A couple of local historical events caught my attention since moving to the quiet corner. The past three years I try to attend as many historical society events in each town to expand my adult history education.
On December 5, 2019 I attended a well attended event at the Thompson public library power/ point presentation by historian Jason Newton on the subject entitled "The Old Connecticut Path" early settlers traveling from coastal Cambridge, Chelsea and Boston to the new land and waterways of Hartford, Conn about 400 years ago through the unknown wilderness. The task was completed in about 10 days on the old Indian trails and low water conditions with cattle and swine included. Two boy scout units duplicated the route in 1944 and again in 1974 and Mr. Newtown has blazed most of the old trails over the years. Very well done with a great Q & A at the end of the night. Special thanks to Mr. Joe Iamartino for inviting me and for putting this event on their groups calendar. I only met and talked with local legend Joe Lindley on three occasions and his welcome to Thompson will always be remembered by this scribe The goal is to have all the Towns on the route involved for the 400th birthday in 2036 for future generations to explore
A good museum is like the first day at school. It should make you nervous. It should confront you with things that you've have never seen before and ideas you've never wrestled with. It should force you to blaze new trails through the virgin gray matter of your brain. And so I visit museums. I do it with a prayer that I will find myself alone in a room with something that makes my pulse quicken. In that moment my presumptions disappeared, and I could not escape the fact tat I am a tiny thing and the world around me is a terribly, beautiful large.
The next event by this same group was to open up the Tourtellotte Memorial Museum to the public and a power point presentation in the Ryscavage Auditorium on how the Kenney's Store was moved to it's new location inside the museum for future generations to feel a part of our local past of mill workers shopping and a mail room. The photos and stories were displayed for very easy reading and viewing of the many Connecticut Villages in the Quite Corner. Kenny family members were present and answered every ones questions on photos or people in them. If this wasn't enough to fill your history appetite they also opened the famous Ramsdale Train/Locomotive Museum doors to the public. Mr.. Chase really knows his trains !
