1. Edmund Morgan, a noted local farmer, was featured in an extensive article in a November 1, 1957 article in Ebony Magazine. In the same year, he was feted by the town for 59 years of service to the community. He came to Suffield from Virginia on the advice of a ticket seller at Grand Central Station in 1898. What crop did he farm?
a. Tobacco
b. Tomatoes
c. Corn
2. On April 23, 1865, two ships, The Black Diamond and The Massachusetts, collided in the Potomac. George W. Carter, from Suffield, the drummer from Company D of the 16th Regiment, jumped into the water from the wreckage. Floating in the water for at least an hour, he ultimately drowned because his hands were too numb to grab onto a life line. At the time, what were the missions of the two boats?
a. The Black Diamond was used by Lincoln to review the troops and The Massachusetts was returning soldiers from the Battle of Mobile Bay.
b. The Black Diamond was a Confederate spy vessel and The Massachusetts discovered it.
c. The Black Diamond was part of the flotilla in the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, and the Massachusetts was carrying soldiers recently released from Southern prison camps and Northern hospitals.
3. The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History has in its collection seven bifurcated (notched) projectile points found near Congamond Lake. The stone used for the point is chert, a hard, dark opaque rock, found in New York state. This suggests that the Native Americans who made the points, were not permanently settled in the area, but maintained wide territorial ranges. Experts believe that the points were made in the Early Archaic period which was…
a. 3,000-4,000 years ago
b. 8,000-10,000 years ago
c. 11,000-12,000 years ago
4. Jason Thresher of West Suffield is becoming a name in what sport?
a. Golf
b. Basketball
c. Football
5. In the last month, Jason Miller of Suffield signed a contract with which NFL team?
a. Dallas Cowboys
b. Pittsburgh Steelers
c. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Olin Levi Warner, 1849-1896, an American sculptor born in Suffield, received critical acclaim for his busts, public monuments and architectural decorations. A bust of Chief Joseph resides in the Museum of American Arts in Washington D.C.. His Diana sculpture, a seated nude, is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. His work is in what art style?
a. Modernism
b. Arts and Crafts
c. Beaux-Arts
7. Bob Bahre, who grew up in Suffield, died in October 2020, aged 93. He often joked that he spent four years in the seventh grade, probably more intent on his trap line and fur trade business than in school. As an adult, he moved to Maine, where he became a multimillionaire. He was…
a. The owner of the New England Patriots
b. The owner of L.L. Bean
c. The owner of the New Hampshire International Speedway
8. In July 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress agreed to pay expenses that Isaac Bissell of Suffield incurred. However, he was not paid until April 1776 by the Massachusetts House. What was the payment for?
a. He printed money to fund the war effort.
b. He was a post-rider who spread the word to some Massachusetts and Connecticut towns about the British attack on Lexington and Concord.
c. He was the first Connecticut man to sign up to be a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
9. Which clothes designer offered a “Suffield” collection which consisted of men’s “classic” pants and shorts?
a. Pierre Cardin
b. Ralph Lauren
c. Calvin Klein
10. Connecticut, in the years just prior to the Revolutionary War, was plagued by counterfeiters. In 1771, Suffield seemed to be a hotspot. In that year, what were the penalties imposed upon counterfeiters in Connecticut?
a. For a first offense, imprisonment in Newgate for 10 years; for a second offense, imprisonment in Newgate for life
b. Have a right ear cut off, branding on forehead with the letter C, 20 lashes, imprisonment for six months, pay a fine at the discretion of the court, pay costs of the prosecution
c. Hanging
Answers
1. b. Tomatoes. He was known as the Tomato King.
2. c. The Black Diamond was part of the flotilla in the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and The Massachusetts was carrying soldiers recently released from Southern prison camps and Northern hospitals.
3. b. 8,000-10,000 years ago
4. a. Golf
5. b. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. c. Beaux-Arts
7. c. New Hampshire International Speedway, which hosted NASCAR and Indy races and became a test track for the industry
8. b. He was a post-rider who spread the word to some Massachusetts and Connecticut towns about the British attack on Lexington and Concord. In fact, there is some confusion about his name and his actual identity. Some copies of a letter ensuring his safety on the ride list him as Israel Bissell, who died in Massachusetts. Other papers, including the approval of payment, list him as Isaac Bissell.
9. b. Ralph Lauren
10. b. Have a right ear cut off, branding on forehead with the letter C, 20 lashes, imprisonment for six months, pay a fine at the discretion of the court, pay costs of the prosecution. z