Saturday, June 9 10am-4pm at the Mansfield House
Mansfield House Gardens to be Showcased on Middletown Garden Club House & Garden Tour
With the coming of spring is the awakening of the many gardens in the Mansfield House yard, from the herb and boxwood knot gardens to the rose and perennial beds. The Mansfield House will be one of seven stops on the Middletown Garden Club House & Garden Tour being held on Saturday, June 9 between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. In addition to private gardens and three homes, tour goers will enjoy a bird’s eye view of Middletown’s Main Street from the roof top garden of the Community Health Center.
At the Mansfield House, participants will enjoy refreshments and between 10:00 and 1:00 will be serenaded by Society member and violinist Gabriel Kastelle, who will present “Stories and Music Connecting Middletown and Brothertown Indian Nation.” The tour includes a Tablescapes Boutique for the Garden Club’s “Bou-tag” sale, featuring an array of enticing new and gently used items. Pre-ordered box lunches will also be available.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 the day of the tour. They will be available after April 25 online at http://www.MiddletownGardenClub.com and at Stone Post Gardens, 1185 Randolph Road, Middletown. Day-of- tour tickets will be available at Stone Post Gardens only. Stone Post hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-6:00 pm and Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and it will offer a 20% one day sale on plants the day of thetour.
The Society is grateful to the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Bill & Betty Corvo, Connie & Peter Gillies, Maria & Robert Holzberg, Simone & Clay Howe, Judith Moeckel, Ernest & Joan Myer, Michael & Michele Palmer, Katherine Schoonover, and Debby Shapiro for providing the funding, and Lowe’s Corporation and Armand LaPointe for providing the mulch that made the new perennial garden a thriving reality. Society volunteers Lauralane Feitel, Carol Bonaiuto, Julia Noriega, Sally D’Aquila, and Tom Archer have been busy sprucing up the yard and lending their green thumbs.
For further information, contact the Historical Society at 860-346- 0746
Monday, June 25 at 7:00pm at the Middletown Senior and Community Center
61 Durant Terrace, Middletown, CT
Hidden History of Middlesex County Book Launch, Authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard
While Middlesex County in Connecticut is one of the most historic in the nation, some of its past is little known. Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth; Babar the Elephant’s author, Laurent de Brunhoff, lived in Middletown; and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Anna Louise James, the first African American female pharmacist in the state, owned the James Pharmacy in Old Saybrook. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America’s oldest continuously-run family business.
Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories in their recently published book, Hidden History of Middlesex County at a program sponsored by the Middlesex County Historical Society on Monday, June 25 at 7:00 pm at the Middletown Senior and Community Center, 61 Durant Terrace. They will present slides and discuss their research, which took them to all 15 towns of Middlesex County. It included conversations with over 100 people who were knowledgeable of the historic people, places, and events that are discussed in the book. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and inscription.
Robert Hubbard is a retired professor at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven Connecticut. Kathleen Hubbard is a retired teacher from the Middletown public school system. Both were born in Middletown, and each has lived in Middlesex County towns for 30 years. They are the authors of Images of America: Middletown and Legendary Locals of Middletown. In addition, Robert is the author of the recent biography, Major General Israel Putnam, Hero of the American Revolution.
The program is free and open to the public. The Senior and Community Center is handicap accessible. For further information contact the Historical Society at 860-346-0746.
(Cover photo of the book is “Cowboy Valley” courtesy of the Killingworth Historical Society)
