cal pg 6 1-25-24
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Wed. Jan. 17
Exhibit Extended
THOMPSON --- The Thompson Public Library’s Art @ the Library and the Display Case exhibit, the 4th Annual Textile Artists Community Show, has been extended through Jan. 27. Program sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Artists: Alison Boutaugh, Dawn Reynolds, Gail Beausoleil, Hannah Stephens, Paula Coderre, Donna Lynch, Kathleen Herbert, Lynn Landry, Cindy Obert, Claudette Hoffman, Irene Rice, Gail Berthiaume, Linda Kaplan, Dot Casey, Chase Fontaine, Jocelyn Mathewson, Sarah Norcross.
Quilt Exhibit
PUTNAM --- An exhibit by Laura Salo, “The Year Through Quilts,” runs through March 30 at the Corridor Gallery in the Municipal Complex. The show is sponsored by the Putnam Arts Council. PutnamCtArtsCouncil.com.
Thur. Jan. 25
Bird Walk
PLAINFIELD --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present a Plainfield Fish Hatchery Bird Walk at 9 a.m. $10 for CAS members; $20 for nonmembers. Register: 860-928-4948.
Fri. Jan. 26
Lecture
POMFRET --- The Pomfret School will present the Schwartz Public Lecture, “Ndaba Mandela” at 7 p.m. in the Hard Auditorium. Free. All welcome. Register: Pomfret.org/Schwartz.
Sat. Jan. 27
Fund-raiser Concert
POMFRET --- The 32nd Annual Benefit Concert for the N.E. Food Pantries of Access, featuring Howie Bursen and Friends, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Vanilla Bean Café. $25 – every penny buys food. www.accessagency.org.
Sat. Feb. 3
Exhibit
POMFRET --- The Edwin Way Teale Artists-in-Residence Program’s “Trail wood Reflections,” written and visual works inspired by residencies during the summer of 2023, will hold its opening reception from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Pomfret on Day Road. The exhibit runs through March 2. 860-928-4948.
Sat. Feb. 10
Fire and Ice
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association and the Town of Putnam will present Fire and Ice starting at noon around downtown.
Thur. Feb. 22
Bird Walk
PLAINFIELD --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present a Plainfield Fish Hatchery Bird Walk at 9 a.m. $10 for CAS members; $20 for nonmembers. Register: 860-928-4948.
Sat. Feb. 24
Owl Walk
POMFRET --- The Connecticut Audubon Society at Pomfret Center will present an owl walk at 7 p.m. $10 for CAS members; $20 for nonmembers. Register: 860-928-4948.
Sat. March 23
Easter Bunny
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Parks and Recreation Department will present “Greet the Easter Bunny” at 10 a.m. at the Municipal Complex. Recommended for ages 10 and younger. Photos, free chocolate bunnies and the Putnam Little League will offer an Easter Egg Hunt on the lawn (inside in case of inclement weather) for a minimum $3 donation. All proceeds benefit the Putnam Little League.
Sat. April 20
International Day
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association will present International Day.
Sat. May 18
Fairy Fest
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association will present a Fairy and Magic Fest.
Sun. Aug. 11
Pluck a Duck
PUTNAM --- The Putnam Business Association will present Pluck a Duck Aug. 11 and 12.
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library pg 6 1-25-24
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Library to host 'End
of Life 101' discussion
POMFRET — Pomfret Public Library will be hosting a series of four presentations and discussions relating to preparing for End of Life in February and March.
Pomfret Public Library has scheduled discussions with experienced end-of-life professionals in hopes that attendees will more fully appreciate the time that they have by preparing well for its end. The free discussion series is sponsored by The Friends of Pomfret Public Library and each session will begin with a light shared meal of ‘Lunch with Friends’ at noon, followed by a presentation and discussion. Please sign up for each session you would like to attend at www.pomfretlibrary.org or 860-928-3475.
The schedule for the series: Feb. 9 - Life and Death with Lisa Creedon, EOLDoula (Lunch with Friends at noon (registration required), Discussion Program 12:30 to 2 p.m.; Feb. 23 - End of Life Legal Concerns with Atty. Leah Schad (Lunch with Friends at noon (registration required), Discussion Program 12:30 to 2 p.m. ; March 1 - Swedish Death Cleaning with Lisa Creedon, EOLDoula (Lunch with Friends at noon (registration required), Discussion Program 12:30 to 2 p.m.; March 15 - Telling Your Story with Nancy Weiss (Lunch with Friends at noon (registration required), Discussion Program 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Also, the library has a selection of related reading materials available to borrow and will discuss a featured title the first Thursday of February, March and April at 3:30 p.m. Book discussion details are available at pomfetlibrary.org and copies of the featured books are either at the library or online. All library programs are free and open to the public; you are welcome to attend as many of the sessions as you wish. Please register for each one at pomfretlibrary.org (860-928-3475); include contact info for notification of any weather-related postponements. www.pomfretlibrary.org.
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obit pg 6 1-25-24
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DAYVILLE — Doris (Desaulniers) Larrow, 94, of Upper Maple Street, died Jan. 19, 2024. Born in 1929 in Moosup and a lifelong Killingly resident, she was the daughter of the late Alphonse Desaulniers and Philamena (Chatelle) Desaulniers. She was the wife of the late Eugene J. Larrow Sr. for an amazing 72 years.
