Monthly Archives: October 2018

Blood Partnership

The American Red Cross has been hounding me lately for a blood donation but I have been dealing with seasonal allergies and sinus drip so they’ll just have to wait until later in the season when I am feeling better. In the mean time . . . I thought of something else that could be done that might benefit two or more organizations.

In the archive vault of the Leffingwell House Museum in the Almy collection is a personal letter from Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross thanking Mrs. Almy for her recent assistance.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the American Red Cross Blood Drive Trailer was brought to the museum parking lot for a blood drive while the letter was on display to the public? Blood donors having the opportunity to see the letter for free all others pay admission. Just a thought to encourage bringing some of the lesser known treasures of the Society of the Founders of Norwich, CT forward to the public eye.

I also had another fundraising thought for the museum knowing how much some of the members enjoy costume play. With a little research the character of Mrs. Leffingwell, a well-known Norwich area nurse could be developed and perhaps some of the tales of her patients and their care could be told. Medical care played an important part in the development of Norwich, CT with many clinics, practices, hospitals and surgeries opening and closing as they were needed. The stories are plentiful and expose a seldom heard part of Norwich history.

Thank you for reading and sharing my history and Norwich Community blog freely with your family or friends or anyone you think might be interested or in a position to take on some of the suggested projects. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further information. I am happy to pass along anything I can. Together we can make a difference. Email comments on this blog to berylfishbone@yahoo.com View my past columns at http://www.norwichbulletin.com/section/blogs

Norwich Innovation Posters

I have yapped and made suggestions before on making innovation posters for Norwich before but no one has chosen to look at the list of endless possibilities listed on either the United States Patent Office site or a search on Google Patent.

So I chose six to tell you about today with the suggestion that posters be printed, sold and hung throughout the city to advertise that innovative thinking is not new to Norwich and we have room for more.

In 1866, Henry W. Holly of Norwich, CT improved upon the pencil in US patent #58102. I bet you thought it only was invented once and never improved on.

In 1866, Reuben B. Fuller of Norwich, CT developed an improved vase for cultivating strawberries in US patent #55482 A that was used as a pot for growing plants under water culture in 1952. It kept the roots contained, water directed and transferred the warmth of the sun to the roots for better growth.

In 1867, Albert M. Force of Norwich, CT invented a new and improved meat slicer in US patent #63236 that has been referenced by other inventors for a paring and slicing knife (USP 2858610) in November 1958, a trachelotome (USP 3013553) in December 1961 and an adjustable bow knife (USP 5802723) in September 1998.

In 1871, Webster Park of Norwich, Ct invented a new and improved method for measuring water flow in US patent #111,143. I wonder if the billing office of NPU has a party on January 24^th to celebrate the anniversary of the water meter?

In 1886, John Coit and John McNamara of Norwich, CT developed a new and improved beer drawing apparatus. Yes, a beer tap that could control the head on the mug as it was poured.

In 1928, Zaida Webb created the “Garden Doll” US patent # 323,915. A doll so sweet looking any child today would be proud to possess.

There are plenty more that would create some very interesting posters and could carry a theme if you like but what do you think of these to get us started? Imagine the sketch of all of these on one poster with a short individual blurb explaining them and a blank space that says your invention belongs here contact the Office of the Mayor of Norwich, CT for more information.

Norwich Golf

I hope this is one of the stories told on at least one of the historic Walktober Norwichtown trots.

The best place to start a project is at the beginning and so I read what is posted on line as the history of the Norwich Golf Course but I need your help in verifying what it claims. Much of what follows is directly from that history posting as I know nothing about golf and wanted to present what I found in hopes of more details being brought forward.

The posted history says that the location of the first golf course in Norwich was on the home lot of Benedict Arnold. The owner was a rector at one of the Episcopal Churches in Norwich and a young golf enthusiast. He(unnamed) and a friend (also unnamed) laid out a six-hole golf course in the back yard and recruited friends to play (including women). This first course had an area of ledge on a fairway. The article claimed the ledge was used in Indian times as a place where Indians ground their corn and the mortar holes were visible in the ledge.

The first tournament was held in November, 1896 proven by a small silver cup with the names of the winners, the date and their score engraved. (I have asked about this cup but no one knows what I am talking about.)

Then supposedly there were two more courses between the city and the Norwich Town Green but the locations are a bit hazy.

The Golf Course history goes on to mention a score card kept in the archives from the 2707 yard third course with no mention what par was in use at the time. The bogey system was the criterion of excellence. The back of the card is filled with local rules and penalties for lifting. A note at the bottom announces that hole number one has no local rule.

