Monthly Archives: November 2019

Giving Tuesday 2019

It is almost Tuesday, December 3, 2019! Aren’t you excited? YOU should be excited and happy and glad too. Tuesday, December 3, 2019 is the International Day of Giving. Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world on December 3, 2019 and every day. Everyone, globally is encouraged to give money, time and of themselves generously.

I am honored to have been named one of the Giving Tuesday Ambassadors for the Arc ECT headquartered here in Norwich, CT. Arc ECT is an advocacy organization committed to protecting the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and promoting opportunities for their full inclusion in their local communities. Have you tasted the chocolate chip cookies created by very special hands in the local ShopRite bakery? Rich in texture, flavor and butter. The cookies ship well and make wonderful holiday gifts. They can even ship directly to the recipient for you. Avoid the crowds and shop locally from home. https://www.thearcect.com/shop-1 I am not certain if the Buckeyes are available on the web site yet but keep an eye out for them as they are rich and tasty too. Just in case I have messed up the ordering link e-mail bakery@thearcect.com or call (860) 449-1529 x 305.

In the spring, summer and fall there is the Farm Stand, at 1671 Center Groton Road, Ledyard, CT 06339 with its locally grown and harvested fruits, herbs and vegetables. The farm stand gets larger each year with currently a 22,000 square foot garden, an aquaponics facility that grows specialty greens and herbs, the additional space of a 3-season greenhouse, a sales shed, and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) component. The plants are carefully tended by Arc ECT clients, members and friends which means that you can be a helper too. Five minutes, five hours, or five dollars are all helpful and mean a tremendous amount more than we all can imagine. Make it a stop on your regular shopping rounds and bring a friend or a relative or a neighbor that would enjoy some fresh local produce.

The Arc Emporium is at 22 Route 171 in Woodstock, CT with an ever changing stock of gently used items from tiny and delicate to large and sturdy. Give them a call at 860.928.4727 if you are looking for something in particular or take a chance on finding that perfect item you were looking for. I found a match for a flatware set I had given up ever finding and a great chair to refinish and a lamp with a gorgeous shade. On another visit I found nothing but had a really nice chat. Do you have a friend, relative or a neighbor that could do with a ride to the countryside? The Emporium is a perfect destination and gives you something new to chat about. What are you looking for and what did you see or find? What are your plans for your new to you treasure?

Every summer is the Arc at Camp Harkness for I/DD citizens and there are many more programs I haven’t mentioned too. The Arc Eastern Connecticut is focused on participation. Our donations, yours and mine, regardless of amount, help tremendously. But lets face it, giving money and giving of ourselves makes us all feel happy and better about ourselves. Do you have someone on your gift list that is impossible to buy for? What they want or can use is out of your price range? You need to give them something but they already have more than they can use or are just plain too picky? A gift made to the organization of your choice will be just the right color and will be a perfect fit and I guarantee will gather no dust or require cleaning.

In addition, any amount donated is tax deductible and all donations given between November 29^th and December 4^th will be matched by Berkshire Bank. YOU will be responsible for twice whatever amount your donation is. Can’t you feel your back getting just a bit straighter just thinking about making that donation.

Here is how to donate: Write a check made out to “Arc ECT” and mail to Arc Eastern CT, 125 Sachem Street, Norwich, CT 06360 or go to TheArcECT.org and click on the donate button. Please post “Join me supporting the Arc Eastern CT at thearcect.org !” as your activities and support on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

I am supposed to wait until “Thank You Wednesday,” December 4^th, 2019 but I can’t wait that long so THANK YOU! In advance for joining me in supporting the ArcECT and all the other worthy organizations near and around the world. And thank you Berkshire Bank for matching all the donations!

Please share this blog freely. Many people with I/DD are in desperate need of our support.

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 .

Thanksgiving 2019

How can it already be Thanksgiving? I feel like we just celebrated it a couple of weeks ago. So much planning and talking about food and menu’s and who is staying where and what are the travel day and can you get off work so we can leave early or stay later?

Previous Thanksgiving blogs have included the stories of the Huntington Sisters, poems written by some of the lesser known Norwich residents, and holiday recipes. Some of the recipes I included in my blog because they were so improbable in our time their ingredients were laughable, some were delicious just reading the ingredients.

