This month, the Scouts of Troop 93 (boys) and Troop 1093 (girls) will be conducting our annual food drive. This year, the need for food is greater than ever in our community due to the pandemic’s impact on employment. The food drive will work as follows:
On Saturday, March 20, scouts will be distributing bags and flyers to Hampton households between 9 and 11AM.
On Saturday, March 27, donations will be collected:
You can drop off your donation at the Hampton Congregational Church between 8 and 10:30 AM
OR
if you prefer to have us pick up your donation on the 28th, please call 860-208-2848 between 8 and 10:30 and leave your name and
address.
The donations will be distributed to the food pantry at the Hampton Congregational Church and to the emergency food pantry at the Covenant Soup Kitchen. This year, in addition to asking for food donations, we are also asking for gift cards to area grocery stores so families can buy perishable foods. Food donations should be non-perishable items such as: shelf stable boxed milk; canned pasta, fruit, beans, soups, meat and fish; personal and feminine care items; juice boxes and pouches; coffee;  baby food, wipes, diapers; and large paper lunch bags.

Please help us make this event a success!
John Tillinghast

Applications for the 2021 heating season are still being accepted by the Access Community Action Agency. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all applications for energy assistance will be completed over the phone, and a list of required documentation will be mailed to the applicant who will have ten days to return the information to the Agency by mail, email, fax, or the designated drop box in Willimantic or Danielson. Program eligibility is determined by total household gross income and is available for all heated households using oil, kerosene, propane, wood, coal, electric, or natural gas heat, except motorhomes and campers. Residents of Windham County can contact Access in Willimantic at 860-450-7400 or in Danielson at 860-412-1600.

Dear Auntie Mac,
Could you please share this with your audience? Stop shunning people who’ve survived Covid! When I mention I had it months ago, people often back even further away from our masked, six-foot distancing as though I’m still contagious. My offer to cook a meal for someone after surgery was politely refused because I had Covid three months earlier. I offered some books to another neighbor who expressed an interest in reading them and was refused for the same reason. Some people won’t even speak to me! I wasn’t careless – I work in the medical field. I continue to take every precaution AND respond to people with empathy. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Thank You,
Covid-Free

My Dear Neighbor:
Auntie Mac well appreciates your predicament. After having been exposed to the chagas beetle at a birthday party in the rougher quarters of Bora Bora, I found myself shunned at social events all that season, even though the creature in question only made it as far as my sorbet dish. Sadly, this reaction is all too common, and even has a scientific term, which Auntie Mac is certain you will not relish: “parasite avoidance.”  Human evolution has wired us to stigmatize sick people. We saw this at the beginning of (and far too long into) the AIDS crisis. But these are dangerous waters. During the current pandemic, shunning Covid-19 survivors will exacerbate mental health issues. It also will contribute to the spread of the disease, as mildly ill people will be reluctant to admit they are sick. In a time when they need it the most, many survivors of the coronavirus such as yourself are finding that their support system wants nothing to do with them. Having recovered from the illness, you now face a new challenge: stigma from family, friends and co-workers. Even though, as you know, there is no active virus inside you, some will continue to think that you can magically transmit it to them. Interestingly, the most recent CDC evidence suggests that those who have recently recovered from the coronavirus may be among the most immune. To put it bluntly: Someone who is fully recovered from Covid-19 is no longer infectious and should not be treated any differently from his or her peers.

And to those imaginative souls who are leery of trusting information emanating from government agencies, Auntie Mac would like to gently point out that the CDC is not a gleeful cabal of malevolent tricksters bent on neutralizing the entire population of North America, if for no other reason than they value their generous paychecks that allow them to purchase things like trips to Monte Carlo and La Perla lingerie, although not necessarily in that order. But I digress.

