Finnish-American Market - Walktober 2019

Finnish-American Hall, Canterbury, CT

 My friend, Linda, and I headed to Canterbury on October 5th for the Finnish-American Market Walktober 2019 event. Later this month we will be attending a lecture on Finnish-American culture through Adventures in Lifelong Learning (ALL), at Three Rivers College. Presenter Anita Smiley will discuss Finnish immigration and the Finnish-American community she grew up in. So, we thought a trip to this market would be a good tie-in to the upcoming lecture.

Sisu Finn Soaps from Voluntown, CT

Of course, when you are at a market, you have to spend a little money. So, I made a beeline to the display of artisan goat milk soaps. The aroma was wonderful and I finally settled on a bar of Blood Orange which has a refreshing tropical scent. You can reach Sisu Finn Soaps at sisufinnsoaps@gmail.com

Ron Angotta - AWL Woods Design

We had a wonderful time talking with Ron Angotta who is passionate about his wood box designs. It was a tough decision, but Linda finally settled on one made with Leopardwood and a dragon fly handle. Ron uses many different varieties of both native and exotic woods.

Birch bark braiding

We also saw ornaments and baskets made by braiding birch bark, and some beautiful handwoven scarves.

Handwoven scarves

Homemade jams

 I bought some Lingonberry-apple jam from this couple. Lingonberries are popular in Scandinavian and Nordic countries where they are typically grown.

Scott Weeks - Hickory Forge

In the basement kitchen, a lunch was being served consisting of meatballs, gravy, mashed potatoes and peas. Outside it looked like a tag sale area, except that Scott Weeks from Hickory Forge in Norwich, CT was set up to do a blacksmithing demonstration.

Booths were set up both indoors and outside

Also outside was a display of Finnish-American brochures. I picked up a news bulletin from the Finnish-American Heritage Society and learned they have many gatherings focusing on Finnish food, musical instruments, crafts, and traditions. I also picked up a study guide for the Kalevala, a Finnish Epic first published in 1835, which led the way to acceptance of Finnish as the official language of Finland rather than that of occupier languages of Swedish and Russian. The Kalevala contains ancient poems of myths and rituals going back to 500 B.C. It is a source of great pride and considered a national treasure.

My final takeaway from this day trip is a Finnish word - Sisu. Sisu is an important part of Finnish culture having to do with a stoic determination to go beyond one's physical or mental capacities. It is the national character trait of stick-to-it-ivness. Taking action against the odds, with extraordinary determination, is what helps all people see and reach beyond their present-day limitations.

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The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.

Norwich's Heritage Trail - Walktober 2019

Town Historian, Dale Plummer led the walk

I'm really enjoying the Walktober events. On Sunday, September 29th I participated in the Norwich Heritage Trail Walk. The tour began at Christ Episcopal Church on Washington St.

Christ Episcopal Church

The Heritage trail follows a mix of paved riverside paths, old neighborhoods of middle class and mill worker's housing, busy town streets with the grand homes of mill owners,  Native American burial grounds, and a waterfall!

Dr. Cassidy's house was built in a mix of styles

In addition to being an important doctor in the Norwich community, Dr. Cassidy played an important role in building the community's first Catholic Church. Sadly, his once grand home and office has fallen into disrepair.

Across the street is a counterpoint to Dr. Cassidy's house

Paved path along the Yantic River

The East Branch of the Yantic River

The Yantic River begins in Lebanon, CT.  It continues on to Norwich where it joins the Shetucket River to form the Thames River. In this area of Norwich, there are two branches of the Yantic (east and west) which were formed when garbage from ship building and unloading cargo ships was thrown into the river, eventually forming a long island which today houses the city's sewage treatment plant.

That long pipe in the background is the longest free standing stainless steel pipe in the U.S.

In addition to being home to Benedict Arnold, Norwich's other claim to fame is having the longest free-standing stainless steel pipe in the U.S. It carries sewage over to the treatment plant built on an island of garbage, and then spills into the Thames River. Yuck! Anyway, you can see the pipe along the Heritage trail.