I guess gone are the days when people wrote poetry that tease with a knowing nod and a wink and would bring a reply not in anger or a court room but with a lyrical reply written in rebuttal.

Even recipes that great-gramma made that are now a tradition once came off the label of a soup can. No one seems interested in the actual recipes with real ingredients. Does anyone care about a Thanksgiving meal without frozen, pre-packaged, add water and stir, heat and serve, and canned items. Cooking shows are at their height but cooking in the house kitchen is at it’s lowest.

I was paging through the WICH/WCTY recipe folder of loose pages with names I don’t recognize in the area any longer. The same is true for the Leffingwell House Museum recipe book and that was printed not that long ago. I miss seeing names I know with the mouthwatering recipes in the cShurch and organization fundraising cookbooks. Now the fundraising cookbooks have recipes and names from other cities and states and sometimes even countries that mean nothing to me and are probably completely made up.

So much for nostalgia. I am grateful to have a place to share my thoughts and discoveries of times past and for all the readers who take the time to glance it over and sometimes share their thoughts and discoveries with me. Have a wonderful, safe and healthy holiday season ! That entire time that extends from right this second to next year at this same time. Remember, its always somebody’s holiday just as it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere.

No Gifts Please

Tis the season for the second, third and fourth marriages and the every five years significant birthdays, anniversaries and retirements. “No gifts please,we are trying to downsize.” But should you attend empty handed? I can always donate to a local charity in their name but for some its a bit impersonal. Do they approve of the charity? Should the gift be local, national or international?

Maybe I should pay their membership dues to an organization I know they belong to? Movie tickets? Tickets to a local show or event? A fall foliage limo ride? A once a month get together at a favorite place? A newspaper/magazine subscription? A craft night out of their choice? Pet sitting so they can get away? Grandchild sitting so they can have an adult dinner with their children? Airport drop-off and delivery service without whining about the time or distance? How about a guarantee of pre and post yardsale help? Gardening, spring and fall clean-ups curtain changing or washing?

Surprising to me was how happy a couple was for a promise to take their two dogs on six trips to a local dog park for socialization practice. One dog is a senior of eight and the other is still a puppy of nineteen months. They had both been to obedience school and are pretty well behaved. Our visits last about two hours each. My friends use the time to do things around the house, go shopping or take a nap. I am getting two hours outdoor play time with the dogs which is good for me. It has worked out to be a win-win for us all.

How do you respond to “no gifts requested?” I read somewhere that the greatest gift you can give someone is time. Do you have a bit to spare?

Promotional example

One of my favorite on-line reads is Atlas Obscura as it daily compiles five or six unique bits of information I would never have discovered on my own. Its a free promotional vehicle for the lesser known people, places, events and facts. Norwich, CT could benefit greatly from this type of publicity instead of spending taxpayer dollars on advertising for select businesses and areas of the entire city.

On November 11, 2019 was an article from Central City, Colorado about disc golf course built through what remains of the long gone mining town Russell Gulch, Colorado.

The course is not easy to get to with steep trails at 9,150 feet above sea level and you need reservations to play.

Per owner Brian O’Donnell the front half of the course sprawls over steep terrain with ruins and rusted out vehicles. The back half plays through the standing ruins and the disc can easily go out of bounds by landing on someone else’s mining claim property. For more information contact https://www.pdga.com/course-directory/course/ghost-town

But what does this article have to do with Norwich, CT? Mohegan Park in Norwich would be a great place for disc golf course and there is a small group trying to build a course there that would be free and open to the public.

Disc golf is a great sport for all ages, individuals, groups and families. Disc golf requires no special uniforms, shoes or even much equipment. It helps though to have the special, smaller, heavier disc but its not a requirement. The disc is widely available for $10-15 and only one is needed to play.

Granted I have very limited experience but I have played. Find the basket to aim at. Toss the disc in the direction of the basket. Walk to where it lands. Pick the disc up and place a marker there. I stuck a pen in the ground because it was all I had with me. My friend then tossed and marked her spot with a stick. I returned to my pen and tossed the disc once more toward the basket where it landed on a bush. Then it was my friends turn and so it went on. No running, jumping, leaping or property damage. Nothing and no one was harmed in our game. Please note I am not saying how long or if or how many tosses it took for us to move between baskets and yes we filled in the holes we made with pen and stick. Eventually another group came along and told us the pars for the course so we could move along a bit faster. I am pretty sure we would still be playing the same hole now some months later.

