Welcome to your free bi-weekly newsletter from Connecticut Explored with the latest stories, the newest Grating the Nutmeg podcast, programs and exhibitions from our partners to see/watch this month, and more!
GRATING THE NUTMEG BENEFIT ONLINE AUCTION
We love telling the stories of Connecticut's past. Our Grating the Nutmeg podcast is free to all listeners, and to keep it free we need to raise money to support GTN. This online auction is made possible by our organizational partners, our community's businesses, and generous individuals. We have over 40 listings with tours, tickets, pottery and art, food, books, car repair, and more! REGISTER HERE.
All purchases help keep Grating the Nutmeg accessible to all!
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s Philanthropic Footprint
Heather Munro Prescott describes the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving as “a steady but subtle guiding force in the transformation of Hartford over the past hundred years through its funding of diverse nonprofit organizations and its commitment to participatory decision-making”. Connecticut residents, especially those in Hartford, constantly walk past and benefit from the contributions the Foundation has made over the last hundred years. The Foundation has supported libraries, schools, senior centers, cultural centers, hospitals, playgrounds, sports fields, and more with funding. The Hartford Foundation was founded in 1925 by Maynard T. Hazen and Clark T. Durant. Their goal was to create an organization that could be a resource to serve the community. Over the years, the Foundation has provided relief from floods, made huge efforts to support people of color responding to ongoing racial inequality since the early 1940s, helped grassroots organizations to better meet the needs of the communities they served, and created new initiatives to address unemployment and poverty, specifically focusing on children and their families. Read more about the legacy of the Hartford Foundation as it rapidly approaches their 100th anniversary.
Read the entire story with your Connecticut Explored subscription.
A French Hero’s American Homecoming
In August of 1824, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, or more simply Marquis de Lafayette, began the Connecticut branch of his nationwide tour of the U.S. Lafayette was a French noble who served as a major general for America in the Revolutionary War. Dayne Rugh writes that although the position was intended to be largely ceremonial to earn an alliance with France, Lafayette “distinguished himself as a brave and intuitive leader who earned the esteem of General George Washington”. After surviving the French Revolution, President James Monroe invited him back to America to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution as the “nation’s guest”. Throughout his celebratory tour, he won the hearts of the American citizens who looked up to him as a soldier who shared their beliefs enough to fight for the future the young country wished for.
Read the entire story with your Connecticut Explored subscription.
The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Mark Twain and the American Presidents
During this election season our host, Mary Donohue, just couldn’t resist the suggestion by this episode’s guests to explore what Samuel Clemens alias Mark Twain, Hartford’s greatest Gilded Age humorist, had to say about the United States presidents. Was Twain the John Stewart or John Oliver of his day? Known for his sharp wit and scathing satire, what presidents met with his approval? Corruption, national identity, the power of big business, and America’s global role were just as contested then as they are now. His funny, insightful observations about the presidents of his day apply readily to the modern presidency.
Guests on this episode are Twain experts Mallory Howard, Assistant Curator at The Mark Twain House & Museum and Dr. Jason Scappaticci, historian and Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Connecticut State Community College Capital in Hartford.
Listen: 197. Mark Twain and the American Presidents
Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
Indigenous Art Fair
Nov 16, 2024 | 10:00 am – 4:00pm | Mystic Seaport Museum
Support Indigenous artists this Native American Heritage Month! Join us on Saturday, November 16, for the Indigenous Art Fair, held at Mystic Seaport Museum in partnership with Tomaquag Museum. Shop a variety of handcrafted items—wampum jewelry, beaded accessories, paintings, pottery, and more—by local native artists. While you're here, be sure to visit the Three Sisters Garden and stop by the Native American fusion food vendor, Frybread Catering. The event is included with general admission.
Click here for more information.
14th Annual Gingerbread House Festival: “Snowed Inn”
Nov 29, 2024 – Dec 22, 2024 | 10:00am - 7:00pm | Wood Memorial Library and Museum
We are excited to announce that The Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum’s Annual Gingerbread House Festival will be back for its 14th Year! Check back for more info including a detailed schedule of activities.
The event is free and open to the public.
Keep an eye out for details here.
The Many Faces of Louise McCagg: Artist, Activist, Art and Artists
Nov 21, 2024 | 6:00 am - 7:30 pm | Zoom
Joan Snitzer, artist and educator, will talk about Louise McCagg’s artistic journey, her role in the Feminist Art Movement and A.I.R. Gallery, as well as some highlights from her personal collection currently on display in The Artist’s Eye in this Virtual Talk. Joan Snitzer ‘s artwork focuses on painting as a visual communication method and the democratization of social and personal beliefs. Her works have been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, PS1 MoMA, The Museum of Arts and Crafts in Japan, and many others in the U.S. and abroad. Snitzer is an educator and mentor to numerous emerging artists. She remains committed to the non-profit world and has implemented many programs for developing and under-represented artists.
More information and event registration here.
Editor’s Picks
Want to explore the topics featured in this edition of the e-Newsletter? Check out these stories and podcasts from the archives.
“Mark Twain: Homeschooling the Clemens Way,” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2007.
“Connecticut’s Philanthropic Impulse,” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2015.
“The Boys & Girls Clubs of America Started Here,” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2019.
Join us—We now offer a digital-only subscription in pdf for just $22.50 a year!
Subscribe to the quarterly magazine: CTExplored.org/subscribe