The Keating Wheel Legacy

Photo Courtesy of Bill Flood

The following commentary was originally posted by R. Keating as a comment on an Eye article about a recent tour of the City's business incubator building on Johnson Street. The building is commonly known as the Remington Rand building, because the Remington Rand Typewriter Company was the last occupant of the building before it became vacant. R Keating writes that calling it the Remington Rand building diminishes the great historic significance of the building and that the name of the building should more correctly reflect the legacy and history of the Keating Wheel Company which operated out of the building. 


Middletown's history and the history of that remarkable historical asset on Johnson street is not about typewriters. It's about 19th century industrial innovation in America. Specifically, it's all about the pioneering efforts that forever changed the nation's transportation history. No exaggeration. Middletown owns that distinction and should celebrate it. With some creative thinking and planning (what Keating would have called "Yankee Ingenuity"), that distinction might also be branded to attract interests (and dollars) towards historic preservation, tourism and economic development.


Keating's 1901 motorcycle puttered down Main Street in Middletown the same time that Oscar Hedstrom was working out the kinks of his own machine -- the prototype that would become the Indian [motorcycle]. At the time, Middletown was the undisputed Motor City when it came to the American motorcycle. Keating's machine went to market months before Hedstrom's prototype and became popular enough to force Hedstrom and George Hendee of Indian fame to "borrow" key features to make their product competitive. As Gary noted, Harley and Davidson would later borrow the same components. 

Keating was also one of the nation's earliest commercial automobile manufacturers -- both electric and gasoline powered. The historic parade that celebrated Middletown's 250th birthday, held in October of 1900, included four Keating Company vehicles -- including a motorized runabout. It would be another year before Henry Ford started building his historic machines. (R.M.Keating family lore has it that Keating spent some time with Ford, helping him with factory design and assembly line production such as that already occurring in Middletown.) The factory then went on to host the Eisenhuth Compound automobile, one of the most innovative machines of the "brass era." Indeed, Middletown was one of the few American cities in the nation that was actively engaged in building automobiles. In CT, Middletown was second only to Hartford's Pope Company which was arguably the biggest in the nation at the time.


Editor's notes: 
Readers, what do you think? Do you agree that the name Keating should be reflected in the building name? Please submit a comment!

Beth Emery wrote about the name of this building nearly four years ago in this Eye commentary:

Editorial: Clearing up a name while cleaning up at the Keating Wheel factory; AKA: Remington Rand!

The Keating Wheel Company - where is it now?

http://www.keatingwheelcompany.com/aboutus.php

New Officers Elected to Conservation Commission

On Tuesday night there was a regular meeting of the Conservation Commission, and Ellen Lukens and Joan Liska were elected as the new Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively.

Outgoing Chair Jane Brawerman offered her thanks to all the Commission members for their support over the years that she and Sheila Stoane served together to lead the Conservation Commission. Both Jane and Sheila look forward to continuing to work as members to ensure that the City's conservation interests are effectively represented and considered in land use planning and development; that our special natural resources are protected for future generations; and that our environment is healthy for all of our residents, human and otherwise.

Out and About in Middletown

During a leisurely afternoon out and about, Madam Nirvana (another Eye writer) and I had lunch at Tandoor Indian on Main Street, always a quick and delicious go-to lunch for me, as well as reasonably priced. We couldn't check out the new Frozen Yogurt place after our meal, because several blocks of Main Street were closed due to a gas leak. The Patch website is reporting that the gas leak occurred in Ramani's Clothiers. When we walked by, the police officer stationed at the intersection of College Street was diligently manning his post and prevented us from walking inside the cordoned off area. (Yes, being dedicated volunteer reporters, we are people who will sometimes gladly walk under some caution tape and go find out what's happening).  The officer said that the incident would likely be cleared in 30 minutes or so. Incidentally, Ramani's is going out of business and was having an excellent sale the last time I walked past. 

