First of June, Sing a Tune…

Ahh well, I don’t have a tune for you; how about some pictures?

We dodged the T-Storm here last evening but there was a spectacular sky as the storm went by.
First this:

Then this:

Serenity Returns to Wes Campus….

In the few days following the tumultuous events of last week (the police student confrontation*), peace has returned to the campus just in time for next weekend’s reunion and commencement celebrations. Following is a portion of the university’s announcement about the 176th Commencement. Senator Ted Kennedy was scheduled to be the speaker but his appearance remains doubtful because of recent health issues.

The 176th Commencement Ceremony (11 AM May 25)
The Commencement Ceremony will be available live by Webcast. Please go to http://wescast.wesleyan.edu for details about how you can view the ceremony.
A live broadcast of the Commencement ceremony will be available in the Memorial Chapel, Patricelli ’92 Theater, Crowell Concert Hall, and Tishler Lecture Hall (Room 150), Exley Sciene Center, rain or shine. The ceremony may also be viewed online. Please check this site for details the week of May 18, 2008.
In case of inclement weather, you may also call the main University number at 860/685-2000 to determine whether or not the University will institute the rain plan for the Commencement Ceremony.

*The student-police clash created great controversy and charges and counter charges are in the air and on the blogosphere. We reported on it on Right of Middle; Wesleying blog has been all over it; Ed McKeon at Cauterwaled weighed in; the student run Wesleyan Argus published a special edition, also see Hartford Courant and Middletown Press.

On April 6 last we reported on an incident involving several students and one Middletown police officer.

Finally, an historical note regarding Wesleyan town/gown, police/student relations: On May Day 1954 following a veterans parade on Washington Street there occurred a near riot on campus. Right of Middle reported (April 30, 2007):

….events of the previous Sunday (Loyalty Day) when some Wesleyan students clashed with police and VFW members during a parade through town and onto the campus. The disturbance garnered nationwide attention, with charges of subversion on campus….An informal band of students with musical instruments began to perform in front of the Delta Kappa Epsilon house. Other students with their instruments joined the band and they all marched on High St to Washington St where they turned around only to find themselves leading the VFW parade which had just come up Washington and turned onto High…..From this point forward confusion reigned. Police, in attempting to clear the streets for the marchers, were accused of undue roughness although it was evident that a number of students provoked the officers. At least one student, Terry Hatter, was taken into custody; other students refused to doff their hats when the flag passed and were rebuked by police.

The commotion continued onto Andrus Field, The Argus reported::

The police then began to disperse the students. the marchers who had been standing on the other side of the stret started to cross the steet, saying something about “un-peace” apparently in reference to the sign. By the time they had reached the other side the students had been herded into the house by the police. The bulk of the paraders had reached Andrus field by this time and were awaiting the start of the speeches. Several inquisitive students had gathered behind Denison Terrace to view the proceedings. It was this time that the German Swastika flag, a trophy brought to Wesleyan by a veteran paratrooper after the war, was seen hanging from a dormitory window. The flag had been brought to the dormitory from the Alpha Delta Phi house, where it had been hanging for about twenty minutes. The Alpha Delta had gotten the flag from students who had been dissuaded from hanging it at the Beta Theta Pi house. (The Argus from the period-pdf)

Ahh youth….Happy Spring and Best Wishes to all new grads,,,We return to serenity below….

Steadyjohn photos

Connecticut’s Largest Tree….

Although the world’s largest living organism is a fungus in Oregon it, sadly for observers, is almost entirely underground. Not so the Pinchot Sycamore on the east bank of the Farmington River in Weataug (Simsbury). Standing tall at nearly 100 feet and with a circumference of over 28 feet this sycamore is the largest tree in Connecticut and the largest sycamore in New England. In the aerial view below the full canopy of the tree can be seen next the open area immediately to the right of the bridge at the road side.

In April 2000 the Hartford Courant described the tree and its surroundings:

Nobody knows exactly how old it is, but it is almost certainly two centuries old, and it may be three centuries old. It is named for Gifford Pinchot, a Simsbury native who became the first head of the U.S. Forest Service, a governor of Pennsylvania and co-founder of what today is the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies…..It is the state’s largest tree of any kind, it is the largest sycamore in New England and, latest information suggests, it may be tied with a tree in Bath, Va., for honors as the largest sycamore in the United States. It appears to be healthy.

