Since its inception, the Gazette has always informed readers of the important moments in the lives of the people who live here. Initially, Alice Matthews in her regular columns “About Folks” and “Social Notes” apprised us of special happenings such as births, graduations, weddings, travels and visiting relatives. The town’s unofficial “Welcome Wagon” Dorothy Holt introduced herself to everyone who moved here, and introduced them to us in “Notes on Newcomers”. This column developed into “Meet your Neighbors”, which ran regularly from 1980 through 1995. For fifteen years different authors volunteered to find families new to town to let us know who they were, where they came from, their reasons for settling here, and most importantly, to continue this friendly effort to make our new neighbors feel welcome.

A quick review of those interviewed evinces that most of the families featured are no longer here, however some have remained with us and have contributed to our community for over a quarter of a century. Who would imagine that the Dinsmores, Dave Goodrich, or Gordon and Angelika Hansen were ever referred to as “newcomers”?

We missed that feature, and in 2014 we reinstituted a similar series titled “Coming to Hampton” in which neighbors shared their reasons for settling here, and their reasons for staying.

The majority of those who contributed to the series came to Hampton to escape city life. A description in Antiques Magazine of “…stonewalls, old trees, ponds…” lured the Hansens from Long Island and the daily commute to New York City. Jimmy and Maryellen Halloran, originally from Brooklyn and Queens respectively, migrated from California. Larry Robert arrived from Bridgeport, and Janice and Jerry Trecker from the suburbs of Hartford, quickly realizing the correctness of a welcome they received in our Post Office, “You’ll like Hampton. There’s no place like it.” Most fell in love with the pastoral quality of our town.  Phoebe Huang was “looking for a place with lots of land”, Wayne DeCarli, for “fresh clean air”, Jamie and Pat Boss found Hampton the perfect place for their requirements –“a view of wooded hills” and “the open space of a farm”, and the Bezansons weren’t the only couple attracted to the prospect of farming.

Some residents were from very near, like the Grindles, who left Chaplin when “two little girls beckoned us over a stone wall”. The Newcombes discovered us through friends who lived here, Deb Barton returned after 20 years in a neighboring town, and while historian Dave Goodrich admits he has “no bones in Hampton soil”, he is glad the “creaky cart” finally rested here. Others were from very far away. Melissa Fields and Richard Bass who cultivate Turtle Ledge Farm were from Tennessee and Georgia respectively, and John Byrne, originally from Ireland, lived in London, New York City, San Francisco, and Ghana before finding the “Quiet Corner”.

Interestingly, the entertainment industry has drawn some residents.  Jack Scarangela, who performed with the likes of Blood, Sweat and Tears, BB King and Bruce Springstein settled for a time near his favorite venue – the Shaboo Inn, and Mark Brett, who photographed the Rolling Stones, Sinatra, Santana, Tina Turner, and Tony Bennett, returned to settle near the roots that sparked his interest in entertainment – his family’s local restaurant, the Rock Garden.

For others it was a spiritual calling. The Tuckers were beckoned by a hawk. Beth Regan settled in the land of Uncas, Joshua and all of her Mohegan ancestors, pleased to report, “we are still here”. Anne Flammang sensed ancestral roots the first time she saw the house where she and Scott live, and “has felt at home ever since”. Janet Totten searched with her father while he was still alive for “A Place Called Sweet Apple” and discovered it at the Halbachs, a decision reaffirmed when Marion said, “Now I know why my house took so long to sell. It was waiting for you.” Donna Tommelleo recalled Sunday drives and her father’s longing to move his family from an industrial city in steel country to rural Pennsylvania. Her story eloquently echoes the sentiments of other newcomers in her appreciation of Hampton and its people: “No, my roots are not here, but my home is.”

There is always plenty of room on our pages for the story of how newcomers arrived in Hampton. Please contact any member of the Gazette board to share yours!

I’ve come to understand that country life is much more than fields and forest. More than the deeply still winter nights, with nothing but the call of a barred owl to break the silence or a family of coyotes whose cries echo throughout the valley. To be sure, there are no longer any sharp blasts of a freight train whistle as the train rumbles or the thump-thump-thump of a basketball game played under playground lights. But there is something here in Hampton that has a commonality to my hometown – good people.

Donna Tommelleo