Greetings, 

Happy New Year. Planning for events and programs is well under way at the museum and we have a number of exciting activities scheduled for the upcoming year. Below are events for the next few months and we hope you can join us at one or all of them.

The Events and Programs Committees are hard at work planning both educational and fundraising endeavors including an OUTHOUSE TOUR in the spring and a KITCHEN TOUR in the fall. In addition, we have a history walk of Camp Filley planned with Rob Butterworth, a bottle talk by Ed Stanton, and more shad history with our friends from the Shad Museum. A cemetery tour is also being discussed for the fall. If the spirit moves you to help out with any of these projects, please just give us an email (contact@haddamhistory.org) or phone call at 860-345-2400.
 
 
Last week the Haddam Historical Society lost a dear friend and long-time volunteer, Dave Lenzi. "River Dave" was a wonderful photographer who helped with many projects including our publication of "Haddam 1870-1930". He was always there to help with computer problems and technical stuff and was a great asset to the organization. Dave will be greatly missed.
 
Best, 
Elizabeth Malloy
Executive Director 



Winter Woolies
January 22, 2017
February 5, 2017

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Thankful Arnold House Museum
14 Hayden Hill Road, Haddam, CT
 
Do you have a knitting or needlework project that has been sitting around waiting for you to finish it?  Join Beth Hartke to work on that neglected piece or start a new one and enjoy the company of others with NO modern-day intrusions.  Registration is required, since space is limited.  Admission is free.
 
For further information call Lisa at Haddam Historical Society 860-345-2400 or contact@haddamhistory.org.
 

Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps:
Their History, Memories & Legacy.
Marty Podskoch
January 29, 2017
2 pm at the Haddam Fire Station No. #1
439 Saybrook Road, Higganum, CT 06441

Mr. Podskoch will talk about his new book Connecticut Civilian Conservation Corps Camps: Their History, Memories & Legacy. Camp Filley in Haddam was established in 1933 and played an important role in the town for the next decade.

The CCC was a public works program that operated from 1933 to 1942, as part of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. It targeted young men and veterans in relief families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression, providing unskilled manual labor related to environmental conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands.

Mr. Podskoch's book describes the history and projects of the 21 camps located throughout the state including the three camps in Cockaponset SF in Killingworth, Haddam, and Madison.

Free for members/supporters of the Haddam Historical Society
$3 for non- members.


 
February Thaw Social
Saturday, February 18, 2017
(Snow date, February 25, 2017)
Pot luck Dinner * 5:30 pm *
12 Landing Road South, Higganum, CT
Home of Janet and Jay Verney
 


Join us for our annual post-holiday pot-luck dinner social at the beautiful home of Janet and Jay Verney. Enjoy the company of good friends and neighbors and pretend we are on a tropical get away! Your $10 contribution per person will automatically place your name in the wine basket drawing and help support the organization and its programs.
 
Please bring an appetizer or side dish. We will provide the main course and dessert. Soft drinks will also be provided but feel free to bring your choice of spirits to enjoy. r.s.v.p. 345-2400 or contact@haddamhistory.org  

Wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt, mumu or grass skirt.
Please try to carpool if possible. Parking is tight!


Haddam Historical Society Awarded Garden Brochure Grant from Community Foundation of Middlesex County

Photo by Peter Smith


The Haddam Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has received a $1250 grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County. The Society will use the funds to support the design and publication of an informational brochure on herbs grown in the Thankful Arnold House's historic kitchen garden. The brochure will provide visitors with a useful pamphlet that will educate about the importance of a 19th century kitchen garden, promote the benefits of gardening today and improve the visitor experience.
 
The Wilhelmina Arnold Barnhart Garden is an interpretive herb garden that displays plants that the Widow Thankful Arnold would have used around 1830. The garden is a member of Connecticut's Historic Gardens and the museum is listed on the Connecticut's Women's Heritage Trail.

"The Community Foundation of Middlesex County is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of the County, now and in the future, by developing endowments, making grants that have impact and assisting donors in meeting their philanthropic objectives. Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has awarded 1,564 grants totaling more than $4.7 million for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements and for health and human services."

