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Fall 2025: Our Environment. Final days to register for our free conference! Learn about Pioneering Radioecology at Linsley Pond and Labor, Alcohol, and Unrest in Industrial New Britain, plus events.
Final days until our conference! Conference is free and open to the public. Register here to receive the included lunch.
Pioneering Radioecology at Linsley Pond
Not many know that a small experiment on a June day in 1946 at Linsley Pond in North Branford would result in the first successful use of a radioactive tracer in ecological research. Williams writes, “The Linsley Pond studies were part of a new trend in the field of ecology that ultimately led to the study of ecosystems. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ecologists had focused on populations and communities of plants and animals—how they changed over time and how particular arrangements of organisms came to dominate certain landscapes.”
Read more about the start of radioecology in a small Connecticut lake and radioecology’s rapid growth thereafter in our Fall 2025 issue.
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The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Brewing Community: Labor, Alcohol, and Unrest in Industrial New Britain
Immigrants from Lithuania who made their way to New Britain, Connecticut at the beginning of the twentieth century found work in the city’s factories turning out tools and hardware. Their weekly routine included work, church and socializing at neighborhood saloons. But major upheavals in American society were happening at the time that affected their lives including the rise of organized labor, the temperance movement, anti-immigrant sentiment, and labor strikes.
In this episode, we have two new voices in public history, Central Connecticut State University students Jon Kozak and Nathaniel Smith. They produced the episode as a class project under Dr. Leah Glazier at Central Connecticut State University. This episode reminds us that some of the most interesting history can be found all around you in your own community.
Listen: Brewing Community: Labor, Alcohol, and Unrest in Industrial New Britain
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Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Fall
Postcards of Connecticut
The Museum of Connecticut History’s significant postcard collection of Connecticut factory views helps us understand how our state’s landscape has changed over time. From carpet and textile mills to hardware and munitions factories, Connecticut manufacturers produced goods used by households across the U.S. Some of these sites are long gone, others have been left to molder, and still others are being rehabilitated for mixed-use development. Does your town still boast an old factory? Browse our digitized postcards on Connecticut Collections at bit.ly/mchctco to compare the current landscape to what it looked like “then.” The Factory View Postcards are the first segment of the museum’s significant collections to be made searchable on Connecticut Collections. Look for more collections in the future!
Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. ctstatelibrary.org; 860-757-6500
River Art and Fall Cruises
On view through October 19, Watermark: Capturing the Connecticut features the work of four New England photographers. Viewers will rediscover the majestic beauty of the river and connect with the surrounding landscape and communities. Don’t miss Swallow Cruises through September 28 and Fall Foliage Cruises between October 1 and October 26.
Connecticut River Museum, 67 Main Street, Essex. ctrivermuseum.org; 860-767-8269
Author Book Talk and Signing: Grandmother Moon by Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason
Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason (Schaghticoke/HoChunk) is an award-winning educator, traditional storyteller, author, and advocate whose work centers on truth-telling, representation, and equity in education.
In her debut picture book, Grandmother Moon, Lamb-Cason celebrates the relationship between a grandmother and grandchild, weaving Indigenous teachings into a modern setting. Join us for a special talk and book signing, where she will discuss the importance of oral tradition in Indigenous communities and her process of bringing these stories into written form. The program will include a live reading from Grandmother Moon as well as examples of traditional stories, offering visitors of all ages the chance to reflect on the power of intergenerational storytelling.
The Institute for American Indian Studies. Space is limited and online registration is requested. Saturday, October 4, 1:00pm. In-Person Event.
Questions? Please call (860) 868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org. Price of participation, including a signed copy of the book: $30 for Members, $40 for Non-Members.
Editor’s Picks:
Amrys O. Williams, “The Radioactivists: Nuclear Power, Weapons, and Protest in Connecticut” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2024.
Cynthia Cormier, “A Brief History of Connecticut’s State Parks” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2013.
Sophie Huget, “Child Labor Strike in New Britain: “They Will Undoubtedly Win It” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2019-2020.