PUTNAM — The Holiday Dazzle Light Parade Committee says all systems are go for the 21st annual Holiday Dazzle Light Parade Nov. 27 in downtown Putnam.
The 21st annual Holiday Dazzle Light Parade will step off at 5 p.m. Nov. 27th, at the Grove Street monument and will follow Grove Street, merging right onto South Main Street, left onto Front Street (through the center of downtown Putnam), right onto Kennedy Drive (at Cargill Falls) and will travel past Rotary Park and Riverfront Commons on Kennedy Drive, taking a right onto Providence Street and will end at the Putnam Municipal Complex at the corner of Providence and School streets.
The rain date is Dec. 4.
This year, Rawson Materials and the Putnam Rotary Club will be honored as Grand Marshals. Rawson Materials is celebrating its 75th year and the Putnam Rotary Club will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The starting line is at the Grove Street monument and entries will start lining up at 2 p.m. on parade day. The staging area is from Grove Street to Killingly Avenue.
Once again this year, the parade committee will present a “litter-free parade.” Before the parade begins, an army of volunteers from Green Valley Church of Putnam will hand out trash bags donated by The Last Green Valley. At the conclusion of the parade, volunteers will walk the parade route, picking up trash bags from the crowd and depositing the bags into a Town of Putnam Public Works truck.
The parade is produced by the Town of Putnam, Green Valley Crossing and WINY Radio.
For more information, contact Gary Osbrey at 860-928-1350 or
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captions on page 4:
Clockwise from top:
Captain Joshua Jones and Debbie White of the Salvation Army, Interact Co-Advisor Roberta Rocchetti; Emily St. Martin, Caitlin Mercer and Eoin Mercer of the Interact Club; Missy Meyers, president of the Putnam Rotary Club.
Putnam Police loading TEEG truck
Putnam's finest are almost dwarfed by their successful food collection.
Salvation Army Band
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From every corner
of the Quiet Corner
--- generosity
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
The Quiet Corner? Maybe. But Debbie White of the Salvation Army wondered out loud, perhaps it should be “Philanthropic Corner.”
From every corner of the Quiet Corner, food, money, toys and more comes pouring out of residents to help those less fortunate.
Bell ringing -- 25 years later
Nov. 19 White helped kick off the Putnam Rotary Club’s Interact Club 25th anniversary of bell ringing for the Salvation Army. Interact Club co-advisor Roberta Rocchetti said in 25 years the Interact Club has raised $233,200.
Local high school students will be ringing the bells from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 25 and 26 and Dec. 3, 10, and 17 at Putnam Supermarket, Walmart, Price Chopper and Stop and Shop in Putnam.
Schools taking part include thus far are: Putnam High School, Killingly High School, Tourtellotte Memorial High School and the Woodstock Academy.
Also taking part is technology. The classic Red Kettle can now “tap” and handle credit cards and technologies like Google Pay.
At the kickoff, complete with the Salvation Army Band playing Christmas carols, Interact President Emily St. Martin thanked everyone for their help in “making a positive difference in our community.”
Putnam Mayor Barney Seney called the amount raised in 25 years a “big piece of change.” “People say youth does nothing. Just look around and see what the youth is doing. Today’s youth is not lost.”
White emphasized the importance of what the club members have done/will be doing. Saying that 90 percent of the money raised stays local, she said: “Lives are being changed. Families are being restored.”
Captain Joshua Jones, Divisional Youth secretary for the Salvation Army, said the Red Kettle began in San Francisco in 1891 as a way to feed 1,000 people. “Keep the pot boiling” was the mantra. By the end of the 1890s thousands were being helped across the country and now millions are being helped beyond that. “This is our chance to show love beyond,” he said.
Putnam Rotary Club President Missy Meyers presented the Interact Club a check for $500.
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'Amazed at the generosity'
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Food drives are one of the Quiet Corner’s specialties and each year the numbers climb.
From corner to corner food drives are very successful. And the toy drives are just gearing up.
The Putnam Business Association’s eighth Thanksgiving Dinner drive is likely to beat last year’s total collected of $8,500.
“Holiday drives” numbered in the dozens in the Quiet Corner.
The state police collected food and donations as well as local police departments.
