Marjorie Jean Romano would probably not have wanted to be the subject of the Gazette’s front page, especially under these circumstances. “Jean”, as we all knew her, was both humble and full of so much life. But as administrator extraordinaire, she was also a stickler for policy, and the Gazette’s policy is to pay tribute to former Chairmen of the Gazette on our front page. Jean served as our chairman from 2007 to 2012, steering us through some tumultuous political times, always with wisdom, equanimity, and a firm grasp on truth, transparency, and the pulse of the town. Even after she retired as chairman and from the editorial board, we sought her advice on controversial matters and proceeded with confidence because of Jean’s stamp of approval.

Jean was born in Bergen County, New Jersey on January 30, 1933 during the Great Depression, which taught her “the importance of kindness and offering a helping hand”. She earned an English degree and Phi Beta Kappa honors from New Jersey College for Women, now part of Rutgers University, and met her husband, the late Antonio “Tony” Romano, while waitressing. The couple moved to Cincinnati where Tony was a biology professor and Jean devoted herself to raising their sons, Steve, Jim, and Charley, while earning a degree in education, and later teaching at an inner-city elementary school. In 1971, Tony accepted a faculty position at UConn and they moved to Mansfield, where Jean earned her master’s degree in education at UConn and started teaching in the Windham Public Schools, where she began her “groundbreaking career in education”, and when Tony Laboy joined their family to become one of Jean and Tony’s boys.

In a career that epitomized compassion, generosity and integrity, Jean began as a classroom teacher, and then became the Director of Bilingual Education. In her roles as teacher and administrator, she was a strong advocate for minority students and their families, made life-long friendships with members of the Latino community in Willimantic, and always brought out the best in students and teachers. “Their enduring success,” her obituary stated, “is Jean’s greatest tribute.” With the bilingual program improving and evolving every year under her guidance, Jean would become a pioneering founder of the Windham School District’s acclaimed Companeros dual-language program. This is how we met. Jean recruited me to teach in Connecticut in the fledgling Companeros program when we were both in attendance at a national bilingual conference in Texas in 1994. People from Hampton sometimes ask – how did you find our “Quiet Corner” all the way from the southwest? And we’d laugh as I’d point to Jean and say – “it’s all her fault!” If not for that move, I would not have met my wife. We taught together in the bilingual department and Jean was our boss, but afterwards, she became a “second mother” to us and holidays will never be the same at our home without her.

In 1994, the Romanos moved to Hampton where they would soon retire, host New Year’s and St. Patrick’s Day parties in their home, hike the nature trails, cross-country ski, and travel extensively in the United States and Europe. They also volunteered in town, Tony as a Selectman, and Jean in the Fletcher Memorial Library and with The Hampton Gazette, where she served on the editorial board for many years, was responsible for the indexing, and contributed countless articles. She would volunteer to write something she thought would be of interest to the town, and never turned from an assignment she was asked to pen, no matter how difficult. Jean also wrote and consulted on federal bilingual education grants and authored several books. She gave me “Transitions in Connecticut” because I’m named in it, and when India started her degree in early childhood, she gave her the delightful “Yasmin, the Yoga Cat”. Jean was also an artist, as well as an author.

Along with many friendships in Hampton, Tony and Jean cultivated beautiful gardens and wildflower meadows, both of which were featured in the Gazette, Tony’s wildflowers, no easy feat, which have spread, as their friendships, across to other yards, and Jean’s perennial gardens, which she was busily tending the day before she passed away. Her happy place was her garden, her home, with her friends and with her family. Our deepest condolences to all the many, many people who will miss her.

Juan Arriola

A celebration of Jean’s remarkable life will be held later this year. Donations to the UConn Foundation in the name of the Antonio H. Romano and Marjorie J. Romano Graduate Education Fund are greatly appreciated.

Linda Fasake Perry (affectionately known to her parents as “Mini”) passed away on May 23, 2024. Born in Niskayuna, New York on March 14, 1980, Linda served in the US Marine Corps where she worked as the only female diesel mechanic in her platoon. After being honorably discharged, she graduated from Lincoln College of New England with a degree in mortuary science. Prior to serving as a substitute teacher at the Southbridge School District in Massachusetts, Linda worked at Old Sturbridge Village. Her greatest role, however, was that of loving mother to her two children, whom she was immensely proud of, Gretchen and Peter, who followed in her footsteps and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Linda enjoyed the outdoors and loved camping and fishing in rural Connecticut with her devoted husband, Jeffrey. She had a generous heart and often gave to others, even when she herself was in need. Despite many challenges, she walked through life with incredible strength and resilience, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of those who knew her. Our condolences to all. Memorial donations in Linda’s memory may be made to the Saratoga County animal Shelter.