Everyone, however, including those who have recovered from the virus, should still take precautions (masks, good hygiene practices, social distancing) and waste no time in getting the vaccine. There is no guarantee that you will not become re-infected, but you are no more apt to transmit the virus to your neighbors than they are to pass it to you. And this foolishness of not touching objects like books that have been touched by someone who currently does not have the virus—honestly. Auntie Mac does not understand this lemming-like penchant on the part of some people to brush aside facts in favor of clutching the most bizarre and far-fetched scenarios to their heaving bosoms.

An important lesson for us all to learn, and learn quickly, is that the social injuries of epidemics – fear, rejection, stigma, loss of sense of belonging – last well beyond physical healing. We all play a vital role in removing stigma during a pandemic. Indeed, one of our best reduction and resilience tools is simple social support. I suggest we all start practicing it at once.
Your Auntie Mac

When we remember the legendary Dorothy Holt, we usually don’t associate her role here in Hampton as having any sort of agricultural roots. Known to us as “the White Tornado”, or the town’s “Welcome Wagon”, she was one of the most civic-minded individuals we’ve ever known. Republican Town Committee Chairperson and Registrar of Voters, she was very involved in local politics. She was a pillar of the Congregational Church, and Holt Hall is named for their contribution. Active in all social aspects of the community, she was especially invested in the Little River Grange, where she organized holiday parties for all of the town’s children and served as “Matron of the Juvenile Grange. Everyone went – it was bedlam! Sometimes sixty, seventy kids! They all came because they were fed pretty well,” Dorothy explained in Hampton Remembers.

James and Janet Robertson described her in All Our Yesterdays as “an elegantly dressed lady replete with stockings and high-heeled shoes…friendly, interested, kind, and bossy, all at the same moment.” On this first encounter, she was trying “to get our names, our children’s names, and our birthdays to include in the town-wide Grange birthday calendar for the next year, and to sell us copies of that calendar. We bought. No one could resist Dorothy Holt.” It was Dorothy who collected all of those names and dates for the calendar, and it was Dorothy who sent every single person in town a card for their celebrations – birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings. Jack Holt, who served as a First Selectman for 15 years, drove every bride in town to church in his 1920 Rolls Royce. “It was fun to get out the old Rolls Royce that I got years ago for $225 and take brides to the church in it,” he relayed in Hampton Remembers.

We also associate the Holts with Still Pond, formerly the Curtis Tavern, the elegant 18th century inn that the Holts lived, and entertained in, for most of their years here. Later, they would build a more accommodating home on North Bigelow; and Dorothy’s mother, Mrs. Porter, also had a residence in Hampton, Hill Top Farm, which returns us to the subject of agriculture.

With houses in Kentucky, New Jersey, and West Hartford, Mrs. Porter wanted another one close to her daughter when she purchased the property shortly after Dorothy and Jack left Europe prior to World War II to settle in Hampton. What Mrs. Porter acquired was a 1740 Cape and a cattle farm. One of the town’s oldest, the house faces south, which is the custom of 18th century homes, and Mrs. Porter would extend the structure extensively to its north, transforming it into one of the town’s most elegant homes. She also continued to raise cattle, with Bill Stocking serving as Hill Top Farm’s manager. Many of the town’s youth worked on the farm, among them Joe White, Orrin and Ralph Hosford, Jimmy Estabrooks, Mark Latimer, Anthony Burell, Bobby Pawlikowski, Don and Bob Inman.

“I remember the milking room where there were all of these awards on the walls. There was a stainless steel tank, a wash sink, and a communal ladle hanging on the wall — everyone coming in from work drank from it,” says Bob Inman, who started working at Hill Top Farm when he was ten for 15 cents an hour. “I was able to buy a little motorcycle with the money I earned there. I worked in the egg room, downstairs under the house where there was a conveyor belt, sorting and grading eggs.” Bob remembers the spectacular garden with its wrought iron tables and chairs and a wrought iron bench circling a large tree. “Bill Stocking was a horticulturist and he cultivated exotic plants in the greenhouse — he used to bring my mother a night blooming cereus. Mrs. Porter would come to Hampton after the Kentucky Derby and everything had to be perfect. There was an enormous rose garden in back and the roses were all in bloom the day she arrived.”

