Connecticut
Small Histories and Small Towns
History is made of great events and larger-than-life characters. That’s how the past is presented in high school and college, anyway. But there are smaller histories and more down-to-earth players who may warrant more local attention than they receive.
Case in point, when I was doing research for a historical novel, I came across Carolyn Wakeman’s book about Old Lyme, The Charm of the Place. In it, I discovered the town’s early 20th-century pharmacy on Lyme Street. Fritz Morris James managed it, likely the only African American in town then. Mr. James led me back across the river to his sister in Old Saybrook, Anna Louise James, who was the first African American woman to be licensed as a pharmacist in Connecticut. Her pharmacy still stands on Pennywise Lane.
From “Miss James,” I discovered her niece Ann Lane (later, Ann Petry). She graduated from Old Saybrook High School (OSHS) in 1929, and following family tradition, got a pharmacy degree. But her real fame was as a fiction writer. Her debut novel, The Street, was published in 1946 and went on to sell 1.5 million copies. She published other novels and short stories and lectured at several universities. Ann Petry died in Old Saybrook in 1997 at the age of eighty-eight.
I must have passed her house on Old Boston Post Road hundreds of times without a clue of her existence. I graduated from OSHS in 1974, when Petry was only sixty-six. I took a creative writing class in high school, but no one mentioned the famous writer half a mile from the school. As far as I know, no one invited her to the school to give a lecture or to talk about the craft of writing. She reportedly disliked fame and perhaps memories of small-town racism fed her seclusion. Whatever the reasons, I remained ignorant of her, her books, and her family’s history in Saybrook and Old Lyme until I was sixty-six.
There has been some recent effort to correct this omission. Last Fall, the Old Saybrook Historical Society featured an exhibit about Anna James the pharmacist, and Ann Petry the author. The Acton Library now has a permanent Ann Petry Reading Room and a display of her books and books about her. Still, it seems too little, too late. Maybe the town or the high school should have an annual Petry Writing Prize for local writers or students. Maybe the high school should devote a week or so to local history, to the people and places in town that warrant remembrance. Maybe every town high school should devote a week to looking back at the people and events that made their town.
Old Lyme and Old Saybrook are admittedly target-rich in history and famous people. Yet, many of Connecticut’s towns have hosted enough history and residents to write their own local Atlas Obscura of the forgotten. Maybe one of them will find another Ann Petry.
Edward McSweegan is the author of the forthcoming historical novel about Old Lyme, The Cottage Industry.
Connecticut
27 Wrestlers Named State Open Wrestling Champions In Connecticut Over Weekend; Xavier Dominates Tournament
Over the weekend, the two-day CIAC State Open wrestling championships took place at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, Connecticut.
Twenty-seven wrestlers (14 boys, 13 girls) were named champions in their respective weight classes, displaying intense wrestling featuring the best wrestlers across the state.
Championship bouts started around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday and lasted about two hours.
Below are the results from both the boys’ and girls’ state open championships.
106 lbs.: Xavier’s Josh Perez def. Stafford’s John Bean 17-2 (technical fall)
113 lbs.: Ridgefield’s Cole Desiano def. Suffield/Windsor Locks’ Peter Annis 8-0 (decision)
120 lbs.: Xavier’s Zack Dixon def. Somers’ Will Acorsi 12-0 (majority decision)
126 lbs.: Windham’s Delmazio Despard def. Xavier’s Alexander Depratti 4-3 (decision)
132 lbs.: Fairfield Warde’s Jude Grammatico def. Xavier’s Zaphyr Musshorn 2-1 (decision)
138 lbs.: Ledyard’s Lukas Boxley def. Terryville’s Ethan Bochman Rodriguez (pin)
144 lbs.: Xavier’s Braylon Gonzalez def. Ridgefield’s John Carrozza 3-1 (decision)
150 lbs.: Bristol Central’s Alex Lamarre def. Middletown’s Isaiah McDaniel 1-0 (decision)
157 lbs.: Newtown’s Antonio Arguello def. Notre Dame-West Haven’s Riley Storozuk 8-4 (decision)
165 lbs.: Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott def. Trumbull’s Hubert Szymko 2-0 (decision)
175 lbs.: Xavier’s Vincent Rivera def. Fairfield Prep’s Jack Lilly 14-10 (decision)
190 lbs.: Xavier’s Chase Catalano def. Fairfield Warde’s Dylan O’Brien 2-1 (decision)
215 lbs.: Lyme-Old Lyme’s Taiyo Gemme def. Staples’ Julian Rousseau (pin)
285 lbs.: Shelton’s Chase Galke def. Ellington’s Jacob Palermo 3-0 (decision)
100 lbs.: South Windsor’s Sophia Gordon def. West Haven’s Isha Khanna (pin)
107 lbs.: RHAM’s Brooke Heffernan def. New Milford’s Clara Reynolds 9-2 (decision)
114 lbs.: Branford’s Ava Gambardella def. Jonathan Law’s Selena Batres 6-0 (decision)
120 lbs.: Trumbull’s Jillian Blake def. Fairfield Warde’s Monica Flores Romero 17-1 (technical fall)
126 lbs.: Ellis Tech’s Adelina Tate def. Fairfield Ludlowe’s Ashlynn Cummings (pin)
132 lbs: Amity’s Eliana Selaris def. Daniel Hand’s Evely Lavigne (pin)
138 lbs.: Stratford’s Winner Tshibombi def. Greenwich’s Gaby Aliaga 22-8 (majority decision)
145 lbs.: Stratford’s Gabriella Kiely def. New Milford’s Josephina Piel (pin)
152 lbs: Bunnell’s Matilda Tote def. Shelton’s Ella Piccirillo (pin)
165 lbs: Trumbull ‘s Marangelie Teixeira def. New Britain’s Kaydence Atkinson (pin)
185 lbs.: Platt’s Kayli Morris def. Bristol Central’s Shyann Bryan (pin)
235 lbs.: Norwalk’s Jeily Euceda def. Maloney’s Arianna Bellamy (pin)
Xavier High School (Middletown, CT) has been the most dominant wrestling program in the state in recent memory. Once again, they stole the show in the state opens, winning its fifth-straight state open title.
The Falcons had seven wrestlers compete out of the 14 state open titles in the boys’ division and had five winners with two runner-ups. As a team, they totaled 218.5 points, which was 72 more points than any other team.
An investigation is ongoing in Stonington after a person was fatally struck by an Amtrak train Saturday morning, according to Stonington police.
Police were notified around 11:25 a.m. by Amtrak police that a pedestrian was struck by a train between the Route 1 overpass and the Prospect Street and Palmer Street railroad crossing.
When crews arrived, they pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
The train involved is stopped while Amtrak police conduct their investigation and ask the public to avoid the area at this time.
Authorities say there is no threat to the public.
No further details were released.
Connecticut
Man shot, critically injured by police in Hartford; mayor says there will be a ‘full review’
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