The fourth course is the current one laid out on 80 acres just south of the city. On March 12, 1924 additional land was purchased and Tull & Tull was hired to design a new course and on April 19, 1924 the plans were changed and more land acquired and the course was opened on July 4^th, 1925.

In 1978 the golf course was purchased by the City of Norwich and opened to the public.

Abel Buel in Norwich Jail

The next time you take a guided walk on the historic Norwichtown Green ask the Guide to tell you about some of the tales of the courthouse and the prison. Do not let them get away with pointing to a location and saying there once stood the county jail and leave it at that.

I am partial to the tale of Abel Buell. (The spelling of his name changes with the document and source being used). Abel was born in Clinton, CT in 1742 to and was apprenticed in his early teens to Ebenezer Chittenden a well-known silversmith. He had it all to be a great success. He was a handsome smooth talker with imagination and industry. He married Chittenden’s daughter Mary by the time he was 19. She was the first of his four wives. A nosy neighbor peeked in an upstairs window and saw him changing a 5 shillings note into a larger 5 pounds note and reported him to authorities.

He was found guilty at the Superior Court in Norwich in April 1764, of passing an altered note to Zephaniah Clark and sentenced to prison, to have one ear cropped, branded on the forehead, and his property sold.

Given his young age and otherwise good character, the branding was done high on his forehead where it was later concealed by his hair. The tip of his ear was cut off and placed on his tongue to keep it warm and quickly replaced so later there was little disfigurement.

Abel never returned to Norwich. But he lived a life of adventure made for a movie screen. He made money again, but legally this time by inventing the copper penny and the press to make them. He learned the art of chart and map making and in 1784 published and printed the first map of the new United States; the first of the country to be copyrighted in the United States; and the first map published in the new country to show the Stars and Stripes.

He died March 23, 1822, New Haven’s Columbian Register reported a death “At the Alms House in this town, on the 10th, Mr. Abel Buel, aged 81 years, an ingenious mechanic….”

Learn more about the adventures of inventor and engraver Abel Buel of Connecticut.

Plays with Audio Description are Available

I enjoy the attending the Yale Repertory Theatre and taking advantage of seeing a performance with with Audio Description. I would love to see it available at the Garde!

Audio description is the art and technique of using the natural pauses in the dialogue during live theater performances to insert descriptions of the essential visual elements: actions, appearance of characters, body language, costumes, settings, lighting, etc. Patrons with vision disabilities hear descriptions via a tiny earpiece, allowing them to sit anywhere in the audience. Benefit to the sighted is that here was no need for the whispered conversations explaining what is happening during the silences and breaks of the play.

The theatre even had programs available in braille!

Andrea Miskow was the audio describer . In addition to Yale Rep she has worked for many years as an audio describer with Hartford Stage, Second Stage Theater and on Broadway.

A trained and successful actress Miskow studied at the National Shakespeare Conservatory and the American Conservatory Theater and has appeared with various Shakespeare companies at the Catskill Shakespeare Festival and the Tribeca Playhouse, as well as at the San Francisco Theater Project and at the EXIT Theater.

For more information about the Yale Repertory Theatre’s Accessibility Programs, contact Ruth M. Feldman , at 203.432.8425 or rm.feldman@yale.edu.

Women Voters of Norwich

Women’s suffrage is the right of women to vote and stand for elected office. I like to put this blog forward every fall around election time to remind everyone how important it is to exercise the privilege of voting. I hope I will be seeing you there.

In 1756 Lydia Taft voted in Uxbridge in the British colony of Massachusetts. In 1869 women in the Wyoming territory voted. In 1902 21 women are listed as eligible voters of the City of Norwich Connecticut.

The voting districts were different back then. Jennie Swan of 71 Maple Street and Grace Willey of 52 Asylum Street were from the 2^nd district. Both women were married Jennie to Amos an electrician with Eaton, Chase & Co and Grace to Herbert a cigar manufacturer.

