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WINTER 2024-25 #1: EAT UP! Welcome to your bi-weekly newsletter from Connecticut Explored with the latest stories, the newest Grating the Nutmeg podcast, programs and exhibitions from our partners.
From all of us at Connecticut Explored, best wishes for 2025. Happy New Year!
Photo Essay: “You Can Imagine What a Feast We Had”: Dinner at the Cos Cob Art Colony
By Kelsie Dalton
At the core of impression is the desire to capture a fleeting moment. A short train ride away from New York City, sits the seaside Greenwich neighborhood of Cos Cob. It is no surprise that the neighborhood attracts so many artists, with its picturesque shoreline and vibrant landscape, making it perfect for en plein air painting. In 1890, the Cos Cob Art Colony materialized, cementing itself as the cradle of American Impressionism. The Holley family boardinghouse run by proprietors Josephine and Edward Holley, became a center for artists to stay and socialize.
In 1900, artist Elmer Livingston MacRae and Emma Constant, daughter of Josephine and Edward Holley, married, taking over the boarding house and property. As the first impressionist art colony in Connecticut, it attracted many creative minds, such as novelists, ceramicists, painters, poets, and opera singers. Gardens surrounded the Holley House, visible from every window, providing not only inspiration, but also a bountiful variety of produce such as corn, onions, peas, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, grapes, and cantaloupe. The heart of the house, the dinner table, served as the central gathering place, with delicious meals, dinnertime games, and passionate discussions.
Visit the Greenwich Historical Society and Bush-Holley House and be inspired, like so many artists, by the painterly seaside town and unique history.
Subscribe to read the full story and view more images.
Making History with Don Tuller
By Andy Horowitz
If you are searching for one of the best gourmet ice creams in the state, look no further than Tulmeadow Farm in West Simsbury. With over 50 flavors, and boasting a decadent 16% butterfat, the farm’s ice cream is as rich as its history. Seventh generation Tuller, Don and cousin Buzz, tend to the family farm, dating back to 1768. Over the years, the expansive 265 acres produced everything from apples to tobacco to poultry, adapting to new markets. In 1994 the Tullers decided to try out making and selling ice cream. When asked what flavor is his favorite Don Tuller exclaims, “Our signature flavor is red raspberry with chocolate chip, but I mean, I like all the ice cream.”
To read the full interview and learn more about Tulmeadow Farm’s evolving history click here.
Grating the Nutmeg
TOP 5 DOWNLOADED EPISODES FOR 2024
Don’t miss these episodes!
#2.https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/179-connecticuts-benedict-arnold-americas-most-hated-man
#3.https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/181-hartford-and-the-great-migration-1914-1950
#4. https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/182-rebels-at-sea-privateering-in-the-american-revolution
#5.https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/183-margaret-rudkin-of-pepperidge-farm
Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
The Mark Twain House & Museum
Thursday, January 9, 7:00-8:00PM BOOK EVENT (in-person)
THEY DREAM IN GOLD with Mai Sennaar Tickets $10
385 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut, https://marktwainhouse.org
Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Sunday, January 12, 2:00-2:30PM (in-person)
Coffee: A Connecticut Story Exhibit Tour Free
1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, Connecticut, https://www.connecticutmuseum.org/
Mattatuck Museum
Wednesday, January 8, 12:00-1:00PM (in-person)
Lunch and Learn: The Quinnipiac: First People of the Shoreline Tickets $10
144 West Main Street, Waterbury, Connecticut, https://www.mattmuseum.org/
CT Humanities Awards $45,027 in Quick Grants to 12 Organizations for Community-Building Humanities Projects
CTH promotes civic engagement and connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs.
Editor’s Picks
Regina E. Mason, “Rediscovering William Grimes, the Runaway Slave,” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2021-22.
Polly Pasternack, “Alfred Pope has Lunch with Monet,” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2004-05.
Matthew Warshauer, “Connecticut’s Sweet Tooth: The Sugar Trade and Slavery in the West Indies,” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2023.
Gregg Pugliese, “Peter Paul’s Path to Sweet Success,” Connecticut Explored, Spring 2010.
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