On our way back to our neighborhood, we walked through McCarthy Park, where the basketball courts have had nonstop action the entire summer. The large groups seem to be dwindling since all the kids went back to school, but today there was a small group of diehards still playing. The field was in use with a football game going on, and four kids were playing on the swings.  On our way out of the park and back up to High Street, we noticed what looked like a mini-Occupy protest (Occupy Middletown?). But as you might have guessed, this backyard was not the site of the latest uprising, it was just a group of friends airing out their camping tents.

What have you seen when out and about in Middletown? 
Send us your photos or stories - middletowneye@gmail.com

Varissa Kohl wins pageant title

Middletown resident Varissa Kohl and her family were spotted frolicking at Spear park on Main Street at the corner of William Street. Varissa was reveling in her recent win of the 2012 National American Miss Juinor Pre Teen Miss Connecticut. Winning the title gave her automatic entry to the national competition which is held every year in Anaheim California. For the Kohl's, that's exciting, but expensive. They'd like to go together as a family and make a fun trip out of it. So to help make that happen, they are having a fundraiser on September 23^rd from 1pm to 6pm at the Westfield Fire Department. There will be food there from many different restaurants.

Last fall, the Middletown Press wrote a profile of Varissa in which her mom talks about the difference between the glitz pageants and the natural pageants, and her preference for the latter. It can be read here.

Here is a mini-interview that I did on the spot. The Spear Park fountain is the roaring background noise. 

Public Service Announcement from Guy Russo, Water and Sewer Department

SOLICITATION OF WATER LINE PROTECTION PROGRAM

BY AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES

The City of Middletown Water and Sewer Department has recently been made aware of a solicitation mailing by American Water Resources for homeowners to obtain a protection plan for repairing broken water lines on their property. Many Water & Sewer customers have been contacting the Department believing these solicitations were coming from the Water & Sewer Department. The Water and Sewer Department would like customers to understand that this is an independent direct marketing effort, and the Middletown Water and Sewer Department does not recommend, or endorse, this or any other such product for homeowner pipe protection.

A check with the Secretary of State indicates the business is licensed with the State of Connecticut to provide this coverage, since 2004. The Department urges customers to compare shop any such offer.  Homeowners are responsible for only the water lines and sewer lines that run directly from the main lines to their house, these pipes are referred to as laterals. While these laterals are subject to failure from normal wear and tear it is usually the result of an actual incident that will cause the pipe to rupture.

As with any and all decisions to purchase insurance or similar products, or retaining contractors, please exercise caution, get references, and always get more than one quote. If you have any questions, as always please contact the Water and Sewer Department at 860-343-8085.   

Presenting the Genealogy of Middletown’s Mayor

How does this 1885 Italian record relate to the Mayor of Middletown?

Presenting the Genealogy of Middletown’s Mayor

This picture is one of many documents that Mayor Daniel Drew will see when he attends a presentation about his family history on July 25 at the Godfrey Memorial Library.  Anyone interested in learning about the mayor's genealogy is welcome to come!

            Expert volunteer genealogists from the Godfrey Memorial Library spent more than 40 hours researching Mayor Drew’s genealogy.  In charge of researching Italian records was Barbara Prymas, whose search took her through a variety of documents.  Two beautiful handwritten finds were a marriage record for his great-great grandparents’ marriage and his great-great-great grandfather’s death record, both from the 1880s.     

            Much of this research was done using the Godfrey Library’s impressive collection of genealogical resources.  Founded in 1947 by senior Wesleyan librarian A. Fremont Rider, the Godfrey Library has had over sixty years to amass a massive collection of historical and genealogical materials.  The bulk of the works are concerned with the history of New England Families.  Patrons can browse the library’s collection themselves or request a search to be done by an experienced genealogist for a small fee.  Anyone can subscribe to the library’s digital database, the recently revamped Godfrey Scholar+ program, to access valuable genealogical resources through their computer.

            On July 25 staff at the Godfrey Library will be presenting their findings to Mayor Drew.  You can be here too and learn about Mayor Drew’s genealogy!  Members of the public are welcome to attend the presentation, which will take place at 9:00 AM in the Godfrey Library, located at 134 Newfield Street, Middletown.

