Tiny Art celebrates creativity
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — The dregs of February are once again blasted away with creativity in the form of the annual Tiny Art display at the Putnam Public Library.
The brainchild of Adult Services Librarian Nicole Nichols, would-be artists pick up a 3”x3” canvas and some art supplies from the library and return with a work of art.
Nichols said this year 89 of the canvases were returned and she’ll still take any that are still out there.
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence some 43 canvases were “Revolutionary/Patriotic” and there were 46 others. Nichols said the exhibit runs through the end of February, possibly longer because of the special anniversary.
This is the third annual Tiny Art.
Nichols said: “When I started as the Adult Services Librarian in 2023, I was exploring ways to increase community involvement through passive library programming. I learned that quite a few libraries had hosted Tiny Art events, and knowing how much value our Quiet Corner places on The Arts and creative self-expression, it seemed like a perfect fit! Community members have begun to look forward to participating in our annual Tiny Art show, and many have told me that they begin planning their design months ahead.”
She added, “Participation is open to anyone aged 13 and up. There is an impressive array of diversity and creativity. In addition to paintings on canvas, the show features sculpture, collage, decoupage, crochet, counted cross-stitch, intaglio, origami- even floral arrangement!”
Nichols said: “The goal of the event is simply to celebrate creativity and individuality though, non-competitive, free-form expression. This year, we offered an optional ‘Remembering the Revolution’ theme for America’s 250th, and we were pleasantly surprised that nearly half of the participants chose to do honor our nation’s history through art.”
She added: “Libraries are about so much more than just books and computers... They are a safe space where people can come together to think, share ideas, learn and grow. Tiny Art at Putnam Public Library creates a platform for creative expression on a scale that enables a large number of people to participate in a public art exhibit. We invite people of all ages to enter into our space to enjoy and contemplate the Tiny Art.”
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All the Tiny Art photos will appear Wed. night on our FB page. Linda Lemmon photos.
Monday: No school - Presidents Day. Tuesday: No school.
Putnam Elementary/Middle
Wednesday: Orange popcorn chicken rice bowls, fortune cookie. Thursday: Beef Fiesta beef nachos, corn, fruit. Friday: Pizza, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, fruit.
Putnam High
Wednesday: Homemade chicken Alfredo bake or wrap. Thursday: Beef nachos grande or "Wild Mike's" cheese bites. Friday: Pizza or chicken tender fry basket.
Woodstock Public Schools
Wednesday - elementary: Chicken tenders, brown rice, broccoli, fruit. Middle: General Tso's chicken. Thursday: Grilled cheese, tomato soup, Goldfish crackers, fruit. Friday: Pizza, corn, fruit.
Pomfret Community
Wednesday: French toast sticks, turkey sausage, hash browns. Thursday: Chicken Tikka Marsala over brown rice, broccoli. Friday: Cheese or roni pizza, green bean salad.
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Legal Notice
Public Hearing Notice
Town of Pomfret
Planning & Zoning
Commission
The Pomfret Planning & Zoning Commission will hold the following Public Hearing(s) at its meeting on February 18, 2026 starting at 7:00 PM.
1. Michael Raymond, 186 Babbitt Hill, special permit application for a 24’ x 34’ detached garage.
A copy of this application is on file in the office of the Planning & Zoning Commission, 5 Haven Road, Pomfret Center, Connecticut. The file is available for review during normal business hours.
Dated this 28th day
of January 2026
Town of Pomfret
Sarah Healey,
Assistant Land Use Clerk
Planning & Zoning Commission
Feb. 4, 2026
Feb. 11, 2026
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Town of Putnam
Planning & Zoning Commission
Legal Notice
The Town of Putnam Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a hybrid meeting on February 18, 2026, at 7:00 P. M. in Room 201 at the Putnam Municipal Complex, located at 200 School Street, Putnam, CT. Public hearings will take place on each of the following:
Docket # 2026-01 Fadai Gumah request for a Special Permit for a wholesale distribution facility for vaping products and related accessories. No retail sales, no onsite customer visits and no consumption of the products on the premises. The facility will be used solely for storage, order fulfillment and business to business distribution Property located at 245 Kennedy Drive, Assessors Map 011, Lot 161, Zoned GC.
Docket # 2026-02 Daniel Garcia de Matos request for a customary home occupation permit for a small, limited home-based window tinting activity from his garage. He currently operates his window tint business from a separate, off-site location which is his primary place of business and main source of income. The proposed use of the residential garage would be secondary in nature and intended primarily for instruction and family purposes. Specifically, to teach his son the trade in a controlled small-scale setting. Any work performed at the residence would be by appointment only, with minimal vehicle traffic, no exterior signage, no outdoor storage, and no change to the residential character of the property. Property is located at 73 East Putnam Road, Town Assessors Map 041, Lot 007, Zoned AG-2.