Eric Klaus Polttila, born on August 30, 1958 to Finnish immigrants Klaus Henrik Efraim and Irja Liisa Polttila, passed away on June 21, 2024. A dreamer, a romantic, a man with a vision, Eric marched to the beat of his own drum and you would join him, because he was a, “my way or the highway,” kind of guy. He once sailed a flat-bottomed boat down Lake Champlain, from New York to Virginia, where he was shipwrecked in a storm. Eric worked on an Air Force Base and as a peace officer for the New York State Department of Corrections where he once saved a man’s life. He took college classes and pursued his interests in art. His love of planting giant sunflowers spoke to who he really was deep inside. Preceded by his parents, his sisters, Anita and Leila, and his nephew, Rudy, Eric is survived by his brothers, Timo and Klaus; his sisters, Eeva, Tina and Kaarina; his children, Sadie, Natasha, Laurel, Rebekah, Erik, Gabriel, Eli and Josiah; two stepchildren, 12 grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was married three times in his pursuit of love, Anna, Susan, and Mary. He loved them all, in their times, to the best of his ability. Eric will be missed.

Harold Haraghey Jr. passed away on August 19, 2024 at the age of 89. After graduation, Harold proudly served in the United States Army with the 3rd Armored Division in Germany from 1955 to 1957, and later worked as a PBX technician at SNETCO where he played fast pitch softball in the Industrial League in Hartford, holding the record for most wins, 147. Retiring after 30 years, his love for people and community was evident in his commitment to Pioneers, the largest industry volunteer organization, and here in Hampton as a Constable, with the Fire Department, and as the Wetlands Enforcement Officer. He had many friends in Hampton and most everyone had a “Harold story”; he was always looking to help those in need, and because of this, he and Margaret, his wife of 45 years, shared the honor of “Citizens of the Year” in 2017. An avid and skillful hunter all his life, his pursuit of big game took him throughout the continental U.S., Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. His proudest achievement was reaching the pinnacle of wild sheep hunting, the Grand Slam, in 2004, the 1,134th hunter in the world. Predeceased by two sisters and a brother, Harold is survived byMargaret, his sons Harold and wife Kathleen, and Brian and wife Karen, grandchildren Declan and Shannen, a sister and a brother and a sister-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. Our condolences to all. Donations in Harold’s honor may be made to the Hampton Fire Department.
Jane Robbins Marrotte passed away on August 23, 2024 at the age of 92. Born on September 25, 1931, the daughter of William Robbins and Doris Fitts, Jane was born in her home on Robbins Road, named for her family, and grew up in Hampton , remaining in the homestead all of her life. She would say that she was the last person in Hampton to sleep in the same bedroom she was born in. Jane contributed many stories to the Hampton Gazette. Whenever we researched an article on Hampton’s past, Jane would offer a wealth of information. She attended our one-room school houses and lived across from Bigelow Pond, where she shared stories of the way children summered there, how they were taught to skate, the way ice was harvested in the winter. An afternoon spent with Jane was a nostalgic step into Hampton’s past. Predeceased by her husband Louis and her son, John, Jane is survived by her sons, Louis, Jerri, and Jay. Our condolences to all.
Wayne Taylor Stoddard passed away in his home on August 21. Born December 24,1941 in Lowville, NY to Earle W. Stoddard and Gladys (Taylor) Stoddard, he grew up in Lowville, and graduated from the academy there. It was a special place for Wayne, and he enjoyed going to reunions and connecting with old friends. Wayne felt that service to the greater good was a calling. He served our country in the Navy from 1960-1964. He also served in the Army National Guard and was honorably discharged from that service in 1988.Wayne continued to serve our greater community as a Connecticut State Trooper, graduating from the State Police Academy in 1967. Wayne served many communities during his career, Troops E, C, and K, as a Resident State Trooper for Ledyard, and on State major crime task forces and units in Meriden and Groton. He retired in 1992 as a Major Crime Squad Detective. Wayne gave of his time and talents as a volunteer at the Hampton Fire Company. He also served our Town as Second Selectman, was a deacon at the Hampton Congregational Church and sang in the choir. A larger than life storyteller with a twinkle in his eye, he will be missed. Wayne himself would agree he was stubborn and at times hardheaded, but the bottom line was love! He loved fiercely. Wayne is survived by his children Cynthia Young and Jeffrey (Heather) Stoddard. His grandchildren, Andrew (Maureen) Young, Kelsey Young, Summer Stoddard and Mason Stoddard, and a great granddaughter, Meadow Grace Faulise. Wayne’s family also included his two “surrogate’ daughters Sandra (Mark) Frizzell, and Dorsey (Matthew) Egan and their families.

