- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Aspinock seeks
$15k for Cady Copp
and Boxcar
PUTNAM — The Aspinock Historical Society of Putnam recently announced its Annual Appeal campaign, “Preserving the Past and Planning for the Future”
The goal is to raise $15,000. Proceeds will be used to continue Phase 2 of renovating the Cady-Copp cottage to make it safe for the pubic to view and a step in creating a museum of Putnam’s oldest home. Continual maintenance of the Gertrude Warner Boxcar Children’s Museum is also a goal of the Appeal.
A number of local citizens have volunteered to serve on the Campaign Leadership Team. The General Chairmen are Fran and Willie Bousquet. Assisting Fran and Willie will be Marcy Dawley as division leader for Business and Corporate donors, while Romeo Blackmar leads the Organizations division. Paul Desautels will oversee the Professional donors—lawyers, doctors, teachers and bankers. Chairing the division for Community are Al and Joyce Cormier and Roger Franklin, the division for major donors. Diane Bates chairs the division for Society members and directors.
At the initial Leadership Team meeting, the Society thanked citizens who had conducted very successful Annual Appeals in the past—Marc and Tom Archambault, Greg King, Dick Loomis, Bob Garceau, Scott Pempek, John Miller, Liz Thompson and Nelson (Buzz) King.
Putnam’s Aspinock Historical Society was founded in 1972 when a dozen citizens recognized the need to preserve our past and educate people in the area about our rich heritage. The first public event was celebrating the 200th anniversary of the raising of the Liberty Flag on the Putnam Heights green, in 1974, at which then Senator Abraham Ribicoff spoke.
Later, the Society procured a boxcar and developed it into a museum dedicated to beloved local teacher and author of The Boxcar Children series, Gertrude Chandler Warner. Each year the museum receives visitors from all over the United States. Many interesting and diverse programs have been held through the years, featuring a vast variety of topics from major themes such as the Flood of 1955 to very specific events such as the Great Putnam CT Bank Robbery. In addition to research published on specific topics, a major contribution of the Society has been its “immigrant” series which documents the main groups who have immigrated to Putnam throughout the years.
Each year, members provide tours and talks to local schools, groups and the community. Members are also called upon by the Town of Putnam to provide historical information. Members often assist students in researching information from Putnam’s past and provide resources for teachers.
The Annual Appeal for funds will guarantee that the dedicated volunteers who provide these important tasks of preserving the local history and sharing it with the community will be able to continue and expand the services of the Aspinock Historical Society of Putnam.