Hometown Heroes
Wilson: Civil War vet, then Putnam postmaster
By Michael Rocchetti
Perry Potter Wilson (1840-1899) was a Union Army soldier and a disabled Civil War veteran who lost his right leg above the knee after being severely wounded in action on June 22, 1864, at the Battle of Culps Farm near Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.
He enlisted in the Army on June 27, 1861, and mustered in as a Corporal. He was assigned to Company H, 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Between 1862 and 1863 he fought in numerous battles in Virginia at Winchester, Hudson’s Corner, Cedar Mountain, Chantilly, Chancellorsville, and at Gettysburg, Penn. In the summer of 1864 his unit was reassigned to the western theater under the Command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. He fought in a series of battles as part of the Atlanta Campaign - until the time he was wounded.
He moved through the ranks quickly, being promoted to Sergeant on Feb. 20, 1862, 1st Sergeant on April 2, 1863, 2nd Lieutenant on Oct.16, 1863, and to 1st LT on Nov. 17, 1864. After being wounded, he was medically discharged on Dec. 22, 1864.
President Grant appointed him postmaster of Putnam in 1869, and he held the office till 1886. He was employed a number of years in the adjutant general’s office, compiling records of Connecticut volunteers in the various wars. In 1890 he was appointed a United States Storekeeper, Internal Revenue department. He was an ardent Republican and was honored by his party with various offices. He organized the first Grand Army of the Republic Post in Putnam in 1869 and was its first commander. He was also active in the 5th Regiment Veterans organization.
He was born in Thompson, Feb. 22, 1840, the son of Omer Wilson (1810-1897) and Hannah Wilson (1814-1851). He had two brothers. In 1864 he married Mary Emily Paine (1847-1928) of Woodstock. They had 5 children.
He died Sunday morning July 23, 1899 (age 59) of dropsy (edema) and catarrh (build up of mucus) of the stomach. He is buried at the Grove Street Cemetery in Putnam.
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.
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Legal Notice
Town of Pomfret
Inland Wetlands and
Watercourses Commission
At the September 3, 2025 meeting of the Inland Wetland and Watercourses Commission, the following application(s) was acted upon:
1. John Tracy for 463 Mashamoquet Road, application for stream remediation.
APPROVED: with conditions.
Dated this 8th day
of September 2025
Town of Pomfret
Lynn L. Krajewski,
Clerk
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
Sept. 10, 2025
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A community’s passion for helping
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Mr. Rogers always advised kids, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
In the Quiet Corner, those kids wouldn’t have to look far. The community’s passion for helping was evident during the recent Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse Food Share.
Organizer Bruce Hay said more than 70 volunteers came to help Sept. 4. “This community is great – they show up and help,” he said.
“There are all kinds of people here to help out.”
Those in need were given boxes of food as they drove through the Food Share at the Farmers Market Pavilion. The line stretched down to the Rawson facility further down Kennedy Drive.
Officials said the car count was 310, a record.
Hay and his volunteers are hard at work the first week of every month, in preparation, picking up donated boxes and pallets of food and drinks. Trucks arrive from the Connecticut Food Share and Midwest with pallets of food early the day of the Food Share.
Hay said he never knows what will be in the trucks. They are unloaded and then Hay quickly organizes box packing. Last week there were hundreds of boxes going out on one side of the pavilion and chips, drinks, frozen foods, breads, and more going out from the other side. One hairpin turn around the end of the pavilion netted each car quite a bit of food.
When the trucks were unloaded this time, Hay said there were 17 different types of items to be organized.
He set up a production line with volunteers filling the boxes, plus.
Fred Ruhlemann, president of the coffeehouse, said Hay is “dedicated and precise.”
Ruhlemann recounted a story about a first-time volunteer who helped load cars. Out of the 200 cars the volunteer helped, at least 80 thanked the volunteer.
The Food Share started during Covid-19 and is still growing.
Ruhlemann called the Food Share “good for the soul.”
When the Food Share was finished much of any remaining food seamlessly went to veterans’ organizations, the Putnam Elks, St. Joseph’s in N. Grosvenordale and Brooklyn Cares and more.
Those who were in need of food went home with food and those who volunteered went home a bit tired but with a warmed heart.
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caption, page 1:
Volunteers
More than 70 volunteers helped distribute food at the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse Food Share last week. Expanded photo array Wed. night on our FB page. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photo.
captions, page 4:
In a couple hours all these boxes of food were distributed.
Making it possible: From left Putnam Elks' Jim Eccleston, organizer Bruce Hay, Scott Zahner from Midwest Food Bank and coffeehouse president Fred Ruhlemann.
Nikki's Dog House always brings food for the volunteers.
Roundup
Centaurs win
2 on the road
but fall at home
The Woodstock Academy girls’ volleyball team has found a home for the time being in the South Campus gym. But until the weather cools, be prepared for a little heat.
The Centaurs battled Coventry on a warm and humid last week.