Tyler Ave. a middle class neighborhood on the Heritage trail

Along the way Dale told us about another of Norwich's claims to fame. President pro tempore of the Senate, Lafayette S. Foster, of Norwich, would have been president of the United States if the conspiracy to assassinate both Lincoln and his vice president had succeeded. Because the plot failed, today most of us  know only about Booth assassinating Lincoln in a theater, and Andrew Jackson becoming president. Foster then became acting vice president.

Along some sections of the trail you can catch a glimpse of the Yantic River.

This long wall tells us someone with money lived in a mansion on the land above...

while these small foundations show us where the families of textile mill workers lived

...and there's that sewage pipe again!

Not only is that more of the mill owner's stone wall, that is also more of the sewage pipe sticking up out of the ground

This former textile mill is now condo units

Just down river from Yantic Falls is an old textile mill. Water from the river was diverted to provide power to the mill and down river from that the water often varied in color depending on which dye they were using that day. Pollution is not a new thing.

Remnants of an old mill

View of the gorge and park at Yantic Falls

Yantic Falls also known as "Indian Leap"

I've seen a lot more water coming over these falls in past years. The lack of rainfall in 2019 really shows here. However, when the paper and cotton mills were running, people saw barely a trickle fall over the dam, because the water was diverted to flow through the mill, providing power. The footbridge above led to mill housing across the river. The footbridge is still open to the public today. Behind that is the freight railway that transported goods (and passengers) from Norwich Harbor to Worcester, MA. Later the railway extended north to  Boston and then Canada.

One more view

No one could survive a leap across this gorge

The history of Yantic Falls aka "Indian Leap" (to their death) - Interesting history

More mill housing

While walking along the Sachem St. section of the Heritage Trail, we learned that in 1872 Louise Comfort Tiffany married Mary Woodbridge Goddard of Norwich. Then we stopped at a monument for Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegan tribe. Supposedly Uncas is buried here, but according to our historian, the Mohegans say he is not buried there. They know where he is buried, but they aren't telling!

Uncas monument

Royal Mohegan Burial Grounds

At the corner of Sachem and Washington streets is the Royal Mohegan Burial Grounds. At one time a Masonic Temple was built on top of this site, but the Mohegan Tribe regained rights to this ancient site and tore the building down, creating this sacred memorial in 2008.

The Carow house on Washington St.

One more Norwich claim to fame - Edith, the daughter of merchant Charles Carow (1825–1883) and Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler (1836–1895), was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt. She served as First Lady from 1901-1909.

Americas on the Wharf

Once back at Christ Episcopal Church, we continued along the Heritage Trail on our own.  Behind the church, a short walk took us along a paved path, under the E. Main St. bridge and back to where we had parked at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park. The park is located across the east branch of the Yantic River from the troubled Americas on the Wharf in Chelsea Harbor.

It was a nice day for a walk and fun to be part of a group interested in Norwich history. Check out the Walktober events calendar here!

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The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.

Norwich Freedom Trail - Walktober 2019

Norwich Historical Society Director, Regan Minor, lead the walk

 Sunday September 22nd was the Walktober 2019 Event - Norwich's Freedom Trail. Today's tour focused on the Jail Hill section of the Freedom Trail, a 1 mile trek with steep hills and an informative talk about notable African-Americans who played a role in freedom from slavery.

Freedom Bell in the David Ruggles Freedom Courtyard, in front of Norwich City Hall

 David Ruggles (1810-1849) was an abolitionist born to free black parents in Norwich, CT. In addition to being an accomplished journalist, contributer to abolitionist newspapers, editor of The Mirror of Liberty (the first black owned periodical), and owner of a New York bookstore and reading room in 1834, Ruggles also claimed to have helped 600 people escape slavery in his role as "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. 