“They raised registered Guernseys. By the time I went to work, the herd was pretty much depleted, but they still milked one or two cows for Mrs. Porter and some other employees to have milk,” Anthony Burell remembered. “I worked mostly with Bill Stocking and Joe White, worked on haying, other field work, lawn mowing, cutting firewood and kindling, worked in the vegetable gardens, picking and grading eggs. Mrs. Porter always made it a point to say hello, and check on my well-being. I also washed and waxed all three of her cars. I enjoyed working for her.”

“I remember my brother sometimes had to walk to and from work at Hill Top Farm,” Susan Latimer Perez recalled. “His boss, Bill Stocking, drove by him one day and stopped to ask if he was tired of walking. Mark said ‘Yes’, and Mr. Stocking said, ‘Run a while’ and drove off. He waited down the road a bit to give him a ride.”

From a 1958 Willimantic Chronicle article, Hill Top Entry Wins Guernsey Award:
Hill Top Farm’s falcon Sputnick was the grand champion award winner in the Guernsey class at the 109th annual exhibition of the Windham Country Agriculture Society held at the Brooklyn Fair Grounds over the weekend. The two-year-old registered animal took the first prize in its class as well as the senior championship ribbon as well as the grand championship. Last year, the same animal took the first place ribbon in the senior heifer yearling class and the female junior championship. Other entries from the farm, which is managed by W. Clark Stocking for Mrs. G. Rupert Porter of West Hartford, were Hill Top Deershorn Starlight, winning the heifer calf first prize and the junior championship. The entries combined to take first prize for the best three females, also. They also received a second prize for the heifer calf, junior yearling and senior yearling entries. Orrin Hosford, Robert Pawlikowski and Mark Latimer were in charge of showing the animals at the farm, and Hosford and Joseph White share the herdsmen’s responsibilities at the farm, which is located on Route 97. The herd has been building up since 1952 to a point where there are now over 50 head at the farm.
The photograph’s caption, picturing Bobby Pawlikowki, noted: “This is the second year Mrs. Katherine Porter, owner of Hill Top Farm, has entered stock in fair competition.

The Willimantic Chronicle also recognized the societal role of Mrs. Porter and her family, the one with which we are more familiar:
State Representative and Mrs. John E. Holt, shown at the extreme left, take time out for a bite to eat at the annual meeting of the Holt Association of America at their Hampton home, Still Pond. The association began when the late Hamilton Holt, father of Representative Holt, began contacting people of the name listed in telephone directories in cities throughout which he traveled.

Family members in attendance, descendants of Nicholas and William Holt who came to the colonies in 1637, were from as far away as Edinburgh, Scotland — John Butters (which explains the kilt) pictured playing croquet with (Jack and Dot’s son Tony’s wife) “Mrs. Hamilton Holt II” (known to us in Hampton as simply “Kay”). The third picture is of “Mrs. G. A. Porter” and her cousin.

Louis Chatey, who posted the newspaper clippings in Hampton Remembers the Second Half the of the 20th Century writes: “Probably my most vivid memory of Mrs. Porter was her being driven to the General Store by her chauffeur wearing a dark suit and driver’s cap. The car was a large black station wagon with Hill Top Farm painted in small gold cursive letters on the driver’s door.”

“Mrs. Porter also had a home in Kentucky,” Ralph Hosford recalled. “She and her daughter, Dorothy Holt, would go there for the Kentucky Derby. Bill Stocking would drive them.”

John Osborn remembered “A very interesting lady. I remember visiting Mrs. Porter and having some wonderful discussions. My mother read us Cheaper by the Dozen when we were quite young. I don’t know how we got on that subject, but Mrs. Porter told me that she had a home in New Jersey and while there, had been Sunday school teacher to some of the family from the book.”