“Those who came probably lost about 10 pounds,” coach Adam Bottone said. “Every play, we had to stop and wipe the floor.”
But aside from that, and a 3-1 loss to the Patriots, Bottone said things were not all that bad.
The Patriots took the first set, 25-21, but the Centaurs rallied with a 25-22 win in the second.
Coventry captured the victory by taking the last two sets, 25-20 and 25-14.
Setter Lily Morgis had 29 assists and was also effective from behind the service line with 17 points including seven aces. Libero Gianna Musumeci had 24 digs while Vivian Bibeau led the offense with 14 kills.
The Centaurs had come into the match with a pair of victories on the road.
They opened with a 3-0 win over Fitch in Groton in the ECC Div. I opener for both.
Kennedy McCooey led the Centaurs offense with 13 kills while Kaylee Bundy added 10 and Morgis helped them with 28 assists. Musumeci was the defensive stalwart with 13 digs and Bibeau had 10 points from behind the service line.
Woodstock followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Montville later in the week.
Bundy was impressive on the front line with 18 kills and 12 digs while Bibeau produced from behind the service line with 24 points and five aces.
The Centaurs jumped out in front with a 25-23 first set win but lost their first set of the season when the Wolves posted a 25-22 second set victory.
Woodstock finished things off with 25-17 and 25-16 victories in the last two sets.
McCooey tossed in 10 kills for the Centaurs and everyone up front got help Morgis who finished with 34 assists.
Girls’ Soccer
A matchup with Stonington is never easy. Especially in the season opener.
“It definitely sets the tone for the season,” said coach Andrea Danforth. “It showed the girls the level that we must be at and the level of play we will go against and the physicality.”
Thus, a scoreless tie was more than an acceptable outcome and it’s what the two teams battled to as they opened the season last week.
Even that was not easy as the Bears dominated play for the most part.
“They held possession for the majority of the game but we held strong defensively. They had a lot of opportunities at the end and we held strong, didn’t let anything go in. (Joalie) Ellary (Sampson) has some phenomenal saves. Our defense remained strong, got the ball out. It’s something to learn from,” Danforth said. Sampson finished with 12 saves.
The Centaurs had a chance of their own when sophomore Tegenech Anderson was knocked to the ground as she crossed with the ball into the penalty area by Stonington keeper Payton Stone which produced a penalty kick for the Centaurs.
Stone, however, made up for the faux pas as she stopped the ensuing kick to preserve the shutout.
The Centaurs had to accept a similar outcome on Saturday.
They traveled to Waterford for another ECC Div. I match and finished in a scoreless tie with the Lancers.
Sampson was again strong in net where she delivered seven saves. The Centaurs took 10 shots but were unable to find the back of the net.
Of course, not being able to put the ball into the net again produced the question of where the offense will come from.
The Centaurs saw the majority of their goals leave with their diplomas in June.
Boys' Soccer
Getting two goals in the first three minutes of a soccer match is certainly a blessing. But, sometimes, it’s tough to maintain the momentum.
The boys’ soccer team scored two goals in the first three minutes and rode those to a 2-0 win over Ellis Tech Wednesday to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The first goal came off a set play as the Centaurs were awarded a corner kick in the first 30 seconds.
Nate Faucher went over to take the kick and he found Brayden De Oliveira in the middle. The junior forward kicked it up in the air, saw it hit the crossbar and take a favorable bounce over the goal line.
“That was kind of organic. It happened in practice and we decided we were going to add it to some things that we’ve been doing and it worked out well,” said coach Dave St. Jean.
Just a couple of minutes later, Johndrow got his first goal of the season off an assist from senior Zach Armbruster.
The Centaurs knocked off Windham in their opener on Tuesday, 3-1.
Pedro DaSilva scored in the first half and both Tyler Odorski and De Oliveira added second half tallies to lead the Centaurs. Armbruster had two assists and Johndrow assisted on the other goal.
It meant the Centaurs forced the Whippets into turnovers, won a lot of loose balls and produced some good opportunities.
St. Jean said the Centaurs still have work to do. He wants the team to work on its spacing as it has a tendency to bunch.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
IMG 2615 – Kaitlyn Teal (1) and Tegegnech Anderson look to move the ball up the field against Stonington at the Bentley Athletic Complex last week. The two teams finished in a scoreless tie.
IMG 2638 – Woodstock Academy senior Campbell Favreau (9) battles Stonington’s Raegan Palmer for the ball in a match between the two teams last week at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
IMG 2593 – Pedro DaSilva (23) and Spencer Mayo (12) try to free the ball from a pair of Ellis Tech defenders in a match between the two teams last week at the Bentley Athletic Complex. The Centaurs won the contest, 2-0.
IMG 2585: Abraham McGregor (No. 20, right) sprints across the field in a race to a loose ball in front of the Ellis Tech net. The Centaurs prevailed in the match between the two local rivals, 2-0.
photos by Marc Allard, Woodstock Academy
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