Details

Category: Current Issue

Snow and Ice
This is the waterfall in East Woodstock. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

.
 

Details

Category: Current Issue

caption, page 2:

The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team proudly displays its seventh State Open championship plaque in eight years after winning it at New Milford High School March 6.
Ali Crescimanno on the balance beam at the State Open championship at New Milford High School.Photos by Marc Allard/The Woodstock Academy

Centaurs win
state crown
The trophies just continue to pour in for the Woodstock Academy gymnastics program.
The Centaurs already finished with another spotless regular season, won their 10th straight Eastern Connecticut Conference championship and ninth straight Class S championship.
March 6, the Centaurs added another plaque to the collection.
They won their seventh Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference State Open championship in the last eight years, 142.475 – 135.350, over Fairfield-Ludlowe High School at New Milford High School.
“We were working for it all season, losing last year, coming back this year. It was really amazing for all of us, especially the seniors. We’re pretty proud of ourselves,” said senior Maddie Grube.
The State Open was the one that got away from the Centaurs last year when they lost to Greenwich.
Woodstock Academy coach Kasey Tocchio said it was special to take back the State Open title despite what she described as an “interesting” day.
“We started out strong and there were a lot of good plusses (Wednesday). Even though, individually, everybody didn’t put it together for themselves. We still had some good routines in there,” Tocchio said.
The Centaurs showed Tocchio what they were capable of earlier in the season when they finished with a 146.85 score in the opening meet against Norwich Free Academy and the Killingly Cooperative.
“We haven’t really come close to that since,” senior Ali Crescimanno said. “We’ve hit 143 quite a few times, but we’ve been stuck there. We just need to hit our routines, hit our bonus and not count so many mistakes. If we do that, we can get right back up there.”
Since that first meet, the highest Woodstock Academy has scored is a 144.8 on Feb. 11, again against Killingly.
“I don’t think we’ve had our best day,” Tocchio said. “I think our first meet of the season kind of showed where we could go, but we haven’t really got back there yet. I think we can put it all together and really hit big.”
It looked like that possibly could be the case early at New Milford.
The Centaurs started on vault and Crescimanno finished with a 9.425 routine. Emily Arters finished with a 9.1, Lydia Taft a 9.0 and Grube an 8.9 to give them a 36.475 total as a team.
But things unraveled a bit on bars.
Taft (9.05) and Jenna Davidson (8.75) didn’t have the best bar routines.
Crescimanno again performed well, leading the team and finishing best in the field with a 9.5.
Crescimanno finished with a 36.0 individual total, second to Merritt Stevenson of Trumbull who won the individual All-Around with a 36.3 score.
“My first three events went well,” Crescimanno said. “My beam routine (8.7) was the best I’ve done all season.”
Crescimanno was in the lead going into the final event, the floor, but fell and finished with an 8.375.
She wasn’t the only one with foibles.
Taft and Grube both suffered through tough beam routines and finished with 8.45 and 7.35 totals respectively.
“We had some mistakes on every event. I’m going to go back into the gym on Friday and really clean that up,” Grube said.
Those miscues kept things interesting among the team members.
“It was neck-and-neck between (Crescimanno and Davidson) because one would be off and the other would hit a good one. I really want to see all three of them (with Taft) have an awesome meet and see what happens. They are all so high-scoring and we haven’t really put it all together yet,” Tocchio said. “Hopefully, they can figure it all out. All three of them need to keep taking care of their bodies.”
Davidson, the ECC champ, finished third in the State Open with a 35.875 total. She was best on the beam with a 9.3.
Taft placed fifth with a 35.475 total.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

Details

Category: Current Issue

caption, page 6:


Proclamations
Robert St. Onge, center, commander of Post #13, receives proclamations from R. Roger Brodeur, left, mayor of Putnam and 2nd District Congressman William St. Onge.  The proclamations were in recognition of the Post’s 50th Anniversary in 1969. Courtesy photo.



