CT Explored/Inbox
SUMMER 2025: Celebrations! BONUS, Introducing our newest partner, the Nirvana of Antique Cars, and Connecticut's Very Pink House. Plus, events you won't want to miss this summer. Mazel Tov!
“Present from the Start: People of Color in Connecticut’s Revolutionary Era, 1763-1836” conference is free and open to the public! To receive the included lunch, we request an RSVP. Register here.
The Melton Museum: Nirvana of Antique Cars
Regardless of whether you are a self-proclaimed “car person” or not, it is difficult to ignore a vintage car pulling up next to you at a stoplight, with its engine roaring and sparkling patina.
O’Leary writes, “When people are asked about celebrities from the past with links to Connecticut, the names Katharine Hepburn and Paul Newman might top the list. When asked about famous car collectors, they might name Ralph Lauren or Jay Leno. However, one erstwhile Connecticut celebrity and car aficionado has gone largely unrecognized by contemporary audiences.”
Read about how “America’s favorite tenor” turned a 20,000-square-foot space into a museum of antique cars in Norwalk in our Summer 25 issue.
Announcing Our Newest Partner
We are thrilled to welcome Indian Hill Cemetery as our newest Organizational Partner! Established in 1850, Indian Hill Cemetery represents a significant part of Middletown’s history. Many historically prominent families of Middletown and surrounding towns are buried here.
Indian Hill Cemetery, with its magnificent monuments, mausoleums, family plots, and trees of history, is a peaceful resting place for many, as well as a place of refuge for hundreds of walkers, joggers, filmmakers, photographers, and the like, who enjoy the park-like setting. The Friends of Indian Hill is a nonprofit 501c3 established in 2016 with the goal to conserve these grounds for generations to come.
Indian Hill Cemetery, 383 Washington Street, Middletown. indian-hill.org; 860-346-0452
Connecticut History for Kids! Mazel Tov! Becoming a Bat Mitzvah
Does your family celebrate special coming-of-age events, like a bar or bat mitzvah, a confirmation, or a quinceañera?
By the late 1950s, more and more Jewish congregations started holding bat mitzvahs. In the 1960s, during the women’s rights movement, girls wanted their bat mitzvahs to be more meaningful. Even their mothers, who hadn’t been able to have bat mitzvahs as children, started having their own (Deena Prichep, “The Bat Mitzvah Turns 100. It Marks More Than a Coming-of-Age for Jewish Girls,” NPR, March 17, 2022).
Today, 100 years later, bat mitzvahs are a normal part of life in many Jewish communities. Traditions and celebrations can change over time, just like kids grow up and become adults.
Read more about the history of this celebration in our Summer 25 issue.
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From the Archives: Grating the Nutmeg
Connecticut’s Very Pink House-Roseland Cottage
It’s the summer of Barbie. Barbiecore, an homage to the stylish doll, is everywhere in fashion and home furnishings. It’s time to think pink!
This episode is on Connecticut’s own Victorian Barbie Dream House - Roseland Cottage in Woodstock. How many shades of pink has Roseland Cottage been? We’ll find out! Executive Producer Mary Donohue talks to Laurie Masciandaro, site manager of Roseland Cottage museum owned by Historic New England.
Listen: Connecticut’s Very Pink House-Roseland Cottage
Like Grating the Nutmeg? Want to support it? Make a donation! 100% of the funds from your donation go directly to the production and promotion of the show.
Don’t Miss Out! Programs, Events, and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Summer
Historic Tree Walk at Indian Hill Cemetery hosted by Arborist, John Kehoe
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 10:00 AM -12:00 PM. Rain date: September 28, 2025
Join us for an informative Tree Walk along these historic grounds as Kehoe, who has led many walks at public and private tree collections shares his knowledge! John Kehoe is a CT licensed arborist who worked at the UCONN Storrs campus as an adjunct instructor for the College of Agriculture (NRME) teaching Fundamentals of Arboriculture. He was formerly City Forester for the City of Hartford and has practiced arboriculture for more than 45 years! He has a BS in Horticulture and an AS in Arboriculture and Park Management from Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMASS.
Tour is FREE. Onsite parking. 383 Washington Street, Middletown. (Entrance near corner of Washington and Vine) indian-hill.org
18th Annual Old-fashioned Flea Market
Sunday, September 14, 2025, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Join us this September at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion's old fashioned flea market in Norwalk. Flea Market enthusiasts will find the park brimming with vendors selling a treasure trove of unique items including antiques, repurposed furniture, upcycled collectibles, jewelry, crafts, household items, clothing, toys, specialty farm-to-table foods and more. Tasty treats and refreshments will be available at several food trucks. This event will be free to the general public.
The Mansion’s Volunteers will manage a White Elephant Table, selling items generously donated by supporters. The Gift Shop will be opened and feature museum-centric accessories and an eclectic mix of gift items including logo embroidered totes, vintage and designer jewelry, elegant scarves, and books relating to history and preservation. Mini-tours will be offered to the public for $5 on the first floor from 12–4 PM. All proceeds will benefit the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum’s educational and cultural programs.
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Ave, Norwalk. lockwoodmathewsmansion.com; 203-838-9799
Summer Exhibitions that Pay Tribute to Nature
From June 28 through September 14, the Museum presents two exhibitions that pay tribute to nature. Working outdoors, often on large canvases or sheets of watercolor paper, painter, printmaker, and educator Nancy Friese (b. 1948) immerses viewers in landscapes that percolate with texture and color. The vivid works in Nancy Friese: Living Landscapes burst with life, expressing not only how invigorating it is for her to make art inspired by nature, but also the vivaciousness of her muse, nature.
In a second show inspired by the Museum’s extensive collection of animal paintings by Lyme Art Colony artists, Cow Tales explores the subject of our bovine friends as compelling subject matter through artwork from the mid-19th century to the present by artists such as George Henry Durrie, Aaron Draper Shattuck, William Henry Howe, Matilda Browne, Edward Volkert, Bernard Chaet, Tina Barney, Judy Friday, and Brian Keith Stephens.
Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme. florencegriswoldmuseum.org; 860-434-5542
Litchfield Remembers: The American Bicentennial and Beyond
What does it mean to commemorate the past? Commemorations, celebrations, anniversaries, memorials. Whatever we call these events, observing the past is a constant and meaningful part of our lives. These moments bring people and communities together. They create opportunities to share new experiences and have conversations about our past, present, and future. In Litchfield Remembers: The American Bicentennial and Beyond, visitors are invited to reflect on historical commemorations, local and national, and share your hopes for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Litchfield Remembers is on display through November 30, 2025. Admission is free courtesy of Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services LLC.
Litchfield Historical Society, 7 South Street, Litchfield. litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org; 860-567-4501
Editor’s Picks:
Briann Greenfield, “In Search of the Great Find! 18th and 19th Century American Antiques in Colchester, Connecticut.” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2010.
Marsha Lotstein, “Jews in Hartford: Making Their Presence Known” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2005.