The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/page/153/)
The John Sullivan & Son Tobacco Farm was started by my grandfather, John L. Sullivan.
On Sunday, February 9 at Suffield’s Third Baptist Church, many gathered to remember and celebrate the life and teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr.
These last elections have touched me in a different way as I looked around me on Election Day.
Suffield High School juniors, dressed beautifully for someplace like Chez Josef, enjoy a game of Cornhole Toss next to the big, four-pole tent set up for this year’s prom in the high school track infield. Pictured at sunset on May 22 amid lessening pandemic restrictions, the mask-less event, with no one present except members of the class and the school staff (plus three food trucks and the main caterer), was reported to have been enjoyed by all.
The weather was comfortable for Suffield Academy’s graduation ceremonies on May 28, on the back lawn of the campus. Families observed the school’s request for limited attendance, assuring social distancing; the event was also live-streamed, for the benefit of families and alumni. One hundred and sixteen seniors, ten of whom are from Suffield, received their diplomas. The faculty processed in full academic regalia, while among the graduates-to-be the boys wore orange and white ties and the girls were presented with silver necklaces bearing a charm with the Suffield Academy seal. The music was provided by three seniors, a trumpet player and two singers.
The Suffield High School seniors gathered at SHS athletic field on Saturday morning, June 12, to finalize their four years at the school. The past year has been one fraught with the problems and restrictions associated with COVID, but the tenor of the graduation messages was one of inspiration and readiness to face the future despite the difficult year.
Well, few were moving hard to the music, but it was indeed a big crowd, estimated to approach 400, that came to hear – and watch – Trailer Trash. The popular band always draws crowds, mostly in Western Massachusetts and North Central Connecticut.
At PeoplesBank on Bridge Street, the shovel operator gathers a claw-full of broken concrete as another worker makes a shower of sparks cutting off an old handrail. After several weeks working inside, landscape and entry revisions have begun outside.
The Town of Suffield released an on-line survey to determine resident perceptions of both housing needs and possible strategies looking forward. The survey plays an important step in the process of preparing an Affordable Housing Plan as required by State law.
Registrar of Voters Darlene Burrell and her husband Dick manned a table at Suffield High School in June to provide an opportunity for students who are 18, or will be by the November election, to register to vote. Kurt Lester and Elizabeth Rose were two of the students who took advantage of this opportunity by pre-registering, as they will both be 18 in November.
Second Baptist Church’s Growth and Outreach is sponsoring a Parking Lot Tag Sale July 17. It’s a great opportunity to get rid of your extra treasures and find the perfect piece to repurpose.
The Perseids Meteor Shower will peak on the night of Aug 11 (approximately 11p.m.) until about an hour before dawn on August 12.
Suffield’s Assessor announced on June 9 the completion of a pandemic-long project to streamline access to older survey maps by adding the information to property cards. The undertaking involved over 4,700 maps.
The Connecticut River, restored from pollution by industrial waste and sewage, was designated as a(n):
The Polish Heritage Society invites everyone of Polish descent to march with us in the town’s 350th Anniversary Parade on Saturday, October 9.
The Suffield Historical Society will hold its annual Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, August 17, from 5:30-7 p.m. We look forward to seeing friends and neighbors once again after the year’s hiatus!
This photo of the old covered bridge to Enfield shows it viewed from the Suffield side, a few years after it closed to traffic when the new bridge at the end of Thompsonville Road was opened in 1894. The old bridge had opened in 1832 on the site of the 1808 uncovered bridge, which was the first bridge across the Connecticut River in Connecticut.
A thunder shower… brought refreshing rain… growing crops have made remarkable progress in the past twenty-four hours … The rain came too late to save the hay crop….
Clear Cut Solutions, a well-established local hair salon, had planned to reopen in new quarters when its location on Mountain Road was sold and reconfigured. But the popular shop was unable to remain in its planned new spot nearby in the lower level of the Webster Bank building because of the new landlord’s difficulty in satisfying building code requirements.
On June 13, I went to The Suffield Observer. For the first little bit Beth Chafetz walked me through how the paper gets made. After that, I got to edit three different articles.
As you likely know, The Suffield Observer (and its online counterpart) which is printed and distributed to everyone in town ten times a year, is produced almost entirely by local volunteers. The paper has a somewhat unique mission, specifically “to build a sense of community throughout the town of Suffield and to provide a forum where all sides of issues can be addressed.”
