“I have reached an age when, if someone tells me to wear socks, I don’t have to.” –Albert Einstein

Did you know?

When Peggy McKleroy and I took the quick drive to Brooklyn to visit the Quinebaug Valley Senior Center (QVSCC), we were warmly and professionally greeted. QVSCC is at 69 South Main Street in Brooklyn. It’s a large facility that’s well laid out with many rooms for a multitude of activities. Some of the activities include art, fitness classes, knitting, and quilting. Other services include, but are not limited to: Benefits Information & Referral, SNAP and Energy Assistance, CHOICES Counseling (to help seniors navigate the Medicare system), Volunteer Opportunities, a Monthly Newsletter, Nutrition Education, Community Café, talks, informational programs, and AARP Safe Driving Courses, to name a few! Meals are also available at the Center. Membership fee is just $10 a year to access all of these services.

Their monthly newsletter is chock full of programs and information. Linda Lamoureux, Director, can be reached at 860-774-1243. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday 9AM – 2PM. We highly recommend Hampton Seniors check out this opportunity for socializing, developing and/or enhancing skills.

Andrea Kaye, Senior’s Vision Committee Member

At the suggestion of a reader, and as we “re-enter” society, Auntie Mac will alternate her monthly advice column with residents’ celebratory news – so send us yours!

Goodness, the Hampton summer is about to get away from me. So many functions, fetes and to-do’s—let me tell you, my dears, Auntie Mac hasn’t had this much of a whirlwind season since Mims Rothschild and the Newport Six held competing high teas at the St. Regis. But such a July we’ve had . . . with no less than ten of Hampton’s most venerable citizens celebrating spring and summer birthdays in the grandest of styles—and may I just say, these celebrants know how to put on an event to remember. Although all held individual celebrations, they planned an inclusive post-pandemic affair that drew both glitterati and paparazzi from near and far. Propriety prohibits me from divulging the location of the gala, but those in the know report that the (health and safety-conscious) dancing and carousing went on till the wee hours. The event was such front-page news that it took all of Auntie Mac’s substantial pull to secure one of the coveted invitations. But secure she did, and the list of notables and their lifetime accomplishments was no less breathtaking than the couture on display, the seven-piece orchestra, or the canapés flown in from Lausanne.

Where to begin on the guest list? Mistress of Ceremonies Josephine “Josie” Dauphin, who at 101 and a renowned chef, presided over the caterers’ presentation of the sumptuous menu. Clarence Thornton, 100, set the mood with minimal lighting—a nod to his stealthy delivery of munitions across enemy lines in the European Theater during WWII. Tom Gaines, 98 and another veteran of WWII—at Pearl Harbor no less, was sartorially splendid in surfing togs in honor of the many championships he won demonstrating his skill, I am told, executing things like “shooting the tube” and “climbing foam,” which sound positively harrowing. Another fashion statement was made by Mary Kennon, 90, resplendent in a crimson Dior floor-length trimmed with white marabou from the winter 2012 collection—a nod to her many years serving as “Mrs. Claus” for the town at Christmas. The always-dapper John Yanouzas, who turned 93 this year, nearly outdid the caterers with his signature Greek salad and his wife’s secret baklava recipe; all the guests fondly remembered Eleni, who passed away this year. Alison Davis, another member of the “98 Club” as they call it, entranced all present with a short reading from her forthcoming treatise, Celestial Navigation and You. Admittedly, she grew a tad exasperated when she noticed some of the guests’ eyes taking on a rather glazed appearance, and she was heard to whisper to her agent, “Honestly, you’d think that someone in this crowd would be familiar with the nautical almanac.”

“Oh, Alison, keep going,” chirped Peggy Fox. “I’m only 93 but gosh, I thought everybody knew how to use a sextant.” Which unexpectedly reminded 92-year-old former Tax Collector Phyllis Stone of when, during Peggy’s tenure as Town Clerk, a very busy day had rendered her a bit flustered and she answered the phone, “Peggy Clerk, Town Fox.” It was at this point, dear reader, that Phyllis, unable to contain herself, spit her champagne mimosa onto the saxophone player; Bob Gilroy, 90, rushed to wipe it up, heard the story, and nearly collapsed in a fit of laughter onto Phyllis’ lap.