Sue Hochstetter’s mother, Alice Mathews, assisted Mrs. Porter as a personal secretary in her later years. Sue remembers “sitting in a house very different from mine, and decorated very differently than mine. I was told to ‘Sit in this chair and be quiet,’ while this little old lady dictated to my mother in such a business-like fashion.”

“She was, I think, a quite formidable and very social lady and gave all kinds of teas and parties,” current owner Sonja Larsen relayed. “She had a full time gardener with a helper so I’m sure the many borders here were a fine sight to behold. In winter, she turned the pond into a skating rink for her grandson, Tony Holt, and his friends.” Mrs. Porter’s gardens were, indeed, legendary, as was her love for her gazebo, which sits on top of the hill rising behind the house like a sentinel; there can be few places that provide as splendid a view or as romantic a setting. Bob Inman recalled picnicking at the gazebo, which they called ‘the lamb’s nest’. “In her olden days Mrs. Porter loved to be driven up to the gazebo for the view she enjoyed so much,” Sonja said. “Legend has it that she died one day in the car coming back down the hill.”

After Mrs. Porter’s death at the age of 93 in 1969, the old cow barn burned down and was replaced by the next owner with a horse barn, according to Sonja. The home continued on as a “summer residence” to families until the Larsens purchased it in 1979.

Though there are no cows, horses or chickens, the barn stands, and the greenhouse, the house is still magnificent, as are the walled gardens, the gazebo presides on the hill, and while Mrs. Porter’s final resting place was Kentucky, her daughter is buried at the North Cemetery here in Hampton, where her indelible mark on our community remains.

Dayna McDermott

Eleni Yanouzas passed away on February 6, 2021 in the 89th year of her life, and in the comfort of her home. Born on July 29, 1931, Eleni was raised in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, where she met her husband of 66 years, John. In 1970, the Yanouzases came to Hampton, where they raised their three children, Georgette, Niko, and Melina, and where Eleni became immediately involved in the community, serving as an elected member of the Hampton Elementary School Board of Education and later in life, as a member of the Recreation Commission.

But her most memorable contributions to our town were to our theaters. After her children were grown, Eleni fulfilled a lifelong dream, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in theater, cum laude, from the University of Connecticut, and training in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Prior to honing her natural talents, she shared them with us, playing lead roles in the Hampton Community Players’ productions. Starring in the first production, The Pirates of Penzance, Eleni continued to grace our stage with memorable performances in several musicals, playing opposite Jim Roberston in Fiddler on the Roof and Guys and Dolls. Who could ever forget her Golda’s loving frustration with his Tevye in “Do You Love Me?” Or his Nathan Detroit’s loving frustration with her Adelaide in “Sue Me”? They were among the adults who were responsible for giving the town’s teenagers a sense of performance, of community, of having — with neighbors of all ages – such fun.

Eleni began volunteering with the Consolidated School, directing The Wizard of Oz (with a challenging number of “munchkins”), and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. Double casting for day and evening performances, she wanted the most children to be able to shine. Notable and successful musicals she directed at Parish Hill High School included Godspell, The Fantasticks, Pippin, and Man of la Mancha.

Lovingly referred to as “The General”, Eleni was supportive and compassionate, generous with her time and talent, and loved to laugh. Devoted to her family, Eleni attended all of her children’s and grandchildren’s recitals and sporting events – rain or shine — over the years. She was very proud of her heritage, as evinced in her frequent visits to Greece, her insistence that her children learn the language, her Greek food, including the wonderful baklava, which she often provided to neighbors and friends, and her devotion to her Church, where she served as President of the Church Council and as Choir Director.

Eleni’s lovely voice never failed her, as we witnessed the last Christmas the carolers visited and she sang with us from her porch. Nor did her beauty ever fade. Those who met Eleni were initially overwhelmed by her beauty, but those of us privileged to have known her were blessed with the beauty within. Our condolences to her family.

