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WELCOME TO 2018 - WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE!!!!

We are very excited to share with you the Society’s new website! From the homepage screen shot above you can quickly tell we have upped our game to include a newly designed logo, new colors, based on an historic palette. and even streamlined our information so navigation is easy from wherever you are on the site.

The new site is the anchor of a new branding campaign for the Society to bring attention to local history. It is skillfully designed with a clear purpose and genuine mission. It is exciting, educational, current and more personal so readers feel the commitment of the Society to its mission of promoting local history.

In addition, we have new marketing materials and a new look, such as the newsletter banner above and below. That is all part of the overall goal of bringing you a new, fresh design and feel. We love it and hope you will too! The Gift Shop section will be coming in 2018 along with e-commerce capabilities to pay your dues, make a donation, purchase tickets to our Tablescapes fundraiser in March and other events! So watch your email for more details!

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Please join us for these history-related events in 2018

After a very successful late summer and fall series of events presented by the Special Projects Committee, more is yet to come! The Committee has devoted itself to the design and mounting of four exhibits (two-months each in duration) outside the Marion Hunter History Room of the Avon Free Public Library, with expert speakers presenting on each topic. Watch the local media for times and details. The exhibits are: January/February: The Story of the H.L. Hunley Submarine - Its Connection to Connecticut History – This exhibit will showcase the strategic mission of the submarine, the key players involved, the location and the connections to our state’s history. EVENTS – Please join us on Saturday, January 20 at 1:30pm at the Library for a presentation by State Archeologist Emeritus, Nick Bellantoni, who consulted on the reclamation part of the project after it was raised from the waters for historical inspection and display. To complement the exhibit, a screening of the History Channel’s “Digging for the Truth: The Hunley: New Revelations” will be shown on Thursday, January 18 at 1:30pm in the Community Room of the Library. Immediately following, two Society members who very recently visited the Hunley in South Carolina, will tell their story of what they discovered while there. Please join us for both events! March/April: Edgar Maurice Woodford: Surveyor, Civil War Soldier, Politician and Abolitionist – Mr. Woodford was a very busy man from Avon in mid-19th century. He was a surveyor for Hartford County and his 1855 map is exceptional in detail and size, showing where residents lived at the time, geographical features and was bordered by early photographs. His service in the Civil War and later public service in the State Legislature made him a Renaissance Man. Speakers will present his life and times at a date to be announced. May/June: Revolutionary Era Homes and Farmsteads of Avon – The focus of this exhibit will be historic homes along Huckleberry Hill Road that were built before the American Revolution. Imagine if the walls could talk! A presentation on architectural history will be held at a date to be announced. July/August: Early Mills of Avon and the Waterways that Powered Them – Learn how waterways in Avon created the power needed for gristmills, lumber mills, carding and fulling mills and distilleries. This forgotten energy source provided life to the residents of Northington and Avon. A presentation on this important form of energy will be held at a date to be announced.

You are invited! TABLESCAPES

March 23 & 24, 2018 at the historic North House, Avon

You are cordially invited to join us for our latest fundraiser – TABLESCAPES – creative table settings to view and enjoy in the Belle Ballroom of the historic North House, 1 Nod Road, Avon on Friday and Saturday, March 23 & 24 from 10:00am to 5:00pm each day.

This local event will feature professional designers, artists, florists, individuals and businesses who are invited to create a theme using a table setting as their canvas. This event promises to be visually stimulating as well as showing creativity that can be created from table settings.

Tickets to attend will be available early in 2018 through the Society website and by members and those who will have a table setting in the show. Mark your calendar now to join us for this spectacular Spring event! Watch the local media for more details.

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A message from Nora Howard, Town Historian, and Historian for the Avon Congregational Church

This past summer, some of the most important items in the church archives went live on the

internet! Our thanks to Nicole Carmolingo, the Avon Free Public Library Summer 2017 intern, for her remarkable work. It has been my goal to put many of our historical church records online, making them available to our members, researchers, and the public. It all came together this summer, when the Avon Free Public Library staff and Nicole organized a project to scan and upload these items to the Connecticut Digital Archive. We loaned the Library the church's founding documents, 57 vintage photographs and other documents, and wrote captions. You can find items from our church archives at: collections.ctdigitalarchive.org. They are bundled under the Avon Free Public Library section. Please take a look! Nicole also worked with Avon Congregational Church records that are in the Library's History Room files, initiating an excellent filing system. Thanks also to Tina Panik, the Avon Library's References and Adult Services Manager, who initiated, supervised, and took part in this project; to Gail Alvord, who helped me organize the church archives several years ago, and to ACC moderator Bob Linderman, who approved this bold idea.