Donations and sponsorships are being requested to bring disc golf to Norwich. Checks can be made payable to “City of Norwich”. Please indicate “Mohegan Park Disc Golf” on the memo line. Donations can be mailed to the Treasurer at: Comptroller – City of Norwich, 100 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. To volunteer or if you have any questions the committee chairperson is Kyle Seitz available at seitzk22@yahoo.com

A $1,000 donation or more is a Founding Sponsor. Which will have your business, organization, or individual name or logo permanently affixed to the large welcoming board at the entrance to the course giving recognition and thanks for your generosity.

Be a gold sponsor for a $500 donation or more. Your donation will be matched with other gold sponsorships and be put towards the purchase of the material needed to construct a hole on the course. Your business, organization, or individual name will be displayed on a 12” X 8” aluminum sign and be affixed to a shared tee off post at a hole on the course for 5 years and your business, organization, or the individual name will be printed on the course scorecard for 5 years giving recognition and thanks for your generosity.

For a $250 donation or more your business, organization, or individual name will be displayed on a 12” X 4” aluminum sign and be affixed to a shared tee off post at a hole on the course

for 2 years. In addition, your business, organization, or individual name will be printed on the course scorecard for 2 years giving recognition and thanks for your generosity.

Donations of $249 or less are a bronze sponsorship and your donation will go towards any future maintenance or preservation needs of the course.

The City of Norwich, is a political subdivision of the State of Connecticut. As such, contributions used exclusively for public purposes are deductible under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Thank you for considering this project; any help you can give this project; and any for talking about this project.

English History in Rhyme

With grateful thanks to the Osborne Collection of the Toronto Public Library I was able to participate in the reading aloud of “English History in Rhyme” by Mrs. Charles H. Gardner, (Mary Russell Gardner) Principal of School for Young Ladies, 603 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Published by the Author in 1885.

In the words of the author, “ A great point gained is that pupils take hold of the rhyme with enthusiasm, and do not realize while they are learning it that they are surmounting difficulties which have remained unconquered, except by those who have a phenomenal memory.”

The poem is written in a metrical summary so it comes cleanly and clearly off the tongue and leads the reader almost from line to line. Which may I say is a very long line as the history begins in B.C. 55 to A.D. 449. Then through the Saxon, and Norman Periods, the Plantagenet Line, House of Lancaster, Stuart, Brunswick years clean through the reign of “Albert died in ’61, Victoria lives to reign, And wields a wise, impartial sway o’er all her vast domain.” To continue on the summary, to bring it up to date, is the challenge to be faced and met.

But you know by now I would have to add a twist, can a metric history of America be written? The latest I found was by Larry Markus in 2018 and it appeared to begin in 1803 which is a bit late in the the development of America to me. There is another written in 1882 that is of America in rhyme with a report containing all of the leading dates. But did anything happen after 1882 that perhaps should be included? Do you perhaps have the skill to bring to rhyme and measure a new, clean and clear and up to date version of the History of the United States of America in metric measure?

I would love to read it! Perhaps a practice could be for the History of Norwich, CT in Rhyme?

Getting Publicity

Are you busy on Thursday, November 14 from 5:30pm – 7 pm? Well you should be. Lee Howard, the Day’s Community Editor will be at the New London Public Library to explain and offer tips on how to get publicity, photographs and video into the daily newspaper, weekly newspapers, and websites. There is closeby, free parking.

Lee will run through a list of PR writing tips and contacts and suggestions of how to make your photographs, stories and publicity pop. Articles and publicity are free. Advertising costs money. What’s in your budget? Bring your questions, problems and don’t forget your solutions.

Long past are the days when the organizations publicity person called the newspaper and the paper then sent a reporter and a photographer to the event. Now it is strictly do it yourself. Forget the rules and the writing style you were taught in school to make your piece as long as possible. Now it is, keep it as short and to the point as possible.

Who should attend, who is putting the fete on, what is going to happen or be seen, when is it going to happen, where and the cost are all you need. Identify the people in the photographs and be certain you have their permission and have spelled their names correctly. Send more than one photo. Don’t forget a contact name, phone number, website or email address too.