Harmonies Happening Now

It's not too late to jog on down to The Buttonwood Tree - there's plenty of parking half a block away at It's Only Natural's lot. Show in progress has Brianne Chassanoff at the piano with a guests accompanying her on vocals and viola. Next up after Brianne is Bella Voce from New Haven Academy of Music - we caught them warming up before the show - take a lookat the video below. Of course, if you're reading this too late, you can always check out the next great show a The Buttonwood Tree. The calendar is online at www.buttonwood.org/events

Click here to watch video in YouTube

Sunburst Lady

Seen in Middletown.....

READER OPINION: Chris Bourne's run for office

The below letter is OPINION / COMMENTARY that was written and submitted by CHRISTINE O'GRADY and represents only the views and opinions of Ms. O'Grady.

I have been a life-long resident of Middletown and although I am not part of the political framework in town, I do consider myself an active civic participant. I always vote, read the papers and try and listen with an open mind. So, I was perplexed to hear Chris Bourne wanted to be Mayor. I am curious about her plans for our fine city and what she would do different from the current Mayor. I am hoping this letter will prompt Ms. Bourne to inform the public of her intention if she were to be elected.

I was aware that Ms. Bourne was the city’s Treasurer for many years and that she lost her party’s endorsement to run for re-election. She then stated that she was considering running for another office. And, apparently after considering her options, decided that she would run for mayor; because she always wanted to be mayor.

Ms. Bourne is running in the Democratic primary but also as an Independent in the general election. This harkens back to Senator Lieberman’s tactics where at all costs you must take care of yourself and personal gain, regardless of you party’s support. It is just messy.

Based on what I have read, I have no idea what Ms. Bourne stands for, other than herself. I understand what Dan Drew stands for and what he wants to do for our City. And, although I don’t always agree with Mayor Giuliano’s decisions, I understand his perspective. Again, I just can’t find any information about what Ms. Bourne supports or opposes.

It appears to me that Ms. Bourne really has no intention of getting elected as Mayor. She simply wants to ruin it for those with whom she feels ire; the Democratic leadership. Shouldn’t her energy be focused on separating herself from the incumbent and not her own party?

Christine O’Grady

The above letter is OPINION / COMMENTARY that was written and submitted by CHRISTINE O'GRADY and represents only the views and opinions of Ms. O'Grady.

Neighborhood Reunion

The below announcement was submitted by Traci Neal, a Middletown native and a former resident of the Middletown Housing Authority neighborhood described below.

A group of former residents of a Middletown Housing Authority neighborhood have reunited on Facebook and are planning a neighborhood reunion. We grew up in the neighborhood known as "The Projects" - Daddario Road, Cubeta Road, Santangelo Circle, McKenna Drive, Long Lane, and a few other streets. There continues to be a bond among the now-grown children and families, who grew up together and looked out for one another. If we didn't have a biological father, we had a few in the neighborhood who served as dads. We were like a huge extended family and continue to be to this day - even generations later. I don't think anyone who grew up there would change it for the world.

Reunion Announcement:

A reunion is planned for current and former residents and friends of The Projects.

Date: August 27^th 2011

Time: 11am – 6pm

Place: Italian American Club, Arbutus Street, Middletown

Tickets are $10, kids free. Burgers & dogs & beer included but bring a dish, drinks, dessert or supplies like cups and plates. Band or DJ is still needed. The reunion is still in the planning stages so if you have any ideas or recommendations, get in touch! For info go to facebook and search "projects reunion middletown ct."

RSVP tracineal@att.net or call Shawn Donovan at 632-2210

Dan Drew To Run For Mayor As Democratic Candidate

Dan Drew, a 29 year old Wesleyan Hills resident, has decided to make a bid in the upcoming mayoral election.

"I'm not new to politics," Drew said in a phone interview today. "But this is my coming out."

Drew worked as a communications consultant for the short-lived mayoral campaign of Common Council member Ron Klattenburg.

