I have always loved a real fire in a fireplace. The sound of the crackling wood and the movement of the dancing flames always makes me feel happy and brings a smile to my face. To me, a fire represents family and warmth and … home. I cannot remember a time when I have hosted a holiday or a winter event wherein I did NOT have a fire going. I have made so many fires throughout my adult life that I consider myself a bit of an expert and will boast that I can get a fire going with one match, a few pieces of newspaper, a tiny bit of kindling, and three (strategically placed) logs. That is, as long as the logs aren’t wet…
Early last fall, I ran out of wood. Actually, I ran out of wood in February of last year and only remembered that I was out of wood last fall when the first chilly night rolled in and I thought I would make a fire. I considered buying a bundle of wood at the supermarket, but when I saw the price of the bundle, I couldn’t bring myself to buy some. Then the holidays rolled around and, needing to make a fire in a jiffy to complete my Thanksgiving Day ambiance, I decided that I would buy a case of Duraflame logs. Despite my fire-making skills, I have used Duraflame logs in the past as they are terribly convenient and come with a sort of quick guarantee for instant fire enjoyment. In addition, since I now travel over the coldest winter months, I considered that six Duraflame logs would get me through until the end of the Holiday season. Today, a day that reached nearly 60-degrees ironically, I discovered that I had one Duraflame log left…
Oddly, the discovery of the Duraflame log is causing me to reflect a bit on the phases of my life. As a young mother, I would make my own baby food and tomato sauce. I mostly cooked meals from scratch and heating up a frozen dinner was considered a treat. As a (young) grandmother, I buy prepackaged sweets and treats for the grandkids, and I am often the first one to suggest that ordering out for dinner is just easier and more enjoyable for everyone! It’s not that I don’t know how to cook a homemade meal but rather, it’s more that I don’t really FEEL like doing it anymore. Plus, I don’t always have all of the ingredients that I would need and if I need to go to the store to buy some parsley, then I might as well just grab a rotisserie chicken to have for dinner the next night so that no one needs to worry about cooking…
I mean, I COULD just buy some more wood so that I can make real fires in the future, but then I think, like my cooking, why do that when I could just buy another case of Duraflame logs, pop one into the fireplace, strike a match and call it done?
Older? Wiser!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!
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Signs of Spring
This Chinese Witch Hazel at the Palmer Arboretum is bright and cheery --- like spring. More photos on page 4. Expanded photo page on our FB page on Wed.: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger. Linda Lemmon photo.
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caption, page 3:
Rotary Club members took a pause from the birthday party to strike a pose.
John F. Reardon
Rotary Club looking good for 100
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — One hundred years ago, March 7, 1923, the Putnam Rotary Club was front page news in the Windham County Observer. Twenty–four men had held the first Putnam Rotary Club meeting March 2.
A scant week before that 15 Putnam men went to Willimantic to organize a Putnam club. The new club’s official charter was dated March 20, 1923.
Putnam’s club was sponsored by the Willimantic Rotary Club and Judge Foss of Willimantic spoke at the first meeting. Putnam’s “leading business men” at the first meeting included names familiar to this day: Jacob Alpert, Warren W. Averill, Guy Baker, Walter Bartlett, Ray Bosworth, Howard Bradford (vice president), Ralph Bugbee (treasurer), John Dady, Henry Davenport, James Donahue, Phillip Faucher, Otis Fox Jr., Lucius Fuller, Ellsworth Kelley, Henry Lyon (secretary), William Moss, Karl Phillips, Frederick Prince, Thomas Rawley (sergeant at arms), John Reardon (president), Samuel Reynolds, Harry Thomson, Ralph E. Thurston and Leon Walker.
The headline read: “Rotary Club Head is John F. Reardon. All Are Leading Citizens and Club Expects Successful Future — Will Meet Every Week.”
Successful future indeed. One hundred years later the club continues its “front page” (in spirit) work, serving facet of life in its service area — Putnam, Woodstock, Eastford, Pomfret and Thompson. Club members celebrated with a birthday party March 21 — complete with cake, balloons, party favors and a birthday group photo.
For the past year and a half, according to incoming president and anniversary committee chair Amanda Kelly, the club has been planning its celebration. “We’re celebrating the impact Rotary has made and will continue to make. It’s an opportunity to bring the community together to celebrate what Rotary has done in the past and will continue to do in the future under the theme of ‘Imagine’.”
The shining star of the celebration, on June 3 at the Loos Center for the Arts in Woodstock, is The Celestial Centennial Gala dinner-plus followed by “Mind Candy,” a presentation by mentalist Wayne Hoffman that combines mind-reading and visual magic.
Tickets for the Mind Candy performance are $45 and are available at loos.org. Tickets for the Gala (includes Mind Candy) are $120 and are available on the club’s FB page: Putnam Connecticut Rotary Club.
Other events will be held throughout the celebratory year including Movies in Rotary Park, Compassionate Leadership series sponsored by Rotary in April, a special one-time John Reardon service award to five high school students, Rotary’s Day of Service in April, a pollinator garden, a Music Garden (6-piece Calypso Chimes), a time capsule and much more.
Current Club President Missy Meyers said: “The Putnam Rotary Club has had the great privilege of serving the towns of Eastford, Pomfret, Putnam, Thompson and Woodstock for the last 100 years. That service has included a variety of community events, charitable donations, thousands of volunteer hours and numerous college scholarships. A century after John Reardon and other community leaders came together to form this club, our current members are still fiercely committed to the values of Rotary International. It is our honor to carry on this proud tradition, and we look forward to the next few months of new activities, donations, and celebration events all being held to recognize 100 years of Service Above Self.”
Kelly added, “It’s not every day you have the opportunity to celebrate a centennial year. This is a special moment in our club’s history.”
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Road to Final 4 goes through Putnam
Thanks to some magical runs and some dominating performances, Putnam Science Academy will be well-represented at the NCAA men’s Final Four this weekend, as three former Mustangs are on teams that have advanced to the season’s final weekends.
UConn’s Hassan Diarra (Class of 2020), Florida Atlantic’s Vlad Goldin (Class of 2020), and Miami’s Bensley Joseph (Class of 2021) have all helped their respective teams win their first four tournament games to get to the Final Four. They are the last of the original 13 former players whose teams got bids into the tournament. Diarra’s older brother Mamadou (Class of 2016) is a staff member at UConn serving as the team’s Director of Player Development. (There were also two former members of PSA’s girls’ basketball team playing in the women’s tournament.)
“I’m really humbled watching all of our former players play in this tournament,” PSA coach Tom Espinosa said. “There’s nothing like March Madness, and again, it shows you how special Putnam Science Academy is.”
Hassan Diarra, who won two national titles on his way to becoming PSA’s all-time leading scorer, has become more of a role player for the Huskies as the season and tournament has gone on, but he is a key member of the winning culture UConn has developed.
Goldin, the 7-footer who won a prep title alongside Diarra, looked like he was back in a Mustangs’ uniform Saturday night as he posted 14 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocked shots to lead the Cinderella Owls into their first Final Four.
Joseph played in just a handful of games with PSA during the Covid-ravaged 2020-21 season that also saw him suffer a severe ankle sprain. But his leadership qualities were felt on campus as much as they in Coral Gables, and his all-around game has helped the Canes as a key reserve.
Fourth-seeded UConn plays No. 5 Miami shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday. Goldin’s ninth-seeded Owls – the first time a 9-seed has been to the Final Four – takes on No. 5 San Diego State Saturday at 6 p.m.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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