planted. It will be furnished with a birdbath, feeding facilities and a nesting box.
The aviary design is the idea of William Haskell of the All-Time Manufacturing Company of Montville, who describes it as a “living Christmas tree.” The same type of bird house was also erected recently at Bates Woods Nature Center in New London.
Haskell said the aviary is an excellent place for all types of exotic birds. It’s circular shape he said, permits freedom of flying because birds fly in a circle and if it was a square structure they would smash into the walls.
He said there are vents that can be opened to allow cool air to enter, and that there was no heating problem in the winter. He said a light will supply all the heat necessary and this light will also provide longer days for the birds.
Birds, he said, fly south because of the shorter day in the winter, not because of the cold weather.
Walz said the outside of the aviary will be landscaped to provide the proper setting for the birds. He said it will be located across from the old monkey house next to the parking lot.”
What do you say Chelsea Botanical Gardens? A temporary round green house could be a start to building community confidence in your abilities.
A commenter of my blog mentioned that there is not a lot of commentary about the women of Norwich, CT so I made a list of my past blogs that are about the Women of Norwich. How many of these women, situations, families, or groups do you know? I included the dates the original blog appeared. They are still available on-line. Please read them. Please look for more information about them. Some of the women who are virtually ignored in Norwich, CT have reputations and tributes in other places. Learn more about them. Talk with your friends and families about these women. Discover the real history of Norwich, CT.
Jennie Ojedor 8/21/17
Lucretia Bradley Hubbell 8/14/17
Dr. Walker, Eliza Perkins, Lizzie Greene 7/21/17
Priscilla 6/23/17
Opinions of Modern Women 5/22/17
Benny 12/26/16
Annie Gardener 8/26/16
Mary Katherine Goddard 7/8/16
1802 Brewster Murder 6/13/16
Daughters of Liberty 4/18/16
Before Suffragettes 4/11/16
Edward & Mary 12/21/15
Clevelands 11/27/15
Martha Devotion Huntington 7/20/15
Ellen O’Neill, Dr. Faunce and Miss Marshall 6/8/15
Mrs. Diamond Johnson 5/4/15
Hanky Incident 2/2/15
Sulfur, Sage and Hair Color 12/19/14
Huntington Thanksgiving 11/24/14
Fashionable Shawl 9/22/14
Proposal Poem 9/18/14
Women Voters of Norwich 5/19/14
Norwich Embroidery 5/12/14
Franklin Connecticut is an adjacent neighbor of Norwich, Connecticut so I imagined that I knew the locations of most of the important landmarks. Once more I was proved wrong by an article in the September 8, 1906 Norwich Bulletin newspaper.
I can’t wait for the trees to lose their leaves so I can travel on route 32 not far over the border to the parking lot of a Subaru dealership and look to the west. I should see in the distance at least one of what the article called, The Towers of Franklin. While once there were two, now only one remains according to the Franklin Town clerk.
There is a long and lovely description of the typical New England beauty of the area and then, “For many years past the attention of the passersby has been attracted by two peculiar formations of rock on the summit. Easily recognized as the work of man, and not of nature, they are somewhat pyramidal in form, having bases of perhaps twenty feet square and apexes about thirty feet in height.” So who built them and why and when?
“To the questions of the curious are returned answers vague, indefinite and unsatisfactory. A good honest ‘I don’t know’ would be more satisfying.” So the article turns to the year 1846 and a man named William Varnum of Essex, Massachusetts. Varnum was described as a seafaring man who had crossed many stormy seas and visited numberless strange lands before arriving in New London and somehow making the acquaintance of Mary A. B. Brewster of Franklin, CT. Their marriage on March 23, 1847 is documented in the records Rev. Samuel Nott of New London. Both must have thought they had hit the jackpot. Mary was a lineal descendent of the Mayflower, William Brewster and a famous ruling elder of Plymouth (Massachusetts). Alas Mary, thought her new husband would return to the sea, where he could earn more money than he could on land, the opportunities for spending were less and she could continue her life as it had been. But, Varnum remained in Franklin doing odd jobs, farm work and general labor building a reputation as an industrious and hardworking man.
At various times between 1851 and 1867 Mrs. Varnum was able to purchase a house, barn and an acre and a half of land. Then on February 4, 1875 she was able to purchase the land on which the towers were to be built from John T. Ladd. They were first known as the monuments, sometimes the pyramids and then the towers.
As time passed new stories of why the towers were built emerged but according to the article, one of the neighbors asserted William Varnum erected the towers to rid himself of the stones as he cleared the land. That could well be the case as Varnum also built numerous stone walls where none were needed.
There was no doubt the monuments were intended as memorials of himself and his wife perhaps modeled after the pyramids of Egypt he might have visited as a sailor. Sadly he made no provisions for tombs within the towers but during his lifetime frequently expressed the wish to be buried near them on the hill.
His requests, however, were ignored after his death from pneumonia, January 6, 1879 at the age of 65. He was buried in the Yantic Cemetery in Norwich. Mary survived for many years and died at 95 years old on January 14, 1905 and is buried near her husband. Ask to see their graves when you take the guided tour of Yantic Cemetery. I know they will be happy to be remembered.
I was certain I had a brand new, never done before in Norwich, CT idea to celebrate any holiday of choice. Something unique and different from any other celebration in eastern Connecticut or western Rhode Island. AND I was wrong.
According to the Norwich Bulletin of July 8, 1903 there was an Old Home Week Harbor Parade and Fireworks. A “Brilliant Parade of Illuminated Launches in River Followed by Fine Pyrotechnic Display Witnessed by Large Crowds.”
The article went on to say that one of the most pleasing features of Old Home Week was the harbor parade. There were special late trains so out of town visitors could enjoy it, crowds of people were packed on every vantage of Laurel Hill, Thames Street and the wharf by 8 p.m. The merchants reported doing a brisk business as people arrived and waited for the festivities to begin.
The moonlight was a little too bright but the air perfect for the forty or so launches with their glowing lights as they glided down from Thamesville where the line was formed. There were rockets from strategically placed throughout the city and from a floats in the river while fire balloons from Thamesville and Tubbs’ Band on the wharf entertained the waiting crowd of the water carnival. On the land were electrical displays of incandescent lights strung between the trolley poles on Main and adjoining streets giving the main part of the city a brilliant appearance. A number of merchants, including Cranston and Company, Mohican Co, Somers Brothers and others had pretty electrical displays on their store fronts. Lee & Osgood had a collection of curiosities and relics in one of their windows which attracted considerable attention. Many other merchants displayed bunting and in several windows were seen portraits of Mayor Thayer. Across the front of the city hall building was the illuminated sign “Home Week 1903.”
About 8:30 p.m. Commodore Henry G Peck’s pretty launch was seen rounding the bend in the river from Thamesville leading the first of two divisions, about twenty-five small crafts looking like a spectacle from a fairy land with each boat trimmed with Japanese lanterns of various colors, red being the predominate shade, and hung as they were in different forms, making a most picturesque sight, swinging to and fro as the launches moved along. Some of the boats launched their own fireworks adding a variety of colors to the parade.
As the procession passed along the east bank of the river rockets exploded with sprays of various colors, some with tiny strings, tiny balloons, and loud reports for over an hour from a midstream float under the direction of fireworks expert Mr. Gerhard of New York
The launches turned at the steamboat wharf and passed the west side of the river before disbanding. At the head of the harbor was ex-Mayor F. L. Osgood’s handsomely decorated yacht Tillie.
Worn with panache and pride by over 100 visitors who had registered at Old Home Week headquarters on Broadway were the simple yet very neat in design badges “Guest, Old Home Week, July 3-6, 1903,” printed on red, white and blue ribbons, The badges or members of the committee ribbons were white. G. E. Bachelder and E. P. Slocum were the chairmen.
Over 100 years has passed so can Norwich, CT please have another Harbor Parade? We don’t have to have all the participation and an Old Home Week Celebration but wouldn’t a parade of boats be a sight to see in the harbor? What organization wants to work on this? Somebody? Anybody? Is anybody out there? Does anybody care?
Are you looking for a Greeneville hero? How about the late David Torrance? When the Honorable Judge Torrance died on
September 5, 1906 he was the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors. But there is a bit more to his story. At least according to the article in the September 6, 1906 Norwich Bulletin.
David Torrance was born March 3, 1840 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Walter and Ann Torrance. His father died when David was nine years old and his mother, he and four brothers and sisters all moved to the United States to settle in Norwich, CT. David attended the Norwich Public Schools for five years and at the age of 14 began working in the cotton mill. At 15, he began to learn the trade of papermaking at the Chelsea Paper mills in Greeneville.