Although Auntie Mac has been known to keep pace with even the most seasoned party-goers, the evening was no match for her, and as she reluctantly took her leave she could hear the group moving out to the in-ground pool where Tom Gaines’ wife Carolyn, 99, was urging all present to toss Tom in and “then we’ll see you if can still shred a wave, dear.”

I honestly don’t think I’ll recover till Labor Day.

The small barn at the northeast corner of Routes 6 and 97 has become quite a popular summertime destination these last few years. Residents wait in anticipation for the sign to signal that “Fresh Corn” is available. Other vegetables will follow – summer squash and cucumbers, and later the stable will become colorfully plump with pumpkins and gourds. Some of us remember when it sheltered cattle, when it was part of the Jewett farm, and though we still refer to it as such, the property has known many owners and rural uses.

According to the deeds, early owners were John Bullen and Benjamin Burgess and early uses included a saw mill and a grist mill along the Cedar Swamp Brook on the southwest corner of Routes 97 and 6. Bullen’s 1718 grist mill was sold to Burgess, along with lot 24 (the northwest corner of Routes 97 and 6) in 1733 for 400 pounds, which is the equivalent of one million of today’s dollars, quite a hefty price for the town and the times. At that point, mills were the only buildings listed.  In 1756, Burgess sold to David Martin, and in 1798, Martin sold the property, which included 31 acres, to Jedidiah Burnham for 500 dollars. David Searles sold another neighboring parcel of land to Burnham in 1819. Searles ran a tannery in that area –perhaps in the house at 24 Main Street, which is far older than it appears.  Searles’ son, who was a leather worker, eventually lived in the Burnham Hibbard House. Burnham to Burnham transactions, which included 62 and 29 acres, occurred in 1837, and in 1877, Burnham sold to William Greenslit, who owned quite a lot of property in town, 133 acres with a house and two barns. Though this is the first reference to these structures, the house at 9 Main Street is circa 1750. Eleven years later, in 1888, John Fitts purchased the property from Greenslit, and in 1920, Fitts sold the property, which included 90 acres, to Carl Jewett.

Though the Jewett family was the last family to farm the land, their arrival in Hampton is much earlier. According to Susan Jewett Griggs’ “Folklore and Firesides”, the Jewetts came to the area from Rowley, Massachusetts around 1732.  Benjamin Jewett II was a blacksmith in Canterbury. His sons, both blacksmiths, settled in Hampton, Benjamin III and Ebenezer, who served under Captain Josiah Hammond during the Revolutionary War. Ebenezer’s life would connect the Jewett family with several local institutions. After the war, Ebenezer married the Captain’s daughter, Abigail Hammond, whose sister, Sarah, is remembered for “The House the Women Built”. Their son, Ebenezer II, built the Bell Schoolhouse and the exhibition buildings at the Brooklyn Fairgrounds. Ebenezer II’s daughter, Maria, would marry John Porter Pearl, their union linking the two families, and his eldest son Ebenezer III, a Baptist minister, provided Mrs. Griggs with much folkloric information.

While Ebenezer III was the renowned “storehouse of folklore”, and William was the legendary “farmer poet of Hampton”, the most famous of the Jewetts was Leslie. Born in 1917 in Hampton, the son of Carl and Dorothy Jewett, Leslie enlisted in the U. S. Army in March of 1941 and was assigned to the 29^th Infantry Division. On June 6, 1944, the 29^th was the first to storm Omaha Beach, and Leslie, at the age of 27, would become the town’s only casualty of World War II. The American Legion Post 106 and the bridge on Old Kings Highway are named in his honor.

Entire pages of the Index to the Town’s Land Records from Incorporation to the 1930’s are dedicated to the Jewett’s property transactions. Though the Jewetts originally settled on the abandoned town road that linked Howard Valley and Clark’s Corner, the family grew and lived in western, eastern, and southern sections of town as well as in the village. Notably, Ebenezer Jewett lived for a time in the “haunted house”, where folklore tells of a peddler who was murdered there, and inhabitants told of latches rattling all night and refusing to stay fastened and the visage of a headless, hairy monster who would vanish in the fireplace. In Remembering 97 Years, A Spiritual Life, Alison Davis describes the farm her family purchased as a “summer home” from Mary and Chester Jewett, where Mary coped without plumbing, a furnace, or an electric refrigerator or stove, and Chester, who farmed “from morning till night”, surely wondered, Alison speculated, when he observed her father on the lawn washing the white birch logs kept in the fireplace when it wasn’t burning, “By jeepers! Looks like he’s washin’ the firewood! Is that all he has to do?”

