Alexis Ann, editor & publisher, shares the good news of the Resident kicking off its 20th year!
by Alexis Ann
photo by Jessica Warzeniak
To our readers and advertisers, thank you for your support over the past 19 years. You make the Resident Good News Rock! Your consistent loyalty and participation make the Resident Priceless. Sharing your story in the Resident enhances this region’s history. So, at the top of our 20th Year, we send out a BIG THANK YOU to YOU and Happy Birthday.
When I founded this paper, I didn’t know that FREE Community Papers would be taking center stage to dailies. Change is good. We look toward the future of more good news…about YOU!
Yes, we do have a website….It’s fun and exciting…And, you can win anything from show tickets to turkeys. Go to www.theresident.com for more winnings!
There’s another birthday in the house! Last Friday, Resident reporter, Crystal Harpstreit, joined in celebrating the 60th Birthday of Ledyard Center School. Students glimpsed into the past when the school’s original time capsule, hidden behind the cornerstone since 1948 was revealed. Skip over here to discover what was inside the capsule.
Meet Tom Borner, Main Street Banker and Lawyer, CEO, Putnam Bank here. History buff, banker extraordinaire, lawyer, and community-mindedness are awesome ingredients resulting in one awesome person!
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.
(l-r) The Ledyard Center School celebrated its 60th birthday, on Friday, October 16th, with yellow and orange cupcakes in the shape of a”60.” Tiffany Hui, chooses a cupcake, while Nina Costales, and Christina Dio wait to pick one.
story & photo
by Crystal Harpstreit
Birthdays can bring young and old together to celebrate the past, present and future. On Friday, October 16, students, faculty and alumni of Ledyard Center School (LCS) assembled in the auditorium to celebrate its 60th birthday.
In the years before Ledyard Center School, local children attended any one of 14 tiny one-room schoolhouses throughout town. Construction began on Ledyard Center School in 1948 and was completed in 1949.
Upon opening, the school was “already too crowded, and had to hold 6th, 7th and 8th grade in the auditorium with dividers,” said Carol Ambrosch, a teacher at the school. Carol, who studied one-room schoolhouses in the Ledyard area as her master’s project, was very knowledgeable on the subject and gave a speech on the school’s humble beginnings.
Those who came to speak shared fond memories of their elementary school years with the students. Among the speakers was Ledyard Mayor Fred Allyn, who said, “Four of the six years I was here I had the same teacher,” and joked, “I wasn’t held back, but every year I went up a grade, she did too.”
David Holdridge was among those students who attended a one-room schoolhouse before the opening of the new LCS. The modern amenities available at LCS surprised David, as he quipped, “They had bathrooms inside the school.”
To help students visualize the differences between now and when the school opened its doors, Gianni Jannke DeMuzzio, an LCS sixth grader, put a video together with the help of a few other students. The video featured students from different grades remembering a favorite moment at LCS along with barbershop quartet music from the 1940s.
Students got a glimpse into the past when the school’s original time capsule, hidden behind the cornerstone since 1948, was revealed. Inside were town reports, records of the school, a photograph of the school and graduation exercises – all from 1949.
Unfortunately, weathering caused the papers to stick together and become ruined inside the small copper box. Today’s students hope to connect with the future through their time capsule which is inside a weatherproof plastic box and includes a copy of Friday’s paper, a school newsletter and a photo of Principal Mary Fort Boyle.
The birthday celebration was complete with orange and yellow frosted cupcakes and the gift of award-winning children’s books from Sharon Hightower, the Board of Education chairman, who said, “We are celebrating excellent teaching and excellent learning.”
Maybe, 60 years from now, students will open the time capsule from 2009 as that Ledyard Center School’s class share their memories of years gone by.
(l-r) Zehki Burgis and Christopher Medina look over their new copy of “A Student’s Dictionary” donated to the third-graders at the Ledyard Center School by the Ledyard Rotary Club. The donation was in honor of Noah Webster’s 251st birthday on Friday, October 16th.
story & photo
by Crystal Harpstreit
The Ledyard Rotary Club celebrated Noah Webster’s 251st birthday, Friday October, 16, by giving copies of “A Student’s Dictionary” to the third-graders of Ledyard Center School (LCS). Webster is the author of the first American dictionary.
Rotary International’s goal is to “encourage literacy worldwide,” said Ted Nunes, Public Relations Officer, Ledyard Rotary Club.
