Simply Ledyard CT

Little Bites of Ledyard is my gathering place for events, news items and even an occasional opinion about anything Ledyard.

Scouting for Food - On October 31st watch out for those bright yellow Scouting for Food bags! The food will be collected on Saturday, November 7th. All of the food goes to our local food pantry.. Not every street is covered by the scouts, some are too dangerous to stop on, but Scout Leaders will be providing info about how you can still contribute. I will share that here next week.

From the Acorn, the Ledyard Historical Society Newsletter - More than 100 Ledyard residents served in the Union military services during the War between the States. Twenty-nine of them did not march home, their lives given on the battlefield. Their names are inscribed on the obelisk outside the Bill Library, a monument given by Ledyard Bill and dedicated on July 4, 1872, predating the library itself by a full two decades. At their Autumn meeting, on October 25th, Scott Buka will speak about those men, both casualties and survivors. The meeting will be held at the Bill Library Meeting Room, beginning at 2:00 PM. The Bill Library is located at 718 Colonel Ledyard Highway in Ledyard Center. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.

The Ledyard Senior Center is holding their  biggest fundraiser of the year tomorrow (Saturday, October 24th) from 9:00AM –2:00PM! Many unique household items, yummy baked goods & perfect pies, cheeses, crafters, jewelry, vendors and so much more!

October is the silly season in Ledyard Politics!  I’m always happy when the election is over and signs go back into the basement. 

Little Bites of Ledyard is my gathering place for events, news items and even an occasional opinion about anything Ledyard.

Wednesday in Ledyard is my favorite day of the week.  Here is the link to everything you need to know about this week’s Ledyard Farmers’ Market.  Sign up for your own copy of the market newsletter HERE.

REMEMBER, the Nathan Lester House is available for use by small groups of up to 3 people. Contact caretakers Lee Moore an Dan Weaver at 860-464-2040, or email [email protected] for more information or for tours out of season.

The Ledyard Library Annual Book Sale starts on September 9th.  You will find all the details HERE.

It is less than two weeks until the 70th Ledyard Fair.  Here is everything you need to know:  The Ledyard Fair – Uniquely Ledyard

Just a reminder - On September 12th, Merry Cassabria and I along with Putnam Bank will be co-sponsoring a Community Shred Day.  Bring up to 4 boxes FREE between 9-12PM at Putnam Bank at 2 Chapman Lane.

I attended the Gypsy Moth seminar with Dr. Kilby Stafford, Chief Entomologist of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station who shared information on the potential for gypsy moth infestation in 2016 in Ledyard and what steps residents can take to minimize the impact. I didn’t come away feeling great about our prospects.  The main thing you can do is pray for a wet spring so the fungus that kills them can have the opportunity to grow. For more information, view the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Fact Sheet.

The Harvard-Yale Regatta otherwise known as the Yale-Harvard Regatta is the longest running collegiate athletic competition in the United States. Gales Ferry is part of this long history as both teams have training camps on the Thames River. The Yale Camp is on Riverside Place in Gales Ferry Village. You can find Harvard just up the road on Military Highway at Red Top. Yesterday, Ledyard Mayor Rodolico presented each team with a 150th Anniversary proclamation.  With a sense of humor and not to offend either team, the Mayor made sure that Yale’s proclamation read “The Yale-Harvard Regatta" while Harvard’s proclamation reversed the order.

The Town of Ledyard owns the 11–acre Sawmill Park, which includes a water powered up-down saw, shingle mill, blacksmith shop, a gristmill, ice harvesting equipment, and other mill artifacts of the Industrial Revolution.  The mill museum is located in an 1860 restored building.  The up-down sawmill is usually operational from April-May and October-November. The mill volunteer group will have the mill open Saturdays 1:00-4:00 in October and November 2014. They are in the process of a major repair project to get the saw up and running soon but visit the mill this fall to talk to the volunteers about their repair project.. The park with two-acre pond is open year round. I never get tired of visiting with my camera there.

The saw mill  is administered by the Ledyard Historic District Commission. You will find lots of information  at www.LedyardSawMill.org.

The Town of Ledyard owns the 11–acre Sawmill Park, which includes a water powered up-down saw, shingle mill, blacksmith shop, a gristmill, ice harvesting equipment, and other mill artifacts of the Industrial Revolution.  The mill museum is located in an 1860 restored building.  The saw mill is operational from April-May and October-November. The park with two-acre pond is open year round. 