The subject of this article, the Carl Jewett farm, contained two houses, two barns and a milking parlor; the land was eventually divided by three roads, Route 97, Fisk Street, and Highway 6. Along with running a dairy farm, Carl Jewett was a selectman and in charge of the roads and the road crew.

Before I became first selectman that office entailed road work – construction and maintenance of the roads. When I came in, Carl Jewett who was the second selectman, had been the first selectman and loved the road part of the job, but he wasn’t so fond of the finance and relief-welfare end of things. Well I had a job all day in Danielson and I couldn’t stay up all night plowing roads and do my job during the day so Carl took over the roads and I did the finances and welfare and we had many years of a very happy relationship.

John Holt, from “Hampton Remembers”

When I was first selectman, Carl Jewett was in charge of the roads. He had been for years. He was a wonderful guy and he had a lot of funny sayings. He said, “That would be just about as handy as a pocket in your underdrawers!” I remember cutting bushes on the road down there where Lenny Holmes lives, Lenny’s Lane, and they were cuttin’ down some fairly tall trees and they bumped into the wires. The wires were hot and there were sparks flyin’ all over the place and Carl yells, “If you’re still alive don’t move!”

Wendell Davis, from “Hampton Remembers”

According to Carl’s grandson, Brian Caya, when State regulations imposed restrictions on dairy farms in the 60’s, Mr. Jewett decided it wasn’t worth the investment of all the mandated changes to continue the dairy operation and instead, he raised cattle. Those of us who grew up here remember the cattle in the stable. Later and current owners, the Castillo family, cultivated a lot of vegetables, raised a few pigs and goats, and Elaine had an elderly quarter horse for a while. Classmates Brian and Elaine remember playing in the old barn, building forts with the hay bales and flying kites from the roof. “We would put the spools of string on the lightning rods at the peak,” Elaine recalls. Brian remembers sliding down the shoot meant for hay bales. And like everyone who grew up in town, he remembers haying. The summit of the three fields rising above Routes 6 and 97 provides one of the most magnificent views in town, but Brian remembers haying those fields, and choosing the highest of them in order to roll the bales downhill.  The remains of the original farm include the old milking parlor, converted into another use, the vegetable stand that once sheltered cattle, and the two houses associated with the farm, including the homestead, which current owners, Conrad and Diane Castillo, have restored beautifully.

Keith Christadore is responsible for the beautiful corn we all crave and relish. Keith’s agricultural roots, and his roots in Hampton, run deep.  His grandparents operated a farm at 131 Main Street, which is still referred to as “the Jaworski’s”. After Richard Jaworski returned from World War II, he and Ethel raised their two daughters, Carolyn, and Keith’s mother, Candace, as well as chickens, pigs, cows and horses. A member of the Farm Bureau, Richard built the first milking parlor in town. Prior to the Jaworski’s, Keith’s great-grandparents, Bertha and Jesse Burnham, and great-great grandparents, Lester and Nina Burnham, farmed the 200 acres, which also included an ice, a coal and a lumber business.

Today, most of the acreage on “Lone Elm Farm” is used for hay, but a portion is reserved for growing corn, other summer and autumn vegetables, and a pumpkin patch. Originally, Keith, who has been cultivating his crop since 2005, originally sold the corn at a farm stand at the end of his driveway prior to moving to the corner of Routes 6 and 97, a prime spot. And so the two farms have formed a perfect relationship, with Keith using the acreage on the “old Jaworski place” to grow the produce he sells on the “old Jewett place”, and the property that once sprawled across three roads and housed mills, farms, and at least two homes, has morphed into a farm stand, a picturesque corner along the Route 6 corridor where we wait in earnest anticipation every summer for the colorful sign announcing that those delicious cobs of ‘Silver Queen’ and ‘Butter and Sugar’ are ready. We can’t think of a greater example in Hampton of repurposed space.

Alison Davis’ “Hampton Remembers” and “Remembering 97 Years, a Spiritual Life” are available at Amazon and at Fletcher Memorial Library.  