Former First Selectman Maurice Bisson will be featured in next month’s Gazette.

Fletcher Memorial Library will host the Hampton Harvest Festival on September 21 from 9AM to – 3PM, on the lawn between the Community Center and the Town Hall. The festival will feature a variety of vendors and many hand-grown and handmade products from the town of Hampton, as well as refreshments, activities, and displays by local entrepreneurs and community organizations. The offerings will include fresh produce and other agricultural products, baked goods, gift baskets, and local crafts and art work. There will be games for the children, face-painting, the traditional hay rides, and a display of farm animals, such as goats and bunnies,

Vendors include: Full Moon Farm, Good Medicine Therapeutic Massage, Rural Heritage, Designs by Dawn, airbrush tattoos and photo booth, HC Wood Turning, Bedecked and Bedazzled, Bright Acres Farm, Artist John O’Brien, and town organizations to include the Conservation Commission, the Antiquarian & Historical Society, the Hampton Gazette and the Fire Department with hamburgers and hotdogs.

Admission is free and there’s plenty of free parking at the Community Center and Town Hall. In case of rain, the event will move to the Hampton Elementary School For more information, call 860 455 1086.

At its Regular Meeting of August 19, 2024, the Hampton Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) approved, with modifications, a seven-lot subdivision of land on the south side of Reilly Road and west side of John Mack Road. This was a division of an approximately 18.2 acre property situated in proximity to the Little River, and represented the largest subdivision that the PZC has approved in over ten years. The relatively long stretch of “quiet” on the residential development front had apparently led to a little confusion and a few questions about the manner in which the property was divided.

This subdivision was designed and approved through what the PZC calls a “Conservation Subdivision,” which is a model specifically envisioned and empowered by Section 8-18 of the Connecticut General Statutes. These regulations were extensively discussed and put into place by the Hampton PZC back in 2008, but have been relatively lightly used since then (largely because of the overall housing development market). This approach begins with the recognition by the developer and by the Town that a specific piece of land has some special conservation value that deserves protection. In this case, the property is along the riparian corridor associated with the Little River, and may include species of special concern such as Wood Turtles and Eastern Hognose Snakes, which warrant some buffer distance between their habitat and residential development. In these cases, the PZC has created a set of regulations that balances the rights of property owners to develop their land according to Town and State rules and the responsibilities of the Town to protect key resources.

The Conservation Subdivision process seeks to strike that balance. The process requires the applicant to ask special consideration from the Commission and to demonstrate that a conservation approach is preferred. This includes a demonstration of a “lot yield” from a traditional subdivision approach. In this case, the land is about 18 acres, and Hampton requires a roughly two-acre lot minimum, along with a minimum of 15% of the area set aside for open space. After doing this preliminary layout, the applicant determined that a “standard” subdivision layout would yield seven new building lots. This then becomes the maximum lot yield allowable under a conservation layout. There is no lot bonus or variance given. The Commission then determines whether on a given piece of land, a conservation approach is more beneficial and appropriate for the Town. In this case, the PZC decided to instruct the applicant to proceed with a conservation approach.

Given that baseline of seven lots, the Conservation Subdivision rules (within both Zoning and Subdivision Regulations) will then allow for individual lots to be as small as 30,000 square feet (about ¾ acre), and clusters those lots together on a smaller portion of the overall property. The acreage that is “saved” by making individual lots smaller is then converted to a larger portion of the property protected as conservation land or open space. The Conservation Subdivision minimum is 40% of the total property protected as conservation land, with an assurance that the percentage of wetlands in the open space does not exceed the percentage of wetlands on the overall property. In this case, that means that over 50% of the overall land to be subdivided (9.6 acres), closest to the Little River, will be permanently protected by a conservation easement. The property owner retains his or her right to see the property yield a sufficient number of residential lots, and the Town sees a larger portion of land protected.