"It gives me a leg up," Drew explained. "The strategy we began to work out for Ron will be completely applicable in my campaign. I can tell you this. I plan to get to know the people of Middletown, and to introduce myself by knocking on a lot of doors."

Drew, a grant writer for Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, moved to Middletown 5 years ago with his wife and two children. They are currently expecting a third child.

"I chose Middletown specifically," Drew said. "It's a great community, but we need to work to help people who are worried about taxes, worried about keeping their jobs, worried about raising their families, and worried about the schools their kids will attend. And we need to attract and keep young people and young families here to broaden the tax base.

"I bring a new perspective as a young husband and father," he said.

Asked how he would approach the job in the way the current mayor has not, Drew was philosophical.

"The committees and boards of this town deserve respect," he said. "The Common Council deserves respect for they job they're doing. I would carefully and respectfully work with the council and the other boards. I would pay attention to my leadership role, and think about the diverse constituencies in town I need to represent."

Before his work at Sacred Heart, Drew held positions at the Community Renewal Team, and was a reporter for the Connecticut Post, the Potomac News and while in college he was editor-in-chief of UCONN's Daily Campus. While at UCONN he was involved in what he calls a first-amendent skirmish concerning student-funding for the newspaper that gained him national attention and landed him on the Bill O'Reilly show. The paper ran an ad that some students felt was offensive. They petitioned the university to stop student financial support of the Daily Campus.

"I wasn't defending the ad itself," Drew explained. "I was defending the right of the newspaper to accept ads to support the paper which might say things some students didn't like."

As mayor, Drew said he hopes to use all his experience as a journalist, political consultant and family man to make Middletown a better place.

"I think I have a unique perspective," Drew said. "I think a change is needed in Middletown, but not one that alters the town's character and heritage."

Commentary "Lead us not into Temptation."

a proverb from the Lord's Prayer, left at the door when entering the chambers of the P&Z meeting on Wednesday night?

It is hard to believe that not one person at the meeting standing in favor of the Walgreens at the intersection of Main and East Main Streets dared to question the wisdom, of the developer and the city on the plan as proposed. Where was the concern for our God given Earth and her environment and a consideration of what is best for the planet? Where was the concern for all people of your local community, not just the people of the church? Surely there must be some members of the public who spoke in favor of the proposal who where questioning the wisdom of the plan as presented. Did you dare not speak-up and ask the developer to consider the health and safety of all who would be subject to the changes in traffic patterns, (drive thru, adding more driveways for in and out of traffic, lane change configurations, additional lanes, additional traffic, increased speed of traffic, changing the environment for pedestrians, wheelchair users, and bicyclists) not just the motoring public, for fear the entire plan would be denied? Where is your awareness or concern for environmental justice? (Please see Wikipedia definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_justice ). Where is the concern to provide an environment that is safe and secure for those who chose active transport, or those who might not have any other choice but to use active transport? Does Walgreens or any other pharmacy for that matter—our corporate "purveyors of health"—have policies that involve doing what is best to truly promote good health for ALL Americans. The research literature is clear (please take some time to visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation web site, http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=20112 this is just one of many good sites, thought arguably one of the best sites for lots of specific and general information on the subject), (additional source of good information, from the American Public Health Association web site, titled At the Intersection of Public Health and Transportation: Promoting Healthy Transportation Policy. http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/43F10382-FB68-4112-8C75-49DCB10F8ECF/0/TransportationBrief.pdft )that the built environment and land use patterns are having profound effects on the nations health; does anyone know this, does anyone care? Does anyone care how much this is costing us as a nation in terms of health care spending dollars? Welcome to views of the movie Wall.E World.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/walle/