He remained there until July, 1862 when he enlisted as a private in Company A, Eighteenth Connecticut Volunteers. He was quickly promoted to sergeant and on December 22, 1863 he became a captain of Company A, Twenty-ninth Connecticut Volunteers. This regiment was composed of colored men recruited in Connecticut. Torrance continued to rise in rank becoming major and lieutenant colonel of the regiment before mustering out in 1865.
At the close of the Civil War he began to study law in the Derby office of Col. William B. Wooster with whom he had served in the army and joined Wooster in his practice in 1868.
In 1871 he joined the Republican Party and was elected to the General Assembly from Derby and again in 1872. Torrance used his time, good sense, attention to detail and practicality well in committee work and on the floor of the house. In the fall of 1878 he was nominated and elected Secretary of State twice. In 1881 he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of New Haven County but before he began a second term he was made Judge of the Superior Court of the State. In 1890 he was advanced to the Supreme Court of Errors. In 1899 he was elected Chair on Evidence at Yale University. On October 1, 1901 Torrance was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.
Judge Torrance married Annie France of Norwich on February 12, 1864 while home on leave from the army and they had three children Margaret G., Walter S., and James F. He was a popular speaker for dinners and anniversaries and was a dedicated and active member of a number of organizations including the Masonic fraternity, a distinguished member of the Army and Navy clubs of Connecticut and the G.A.R. And he never forgot those he served with. It’s not where you begin, but where you end.
September 16, 1906 was a big day for the Jewish population of Norwich, CT. The day was the laying of the Cornerstone of the New Synagogue.
Quite a crowd had gathered at 2:30 pm for the laying of the cornerstone of the new synagogue on the south side of High Street just opposite the summit. The dignitaries sitting on a raised platform were acting chairperson Louis Wechsler, Rev. Max Stamm, rabbi of the congregation; Rev. B. Sachnowitz, Mayor Charles F. Thayer, Rev. J. F. Cobb, Congressman E. W. Higgins, Representative F. T. Maples, Sr. Alderman Dr. N. B. Lewis, Judge of Probate N. J. Ayling, Councilman H. M. Lerou, Dr. J.J. Donohue, Ellis Raphael, Jacob Simon and the Tubbs Band. Any of those names sound familiar? Maybe some of their words will.
The opening speeches were by Rabbi Stamm speaking in Hebrew followed by Rev. Cobb who said in part:”We may be of different nationalities here today and the place of birth of one may be far from that of another, but we all have the same Father and we lift up our prayers to the same God. These services are not for the interest and good not only of the Hebrews but of the whole city, and in the spirit of brotherhood we extend to you the hand of good fellowship in your effort.”
“The Hebrew people came to Norwich to make it their home and the municipality is to be congratulated upon that fact.” said Mayor Thayer”Just as congratulations should be bestowed upon those who have come to a city so well known for its hospitality.” Then there was the usual variety of speakers with congratulations, best wishes and the hope for greater growth of the city and its residents.
But after all the welcoming speeches Chairman Wechler called upon Ellis Raphael, as one of the oldest Hebrews of the city to speak. Mr. Raphael told that he could remember when there were not more than eight or nine Hebrew families at the most in Norwich, and when the first celebration of the Jewish New Year was to be observed it was held in the home of Levi Spier on Broadway. Mr. Raphael said he was glad to see that this new synagogue was being built in strict adherence with Jewish Law, standing due east and west.”
As Mayor Thayer skillfully laid the cornerstone in position a tightly sealed copper box was also placed in a specially prepared cavity at the northwest corner of the building containing a list of the fifty-five members of the congregation, a list of those present and those speaking at the ceremonies, the passage of scripture referring to the entrance of Solomon into the temple, a special memorial to Jacob Simon, through whose assistance the synagogue was being built, and the names of the Norwich Bulletin and the Norwich Evening Record.
The article closed saying that for the past year the congregation of fifty-five members had been worshipping under Rabbi Stamm in a hall at No. 6 Cove Street and that they holed to be in the structure by the first of the year under the leadership of Max Silberman, Chairman, and building committee Rev. Max Stamm, David Pressman, Benjamin Pressman, Israel Henkin, Morris Levin, Max Silberman and Arthur Swatzburg.
July 28, 1906 had really big news for the residents of Norwich, CT. The travel and tourism season had arrived and on this day the additional cars for the area would arrive too. It would be really nice if someone would consider that same transportation route to be important today. Not everyone had a horse or a car so mass transportation was important to get to work, to shop, to get home, to vacation, to spend a mental health day away. The transportation was not for the select few. It was not expensive. It was easy to find. It had a dependable schedule and it was talked about. I wish the same could be said today.
Two summer coaches for the Norwich-Westerly Road promised for the morning – will be running next week.
On Friday night, two of the summer cars on the Norwich-Westerly trolley road were due in Willimantic and the officials of the road were promised that they would be delivered to the company this morning. The cars have come from High Point, N.C., and because of clearances, they have been a long time on the road. The cars will be brought here on a special and switched off at Fort Point, and immediately taken to the car barn near Hallville. The trucks for the cars are already to receive the bodies and the wiring is also completed so that very little work is necessary to get them into motion.
The car barn is not completed as yet as the roof trusses have only arrived this week for the roof. As soon as they are in place the work will be rushed along on the building, but it is not anticipated that it will be required especially now.
There is every reason to believe that the cars will be running over the line the coming week and then it will be but a short time before the company has the railroad commissioners approve the road bed and cars run between here and Hallville.
Besides the two summer cars due here today, there are two more on the road of the same type. Besides these there will be two combination baggage and passenger cars and two combination passenger and smoking cars. These will be delivered later and it is intended that they be used with the summer cars if desired, running two cars at a trip.
The cars are each 48 feet long and with full vestibules. All the cars are closed as the time which will be made will not allow open cars, the danger of falling off is too great. There will be four 65-horsepower motors on each car and the distance between here and Westerly about 20 miles, will be made in about an hour, although it is claimed it can be done in forty-five minutes.
The appearance of the cars is shown on the accompanying cut, and an outline of the baggage and smoking combination cars are also shown. In the combination cars will also be toilets. The cars are expensive ones and more elaborate than any others seen in the vicinity. They are up to date in every particular, with cross seats and fitted up in railroad coach style.
Norwich, CT has had some amazing visitors in the past. Individuals such as Carrie Nation who was a leading radical member of the temperance movement. She opposed alcohol before Prohibition and is famously known for attacking alcohol-serving establishments with a hatchet.
Her visit to Norwich was reported in the Norwich Bulletin of September 13, 1905. Mrs. Nation spent three days traveling to Norwich from Ohio and included only Danielson and Berlin in her Connecticut tour.
Mrs. Nation expressed great pleasure at being able to give her opinions to the people of Norwich and hoped to speak to a great number of them about the evils of the drink habit and especially of the harm done by the cigarette habit to the youth of America.
In response to a question regarding her future conduct concerning the stamping out of the liquor trade in the United States she stated that she had given up the work of closing out the saloons with the aid of a hatchet and had come to the conclusion that the redemption of the country was not in the hand of one person, but could only be accomplished with the aid of the ballot. It was stated that by the time of her visit to Norwich she had been in jail for her work twenty-five times, which did not include the number of times that she had been arrested and allowed her liberty on bail or in default of complaint.
According to the Bulletin article when Nation started for Norwich she sent the following telegram to the directors of the fair association:”Get me a room at a hotel with no bar,” but as Norwich did not have such a place she had to be accommodated in a private family. She was of the opinion that a person could run a hotel, cater to his guests and serve them in proper shape without drugging them.
I have often printed an unusual recipe or three in this blog but I don’t believe I have ever talked about a critter dinner being served quite like this one from the September 5, 1907 Norwich Bulletin. I am pretty certain you would not find me in attendance at the dinner either but the reading of the article gave me a different point of reference of a fine dinner being served in 1907.
Maybe it is time to re-examine the historic suppers of the past. Was this notable because it was a friends and family tribute to past suppers? Were coons a rare treat? So many unanswered questions.
Excellent Coon Supper Served in Fitchville – Delightful Gathering at Home of Mrs. J. C. Allyn. –
At the home of Mrs. J. C. Allyn in Fitchville, Wednesday evening an excellent coon supper was served by Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Allyn to a party of friends and relatives.
