My eye and my Yelping seem to be drawn to Civil War monuments as I travel my way through New…read moreEngland. This one in the Granby Town Green is interesting for its brownstone and the fact that it was installed in 1868 which was even before the park where it stands. I noticed that the figure at the top not only is wearing his cloak over his shoulder (it's usually been in front), he stands with one knee slightly bent and looking slightly down and perhaps, contemplative. It's very expressive. The statue's base is in two pieces with the lower listing the battle names and pointing out, "This monument is erected by voluntary contributions, in commemoration of the brave men from the Town of Granby, who laid down their lives for the Union in the War of the Great Rebellion. Erected July 4, 1868." Above, the upper piece lists the battles and names arranged by unit showing date of death. Along the lowest level, "They that sow in tears will reap in joy. Death is swallowed up in victory. Faithful unto death." [Review 18409 overall - 75 in Connecticut - 1931 of 2022.]

Quite the impressive monument!…read more It's located on the Granby Town Green at the intersection of Salmon Brook Street (U.S. 202) and East Granby Street (State Route 20). The monument consists of a full body statue of an old grizzled Civil War soldier standing atop a large four-sided stone base. There are inscriptions on the upper and lower halves of all four sides. Some of the things you will see are soldiers' names and their dates of death, the names of horrendous battles (Andersonville, Cold Harbor, Sharpsburg, Petersburg), and some awesome quotations - "Death is swallowed up in Victory", "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy", and "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more". The statue has quite a history -it was dedicated on July 4, 1868 with the following inscription: "This monument is erected by voluntary contributions, in commemoration of the brave men from the Town of Granby, who laid down their lives for the Union in the War of the Great Rebellion". It was restored and rededicated in 2002. One of the restoration steps included rebuilding the soldier's musket, which had deteriorated and disintegrated away over the previous 136 years. I'm sure the old gent was grateful for that. It's a beautiful monument. Check out the expression on the guy's face. A very sad and weary look..............

For my 400th review (and probably final "milestone review" in Boston), I'm going home…read more From about the age of 2 until I went to college, and then brief periods thereafter between college and grad school, and grad school and job, I lived here. Longmeadow is the very definition of suburbia: small, quaint town with a few schools, stores, and other random thingies that make it another part of suburban America. Yet it's much more New England suburbia than anything else, and suburbia that's been in massive flux. It's a town where until the late 80s/early 90s, national chains were nonexistant, but now have basically eaten all of the small stores save for a few regionals (Big Y and Friendly's, though the latter could also be called national) or small niche stores. The Movie Shops became a Subway after Blockbuster gouged it. Ryan Drug was eaten by CVS, which then later ate Bliss Pharmacy across the street (whose space was then eaten by Big Y), and Starbucks, well, Starbucks didn't really eat anything. But the Community Market became a bank. That wasn't cool. They had good cookies :(. Socially, it's not too exciting. There are no bars except for the Hu Ke Lau's bar, and really, that's not much of a bar (the bars are across the border in Enfield, CT). In terms of events, other than stuff related to the high school, not much is usually going on (though the small confines (9 sq mi) probably make it tough to have multiple regular events. The town itself seems to be doing okay, though facing the same difficulties that other places are. It's quite well off, something that can get a little grating if you're the middle class kid from an upper class town. The schools and facilities are excellent, and every Memorial Day Weekend, there's a festival on the Green in the middle of town, holding onto Colonial tradition while also moving into the 21st Century. My overall Longmeadow experience is not nearly as bad as I initially remembered it. I hated high school, though I think everyone hated high school. Generally, it's that "nice place you can raise kids in" sort of place that TV shows and sappy songs talk about, save for the fact I outgrew it. There isn't as much here as one would hope, and it's disconnected a bit from the world outside: yes there's a highway, but Springfield, despite being next door, feels like another world away. Overall, Longmeadow is a large part of my life. I had good days and I had bad days, but it made me just as much as any other experience made me. The town did facilitate my way in life through the public school system, though they did also find a way to forget to send me my absentee ballot in '06. Just as Boston is currently a part of me, and Chapel Hill will be, Longmeadow was and still is. :)

Many of these blue markers that dot the state courtesy of the CT Historical Commission are 2-sided…read morewith different texts on each side. I've seen and reviewed these sort of 2-sided markers recently in Windsor and Granby. The one I saw today, although 2-sided, curiously had the same text on both sides !! This marker can be found on a small green in front of Bloomfield's Town Hall. It memorializes the history of Bloomfield and describes how in 1736, a total of 51 local citizens petitioned to leave their respective towns and join a new town that they named Wintonbury (from the names of Windsor, Farmington, and Simsbury). The name stuck for 100 years, when it was renamed Bloomfield in 1835. The plaque mentions that the town was named an All American City in 1970 because of its school integration policy. It also honors Bloomfield's oldest building, the Old Farm School (1796). The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It seems a little odd to me that the same text appeared on both sides of the plaque. Wouldn't you think there has to be enough town history to merit a distinct second side??

