Politics Get Local

Update at 1:10pm:  My apologies for leaving out the 13th State Senate District candidates.


Former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill coined the phrase, "all politics is local," referring to the connection between a politician's grasp of the issues and concerns of his or her constituents and said politician's success in office.  A diligent citizen could voice an opinion by calling each of the candidates, writing a letter or email, or even attending a campaign event.  But why not let the candidates come to you?

The Westfield Residents Association (WRA) is delighted to sponsor a Meet The Candidates Night this Monday, October 22nd, at 7:30pm at the Third Congregational Church on Miner Street.  Middletown voters will be casting ballots for a representative in the State House and Senate as well as a representative for the U.S. House and Senate.  Additionally, voters will decide on a $37M bond referendum to pay for construction costs associated with joining the Mattabesset regional sewer plant.

Everyone is welcome to attend: this is not a debate and there will be refreshments and Q&A time to allow you to present your concerns to your elected representatives and their challengers.  The following candidates have confirmed their attendance:

State House, 33rd       State Senate, 9th        State House, 100th               U.S. House, 3rd  
Joseph Serra (D)         Paul Doyle (D)          Matthew Lesser (D)             Rosa DeLauro (D) 
Callie Grippo (R)        Joe Dinunzio (R)       Deborah Kleckowski (R)    Wayne Winsley (R)

State Senate, 13th
Len Suzio (R)
Dante Bartolomeo (D)

Mayor Drew will also be present to speak on the bond referendum for the Mattabassett regionalization project as well as the $4.8M for the renovation of Eckersley Hall into a Senior Center.

There will be a brief WRA business meeting at 7pm to elect a new slate of officers for the WRA Executive Committee, and then Candidate introductions will begin at 7:30pm.

The Third Congregational Church is located at 94 Miner Street in Middletown, just down from the Fire Station on the corner of Miner Street and East Street (or 217).  The meeting will be held in the Fellowship Hall located next to the church.

720 Quarts of Strawberries, YUM!

The Third Congregational Church Ladies Aid Society once again served up the best strawberry shortcake in all of Middletown this year, at their annual Strawberry Festival.

They made 1300 biscuits from scratch, covered them with 720 quarts of local strawberries (from Pell Farms in Somers), and topped it all off with 125 quarts of cream, whipped. They were served quickly and graciously by volunteers.

Some of those volunteers have been doing it for many years. June Godburn reminisced about working in the Ladies Aid events 60 years ago. She said that starting in 6th grade, they would come down to the church from the Westfield School, at the site of the current fire station, and help serve meals. In those days, the annual event was a full ham supper; Lorraine Andrews (pictured) told me it was "just too much food", and they started just serving the traditional dessert.

It remains as popular and delicious as ever.

Third Congregational Church Community Open House on Sunday

The Third Congregational Church is on Miner Street, one block west of the Westfield Fire Station on East Street. Their community open house, BBQ and Fun Fair is from 11 to 3 on Sunday, September 12.

Strawberry Festival at Third Congregational Church on Thursday

Berries and Biscuits and Cream, YUMM!

The Ladies Aid Strawberry Festival was a huge success this year. Eager customers streamed through the doors of the 3rd Congregational Church to either eat in or take away delicious strawberry shortcake. About 40 minutes before the scheduled ending, Bob and Lisa Santangelo took the very last shortcake, made with some broken biscuits and nearly the last of the whipped cream.

The Ladies Aid has been holding the festival in Westfield for a hundred years. This year the ladies made 1450 biscuits, and topped them with 800 quarts of strawberries and 35 gallons of freshly whipped heavy cream. They made a lot of people very happy.

Strawberry Shortcake Festival Thursday

Every year, the second Thursday in June brings Middletown's greatest early summer gustatory bliss (just my opinion), in the form of the Third Congregational Church's Strawberry Shortcake Festival, in Westfield.

Strawberry Shortcake!
June 11th
11AM until they're all eaten (about 4PM)
Third Congregational Church, 94 Miner Street

This Festival is one of my family's most treasured events all year long. The church serves enormous mounds of biscuit, strawberries, and real whipped cream. A large plate costs $6.50 and a small one $4.50 (large really does mean LARGE, beware).

One of the ladies who always helps with the preparation and serving, Arline Rich, told me that everything is always from scratch with these shortcakes. She said that they have been baking all day Wednesday in preparation, and will be whipping real cream all day tomorrow to serve with the strawberries.

It has been a fantastic year for growing strawberries in Connecticut, with lots of sun and just the right amount of rain. As a result, all of the berries are from Wallingford this year. This promises to be one of the best Strawberry Shortcakes you can get anywhere.

Tag & bake sale in Westfield