Among those present were Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Allyn and family, Raymond Keables, James Murphy, the Misses Murphy of Norwich Town, Carl D. Sevin, I. L. Hamilton, Herman Hellen, John Carroll of Norwich, John Ramage and Mr. and Mrs. Alex Ramage of Greeneville; Miss Anna Hedler of Taftville, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Etter and family of Baltic and Timothy Fields of Fitchville.
The two coons were caught by Messrs Keables and Murphy.
Music was furnished for the evening by a fine male quartette, accompanied by Mrs. Emma Robinson on the piano. The supper was served on the piazza, which was artistically decorated with potted plants and Chinese lanterns.
A sweet, romantic, wonderful gift was given to the history lovers of Norwich through a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the Norwich Bulletin on July 12, 1906 and titled The Elms on Broadway. This is a story for the leaders of the walks to re-tell when they speak of the majestic elms that once lined the street.
Mr. Editor: – While I was walking down Broadway recently with an old gentleman residing on that street our conversation began about the elms there, as his attention was directed by me to one of them that is dead and to the leaves of another which were largely scattered on the sidewalk by the ravages of the beetles.
I asked him whether he knew the age of the elms: for I had heard, from time to time, different ages given to them.
“Yes.” said he, “I can tell you that. When I came to Norwich in 1842, about the time of the Witter robbery at the railroad station, buttonball trees [Another name for Buttonball Tree is American Sycamore] stood where those elms do; but in 1851 the buttonballs were supplanted by the elms.”
“Are you sure of the date?” said I.
“I am,” said he, “for I was then in love with the girl who afterwards became my wife; and the elms were set out at that time, as a memorial to Joseph Williams, who lived further down the street.”
“I know not what relation Mr. Williams had to the land.” he continued, “but I do know the date of the setting out of those trees; for when a man in giving his little attentions to the girl he loves all important changes on the line of his travels are linked together with those attentions and cannot therefore possibly be forgotten by him.”
Quite a happy thought to associate elm trees with family tree, and thus make them evergreen trees in memory!
Truly, love is a magician, and all men with a predisposition to poor memory should not be without the remedy. – C. H. Talcott Norwich, July 9, 1906
On October 13, 1890 a very important notice appeared in the Norwich Bulletin regarding the death of Mrs. Gorton of Norwich, CT.
Mrs. Gorton was another female leader of Norwich who is mostly forgotten and certainly overlooked in the history of Norwich. She began a tradition of kindness and cheer that is still seen in 2017 whenever you stop by to visit family or friend at the Eliza Huntington Memorial Home on Washington Street. Wouldn’t it be nice if her tale was added to the stories told on the Washington Street walks of Norwich?
Death of Mrs. Gorton
Mrs. Maria D. Gorton, the matron of the Eliza Huntington Memorial Home for Old Ladies on Washington Street, died Saturday morning after an illness of nearly two years, at the age of 82. Mrs. Gorton took the home when it was opened in October, 1872, under the provision of the will of the late Jedediah Huntington, and managed the affairs of this beneficent institution with conscientious fidelity until the feebleness of old age required her retirement, when her daughter, Miss Adelaide M. Gorton, who has been an efficient assistant, assumed the responsibilities of the institution, and has since conducted its affairs with the same kindness, prudence and faithfulness that marked Mrs. Gorton’s management, and made the home a model institution and a real home to its inmates. Some of the best years of her life Mrs. Gorton devoted to cheering and making more comfortable the declining years of her own sex, and although aging herself, she maintained an even disposition and an impartial regard for those in her keeping and care which few can command in youth and visor of life. Miss Gorton will prove a worthy successor to the matronship, and with the training she has had will keep the institution a model home. The funeral will take place Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock.
I am furious right now. Last week my mobile phone stopped working. Thank goodness I still have a house landline. I turned the mobile phone off and back on. I took out the battery and put it back in. Still didn’t work so I called Tracfone, my service provider. I spoke with a company representative who told me to stand by a window. Turn the phone off, wait five minutes and turn it back on. “Was I certain the phone was saying No Service on the screen?”“Try making a call.” I spent an hour and twenty-two minutes on the phone with customer service. Eighty-two minutes of my time on the phone with someone saying, “Can you turn the phone on and off?” “Can you please try and make a call?” “Do you have access to the phone you are calling about right now?”
Tracfone investigated my complaints and needed to send me a new SIM card. That mailing took another four days. I received the SIM card. I was even able to install the SIM card. I called the customer service number as given in the instructions that came with the new SIM card.
We went over the same questions. “Do you have access to the phone?” “Are you able to open the phone?” “Can you take out the battery and replace the SIM card?” “Please wait and see if it works when you turn it back on.” “How many bars do you see?” (I am at home and not seeing any bars out of my windows.) “On the screen mam; How many bars do you see?” “No active bars. They are still gray with a red x above them and the words No Service.” “Can you please try and make a call?” “Why? There is no service.” I was disconnected three times and yet I persisted in calling them back. FINALLY, they kick me up to technical support. Technical Support manages to disconnect me another three times. I am beside myself. This should be a very easy, simple fix and it is eating up my valuable time but I am more determined than ever to get this done and over with.
I call back Technical Support. I will not divulge how I got the number. More investigation and lo and behold it seems Tracfone has changed their carrier and is no longer servicing the type of Smart Phone I am using in my area. They will send me a replacement phone. It will be basic phone and not a smart phone. “Not acceptable.” says I. If I have to send you my smart phone to receive the replacement, I want a smart phone as the replacement. TracFone changed the carrier without notification. TracFone has left me without a mobile phone for a week and it will be another week or more before I receive the paperwork and the phones can be exchanged. Let alone the inconvenience of possibly losing the photos and phone numbers on my phone. Well the policy is to only send the basic phone as the replacement. Route me to someone with more authority so I can have an equal swap of my phone. I know that TracFone is going to be sending me a refurbished phone and will be refurbishing and selling my phone so why shouldn’t I be receiving an equal phone to the one I am sending them and not a lesser quality one?
Then my call is routed to the Philippines from where it must be checked to see if they can indeed send me the same type of phone I am sending them. How about that? The Phillipine person says they can after pretending to check with the Corporate Office in Miami, FL if I send my phone first to Plainfield, Indiana. They will send me paperwork and instructions to add more days for me to be without my mobile phone. I am not happy.
I liked Tracfone because I paid less than one hundred dollars for one year of uninterrupted service but this nonsense has ruined our relationship. Any suggestions for a new mobile smart phone carrier?
If you are ever in a facility for a live performance that is audio described take advantage of it. I was recently at the Yale Repertory Theatre for a wonderful presentation of the 1882 play An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen.
The play and acting were magnificent but it was the extra offerings that I really want to tell everyone about. An extra ticket was included for each of the guide dogs that was with our group. That means that the dog was not constantly being accidently kicked while laying on the floor under the seat of their owner or being moved because they are blocking the aisle. Each dog had its own space!
Then there was a touch tour for visually impaired attendees. We were shown material samples of the costumes, some of the special effects, met some of the actors, the assistant director, technical director and some others. They were very excited and happy to describe their individual parts in the performance. It was the first time the touch tour was made available and was a tremendous gift to the visually impaired and improved the quality of the play for us all.
The play was also audio described which even though I am sighted person I take advantage of whenever I can. Not enough theaters offer audio description. It is very easy. When you pick up your tickets at the box office you ask for the head set and in most cases you swap your ID for the ear piece. It is already preset to a particular channel and you don’t have to do anything other than put it on your ear. I like the one with a single ear piece. I hear the actors with one ear and the describers voice in my other.
Audio description is an art of using the natural pauses in the dialogue to insert descriptions of the visual elements. The descriptions may be the actions of the actors, appearances of characters, body language, costumes, settings, lighting, etc. The describer and the actors do not speak at the same time. It is not intrusive and may just direct your attention to something you might not have otherwise noticed.
Andrea Miskow was the audio describer of the day and is a successful working actor in New York and San Francisco when not describing for plays at the the Hartford Stage Company, Yale Repertory Theatre , Second Stage Theatre, The Public Theatre, Signature Theatre, Theatre Breaking Through Barriers, Broadway and the Lincoln Center Festival.
For more information about the Yale Repertory Theatre’s Accessibility Program, please contact Laura Kirk, Director of Audience Services at laura.kirk@yale.edu..
Residents in Greeneville, CT once knew how to celebrate Halloween. Not that they don’t now but back in the day the report in the Norwich Bulletin of a party in the November 1, 1906 says it better than I can.