There are (and were) many other factors contributing to a subdivision approval. The applicant must demonstrate that the soils on each of the individual building lots are suitable for handling a private well and septic system. They must demonstrate that the development and construction will not create stormwater problems, traffic problems, or other public safety concerns. All of those standards remain within the Subdivision application and review process, regardless of whether a traditional layout or a conservation layout is used. Ultimately, the PZC determined that the applicant’s layout (and engineering reports, stormwater plans, and the input of CT-DEEP, Hampton Wetlands Commission, and Hampton Conservation Commission), met all of the Town’s regulations. The application was approved.

The Planning & Zoning Commission welcomes input and questions about its regulations and its approach to managing private development in Hampton. Conversations will be ongoing over the next two years about updating the Town’s Plan of Conservation & Development, which will guide the Town’s rules and policies over the next decade. Its approach to residential development, including conservation subdivisions, will be a part of that process.

If you would like to speak to the Commission or its staff on these important matters, please contact us at planner@hamptonct.org.

John Guszkowski, AICP, CZEO
Hampton Town Planner

A recommendation to invite the NAACP to speak to school officials and staff was raised during discussion of “Goals for the 2024-2025 School Year” at the August 28 meeting of the Board of Education by member Diane Gagnon. Other members appeared receptive to the suggestion. “We’ve lost two people of color in the last two years”, Gagnon said, alluding to Administrative Assistant Yvonne Bowen who was dismissed in 2022, and the recent resignation of head custodian, Armin Harris.

A second complaint of discrimination has also been filed with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). The first was resolved with a financial settlement for Bowen to include retroactive unemployment compensation and $20,000 from the school’s liability insurance. This second complaint was filed in connection with a discrimination grievance Harris previously submitted to school officials.

The grievance, filed on September 22, 2023 was the result of an incident which occurred at the school on September 8 when Harris, who was escorting a vendor into the building, was reportedly assaulted with “vulgarities and threats” by a parent in the parking lot after Harris, per policy, approached what appeared to be a suspicious vehicle, identifying himself and his role in the school. Per policy, Harris immediately returned to the building and reported the encounter to the administration.

The basis of the grievance was the subsequent handling of the incident by Principal Patrice Merendina and Interim Superintendent Valerie Bunneau, notably failure to follow policy and report it to the police. At Harris’ insistence, the police were subsequently contacted on September 11, but the report was not available to the complainant or the newspaper as the name of a minor child was divulged.

Harris also took exception with two of the remedies the administration imposed at the time: that Harris not be seen in the foyer or in front of the building between 8:45 and 10:15, when the parent involved was expected to drop off and pick up the student; and that Harris be required to wear a lanyard while on school premises, though no other staff at the time was directed to do so. “It is with hope that bringing this grievance can resolve and return my workplace to a happy place for me as it once was,” the complaint concluded.

In a correspondence dated December 21, 2023, Superintendent Samantha Sarli informed Harris that the investigation by the school’s legal firm was complete and that while the “investigators substantiated some of your allegations, specifically that Ms. Merendina engaged in certain inappropriate conduct towards you at times”, the evidence did not suggest that the alleged discrimination “was based on your color”, and concluded that the school’s non-discrimination policy was, therefore, not violated.

As of June, 2024 approximately $20,000 had been spent on legal counsel to deal with the issue, though the board’s policies and procedures stipulate that the Superintendent will “resolve the complaint, negotiate a long-term solution, or refer the matter to the Board of Education for consideration”. The policy’s timeline also stipulates that the superintendent resolve the complaint within twenty days of its filing, or refer it to the board. In this case, the board was not apprised until May 22, 2024, when an executive session was called to “discuss a discrimination complaint”; and invoices from the legal firm reveal that the investigation was conducted in October, November and December. A Freedom of Information request for expenses from June to the present, submitted on August 9, 2024 is expected to be answered on September 6.