The newspapers do want to serve the community. The newspapers do want to promote your group. The newspapers can no longer be the ones responsible for everything. You, the members of the community and the organizations have to take charge and be in control of your information and project.

Lee Howard is always available to help with publicity, and is editor in charge of eight weekly newspapers in the region the e-mail address is l.howard@theday.com

Thank you Lee!

Spelling is hard

The passage of time is best documented by books. For example, it was very fashionable for teachers to write and publish their own text books and then peddle them to schools to create an income. James H. Penniman wrote a Graded List of Common Words Difficult to Spell in 1891 published by D.C. Heath & Co., Publishers.

After 73 pages filled with 25 words each came a page with “the following abbreviations advised by the Post Office Department. “Names of States should be written in full (or their abbreviation very distinctly) in order to prevent errors which arise from the similarity of such as Cal., Col., Ia., Pa., Va., VT., Me., Mo., Neb., Nev., N.H., N.M., N.Y., N.J., N.C., D.C., Miss., Penn., Tenn., etc., when hastily or carelessly written. This is especially necessary in addressing mail matter to places of which the names are borne by several post offices in different states.”

On page 75 is a list of the French words that I truly do wish was not just a list of words but that included had been their definitions. Only depot (da po) was followed with this note, “ a storehouse, not a railway station. “

At the bottom of the page is written, “The pronunciation of these words can be learned only from a French scholar.”

From pages 76- 78 are the rules for spelling. Never have I seen the rules more plainly stated. “The formation of derivative words is subject to a few rules which, notwithstanding the exceptions to them, may be of use.”

Rule I. Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant before an affix beginning with a vowel.

Occur .

beg forget hot blot

occurrence beggar forgetting hottest blotting

Rule II. Final “y”, preceded by a consonant, is changed to ‘I’ before an affix.

Rule III Words ending in silent ‘e’ drop ‘e’ on taking an affix with a vowel.

Plural of nouns. The plural of most nouns is formed by adding ‘s’, or when the noun ends with a sound that does not unite with ‘s’, (ch soft, s, sh, x, z,) ‘es’ to the singular: as, book, books; box, boxes.

The possessive case of nouns, singular or plural, is formed by adding an apostrophe and ‘s’; the man’s work; the men’s work. “

Then from pages 79 through 88 were the “Dictation Exercises” “The words to be studied especially are printed in italics. The exercises may be used also for parsing. The selections from Lowell, Hawthorne and Emerson are printed by the kind permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

My favorite was number IV by Lowell, from an Address on “Books and Libraries.”

But have you ever rightly considered what the mere ability to read means? That it is the key which admits to the whole world of thought and fancy and imagination? To the company of saint and sage, of the wisest and the wittiest at their wisest and wittiest moment? That it enables us to see with the keenest eyes, hear with the finest ears, and listen to the sweetest voices of all time. More than that, it annihilates time and space for us; it revives for us without a miracle the age of wonder, endowing us with the shoes of swiftness and the cap of darkness, so that we walk invisible like fern-seed, and witness unharmed the plague at Athens or Florence or London; accompany Caesar on his marches, or look in on Catiline in council with his fellow conspirators, or Guy Fawkes in the cellar of St. Stephen’s. We often hear of people who will descend to any servility, submit to any insult, for the sake of getting themselves or their children into what is euphemistically called good society. Did it ever occur to them that there is a select society of all the centuries to which they and theirs can be admitted for the asking, a society, too, which will not involve them in ruinous expense and still more ruinous waste of time and health and faculties? “

Was it Winston Churchill or George Santayana who said that, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

AmericanHistory

The times, they have changed and so has what we have determined as historically important. I was reviewing a 1907 copy of Outline for Review American History by Newton and Treat of Lawrenceville School, New Jersey.

Page 12. The Founding of Colonies. Minor settlements, the Dutch fort, Good Hope, on Connecticut River (1623); and Plymouth colony, fur-trading post, Windsor (1633).

First important settlements, Lord Say and Seal’s grant; Saybrook (1635). The Rev. Thomas Hooker migrated with congregation from Massachusetts and settled Hartford, 1636. Adoption of Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639). – Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford. First republic in world to be founded on a written constitution.