The other 19 women were from the 6^th district. Eliza Avery, 8 Hamilton Ave; Jennie Briggs, 15 Penobscot; Addie Billings, 1 Hamilton Ave; Mary Billings, 1 Hamilton Ave; Rachel Buell, Mulberry; Nettie Bushnell, 64 Main; Minnie Campbell, 5 Elm; Jennie Davis, Corning Road; Mary Green, 21 Penobscot; Elfie Harris, Mulberry; Harriet Harris, Mulberry; Ida Mathieu, 68 Main; Nellie Rathbun, 18 Williams Ave; Nellie Service, 9 Hamilton Ave; Sarah Spaulding, 20 Main; Annie Storms, Palmer; Amelia Vetter, 1 Hamilton Ave; Ellen Williamson, 62 Main; and Elizabeth Young, Palmer

What were the issues that brought them to the polls? Were they registered despite their husbands or fathers or with their encouragement and support? On a shelf, in a trunk or a box or a chest in the attic or cellar is there a diary, a book or a record that can give us some insight into the lives and reasons that they registered and voted? What were their emotions? How did it feel to cast those ballots? If you are a relation of any of these women were you ever told a story about how they became a voter? A family tale or legend? Now would be a good time to share those tales with us.

A Pulpit violin

You never know what gives someone his or her start. Take William A. Conant for example. He was a musical instrument manufacturer in the 1800’s who lived most of his productive life in Brattleboro Vermont. Conant was very particular about the wood that he used to manufacture his violins and cellos. The top or belly of the violin could only come from old growth spruce still found in the Green Mountains. He claimed it was selected for its softness and fine grain and only the north side was suitable. Conant believed that the south side of trees grew faster and the sun would draw the gum to that side and make the wood coarser. Conant typically used a varnish of a dull brown, occasionally with a yellow, or also a dark red brown varnish.

Conant got his start working with wood when he was seven years old. A friend from Norwich, CT brought him some wood from the pulpit floor of an old church which was taken down , with the hope that the age of the wood would give the instrument a deeper tone. Two violins were manufactured but their tone was no different than the violins made of the local wood.

Conant maintained that if the wood had come from the choirs’ seat, the result might have been different.

William A. Conant was born on November 30, 1804 and died February 13, 1894.

Norwich Embroidery

I was reading a Norwich Bulletin article by Elmer F. Farnham from May 1959. His well-researched article relates information about a seat cushion cover that was presented to the City of Norwich, CT in 1907 from the Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England.

It appears a complete set was originally given to the Norwich Cathedral for use in the corporation seats by Mayor Thomas Baret in 1651 and If Frances Caulkins is correct and it was his cousin Christopher Baret who was the Mayor in 1634 and 1648 and also a cousin of Margaret Baret Huntington, wife of Simon Huntington, and the mother of Christopher and Simon Huntington founders of Norwich, CT.

C.E.C. Tattersall, once of the Textile Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London wrote in a book titled History of British Carpets where he described the design as , “A large shield with the arms of the city of Norwich in the middle, the rest of the field being filled up with detached floral devices and birds. The border has a wavy stem, quite oriental in character.”

Embroidery of 18^th and 19^th Century Norwich, CT has the unique characteristic of a completely filled in background allowing for none of the cloth background to show through. I wonder if this was a way to show off the wealth of a community rich in sheep, fertile land and water leading to a wide variety of dyes in large supply for the home spinners and mills of flax, and wool?

Sachlav, warmth

Norwich, CT has discovered that people come from different places and enjoy different foods and drinks in different combinations. Maybe with a little encouragement one or more of the restaurants in Norwich, CT will feature this middle eastern comfort drink. delight

I had never heard of it before I tried it but it is really good! I have made it successfully and I want everyone to try it. I am still not certain I am making it or serving it correctly so here is the recipe I started with.

Sahklep or sachlav is infused with rose water. It should be hot, thick and filled with goodies, like nuts and coconut and raisins and lots of cinnamon. My version is made non dairy with coconut or almond milk and I used cornstarch to thicken it. This is not an original recipe. Restaurants should consider adding this to their after dinner and dessert options. This makes 2 servings or 1 very large serving. It is also a wonderful filling treat after a brisk walk in the cold and served with cookies. It takes about 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups almond or coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon rosewater

Toppings

1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1 tablespoon toasted pistachios and hazelnuts
1 tablespoon raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat your milk of choice with sugar and vanilla over low heat. When it comes to a boil bring down the heat and pour in the corn starch mixture. Keep whisking while you bring the mixture back up to a boil. The mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. After letting it boil for a minute, turn off the heat and mix in the rosewater and pour into mug.

Now, the most important part is the garnish. You want a lot of toppings and anything goes. Shredded coconut, raisins, chopped toasted pistachios or hazelnuts and ground cinnamon or even shaved chocolate. Serve hot and enjoy.

If you let it cool it will turn into a pudding called Malabi.

Norwich Nuggets

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