Then

This is the corner of Front and Main streets in downtown Putnam during the Centennial parade in 1955. Putnam Town Crier file photos.

 

& Now

This is the same corner in more modern times.

 

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Anniversary

Cargill Council 64, Knights of Columbus, Brother Knight Carlo P. Lombardo (left) prayed next to his father, Brother Knight Peter A. Lombardo, during the council’s 123rd anniversary Mass, celebrated at St. Mary Church of the Visitation in Putnam on Sunday morning, July 26. This was part of the celebration of Cargill Council’s 123rd anniversary. Photo by John D. Ryan.

 

 

PUTNAM — Take 42 lobsters, add 150 parishioners, 112 golfers and two brand new Knights of Columbus, and you get Cargill Council 64’s 123rd anniversary.

Founded in Putnam on July 26, 1892, the Knights of Columbus’s Cargill Council 64 celebrated its 123rd anniversary this past weekend, holding a two-parish clambake, an anniversary Mass, a golf tournament and a ceremony to make two men into new Brother Knights.

“We’re going stronger than ever,” said the council’s elected leader, Grand Knight Matthew R. Frederick. “It’s been a great celebration weekend for us, our two parishes and the community. Our Brother Knights are more committed than ever.”

It all started at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church of the Visitation July 25, when, for the fifth year, Cargill Council hosted and cooked the annual non-profit parish clambake, as a social event for St. Mary’s and its sister parish, Most Holy Trinity Church in Pomfret. 

Sunday’s part of the celebration started with 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s, with several Bother Knights in the front row.

“Cargill Council has been here for over a century,” said St. Mary’s and Trinity’s pastor and council chaplain Very Rev. David P. Choquette in part of his homily from the pulpit, addressing the 150 parishioners in attendance. “They believe in the Christian ideal of charity, putting that into action for people in our community, helping the needy throughout the year.”

Mass was followed by a private ceremony in the church hall, where a Council 64 ceremonial team welcomed two Catholic men, Angelo G. DeSalvio of Putnam and Thomas J. Morin of Danielson, into Cargill Council as brand new Knights of Columbus. 

Following that ceremony, local Knights of Columbus Field Agent Garry L. Beausoleil presented a relic of Father Michael J. McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 in New Haven.

The council’s sixth annual golf tournament, at the Connecticut National Golf Course in E. Putnam.  The 112 golfers included area Knights and their families and friends. 

Cargill Council 64 is made up of more than 200 local Roman Catholic men and their families. The council serves Putnam, Pomfret, Woodstock and parts of the surrounding towns. Working continuously since 1892, it’s the 64th local council since the Knights began 10 years before.

The council sponsors or assists year-round with many positive, local programs, including, among literally dozens of events, its annual “Joe Bousquet Christmas Giving Appeal” for the needy in the area, the annual “Thanksgiving Day Turkey Dip” at Quaddick Pond in Thompson to raise funds for the Connecticut Muscular Dystrophy Association, food drives for the local poor, providing free, new winter coats for needy local children, a year-round program for the widows and minor children of its deceased members and continuing work to end abortion and assisted suicide and to otherwise support the “Culture of Life.”

 

 

PUTNAM — Some things about behavioral health care are universally true, no matter the time or place: it’s critical to the community, it has the power to change lives, and it’s extremely hard work. There’s one more thing that’s held constant at Day Kimball Healthcare for the last ten years, and that’s Katherine Mackenzie, clinical nurse manager. Her colleagues have described her as strong, courageous and committed – the common thread and steady keel that has helped to grow and strengthen the department to what it is today. And that’s why they’ve voted her Day Kimball Healthcare’s Employee of the Month for June.

As clinical nurse manager of the Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit at Day Kimball Hospital, Kate (as her friends call her) is responsible for the management of patient care on the unit, leading and supporting staff to ensure effective and compassionate care. She also works closely with behavioral health crisis workers in the Emergency Department to facilitate prompt and coordinated care for those patients who require admission to the inpatient unit. And she serves as a behavioral health liaison to the rest of the hospital as well, building relationships and processes to enhance patient care.

A resident of Putnam, where she lives with her husband Chas and their three children, Kate has deep ties and a strong commitment to the Northeast Connecticut community. When her colleagues from across DKH gathered recently to celebrate her selection as Employee of the Month, that dedication shone through in her only comments, which were to thank her team instead of simply accepting congratulations for herself.

“Over all that time and through all that change she has stayed the path,” O’Keefe said, adding “she has kept the true vision of what our hospital and our community needed in behavioral health. [She brings] a certain way of helping others to understand what the changing needs are and how we can change and grow to better meet them. The fact that she understands the ins and outs of the Emergency Department and can help to bridge that gap from the ED to behavioral health services is also a rare gift, and I know our patients who come to us for help in crisis are better served because of it.” 

But President and CEO Robert Smanik perhaps summed it up best when he said, “With Kate, it really comes from the heart. In every community hospital I’ve been a part of, behavioral health is critical. It’s needed everywhere, but there are always many challenges and it takes a remarkable group of people to do this kind of work. It takes not only clinical expertise but also courage and commitment – and Kate delivers all of that with a smile on her face every single day. It’s truly a gift, and I couldn’t be more impressed.”