Monthly Archives: October 2014

It Does Not Hurt To Ask

Dear Norwich Mayor, NCDC and Commercial Realtors,

I read an article how 21C museum hotels are turning unexpected cities into art-driven destinations in the November 2014 Travel & Leisure magazine on page 138.

21C breaths new life into an historic building by seeding it with stylish, contemporary guest rooms and a cutting edge art museum that is free and open to the public and has sample local programming.

Is it at all possible that one or more of you can contact them and ask them what they are looking for? Perhaps describe what we have available in Norwich? Maybe ask them for their advice on another company that might, perhaps be doing something similar in New England? How about checking out their website at 21cmuseumhotels.com See what they have done and are doing in places like Louisville KY, Cincinnati, Oklahoma City and Kansas City Missouri.

For development opportunities, drop them a line at: futureprojects@21cHotels.com

21C may not be a fit for Norwich. But it is a company that is thinking of using old buildings creatively. Differently. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Asking for help or advice is in fact a sign of strength. It takes strength to ask for help when you need it. Have no fear though, if you don’t like their thoughts or advice or ideas, it’s ok. You don’t have to accept them. We tell our children to listen and learn something new every day, so shouldn’t the same be held true for us. To make Norwich a better place, take a chance and listen to a new idea.

Comments on this blog should be sent to berylfishbone@yahoo.com.

Time for an Apple Toddy

Everyone should know by now that I love reading cookbooks and the stranger they are the better. I am working my way through the History Lover’s Cookbook by Roxe Anne Peacock. The book tells some of the lesser known tales from a Southern point of view of the war between the states.

But food is a great equalizer. What was good for one side, worked just as well on the other. As there will soon be a chill in the air I am preparing to try my version of what Peacock assures her readers was a favorite of George A. Custer – A Hot Apple Toddy

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (I am a microwave girl)

Ingredients

1 medium nice baking apple

¼ cup hot water for baking dish

2 ounces hot water for heat-safe, microwave proof mug

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 ounces Apple-Jack

Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish

Directions for baking apple

Wash apple and place in a small baking dish with the ¼ cup of water. Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes or until tender. (Or same for 5 minutes in the microwave) Remove the dish from the oven and then peel and core the baked apple.

Place the baked peeled and cored apple in the bottom of a heat-safe mug or glass. Sprinkle the sugar over the apple. Pour the Apple-Jack over the apple sugar mix and then add the hot water and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

I had to test this recipe for the sake of science of course, and added a sprinkle of cinnamon and a healthy bit of whipped cream but try it and see how you like it.

Email comments on this blog to berylfishbone@yahoo.com

CT License Plate History

Ever wondered about license plates? The $95. Decoration for the front and back of your vehicle.

I have never even seen one of the leather plates with house numbers riveted on them that were created for the owner of the car by a carriage maker in New Haven from 1903 – 1905.

In Connecticut the plates were porcelain from 1905-1916; then they were painted from 1917-1919 and have been stamped since 1920. Until 1913 license plates were made of iron and then from steel and had Connecticut on them.

In 1937 Connecticut was a national pioneer with the making and issuing of an aluminum plate with a colorful renewable tag for individual years. In 1948 CT pioneered again with a “reflectorized” plate.

Plates manufactured after 1978 bear the “Constitution State” legend.

The colors of the Connecticut plate has also changed regularly since the leather ones. The background has been black, white, green, red, maroon, blue, cream, yellow, and even aluminum.

Todays fully reflectorized plate of triblue background with dark blue letters and numbers appeared in 2000.

To learn more about the history of Connecticut’s License Plates please visit www.ct.gov/dmv.

Comments on this blog should be sent to berylfishbone@yahoo.com

What is your family recipe?

I listened to a friend lament that her group wanted to create a cookbook for sale as a fundraiser and was having a problem getting people to send in recipes. People in her area mostly just opened boxes and bags and followed the directions to heat or freeze and serve.

Doesn’t anyone have a family tradition that involves food anymore? Here are a few – –

Magic Walnuts (from Life Is a Celebration by Michael Sparks)

Warm walnuts in the shell on a baking pan in a 350 oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and then carefully ply the walnut open at the edges with a knife. Empty out the nut meat for another project. Write a message on a small piece of paper. Good wishes or prophesy of good fortune work well. Place the message in the shell and lightly glue the shell back together. Serve at the end of the Thanksgiving meal.