On a related note…

…congratulations to our partner, the Avon Free Public Library, which has ranked ninth in the state for submitting digital objects to the Connecticut Digital Archive (see website address above.) The CTDA is a collaborative effort of the Archives & Special Collections at the University of Connecticut Libraries and the Connecticut State Library. According to their website, the CTDA is ‘dedicated to the maintenance, delivery, and preservation of a wide-range of digital resources for educational and cultural institutions and state agencies in the State of Connecticut.’ This resource is building daily and full of great historic photos and documents available for research and genealogy use. (See Page 8 for more information on this archive.)

And, the Library has received word they are once again going to receive the expertise of Traveling

Archivist, Moira Conlan, in 2018 to assist with some of the work being done on the Hadsell photo archives. Conlan is an Archives Consultant and Historical Researcher based in New Milford, CT. Her work focuses on helping individuals and small institutions implement archival best practices to preserve their collections for future generations.

The Society is going to partner with the Library on two grant applications in 2018. The first is a

quick grant to Connecticut Humanities for a four-part program of events during the summer of 2018 entitled “From Congregation to Constitution” to commemorate the Connecticut Constitution of 1818 that changed the way the state’s citizens governed themselves. According to Connecticut Preservation News Nov/Dec. 2017, the Convention of 1818, ‘established the executive as an independent branch of government, approved an independent judiciary and disestablished the Congregational Church, ending Connecticut’s Puritan legacy of theocratic government.’ Planning for the events is underway and more will be made available if the grant is approved.

The second grant being submitted is to the American Library Association (ALA) which has

partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to encourage public libraries, in collaboration with others, to apply for a project by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) entitled “Revisiting the Founding Era” to explore our nation’s roots through conversations at public programs it the community. The Library and Society are in early planning stages for events for Fall 2018 or Winter 2019 to be focused on Freedom of the Press. More to come!

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The Avon Girls Scouts 96 Year History

Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912 after she met Robert Baden-

Powell, who had founded Boy Scouts in 1911.

GS in Avon started in 1922, when Minnie Hadsell heard about the work Juliette Gordon Low was doing and sent her a letter. Minnie received a package in the mail with a handbook and a letter wishing her good luck. Minnie, who was a librarian without children of her own, began Avon’s first Girl Scout Troop. Many years later, in 1972, when Minnie was 87 years old and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Girl Scouts’ first troop in Avon, Girl Scouts visited Minnie in an Avon nursing home and brought mementos from all of the Avon GS troops: 50 years later, there were 14 troops.

At the 25th anniversary, in 1947, Girl Scouts in Avon wanted to have a place to camp. Alice Bryant headed the committee and it quickly became a project in which the whole town took part. Many donations were given, including the Burnham family who donated the use of their land at the corner of Country Club and Burnham (now the Avon Free Public Library), the Community Club donated the use of their pool for swimming lessons, among many other contributions. The camp offered two weeks of camp, and extended its registration to accommodate requests from neighboring towns. While the plan was to have 30 scouts per week, they took in 50 per week. For many scouts, the highlight at camp was completing a transcription of scout songs and stories that was later broadcast on WTIC each year. At the time that the camp would be named, at the end of the first summer, a tragedy led to the unanimous decision to dedicate the camp as Camp Gertrude Bryant. Gertrude, a beloved Girl Scout, who had been born and raised in Avon, died at the age of 27 while serving in the military for the Women’s Army Corp, just days before the dedication. The camp continued for 20 years.

Girl Scouts underwent many changes over the years. Some report that Juliette called her organization the “Girl Guides.” It is reported that Juliette tried to merge with “Camp Fire Girls” and then with the Iowa-based “Girl Scouts of America” but the leader declined and the program failed soon after. Juliette then changed the name of her organization to Girl Scouts of the United States in 1913. In 1947, the name was extended to Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). The Girl Scouts received a congressional charter, recognizing the national organization in 1950. Each year, the Town of Avon reads a proclamation of support to the GS Avon Service Unit at the March Town Council meeting.

Significant places for GS include the National headquarters in New York City on 5th Avenue, the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia, now the national Girl Scout program center, and close by we have the Steve & Cheryl McGuff Historical Museum at the North Haven Service Center.

The Girl Scouts began with ages 10-18 and was extended to ages 7-18 by the mid 1920s. In the 1970s, Daisies was added. College students also were included as they could continue in college and were known as Campus Girl Scouts.