Donations in Eleni’s honor may be made to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 80 Water St., Danielson, CT 06239.

Edward Burchfield passed away on January 24, 2021 at his home here in Hampton surrounded by family. Born in Magnolia, Arkansas on August 13, 1955, he served twenty three years in the U. S. Navy Submarine Service, honorably discharged with the rank of TMC (SS), and was a member of the US Submarine Veterans in Groton.

An avid outdoorsmen, Ed was active in the Pomfret Rod & Gun Club and the Eastern CT Sportsman Club, where he assisted annually with the Kids’ Fishing Derby. He was also a State Fire Arms Instructor and enjoyed mentoring young and old alike. Here in Hampton, where he has resided for more than twenty years, Ed volunteered for several municipal offices and committees. He was a member, and Chairman, of the Recreation Commission, was elected to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2005 and was its Chairman for several years, served as the Town’s Emergency Manager, and as a Constable from 2003 to 2009. As a State Certified Volume Reduction Facility Operator, he frequently assisted at the Transfer Station.

Ed will be remembered here for many reasons. At Town meetings, he was our parliamentarian. He always came equipped with Roberts Rules of Order and would refer to them when necessary. This was especially helpful during heated debates; Ed was usually the one who called “a point of order” when anyone stepped out of bounds, including public officials. Ever the patriot, Ed alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Services after recognizing the photographs on a cell phone discarded at the Transfer Station as restricted areas of a submarine and a security breach, making Hampton national news in 2015. Under some administrations, Ed was “the Fourth Selectman”; as such, he listened to the views of townsfolk on a variety of issues – one of the most crucial aspects of making small town government run affectively, and with good will. Ed was accessible. One could always find him. An alarm sounded in Hampton among neighbors who grew concerned when they hadn’t seen Ed for a few weeks at the transfer station, where he was always eager to engage in conversation, respecting the opinions of people whether he shared them or not. Ed enjoyed the debate.

Ed was a good neighbor. He shared his expertise, his wisdom, his truck, his time, his opinions, his ear, and his hands whenever needed. A close friend of the legendary Paulie Tumel, Ed was the closest we’ll ever have to a “character” in our generation.
We’ll miss him. Our deepest condolences to his wife of forty years, Claire.

Donations may be made in Ed’s memory to the Eastern CT. Sportsman Club, P.O. Box 52, Ashford, CT 06278.

I begin this chapter of my life with deeply fulfilled memories untold before in my small existence. The big, dark house of Aunt Hattie’s time had become a cheerful, happy home filled with the old familiar furniture from Brookline and Mother’s little pots of geraniums smiling on the south window sills.

The old farm and the house “Maplehurst” had been built by Governor Chauncey Cleveland in the early 1800’s. It was a most ideal farm in many ways. The lovely white house sat just back of the then lower main road of the village. Behind the house was the big red barn with its cupola and the golden horse weather vane which never quite agreed with the church steeple vane across the green. The animal barn and the hay barn and connecting hen houses and tool house formed the two sides of the barnyard; the other two sides were a solid red fence with a generous gateway that was my joy to swing on. Inside the barnyard was a spring of water which bubbled up into a huge barrel where the animals took long thirsty drinks.

In the acre of land around about the house and barn were the pear trees (delicious Bartletts and Clapps, favorites), plum trees, a small peach orchard, and a sturdy cherry tree, which in July hung heavy with luscious pink checked cherries dripping with juice. The red currant bushes, the raspberry and black berry patch, and the great bed of rhubarb were at the north side of the barn, while just below before the land took too sharp a slant was the big vegetable garden. Below this our land ran down the hillside for about thirteen acres to Bigelow Pond in the valley. First came the mowing lot of tall timothy grass, so sweet when it was freshly cut; then the apple orchard of about fifty trees. I can remember almost every tree in the orchard, some so easy to climb and some so almost impossible. Many, many are the apples I have picked from those trees. My favorites were the Cheesebora russets, a huge russet apple, so full of sweet juice, but not good for storing. Then came the Gravensteins, ripe by the last of July, the Shepherd Sweeting, sweet but not flavorful. The Greenings and Pippins were good for pies and there were the Pearmains with the faint pear flavor, and the glossy deep red Baldwins, so delicious on a cold winter night before the open fire. Those are the apples that stand out most vividly in my memory, but there were many others.
Miriam Church Peabody

To be continued….

