At home and abroad, we salute you for serving our great country.
This Memorial Day, you can pay tribute to our fallen soldiers by attending a parade. See page 5 for a listing of area Memorial Parades and learn the story behind the cherished poppy.
A group of Connecticut Veterans will visit the WWII Monument in D.C. at the end of this month. “A lot of people talk about taking care of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ but what we aim to do is give them the greatest send-off that they deserve and call that their ‘Day of Honor,’” Chris Coutu, founder of this American Warrior program told the Resident.
Philip Worski, Norwich, is among the 100 vets who made the maiden voyage in 2007. Find out what Phil says about the trip on page 9 and if you can help out with some of the trip expenses, go to www.americanwarrior.us.
You can’t help but catch some community spirit when you meet the Nagels of Gales Ferry on page 4. And, if you missed the 9th annual Taste of the Lymes, you can get the scoop from Resident reporters, Tony Schillaci and Don Church also on 4.
Author and former Deep River resident LeeAnne Wright puts her journalism skills to work again by publishing A Slimmer You: 93 Juicy Weight-Loss Nuggets for Smart Women. Our Roger Zotti tells us on page 15 that LeeAnn’s latest effort is designed to promote healthy eating and healthy living.
The Resident congratulates Angela Arnold again for being the 59th Citizen of the Year! It was a first-class celebration…all the way on page 7.
Thanks for reading the Resident, the Good News that Rocks! Please remember to patronize our advertisers as they’re helping to make the “good news” happen.
The 17th Annual HWM Good Friday Open was held on Friday, April 10, at Winnapaug Country Club, Westerly. The proceeds for the event directly benefited the Department of Cardiology and Diabetes Research Program and Services at the CT Children’s Medical Center (CCMC), Hartford. Harry Martinez, coordinator, raised over $35,000 for CCMC since he started the event in 1993. The money will go to helping the CCMC remain a premier provider of state-of-the-art care for children of all ages with heart conditions or diabetes.
Prizes included trophies donated from Mallove’s Jewelers, Waterford, and gift certificates donated by Girard Nissan, Groton, Winnapaug Country Club, Rapid Car Wash, New London, Submarine Car Wash, Groton, and Watch Hill Pizza. Tournament Prizes for Hole-in-one, Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive, as well as, 65 raffle prizes were also donated by local business.
If it is a Thursday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30, you will find Art and Karen Nagel, Gales Ferry, sitting at a table helping children with their homework at the B.P. Learned Mission, New London. Volunteering there for the past three years is the highlight of Art and Karen’s week.
“My wife Karen and I also attend plays and help at social events at the Learned Mission Center,” Art tells me. “The children are wonderful. As we get to know the children, they become very enthusiastic to see us and give us lots of hugs.”
Karen also appreciates the hugs. “What a joy it is to have a young child see you and run to give you a hug,” Karen agrees.
Art and Karen are no strangers to volunteer work. “I first started volunteering as a baseball, softball and soccer coach in the Ledyard youth league,” Art shares with me. “I like giving back to my community. At present, I work in a first grade classroom in Gales Ferry School reading to the children, helping them write their stories and performing science experiments with them. All children need some attention and positive reinforcement.”
And Karen? “I am currently on the boards of directors of Child & Family Agency, Martin House, and Thames River Community Service. Also, during tax season I am a local coordinator for the AARP tax-aide program, which assists older people and those with low to moderate incomes with filing their tax returns.”
Both Art and Karen affirm, “There is a tremendous need for all kinds of volunteer help in our community. If you can commit to a volunteer program that interests you, your life will be enriched beyond what you can imagine.”
The B.P. Learned Mission is one of the programs of the Child & Family Agency of SECT, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The Agency assists children and families-at-risk. Their programs deal with the prevention of child-abuse, the treatment of family violence, teen pregnancy, children’s health care, parent education and children’s mental health. New volunteers for the programs are always needed and welcomed.
“The B.P. Learned Mission exists to promote the overall academic and social development of children in lower income families,” Jennifer Messina, coordinator of education, shares with me. “We serve 65 children here from ages five to 13. Volunteers are used in all our after school programs including tutoring, literacy, sports, recreation, arts and crafts and our theatre program. We use the skills the volunteer has to offer. May 16th and 17th, the children will be performing in the play The Lion King.”
To volunteer just call the B.P. Learned Mission at 860.442.1798.