By Ronald P. Coderre
(On March 15, 2019, American Legion National and on July 7, 2019The Mayotte-Viens American Legion Post #13 will celebrate 100-year anniversaries.  This is the first of a two-part story recapping a brief history of Post #13.  Excerpts in this article have been taken from a history written by G. Stanley Shaw in 1969 and from articles in the 1925 Hartford Courant, 1970 Windham County Observer – Putnam Patriot and the book Sky Pilots.)
During the past decade, from 2008 to 2018, the Mayotte-Viens American Legion Post #13 has regularly been in the news, through its numerous community activities, promoting its mission, “For God and Country.”  In 2019 Post #13 will celebrate its 100th Anniversary.
But have you ever wondered, “How and when did the world’s largest veteran’s organization get its start?”
In the fall of 1916 President Woodrow Wilson, campaigning on the slogan, “He kept us out of war,” won a second term in office.  A few weeks following his inauguration, on April 2, 1917, Wilson addressed a special session of Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany. 
This war, WWI, “The Great War” famous for its “doughboys,” is eventually what spawned the organization known as The American Legion.  Following the signing of the armistice ending WWI on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the wheels of action began to churn, pressing for an organization in which the doughboys of WWI could find the same sense of unity and camaraderie that they experienced in the military.
Under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the national organization got its start.  A caucus of veterans meeting in Paris from March 15–17, 1919, officially formalized the establishment of The American Legion.   
Soon after the Paris caucus Lt. Alfred N. Philips, who was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to establish a Department of Connecticut, arrived in Putnam to enlist the interest of 400 WWI veterans in organizing a Post in the town.
First 50 Years
Putnam’s answer came with the submission of a charter signed by 25 local veterans.  The 25 veteran signers of the original charter were: James P. Ryan, Arthur P. Brodeur, Emilien Breault, Peter J. Magnan, Charles F. Donahue, Lorenzo M. Kennedy, Dr. William Saretski, Edmond Gagne, Eugene Miller, Albert J. Gregoire, John L. Wright, James J. Charron, Michael J. Daigle, Hyde Smith, Archibald Macdonald, Jr., Harold S. Corbin, John Lussier, Alfred L. Gilbo, Lucien Girard, W.D. Favreau, James E. Murray, Dr. Edward F. Perry, Norman E. Warren, A.C. Keith, G. Stanley Shaw.
On July 7, 1919, the National Executive Committee formally certified and granted the charter.  By Dec. 9, 1919, an additional 202 members had added their names to the new Post.  On July 22 Dr. Edward F. Perry was elected president; Harold S. Corbin, vice president; and Whitman S. Danielson, secretary-treasurer.
In August of the same year, more than 100 members assembled at the former Union Hall and unanimously voted to name the Post, Anselm Mayotte Post.  Father Anselm Mayotte was an assistant at St. Mary’s Church.  He was one of 40 young priests who answered the call of Bishop John J. Nilan of the Diocese of Hartford to serve the needs of the young soldiers as a chaplain on the battlefields of France.
Shortly after arriving in France the young chaplain was assigned to the 102nd Infantry Regiment and later transferred to 12th Field Artillery Regiment.  While with both units, which were in the midst of heavy fighting, Chaplain Mayotte not only tended to the spiritual needs of the troops but also assisted with caring for the wounded.  In addition to battling the German enemies, the men also battled what also prove to be a killer – disease.  The real killer became the flu or influenza, which was accompanied by pneumonia.
Shortly before Thanksgiving 1918, just after the signing of the armistice, the chaplain and his unit were in Buchenofe, Germany, when he was transported to a hospital in Echternacht, Luxemburg with full-blown flu symptoms.  He died there, six days before his 30th birthday, on Dec. 5, 2018.
In February 1947, Post #13 officially changed its name to The Mayotte-Viens American Legion.  The Post was renamed in memory and honor of George R. Viens, a Putnam High School graduate and U.S. Marine, who was killed by a sniper’s bullet at Guadalcanal in September 1943 at the age of 21.
During its 100-year existence Post #13 has experienced periods of inactivity where its future was uncertain.  Since its early beginnings when more than 225 men joined the organization, membership witnessed a growth to an all-time high of 280 members.  Just prior to its 50th anniversary in 1969, the Post was almost abandoned due to low membership and poor financial conditions.
A concerted effort to revitalize the Post under the leadership of Commander Gerard “Gerry” Richard occurred in 1965.  From 1966 through 1970 Commanders Richard Turcotte, Leo Beausoleil and Robert F. St. Onge continued the revitalization and growth of the Post.
From its inception in 1919 American Legion Post #13 has been fortunate to have had the leadership of strong veterans throughout the years.  In the very early years such well- known names as its first commander Dr. Edward F. Perry have dotted the roster of commanders.  G. Stanley Shaw Sr. (1928-1929), Arthur Keith (1929-1930), Gilbert Perry (1931-1932), Rosario J. “Dodo” Beausoleil (1935-1936), James J. “Jimmy” Charron (1936-1937), Dr. Henry C. Breault (1937-1938), Sen. Henry Dunleavy (1941-1942), James W. Frost (1944-1945), and John W. Gahan (1949-1950) followed, providing the leadership that kept the Post intact and viable.
During the initial 50 years, two members Rosario Beausoleil and Norman J. Levesque, were accorded life membership awards.  Beausoleil was a WWI veteran who was a prominent businessman and alderman in Putnam.  Levesque, a WWII veteran served as Post Commander on three separate occasions, 1948-1949, 1950-1951 and 1952-1953.
From the pages of the Nov. 12, 1925, edition of the Hartford Courant, the American Legion was cited for its involvement  in a ceremony at the WWI Veterans Memorial Bridge on Pomfret Street.
The headline read, Observance of Armistice Day – Putnam Dedicates Bridge (from the Associated Press), “Putnam paid tribute to its war dead today and honored the living who took part in the struggle, when a memorial bridge across the Quinebaug River was dedicated and appropriate exercises were held.  Between 15,000 and 20,000 persons witnessed the ceremonies which were attended by Governor Trumbull and many other prominent men.”
Today, more than 90 years later, thanks to the initiative of the men and women of Post #13 that same bridge proudly displays the American Flag, the POW/MIA Flag, the American Legion and VFW flags, as well as the flags of the five branches of the military.
Since the first National Convention in 1919, to the 2019 National Convention, both taking place in Minneapolis, Minn., the veteran members of American Legion Post #13 have played a significant role in the establishment of the organization as it is formed today.  Veterans who served in WWI, WWII and the Korean war carried the Post through its first 50 years.