This month’s memoir comes courtesy of Gustavo Falla, current owner of “Maplehurst”. We’re seeking the remembrances of those who grew up here, or their parents, or grandparents, whatever the era, as well as written “attic treasures”.

This annual honor usually recognizes a resident for their volunteer efforts with town events and organizations in a given year. Because the pandemic has necessarily precluded those activities, this year afforded us an opportunity to instead award someone for their decades of service to the town.

Kathi Newcombe has contributed to nearly every facet of our community, serving on boards and committees, in education and government, with town and social organizations, through local politics and political activism.

“Kathi is a very unselfish person,” says Margaret Haraghey, who has worked with Kathi in many capacities.  “She uses her knowledge and skills to help others become stronger and do a better job. Kathi is always willing to help and offer her assistance, whether it be to help the Town or to help an individual.”

Currently, Kathi is serving as an alternate member of the Board of Finance, appointed by the Board of Selectmen in 2019. “Kathi has been a tireless advocate for Hampton taxpayers,” says First Selectman Al Cahill. She has served on some of the finance board’s important committees, including the By-Laws Committee that aligned the finance board’s governance with the Town ordinances and State statutes, and the Policies and Procedures Committee that recently developed guidelines for officials to follow. Originally, Kathi served as the finance board’s secretary, recording thorough Minutes of the issues that came before this new fiscal authority, so that residents who couldn’t attend meetings could learn of the role, and debate, of the fledgling organization. One of the things Kathi is known for is a commitment to transparency. “Kathi has served our community for decades on various boards, committees, and town organizations. As a board of finance member she is irreplaceable,” says Chairman Kathy Donahue. “She is the first to volunteer and her historic knowledge base and research skills are invaluable to the board. Hampton is truly blessed to have her as a member of our community.”

Elected in 1993, Kathi also served on the elementary school Board of Education for six years. During her tenure, she advocated for students and taxpayers alike, and was always willing to explore educational opportunities and innovations. Admired for her judiciousness, her decisions were dependent on research, and on listening to all stakeholders. Kathi also served as an Officer of the Community for Parish Hill for many years.

Kathi was active in our local cub scouts, reporting on their activities and achievements in The Hampton Gazette. Although not a member of the editorial board until 2007, Kathi wrote many articles for the town newspaper, covering a range of subjects from summarizing town meeting discussions to introducing new school staff to the community. An accomplished cook, she also contributed a series on vegetarian dishes, providing a dozen recipes which included several international cuisines.

The Gazette was one of the fortunate recipients of Kathi’s multitude of skills. “Dependable would be among the many accolades that one can use to describe Kathi. Whenever she accepted an assignment, it was a given that it would be researched and well-written,” says Chairman Juan Arriola. “Her participation with the Gazette delayed her recognition, which is due, and well deserved. We are grateful for her numerous contributions and talents which clearly demonstrate a role in the betterment of the community.” During the seven years Kathi served on the editorial board, she filled nearly every role – as secretary, circulation, and subscription coordinator, stepping up to the plate when we needed a production manager to put the newspaper together for publication every month. As chairman and spokesperson, she represented us with honesty and integrity in editorials on our pages, and at state and local forums. She wrote many articles: human interest stories – recognizing Citizens of the Year and public employees on their retirements; announcing town events; and covering divisive subjects such as the gun range, school test scores, and regional studies, penning articles under headlines like “Dueling Ordinances” and “Who Knew What When?” Another established fact – Kathi is not afraid to tackle a project, or a controversy.