In what he characterized as a “constructive discharge”, Harris, who has worked for the district since 2019, submitted a letter of resignation which board member Juan Arriola distributed at the meeting; however, Chairman Rose Bisson advised members to refrain from reading the letter until receiving direction from the board’s attorney as Harris had not delivered it to the board in person, though Principal Merendina announced receipt of the letter. A review of the last several years of meetings reveals that letters of resignation have been delivered to school administrators and subsequently accepted at board meetings. The following day, Harris emailed the letter of resignation along with another extending “apologies for not appearing in person at last night’s Board of Education meeting”, explaining that “under the advice of my doctor, I asked Juan Arriola to distribute my letter of resignation for me”, and asking “Mr. Arriola to forward this message to all school officials to eliminate any question as to my intent and any legal costs in addition to what has already been spent.” Chairman Bisson issued a second directive informing members to refrain from reading either correspondence until the board’s attorney provided legal advice. No further directive has been issued, however, both letters were sent to the CHRO, the NAACP, the First Selectman, an attorney, and the town newspaper.

The letter of resignation reiterated the items listed in the initial grievance, as well as examples of being subjected to conduct Harris described as “embarrassing” and “demeaning”. The letter also expressed his remorse, first and foremost, in resigning from the school where he “looked forward to everyday life there, building rapport with the staff and the children who called me ‘Mr. Armin’, expressing their gratitude with small gifts of candy, drawings and many, many thank you notes,” Harris wrote. “Those small gestures made every day a great day!”

The board’s meeting to discuss goals for 2024-2025 is scheduled for September 19.

Student test scores for the 2023-2024 academic year are in, and the Hampton Elementary School is proud to report progress in all curricular areas and on all measurements. At a July 24 meeting of the Board of Education, Principal Patrice Merendina presented charts and graphs to illustrate the students’ scores. There are three tests students in kindergarten through grade six must take.

In the I-Ready Diagnostic Assessment, only 10%, or six students, were on, or above, grade level in math last fall; this spring, that number climbed to 52%, with 31 students achieving on, or above, grade level scores. In reading, 23%, or 14 students, scored on, or above, grade level last fall, and this spring, 60%, or 36 students, tested at, or above, grade level. The percentage of students scoring below grade level dropped from 90% to 48% in math, and 77% to 40% in reading.

On the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, the percentage of students requiring intensive instruction dropped from 39.5% to 32.8% in phonics, and from 44.7% to 26.3% in reading comprehension, with students moving from the need for intensive instruction to requiring strategic intervention and to grade level performance.

In the State’s Smarter Balanced test, while the numbers of students requiring intensive instruction and strategic intervention remained roughly the same in the math assessment, with approximately two-thirds of the students needing additional assistance, in reading, the number of students requiring intensive instruction decreased from 36.4% to 30.3%, and those requiring strategic intervention decreased from 30.3% to 21.2%, with the number of students testing on, or above, grade level rising from one third to nearly half of the school’s students.

Principal Merendina attributes this progress to the staff and their team effort, praising the accomplishments of students and instructors in spite of challenges the school faced last year with staff resignations and medical leaves of absences. She intends to introduce interim assessments in the middle grades next year to enhance monitoring of student needs.

In addition to a full-time special education teacher, a part-time speech and language teacher, and six paraprofessionals assigned to students with special education needs, the school’s Special Education Director also serves as the Strategic Research Based Intervention instructor, working with students whose test scores and other criteria indicate the need for additional assistance. Although these most recent test scores show that approximately half of the students are still performing below grade-level in reading and in math, it appears that the school is on the right path.

Within a few years, the library board had greatly increased the square footage available for books and smartened up the whole facility, yet, paradoxically, the library now seemed cramped. Long time volunteer and professional cataloguer, Lee Astin, was trying to repair books in an alcove at the top of the back stairs. Sonja was trying to unpack and sort books on the fiction room table. Volunteers were sick of hauling boxes of sale books up and down from the store room.

But there was a space available, and board chair Regina DeCesare spotted it. True, the old woodshed affixed to the rear of the building was in poor shape and inhabited by a vixen that had her den under the floorboards, but Fletcher board members had learned not to be fussy. Could the woodshed be salvaged? When an assessment by builder Paul Wakely was negative, the board, undeterred, decided to use the handsome bequest from Warren Stone to help rebuild the former outbuilding from scratch.

The result was a modern workroom, complete with a heat pump and shelving sufficient to hold a sales worth of donated and weeded books, plus a storage cupboard, computer station, sink and work counter. Weary volunteers gave a sigh of relief at the end of precarious trips up and down the narrow and winding back stairs.

The new workroom was the big change in the physical plant in the 2010’s. During this period the library also faced a big and expensive decision about book handling when it considered digitizing the collection. This was not to be undertaken lightly. Digitization requires the transfer of card catalogue information, either by typing or scanning, to a company that produces unique barcodes for every title. The bar codes are printed on peel off paper, and once received, every single book in the collection has to be taken off the shelf and given its proper label.