I am saddened, as well as disappointed that not one person standing in favor of the plan said please, perhaps we should reconsider some aspects of the plan, and acknowledge that our friends on the other side of the aisle have some reasonable points regarding health and safety/injury prevention. This nation is facing an obesity epidemic, with resulting chronic health ramifications. Much of CT, Middletown included, has heads and feet buried in quick-sand, regarding some of the documented ill effects of the built environment and land usage policy as it currently exists, on our nation's, and on our very own local health. This is why I will continue to go to planning and zoning meetings week after to week to speak to this pressing concern, and continue to ask that the city, that the P&Z, that anyone who cares, and can help to effect change, step up to the plate and get serious about getting something done, and setting precedents for what can be expected of developers and ourselves—the future of our city and all who live here—to see that we build the city in a manner that is conducive to,(trees, plantings, benches, pedestrian friendly, family friendly sidewalks, safe accessibility for those traveling by wheelchair, or cane, and bicycle friendly roads, ect.) encourages, promotes and allows for, healthy active behaviors. The other side of the health coin that plays into this plea is reducing our accident, injury and mortality rates, not just in the best interests of motorists, but for all users.

It is not to late. Please reconsider, consider the evidence, and ask the city and developer to take a closer look at what they can do, to do a better job—in building this space, and building place and all future spaces that promote health for the environment, health for the people—for you, for me—and yes, even the health and good will of the corporation.

State legislative happenings; I am forwarding this update that came my way. Contact your representatives to voice your support of these measures.
COMPLETE STREETS
Transportation Committee also has a bill, currently being drafted by a group working with Rep. Tom Kehoe and the Committee Co-Chairs, which will call for comprehensive "Complete Streets" programs. This legislation will do various things to make our transportation system more accommodating towards pedestrians and cyclists, including requiring that the state DOT accommodate users other than drivers on our roads. It's quite long so I won't get into the details here. The number is SB 735 and the initial public hearing most likely will be in a couple of weeks.

In addition to SB 735, there are a number of other proposed bills out there related to traffic calming, traffic safety reporting, speeding issues on highways, crosswalk funding for school construction programs, better pedestrian accommodations around mass transit stops, and so on and so forth. As I understand, it is likely that many of these measures can be incorporated into the Transportation Committee's SB 735 "Complete Streets" bill -- but if you have extra time, don't hesitate to look them up now and thank the people who were involved in proposing each piece of legislation.

News on improvements for City website

This from Michiel Wackers at Middletown City Hall:

Thanks for the input from your Monday July 7, 2008 Middletown Eye piece, "Recruiting Citizen Reporters". I was able to put the helpful critique at the end of the article to use on our department website. I would have commented sooner, but I was in the hospital with double pneumonia.

Improving the entire website has been an on going effort, by all departments. The Mayor's Office has recent had an analysis of the all the City's websites and the functions that they current serve the public and what departments would like to do for the public via the website. The City has a proposal for a complete redesign, but funding is the big question this year. I'd be happy to pass on a hardcopy for a citizen review of the proposal, just send me an address to mail you copy.

I will be trying to implement some of your recommendations. I've currently redone the meetings of the week to be centrally located on the department webpage with agenda and public hearing notices. This past spring our department has purchased a digital audio recorder and will be seeing if posting audio files is feasible. The big thing that may preventing posting to the website is the size of the files generated from meetings.

Minutes will be posted 7 days after the meeting starting on or before October 1, 2008, to comply with the new Public Act 08-3. In the past some committees wanted only official minutes to be posted, which happens only after they are approved by motion of the committee.

I would love to post applications, maps and other information to the website concerning applications before committees. Currently, we only have the capacity to scan documents no larger that 8.5"x11". We only have that capacity now, because I brought a digial scanner from home that I was no longer using.

I will admit that our department website is far from perfect and myself and staff our all self taught. We have through our limited abilities produced a website with agendas, minutes, legal notices and other documents going back to 2003. I been working on uploading all the digital versions of agendas and minutes that we have. Some committees now have documents going back to 1999. I would love to digitize agendas and minutes that we have in storage, possibly allowing people to look back decades. I've also have at various times tried to set up an access database that would allow the public to search applications, but linking the data to our offline database has been where my expertise has shown its limits.

The fact that departments have independent websites has happened out of individual efforts trying to better serve the public with timely information. Since the City does not have full-time web staff, updating the website can be cumbersome and is not done on the regular basis that we would like. Our department website is updated multiple times through out the week and we have posted over 3,000 digital files to the web.