During the assembly, Mary Fort Boyle, the school’s principal, let students show off their knowledge of Webster by asking them questions about the author.
The kids let out a collective, “wow” over the longest word, which took up the entire last page of “A Student’s Dictionary.” All three members of the Rotary Club in attendance were connected to Ledyard Center School by children or grandchildren who are students at LCS.
On October 14th, Tom Borner, Chairman & CEO, Putnam Bank, cut the ribbon at the Putnam Bank Grand Opening of their new Norwich Branch. (behind, l-r) Kimberly Manavas, Norwich Branch Manager, Robert Halloran, President & CFO, Tony Sheridan, president, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT, Scott Belleville and Scott Merchant, representatives from the Norwich Fire Department, Alan Bergren, Norwich City Manager, Mark Bettencourt, Norwich City Councilman, Brian Curtin, Norwich City Treasurer, and Bob Reed, president, Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hardworking” and “community-minded” would describe Tom Borner, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Putnam Bank in Putnam and principal of the Law Offices of Borner Fraser and Aleman, Putnam.
The law office needs as much attention as the bank and Tom Borner praises his colleagues, saying, “I have the three best lawyers in the world working for me.”
Tom says of his banks, “We are the community,” which shows through donations like Putnam Bank’s gift of $5,000 to Three Rivers Community College. This donation will be used for one of the college’s scholarships.
A Grand Donation for A Grand Opening Putnam Bank Donated $1000 to the Norwich Fire Department in conjunction with their grand opening event on October 14. (l-r) Robert Halloran, pesident and CFO, Putnam Bank, Tom Borner, Chairman and CEO, Putnam Bank, and Norwich Fire Department representatives Scott Belleville and Scott Merchant.
“We’re here to stay.” Putnam Savings Bank opened its doors in 1862. An avid history buff, “The bank has survived the Civil War, World War I and II, the 1929 stock market crash and a few other marked points in history.”
Putnam Bank has eight full-time branches and utilized its locations on I-395 to expand. “We are pretty fortunate, 395 has done a lot to bring us together with Norwich.”
In the way that Connecticut was once connected by its railroad and trolley system, I-395 connects all of Eastern Connecticut, today. An example of Putnam Bank’s usage of I-395 is reflected in the October 14, 2009 opening of a new branch in Norwich.
Since giving back to the community is always important, Putnam Bank also donated $1,000 to the Norwich Fire Department on the same day as the grand opening.
On the bailout, “Unfortunately, it was essential because of bad practices of big banks.” Small community banks like Putnam are more careful in choosing who they loan to. “We’ve always had conservative lending.”
Banks are completely different from when Putnam Bank first opened over 160 years ago. “People now see us all the same due to the fact that many don’t know about the evolution that banks have undergone. For example, for the first 120 years we couldn’t have checking accounts.”
People always relied on two different banks for their financial needs, one was for savings and the other was for checking. In 1980, commercial and investment banks were finally able to merge after years under the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated bank types.
Today’s financial atmosphere is still shaky and people aren’t as comfortable as they were but that seems to be turning around. “People are feeling better,” about their financial situations.
Although many have hit on tough times, New England seems to be doing better than many other parts of the country. This is due to the fact that we are, “No longer dependent on any one sector.”
In speaking with bankers from other towns across America, “Dearborn, Michigan, is an example of harder times elsewhere, where I was told, “You don’t know what it’s like. We have people coming in, in tears. They’ve paid their mortgage for 20 years, only have 10 years left, but say there’s no way.”
Extending his hand to the community beyond the bank, Tom and his wife, Katalin are involved with Habitat for Humanity making regular trips to help build homes for needy families, and a 20-year record of helping out with the Woodstock Fair.
(l-r) John R. Kovacevich, 1st place finalist, Jackie Steele, Q-105 personality, Alexa Shelton, Event Director, Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Tiffany F. Farrauto, 3rd place finalist, Daneille Owens, 2nd place finalist, after the Karaoke On-Demand Finals.
The Fourth Annual Groton Fall Festival was held on October 10 and brought together neighbors in the Groton community. The event was sponsored by the Groton Business Association (GBA) of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. Attendees were entertained by the Karaoke On-Demand Finals, sponsored by Citadel Communications and Comcast, a concert by the Rock N’ Soul Band 9Teen, sponsored by Groton Utilities, and demonstrations by students from Gabriele’s Karate Kick Box Studio.