Board member Melanie Johnson, who had considerable computer expertise, argued that the change was inevitable and better done sooner than later. She was instrumental in getting the project approved as well as in organizing the library’s share of the work, which involved numerous volunteers, library staff, and local students. The library successfully funded the project with the assistance of a grant from the Savings Institute of Willimantic. Also on the computer front, The Hampton and Scotland School Readiness Council donated a children’s computer learning station for the Children’s Room, one of a number of donations over the years to promote early childhood learning.

Another digital addition around this time was the library’s website. Built by the library’s then corresponding secretary, Janice Trecker, the website gave Fletcher a web presence and enabled patrons to search the catalogue on line and to check on library events and new book arrivals. The acquisition of a FaceBook account at the same time lets the library post photos of events and links to information of topical interest.

With digitization, a web presence and good computer access, Fletcher Memorial Library entered the modern era and began a rapid expansion of programs and services. Handicapped access was improved as part of a big project, again funded in part by the Warren Stone bequest, to provide good parking for the library.

Besides private donations, the project also received help from the town and from the Congregational Church which uses the parking area on Sundays. There is now a ramp from the lot at the rear entrance, making the entire lower floor accessible. Unfortunately, the Victorian structure has neither the space nor the strength to handle an elevator but the staff cheerfully brings requested materials from the upper floors for patrons with disabilities.

The parking lot, a rather prosaic necessity, did provide the occasion for perhaps the most romantic touch of the library, a certified butterfly garden. Board member Anne Christie, a landscape designer and gardener, was well aware of the threats to our pollinators. She proposed a small garden with many butterfly and bee friendly plants that would be an attractive amenity for the town and a demonstration garden for pollinator friendly planting.

Although there were some raised eyebrows at the thought of diverting book money to mulch, the charm of the idea prevailed. A fund raiser offered patrons the opportunity to purchase trees and shrubs for the grounds to memorialize loved ones, and a garden to Anne’s design was installed with yeoman work from Mike Chapel. Wrapping around the earlier Eunice Fuller Memorial Garden, the new installation is a lovely site for concerts and events.

The library also devised new programs. When Deb Andstrom arrived as librarian, she brought not just library expertise but a wealth of experience dealing with young children. The result was the popular Baby Story Time for infants up to 3 or 4 years and the Wednesday Story and Craft program for older children. She also instituted the popular Dr. Seuss’s Birthday party and the annual Easter Egg Hunt, as well as starting a book club for adult readers.

Two other programs also debuted around this time. The Top Shelf Gallery made a virtue of necessity and located an exhibition space along the tops of the bookshelves in the two main adult fiction rooms. Since its inception in 2017, the gallery has shown 27 different artists, both amateurs and professionals, with works in acrylic, oil, watercolor, color pencil, printmaking and photography that greatly brighten up the shelving and complement the library’s permanent collection of local artwork. John O’Brien has now ably succeeded Anne, the original director.
With the support of an anonymous donor and the Foster Family Foundation, recent summers have seen Music at the Fletch. Mark Davis, professional instrumentalist, teacher, and conductor, has secured a line up of talented singers, instrumentalists, and bands each summer for free concerts in the garden or, increasingly with larger groups, on the porch.

When much else was shut down, Fletcher Memorial held at least one concert on the lawn with circles sprayed on the grass to indicate safe social distancing. Mark Davis performed nearly weekly in the butterfly garden during the restrictions of summer 2021, sharing guitar transcriptions of Bach’s unaccompanied violin pieces as well as music from the classical guitar repertory.

The music and art programs, along with increased attention to children’s services, were part of the library’s drive to become a true community center. Anne, then board chair, proposed a function room that would be large enough for talks, meetings, art demonstrations, and acoustic concerts as the final piece of the puzzle.

After some discussions about feasibility, cost, and location, she drew up a design that preserved the look of the old sunroom but enlarged it enough to serve as a real community room. The generosity of Hampton citizens, topped up by a handsome gift from the Joan Dupuis Memorial Fund for Children, raised the needed amount. The same Dupuis Fund kindly provided for the water feature in the garden, a trickling waterfall and pond that attracts frogs in the summer.