“An Old-fashioned Halloween party was held in the parlors of the Greeneville Congregational church on Friday evening and was very largely attended. The parlors were beautifully decorated with oak branches, cedar trees and the pumpkin moonshine was conspicuous in the branches, making a very novel sight. During the evening the following games were played: Halloween Pie, Miss Taylor; rhymes, crusts, pans, bobbing apples, Hugh McComb; tub apples, the three steps, Mrs. McComb; book of fate, Miss Lillibridge; book and candle, tub candles; paring apples, Mrs. Young; the twelve candles, Mrs. Matthews; the three dishes, Mrs. Gilchrist; games of letters, Mrs. Zahn: walking down stairs; the eleventh game was a ghost fire and dance, which was followed by fortune telling.
2nd Part – Little Annie; ghost parade; tableau; witch’s cauldron and witch, lines from Macbeth. Ghost stories were then told by the witch, after which there was organ music. The party then sat down to supper, at which cakes were passed around containing coins, rings and other mystical articles. The party was a very pleasing affair, due to the committee in charge.”
It was interesting to learn the rules for some of these decorations and games. Write a fortune on a tiny piece of paper you roll up and place in a walnut shell you have carefully opened emptied (using the nut meat for baking I suspect) and glue back together. Oat cakes with peanut butter sound good. They are really pancakes but a pretty substitute could be waffles. I might add a dash of honey with the peanut butter. Hot gingerbread with marshmallow frosting in between the layers is listed as another traditional treat. A candy pull is described as lots of fun but do you know where all those pulling hands have been?
How times have changed with a Fortune cake. A plain cake cut into squares. Into the even numbered squares a girls fortune written on a piece of paper and into the odd numbered squares a boys fortune is written.
A “Novelty Party” requires score cards and a different game at each table. The two having the highest score progress to the next table; the prizes may be Halloween favor boxes filled with candy and chestnuts. To find partners, have the score cards tied, two with black and two with yellow ribbons. The two colors play with each other, the black against the yellow, etc. Different games like casino, pit, old maid, rummy, hearts, 500 or whist may be played.
Different stunt games can be fun too. Biting an apple hanging from a string attached to the ceiling with hands behind your back, to get a lucky ten-cent piece. Spearing peanuts, hunting partner peanuts. Shell peanuts and save the shells. Write girls names inside shells and tie together with ribbon or string. Hide in difficult places and set the boys hunting for their female partners; stringing glass beads; jackstraws or other stunts. Pumpkin and squash pies should be served with brown bread if oat cakes are not served.
Hide a ring, thimble and penny and send your guests in search for them. Find the ring – A speedy marriage, the thimble finder will be an old maid. Find the penny to be wealthy.
Give each male a needle and a piece of thread. The first to succeed will be the first to marry. The awkward manner in which the men attempt to thread the needle furnishes amusement to the guests.
Raisin Race – String raisins in middle of a string a yard long. Two persons each take an end of the string in their mouth. Whoever chews the string and gets to the raisin first wins.
Pumpkin Alphabet – Carve letters on pumpkin and set pumpkin on a table. Blindfold guests and give a hatpin to stick in the first letter of their Halloween Name.
Dough Test – Make dough of water and meal. Make small balls and stuff with amounts of coins written on pieces of paper. Win the amount on the paper.
Meeting your fate – Have guests fill their mouths with water and walk around. The first person they meet will be their fate.
Saucer game – fill four saucers in a row. Fill one with dirt, another water, another a ring, a fourth a rag. Blindfold guests and lead them twice around the table. Then ask them to put out their hand. If they first put their hand in the dirt they will be divorced, the water will travel, the ring will be married, the rag will never marry.
It’s almost November and here come the stories of the barrel burnings. We have all grown up seeing the photographs and perhaps a few have heard the stories from their grandparents or great grandparents. Like most stories the lore has made the stories bigger and better than their probable reality and we have heard only one side of the story. Do the photographs tell the story? The whole story? Or is there more?
I found this more to the story article in the November 29, 1902 Norwich Bulletin where the “Police are Thankful Thanksgiving is over.”
Annoyance by barrel gangs and unreasonable residents departed with Day of Blessing.
Perhaps no one is more thankful that Thanksgiving is past than the policemen, especially those on the outskirts of the city, for they have been bothered for the past three months by the boys pilfering barrels. It keeps the bluecoats on the guard all the time, but despite that fact they are unable to cover all points of their district at one time, and the youngsters will manage to arrange their visits so that they will not collide with the cops. The boys do all their work between 5:30 and 9 o’clock, and while they worked they worked lively this season. Many were stopped by the police, but more escaped their notice, and about those who did escape the police were always sure to hear, for the householders, unmindful of the fact that they leave their ash barrels in unguarded places, expect that the patrolmen can divine where the receptacles were carried, who took them, and can secure their return. Such appeals were not infrequent, and have been rather monotonous during the past few weeks, and now that the great barrel burning event is over for this year, a large weight is off the minds of the police.”
Never, ever ask a question you don’t want an answer to. The question is what do you, the public think of the plan for Indian Leap that was presented to the public October 11, 2017.
Personally I found it not only to be a flat presentation but a boring and unimaginative site plan. There is very little money to be spent so those in charge decided that eliminating the brush, planting grass, placing a few boulders, making a walkway that meanders around for a bit, painting the bridge, and creating a parking lot for six to eight cars and installing a fancy porta potty ought to do the trick with a few signs with as much misinformation about the history of the site as possible.
How sad is it that is all Norwich residents can come up with? I think its very sad. Wasteful of my tax dollars and above all insulting to residents and visitors alike.
What would I like to see for the same amount of money? A port-a-potty in an unobtrusive, but convenient location. The planned parking was not the best plan but fine for what is there and convenient for the two local restaurants as well.
The locations of the planned observation sites will be fine. The tie up sites for water crafts are much needed. So there are some good points to the plan. But to make the site more interesting to the walkers and hikers and other visitors then I would like to see some of the Indian lore legends and tales that may have been told around the campfires told through some statues placed among the trees and rocks. The benches might be in the shape of the spinning wheels of the old mill. There was enough work for six wheels to operate at a time. A huge number at that time. The story of how Leffingwell was paid by the British to operate the paper mill could be told on a plaque placed strategically near a stand of trees. The herb plots popular in the 1800’s in the area of the Falls are long gone but certainly a tribute to them could be re-established. If there is so much hue and cry for an outdoor performance area than why not keep it in the historic character of the area by just installing a cement stage the size of a 100 year old tree trunk on which people can expound to their family and friends. The image of the trunk could also serve as a reminder of the clear cutting that was done throughout New England. If there was any extra money I’d love to see reminders of the abundant wildlife that once roamed our area peeping in and out of the greenery, plantings and rock formations.
The now gone art form house was once set up to be an information center and historic display area but the remnants of the mill could be re-purposed as yet another tribute to once was but in the more recent past.
No matter what is done to the falls area the neighbors will be much appreciative of the clean-up of the area..
Often the front windows and doors of business establishments are covered with stickers and posters and cause observers to wonder why the fronts of the business are made of glass if they are going to be so covered with solid materials we cannot look through to see the business itself.
In this November 24, 1902 article, A Peculiar Accident, from the Norwich Bulletin is the tale of what happens when glass doors were rarer than they are today and not yet cluttered with ads, posters, and stickies. Fingerprints were cleaned away and clear polished glass was something to be proud of.
Taftville Man Walked Through Glass Door of East Main Street Store.
A Taftville man found himself in a peculiar predicament Saturday evening as the result of which a storekeeper is considering the advisability of placing a sign on his door which will read, “Store Entrance, Look Out For the Door.”
The Taftville resident was going into the store in the Steiner block on East Main Street where the door is one large pane of glass, the wooden frame of the door being quite narrow. Just inside the door stood the proprietor, and the purchaser, supposing the door to be open crashed through it in his endeavor to get into the store. He shattered the glass in the door and cut his face and hands quite badly, besides causing no small amount of excitement. The affair was purely an accident.
Today I imagine there would accusations, an insurance investigation, blame being placed on the shop owner, the door installer, the window manufacturer and I can’t imagine who all else might become involved..
The date was September 13, 1907. The guests of General W. A. Aiken were the Executive Council of Civil Service League. All in attendance were prominent men in their respective fields of law, business and literature. Men such as Attorney General Bonaparte, R. W. Glider of Century Magazine; George W. Burnham, Jr., of Baldwin Locomotive Works; R. H. Danna, Boston; Atty. Ansley Wilcox, Buffalo; and Prof. C. N. Gregory of Iowa College.