How they use’d to rally,

At the quaint Old church

Down in the Valley.

‘Twas here the good Folk came from miles around,

To reverence the Gospel,

The elders did propound.

With song and prayer,

I’ve oftimes worshipped with ‘em there.

In Winters’ evenings good sleighing,

We gathered there, a singing and a praying,

The Lord’s will obeying.

On every Sabbath Morn at Nine A.M.

The sound of the tolling church Bell,

Across the Hills and Valley fell,

The day was for rest, and worship it did tell.

‘Twas here one learn’d of Jonah and the Whale,

Daniel in the Lion’s den,

and many another Bible Tale.

How they use’d to rally,

At the quaint old Church,

Down in the Valley.

There’s was an humble Creed,

Their faith in God, sufficed their every need.

They earn’d Heavens Heritage,

By kindly acts and many a friendly deed.

The old Church Bell is hushed and still,

The most of those who worshipped there,

Are resting in God’s Acre on yonder Hill.

‘Tis a goodly throng from the unseen Shore,

That oftimes passes in review,

Before the God given memory of mine,

How they used to rally,

At the quaint old Church

Down in the Valley.

‘Twas here in the Sabbaths of yore,

They garnered of God’s blessing a goodly store.

The Mind with such minute detail

Can summons back the past,

One forgets time grown pale,

And living cannot last.

Written by William N. Jewett, the “Farmer Poet of Hampton”, who lived in Howard Valley from 1887 to 1891.

We can’t have enough recipes for this prolific crop.

Ingredients:

4 c. shredded zucchini (about 2 lbs.)

1 tsp. salt

½ c. flour

½ c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

1-2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Place shredded zucchini in a large colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow zucchini to drain for about 10 minutes, then use your hands or a clean dish towel to drain zucchini completely. Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Scoop 2 Tbsp. of batter into skillet for each fritter, then flatten gently. Cook for about 2 minutes, until golden brown. Then flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve immediately.

For the Sour Cream Dipping Sauce, mix:

½ c. sour cream

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Judy Noel

(Editor’s note: we also enjoy these with fresh salsa!)

Comfort creatures – that’s us! Especially in late summer when the humidity rises and lawn tasks lessen. It’s the sultry pause between excessive weeding and mowing and the late season harvest of vegetables and later leaves. I don’t know the ingredients that promote relaxation. I just know that visitors find our yard relaxing, and I suppose there are certain components, such as the hammock, that lure us away from garden chores, resisting the urge to pull an errant plant or even contemplate a project.

There are three elements which unerringly enhance relaxation:  1) water — there is nothing that suggests leisure like a chaise near a pool or a pond, even when it’s noisy with the shouts and splashes of children; 2) a view – always gives us an excuse, especially if it frames the sun breaking through or slipping beneath the horizon, moments so full they leave no room for other considerations; 3) greenery – dense shade reduces the temperature and the color green reduces stress, thus the cooling, calming quality of a leafy canopy, fern fronds and a carpet of soft moss instills a sense of serenity.

For those whose circumstances provide no prospect of a pool, no glimpse of a view, and no significant shade, there are other components that encourage repose. Decks beckon us to step away from the house without venturing far from it, providing an opportunity, however brief, for a few moments of fresh air. Further away from the home, a fire pit, with its promise of a cozy night around a camp fire, always ensures relaxation, and in between, meandering paths of all sorts – woodchips, pavers, brick, fieldstone, or just a swath of grass between the gardens — summons us to a slow stroll. The quintessential resting place is, of course, a hammock, and we have three swaying beneath trees, providing respite from oppressive heat.

Seating invites us to sit. Our lawn hosts an eclectic mix: wooden, wicker, wrought iron, marble, metal, rattan; picnic, church and other types of benches; Adirondack, rocking and other types of chairs; as formal and intimate as the ornately cast tea table and patio chairs under the sourwood tree, or as informal and convivial as the seven slices of pine trunks circling the camp fire. Most of the furniture was obtained at the transfer station — the criteria – attractive and sturdy. Scattered throughout the yard, we take into consideration sunlight and shade and garden views in their placement, and guests choose to sit wherever they want.  Usually, small groups are formed at the start of a party, and as time elapses, seats are moved to form larger groups, eventually clustered all together.