In 2019, Michael Barr Construction enlarged the old sunroom to create a space closely resembling its predecessor but equipped with modern lighting, heating, and windows. Bright and sunny in winter, well shaded by trees in summer, it is a charming space, only unfortunate in that its completion occurred so close to the pandemic shutdown. With the library’s reopening it is again busy with performances, programs, the weekly Mah Jongg games, children’s events, meetings, and concerts, but for many months it stood empty after Covid hit.

The pandemic had a major impact on every institution and Fletcher was no exception. The board, then led by Bonnie Cardwell, was considering mundane concerns like a new furnace, basement work, and a functional fire alarm system, all later secured, when they had to make the extraordinary decision to close the library.

All indoor programing was cancelled and a fine exhibition of color pencil drawings by Lula Mae Blocton went largely unseen. But the library continued the most basic task, lending and acquiring books, although Brodart, the main library book supplier was temporarily shut down and deliveries were slow. Patrons called or emailed requests to Deb and the staff, who placed the items in the pickup box at the back door. Returns were via the new drop boxes, hardly an ideal situation but functional.

Four years later, Fletcher Memorial Library is again fully open for business and ready to celebrate its one hundredth birthday in fine shape. The building is sound, the computers and internet connections are fast, and the collection maintains a nice balance between the popular books of the moment and work of lasting value, and includes two interesting special collections: the History Room and the Jamie H. Trecker Comics collection. The library attracts between 350 and 450 patrons a month. It is a careful steward of its endowment and the recipient of town support both official and private.

But one thing has not changed from the day the Center School kids were enlisted to transfer the books: a very great deal of the library’s success has depended on its volunteers. Many people have contributed skill and experience, time and energy to the library, believing, as one volunteer says that “the library is for everyone” and that, even in difficult or divisive times, the institution can be a unifying focus of the community.

Janice Trecker

When the library moved from upstairs over the Center School to the present site, the pupils carried armfuls down, making several trips to complete the job. Kate Thompson was the librarian at that time and I recall working – or thinking I was helping the ladies – when my mother and Aunt Angie Burnham helped Kate catalogue them – and I’ll never forget the smell of the paste!

Ethel Jaworski from “Hampton Remembers”

Every garden has its origin, usually starting with an inherited space, plants or seeds, the memory of a garden, in memory of a gardener, at the urging of a friend, even a catalogue. The garden of Linda Wenner can claim the most unusual of beginnings; it started because of an abundance of manure. And the abundance of manure was the result of horses. And so perhaps we should say that the garden started with the horses, the reason Linda and Deb Hubbell came to Hampton in the first place, which is, in itself, an unusual story.

A State Animal Control Officer, Linda found herself with two old horses, unlikely candidates for adoption, who needed a home. An advertisement for “the house the women built” here in Hampton sounded, at the very least, like a “good fit”. Upon close inspection, however, the house required extensive renovations, projects they’d tackled with their own home in Willimantic and were less than enthusiastic to repeat. On the return route through Hampton, they noticed a “For Sale” sign and followed the arrow to Parsonage Road, where they observed that the acreage provided plenty of space for a paddock and where there was a barn, which was refurbished even before they furnished their house!

And the house? It felt like home right away. Later, Linda and Deb would realize that they’d visited the place during the area’s Open Studios when they purchased photographs from the photographer who lived there, and recognized the scene captured from the window. The purchase of the property in several ways seemed serendipitous.

A few years ago, Linda started composting the horse manure. Rob Miller who initially was using the horse manure for Full Moon Farm, taught Linda the way to correctly compost it. Thus the first step toward the pollinator garden was the compost. Where to put it to use? The septic system was in the front yard, consequently a scruffy, dusty area of uneven growth, and so she considered spreading some of the compost there, starting with one section of the space. She purchased a tractor with a bucket, and Rob shared tips on spreading the compost. He still tills the garden. “Without Rob’s help,” Linda says, “I might not have made it to the finish line.”

What to cultivate? Linda and Deb kept bees, but honey bees are vulnerable insects, and it proved very difficult, and disheartening, to lose them. They wanted to continue to provide for honey bees and other pollinators though, so with the help of catalogues, Linda developed a plan. She checked an Audubon list of pollinators against what was already in her yard , winterberry, spice bush, sand cherry, and hazelnut, and added a service berry and a pussy willow.