For those who don’t have a local troop or time to be in a local troop, they can still be part of events and are called “Independent Girl Scouts.” Previously, troops from areas that had no council or service unit were called "Lone Troops." Girl Scouts without a troop could become involved as “individual Girl Scouts,” and at one point they were called “Juliettes.” Much reorganization occurred over the years and currently there are 112 Girl Scout councils in the US. Our council, once known as Connecticut Trails Council, is now Girl Scouts of CT (gsofct.org).

Thanks to Karen Morris who researched and wrote this article.

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The Society’s Native American Artifact Collection

Over 30 years ago an Avon resident, Howard Rodgers, donated to the Society his collection of Native American artifacts found along the Farmington River in the 1930s – 1950s. He found them from Simsbury to New Hartford, but mostly along the River in Avon where he worked at the Ensign-Bickford Company, now the Avon Town Office complex. According to a Hartford Courant article in 1984, he explained how he enjoyed taking long walks around the Valley and was drawn to the River because he knew there were Native campsites along Quarry Road in Simsbury, Bel Compo Golf Course (now Blue Fox Run Golf Course), Avon Old Farms School, Secret Lake in Canton and Satan’s Kingdom along the River in New Hartford. Over the course of a few decades of walking and looking he collected over 150 artifacts which he carefully organized and placed in two framed boxes and donated them to the Society. They have been on display in School House No. 3 (formerly the Living Museum) but with no real identification of them, until now. This Fall one of the seminars presented by the Special Projects Committee focused on the written wills left by Native Americans in early Avon. The presentor was Professor Kathy Hermes from Central Connecticut State University who has been studying lesser known tribes of this region and their writings to determine details about their lives. In addition to the talk, members of the American Indian Archeological Institute in Washington, CT attended and displayed many native pieces from their collection. That got us to thinking about Mr. Rodger’s collection and how we might know more about what we have! This led to a phone call to local archeologist Marc Banks, who is from Simsbury (lived a short time in Avon) and was more than willing to take on the task. It was a mighty one to be sure. What he discovered is that the Society’s collection contains pieces from 1,000 to 7,000 years old! Mr. Banks spend many hours over a two-week period studying each piece and identifying the material, the object use and the age. He discovered items from the Middle, Late and Terminal Archaic to the Early, Middle and Late Woodland periods. He even discovered a European copper metal projectile point which indicated that it was traded by early colonists with the local natives! Below are photos of the 2 framed boxes from Mr. Rodgers with numbers superimposed on the photo (not the artifact) by Mr. Banks. These numbers correspond to a chart he created explaining each item. The Society thanks Mr. Banks for his many hours of work on this project and we promise to showcase these items in the future as we dive deeper in to the archives of the Society for future exhibits.

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Update and Thanks!

As was reported in the Fall newsletter and in the local media, the Avon Historical Society banners, created through a grant from Connecticut Humanities, are on the move and available, to be loaned out to anyone interested in displaying them. These seven-foot professional trade show retractable banners entitled “Moments in Avon’s History” were designed to rotate on a one to two-month basis, in offices, foyers, lobbies or any place where the public will see them. Topics include Early Avon, Education in Avon, Avon Farms, Avon’s Earliest Churches and more! Recently they spent one month on display in the Avon’s public schools for parents to read while they waited for their parent-teacher conferences. As of this writing they are located in the Library, Town Hall, North House Restaurant, Avon Old Farms Hotel, The Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center and Avon’s Hartford Healthcare Behavioral Network office. If you know of a location for a banner or two, please let us know by contacting Norm Sondheimer at 860-599-9335 or at nksondheimer@gmail.com The more they are circulated, the more our residents and visitors will know about our rich heritage. Thanks!

The Society sends a special THANK YOU to the Garden Club of Avon which, once again, decorated

with fresh greens and red ribbons on all our properties. We appreciate their generosity to brighten up our buildings during the holiday season and New Year!

The Society thanks the members of hand bell choir from the Simsbury United Methodist Church

who provided beautiful music at the Historic Bells presentation on December 18th. In between each selection, they explained how the bells are used to make a variety of tones and sounds. It was a wonderful way to conclude our Fall series of events.