Most recently Kathi volunteered to serve as the Senior Club’s Treasurer when a vacancy occurred for that important role. One of the original volunteers to revitalize the Annual Super Bowl Grinder Sale years ago, Kathi also provided the Seniors with all the information required when the group assumed the yearly responsibility. “It’s all here!” Stan Crawford said at the time. Organized to the letter – lists of phone numbers for grinder orders, ingredient amounts and costs, volunteers for everything – calling, slicing, assembling grinders, advertising, cashiering, delivering, cleaning – every last detail included.  Kathi’s organizational skills are unparalleled.

Kathi was also instrumental in revitalizing the Memorial Day Chicken Barbecue when the Gazette decided to revive what was once a tradition of the Little River Grange. Over the years, Kathi has shopped for the ingredients, prepared salads, served the chicken, baked cookies, and supervised the entire event, ultimately organizing everything – the shopping lists, the recipes, the names of volunteers and bakers – for future use. Kathi would always insist on a ‘post-mortem’ after every event for committee members to visit over coffee at her house to review, revise and improve the process.

“Kathi and I worked together on several town issues and I always admired her ability to exercise due diligence to any issue. We spent a lot of time over lunch discussing the town and its character,” says Sue Hochstetter. “But what I really enjoyed most was her Christmas cookie and gift exchange.  I would see people there that I didn’t routinely run into. It was a fun way to get introduced to new cookie traditions and just have fun.”

Kathi has opened her home frequently for social gatherings and committees, where neighbors are treated to the hospitality and the comfort and coziness of the Newcombe’s 19th century home. They also have invited families to the pond that the Newcombes have so carefully maintained and that so many of us learned to swim in when we were children, allowing us a tangible slice of nostalgia.

+Kathi has also been very active in local politics, serving for many years, and currently, on the Republican Town Committee, and at one time as its Chair. For many years she was a Registrar of Voters, facilitating the several technical and legislative changes which occurred during her tenure. She assisted election officials and voters alike in transitioning from the old machines to the tabulators, distributing information and developing procedures in order for everyone to cast their votes with confidence in the process. “As a new Registrar, I was especially fortunate to benefit from her experience,” says ROV Mary Oliver. “There was never a need to ‘recreate the wheel’, and what she put in place then is still the gold standard.”

Kathi also served as a certified moderator. When she presided over referenda and elections, there was never a question or challenge raised. Her name is nearly synonymous with integrity. She never assumed the role of moderator when she posed a public opinion on a referendum matter, when she knew she needed to take a stand, believing that involvement is a civic responsibility, too, during those debates that consume residents for weeks, or months, or sometimes years. A believer as well in informed rather than emotional decisions, Kathi helped produce informational flyers for CORG, an organization founded to distribute information on many of those difficult deliberations for the benefit of residents unable to attend meetings. Instrumental in researching, collecting, and organizing information into graphs and charts easily understood, she insisted on sourcing everything to encourage people to check the facts themselves. It’s never easy to put one’s name on an opinion that will inevitably be unpopular with some of one’s neighbors, but Kathi volunteered her own frequently. And whenever her name was on it, taxpayers voted for the position advocated, one hundred percent of the time. People trust her.

Thank you, Kathi Newcombe, for your years of commitment to the town and to transparency, for your willingness to volunteer, for your diligence, judiciousness, dependability, organizational skills, integrity, hospitality, honesty, and for keeping us informed.

We promised Kathi Newcombe was an accomplished cook – now everyone can appreciate that this winter.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, sliced

2 medium potatoes, cubed

1 head broccoli, chopped

½ lb. green beans, chopped

2 packages frozen corn

2 cups water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. marjoram

1/1/2 quarts milk

4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt & pepper to taste

Saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil for five minutes. Add all other ingredients except milk and cheese, and simmer until vegetables are tender. Place half the soup mixture in blender and puree. Combine all of the ingredients and heat slowly until soup is hot and cheese is melted.