This lovely collage of  Sawmill Park  was posted on the Facebook Ledyard Community Forum by Linda Taylor-Macrino.

From The Acorn – News of the Ledyard Historical Society - The Ledyard Historical Society’s Archives Committee, which has been conducting occasional “catch and release” sessions for scanning historic photos, has decided to make them monthly events.  From now on, committee members will be in the Janice W. Bell Research Room at the Ledyard Bill Library on the second Saturday of every month from 9:00 AM until noon.  Members and Ledyard residents are encouraged to bring old family or community photos, which will be scanned and returned immediately. The digital images will be added to our extensive historic archive, and the owners of the photos will be able to have a digital version for their own use.

Committee members will also be working in the room on most Saturday and Thursday mornings, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM. If you’re in the library, stop in and see what they’re doing. That’s a good time to get help with your own research too.

The Nathan Lester House is available for use by small groups of up to 35 people.  Contact caretakers Lee Moore and Dan Weaver at 860-464-2040, or email [email protected] for more information or for tours out of season.

The Society’s ninth annual yuletide Celebration will be held on Sunday, December 8th at the Nathan Lester House from 1:00 to 4:00PM. as in past years, the house will be decorated for holiday cheer and there will be a cozy fire, great refreshments, carolers and good cheer and company. As ever, our books and maps are available for holiday gifts.

This will be a time to enjoy fellowship with members and friends, before the hustle and bustle of the season become too intense. come, bring a friend and enjoy the afternoon.

The Nathan Lester House is located at the intersection of Long Cove and Vinegar Hill Roads in Gales Ferry.

It occurred to me yesterday morning that my memories of 1976 are not that clear and I wondered if we weren’t expecting too much from the memories of children. The press and photographers were hoping for a story about the opening of a time capsule buried in 1976 but it turned out instead to be a story of memories shared.

I was surprised when I arrived at the old Gales Ferry School to find that there were already so many people gathered for the big dig. Lisa Weber greeted me with, “You know we don’t care if we actually find it.”  I didn’t initially understand what she was saying but it didn’t take me very long to realize that people didn’t seem all that interested in finding the capsule as in making old connections. At one point Mark Bancroft, the Mayor’s Assistant along with Town Counselors Mike France and Kevin Dombrowski were concentrating on a particular location with shovels and a metal detector but almost no one was paying attention. Instead they were reminiscing about happy times at the former school. The reporting by Anna Isaacs of  the Day captured it best.

Davis had feared this would all end up the way of Geraldo Rivera and Al Capone's vault. But as the crowd dispersed, reminiscing happily, catching up, no one seemed all that disappointed.

No one cares, (Lisa Dreimiller) Weber reiterated.

They didn't find a time capsule, but they found each other.

5th grade teacher Fran Plotnik and long time secretary Ruth Boucher greet each other after many years. Teacher Stu Sharack in the background.

When it became clear that the capsule wasn’t going to be found, many of those that attended took the opportunity to visit the old school which has been converted by the town to a business incubator and home to the Southeastern CT Regional Resource Recovery Authority. 

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The 1976 Time Capsule at the old Gales Ferry School

Over three years ago, I saw the first post about the 1976 Time Capsule that was buried at the Old Gales Ferry School in the I Went to Gales Ferry School Facebook Group. Since then there have been a number of mentions of getting people together for the big dig. I offered to help coordinate with the Town awhile back but finding a mutually agreed upon date seemed to be the biggest challenge especially with many members in the group living out of town. I finally decided to press forward. The Mayor’s Assistant, Mark Bancroft and I set the date as August 14 at 6:00PM, a date with absolutely no significance in terms of history. Hopefully we can provide some video for those unable to attend.

The odds of locating the time capsule should be improved by the photos that have been provided including the one below by Kathleen Nestor Owens, who seems to have a good memory of the occasion. The 157 members of the Facebook Page and the over 900 members of the Ledyard Gales Ferry Community Forum will help spread the word and other publicity will happen over the next month to try to find former teachers, parents and students of the Old Gales Ferry School. If you are reading this, I hope you will get out the word as well

My only fear is that I end up like Geraldo Rivera with Al Capone's vault. If nothing else, it will be a nice reunion! Thank you to the I went to Gales Ferry Facebook Group who kept the memory live!