For more information on Connecticut's Historic Gardens visit: CT Historic Gardens  

To learn more about the Thankful Arnold House and Wilhelmina Arnold Barnhart Garden visit: HHS Web Site
CT's Historic Gardens Announces Winner of 2017 Historic Gardens Day Poster Art Contest
Chester, Connecticut artist Leif Nilsson paints the winning image





Connecticut's Historic Gardens, a group of 15 distinctive historic sites and gardens dotted throughout the state, is pleased to announce Connecticut artist Leif Nilsson of Chester, CT as the winner of the fourth annual Historic Gardens Day Poster Art Contest. This contest gives local artists a chance to showcase their talents while advertising CT Historic Gardens Day, an important, statewide event. The group began the contest to encourage Connecticut artists to visit and capture these historically significant homes with beautiful gardens. They hope that these sites will provide inspiring subjects for their art. Along with a cash prize, the winning artist receives widespread exposure - at the annual Connecticut Flower & Garden Show (February  23-26, 2016, booth 413), at each of the 15 Connecticut's Historic Gardens sites throughout the year, and at Connecticut's Historic Gardens Day itself, an event that attracts thousands of garden lovers throughout the state and beyond. This year's Historic Gardens Day takes place on Sunday, June 25, 12-4 pm; visit cthistoricgardens.org for details on activities offered at each site. 
 
 Contest winner Leif Nilsson of Chester, CT, paints in an impressionistic style, en plein air to capture the beautiful surroundings of the Lower Connecticut River Valley where he calls home. Leif (pronounced Layf) studied art at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT from 1980 through 1986, and continued his education on several sojourns to Scandinavia, Asia Minor and Europe. His painting style reflects the influence of early 19th and 20th century painters Monet and Bonnard for their use of color; Pissarro and Vuillard for composition and Van Gogh for his energy. Leif has been a successful working artist for over 20 years. He exhibits his works at several galleries throughout the United States, as well as in his own studio in Chester, CT, Leif Nilsson Spring Street Studio and Gallery. You can see his works on his website nilssonstudio.com or visit the artist's studio at 1 Spring Street, Chester, CT, which is open weekends from noon to 6:00 pm.  
 
The winning painting was inspired by the gardens at Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, and was painted there during the filming of the special production "Artists in the Garden, American Impressionism and the Garden Movement".
 
 Connecticut's Historic Gardens raises awareness of distinctive historic sites and gardens within Connecticut's borders. The group was started in 2002 and has since grown to 15 sites: Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, Bethlehem; Butler-McCook House & Garden, Hartford; Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme; Glebe House Museum & The Gertrude Jekyll Garden, Woodbury; Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford; Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford; Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington; New London County Historical Society & Shaw Mansion, New London; Osborne Homestead Museum & Kellogg Environmental Center, Derby; Promisek at Three Rivers Farm, Bridgewater; Roseland Cottage, Woodstock; Thankful Arnold House Museum, Haddam; Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, Wethersfield;  Stanley Whitman House, Farmington and Weir Farm National Historic Site, Wilton. For more information about the group, individual participating sites, and events, please visit cthistoricgardens.org .

The 44th Annual Connecticut Spring Antiques Show






SAVE THE DATE
The 44th Annual Connecticut Spring Antiques Show, "an American treasure trove", returns to the landmark Hartford Armory on March 25 and 26, 2017.
Long known and admired for its focus on early American furniture and decorative objects, the show will feature over 55 of New England's and the nation's most respected antiques dealers.

This year the show is continuing to add folk art to compliment the early American pieces and accessories to attract a larger audience and provide a wider selection of outstanding and unique objects.

The show not only attracts long-time serious collections but strives to invite and educate both young and new collectors and those who have a passion for American decorative arts and furnishings. The show will also feature educational programs that should interest the majority of attendees. There will be a catered tea room and bar on site.  On Sunday, March 26 visitor's age 35 and young receive free admission to the show.

There will be educational programs throughout the weekend including a talk on Arnold Ho use Museum archaeological dig with archaeologist Bonnie Plourde.

The Connecticut Spring Antiques Show benefits the Haddam Historical Society's educational programming, exhibitions and collections conservation as well as the preservation of the Thankful Arnold House Museum, which is located on the Connecticut Women's Heritage Trail and has one of the state's designated Historic Gardens.

Additional information about the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show is available at  www.ctspringantiquesshow.com or our Facebook page CT Spring Antiques Show.
 
 
 

HADDAM HSTORICAL SOCIETY |  THANKFUL ARNOLD HOUSE MUSEUM
14 Hayden Hill Road, P.O. Box 97, Haddam, CT 06438 | 860-345-2400| contact@haddamhistory.org | www.haddamhistory.org
STAY CONNECTED:

Like us on Facebook  View on Instagram