So what were they shown and how would the tour of Norwich, CT be different today some 110 years later? Their auto ride began by entering Norwich from Groton over Laurel Hill, riding through the commerce area and up Broadway to the Norwich Free Academy with a tour of Slater Museum given by Principal H. A. Tirrell. Then they were driven to the more historic portions of the city mostly in Norwichtown. Returning to the scene of Uncas’ famous leap at the Falls, stopping for a moment at his monument on Sachem Street and then a short stop at General Aiken’s home before returning to the Griswold Inn.
So how would the tour be different today? When regular and famous people come to our fair city what do we show them? How do we describe our city? Where do we begin our tours? Where do we encourage them to stretch their legs? Have a break? Enjoy a snack or meal? Who do we introduce them to? How well do we know our city that we can answer questions about it? Are there places more photographic than others? Do you know where there are unusual businesses that could tempt your visitors curiosity? What do you like to see when you visit other places? What do you look forward to doing when you are away from home? Consider taking a break in Norwich. Go to a part of the city you are not all that familiar with and walk around. Are there any festivals happening there? Is there a park? What are the local restaurants like in that area? Did you find a new place to eat or skate or walk or boat or canoe or sit and contemplate in? How can you work toward the improvement of your little pocket of Norwich? What can you do? Now get busy.
Deep in the document vault of the Leffingwell House Museum in Norwich, CT is a small pamphlet titled, A S E R M O N PREACHED AT NEW – LONDON, December 20th, 1786. OCCASIONED By the EXECUTION of Hannah Ocuish, a Mulatto Girl, Aged 12 Years and 9 Months. The sermon was preached by Henry Channing as he spoke for “God admonishing his people of their duty as parents and masters.”
It is a tale suitable for telling in the autumn as Halloween and spooky, scarey tales are being repeated. However this tale is fact. It is not a Norwich tale but it is one of Southeastern Connecticut.
The strawberries were ripe and plentiful in the summer of 1786. Picking the strawberries was a cherished chore for young children. If you didn’t come back with a full basket to be made into pies, jams, and jellies there was always the chance you would not be sent again to pick the delicious fruit or be given a slice of pie or a bit of the sweet sauce.
So off into the nearby strawberry field went 6 year old Eunice Bolles, daughter of a prominent New London family and from another home twelve year old house servant Hannah Ocuish.
Ocuish had not been raised with civility and kindness. At only six years old she was removed from her mother and brother and placed by the courts as a bound servant with another family. By twelve Hannah was tough and determined to succeed. If filling her basket meant taking the strawberries picked by another smaller girl than that was what you had to do. And she did. Hannah took the strawberries from the basket of Eunice Bolles.
Eunice went home with a small amount of berries and told her mother about the bigger girl. Hannah was confronted and punished for her theft of the berries. But Hannah had a memory.
On the morning of July 21, 1786, Eunice Bolles left her home to go to school. Around 10 am her bruised and broken body was found face down next to a stonewall on the road leading to Norwich from New London. It was obvious the killer had placed stones on her body to make it look as if the wall had collapsed on top of her.
Hannah had been seen in the area so she was questioned but her answers were obviously not the truth. She was taken to the Bolles home and when she saw the body she quickly confessed and was brought to trial. Emotions ran high and even the judge was near to tears at times. Calm throughout it all was Hannah.
Perhaps the days she spent in the jail without chores to do were the most carefree of her young life. On December 20th 1786 Hannah was led from the jail to the scaffold built on the lawn of the New London Meetinghouse. There she waited patiently and listened attentively as Henry Channing ranted for over an hour about the fate of children who did not attend church regularly and how sparing the rod would spoil the child.
Eventually he ran out of the fire and brimstone and all but screamed “Hannah, the time for you to die is come.”
With calm composure it is reported that Hannah walked to the gallows and thanked the sheriff for his kindness to her.
There is much more detail to this tale than I can write in this blog and it is not the only frightening and true tale of local mischief and mayhem. Instead of telling the same old stories all the time lets examine our own history for some forgotten tales.
My favorite holiday is Halloween and I collect old and new ideas, recipes and helpful hints so imagine my joy when I read in the Norwich Bulletin of October 19, 1905 these two very “Helpful and Edifying Facts for Women.” ok men, you can learn them too.
Halloween Cake
Cream one-half cup butter and one and one-half cups sugar, then add one egg and beat until creamy; now add one teaspoonful cinnamon, one-fourth teaspoonful each of cloves, allspice and mace, one cupful seeded raisins, floured, one cupful sour milk, two cupfuls entire wheat flour, and one-third cup white pastry flour into which sift one half-teaspoonful baking soda; beat thoroughly and bake in a loaf about half an hour. When cool cover with a maple marshmallow icing, and decorate with marshmallows cut into quarters. For the icing place one pound marshmallows in a double boiler, add one-half cup water; when melted beat thoroughly and add one tablespoonful bakers chocolate melted and one tablespoonful vanilla extract.
I can in all honesty say no one has ever asked this of me (thank goodness) but in case someone asks you the correct way “To Prepare Feathers.”
I have had at various times several inquiries as to the method of preparing feathers for bedding, and have come across the following hints, which I gladly pass on for the benefit of those who may have feathers to preserve: –
The one and only way to prepare fresh-plucked feathers for cushions is as follows: All the feathers must be carefully sorted over by hand. The biggest feathers must be stripped of the quills; In fact, any of them that are big enough to strip must be done, as the quills contain a certain amount of moisture. The very smallest do not matter. When this is done, carefully place them all in a large canvas bag and then ask the baker to put them in the oven for twelve minutes or so, as that destroys all insects and dries up any moisture there may be left.
I was one of the hundreds (?) that watched the 2017 Winterfest Parade in Norwich, CT on November 25th. One of the finer bits of the Parade was the lead in by the Norwich Police Department and Color Guard.
They marched in unison and with pride. You know already what Norwich story I will be re-telling because you all know what a huge laugh I received when I read about it for the first time in a copy of Old Home Week printed by the Bulletin in 1901.
Old Home Week took place September 1st thru the 7th and with grateful thanks to the Bulletin we can read and see photographs of the events of the week and hear their stories.
The detailed description and photographs of the parade take up about six pages of the book and I encourage everyone looking for some new old tales of Norwich, CT to read it. It is available for reading or download at http://www.ebooksdownloads.xyz/search/old-home-week-norwich-conn-september-1st-7th-1901 so you don’t even have to go to Otis Library, unless you want to of course. Otis Library is located on Main Street, Norwich, CT with convenient parking in the lot just across the street.
Anyway, back to the parade. It was just after 7 AM on Tuesday morning that the Antiques and Horribles Parade began to assemble and larger than any other parade that had ever been formed in the City including the demonstrations of July 4th, 1891 and 1895. According to the information located on page 22 “The procession of frights was headed by a platoon of police, all drafted from the supernumerary list. The bluecoats were the only thing in the parade that looked decent. Everything else was hopelessly dilapidated, and most of it was of a style that would have been appropriate to the days of Noah’s Ark.”
Those that followed our modern day “bluecoats” were not at all dilapidated, frightening or hopelessly out of date. They were clean, fresh, talented, happy and proud to show off their uniforms, costumes and talents to all who lined the streets for the forty minutes to smile, wave and call to their friends and family members. As a way to thank the observers there was lots and lots of holiday candy being handed out to the public.
You cannot tell me there is nothing to do or see December 1st in Norwich. It’s a Friday night with a run for the Tommy Toy Fund, Performances at both theaters, The Public School Follies at Kelly Middle School. Downtown First Friday is at all FIVE of the downtown galleries with a very special juried show at the Gallery at the Wauregan. Some new stocking stuffers are for sale at the NAC gift shop. Don’t forget to check out the Art on the Walls at Epicure Brewing (They also have the best socks for purchase anywhere.), These Guys Brewing serves an excellent acorn squash dish. Harp & Dragon will be featuring local artists work on their walls during the month of December. Looking for a more international flair for your meal how about Korean, Mexican, or Asian? They are all downtown with convenient parking. If you are thinking of just a brew and wings there is always Billy Wilsons.
When I hear you say there is, “Nothing to do. Nothing to see and No one to talk to in Norwich.” I know you haven’t been to Norwich, CT lately. Visit Norwich on First Friday to see for yourself.
This is my all-time favorite Norwich Bulletin story appearing first on November 6, 1895 and picked up by the New York Times which printed it on November 10, 1895. Following the trail of the deer will make a wonderful Thanksgiving Day walk.
By the 1890’s there were few deer left in the woods of the Eastern United States and Canada. So few in fact the state legislatures from Maine to Florida made it a crime to kill any deer for food or sport.
