“The News-Boys Address, To the Patrons of the Norwich Courier, On the Commencement of the Year 1810” was originally printed on the New Years Day front page, above the fold. I hope you enjoy it.

On the commencement of the year 1810.

Each week your News-boy fondly tries

To please his friends with fresh supplies

Of news, derive’d from ev’ry quarter,

Both here at home and ‘cross the water;

Fondly hoping by this measure,

To gain your cash and win your favor,

Sometimes he tells of dismal wars

That fill the world with horrid jars,

That raise your pity and your fears,

And from the timid exort tears;

With prospects of a lasting peace.

Sometimes your fortunes seem all made,

With news of unembargo’d trade,

And while your fancy fills your treasures,

By news receiv’d of peaceful measures,

And while your minds are all perplex’d

In counting chickens’fore they’re hatch’d,

Then all at once your hopes prove frail

By news received by the mail,

That tho’ embargoes have no force,

They’re supplied by non-Intercourse.

Sometimes he tells of actions done,

By those who govern here at home,

Relates you speeches often made,

In Congress ‘bout restricted trade.

Sometimes to spend a leisure hour,

Of duels fought by men in power;

Sometimes of deaths to make you sad,

And then with weddings to make you glad.

Sometimes old women he doth fright,

With fiery meteors seen at night,

And earthquakes too tho’ still not near,

Yet they affect their minds with fear.

Of the relieves the farmer’s care

When he can hear of his stray mare,

And if the yearling chance to stray,

Or boys indented run away,

Or if a thief a horse should take,

Or men in bus’ness chance to break;

Or should you wish new goods to buy,

Or old, or cheap, or wet or dry –

Or should a stranger wish to find

A Barber suited to his mind,

One who could cut, and brush and shave

The honest, witty and knave,

All, all you learn from me your friend,

Who on your favor still depend.

I might a long time yet go on,

And greatly lengthen out my song,

By telling things you hear from me,

And thus perhaps increase my fee.

But as I’ve not a miser’s heart,

Permit me from you to depart,

By wishing all my friends much cheer,

Throughout this new, and ev’ry year.

Enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015!

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What was it that Karl Marx said in the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte?  “Hegel remarks somewhere that history tends to repeat itself. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”

In the Thursday, January 3, 1918 edition of the Norwich Bulletin I read a paragraph that sounded so familiar I got cold chills down my spine and goose bumps on my arms. The only thing I can do is share it with you and hope that it will make you think about what we are saying and doing as a community, a state and a nation. Perhaps enemies is a little strong, so please substitute illegal aliens where it reads alien enemies and then see if it sounds familiar.

“At the request of Attorney General T. W. Gregory, Mayor Allyn L. Brown instructed Chief George Lindon of the local police force to secure an estimate of the number of alien enemies in Norwich and to forward the estimate to the United States Marshal at Hartford, CT. This is the preliminary step in the registration of alien enemies in Norwich.”

I don’t know which bothers me more; repeating the past or failing to learn lessons from those actions of the past. What about you?

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Have you ever read all the way to the end of a story and found that the last few pages were missing? That is happening to me and I do not like it one little bit. The incident took place on the evening of November 11, 1913, on the corner of Roath and North Main Streets here in Norwich.

The headline of the Norwich Bulletin Riot Trial Nearing its finish caught my attention because it reminded me of the headline of a recent paper but I was reading a paper from January 3, 1914. The story of the trial told many different sides of the story. But obviously missing were some important details. There was a strike at the mill or was it a lock out? Stones were thrown and a shot was fired. There were witnesses but every story was different.  One man was a witness but he was not in the crowd when the shooting took place. Two others were standing and talking until the shots rang out so they walked to the scene. Others were at the scene but  didn’t see anything. A man believed his life was in danger.  He was 24 years old and had lived in this country only three years.

There was a green car but one account said they watched the car head south while another account said it headed north. As I read the varying descriptions I kept thinking how familiar it sounded. My mind kept returning to how little progress we have made as we wander on our journey to civilization.

And I wondered what happened to David Ferns, Harry Hankin, George Malcolm, William H. Bowen and Grzegorz Doszjosski. How were their lives affected by this incident? Were they ever the same? How did they move on when the court case was over? Did the press let them live their lives in peace or check on them every few years for progress reports and a rehash of the incident?

I am still looking for what the jury decided.

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“What if” is a wonderful game to play. “What if” the circumstances could be changed if only we could all wish together hard enough.

How would Norwich be different today if the meeting held in February 1914 between local farmers and representatives of Heinz Pickles resulted in the establishment of a pickle factory in Yantic? Who was able to make a connection to bring a growing pickle manufacturer to Yantic? What was their approach? What lessons were learned when it didn’t happen? How can we use those lessons today?

I want to see Norwich in a better light. I want to see Norwich as municipal leader where companies want to locate. Norwich has a large, varied and talented pool of potential employees suitable for almost any industry but so does every other city and town in the United States. How is Norwich being portrayed to potential Norwich investors? What are they saying about the labor pool? How are they showing the properties suitable and available for their business?  Who is showing the properties? What differentiates Norwich from every other city and how are we working to make it better?

Complaining is not a solution but participating in the process is. Make a start today by not playing the “What if” game and start participating in meetings and committees and start taking actions that improve your neighborhood. Now  is the time to make Norwich the place you want it to be.

Send your comments on this blog to berylfishbone@yahoo.com.

I only had to read the first page of Century of Growth – Norwich by Eleanor B. Read   to realize what happened to Norwich. I  read “The Nineteenth Century was one of phenomenal change. When America gained independence from England in 1783, for the first time they were legally able to manufacture products in the country. New England, with its many rivers, had an abundance of free water power. Textile manufacturing began to replace agriculture and, in the Norwich area, mill after mill was built along the Yantic, Shetucket, Thames and Quinebaug rivers.

Shipping also changed, shifting from sail to steam. By the 1840’s steamboats began to make regular trips along the coast and across the Atlantic to Europe. Now the factory owners could plan their shipments of manufactured goods on a regular schedule. Norwich was easily accessible to the major eastern seaports of Boston and New York, and considered by many to be the quickest route between them.”

The Civil War stimulated the growth of the firearms industry. Norwich was in a great place but completely unprepared to fight to retain these industries when after the 1938 depression other cities and the southern states lured the mills with incentives of lower taxes and cheaper labor.  Norwich never rose to defend itself from the thefts of our jobs and industries. When companies left, Norwich residents simply quietly wished them well and success in their new homes and expected new companies to replace them.

Sadly, the rest of the country was hearing the song of progress with a new drummer, with a new song and a firmly placed new lively step. Norwich residents turned deaf ears to new and heard only the old song and closed their eyes to this blasphemy of a brave new world.

To this day, Norwich leaders and residents beat the drum of to the tune of the past and still sing the praises only of what was long before their birth and their memories. These residents and taxpayers look to the security of buildings that have been empty for more generations than they were filled. What is the new music? What is the new beat? What do you hear?

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

During the winter season when the trees are bare and the ground is dull or covered in snow; sometimes clean and sometimes dirty and frankly even the air tends to be grey in color I look for the bright colors of the birds to brighten my day and one of my favorites is the cardinal. The bright red of the male makes him stand out in the trees, bushes and the bird feeder. So when I read this I just felt compelled to pass it on to you.

A cardinal is a representative of a loved one who has passed. When you see one, it means they are visiting you. They usually show up when you most need them or miss them. They make an appearance during times of celebration as well as despair to let you know they will always be with you. Look for them and they will always appear.  

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