More interesting information here.

Coleman Brothers Shows 2008

The annual appearance of this venerable carnival was accompanied as usual by cold and damp weather. But the season opening of The Coleman Brothers Shows here in Middletown is really a shakedown cruise and warm up for the long season ahead which takes the show on the road all over the Northeast. Next stop Willimantic. What is really remarkable about this show is how swiftly the tents are folded and the rides dis-assembled; the show open until 9 PM Saturday evening and the field nearly empty at 9 AM Sunday morn. I live nearby and did not hear their passing in the night. I made a video (6:06) which I invite you to watch; comments please.

Army Base: Common Council Workshop Feb21

The public is welcome at a Middletown Common Council workshop concerning the siting of the proposed U.S. Army Reserve Center. The date is Feb 21 at 7 PM in council chambers.

See our earlier posting for more details on the proposal; also more from Right of Middle here.

Bird Feeder Hazards….

And you thought you had only the squirrels to worry about!

A One Float Parade….

The moving of buildings, large and small, is a tradition here in New England. Years ago thrifty Yankees would recycle their buildings in many ways. Post and beam houses were disassembled and erected elsewhere. Entire buildings were jacked off their foundations, lowered onto log rollers, hitched to large teams of oxen or horse and taken to their new location. When lumber was cheap and iron nails dear, old houses would be burned for their nail content! Today, methods have changed but the tradition of moving buildings continues. The building moved yesterday, a former Methodist church built in 1853, was moved 2 blocks from #9 Liberty St. to #47 Rapallo Av. here in the city. Further North on Main St, the building next to O’Rourke’s Diner, also a church, was moved to that spot many years ago. Much more recent is the dismantling of the 18th century mill on Washington St. near West. St., and just several weeks ago, the dismantling of an 18th century house on West St, just above the Gulf station. These buildings have been preserved and will be erected elsewhere.

This particular move required much planning and co-ordination among the consulting overseer, the moving contractor, various utilities, and the CT DOT. Traffic lights street lamps, and utility lines had to be temporarily taken down or protected from the huge building which would take over most of Main Street for its passage. This preliminary work was done early Saturday evening and traffic was rerouted to enable the crews to work unimpeded. All was ready around 1:30 AM Sunday morning and the building was then seen to inch its way off the corner lot, over the curb, and onto Main Street. Once there and heading North one could measure its progress in inches per hour! It was a fascinating spectacle, one that attracted quite a few observers despite the late hour. All in all, a slow motion parade with only a single float; not something you see everyday! Oh, and this building will be converted into four low income housing units on Liberty St as part of the revitalization of the city’s North End, and will make way for commercial development of its former site at Liberty and Main.

Middletown North End Action Team (N.E.A.T.) Community Organizer Lydia Brewster

The North End Action Team is a grassroots advocacy group that began in the spring of 1997.
Purpose of N.E.A.T.as a non-profit community organization, shall, through its members and the Advisory Board, organize and mobilize the residents in the neighborhood, empowering them through a process of democratic decision-making and direct action, to address particular issues affecting the neighborhood. This corporation will propose neighborhood initiatives, design and produce communal events and fulfill the function of watchdog at City Hall and in the state government. N.E.A.T. shall not endorse political candidates or parties.

Our Mission:
The North End Action Team is a neighborhood advocacy group consisting of residents and stakeholders of the North End neighborhood of Middletown, Connecticut. It’s mission is to enrich and advocate for neighborhood interest.

N.E.A.T.’s storefront headquarters at Main St. and Rapallo Ave Middletown

Sign announcing the project featuring the major tenant It’s Only Natural Market

Developer Peter Harding (r) and Nehemiah Housing Corp.’s Michael Taylor (c)

In 1986, Middletown community members formed Nehemiah Housing Corporation to develop and operate a range of housing options for families and individuals who are unable to find quality affordable housing. Nehemiah builds communities by developing affordable housing for families and individuals with resident services and quality property management, as appropriate, with a focus on Middlesex County.

The happy new tenants: Don and Ann Marie Sataline owners of It’s Only Natural Market

Brian Cigal of TimberFrame Barn Conversions enjoys coffee and snacks provided for workers and spectators at N.E.A.T. headquarters by Lydia Brewster (r)

N.E.A.T. hospitality!