When entertaining, quilts spread on the lawn, pillows on chairs, and cloths, bouquets and candles on tables further a sense of intimacy, hominess, and comfort. These qualities increase with ornaments throughout the season and the lawn, and especially where people gather. The closer to the home, the more decoration, bridging and extending the living spaces. In the same way as photographs on the mantle, books on the shelves, and heirlooms in the hutch, the personal touches in the garden familiarize visitors with the family who lives there. Assorted wind chimes suspended from tree branches provide pleasing music, a trickle of water from a spigot or a fountain provides a soothing sound. Garden gates and garden signs serve as invitations, bird houses and baths welcome other visitors to share the yard. Fairy houses, lanterns and chandeliers, sun dials and weather vanes, sculptures, gazing balls, tea sets and watering cans, potted plants in window boxes, baskets and  urns, in old troughs and old boots, in wheelbarrows and little red wagons – charming components all. Mary Engelbreit’s website, with ideas on garden ornamentation, is a wonderful resource.

The flowers we plant also lend themselves to the effect we wish to convey. Where annuals, often seen in commercial landscapes, are stiff and controlled, perennials produce a relaxed space. Our gardens are of the “cottage” variety, which mixes all types of plants – small trees and shrubs, bulbs, perennials, grasses and vines. Allow flowers to spill across a path, billow above the porch rail. Welcome wildflowers – daisies and Queen Anne’s lace and asters. Plant in abundance and plant in drifts, groupings of perennials repeated throughout the garden to create a predictable rhythm interspersed with the occasional focal points to provide interest.

The landscape at large plays a most significant role in the overall aura of the yard.  It’s important to preserve spaces of intimacy and spaciousness alike, and to reveal simple elements, a view, the gentle roll of the lawn, a welcoming walkway.  And though specimen plants – the exotic mimosa or the variegated willow – attract attention, trees like maples and oaks not only offer abundant shade, but familiarity. They’re like old friends. Shrubs serve the same purpose; along with providing attractive privacy screens, old roses, lilacs and viburnum stir a soothing sense of nostalgia. Always employ a map of the landscape when planning for the permanence of trees and shrubs to consider their impact on the lawn and their eventual size. A typical mistake is to place large plants too close together, which not only jeopardizes their health as they compete for nutrients, it creates a crowded appearance.  Just as homes can look too cluttered and cause unease, landscapes can, too. Give your garden rooms an opportunity to breathe.

As casual as any setting appears, every detail needs planning and careful consideration of inclusion and placement, from the largest spruce tree to the smallest tea set, with the ultimate result of looking like everything fell into place on its own. Trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, chairs, benches, tables, ornaments,  stretches of shade and of sunlight, of pools of lawn and groves of privacy. Somehow all these elements come together in our yard to create an inviting piece of turf where people simply relax. We can’t ask for more from our garden, or our guests, than that.

Dayna McDermott

We began and ended our publishing year with the pandemic and its impact, and though we were thrown into the realities of its dark repercussions at the start of our year, we finish, miraculously, with a light at the end of the tunnel.

Our organizations adapted to provide to the imposed restrictions through the duration. The library offered curb side circulation and sponsored a reading, concerts, and a home-grown market on the lawn. Our churches provided virtual services, the historical society’s annual meeting was in the pavilion, and the seniors resumed their luncheons last month, initiating a new column, Andrea Kaye’s “Baby Boomers and Beyond”. Goodwin and Trail Wood offered webinars and socially distanced hikes, and Laura McCabe wrote an article on our trails at a time when we really relied on them. Since no one was venturing far from home last summer, Linda Navin contributed an article on exploring Connecticut, and in October, “Ghost Tour” guided us on a journey to the spookiest places in the state. With a resilience reserved for youth – and kudos to their leaders – the scouts literally weathered everything, and sent us the pictures to prove it.

