The Answer is Bog Ore

By |

Bog ore is the answer to the fifth question in the Suffield Trivia Contest located in the February issue of The Observer. The question was, “Suffield had a mineral found in swamps that was very useful. What was it?” Bog ore (or bog iron) was widely sought in colonial America. It was smelted and made into iron. According to Robert Alcorn in his book, The Biography of a Town, bog ore was found in the low area between Sheldon Street and North Grand Street in what was known as the Pancake Swamp.

Suffield 350th Anniversary Committee

Trivia Quest!

By |

Get ready for our semiseptcentennial anniversary in 2020 by helping to create a board game celebrating our 350-year history! The illustration above is from a game created for Scranton, but “Trivia Quest Suffield & West Suffield” will be modeled on our community, featuring prominent buildings, public lands, and community organizations framed by the Connecticut River and the Congamond Lakes. The board consists of yellow, blue, orange, red, green and purple spaces. Each color has a corresponding dollar value. Questions are progressively more challenging based on the monetary value, with yellow being the easiest and purple the most challenging.

Suffield 350th Anniversary Committee

Last Chance to Tell Your Story!

By |

One of the projects for Suffield’s 350th anniversary celebration is to republish Robert Alcorn’s  The Biography of a Town – Suffield, Conecticut 1670-1970, published in 1970 along with a Volume 2, which would be a compilation of Suffield stories from the last 50 years that brings us from the late 1960s, where Alcorn’s book left off, through the past 50 years to 2020. Our tentative idea is to call it 50 Stories for 50 Years. We are looking for residents (or former residents) who have a story to tell. The stories might be about growing up in Suffield, about the farming community, about your church, your committees, your non-profit group, education, real estate, development in town, etc. and how these stories have evolved over the past 50 years from the 1960s to now.

Suffield 350th Anniversary Committee

February Trivia Quiz Answers

By |

Congratulations to Mary Fiore and John Emrick! Both contestants correctly answered the trivia questions published in the February issue of the Observer. Answers to February Questions

1) e. Depot Street

2) Yes

3) b. 1743

4) c. Crooked Lane

5) c. Bog ore

6) a. Separates

7) b. One was the U.S. Postmaster General, and the other was the U.S. Assistant Postmaster General at the same time. 8) c. Oliver Phelps started a silk manufacturing plant in Suffield, inspired by a packet of mulberry seeds sent to each parish in Connecticut. (Mulberry trees are the food of the silkworm.)

9) Yes

10) a. Impartial Herald

Suffield 350th Anniversary Committee

Suffield Trivia – March Questions

By |

1. In 1802, it was voted that students provide what for their teacher? a. a quarter cord of wood b. a horse c. housing and meals, payment shared by all d. blackboard and school books 2. What was opened in 1809? a. the Connecticut Baptist Literary Institution b. the first bridge over the Connecticut River in Conecticut c. the “Poor House” d. the […]

Suffield’s Pride

Brynn Scozzari – Suffield’s Pride

By |

If what Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle said is true that, “Music is well said to be the speech of angels”, then Suffield native/ coloratura soprano Brynn Scozzari is talking in good company. Brynn, a 2007 SHS graduate, attended Roanoke College in Virginia, took voice lessons and majored in vocal performance, graduating with a BFA in music and voice. Shortly after, she was accepted into the recently formed apprentice program at Opera Roanoke, a regional opera company where she had the opportunity to work with professional guest artists, sing in main stage productions, perform in outreach programs, and learn about stage managing, choreography, and opera production. She made her opera debut singing in the chorus of the Flying Dutchman and followed it up with chorus parts in the Pirates of Penzance, The Magic Flute, and Julius Caesar. She made her solo debut singing in The Masques of Orpheus.

Food for Thought

Food For Thought

By |

“Man cannot live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter.” – James A. Garfield

History

Ice Harvest Demonstrated

By |

Each year, when the weather permits, Dennis Picard holds a public demonstration of ice harvesting at the Noble & Cooley mill pond in Granville, just north of North Granby. This year the weather on February 2 was great, the ice was clear and over a foot thick, and appreciative visitors enjoyed the demonstration and explanations by Picard, a knowledgeable historian and former director of the Storrowton Village Museum at the Big E.

Many onlookers each year accept the invitation to take hold of one of Picard’s ice saws and learn how to cut the long slices of ice which can then be split into chunks, floated off, and lifted out with big iron tongs. This year one of the students was this writer, who brought an old Connecticut ice saw recently donated to the King House Museum by Eric Haffner. The saw was very similar to the ones that Picard brought, and he said that type of saw was manufactured from 1819 to 1919. He dated the one I brought to about 1880 and called it a nice example because it retained the original pin and wedge that secure the blade to the handle.

Organizations

Calling Colonial Campers

By |

Travel back to 18th-century colonial Suffield for a week of summer fun! Monday, July 29 – Friday, August 2 children ages 8 – 12 can don period costumes (or wear their everyday summer clothes!) and participate in the activities that took place at the Phelps–Hatheway House & Garden each and every day. Campers will learn about creating textiles (dyeing wool and cloth, knitting, sewing, spinning and weaving), westward expansion and trade (exploring maps and uncharted land), and school and home activities (classrooms, gardens and crafts). Best of all is the opportunity to learn about the toys and play games of the past. Meet historic figures and campers will design their own tours of the museum to share with family and friends.

Organizations

Dian Friedman Speaks at Suffield Woman’s Club

By |

Dian Friedman’s talked about her trip to Israel and Jordan in October and November 2018. She traveled with a group of 15 people through Overseas Adventure Travel in Boston. She told of her experience swimming in the Dead Sea, boating on the Galilee, and leaving a note in the Western Wall in Old Jerusalem. She stayed at a kibbutz and visited the Golan Heights and visited Tel Aviv and Haifa. Dian said she learned as much about Christian history as she did about Israeli history and felt safe while she was there. 