Memorial plaque to David Ruggles (1810-1849)

The Emancipation Proclamation

Presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, stopped in Norwich in 1860. He spoke at City Hall and visited the Wauregan House (c.1855), one of the finest inns of the day located between Boston and New York. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation  proclaiming, "that all persons held as slaves...are, and henceforward shall be free."

Norwich City Hall, Connecticut (c.1870-1873)

 Before leaving the courtyard, we learned that contrary to most New Englander's belief that slavery never existed in the North, Connecticut slavery was common following the Pequot War (1636-1637). Captured Native Americans were forced into slavery by the colonists, and later in the 1700's were exchanged for African slaves. Slavery was especially common in seaport towns such as Norwich and New London. Slaves could purchase their freedom, or owners could set them free. In 1774, importation of slaves was banned, but by then Connecticut already had the largest slave population in New England. Norwich's black population at that time was 234 out of 7,327 residents, approximately 3%.

Our first uphill hike was straight ahead onto Church St.

The Guy and Sarah Drock House (c.1759)

Sarah Powers purchased her husband's freedom from Captain Benejah Bushnell in 1759. Her payment was two years work as a servant and an unspecified amount of money. Guy Drock worked as a blacksmith in a shop he and Sarah purchased across the street from Bushnell's widow, Zerviah. They also purchased this home on Church St.

Le Famille De L Eglise Dieu (Former Second Congregational Church) (c. 1844)

The Second Congregational Church, originally founded in 1760, provided a place for African Americans to learn to read and study religion. Members of the church lead the local anti-slavery movement. An angry mob arrived in July 1834 to disrupt their meeting at the church. These types of attacks were common in the 1830's throughout CT.

Lottie B. Scott House (c. 1891)

Lottie Scott has lived in Norwich since 1957. She is a leading advocate for civil rights, has served on several city commissions and supports many local non-profits. She received the Willard M. McRae Community Diversity Award and a Writer's Block Ink Humanitarian ACE Award in 2017. In 2018 she published Deep South- Deep North: A Family's Journey, her memoir of racism and poverty.

Our next hill was a bit steeper - Court St., so named because the court house once stood here. Fortunately it is a short hill!

The views of Norwich's Chelsea Harbor are spectacular from this neighborhood

The James Lindsey Smith House (c. 1843)

James Lindsey Smith escaped slavery in Virginia via the underground railroad. He later settled in Norwich and established a business as shoemaker. He published his memoir of hardship and cruelty in slavery in 1881.

After an uphill walk on School St., we pause for another photo of the Harbor, also know as the Thames River Estuary, where the Shetucket and Yantic Rivers join to become the Thames River. 

Our last uphill climb takes us up Cedar St.

This is the site of the former  1838 New London County Jail. It's location is the reason this section of town was referred to as Jail Hill.

The location of a jail in this hilly section of town is what lends it the name "Jail Hill." Because there was a jail in this area, property values were low making it affordable for poor and working-class African-Americans of that era. By the 1840's The population began to change. As Ireland's potato famine drove many Irish to immigrate to America, many northern African-Americans were moving south to open schools, support suffrage, and assist newly freed slaves after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

The Charles E. Harris House (c.1836)

Charles Harris was a subscription agent agent for the abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator. Harris introduced Prudence Crandall to Sarah Ann Major Harris, who convinced Crandall to allow her to attend her all white school. Prudence Crandall's school in Canterbury, CT has a rich history of its own. Click here for more info.

From here it was all downhill as we retraced our steps.

The Former Norwich Female Academy (c.1828)

Ninety students attended the Norwich Female Academy founded in 1828. Unfortunately it closed shortly after the jail was built on nearby Cedar St. in 1833.

Norwich's African-American Heritage plaque, on Church St., provides a brief history of slavery and freedom in CT,  as well as the connection to the Underground Railroad

Today the Jail Hill section is in various states of repair but continues to take pride in its history. The neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

See books by Laura S. Pringle on Amazon

The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides. 

 ©2019 Laura S. Pringle. All Rights Reserved.