Selections of flowers to cultivate were the result of an advertisement for John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, which offered
seeds for beneficial insects, bumblebees, hummingbirds, butterflies, song birds, habitat gardens and many mini-meadows. Linda ordered them all. Prepared the space, planted the seeds, mulched the seedlings with hay, and the result is a lawn transformed into a wildflower meadow, a pollinating paradise.

In harmonious contrast, the home of Linda and Deb is nestled in more formal plantings. Hydrangeas — so magnificent this year with their enormous cream, pink, purple, and blue blossoms — are bountiful, cushioning the foundation and forming hedges with lustrous hollies and skirts of various hostas. A welcome flag greets visitors at the entrance to the door, a paved walkway softened with cascading grasses and Siberian iris and foliar staples like euonymus, with its evergreen variegations, and the glossy foliage of pachysandra, the purple leaves of a Japanese maple serving as a canopy. All the elements contribute to the welcoming atmosphere – comfort in the generous path and the plantings where the artistry of a trained eye is evidenced in the mixed plantings which consider color and texture with the inclusion of groundcovers, flowers, deciduous and coniferous varieties of shrubs and trees. Assorted rhododendrons and azaleas for spring, summer clumps of echinecea, rudbeckia, daisies, lilies and bee balm are visible beyond a gate which leads to the back yard — the barn, the paddock, and a pool. A path to the back door is sheltered with a fragrant lilac and a sweet gum, a native rarity in New England prized for its singular fiery foliage, and the perimeters of the yard are delineated with an assortment of conifers.

The route to the swimming pool, and the solid fence surrounding it, is lined with seasonal plants, azaleas, beach roses, a pillar of Canadian birch, particularly exceptional in winter with is exfoliating bark revealing strips of cream, fawn, rust, and the fringed umbrella of a dark green Japanese maple. The unanticipated surprise, however, is the greenery within the pool. Where we expect to see only tables, chairs and chaises, here we also have a variety of trees and shrubs, a willow with leaves variegated cream and green, a Japanese maple, a couple of purple leaved cherries, a red shrub dogwood with ruby branches and ivory striped foliage, a hydrangea vine, smothering itself in white lace-cap blossoms in early summer, and a zelkhova providing ample shape. The whole feels cool yet tropical, and invites relaxation.

It’s the pollinator garden, however, that attracts the most attention. All sorts of wildflowers grow in this area which is one hundred feet long and seventy-five feet across. Sunflowers, in sunny hues of yellow and gold, and sunset hues of orange, maroon and rust, and hollyhocks with colorful saucers climbing tall stalks, and the fleshy branches of pokeberry dripping racemes of purple-black berries tower over smaller plants – bushels of gold and orange coreopsis, spurts of black-eyed Susans and coneflowers, all threaded with multi-colored zinnias. Cosmos sweeps throughout this meadow in myriad shades of lavender and mauve, dark gold and bright orange, pale pink and white, and love-lies bleeding dangles its pendant wine-colored blossoms everywhere in the garden, speckled with umbels of white bone-set and starry sprays of azure chicory, and carpeted with the autumn color of marigolds, all intertwined with tendrils of purple crown vetch and pink four-o’clocks. It’s a spectacular space, visually lovely, an impressionistic blend of vibrant color, and more importantly, the promise of attracting beneficial insects, bumblebees, humming birds, butterflies and song birds has been kept.

This year, along with the self-sown wildflowers, new seeds were sewn, and the garden was extended, much to the appreciation of especially the birds. Linda erected a blue bird house and within two days, it was inhabited. A Master Naturalist certified through the Connecticut Audubon Society, Linda identifies the birds weaving in and out of our view at the window — Carolina wrens, cardinals — she says there are six or seven pairs of them — hummingbirds, gross beaks, gold finches and woodpeckers, to name a few. Far too many species to count. A bird buddy on the bird feeder sends photographs to her cell phone when she’s not home to see them herself.

Last September, the Gazette published the National Wildlife Federation’s announcement that Linda had successfully created a Certified Wildlife Habitat through its Garden for Wildlife movement. A Certified Wildlife Habitat is defined as a space which provides sources of food, water, shelter and places to raise young and is maintained in a sustainable way to incorporate native plants and conserve water without any reliance on pesticides. The foundation’s Garden for Wildlife movement started in 1973; it is the oldest and largest habitat program, recognizing over 289,000 Certified Wildlife Habitat gardens in the United States and encompassing more than four million acres supporting local wildlife.

Thanks to Linda, Hampton can be proud to be a part of it.

Dayna McDermott