Food For Thought

Homemade Cookies Day – October 1 “OCD- Obsessive Cookie Disorder” – Cookie Monster “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.” – Barbara Johnson “I love watching keep-fit videos while munching chocolate chip cookies.” – Dolly Parton International Day of Non-Violence – October 2 “Non-violence is the summit of bravery.” – Mahatma Gandhi “In spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Nonviolence doesn’t always work – but violence never does.” – Madge Micheels-Cyrus World Teacher Day – October 5 “It’s the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.” – Michael Morpurgo “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers.” – Josef Albers “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” – Colleen Wilcox Eleanor Roosevelt born – October 11, 1884 “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss event; small minds discuss people.” – E. Roosevelt “I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.” – ER “In all our contacts it is probably the sense of being really needed and wanted which gives us the greatest satisfaction and creates the most lasting bond.” – ER Farmer’s Day – October 12 “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower “My grandfather used to say that once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, and a preacher. But every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.” – Brenda Schoepp “Bailing twine turns every farmer into MacGyver.”

Larger Pail for Food Scrap Recyclers

If you’re filling your countertop food scrap bin too quickly and making frequent trips to the town dumpster, Sustainable Suffield’s six-gallon pail with a locking lid could be the solution, according to Co-chair Anna-Kristin Daub-Murphy. It measures 13 ½” diameter at the top, 12 ¼” diameter at the bottom and 13 5/8” tall with the lid locked on. She suggested that you put it in your breezeway, garage or cellar and dump your countertop contents into it to reduce your dumpster visits. She said you can dispose of food scraps loosely, in biodegradable bags, or even in paper grocery bags. Free, three-gallon biodegradable bags for countertop bins are available from the library and from Colin Moll’s assistant, Kris Lambert, on the second floor of the Town Hall.

Something New at the Windsor Locks Canal Trail Park

There is now a pamphlet that has information corresponding to the sixteen numbered and labeled signs along Windsor Locks Canal Trail. It explains why the canal was built, its multiple uses and the purpose of canal structures. Pamphlets can be picked up in two locations, on the back wall of the shed closest to the trailhead in Suffield and at the Windsor Locks entrance. Photo submitted by the author Sign at the canal Headworks

There are 15 points of interest and a “EN’ sign indicating an eagle’s nest observation point. Number 1 is found just inside the Suffield entrance.

Clean-up in Suffield

In mid-May, Suffield High School Junior Katie O’Hara and her friend Leigha Johnston cleaned up trash on a one-mile stretch of the Connecticut River bank. Her parents helped. Photo by Lauren O’Hara Katie O’Hara (left) and friend Leigha Johnston. The four collected 95 pounds of plastic, styrofoam, food packaging, cigarette butts and more near Hilltop Farm. It was part of the Save the Sound initiative, a 50-year-old nonprofit based in New Haven, which works to protect the land, air, and water of Connecticut and Long Island Sound.

Crowdfunding Campaign for Trees

$6,000 crowdfunding goal to receive matching grant from Sustainable CT’s Community Match FundThe Trees for Suffield Initiative is Planting for Tomorrow by replenishing Suffield’s historic tree canopy through a 10-year planting plan. Continuity relies on the replacement of the old trees with new young trees. With a consistent effort to Plant for Tomorrow our tree-lined town center will remain the shaded and beautiful scenic roadway we know today. We are raising funds to plant more trees next year.Resident Chris Childs remarked “I am so excited to be supporting

Photo by Danna Gaunter As the Chinese proverb goes: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best is now”.

Meet “Mick & Alister”

Last spring, Trees for Suffield partnered with Kris Pryce, Principal of McAlister Intermediate School for an Arbor Day event. The school was involved, about the importance of trees in an outdoor program and dozens of students helped shovel dirt and water on the two newly planted sugar maple trees.The students were also tasked with naming the trees. The trees have been officially named “Mick” and “Alister”. Just in time for the start of the school year, the strong and healthy looking trees have been tagged with their new names. Photo by: Danna Gauntner Mick and Alister have been waiting all summer for their student friends to return.

Together for Joy!

For every time there is a season – October at First Church welcomes autumn! First Church continues offering worship at 10 a.m. every Sunday in the Sanctuary, entering into a season of thankfulness and giving.First Church welcomes all new attendees, and those who have attended many years, to join us for worship for 1 minute, 1 Sunday, 1 month, 1 year…whatever calls to you!The First Church 2026 giving campaign has begun! The ministry and mission of First Church rely on the generous giving of members of the church and the Suffield community. Through the years, First Church has continued to be a beacon of inspiration and hope to others, supporting mission activities locally and worldwide. Learn more about First Church’s impact all month long as speakers, newsletter articles and more share stories and history of the ministry and faith call of First Church and its community.

West Suffield Congregational Church News

We have a Christmas tree at West Suffield Congregational Church that gets decorated every month. When I came into church for Rally Sunday, I was greeted by the most beautiful tree yet. Running down the center of it was the words “Welcome Back”, with the initials WSCC at the top. Welcome back was written in beautiful script on cards in Korean, French, Norwegian and many other languages. The tree was decorated with hydrangeas and ribbons.

Sacred Heart News

We have a very special project underway at Sacred Heart Parish this month. One of our members is doing an Eagle Scout project for us. We have been blessed in the past by several scouts choosing to offer their services to the parish. This month, Eagle Scout candidate, Max Hansen of troop 66, will undertake the construction of an outdoor Stations of the Cross. He will be using the stations from the former St.