Patricia Hedenberg, Chairperson
Feb. 5, 2026
Feb. 12, 2026
Town of Putnam
Zoning Board of Appeals
Legal Notice
The Town of Putnam Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hybrid meeting on February 17, 2026, at 7:00 P.M. in Room 201 on the second floor at the Putnam Municipal Complex, located at 200 School Street, Putnam, CT. A public hearing will take place on the following:
Appeal # 2026-001 Scott Wojciechowski request for a variance from the required front yard setback of 50’ down to 30’ for the placement of a Klotter Farm Shed measuring 14’ X 28’ to line up with the existing driveway. Property is located at 14 Liberty Highway, Town Assessors Map 046, Lot 035, Zoned R-40.
Appeal # 2026-002 John & Laura Williams request for a variance from the required side yard setback of 20’ down to 6’ at one corner for the construction of a 600 S.F. garage with lean-to to be located off an existing driveway. Property is located at 155 Thompson Avenue, Town Assessors Map 21, Lot 004, Zoned R-40.
Joseph Nash, Chairman
Feb. 5, 2026
Feb. 12, 2026
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Aspinock Memories
Putnam 1895 – Just how cold was it?
By: Terri Pearsall, AHS Curator
To continue this series of what life was like in Putnam in 1895, we will look at more of what was printed. So, let’s get started.
Seeing that this past Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, was predicted to be the coldest weather we have had in many years, an article was written that on Jan. 4, 1895, the coldest weather in 15 years to be on Wednesday morning 20 degrees below in Putnam. Just right for ice cutting. Ice was cut on the Quinebaug River in front of the current bandstand at Rotary Park. Remember that there wasn’t electricity and ice was very important for preserving food in the summer.
According to the 1895 Putnam Patriot Newspaper, this is what I found out about medical technology of the time. In January 1895, The Day Kimball Hospital chose a Matron, Mrs. E.C. Cummings. She entered her duties on the first of next month (February). At this time there was no permanent hospital. Interestingly enough on March 1, 1895, an article was written concerning the first death at Day Kimball (the old building) took place Sunday evening. Jack Finnemore, 31 years old, was attacked with pneumonia and was taken to the hospital by his employer, Ranson Bradley, for whom he drove a meat cart. He was buried on Wednesday.
March 6, 1895, it was reported that The Roentgen Rays (our current x-ray machines) were being used to good account in surgery. In N.Y. a bullet which had been lodged in the bones of a man’s hand was traced in this way, and a needle embedded in the ankle of a young lady. We may expect soon to have some of our physicians doing experiments with the Rays in Putnam.
It was also reported in the Patriot that on November 8, 1895, preparations were made for the dedication of the new hospital on Pomfret Street Hill. And on November 15, 1895, Day Kimball Hospital’s first building was dedicated with great honor to the town of Putnam. Nearly the whole front page of the Putnam Patriot was given over to this great accomplishment.
The town also had dentists and a new dentist moved into town. I love the wording of this announcement: December 15, 1896, Dr. L. A. Tetreault, Dentist, who is a capable gentleman, recently settled in this city. He is favored by French Canadians, his own nationality, more particularly. Putnam has a fine class of men in this art. We have many dentists in town now; do you know the nationality of your dentist? Do you care? And hopefully they are all a fine class of men and capable gentlemen!
The editor of the Patriot wrote about the churches in Putnam. He said, “Our churches are a motivating force within the community”. Their news and meetings filled the newspaper and are too numerous to cover all of them, but a couple are interesting and quite amusing. On January 18, 1895, it was reported that free or rented pews were being debated in some churches; The Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist Churches have adopted the free pew plan. And on August 16, 1895, this was in the paper: “A hungry fly in a poorly ventilated church on a dog day Sunday will make a bald-headed man keep awake during the dryest sermon.” I chuckled at that one and personally like the idea of free pews.
A section of the paper was under the heading “Something New in the City”. The bicycle! On May 16, 1895, the use of the bicycle is not only increasing greatly but spreading rapidly. Whole villages turn out to see the “Foot Carriage”. Some are much astonished at the speed of the machine while others think it ought to go much faster. June 28, 1895, Grove St. seems to have fallen victim to the bicycle epidemic, and every evening wheels are seen congregating by the park. The ladies too, have become enthusiastic over this pastime, and appear in latest “Dress Reform” costume. (bicycle epidemic, congregating by the park and latest “dress reform” costume, some things never change!) July 19, 1895, and I quote directly the way it is written; Putnam numbers its bicycles by the hundreds, and all seem to use more of the early morning air than the rest of the young people. Another thing we notice it that the young ladies maintain a more natural position on their wheels than the younger men. One lady, a married one too, rides in the same position she would have in walking in the park, in the fashionable quarter of the city. What the ladies can do, men can do and what one can do all can do. There should be a prize contest for the most graceful bicycle rider. This would have the effect of improving all who use the bicycle.
I really didn’t make this stuff up. It is amusing to read and even more fun to let you in on it. I will try to finish up next week about businesses in town, crime and the police department.
Everything quoted in this article was taken from the archives of the Aspinock Historical Society archives. Aspinock Memories graces the pages of the Putnam Town Crier to keep Putnam’s history alive.
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