Past events and articles

Sunday, October 23, 2011: Wadsworth Mansion Open Air Market and Festival, It was a little chilly, but still a well-attended event.  Thanks to all who stopped by, and who volunteered to staff our table! 

Sunday, October 2, 2011: 26th Annual Middletown Antique/Classic Car & Truck Show and Flea Market, at the Middletown High School. It was a lovely day and a good time was had by all. See pictures on our Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/qZgNF6 

Saturday, September 24, 2011:  Civil War Day at the Mansfield House:  Over 100 people visited the Mansfield House and gardens yesterday for Civil War Day 2011, braving the threatening skies.  Thanks to everyone who made this day a success!  See pictures on our Facebook page:  http://on.fb.me/nmViib

August 17, 2011, Luncheon in the Mansfield House Garden:  Over 120 people attended the annual garden luncheon in the Mansfield House garden.  It was a beautiful day with lots of good company! Thanks to everyone who attended and especially to everyone who provided the food, decorations, wait service and setup/cleanup.  The Society netted $2,300 for the replacement and upgrade of the Mansfield House security system. 

The Historical Society on the air: 

• On August 10, 2011, Debby Shapiro was a guest on WNPR's "Where we Live" with John Dankosky, talking about the role Middletown played in the Civil War. To hear the broadcast: http://bit.ly/n9m27c  

• On July 21, 2011, Channel 8 news aired a segment on African American soldiers in the Civil War, filmed in part at the Mansfield House. Executive Director Debby Shapiro gave Channel 8's Gil Simmons a tour of "Hard & Stirring Times," the Society's Civil War exhibit.  See it at the Channel 8 website: http://bit.ly/pRv5UN  

• On June 24, 2011, Debby Shapiro and Pat Tully appeared on the Bauer Hour with David Bauer to talk about the Historical Society, the Mansfield House, and the history of Middletown. 

• On July 7, 2011, the Society was featured on Comcast Cable's 'Community Conversations' program, hosted by Dan Drew.  Debby Shapiro was joined by Board members Joe Samolis and Lisa Santangelo to talk about the Mansfield House and exhibits. 

Improvements in the garden: The Mansfield House herb garden has been refurbished by volunteer Bonnie Penders, who recently completed the Master Gardener program at the UConn Extension Center.  She not only weeded, but she thinned and rearranged plants, and added some new ones.  Work is continuing on the boxwood garden in the back yard, courtesy of member Sally D'Aquila.  Thanks to Bonnie, Sally, and everyone who has worked so hard to make the gardens beautiful!

Middletown women online:  The Litchfield Historical Society's database of students of the Litchfield Law School and the Litchfield Female Academy includes the work of two Middletown women, an 1818 mourning watercolor by Delia Coe, and an 1813 mourning watercolor by Julia Ann Burr. Click on the photograph in each record to see the amazing detail of each image!

Summer 2011: Work on the Mansfield House: The chimneys of the Mansfield House have been re-pointed and repaired.  See more pictures on our Facebook page.

June 15, 2011:  Cruise Night in Middletown:  The Mansfield House was open until 8pm; Executive Director Debby Shapiro and volunteer extraordinaire Juliane Silver welcomed 24 visitors who toured the exhibits and told stories of their Middletown ancestors.  Thanks to everyone who dropped by!

June 11, 2011:  Connecticut Open House Day:  The Society participated in this annual event organized by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, with free admission to the Mansfield House.

June 2, 2011:  21st annual Sheedy contest reception. The William B. Sheedy contest is held each year for the best third-grade essays on a favorite ancestor. This year we had 124 wonderful entries and had a difficult time choosing the 12 winners.  On June 2 at the Mansfield House we had an award ceremony and reception for the winning students and their families.  Thanks to every student who submitted an entry!  Click here for more information about the contest and this year's winners.

Middletown products in far-flung places:  Member Richard Dickerson sent us pictures of a W&B Douglas pump in Melbourne, Australia, and a Wilcox & Crittenden wheel in Inverie, Scotland.  See our Facebook page, and visit Dick Dickerson's Tool Makers of Middletown, Connecticut!

Opening May 19, 2011: Within These Walls: One House, One Family, Two Centuries.  New exhibit on the General Mansfield House, the families who lived there, and the Middletown they lived in.  Thanks to guest curator Charlotte Cottier, Wesleyan class of 2012, graphic artist and long-time Board member Dave Wolfram, Debby Shapiro, Joe Samolis, and everyone involved!  Please drop by the Mansfield House for a fascinating look at Middletown over the past 200 years.

May 4, 2011: TRACES bus with traveling exhibit, "Held on the Homefront: German POWs in the Midwest, 1943-46."  Sponsored by Russell Library and the Society.  The TRACES bus contains a lot of information in a small space!  Over 90 people visited the bus, despite the rain.  Thanks to Russell Library, TRACES, and to everyone who visited!  See photos on our Facebook page.

April 26, 2011: Annual Membership Meeting.  Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting and the Arthur M. Schultz Lecture by Richard Buel, Professor of History Emeritus, Wesleyan University. Professor Buel gave an engaging talk on the circumstances that led to the settling of the Western Reserve in Northern Ohio, with a lively Q&A session afterwards. 

April 16 - 17, 2011:  Connecticut and the Civil War / Commemoration Kick-Off  at Central Connecticut State University and New Britain's Stanley Quarter Park.  Thanks to everyone who braved the cold on Saturday or attended Sunday!  Connecticut's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War kicked off with events at Central Connecticut State University and New Britain's Stanley Quarter Park.  There was an encampment, demonstrations of period firearms and camp life, re-enactments of skirmishes and vintage baseball games, and more.  The Society was represented at the exhibit hall in CCSU's Student Center, with other Civil War-related sites and organizations in Connecticut.

April 1, 2011:  Fundraiser / talk by Michael Burlingame, prominent Lincoln scholar:  Michael Burlingame, the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield and one of the nation's foremost Lincoln scholars, gave a talk on how recently discovered resources have changed the public's perception of Abraham Lincoln. Our thanks to Professor Burlingame, our sponsors, and everyone who attended! 

March 20, 2011:  Women's History Walking Tour:  Dione Longley, former director of the Historical Society, led a walking tour of Middletown and told the stories of the strong, inspiring women who have lived here.  65 people participated in the tour and the reception afterwards at the Mansfield House.  Thanks to everyone who attended on such a beautiful day! 

March 19, 2011:  The Middletown chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians donated their original 1875 charter to the Society.  Deborah Shapiro, Executive Director, accepted the charter on behalf of the Society at the AOH's annual St. Patrick's Day banquet at the Elks Hall.

March 10, 2011, Powder Ridge Rock Festival: 1970:  Past president of the Historical Society, Bill Ryczek, gave a talk on the July 1970 rock festival at Powder Ridge in Middlefield. Bill talked both about the festival itself, the court injunction that kept all performers away, with the exception of Melanie Safka, and the aftermath.  Members of the audience who remembered the festival told some wonderful stories.  Thanks to everyone who attended! 

Snow Storms, 1888 and 2011:  History is always being made. Click here to view pictures of Middletown after the Blizzard of 1888 and our 2011 storms.

2010 Middletown Antique & Classic Car and Truck Show Results - Thanks to everyone who participated and attended on October 3, 2010!

Pat Kidney - Father of Middletown Parks and Playgrounds - Read an expanded version of the article in the latest newsletter, The Historical Observer, by Pat Kidney's grandson, Phil Pessoni.