New Haven Colony, 1638. – John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton. New Haven and neighboring small towns. The colony was weak and joined Connecticut, 1665.

Sorry. No mention of Norwich or Eastern Connecticut.

Conditions at the end of the seventeenth century. By 1700, New England Colonies – Population: Massachusetts, including Maine, about 70,000; Connecticut, 25,000; Rhode Island, 6,000; New Hampshire, 5,000.

Characterized by thrift, piety, and love of liberty. Town meetings for management of local affairs.

An aristocracy based mainly on education and religion. The clergy led all public affairs. The other professions less important.

Industries: mining, lumbering, tanning, and distilling. Nails, cloth, and similar things made for home use. Fisheries and whaling very profitable.

Social life: Boston and New Haven – properous towns – common school in each village. Homes comfortable. Puritan simplicity of dress, manners, and morals.

Sorry. No mention of Norwich or Eastern Connecticut.

Growth of the Colonies. The French and Indian Wars. King Williams War. Queen Anne’s War. King George’s War. Did you know Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are called the charter colonies? What do you really know to be the causes of the American Revolution? Do you know the battles in New England and Canada? The actions principally in middle states and in the southern states?

How do you celebrate the Treaty of Peace signed at Paris, September 3, 1783?

Name the six causes of American success.

Unfailing courage and ability of Washington
Persistant spirit of the American patriots.
Alliance and support of the French
Weakness of the British commanders in the field.
The inability of the English to send reinforcements to their army because of other wars.
General apathy of British public.

Can you describe the United States under the constitution? The Presidents and the vice-presidents? Wars, blockades, admissions, treaties and disputes? Civil War in the East, West and South were all different. What made them so? Do you know the histories of the political parties? Federalist, Republican, Democratic, Whig? Which of th chief inventions of the nineteenth century still impact your life today?

To get into college, how would you respond these questions –

Compare the Hawaiian policies of Presidents Cleveland and McKinley. What precedent was there for the annexation of territory by joint resolution, instead of by treaty?

What was the “Albany Plan of Union?” What circumstances called it forth, and what came of it?

Give an account of Jackson’s attack upon the United States Bank. What was the Specie Circular? What are the provisions of the constitution designed to prevent the President from exercising such powers as were claimed in England by George III? And No I cannot answer any of these or any of the other questions at the back of the book.

Norwich, CT Volunteers

Have you received, seen or heard a “thank you!” for vounteering for the City of Norwich, CT? In 40 years or so in quiet public service, I have received exactly one “Thank you!” and it was from the Office of the Secretary of State although the nomination was from a Department of the City of Norwich, CT.

So, here is my suggestion to Mayor Peter Nystrom as he works with our City Manager, our City of Norwich staff, our newly elected City Council and the host of volunteer agencies, services, businesses, residents, and taxpayers. I would like the City of Norwich, CT to participate in National Volunteer Month – April 2020. April 2020 will be dedicated to honoring all the volunteers in our communities as well as encouraging new volunteers to become active.

National Volunteer Week 2020 is slated for April 19th through the 25th and would be a great time to present a new and upbeat vision for the future of Norwich, CT.

Sometimes, the volunteers for the official committees of the City need help and assurance to understand the impact of their work so they can continue to find it motivating and rewarding.

A simple “thank you” can go a long way in making volunteers feel valued.

A simple handwritten “thank you” note is a simple and thoughtful way to give a volunteer something to hang on to and to show others that they are valued.

A 30 second thank you on your local cable, facebook , radio or other social media /channels is a very public way to say “Thank you!”

Work with your local daily and weekly newspapers to create a VolunteerSpot or blog for recognition.

Large cities may have Mayoral Service Recognition Programs which may be a formal way to recognize adult, youth, and corporate volunteers that make a difference in the community. In New York City, all volunteers with 100 hours of service are entered into the NYC Service Mayoral Recognition Program and receive a recognition certificate signed by the Mayor for the hours volunteered in the previous year.

Using the open committee positions on the City of Norwich, CT website, the City needs to engage new people and make the current volunteers feel valued and motivated to retain them.

Saying “Thank you” does not cost money, and will not raise our taxes, (won’t lower them either) but the impact those simple words can make is invaluable.

Norwich Nuggets

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