Ribbon Cutting

Day Kimball Healthcare administrators and Day Kimball Healthcare at Home staff cut the ribbon on the new space for the Memory Lane Café. Courtesy photo.

 

PUTNAM —  Day Kimball Healthcare at Home officially opened a new space for Memory Lane Café, its memory care activity program.

The Putnam Economic Development department and the Putnam Business Association took part in the ribbon cutting Nov. 8.  The program provides stimulating activities for people affected by Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, as well as respite time for their caregivers.

Charla Beattie coordinates the Café’s activities for Day Kimball Healthcare at Home and explained to the crowd about the purpose of the Café.  

“We provide a non-judgmental atmosphere routed in understanding; we foster social interactions and enhance memory health; we strive to bring our clients a sense of purpose, a better quality of life; we want our clients to feel engaged in the world and we encourage them to participate in life as much as possible,” Beattie said.

Beattie also shared a very personal story about what moved her to this line of work. “I grieved my dad’s absence long before Alzheimer’s took his life at the young age of 73. It is my dad that inspires me to come here every day. It is in honor of that fun and loving man that makes me want to make a difference in the lives of individuals and families struggling to cope with dementia and Alzheimer’s. I understand how difficult it is trying to manage this illness. I like to think my dad would have benefitted from the social connections here at Memory Lane Café, and I believe his wit and his humor would have contributed to the camaraderie that we have here,” she said.

The Memory Lane Café is next to the Day Kimball Healthcare Center on S. Main Street. 

 

 

DANIELSON — Logee’s Greenhouses celebrated its 125th year in business this past June and is keeping up with the times. Logee’s was founded in 1892, 13 years after the invention of Thomas Edison’s light bulb and one year before the first American automobile. During the 1900s electricity became a commodity that was in high demand and expensive.

“My grandfather, was in the horse and buggy era and never would have believed that all of Logee’s electrical needs would now be generated by the sun,” says Byron Martin, third generation owner of Logee’s.

“We want to do our part for the planet and decrease the demand for energy through energy efficiency improvements,” says Laurelynn Martin, the other owner of Logee’s. “Seven years earlier, we had built an energy efficient greenhouse that transformed how we did business, now with the solar panels, we will be able to continue on this path to truly becoming green.”

The purchase of Logee’s solar panels was made possible through technical assistance provided by the CT RC&D’s CT Farm Energy Program in applying for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant which partially funded the 47.26 kW roof mounted system. Logee’s system includes 139 solar panels creating enough electricity to power 5.5 homes annually.

Logee’s Greenhouses, is a local horticultural company that ships plants nationally. They are open year-round and specialize in fruiting, rare and tropical plants for the home and garden. They have a retail store, where they sell plants to the end consumer. Nationally known, Logee’s has attracted visitors from all over the country including Martha Stewart who frequents Logee’s annually. 

 

 

Then

This is the Palomer Hall in 1935 with selectmen standing in front. Putnam Town Crier file photos.

 

& Now

This is the hall in modern times. It is now home to the Woodstock Historical Society.