I hope you enjoy this story too.
DEER SEEN
Discovered on Lincoln Avenue and Chased Through Chestnut Street
A real live deer appeared in Norwich, Tuesday morning and it was not in captivity either, but its movements were as free and unrestrained as if the city were its natural haunts.
The deer was first seen at about 5:30 A.M. In the yard of C.P. Cogswell, on Lincoln Avenue by a carrier of the Bulletin. The deer was frightened by the approach of the boy, and bounded through the street, and disappeared in the direction of Chelsea Parade.
The deer was next reported as being seen on Chestnut Street, where a dog owned by James McCaffrey scented the big game, and gave chase. The deer left the dog in the lurch, taking a cross street to Franklin Street. The animal was later seen trotting down to Franklin Square by Andrew Marshall, the bank janitor. Just then an early electric car arrived from Greeneville. Among the others on board were Michael McInerney of Taftville and Timothy Cary of Central Avenue. They saw the deer of the Square. All the witnesses pronounced the animal to be a doe.
The approach of the car frightened the animal, and it made a sudden turn, jumping right over the head of a lad who was walking through Main Street. The deer sped through East Main Street toward the Preston Bridge. C. Avery Champlin was on his way to take the early train north and he saw the deer cross the Shetucket River into Preston. No further reports of its having been seen were received Tuesday.
The Bulletin has received reliable information from Chaplin that William Martin and Frank Martin and their wives saw a deer cross the road near the Chaplin paper mill Sunday on their way to church. The deer was headed for Willimantic. The animal seen n Norwich Tuesday was no doubt the same one.
The Legislature of 1893 made it a grave offense to kill a deer in this state, so sportsmen would do well not to shoot at the creature if it should continue in this neighborhood.
I wonder if any of the residents of Chestnut Street had a fleeting glimpse of the deer and what they had to say.
DM Wilson & Co, Carpet Beating & Steam Cleaning; Dyers
MB Ring, Carriage making & Repairs
Thomas J. O’Neil, Harness Maker
Alexander McNickle, Painter
John H. Hoffman, Carriage Painter
RF Goodwin, Cork Cutter
WM Aiken, Proprietor, Norwich Nickel & Brass Works, papier-mache clothing dress forms, general electroplaters.
AT Gardiner, Livery Boarding & Feed Stables
Horace L. Tower, Veterinary Surgeon
John Conroy, employed by H & A Manufacturing Co.
Mary J. Conroy, Dressmaker
Richard M. Conroy, employed by Norwich Nickel & Brass Works
and what William H. Vincent of Confectionary Mfr and CT Popcorn Co. on Happy Street had to say.
What to do with the multiple sets of dishes you just inherited? No one seems to want the cherished dishes any more. So here are a few of the solutions I am going to be using to clear some shelves in my home. A few you will recognize and a few I hope are new
First write a few details about the source of the dishes. Who owned them. When they were used. How they were used. Tell a memory or a story if you can. For example “On the night before (a holiday) we ate (fill-in name) special hot dogs and beans on these plates.” Ask for help from friends and family. Maybe there is a recipe or a tradition that can be shared. Then include the information and stories when you share different pieces with different friends and families. Think of it as small sets become a treasure while the complete set is a burden.
So what makes a set? Almost anything. Think about the likes and loves of the individual owner and build from there. For example: The person was great with advice: Two cups, two saucers, and a dinner plate. For those special conversations requiring a cup of tea/coffee and a plate of cookies.
A bowl can be used for growing herbs maybe paired with a recipe.
A saucer with a cup or mug turned on its side and hot glued makes a wonderful summer bird feeder.
A dinner or a salad plate can become the plate used each year for Santa’s Snack.
A wine glass can become Elijah’s Cup.
Broken plates can be set in cement and become garden tiles and stepping stones to tomorrow.
Silverware can be fashioned into chimes.
The most well worn pots and pans tell the story of being favorites. Let them continue to tell their stories and to help others continue their legacy. That battered pot, with the scratches on the inside were from (fill in a name) trying to make Stone Soup for the first time when he was (fill in an age). Stories can be happy, sad or poignant. The point is to not let the person and the story be forgotten or set aside. Treasure all the memories you can, for as many generations as you can.
Another study has been done and Norwich, CT leads the state. Well that’s a significant occurrence. Because it is one that does not happen often. In what can we lead the state? Minority stops by police officers. Really, that is what we are a state of Connecticut leader in? Minority stops by police officers.
O.K. I read the articles with interest. Norwich stops more people, more minorities and for lesser infractions than other cities. Can this really be a bad thing? Shouldn’t our streets be safer? Our drivers have fewer accidents? Who are the people being pulled over?
A few weeks ago I was one of the people pulled over. It was about 8:45 PM and I was entering the downtown after dropping off a friend after we had been to a meeting and then stopped for dinner. I had no sooner pulled onto Main Street when I was pulled over in front of the Post Office.
I am a short, messy haired, senior woman who drives slowly and carefully because I know on the route I am taking there can be pedestrians in dark clothing walking on the edge of the road on their way home from being dropped off by their ride.
I was pulled over because I was driving a little too slowly and carefully. It made the officers suspicious. Was I looking for something or someone? When the Officer saw me he knew I had not been drinking, was not on drugs nor being carjacked. He checked my license and registration while we had a nice friendly chat. He also gave me a very nice card with instructions on filing a complaint if I believe I had been stopped, detained or subject to search solely on the basis of my race, ethnicity/ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or membership in a protected class, or to file a commendation. Before he returned to work and I continued on my way home. Just as slowly and carefully.
I didn’t do anything more than file the instruction card away and forget about it until I read the article. Of course, I read the article after first reading about one crash after another on the safe streets of Norwich. Officers, please feel free to stop any drivers you are curious about. The life you save could be mine, a loved one or a perfect stranger. Thank you. All lives count.
The chill in the air and prediction for more cold days ahead reminded me that on January 3, 2017 at a meeting of the Norwich, CT City Council Hot Cocoa was proclaimed the official hot drink of Norwich, CT.
The occasion provided a much needed laugh and a reminder that there are alternatives to the warm drinks of coffee, tea, and the occasional hot cider. Norwich, CT has a much neglected history with the processing of the cocoa beans during the time of the American Revolution but we have not done much with it since then.
What I would like to see in restaurants and at fundraisers, is the simple offering of a hot beverage, coffee, tea or cocoa and a choice slice of various cakes and pies. When I am out and making the rounds of the events about town that is really all I want for a snack or lunch. The large meal sized offerings are wonderful and delicious but honestly all I really want is a snack. OK I am hungry while I am writing this and really in the mood for a slice of cherry pie and a cup of cocoa. It is not going to happen but that’s what I am in the mood for.
Anyway, I would like to see the restaurants get behind the cocoa movement and use it to their advantage. I am also issuing my first snowperson challenge before the very first snowflake flies. Let us the residents of Norwich, CT populate our yards, public parks and greens with snow statues. Be creative. Make them large and make them small. Be creative and let your imagination be your guide.
Cold weather and snow happen every year about this time. This year lets use the weather to our advantage and make Norwich, CT the place everyone imagines their hometown to be.
We, can be responsible for making Norwich, CT interesting, warm and friendly starting in five, four, three, two, one, NOW!
In 1770 John Bliss successfully raised enough funds for Norwich to build its first fire engine. (You can see the actual record of the promised donations at the Leffingwell House Museum and the actual fire engine is on display at the Central Fire House.) The engine was pulled by a single horse and pumped by hand. Around 1773 Thomas Harland built a similar machine for use at Chelsea Landing. On November 26, 1793 was a fire that destroyed the buildings on Water Street including six shops, four homes, four barns, and the meeting house of the Second Congregational Church. The total loss was a little over $40,000 with no insurance.
At a town meeting held Monday, December 29, 1794 the Mutual Assurance Company was formed and on May 18, 1795, the committee members petitioned “the Honorable General Assembly now sitting in Hartford,” for an act of incorporation “for an act of incorporation “for the purpose of rendering any future loss which may happen to them by fire, as light as possible to individuals sustaining such loss,” and for the purpose of mutually insuring each other and was granted the second Thursday of May, 1795 thus becoming the first incorporated insurance company of Connecticut.
The first policy was issued on February 16, 1795 as No. 1, Norwich Mutual Assurance Company, For Insuring Buildings from Loss by Fire. This policy witnesses, that Christopher Leffingwell having become and by these presents becoming a member of the Mutual Assurance Company of the City of Norwich, pursuant to a Deed of Settlement, bearing the date of the fifteenth day of December One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four. Read more of the actual policy in its framed display at the Leffingwell House Museum.