For a history of how the City's website has evolved and our department's website has eveolved go to http://www.archive.org/index.php

Keep up the good work in providing the public another source of news and opinion.

Feel free to contact me on any issues that you and your readers are interested in. I'd be happy to provide whatever input that I may be able to.

Michiel Wackers, AICP
Deputy Director of Planning, Conservation and Development
City of Middletown

Playing with fire

Submitted by Melissa Schilke.
Photo credit: Schilke

Teens at Wesleyan Potters are playing with fire. Karma and Maggie Masselli were making bracelets today in the Teen Jewelry class. They and the other teens in the class were hammering, soldering, twisting, and forming wire into a fabulous cuff bracelet. If you see them on the street, ask to see their new jewelry.

Wesleyan Potters at 350 South Main St., Middletown, has openings in other summer youth classes offered in July. Creative Crafts for grades 1 & 2 & 3 meets mornings, July 14-17. Tuition: $44. Mixed Media Sculpture for grades 5-8, meets mornings, July 22, 24, 29 and 31. This class will fulfill requirements for scouting badges but will be enjoyed by both scouts and non-scouts. Tuition: $82. Teen/Beading & Jewelry is offered for grades 6-12, afternoons July 7-10. Tuition: $82 plus a materials fee of $20. www.wesleyanpotters.com for complete listings or call the Wesleyan Potters office for more information or to register, 860-347-5925.

Recruiting citizen reporters

One of the ways this blog can be most effective is if we can get citizen/reporters to attend each of the important municipal meetings which happen every month, and report back to us, through the blog, what happened.

If your civic duty gnawing at your conscience, this is a great way to learn about city government, and help your neighbors and fellow Middletown residents.

The only way to ensure that government is doing what it's supposed to do, is to have eyes and ears trained on it at all times. Don't take this as a general dismissal of the good work done by most of our public servants, but you can take it as a dose of healthy skepticism by someone who has seen isolated public servants do the worse when they think no one is watching.

It's actually a relatively easy assignment, although sometimes these meetings are godawful boring, particularly when commission members feel they need to poster with obtuse and repetitive speeches just because they enjoy the sounds of their own voices.

If you volunteered, you would have to commit to a couple of hours a month (or if you teamed with someone else, a couple hours every other month). You would attend the meeting, and take notes about the decisions that are made, and if you are ambitious, you might even report on what is said by the general public and commission members on certain topics. Then you would write a few paragraphs (preferably the same evening, but at least by the next day), that would give us the lowdown on the meeting. And if you have a digital camera, even the most pedestrian of meeting photos is helpful.

One of the great things about attending the same meeting every month is that you begin to know the commission members, who is active, who not, and to understand the issues that come before that commission. And we as blog readers get the advantage of that consistent knowledge.

This week there are a few meetings of note (and several others not noted here):

Common Council Meeting, 7 pm, Monday July 7, Council Chambers (this one is also televised on the Comcast Educational Access Channel) Of note tonight will be the discussion of whether to provide a loan for an exploratory committee to ornamentally light the Arrigoni Bridge (for which, apparently, there are federal funds available). The rest of the agenda is available here.

Board of Education, 7 pm, Tuesday July 8, Board of Ed Building Meeting agenda to be posted here.

Wednesday July 9 is busy with these meetings listed:
Preservation and Design Review, 5:30 pm, Room 208, City Hall
Public Works, 5:00 pm, Public Works office
Resource Recycling, 7 pm, Russell Library
Planning and Zoning, 7 pm, Council Chambers (meeting agenda to be posted here)

Conservation Commission, Thursday July 10, Room 208, City Hall (agenda here)

Hope you take this invitation to participate seriously. We could use your help. If you're interested, email me mieyeed@gmail.com.

Before I end this blog, allow me to step on my soap box for a moment.