We reported on all of these organizations, and in their spirit, carried on.  Auntie Mac dispensed wit and advice in equal measures, Angela Fichter shared her humorous perspectives on “The Curse of Computerized Appliances” and “The Peril of Directions”, and the Reluctant Gardener wrote of a common lament in “Lawn-Mower Blindness Claims another Victim, or, What Peony?”  Pete Vertefeuille’s exceptional photographs graced a few of our covers and accompanied several articles, Pat Boss provided crossword puzzles with local and seasonal themes, and neighbors contributed recipes, seven Letters to the Editor, and 17 poems. Marcia Kilpatrick offered gardening advice in “Green Thumbs”, including “Nip the Knotweed”, which the Conservation Commission detailed along with other projects, and the garden column acknowledged our realities with articles like “Beginning a Garden” and “Our Shared Story”, and since we weren’t permitted to visit one another’s, last year “Our Neighbor’s Garden” featured Hampton’s public garden at Fletcher Memorial Library.

We couldn’t visit our neighbors’ barns either, so the series which explores these relics of Hampton’s agricultural past relied on memories and memorabilia.  “Our Rural Heritage” reported on Hill Top Farm with information from those who once worked there, the contributions of the family with the Arthur Pearl barn, the farm from “All Our Yesterdays” fame, and in conjunction with the celebration of Josephine Dauphin’s 100^th Birthday, “Sunny Crest”. We reported on chicken farms with a story, recipe and poem from Cindy Bezansen, who continued to entertain us with tender tales of her feathered flock. We also featured Hampton Hill Garage, and in consideration of the pandemic, “Our Country Doctors”. We displayed collages of graduation programs and photographs from 1933 to 1966 as part of “Pomp and Pandemic Circumstances”, and chronicled the evolution of our schools, from seven one room school houses to three, to the consolidated school, to the Hampton Elementary School, to virtual learning. We reported on the openings and closings of our schools and students’ accomplishments, publishing the honor rolls and dean’s lists and graduations. We recognized elementary school staff on their retirement, and one of our first responders, Dale Demontigny, on her retirement from nursing. We honored the 21 residents we lost last year, one of our town’s sons, nine veterans, and two former Chairmen of the Hampton Gazette, Jim Ryan and Gordon Hansen, who was also 2016’s  Citizen of the Year.  We honored this year’s Citizen of the Year, Kathi Newcombe, and recognized those who contributed to important projects – the Pribbles for the reconstruction of the Fuller-Badger-Rockwell Dam, and the members of the Mennonite community for construction of the town’s new pavilion and for supplying neighbors with generators during the storm last August. Terri and Dale Warner’s contribution to “Coming to Hampton” reminded us of how much we enjoy hearing everyone’s story on how they found us, and we started a new series,  “Remembering”,  with recollections of our town from 1900 through the 60’s, a natural sequel to the memories we shared with one another during the pandemic.

Despite all the controversy, there were no political opinions sent to our newspaper on the presidential election. There was, however, commentary on another national issue, with letters from candidates for State Senate in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, poems from our youth, one titled “Still Breathing” and the other announcing, “I want to be loud against the injustice…I hope you will be loud, too”, and a memoir, “Fighting Racism at the Roots”.

On the local level, while budgets were subject to approval solely by the Board of Finance last year due to restrictions on meetings, this year detailed budgets, and the subsequent referenda, were reported on the front pages of the May and June issues. We also reported on the Fire Department’s Length of Service Award deficit and funding, the Affordable Housing Plan presented by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the return of Regional District #11’s surplus funds to the town. And though the town conducted far fewer voting events than ever before, the Registrars of Voters published far more detailed directions on the methods of safely casting a ballot.

Holidays were difficult this year. The Seniors sponsored a Christmas decorating contest since we couldn’t spread our usual caroling cheer to elderly residents, a captioned pictorial display of some of Hampton’s special places served as a “Christmas Card” to the town, and “Our Rural Heritage” shared Christmas memories. Community members surprised elementary school students with decorations and goodies for several holidays, and many organizations collaborated for the school’s recent celebration of Arbor Day.

Most of all, we missed our Memorial Day traditions. July’s front page customarily features the Memorial Day addresses and photographs, but our publishing year began and ended instead with remembrances. In an effort to fill the void a little, and with an understanding of the solace we’ve discovered in our shared memories, the Gazette produced a video of the commemorations of the last fifty years, available on YouTube at “Hampton Remembers, Memorial Day”.  We were also happy to sponsor the Annual Barbecue – your patronage exceeded our expectations – thank you. The continuation of our publication is possible through the barbecue, our loyal advertisers, your generous donations, and the annual calendar — we thank the artists who contributed – we’re already preparing next year’s. And we thank you for your contributions of information during a time when communication was not easy. The Memorial Day video proves that our town depends, and has depended, on the time and the talents of many people, evidenced in the photographs of the parades and the ceremonies, and in the words of the speakers, who remind us of the neighbors who “build the strong, cohesive communities that make it worth returning home.”

