About two years ago, the 350th Committee decided to create a companion volume to Robert Alcorn’s The Biography of a Town, written for the Town’s 300th anniversary.
The focus of the new book about the last 50 years was to have the voices of the different groups tell their own stories, rather than have a single author tell the town’s story.
We divided the stories into six different categories – Town History, Suffield Farms, Community Services and Resources, Churches, Education and Suffield Memories.
We wanted to include as many stories from as many people as possible, so we started with the farm community. With help from Carol and Harrison Griffin, Marilyn and Art Christian and Joanne and Glenn Neilson who contacted farmers in Suffield, 31 stories were collected from Suffield farmers.
Using a list of non-profit groups from the town, I contacted over one hundred people requesting histories of their diverse town groups which make up the many faces of Suffield. There are 41 submissions from town groups, many of which are strictly volunteer.
We received 20 submissions from individuals about their memories of growing up in town, as well as seven histories from the local churches written by members or clergy.
The chapters on Town history and education are compilations of information written primarily by me using information gleaned from Town Reports over 50 years. Each of those chapters also include some personal observations by town residents.
What was particularly positive about this project was how excited people were to be included. Groups and individuals were happy to share their stories and obviously proud of their connections.
We were pleased, too, to be able to include many photos submitted by the various writers, that will, hopefully, bring back memories for many of us of the past 50 years, and we are delighted that this edition of town histories is in color!
I’m so appreciative to Kacy Colston for her untold hours of work with the layout of the book. This was a huge project, and we hope everyone will be as pleased as we are with the results.
As part of the town’s 350th anniversary celebration, Suffield Stories From Another Half-Century 1970-2020 is available to pre-order on the 350th website This 370+ page book is a compilation of town history including narratives written by the town residents.
Please go to the 350th website at Suffield350.org to place your order.
* Copies are $25 each for Suffield Stories From Another Half-Century 1970-2020
* Copies are $25 each for the reprint of The Biography of a Town, Suffield, Connecticut 1670-1970 by Robert Alcorn, printed originally for Suffield’s 300th anniversary.
If you choose to purchase both, the cost is $40, a savings of $10.