One of many efforts, the Putnam Police Department’s annual Handcuff Hunger food and donation drive, “did pretty well considering the current economic times,” said Police Chief Christopher D. Ferace.
A good number of Putnam Police Department members collected all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinners and money over two days in front of the Price Chopper in Putnam. Ferace said they collected 164 turkeys, 18 chickens and 12 hams and “hundreds if not thousands of pounds of consumables to compliment the turkey dinners.”
In addition, he said, they collected $2,629 in cash and gift cards to be split between Daily Bread and TEEG.
He added: “I would consider our Handcuff Hunger Thanksgiving food drive very successful. I probably sound like a broken record, but again I am amazed at the generosity of Putnam and the surrounding northeast communities. I cannot thank people enough for their generosity. It is truly heartwarming!”
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Robert “Bob” St. Onge
Robert “Bob” St. Onge served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean war. He was drafted and entered the Army on March 17, 1951, and was honorably discharged in March 1953.
Bob served 18 of his 24-month hitch as an infantryman in the 28th Division of the 109th Infantry, known as the “Bloody Bucket,” in Augsburg, Germany just outside of Munich. He served shortly after WWII, during the time when tensions with the Russians in Germany were at their peak.
He received his basic training at Camp Atterbury in Indiana and went on to advanced infantry training at Fort Bragg. While in Germany, Bob was an integral part of his unit’s “boxing team,” representing his unit in bouts throughout Germany.
Bob is the sixth of nine St. Onge children. He was married to his wife, Beryl, who passed away in 1999, following 47 years of marriage. He later met and was with Terri his significant other for 20 years until her death in 2020.
After returning from his military commitment in 1953, Bob returned to Putnam and worked for Rogers Corporation for five years, before moving on to a 31-year career with American Standard as a mold maker.
Bob has been a member of the Mayotte-Viens American Legion Post #13 for more than 60 years. He served two terms as Post Commander, from 1968 through 1970. He led the Post through its 50th Anniversary in 1969. He later went on to serve as the commander of District #4 in 1971-72. He is also a member of the Albert J. Breault VFW Post #1523 of Putnam. He’s a member of the Quinebaug Valley Senior Citizens Club in Brooklyn
Rolland “Rollie” Johnson
Rolland “Rollie” Johnson served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean war from October 1952 to October 1954, serving 18 months of his 24-month hitch as a ‘machine gunner’ with the 43rd Division in Berlin, Germany.
His unit was stationed in the Russian sector of Berlin at a time when the situation, following the end of WWII, was very tense.
His hitch in Germany followed his ‘basic training’ at Camp Breckenridge, Ky.
While in Berlin, his unit did much of its training at Tempelhof Air Force Base in Munich, primarily preparing for riot control activity should it erupt with the Soviets. While in Germany he graduated from NCO School. He was honorably discharged from active duty with the rank of corporal.
Prior to enlisting in the Army, Rollie tied the knot with his wife, the former Alma Lucier on April 19, 1952. Rollie and Alma have been married for 70 years. Rollie and Alma were married for eight years before the birth of their first child. In the next eight years they had five children, Michael (63); Wendy (62); Christopher (60); Brian (57); and Gary (55).
Rollie is a 1950 graduate of Putnam High School, the last class to graduate from the former high school at the corner of Providence and School streets (now the Putnam Municipal Complex). Following a brief employment at the John M. Dean Co. in Putnam, Rollie went back to school at H.H. Ellis Technical School (in Putnam then), and received a degree as an electrician in 1958. He then embarked on a 37-year career at Electric Boat, retiring in September 1995.
In November 1954, shortly following his discharge from the Army, he was recruited by his friend Stanley Scraba to join the 43rd Division of the Connecticut National Guard, initially a ‘light infantry’ unit and later an engineering company. In July 1966 after 12 years in The Guard he retired at the rank of Master Sgt. E7 --- to spend more time with this wife and children.
He is a member of the Putnam Elks, and although he’s not a Roman Catholic, he is an Honorary member of the Knights of Columbus Council #64. He’s a member of the VFW and American Legion Post #13. A person who gave back to his community, he spent 28 years doing all the electrical work for the St. Mary’s Circle of Fun, coached Little League and even found a little time to play golf.