The Lyme-Old Lyme Council of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut hosted its ninth annual “Taste of the Lymes” on Sunday, May 3, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the Lyme Art Association. Restaurants from Lyme, Old Lyme and East Lyme offered samples of their most popular dishes.
Taste of the Lymes is a community tradition, pairing culinary specialties from local restaurants and caterers with fine wines and imported beers. Peggy Ames, owner, Rogers Lake Liquor Shoppe, coordinated the wine and beer selections. Participants included The Hideaway, Cherrystone’s, Old Lyme Inn, Bee & Thistle, Hong Kong II, Oriental Cafe, Hallmark Drive-In, The Cafe at Lyme Academy, Bureau’s Sugarhouse, Laysville Deli, Koffeeworks, Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe, Old Lyme Pizza Palace, Morning Glory Café, The Chocolate Shell, Elaine Hayes from Reynolds Subaru, Pizza Plus, Subway of Old Lyme, Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm and Flander’s Fish Market & Restaurant, among others. Ashlawn Farm Coffee, Lyme, was served.
Sheila Werthheimer of Werthheimer and Associates supplied the many centerpieces of beautiful flowers, and Brenda Casey at the white grand piano played romantic standards throughout the afternoon. Pizzeria DaVinci helped sponsor the event. All proceeds funded a scholarship program for local students.
Tony Sheridan, president, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, reminded The Resident that the group, “Builds and promotes a strong and sustainable regional economy, works to increase awareness of the region at the local, state and national levels; acts as ‘the voice of business’ for the region in CT government; advocates for membership diversity; works to enhance hospitality and support for military personnel and their families; and promotes eastern CT as a great place to live, work and play.”
For more information about the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, call 860.464.7373 or visit www.chamberect.com or the Lyme-Old Lyme Council at www.lolcc.com.
My grandfather was a World War II vet and when I was a little girl, he always bought me those red poppies the veterans would sell outside of the grocery store. He told me, “Make sure you always have a poppy. Never forget.” This is one of my fond memories I cherish since he passed. I always have a red poppy tucked into my visor in my car, but I didn’t know why other than my Grandpa told me to. Now, I’m older and I buy my own poppies, but I thought I should find out what they mean.
In battlefields of the past, when the war was over, a strange thing happened. Poppies would grow where blood once stained the ground. In 1915, John McCrae wrote his famous poem, “In Flanders Fields” which commemorated this phenomenon. In response, Moina Michael wrote her own poem (above) and began wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day. Madam Guerin of France heard of the idea and began making and selling red poppies. A year later she asked for the VFW’s help, and the rest, as they say, “Is history.”
So this Memorial Day, don’t forget the true meaning – remember our fallen veterans. Buy your poppy and I hope to see you at one of the parades!
Sunday, May 24
Scotland: 12:00 pm
Route: Corner of Rt. 14 & 97 to New Scotland Cemetery
Colchester: 12:30 pm
Route: William Johnson School to Veterans Green
Ledyard: 1:00 pm
Route: Memorial Gardens to Ledyard High School
Host: Ledyard Lions Club
Monday, May 25
Westerly-Pawcatuck: 9:30 am
Route: Pawcatuck Shopping Center to Wilcox Park
Host: Westerly-Pawcatuck Veterans’ Board of Control
North Stonington: 10:00 am
Route: Rt. 2, North Stonington Village to Middle School
Host: N. Stonington Lions Club
Taftville: 10:00 am
Service in Memorial Park
Sponsor: VFW Post 2212 and American Legion Post 104
Woodstock: 11:00 am
Route: Rt. 169 to the Veterans Memorial
Host: American Legion Benson-Flugel Post 111
Waterford: 11:00 am
Route: Rope Ferry Road
Mystic: 2:00 pm – Rain or Shine
Route: Bank Square to Post Home (across from Brustolon)
Parade Marshal: General (ret) Ron Gauss
Host: Hugo A. Simonelli Post #3263 Veterans of Foreign Wars
Contact: Walt Durant 860.536.7698 or Bill Lewis 860.536.6937.
East Lyme: 2:00 pm
Route: near St. John’s Green to East Lyme Town Hall
Host: East Lyme Vets Council
Norwich: 2:30 pm
Route: Cathedral of St. Patrick to Chelsea Parade
Sponsor: Norwich Area Veterans Council
At home and abroad, we salute you for serving our great country.