Time has marched on but the need for equipment to save property and lives from fire and other disasters has not. New and updated fire and rescue equipment is desperately needed. The lives protected could be yours, your loved ones or a stranger. But is whose life is saved really the issue? Vote on November 7th, 2017 and please vote on the referendum items located on the far right side of the Norwich, CT ballot..
Welcome to Norwich, CT a great place to eat! There is a brand new double sided guide to fine dining in Norwich, CT available soon. On very high quality paper on one side is a map of the Greater Norwich Area with 30 restaurants and their locations in Norwich, and Uncasville CT listed. While it is far and away from a complete list of eating places; it is a good demonstration of some of the varieties of food available in Norwich.
When there was a question as to the type of food served its called American. There are 6 American restaurants. 3 Italian restaurants. 9 Pizza restaurants. 1 Peruvian. 2 Bakeries. 1 Indian. 1 Mexican. 1 Chinese. 1 Mediterranean. 1 Japanese/Sushi. 1 Cheese steak. 1 Steak House. 1 Asian. 1 Barbecue. 0 Fast food restaurants. 0 Vegetarian restaurants. 0 Diners. 0 Seafood. 0 Coffee or Tea Houses. I mention the 0’s in case there is a reader or two looking for a place to open a restaurant or two. I know of some great available spots for sale and for rent. I also can highly recommend any meal and the Dim Sum at the Golden Elegant , 437 W Main Street, Norwich, CT. (The same plaza as Sherwin Williams Paint Store.) and the fish and chips at Johnny’s Clam Shack, 184 N Main Street, Norwich, CT. Across the street from the Norwich Public Utilities. He is open after 4 PM and seasonally for outdoor and take away which were not listed.
On the flip side of the paper are the ten dining establishments of Downtown Norwich. These ten are not listed on the other side. They are Billy Wilsons Aging Still, American. Epicure Brewing, Brewery. Harp & Dragon, Irish Pub. Ice & Fire Asian Cuisine, Chinese & Sushi. La Stella, Pizza. Marina at American Wharf, Seafood. Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant, Mexican. Namoo, Korean. Sunrise Chinese Restaurant, Chinese. These Guys Brewing Company, Brew Pub.
Most of the places serve a variety of brews, wines, carbonated drinks and waters both foreign and domestic but please make a point of asking for and trying our locally made in Norwich or nearby whenever possible.
Eat, Drink and be Merry all year round in Norwich, CT!
Hebrew: לְחַיִּים!/L’Chaim! (Le Hy-em)
Hungarian: Egeszsegere! (Egg-esh Ay-ged-reh)
Italian : Salute! Cin cin! (Salu-tay/Chin Chin)
Japanese: /Kampai! (Kam-pie)
Korean: 위하여 (Gun-bae)
Latvian: Prieka! (Pree-eh-ka)
Lithuanian: i sveikata! (Ee sweh-kata)
Residents of the State of Rhode Island are into birding in a way Connecticut cannot match. A new book titled Rhode Island Birding Trails lists over 60 places to watch birds in the Ocean State. But next door residents and visitors of Norwich, CT can see many of the same birds without the travel, inconvenience and expense.
Almost 200 varieties of birds are reported as being seen in Norwich during the Presidents Day Weekend Great Backyard Bird Count.
The Great Backyard Bird Count was begun in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, as the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.
Currently more than 160,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide join the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds. Everyone is invited to participate in any location around the world. Look to http://gbbc.birdcount.org for more information. It is free, easy to participate in, and great for all ages from preschoolers to senior citizens. For at least 15 minutes on one or more days during February 16 – 19, 2018 just add up the numbers and kinds of birds you see from any location, anywhere in the world, for as long as you wish.
But where are some great places in Norwich, CT to count birds? In addition to your own yard? Brown Park, Laurel Hill Park, Bean Hill, Chelsea Parade, Norwichtown Green, Red McKeon Park, Dodd Stadium, 8th Street Bridge, Mohegan Park, Spaulding Pond, Lower Pond, along the Yantic River, along the Shetucket River, Along the Thames Estuary, Hamilton Ave Ball Field, Upper Falls, Lower Falls, Norwich Golf Course, Yantic Cemetery, Columbus park, Rose City Senior Center, Elizabeth Street Playground, Downtown Norwich Railroad Station, Buckingham Memorial, Yantic Firehouse Field, Asylum Street Dog Park, Fairview Reservoir, Greeneville Playground, Taftville Playground, Hamilton Ave Cemetery, Jennings Football Field, Lowthorpe Meadows, Market Street Garage, Montessori Discovery School, any large parking lot, and your own special spots. Which of your favorite spots did I miss?
From now through mid January 2018 Slater Museum, located on the campus of Norwich Free Academy has an exhibit of the work of some of the descendants and some of the work of Yale trained sculptor Bela L. Pratt (December 11, 1867 – May 17, 1917) born here in Norwich, CT.
Pratt created over 180 work of art sculptures, most of which are only vaguely connected to the man who created them. The Indian Head half ($5) and quarter ($2.50) eagle gold U.S. coins are known as the “Pratt coins” and feature an unusual intaglio Indian head, the U.S. mint’s only recessed design in circulation. A retrospective exhibition of 125 of his sculptures was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in the spring of 1918 so I was excited to come across this article in the December 6, 1901 Norwich Bulletin. I have not found however that the sculpture was ever created.
Gen. Custer to honor Union Square
His figure to be placed on Equestrian Statue of First Connecticut Cavalry.
There was a meeting in the Board of Trade rooms Thursday afternoon to consider the proposed monument for the First Cavalry Association, which is to be located on Union Square. There was not as large an attendance as was expected, but the meeting was an enthusiastic one. The general desire was that the monument should be first class in every particular. It has been decide that the base will be 18×20 instead of 12×14 as previously proposed. This will give opportunity for a small enclosure, there being stone posts at each corner.
Regarding the equestrian portion of the memorial Bela L. Pratt is favorably considered as the sculptor and it is very probable he will be given the commission. As General Brayton Ives declined to his figure grace the monument the general sentiment is in favor of having General Custer ride the charge.
Much enthusiasm is being manifested in the matter and subscriptions are being constantly received. The cost of the monument will be between $12,000 and $18,000. The state will pay $1,000 and a member of the regiment has promised a liberal contribution. It is probable that the committee in charge of the matter will soon institute a systematic canvas to raise the sum needed.
I began this stroll down memory lane with only the last paragraph reprinted in a December 20, 1903 Norwich Bulletin article as Bulletin Editors Gift to Jefferson Davis. Not explained was that Isaac Hill Bromley was the editor of The Norwich Bulletin when he wrote the letter, and a master of writing irony. He explained in other columns of the Bulletin the letter was written at the request of a friend “who placed the relic alluded to at our disposal. At his request we publish the letter as a matter of local interest.”
So with a little help from my friends and Newspapers.com who have digitized thousands of papers and articles including this issue of the White Cloud Kansas Chief (White Cloud, Kansas) of Thu, Jun 13, 1861.
Norwich, Conn to Montgomery, Ala.
The appended letter we clip from the Norwich (Conn) Weekly Courier of the 28th of February, and we recommend it to the attention of our readers as a caustic production, containing a decidedly palpable bit. No one can fail to see the point. The letter and its sentiments will lose none of their interest in this community. I. H. Bromley, the writer of the letter, is the editor of the Courier:
Hon. Jefferson Davis, President of the “Confederate States of America:”
The position in which you have been placed by the action of the representatives of six newly confederated States, and the magnitude of the business in which you and your associates are engaged, have emboldened me, a private citizen of a New England State, to address you a few words in presentation of the enclosed revolutionary relic.
The associations that cluster around the birth of great events are rarely lost to history. There is no inhabited place where you may not find treasured bits of wood and stone, or consecrated soil, in all respects like other wood and stone and earth, except that their associates with great events has made them sacred as relics, or immortalized them in history.
The landing of a ship load of refugees from tyranny upon the jutting ledge of a barren coast made Plymouth Rock immortal. The bell whose tongue proclaimed the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the hall in which that instrument was perfected, and all the inanimate things connected in the minds of men with that event, could, by no formula of consecration be made more sacred than they are. The world abounds, too, in relics of its great men ho have lived for good or evil, left their impress on their ages, and became names immortal. We are not content with a mere observance of the birthdays of our heroes, statesmen, philosophers, or any of those whose names we honor, and whose memories we revere. We gather mementoes of their lives, and treasure as relics the most insignificant trifles that have been consecrated by their touch.
