Portland...  On the Move |
Issue 68 ~ News from your Town Hall ~ September 1999
New Planning Director; Historical Tour of Main Street; and lots more |
|
Welcome Aboard! We have a new Planning Director! Susan Decina replaced Ray Carpentino as our new Planning Director on August 9th. Susan lives in Cheshire with her husband and two children, a 4 year old girl and 1 year old boy. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BA in Geography. From there she went on to earn her Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Hartford. Susan comes to us with a lot of valuable experience, having worked for the City of Danbury for 10 years (2 as Associate Planner, and 8 as Assistant Planning Director). We asked her what sparked her interest in working in Portland. "I was very impressed by the historic character of the town, and the potential which that character has to offer. "I first heard about Portland when I read an article in the New York Times about the brownstone industry here that was being revived. My house has brownstone incorporated in it, and I wondered if it came from the Portland quarries, which it probably did." While discussing the possibilities that Portland offers, Susan raised a note of caution: "You have to be careful in preserving the unique character of a town. Once you strip a community of its character, you lose its identity. It becomes like any other suburb. We don't want that here. Portland has a lot of character. Its people. Its history. The river. And so much more " |
Susan works closely with Nancy Mueller, and a synergy seems to have already developed between them. "I enjoyed our first week together," Nancy said, "and look forward to working with Susan on the many challenges that await us. Her breadth of experience in Danbury will benefit Portland in many ways, particularly in the areas of economic development and revitalization. Portland has made a very good choice." Welcome aboard Susan! We look forward to working with you!
"Labor Day differs in every essential from other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are, in a more or less degree, connected with conflicts and battles, of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day is devoted to no one man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation." In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making Labor Day a national holiday. It was supposed to feature a street parade to show the public the strength and spirit of community trade and labor organizations, followed by a festival for the enjoyment of the workers and their families. This was the pattern for Labor Day celebrations for many years. Later on, speeches by prominent men and women were introduced, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. |
|
Chinese Moon Festival According to Chinese folklore, thousands of years ago, a woman stole and drank an elixir that gave eternal life and turned her into a goddess on the moon. When the moon is full and the night is clear, believers say you can see a female figure sitting sideways. In the mid-autumn, during the full moon, a festival signals harvest time and expresses gratitude for the blessings of the past growing season. In China, people worship in the temples during the day and at night gather for family reunions and moon appreciation parties in parks and eat moon-cakes. Portland History
On September 18th, there will be a historical walking tour of downtown Portland. We will start at 2 PM in front of the Town Hall. Between 1852 and 1894, Town Hall was a private home. At that time, the block from Freestone Avenue to Marlborough Street held three large, elegant homes set on tree-shaded lots, each belonging to a member of the influential Hall family. Main Street is old. It was probably created by native Americans for their own extensive trade and travel networks. But Commerce Street is also over 300 years old. Today, it may be a sleepy little dead-end street, but Portland's first two settlers, James Stanclift and John Gill, chose to live on it, plus it led to the town quarry, Stanclift's quarry, and the graveyard, established in 1713. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to plaque these historically significant sites: they hang in thin air out over the deep, flood-filled quarry hole beyond the end of the street. In 1870, a few leading quarry owners convinced the town to sell them the old cemetery - the cemetery! - a because its soil covered good, marketable deposits of brownstone. Consequently, the sloping hill from the current end of Commerce Street down to the Connecticut River was minded away to produce profits for the quarry owners (handsomely represented by some of Portland's finer architecture) and the fantastic quarry holes, which may soon become a local tourist attraction. |
In 1995, a walking tour of downtown Portland was mentioning in promotional literature for that year's Downtown Festival. I called around to try to get information. I had worked on the Greater Middletown Preservation Trust's Portland book, but we had given short schrift to downtown, because the architecture had been so altered ("transmogrified" was the word we employed; I'm not proud of it, but there it is). After several calls, I learned there would be no such walking tour, because no none knew much history about downtown Portland. So, during the next year, I researched the properties from 141 Main Street, which was a gable-to-street house demolished by Standard Knapp about 20 years ago, to 318 Main, the Post Office. What I found was fascinating. The center had been home to some very influential people in the 19th century, less Puritan than the late 17th, early 18th century settlers had been. Their stories seem to have been largely forgotten, although their fortunes were large, and they held considerable power in town. Their houses, most