Kathi Newcombe

Minestrone

1 large onion, chopped

1 head broccoli, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into quarters and chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 can kidney beans

1 large can tomatoes, chopped

1 cup uncooked shell macaroni

1 quart water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbs. butter or olive oil

Saute onion and celery in oil for five minutes. Add water, bouillon cubes, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, and macaroni and simmer until macaroni is tender. Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

Kathi Newcombe

The pandemic has made death a constant in our daily lives this year and lately, escalating through the holiday season, yet the

pervasiveness hasn’t made the loss of loved ones any easier; and nothing could have ever prepared us for the sudden and tragic loss of one so young as Alex Moshier, who died in an accident on December 7^th in the 29^th year of his life.

Alex was one of Hampton’s sons – in every sense of the word. He was raised here, as were his parents, Debra (Schenk) and Jack Moshier, his aunts, Judith and Christine, and his uncle Richard. His grandparents, Barbara and Dick, Betty and Norm, were our neighbors.

Growing up along the Little River, surrounded with woods and farmlands, inspired Alex’s passion for and deep understanding of the natural world. Alex loved to fish, particularly ice-fishing, planning adventures for himself and his companions – most recently for the Belgrade Lakes — stocking his sled and preparing his equipment. Alex loved to hunt, especially with his Uncle Richard and multitude of friends, rising early for turkey and deer during the season. His natural skills and inherited traits, coupled with lessons learned from his uncle and his grandfather – avid outdoorsmen — assured his success on all of these excursions. Alex loved to hike. He completed an expedition on the Appalachian Trail in 2014, finishing the thru-hike on his own under his trail name “Burn”. Alex loved biking. He was extremely skilled, both as a mountain and a BMX biker. He created several tracks around his house when he was young, including an incredible jump he jokingly called “The Big Kahuna”, and as an adult he enjoyed exploring places, near and far, on mountain bike trips with friends and relatives.

With this resume, one could correctly assume that a desk in an office would not suit Alex. He worked seasonally for the State Park Division of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection at Salt Rock State Park, Quaddick State Park, Natchaug State Forest, and Mashamoquet Brook State Park.  In 2012 and 2013, Alex was a DEEP Seasonal Wildfire Technician, joining the Connecticut Wildfire Crew as a Wildland Firefighter, Type II Chainsaw Operator, Faller Class B, and battling a 30,000-acre wildfire in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. The following year, he was with a 20-person crew fighting a fire in George Washington National Park in Virginia. He also worked for a number of tree companies.

His surroundings also inspired another one of Alex’s passions – art. Everything was an opportunity to create: elevating trucks and tractors with a stroke of his paint brush, designing and tending and expanding his garden, painting scenes on chainsaw blades and canoe paddles. Alex constructed a wooden book consisting of his signature illustrations, and designed signs for his family’s “Bright Acres Farm”. Graduating in 2013 from Eastern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts, Alex’s art has been exhibited at ECSU, the John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art in New Haven, The Akus Gallery in Willimantic, The Empty Spaces Project in Putnam, a gallery show at Manchester Community College where he won an award for one of his sculptures, and most recently at My Windham Project in Willimantic.

But beyond all of his artistry and creativity, his skills and his knowledge, his sense of adventure, Alex will be remembered by all who knew him for his character. His generosity and his gentleness, his sensitivity and his willingness to help people, his friendliness and his sense of humor. The pandemic has made it so difficult for those who mourn, precluding Church services, the public outpouring of support, the communal manifestation of a shared grief. Yet as one Hampton family expressed so perfectly to his on Alex’s tribute wall – “Our entire little town is grieving this loss with you. Alex will always have a very special and unforgettable place in our hearts