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ABIGAIL STARDUST GALAXY MOONGLOW CELESTIAL SEAMUS

The Adventures of Abigail Fieldmouse - Wintertime Family Fun

Winter had come to Avon once again and families, both human and mouse, were enjoying spending time together. Abigail had been busy all Fall stocking the kitchen pantry with food and homemade jams for the winter. Seamus, her husband, was busy scouring the nearby lands for warm bedding for the family. He found hay across the road at Sunrise Farm, he found some cotton string that he shredded to make pillows, and he found some soft bird feathers. The family’s home under the floorboards of the one-room Pine Grove School House, would be cozy and they would have plenty of food to carry them through the long winter.

Now that the school children had gone home for the season, the Fieldmouse/Graymouse kids could venture upstairs into the classroom to play. You will remember the four mouse children are named Stardust, Moonglow, Celestial, and Galaxy…three girls and a boy. The kids loved to play in the classroom! Stardust would pretend to be a teacher and hold class. Of course, she was too small to lift the teacher’s hand bell but she would take a pencil and strike it to call her ‘class’ to order. Moonglow loved books so with Galaxy’s help (he was a strong, young boy mouse) a book could be pushed off the shelf onto the floor for reading. Oh, how Moonglow loved to read as it opened her mind to faraway places and new ideas. Celestial was interested mostly in the map of the United States hanging on the wall and dreamed about traveling someday to other states. Galaxy, well what can you say? He was a typical boy mouse and loved to play with all things that moved! He would climb up the stand of the classroom world globe and then spin it as fast as he could! Boys!

The winter season was also a time for home, family and celebrating a special mouse holiday. It was called ‘Merry Mus’. The word ‘mus’ is the scientific name for mouse. This holiday is celebrated in January by mice of all different colors and kinds whether field mouse, wood mouse, house mouse, or harvest mouse. Abigail, as her last name implies, is a field mouse (scientific name: Apodemus) and Seamus is a house mouse (scientific name: Musculus). It was a special time of year for the Fieldmouse/Graymouse family. Everyone was making homemade gifts for their family members. The gift was supposed to be something meaningful to the mouse that received it. The gift could be a piece of cheese shaped like something special; it could be a sweetly written poem about something special; or some found item crafted into something that would be treasured. After gift sharing, then the family would sit down to enjoy a lovely dinner together. Afterwards they gathered to listen to stories told by all the elder mice about their lives. The holiday served not only as a day for gifts and food, but to pass on family traditions, family lore, and most of all the love of one generation to another.

After stories were shared and dessert of candied raisins and shortbread cookies, was the best part of all…fun in the snow! Behind the school house was a gently-sloped hill that the mouse kids had great fun sliding down. They would use anything they could find as a sled and if the snow was packed down, as it was, it was really a fast ride! After pulling a big, dried, leathery oak leaf out from under a nearby woodpile, Galaxy was up first. He had a club foot so his sisters helped him by holding the leaf for him to sit down. Then OFF he went with a push, flying down the hill like the silver streak of a shooting star! He was laughing all the way until he came to the bottom and got tossed into a snowbank. All of his sisters ran down the hill to see if he was okay, and when he shook himself off, he had white whiskers and a little white beard of snow. All the kids laughed and then took turns sliding until they were cold and tired out.

The kids went inside, back under the floorboards, where they were given a cup of hot tea and then tucked into bed with a kiss on their brow. Merry Mus to all, and to all a good night!

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After displaying about 60 select prints of The Clinton B. Hadsell Glass Plate Negative Collection this Fall, with excerpts from the Avon diaries of Frank. M. Hadsell, curated by Patrice Celli and Nora Howard, the Avon Free Public Library continued to scan and upload the remaining 200+ photos into the Connecticut Digital Archive.

The good news is you can now view the entire C.B. Hadsell photograph collection at:

http://collections.ctdigitalarchive.org/islandora/object/150002%3A2974

View the 2200+ items in the Avon digital archive collection at:

http://collections.ctdigitalarchive.org/islandora/object/150002%3A001

Do you shop Amazon? If you do, please go to: http://smile.amazon.com and CHOOSE the Avon Historical Society, Avon, CT to have .5% of your purchase donated to us! It’s simple and free.

The mission of the Avon Historical Society, founded in 1974, is to identify, collect, preserve, utilize, publish, display and promote the history and heritage of Avon.

2017-2018 Officers and Board of Trustees Officers: Trustees: Terri Wilson, President John Forster Dr. Helaine Bertsch, Vice President Mary Harrop Carolyn McGrattan, Secretary Ben Isaacson Satvinder Mayall, Treasurer Deb Key Mundair

Cal Miller-Stevens Sebastian Saraceno Eric Throndson