..
 

Details

Category: Current Issue

captions, page 6:

Saw Readied
Andy Quigley, left, and George French dismantle 19th century Lane #1 saw in Vermont, readying it for shipment to Connecticut’s Chamberlin Mill.  Saw box and pulleys. Courtesy photos.



Mill
restoring
1870 saw
WOODSTOCK — This winter a group of expert volunteers has begun working in earnest to resurrect the 19th century circular saw that for many years produced lumber at Woodstock’s historic Chamberlin Mill.
Andy Quigley, George French, and Nate Rosebrooks bring solid experience to this task.  Quigley, a member of Pomfret School’s Facilities Mechanical Department, owns and operates Timberworks Sawmill in Pomfret. His saw, almost identical to the one found at Chamberlin Mill, is one he rebuilt years ago from a “heap of parts.”  French is in charge of saw maintenance at Hull Forest Products in Pomfret, and has worked most of his adult life in the lumber industry.  He grew up near Chamberlin Mill. Rosebrooks, retired founder of Putnam’s Fluid Coating Technology, Inc., brings a multitude of welcome skills and connections to the task.
For a number of years this group, spearheaded by Quigley, has carefully stored important parts of the Mill’s original saw, and searched for replacement parts they would need.  Several years ago, a generous donor, Jim Tumel, an acquaintance of a Chamberlin Mill, Inc. board member, made a quantity of parts available to the restoration effort. 
Then, in November, 2018, while making a daily internet check for remaining parts,  Quigley spied an identical 1870 vintage Lane #1 saw for sale. He sprang into action immediately and within four days began retrieving parts of the saw from a snowy Vermont woods.   Using Rosebrooks’ truck and trailer,  Quigley, French and Rosebrooks, hauled two more loads of parts to Connecticut.  All necessary metal parts for rebuilding the saw were finally in place.
All that was needed was a replacement “set beam” to which all the metal parts attach.  While the original beam still exists, it had been exposed to the elements and was too deteriorated for use.  Such a beam, however, is not an everyday find.  Here Rosebrooks’ connections came into play.
In his retirement, Rosebrooks has volunteered regularly in the machine repair shop at Mystic Seaport, working on projects connected to the Morgan, its great whaling ship, refurbishing with others the 1928 Studebaker engine that provided power to the Chamberlin Mill saw in its late years of operation and, more recently, helping to support  the Seaport’s restoration work on Mayflower II for Plimoth Plantation.  Through this last connection, he secured a timber large enough and strong enough for Chamberlin Mill’s set beam. This timber had originally been part of the Groton Pier built in the 1890s.  After the pier was dismantled in 1980, this timber was shipped to a Virginia dealer. It was brought back north in connection with the Mayflower II restoration.  The remainder of the original timber will be used for the Mayflower II.   
With all metal parts available and the new set beam on hand Chamberlin Mill, Inc., the non-profit steward for the historic Woodstock sawmill, hopes to bring the saw back to life within a year.  Once rebuilt, it will be reconnected to the rebuilt Studebaker engine that once gave it power, and begin to produce lumber again, though this time for public education and enjoyment.
Chamberlin Mill is one of the last surviving sawmills in Connecticut that was once powered by water.  Following “The Great Flood” of 1936, with its lower dam and penstock compromised, the Chamberlins kept the saw operating by using a powerful and steady Studebaker engine, connected directly to the saw’s arbor shaft.  This allowed them to operate their Mill for another three decades.  The surviving mill structure dates to around 1900, though the site has been used for grist mill and sawmill operations since the 1700s. Chamberlin Mill is listed on the State Register of Historic Places.
Visitors will have an opportunity to observe the saw under reconstruction and to learn about the process of its rebuilding at an event at 1 p.m. May 4, with rain date of May 5.  Further information about this event is available on Chamberlin Mill’s website: www.chamberlinmill.org.


.