of which no longer stand, had been large and beautiful. The downtown area had a much more "residential" feeling to it, although small shops have always been spliced into the street-scape, near their owners' houses. I suspect that their stories wer forgotten largely because their neighborhood was destroyed. Sometimes we talk about the landscape we have lost, as we look at old photographs of gingerbread trimmed houses, perhaps. But we have lost several: there have actually been several waves of development, each of which has plowed under the settlement before it. The Wangunk occupancy was the earliest (unless they were preceded by other tribes). Their land was taken over and reshaped by the incoming English of the colonial period. (Back then, "we" were the "English;" that threw me for a loop when I first read it in an old petition, asking that the "English" be allowed to settle some Wangunk area). The earliest developments would have been rather stark colonial houses. I know of one partial remnant, one possible ancient ell, and one possible survivor from that period in the downtown area. That settlement (by the "English") was wiped out without a thought by forward-thinking 19th century Americans. As theirs is the architecture that we admire in the downtown, solid buildings with graceful trim, fancy woodwork, or stonework, that would cost a fortune to duplicate today. Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne - downtown Portland has a few of all these styles. So join us at 2 PM in front of the Town Hall on Saturday, September 18th, for the walking tour. I can't show you any downtown Wangunk sites, but I can point out the three very old house survivals, and tell you a bit about the lives of people who built the buildings you drive or walk past every day. When you know some of the old stories, it becomes a much richer landscape! |
|
Education Update
By: Donald Gates Portland High School Year Our school year ends in June. This is a month students look forward to as they await the long deserved summer break, a time for family vacations, summer employment, attendance at a summer camp or just having the opportunity to refocus for a couple of months. June is also important to the high school staff because it marks the time when a group of young men and women culminate thirteen years of public education. We enjoy a happy commencement day with family and friends. Our joy is tempered by a sense of loss we feel as we bid fond farewell to yet another class of students and their families. But we also experience a sense of pride in these students for the accomplishments they achieved. Let me share some of these accomplishments. A member of our graduating class, Adam Finkelstein, completed his term as president of the Connecticut Association of Student Councils. Statistics show that members of the class of 1999 received over $24,000 in local scholarships. We take pride in the fact that 73% of the class will attend two or four year colleges/universities, 20% will enter the work force, 1% will enter the armed forces and at the time of graduation, 6% were undecided regarding future plans. In June we also recognize our students for their athletic, academic, and community service contributions. I do not think people realize the active involvement of our student population in either co-curricular activities or athletics. The latest figures show that 72% of PHS students are actively engaged in school sponsored activities. A good amount of their time is focused on support for non-profit organizations, which in the past year included contributions to Portland's food bank, supporting the March of Dimes annual "Walk-a-thon," and raising money to help relatives of a local family recover from hurricane damage. |
Our last month of school was an active month for several PHS students who received state and national recognition. At the beginning of the month, Donald Snyder, who will be a senior during the new school year, was elected vice president of the newly organized State National Honor Society Association. Donald, an honor student, is also an active member of our soccer, wrestling and baseball teams. Also, in early June, four students, Jay Brown, Aaron Burgess, Jen Doak, and Sarah Hutchins, traveled to the University of Michigan and participated in a Future Problem Solving competition, where they placed fourth in their division. Later in June, Jared Tester attended the annual American Boy's State program, where he was elected by his peers to become the 1999 Connecticut Boys' State Governor. Jared represented Connecticut in July when he attended Boys' Nation in Washington D.C. as the Governor from Connecticut. While at Boys' Nation, Jared was privileged to meet President Clinton, Senator Dodd and Senator Lieberman. Portland can be very proud of the students attending Portland High School and of the staff and faculty who continue to be committed to quality education. We strive to provide the necessary support to encourage students to become actively involved as young adults. We hope and believe that these efforts will continue to cultivate responsible citizenship skills in our young adults and that they will become engaged as solid leaders in our community and state. Portland can truly be proud! The Connecticut River Museum in Essex will be launching a new exhibit next year on the immigrant experience of the lower Connecticut River valley. The museum is looking for personal memories and experiences of those who came from Europe between 1830 and 1930. Your memories or memorabilia or those passed down to descendants will greatly add to the show. The museum is looking for suitcases, diaries, journals, items manufactured or created at industries where immigrants worked, tools, documents, household items circa 1920, personal belongings, church or social club memorabilia, and photographs.