We have enclosed an addressed envelope in this issue for your donations and your ideas which help us to produce a monthly newspaper, an annual barbecue, a yearly calendar, and projects like the Memorial Day video. Thank you for your support.

Juan Arriola, Chairman

To the committee for the sign honoring veterans, Jerry Misak for providing music at the War Memorial, decorated courtesy of Woodward’s Greenhouse, the Historical Society for the flag display, Al freeman for the naval ceremony at the Little River, Neal Moon for playing Taps in the village, and the road crew for raising the flags over Main Street.

To all who assisted with the barbecue – Kathy Donahue and Lula Blocton in the kitchen, Marty LaVoy with the orders, Shirley Bernstein at the cash register, Brian Tracy, Thayne Hutchins, Michael McCabe and Leon Chaine at the grill, and Morris Burr for the charcoal. A special thank you also to Stop & Shop, Big Y, and Patels’ convenience store.

And to all who contributed their significant talents to the Memorial Day video – Mark Brett and Pete Vertefeuille for their wonderful photographs, Mary Oliver and Perry Mandanis for their wonderful voices, India Arriola and Caspian Halbert for their technical and artistic wizardry, Matt Flegert and Mary McMillan for the Historical Society’s vintage photographs, Gay Wagner for the brain-storming sessions, and the speakers of the last several decades for their timeless messages.

Regional District #11’s FY2021-2022 budget was approved on its second attempt at a June 2 referendum with a cumulative vote of 304 to 265.  Chaplin was the only one of the three towns to vote in favor of the budget for both referenda, with voters in Hampton and Scotland rejecting the proposal twice. Although there were not enough voters from Chaplin for the May 4 referendum to outweigh the votes in Scotland and Hampton, at the second referendum, Chaplin overturned the votes of the other two towns.  The $6,523,372 budget increased by only $16,000 over the current year, though Hampton’s share of $1,576,639 represents a $64,132, or 4.24%, increase.

The concern which fueled the defeat twice in two towns was the district’s failure to return surplus funds totaling $556, 508. According to State statute, regional boards of education “shall use any budget appropriation which has not been expended by the end of the fiscal year to reduce the net expenses of the district for the following fiscal year”. However, audits reveal that the statute has not been followed for at least the last decade.  A letter dated June 2, 2021 and signed by the First Selectmen of all three towns, Allan Cahill of Hampton, Gary Greenberg of Scotland, and Bill Rose of Chaplin, apprised RD#11 Superintendent Kenneth Henrici and Board of Education Chairman Dennis LaBelle of the statute and the amount of the surplus for 2019-2020; after appropriating $38,000 to its capital and non-recurring fund, the school was left with a net surplus of $452,534 which was supposed to be applied to the towns’ net expenses for the current fiscal year. According to Cahill, Hampton plans on deducting our share, $100,213, from this year’s final payment to RD#11. The letter also states that the towns waive claim to $130,974, an amount which “reflects a cumulative surplus” which should be refunded to the towns, however “determining the source of this balance and the amount that is due would require a lengthy and expensive analysis”.

At the time of the referendum, there was much confusion concerning the surplus funds, with one mailed flyer urging voters to reject the budget until the surplus was returned, and another flyer circulated on social media claiming the surplus funds were returned. Superintendent Henrici confirmed that he and Chairman LaBelle “met with legal counsel and our independent auditor several times to determine the proper process for addressing the 19-20 surplus and any future surplus funds”. When the decision to return the funds was made public is unclear. Though Henrici stated that LaBelle announced the return of the surplus at the Scotland Town Meeting on May 20, the minutes of that meeting show that the question of surplus funds was raised, but the person inquiring was directed to address the matter at a RD#11 Board of Education meeting. Nor was the surplus discussed at any of the meetings of the RD#11 school board, with a motion to discuss the return of funds failing at a May 18 meeting.  However, at the June 8 meeting of the RD#11 board, Henrici announced that the school expects a $250,000- $300,000 surplus this year as well, though the funds cannot be returned to the towns until after the audit is complete.