Every epoch in the world’s history has reached forward its handful of relics to the next incoming era, and every revolution has gathered in its way the tinder in which the fire of the next has been kindled. The power of association links together great events, and it is a single train of thought that takes in Magna Charta, Plymouth Rock, and Independence Hall.
There are events of note in our revolutionary history which will readily be connected in the minds of thinking men with the undertaking in which you are engaged. True, Lexington and Concord may have no significance at Charleston and Pensacola, but I think there are memories of West Point which may not be wholly meaningless at Montgomery.
It is the fortune – of good or ill as you as you may choose to term it – of the town in which I live, to be associated with one of the events to which I have alluded; and the little memento thereof which I enclose, has a history which I think will appeal more strongly to your sympathies than could almost any other relic of the revolution.
This pen holder was fashioned from a rafter in the roof under which was born, a man – more than any other in the age in which he lived – your prototype. His name figures largely in all our revolutionary history. He was a soldier, like yourself, and of the same rank in the army. His name, like yours, was synonymous with bravery. Like you, he fought well and bravely the battles of his country; never flinching from danger, but always in the thickest of the fight; impetuous and rash at times, but never cowardly, and always daring to lead “where any dared to follow.” I mean no detraction from the reputation you have so hardly earned when I say he was your equal in courage, loyalty and patriotism. More need not be said. Sixty years have been passed since his death, but no monumental marble bears the inscription of his name and virtues. Yet he is not forgotten. For more than half a century past, the house from whence this relic came has been pointed out to the passing stranger as the birth place of Benedict Arnold.
I have taken occasion to present to you this pen holder, as the relic whose associations are linked most closely to the movement of which you are the lead. Let it lie upon your desk for use in your official duties. In the ‘eternal fitness of things’ let that be its appropriate place. It links 1780 with 1861. Through it, West Point speaks to Montgomery (Ala.). And if we may believe that spirits do ever return and haunt this mundane sphere, we may reckon with what delight Benedict Arnold’s immortal part will follow this fragment of his parental roof tree to the hands in which is being consummated the work which he began.
Hoping that you will accept this gift in the spirit in which it is tendered, I have the honor to remain,
Your obedient servant,
I. H. Bromley
Walk Norwich, CT conductors please add this tale to your performances. I followed up with Beauvoir, The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, Biloxi, MS and they were not able to locate the relic. It was worth a try though.
Tis the season for COOKIES! Cookies are my very favorite baked good. I get that happy feeling from just reading the recipes and I found this recipe for Butternut Wafers in the December 19, 1901 Norwich Bulletin.
Growing up there was a butternut tree in the back yard. The tree is gone now. It was tall and strong and in the fall these green, sticky, hard ovals would fall and have to be gathered before the lawn could be mowed. The squirrels loved the butternuts. I did not. Although I recall the years my family tried to dry the nuts and use the nut meats for cooking and baking. The McConnell sisters from up the street gave the instructions. I don’t have those instructions although now I wish I did. Anyway, here is the recipe for Walnut Wafers. (Butternut meats are also nice)
One-half pound of brown sugar, one-half pound of walnut meats, slightly broken but not chopped, three even tablespoons of flour, and one-fourth teaspoonful of Baking Powder, one-third teaspoonful of salt, two eggs.
Beat the eggs, add the sugar, salt, flour, and lastly meats.
Drop small spoonfuls on buttered pans and bake until brown. Remove from pans as soon as baked.
These wafers are very appetizing – like the taste of nuts you become hungry for more.
Not every cemetery stroll tale needs to be about who carved the stones or who was or was not buried there. So here from the pages of our own December 12, 1903 Norwich Bulletin is the article Cemetery Changes Go No Further about another day and another battle fought on the hallowed grounds.
According to the present indications, the suit of Asa Backus against the City of Norwich will be settled. Mr. Backus brought an injunction against the city for work started toward narrowing of River Avenue in Yantic Cemetery, it being the intention of the superintendent, acting under instructions from the committee having the work in charge in the common council, to narrow the avenue, and allow a number of single graves to be laid out there.
River Avenue is one of the prettiest in the cemetery, and there are many large lots facing it which would be greatly damaged if the proposed plan was carried out. Among the owners of lots there was Mr. Backus, who, upon learning of the contemplated change, had an injunction issued against the city, which put a stop to the work.
Since that time the great harm which would be done by the change has been realized by the city officials, and no more work will be done and the injunction will not be contested.
The avenue will remain as it has always been, and the suit will end where it is.
How many residents of Norwich are feeling trapped in a time warp? Repeatedly asking the same questions and getting the same answers while hoping for changes. Here are some questions from a December 30, 1903 Norwich Bulletin article. What progress have we indeed made?
New Charter for City of Norwich.
Municipality’s most pressing need and what Mayor Thayer proposes to do.
The Sunday World asked Connecticut mayors to answer this question: “What in your judgment is the most pressing need of the municipality of which you will in 1904 be the presiding officer?”
“What do you propose to do in the new year in which we are soon to enter to have that admitted need filled?”
Mayor Charles F. Thayer of this city said:
“Civic right doing is the most pressing need. And this applies not merely to the officials who for the time being constitute the administration of city government, but of every inhabitant. The best interests of the whole rather than individual interests should be the first son, and this consideration should manifest itself (a) in the selection of city officials; (b) in sustaining the administration to carry forward a policy in accord with the expressed will of the people, and (c) in building up public sentiment favorable to such co-operative effort. There should be an end to tax dodging and to shirking and shiftlessness in public affairs.
“To approach this end will be my purpose in the future as in the past, and especially I hope to complete the draft of the new charter already begun, fitted as far as possible to the new conditions under which we are living, and to gain for it such favor among our people that the same may be enacted into a law at the next session of the general assembly.
“ The charter will consolidate the existing town and city governments and its general aim will be to simplify the administration of public business and place the responsibility for failure so plainly in view of the citizens that it cannot be shifted.”
For 2018 let’s see the changes and the vision we have talked about for so long come about.
You have sent it and received it. The vacation postcard, the holiday card, the fill in the blank occasion card with nothing but a, well this article from the December 22, 1903 Norwich Bulletin titled, “Souvenir Postal Cards” says it much better than I can.
“There is one thing certain” – the girl in the blue gown paused impressively – “when I reach the other side I shall never under any circumstances send to any one a souvenir postal card.”
“They are very pretty sometimes.” the girl with the black hat suggested.
“They seemed very pretty and convenient when they firt came into vogue, but they have ceased to be anything but a delusion and a snare. I know what I am saying, for I have them sent to me by the dozens.” The girl in th blue spoke feelingly. “A few years ago when one’s friends went abroad they wrote letters, several pages long.
“Now they buy a postal card with a picture of some old abbey or castle on it and write ‘affectionately, Laura,’ or ‘Do write back soon, Jack,’ and seem to think they have done their duty. Why, if you will believe it, the only word I received from Mabel King all the six weeks she spent in Paris was a postal with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it with this sentence, ‘I went up this tower yesterday. Your Mabel’ Interesting wasn’t it? I may have to resort to wireless telegraphy, but I shall never tantalize a friend of mine with one of those wolves in sheep’s clothings – a souvenir postal.”
So is that what you do? Just send a card with your name scrawled or perhaps printed on it. If you take the time to send a card then send a note too. It’s never too late.
It’s all about the mittens this year. The stores are full of mittens with removable tops. Mittens with finger pads to activate touch screens. Mittens with extendable wrist covers. Mittens with matching scarves, boot toppers, and hats. But handmade mittens are still the ones that touch the heart and keep our loved ones warm regardless of the temperature.
So here are the Directions for a Knit Mitten with a Finger again from the December 21, 1862 edition of the Norwich Bulletin.
Cast on Sixty stitches for the wrist, seam two and knit two for two and a half inches; knit twice plain,
To form the thumb seam two inches, widening one between them;
Knit three inches, widening within the seams every third time till there are sixteen stitches between the seams, then every fourth time till there are twenty-four or twenty-six between the seams.
Take off these stitches and the seam stitches on a thread and cast on twelve stitches for the hand:
Knit one and a half inches, then take off twenty stitches for the finger, and cast on ten for the hand;
knit two inches before narrowing off.
Take up the stitches for the finger and knit it up a little shorter than the hand.
Take up the stitches for the thumb, narrow and stop and bind off four stitches, and knit about two inches before narrowing off.
The only problem is that after you have so carefully followed these directions once, you have to do it again so each hand has its own mitten.