Everyone spoke English, so there was no communication problem.

People/Business

Fitness Studio Relocates

By |

Hits & Kicks, a Suffield physical fitness studio that specializes in boxing and kick-boxing, has moved to a new, more visible, location in the old CVS plaza between Zantos and Hair Unlimited. The vigorous training is provided by skilled instructors in scheduled, unisex classes. In two early morning visits, this reporter observed widely different activities: One session, called Pound, had the students following a leader in rhythmic full-body motions paced by music, including pairs of short batons tapped on the floor or clacked together along with the beat. On another morning the training was boxing – whacking vigorously on long, heavy punching bags dangling from a steel framework, – and sometimes kickboxing the bag as well, all to the shouted instructions and encouragement of the trainer. The boxing sessions were alternated with periods of high intensity interval training, like fast pushups and sit-ups but more complicated, again all to the demanding commands of the trainer.

Government/Town

Canvass of Voters is Underway

By |

State law mandates that a canvass of voters be conducted annually in the first four months of each year to ascertain changes of voter’s residence. Suffield’s canvass is underway. People often move within and out of town without notifying the registrars of their address changes. Therefore, the canvass helps to maintain an accurate voter list. If you receive a Confirmation of Voter’s Residence notice (CVR), please complete and return it within 30 days.

Schools/Sports

Career Forum Held at Suffield High School

By |

Suffield Police joined the Honorable Judge Jason Lobo, presiding juvenile judge at New Britain Superior Court, Attorney Jay Presser, a private attorney, and staff of the Connecticut State Police in a criminal justice and legal career forum held on January 29 for students at Suffield High School. Through a panel discussion as well as a lengthy question and answer session, the 20 students in attendance were exposed to various career fields and provided with several strategies to help prepare for these professions. And yes, Suffield High School School Resource Officer Kieselback provided donuts to the student participants (no stereotyping,  please). Hopefully our communities will see some of these Suffield young women and men protecting and serving in State Police grey or Suffield blue in the years to come!

Government/Town

Yard Goats Tickets on Sale

By |

Don’t miss Suffield Night with the Hartford Yard Goats on Saturday, July 13! They will be playing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the game starts at 6:05 p.m., plus FIREWORKS after the game! Please call Suffield Parks & Rec at 860-668-3862 for tickets.

Government/Town

Power Outage Handled Well

By |

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, January 29, a driver on Mountain Road dozed, ran his SUV off the road, and broke a utility pole just east of the entrance to Park View Glen, across from Suffield Middle School. He was injured and transported to a hospital. The momentary perturbation in electrical power was felt at SMS and McAlister and briefly affected homes nearby on the north side of Mountain Road. Both schools opened normally. But the pole was key to power and communications to a large part of Park View Glen, and several dozen homes in the eastern part of the condo community lost their connections.

Government/Town

Ways to Replace Road Salt

By |

We use a lot of salt, along with sand, for de-icing our roads when the weather gets slippery, and this widespread use of salt has some serious environmental impacts. That’s why Suffield’s Highway Department is looking into a product called Ice Chip. Ice Chip, developed by a Windsor Locks entrepreneur, Joe Rouleau, is a plant-based product which is supposed to leave nothing behind to damage the environment. Salt rusts out our cars, as well as bridges and railroads. It damages plant life along the roads, is bad for pets who eat it or walk on it, and the run-off is especially problematic for wetland areas and aquifers, destroying aquatic life.

Government/Town

It’s Really a Bazaar

By |

The final winter market brought many vendors and visitors to the high school’s Agriscience Center on February 9, and as usual the affair was more of a bazaar than a farm market. Only two farms were selling vegetables: Suffield’s Simpaug and Enfield’s Easy Pickin’s. Cupola Hollow Farm was there, but their booth, with a wide variety of delicious preserves, candy, syrup, etc., didn’t include the fresh greenhouse vegetables, apples, eggs, and well-stored root vegetables offered by Simpaug and Easy Pickin’s. The bazaar aspect of the market is the gathering of part-time vendors offering diverse items like knit and woven work, jewelry, clothing accessories, coffee mugs, wrap-chaps, woodcraft, naturally-flavored twigs for rabbits to chew on, and other interesting doo-dads. Julie Simmons also brought a rabbit to do some chewing and entertain the children.

Government/Town

Sidewalks

By |

Owners or occupants of any premises where there is a public sidewalk MUST remove snow and ice from the sidewalk within 12 hours from the end of the storm. Fines may be issued for violation of the ordinance.

Government/Town

Suffield Town Hall Renovation Plans Continue

By |

It’s been a long, hard-working endeavor to find a workable plan for the needed Town Hall improvements, but First Selectman Melissa Mack is leading the effort to proceed with the only plan she now feels is appropriate to pursue. A Request for Proposals (RFP) based on this plan was being carefully edited at press time and was expected to be published by the end of February. The present chapter in Town Hall history passed a key point on October 8, 2015. By then, appraisals of the precarious condition of aging Town Hall infrastructure, along with space needs studies, had coalesced into a plan for renovations and improvements to the building, including a state-required expansion of the Town Clerk’s records vault. On October 8, 2015 at Suffield Middle School 2,247 voters — an extraordinary turnout — voted, by 65 percent, to approve a proposed bonded appropriation of $5.13 million for the Town Hall project. Since then, a number of concepts for the Town Hall have been studied, some of which, involving significant expansion of the old building and two concepts for entirely new buildings, cost as much as double the approved amount.