Mrs. Larrow worked for William Prym Manufacturing as an assembler for 40 years. After her time at the Prym Mill, Doris was an integral part of the family business, Larrow’s Real Estate, as the secretary for more than 25 years. Doris was always active and enjoyed tending to their fruit and vegetable garden. One of her favorite phrases came from the unofficial Larrow family song, “Side by Side” by Dean Martin, “We’ll be traveling along, singing our song, side by side.” She will now be by the side of her husband who passed in December.
She leaves her sons, “The four good boys,” Eugene Larrow Jr. (Susan) of E. Killingly, Ronald Larrow (Lianne) of Hamden, Randy Larrow (Laureen) of Boiling Spring Lakes, N.C., and Rudy Larrow (Elaine) of Dayville; grandchildren Ashley Paille (Josh), Jeffrey Larrow (Sarah), Stacy Cooper, Gregory Larrow (Christina); six great-grandchildren, Owen, Colin, Gwen, Beaux, Audrey, and Mackenzie.
Relatives are invited to attend a Memorial Mass in Doris and her late husband Eugene’s honor at 11 a.m. Feb. 8 at the Most Holy Trinity Church, Pomfret. Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam.
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miller pg 7 1-25-24
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Field hockey and lacrosse.
Outside of her family, the two sports define the life of Heather Miller.
The Norwich resident will bring her love for both to Woodstock Academy beginning this spring.
She was recently named the head coach of the girls’ lacrosse team beginning this spring and field hockey in the fall for the Centaurs.
“I’m excited,” Miller said. “I really do like routine and I love consistency. A new environment, a new atmosphere is good, but I do want to put roots down somewhere. Twenty years in the Navy, I had to change where I was coaching every three years and that was not enough to establish roots and put my stamp on something. I really want to take the time to be somewhere and grow a program and that will take season after season. I want to be somewhere that is the same, because everywhere else I coach is never the same.”
Miller’s husband is now out of the Navy and they have chosen to settle in Connecticut allowing her the time to establish those roots.
She has been coaching high school athletic teams for the last eight years.
Interestingly, this will be the first time she coaches the two sports, field hockey and lacrosse, at the same institution.
But her resume goes much beyond the high school realm.
She is also the coach of the HTC field hockey club in Madison and beyond even that, is a coach with both the USA Field Hockey and USA Lacrosse National Development Training programs, the pathway to Team USA and the Olympics in both sports.
She does that throughout the spring and summer, especially on weekends, but will have time to devote to the Woodstock girls’ lacrosse program.
“My USA directors tell me to concentrate on (the high school program) first because we have a group of coaches. It’s a group of five or six of us who share duties,” Miller said.
Miller’s love for field hockey began early.
She started to play the sport in fourth grade in Virginia.
In high school, she joined the lacrosse program as well.
She was offered a scholarship to play field hockey for Virginia Wesleyan but turned that down in favor of a scholarship to play Div. I lacrosse at Longwood University in Farmville, Va.
There, she became a two-sport athlete as Longwood also asked her to play field hockey for the school.
She became an educator and a coach and has coached both sports ever since.
But coaching both at one school is something she is looking forward to.
“It gives me more time for me to do what I need to do, more time to make connections and cultivate relationships which is super important to me,” Miller said. “I’m the same coach in lacrosse that I am in field hockey. It’s just the skill sets and rules are different but my philosophy, my expectations and no-nonsense type of style are the same. I coach with the loving hand of discipline. I discipline because I care. (Athletes) represent the school, represent me, represent the sport, so there will be discipline where needed but never without love and encouragement.”
One thing that she has found to be different is the state of the two sports in Connecticut as opposed to where she grew up in Virginia.
Both girls’ lacrosse and field hockey lack the drawing power of more established sports such as soccer and basketball in Connecticut and that is not only the case for athletes.
“It just blows my mind because lacrosse is everywhere (in Virginia) and Virginia is not even Maryland when it comes to lacrosse. Field hockey is bigger than lacrosse in Virginia although lacrosse is growing. Maybe that was naïve of me when I came to Connecticut, even for coaching opportunities, I was like,’Where are they?’,” Miller said.
That’s one of the reasons why when she first comes on board, the plan is simple: Focus on the fundamentals.
Many young student-athletes have not even been exposed to either sport when they sign up to play.
“My whole basis of coaching is fundamentals, that’s part of my philosophy. You cannot progress if you do not master the fundamentals of each of those sports. Everything that is “fancy”, everything that is advanced or really cool to watch these players do would not have happened if they did not know the fundamentals,” Miller said.
To help solve the problem, Miller has asked if there is interest in offseason activities for the two sports.
“We’re looking at doing camps and clinics. Whether it is a Woodstock Academy camp or clinic for youth development or high-school aged girls or middle school girls. I’m also going to see if we can bring USA-type development to the school and area, too,” Miller said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
caption:
Heather Miller will be coaching two programs at the same school for the first time in her lengthy coaching career as she will guide the Woodstock Academy girls lacrosse and field hockey programs. Photo by Marc Allard.
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