|
If you have a story to tell or an item to loan, please contact Alison Guinness at 860-873-9304, or Bob Farwell at the Museum at 860-767-8269.|
The 1st Selectman's Office, along with the Planning Department, Building Department, Environmental Health Department, Finance Office and Public Works will stay open on Tuesday evenings until 7 PM. They will close on Fridays at noon. Other offices at the Town Hall will remain open at their usual time. Safety First! Medical Alert Tags Save Lives If you have allergies or health conditions, it's a good idea to wear a medical alert tag in case an accident renders you unconscious or unable to speak. Ask your pharmacist for information on how to obtain one. Several kinds of tags, which can be worn on a bracelet or necklace, are available:
There's Always Something The Portland Library had a banner summer of '99. We had almost 450 children sign up for our reading program, as compared to 389 last year. "Scoop up a good book" was the theme, and apparently it was an appealing one! We began the summer reading club with Ice Cream and Applesauce, an ice cream social feature story telling by Mrs. Applesauce (Jacqui McMahon), Coral Lindenfelser, and Barbara Fearn. The ice cream was supplied by Sundaes. The finale for the program was held on Monday, August 16, and was a huge success. Garry Krinsky was wonderful, introducing the children to simple machines through amazing juggling tricks. It was a fitting end to a great summer of reading. We thank the Friends of Portland Library for sponsoring Mr. Krinsky's appearance. The prize books for the children who participated in the summer reading were provided by Friends of the Portland Library, Fleet Bank, Glastonbury Bank & Trust (a community bank of SIS), and Liberty Bank. Without their generosity, the summer reading program would not have been possible. |
Registration for preschool Story Time will begin at the Portland Library Thursday, September 16 at 6:30 PM, in person only. No phone registrations will be accepted September 16. Phone registrations begin Friday September 17. Story Time is offered to 2, 3, and 4 year old children. The 8 week programs begin the week of September 27. Two year olds and their parents have a choice of two groups: Monday evening at 6:30, or Tuesday morning at 10:30. Parents must accompany their children. Siblings may not attend. Three year olds may join either the Tuesday evening group at 6:30 or the Wednesday morning group at 10:30. The program for four year olds is Thursday at 10:30 AM. Portland residents have preferred registration. Out-of-town families may begin to register Thursday, September 23. For more information about any of our programs, call the library at 342-6770, or visit the Web Page: www.sclc.org/portland.
Project Graduation Planning for the annual drug and alcohol-free party for the Class of 2000 graduation seniors started last June. A dedicated group of parents has met monthly since June and will continue to do so throughout the school year to plan fund raisers for the Class of 2000 Graduation Party. The following dates of future meetings: October 4; November 1; December 6; January 3; February 7; March 6; April 3; May 1 & June 5. All parents are welcome to attend these meetings. For information or questions, please contact this year's co-chairs: Carlo Esidore at 324-4492, or Kathy Richards at 342-4196. We will be selling tickets for a Tractor Raffle! We will be raffling a John Deere LT133 Lawn Tractor with rugged 5-speed transaxle, 13-HP Kohler OHV engine & a 38 inch mowing width. The retail value is $2,000! There will be 500 tickets available at $10 per ticket. The drawing will be held during half-time of the Harlem Rockets vs. The Portland All-Star Faculty Basketball game to be held at Portland High School on Friday, October 29th at 7:00. Tickets will be available beginning on September 18th, by calling Carlo Esidore, 342-4492, Kathy Richards, 342-4196, or Don Snyder Sr., 342-2384. Please support this worthy cause! Once again, The Portland All-Star Faculty will play the Harlem Rockets in a comedy basketball game. All proceeds will benefit Project Graduation - Class of 2000. Tickets will go on sale in early October. For information, please call Carlo Esidore at 342-4492. |
Special Hours!