Workers dwarfed by the huge building and its carriage! John deNicholas (l) , Nicholas Bros., supervising.

Hydraulically powered aircraft type wheels and tires inch the building forward

Halfway into Main Street, starting to turn and head North

Moving North on Main Street; estimated speed an inch a minute!

Paul Cigal (r), overseer of project with Joe deNicholas, of Nicholas Bros.,the moving contractor,

I spoke with Paul Cigal today about his professional experiences and his involvement in this moving project:

Over the last 20+ years in the building trade and historic preservation field, I’ve had experience coordinating projects that involve moving buildings on wheels; with cranes; and by taking apart, moving by flatbed truck, and reassembling at a new location. My friend and former partner, David Berto, is involved in this Middletown project with N.E.A.T., and he contacted me to ask if I would participate in this one. These types of challanging projects are just what I like to accomplish and I jumped at the chance. Working for Peter Harding as project coordinator, I solicitated bids from the trades, applied for and secured the many permits required for the move, and completed tons of paperwork. I’d guess I talked with more than 100 people over the course of two months in order to move this house.

Contact Paul Cigal at paul@convertabarn.com

Go to the Nicholas Bros. website to see some of the amazing array of other buildings they have moved.

(all photos and video credit ConservaCity)

Hartford Courant articles yesterday, and earlier.

Also see Caterwauled blog for 7/3/07 ,8/9/07, and 10/1/07. for discussion of some of the controversy regarding this project.

Moving Day: 9 Liberty Street….

ConservaCity Photo

Update added 1/12/08: Long, interesting article in today’s Hartford Courant about the building and the move.

As part of the Liberty Square project this historically important former church at 9 Liberty Street in the city will be moved Saturday to a new site on Rapallo Avenue. Details of the move including traffic information are reprinted below from the Hartford Courant (1/10/08):

MIDDLETOWN — – During the late evening hours of Saturday through early morning Sunday, a house will be moved from the intersection of Main and Liberty streets to 47 Rapallo Ave.

Traffic will be restricted on area streets from 6:30 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday. Grand Street traffic will be closed to eastbound through traffic, although local access will be maintained for parking lots and residents.

Starting about 2 a.m., the house will start moving north. Northbound lanes of Main Street will be closed at Washington Street and traffic will be detoured to Dekoven Drive to Rapallo Avenue to get to the Arrigoni Bridge and Route 9. Southbound Main Street traffic will be detoured onto Grand and Pearl streets to get to Route 66.

The house will be moved onto Rapallo Avenue no later than 7 a.m., and Main Street will be re-opened. That section of Dekoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue will be closed to through traffic until the house is placed on the lot.

Parking on Main Street between Grand and Liberty streets and on portions of Rapallo Avenue will be prohibited starting at 10 p.m. Saturday.

For more information call the traffic bureau at 860-344-3265.

Also see Caterwauled blog for 7/3/07 ,8/9/07, and 10/1/07.

Tags: liberty square middletown ct,house moving,historic middletown ct,

Middlesex Co. Hist. Society Open Dec 15

The Middlesex County Historical Society will be open Saturday December 15 from 1 to 5 PM.

Visitors will be able to view the society’s collection of Christmas and New Year’s cards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Antique dolls, paper dolls and games are also on exhibit.

Executive Director Donna Baron will be on hand to talk with visitors interested in undertaking family history research or seeking information on Middletown history.
The society is at the Mansfield House, 151 Main St. Call 860-346-0746 or e-mail mchs@wesleyan.edu for further information

I plan to post photographs from around the city and environs;

Here are two taken in October.

I’d be interested in how many folks know about this architectural gem tucked away on Middletown hillside. Write a comment about it if you wish.

Coginchaug Cleanup:Great Turnout & Results!

About 20 folks assembled this beautiful September morn for the annual cleanup of the Coginchaug River in Middletown CT. This effort is sponsored by the Connecticut River Watershed Council and other organizations. We found carpets, mattresses, tires, and shopping carts just to mention the larger items. Other assorted trash filled scores of large garbage bags. The city supplied materials handling supplies and trucks to haul away the debris.

This post also appears at http://conservacity.blogspot.com/

Some video here (0:1:06)
Still photos are below. I apologize for earlier photos that did not render for most viewers.