CTExplored/Inbox
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!
You’re Invited To…
Thursday, February 1 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | New Haven Museum
Join us for a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the publication of “African American Connecticut Explored,” the first collection, comprising 50 essays by 30 scholars, to delve into the many facets of African-descended people in Connecticut. We are partnering with the New Haven Museum to bring you this panel discussion followed by a reception. The event will also stream on FB Live.
Register for this free event here!
Naugatuck Footwear Plant’s Barrage Balloons Protect US Troops
During World War II, the United States government called upon the country’s manufacturers to provide supplies and weapons. Sharon Cohen examined the role played by Naugatuck Footwear Plant, a division of the United States Rubber Company. As one might guess, the footwear manufacturer provided the military with shoes, boots, and gaiters. But that wasn’t all. Cohen writes,
When US involvement in the European war appeared imminent, the plant offered the government additional help. Soon, the manufacturer made a completely different defense product: barrage balloons. Photographs from June 6, 1944, provide unmistakable proof of the Connecticut company’s successful completion of this mission. The giant barrage balloons with their long, threatening cables flew high over the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day, providing vital protection for the embattled American troops below.
Read the entire story with your Connecticut Explored subscription.
Winter Snapshots
Bird’s-Eye View
We’ve all played around with Google Earth, but did you know that seeing your home from a bird’s-eye view has been a possibility for almost a century? Connecticut’s 1934 Aerial Survey was the first government-sponsored statewide aerial survey. Camera-equipped airplanes from Fairchild Aerial Surveys crisscrossed the state during March and April of that year, capturing images of the land from 11,400 feet.
The images are an indispensable resource for researchers in understanding the state’s shifting geography and land-use patterns.
Husky Highlight: Compare the University of Connecticut’s Storrs campus in 1934 and 1986. Some things have changed, but UConn students from almost a century ago would have walked past Mirror Lake every day, too!
Storrs in 1934
Storrs in 1986
Explore this resource!
Learn how to access the aerial photos online thanks to the Connecticut State Library and the University of Connecticut Library Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC).
Read more Snapshots with your Connecticut Explored subscription.
The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Top 10 Most Streamed GTN Episodes of All Time
Grating the Nutmeg enters its ninth year in 2024. Wow! We shared the top five episodes from 2023, now we want to celebrate the top ten most listened-to GTN episodes of all time. Enjoy our top downloaded episodes and then explore the rest!
Connecticut and the Pandemic of 1918
It’s hard to believe that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic hit its peak nearly four years ago. In this episode, we discuss the influenza pandemic of 1918, which like COVID-19, stopped life-as-we-knew it in its tracks.
The Delicious History of Pizza in New Haven
To many, New Haven, Connecticut holds the spot as the best pizza destination. How did this city gain its world-class pizza reputation, and why “apizza?” What is the trinity of pizza places in New Haven?
Rough Justice for Nathan Hale
Hale the hero or Hale the liar? This episode provides a new twist on a story we thought we knew in full using a previously unknown account of Hale’s arrest by Consider Tiffany.
Listen to all 10 episodes here
Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
Presentation on Ties to the Caribbean in the Ancient Burying Ground
Thursday, January 18 | 6:00 pm | CT Museum of Culture and History, Hartford
This program, presented by Dr. Katherine Hermes, will feature a variety of diverse stories that illuminate the people who built connections between Connecticut and the Caribbean. This includes Connecticut merchants looking for new markets and products; enslaved people from Antigua serving in households in Hartford; a West Indian enslaved man brought to Guilford who later opened a thriving grocery story in Hartford; and a French woman fleeing the Haitian Revolution.
Presented by Ancient Burying Ground Association in partnership with CT Museum of Culture and History
Tickets: $10; free for ABGA & CMCH Members
Register for Telling New Stories
Conversations at Noon on the Connecticut Freedom Trail
Tuesday, January 23 | 12:00 PM | Online
The Connecticut Freedom Trail highlights The Black Heritage Project, which celebrates the people and history of the Talcott Street Church, Hartford’s first Black church and site of Hartford’s first school for Black children. The historic Talcott Street Church site is next to CT State Community College Capital’s building but remains unmarked and unnoticed. Capital is seeking to raise awareness of the site’s significance.
This online event is FREE and open to the general public. Conversations at Noon will also take place on Tuesday, February 27 & Tuesday, March 26.
Register for all three Conversations at Noon!
Winter Wildlife Cruises
Multiple dates in February & March | Connecticut River Museum, Essex
RiverQuest will be departing from the Connecticut River Museum for their winter cruises! Individual ticket holders will not only get to enjoy the river and its wildlife from the water, but also the entire museum and their special Eagles of Essex exhibit. There are no other vessels on the water, and with no leaves on the trees, wildlife viewing is easy and fun.
Tickets (Ages 10+): $45
Register for Winter Wildlife Cruises
Editor’s Picks
Want to explore the topics featured in this edition of the e-Newsletter? Check out these stories from the archives.
“The Brass City Manufactures for Victory,” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2007.
“Road Signs of the Air,” Connecticut Explored, Spring 2012.
"[B] y the late 1920s a nationwide movement aimed to aid navigation by marking the roofs of buildings with the town name, an arrow pointing to the north, and an arrow pointing to the nearest landing field (if one were nearby). That practice, known as air marking, served pilots well for decades.”
“The Rise and Fall of Silas Brooks, Balloonist,” Connecticut Explored, Spring 2008.
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