So how many "Father of ____" have you heard of? Father of Rock and Roll? Father of the atomic bomb?…read moreFather of our nation? Well, how about the Father of the Dental Profession? I kid you not, because Windsor CT is the home of a memorial plaque honoring just that -Horace H. Hayden, MD and DDS - the Father of Dentistry ! The bronze plaque is mounted on a boulder across the street from the Palisado Green next to the Hezekiah Chaffee House. The plaque reads: To The Memory Of Horace H. Hayden, M.D., D.D.S. "The Father Of The Dental Profession" Born In Windsor, October, 13, 1769 Died In Baltimore, January, 26, 1844 Architect Geologist Teacher Soldier And Acting-Surgeon In The War Of 1812-1814 Associated As Founder With Chapin A. Harris, M.D., D.D.S. And Was First President And Professor Of The Principles Of Dental Science In The Baltimore College Of Dental Surgery The First Dental College In The World 1840 - 1844 Founder And First President Of The American Society Of Dental Surgeons 1840 - 1844 Erected By The Hartford Dental Society 1907 How bizarre is that??

This State of CT historical marker is located in front of Town Hall on Broad Street. It was…read moreerected by the Town of Windsor, the Windsor Historic District Commission, and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1971, It's a 2-sided marker that honors WIndsor as the first permanent English settlement in Connecticut in 1633. The plaque also honors three Windsor citizens for their contributions to its development. The trio were Roger Ludlow, Oliver Ellsworth, and John M Niles. The full text of the plaque reads: Windsor The first permanent English settlement in Connecticut On September 26, 1633, a company of men under Lieutenant William Holmes arrived by ship from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, on invitiation of the local Indians, and established a trading post near the junction of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers. In 1635 these first settlers were joined by a larger group which came overland from Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Windsor, with Hartford and Wethersfield, formed the Colony of Connecticut in 1636. In the development of the constitutional government three Windsor men have played prominent roles: Roger Ludlow principal framer of the Fundamental Orders of the Connecticut 1638, first written constitution of a self-governing people. Oliver Ellsworth one of final Committee of five which framed Constitution of the United States 1787, appointed one of first two United States Senators from Connecticut, and became Chief Justice of United States Supreme Court John M Niles led reform movement which resulted in a new more democratic constitution for Connecticut 1818. Later represented Connecticut in United States Senate and became a leader in campaign against slavery. The plaque is in average condition, with side one being in superior shape to a somewhat faded and streaked side two.

The Town Green in front of Enfield City Hall has a lot going on. There are half a dozen veterans…read moremonuments and this very striking gazebo, known as the Joseph E. O'Connor Gazebo. The gazebo was built in 1984 and was named after Joseph O'Connor, Enfield's mayor from 1981-1985 In many ways, it's a typical gazebo of the kind you've seen a dozen times. It has a brick base, it has white posts and a white railing, it has a steeply pitched octagonal coned wood roof and a white cupola. But what separates this gazebo from its gazebo brothers and sisters is its copper weathervane. Because standing guard on top of this huge cupola is a Revolutionary War drummer perched on a musket! Game, set, match..

Wow- the second Pulaski monument I've seen today!!…read more This one is very similar to the one I saw less than six miles away in Northampton. The Pulaski Monument is also located in a Pulaski Park; just like its Northampton cousin. This Pulaski Park is located in the center of Easthampton, at the rotary where Northampton Street, Main Street, and Pleasant Streets all merge. But what distinguishes the Easthampton version of Pulaski Park from the Northampton version of Pulaski Park is the awesome Pulaski Gazebo. The top of the Kasimer Pulaski Monument has an engraving of the White Eagle of Poland over a crossed US flag and a flag of the Polish Coat of Arms. The inscription below reads: IN MEMORY OF GENERAL CASIMIR PULASKI REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO AND CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN CAVALRY, WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR COUNTRY. OCT 11, 1779 AT SAVANNAH, GA ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF EASTHAMPTON. OCT 11, 1929

This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a…read moreblue background. It's located on the front exterior wall of a stately three-story brick building that serves as the Stafford Springs Town Hall. The marker is in very good condition, and describes the apparently controversial history of the town. The full inscription reads: This is the house of the famous mineral springs where the Indians met to drink the iron and sulphur waters to make them "lively" and to which the future President John Adams came for his health in 1771. Later the elite of the Nations gathered here for pleasure. The region, originally Mohegan Indian land, was bought in a questionable transaction by Major James Fitch of Canterbury, who had acquired large tracts of eastern Connecticut land. His claim was not completely accepted by the General Assembly, which orders in 1718 that a town be laid out "...of seven mile square...eastward of Enfield". This was beginning of the legal settlement. Bog iron was discovered and furnaces were built to smelt the ore for iron castings and tools. Endowed with abundant water power, the various early mills gave way to a thriving textile industry, of which a portion has continued to the present day. Erected by the Town of Stafford The Stafford Historical Society, Inc. And the CT Historical Commission 1978