Bread Sauce (from Receipts of the Founders compiled by the Society of the Founders of Norwich)

1 cup fine, stale bread crumbs, 2 cups cream, 3 shallots (or a small onion), salt & pepper to taste, pinch of cloves, tablespoon of butter. Simmer all but the butter for 15 minutes. Add butter before serving.

Liver Patties (from Mrs. Edward C. Champion, Sr., Favorite Recipes, compiled by the Women’s Fellowship First Congregational Church, Norwichtown, CT)

1 lb cooked ground liver, 1 ½ cups corn flakes, 1 egg, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 ground (minced) onions. 1. Mix ground liver, egg, salt and cornflakes. 2. Add ground (minced) onions 3. Add enough water to hold mixture together 4. Mold into patties and fry in a hot greased pan.

What recipes came to your mind?

Comments on this blog may be sent to berylfishbone@yahoo.com

Garden Club Fundraisers?

Have you ever read about an event somewhere else and thought “Why isn’t that happening in Norwich?” I read about the Fall 2014 Programs being offered by the Connecticut College Arboretum and thought what great fundraisers they would make for the Norwich Garden Club or as wonderful promotion of Mohegan Park for the City of Norwich.

On September 27 there was a Tree Identification Workshop from 10-12 to learn to identify many of the common trees of Southern New England. Don’t we have the same common trees in Norwich?

October 18 from 10-11:30 is All About Autumn Color. It’s an informative walk to enjoy the annual colors of fall. I know we have enough trees to have a colorful walk in Norwich.

On October 25 from 10 – 11:30 the Arboretum is having a workshop on how to tell Native and non-native Oak trees apart using leaves, bark, buds and acorns. Who knew? Norwich has Oak trees. I have no clue if they are native or non-native and would be interested to learn. How about you?

November 9 from 2 -4 PM a DEEP Wildlife Biologist is going to speak how we can make a difference for wildlife by the kinds and the arrangement of plants in yards. Aren’t there people in Norwich that would like to know how to Enhance a Wildlife Habitat and Landscape for Seasonal Food and Cover with Native Plants?

December 6^th from 10-Noon there will be a Holiday Wreath Making Workshop where each participant will go home with an extraordinary wreath for holiday decorating of their own creation.

I know that these workshops and walks are pretty simple. Nothing exotic or truly expensive but what wonderful family activities these could be for Norwich locals and visitors. Yes, events like this can be used as a tourism draw. Not just the classes but perhaps a certificate for a cider donut or cocoa at a donut house, a cup of soup at a restaurant, a leaf print at an art house, yes I can go on forever with ideas. But alas I am not a member of the Norwich Garden Group, Norwich Tourism Committee or the Mohegan Park Commission. I am tax paying resident with shallow pockets who wants a better life here in Norwich. How about you?

Comments on this blog should be sent to berylfishbone@yahoo.com

Uncas Monument Stories

When you go on the walk around led by the Norwich Historical Society volunteers on the burial grounds memorial on the corner of Sachem and Washington Streets make certain you ask them to tell you the stories and there are multiple stories of the dedication of the Uncas Monument. But there are also the stories that led up to the commissioning of the monument and some of the “discussions” that took place about the monument and how it got placed there. The cornerstone of the Uncas monument had been laid on June 24, 1833, with President Andrew Jackson and Vice President Martin Van Buren attending the ceremony.

With hardly any work you can find photographs, articles and newsreports from around the globe mentioning the occassion and explaining why the monument and the event were so important but its nice to hear the stories from a local person.

With all the fuss, bother and celebration about the 4th of July, once it was placed, Norwich has always chosen to ignore reminding residents and visitors of the famous visit on July 2, 1907 when, American adventurer and showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody visited the Mohegan Royal Burial Grounds in Norwich.

Colonel William F. Cody, had begun his popular “Wild West” shows in the 1880s and was touring the Northeast when he came to lay a wreath on the site of the Uncas monument, a memorial to the Mohegan sachem. Cody was accompanied by two chiefs, Rocky Bear and Iron Tail of the Sioux tribe, as well as over 100 members of his traveling show. – See more at: http://connecticuthistory.org/buffalo-bill-cody-visits-the-monument-of-uncas/#sthash.w9JGKplQ.dpuf

October is a great month to take a walk, breathe in the crisp air and to enjoy the deep greens of the trees and those that have changed to their colorful coats early.