The effort to inform Middletown residents of meetings, agendas and meeting minutes is shameful in this day and age. Just to assemble the above list, I had to click on several websites (departments are allowed to have their own sites), each of which uses a different format for listing the information. There is no consistency, no order, and in the case of meeting minutes, no sense of urgency.

It is entirely possible to remedy the situation, and I'd suggest the following:

- Redesign the website so the monthly meeting calendar is featured prominently on the home page.
- Design the meeting calendar so access to meeting agendas and minutes are available in a single mouse click
- Make all town websites adhere to a consistent format
- Make all public documents appropriate to the meeting and resolutions up for discussion (letters, charts, statutes, graphs,) available as PDF documents on line
- Have meeting minutes available on line prior to the following meeting
- Televise all public meeting
- Archive all video/audio recordings of meetings so they are available online immediately following the meeting

Ed McKeon is a writer and filmmaker who lives in the Village District.

The man through the window

It's Only Natural restaurant in the Main Street Market is also a gallery, displaying and selling the work of local artists.  The striking photographs framed in old windows that have graced the walls for the past few months are by a Middletown resident, Anthony Valerio.  I spoke with Anthony about his work, his life, and Middletown.

Anthony was born in Manhattan, raised in Brooklyn, and spent the 1960s through the 1990s working and living the New York literary scene.  About 13 years ago, love lured him from Manhattan to Middletown, and in the years since, Middletown has gone from being a place of frequent visits to his home. What he enjoys most about Middletown is being part of a community--getting waffles at O'Rourkes, eggs from a local farmer, seeing people on a regular basis, going to It's Only Natural for lunch. He continues to write, most recently publishing two short books, Toni Cade Bambara's One Sicilian Night, a memoir and The Little Sailor (perhaps to be reviewed at another time).  I was most interested in his photography, which he says was partly an outcome of the loneliness of the writer's life.  For him, writing is a morning activity, and by early afternoon he finds himself looking for something else to do. While living in Bologna for a year, he spent those afternoons with a camera on the streets, taking pictures. Back in Middletown, he is working with these photographs, putting pictures in a new setting by framing them in discarded windows.  

Anthony says photography has a refreshing spontaneity that writing does not. Perhaps the lack of total control in street photography is liberating to someone who as a writer has total control over the words he puts on paper. However, Anthony's photographs are highly structured and composed. 

My favorite piece is the photograph of the advertisement on the side of a bus in Rome.  It presents contradictory images.  On the one hand it is a black and white picture of a cobble-stoned street, in front of a brick and marble building, with people strolling by and a man reading the newspaper on a city bus.  It is framed in a white window frame from an old house. These features make it a Rome through which Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck could be romancing.  On the other hand, a supersized advertisement for lingerie is printed on the side of the bus showing a beautiful woman with her legs seductively draped on either side of the bus' rear tire.  The framing by a window works especially well for this photograph. I feel like a  voyeur, peeking through the window of somebody's house, leering at a woman in her lingerie.  But beyond, through the (bus) window behind the woman, is a man completely oblivious to me, reading his paper. Though my voyeuristic eyes were originally drawn to the woman in the lingerie, ultimately I feel more guilty for looking at the man privately reading his paper. It is his privacy that I have invaded, not hers.  The composition makes the dominant figure in this photograph (a nearly naked woman!) little more than one of the frames around him.  

There are many great reasons to have a meal at It's Only Natural. The opportunity to view Anthony Valerio's window framed photographs is one of them.  

Middletown nights

Wednesday evening was a magical one for all of us in the courtyard of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan. The sky was clear, the temperature Mediterranean, the setting idyllic, and the music was glorious. The courtyard was filled with the range of people that call Middletown home for a concert or more. In the front, high school kids attending the Center for Creative Youth summer camp at Wesleyan laughed and danced to the music. Also towards the front were the people drawn to the Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng Band, enjoying the sounds of Ghana drumming fused with the jazz of this American century. At the back of the crowd couples shared wine and cheese, caught up with neighbors they knew and got introduced to neighbors they didn't. But the highlight of this outdoor concert for me was the children running and playing hide and seek at the edges and occasionally within the crowd. While the parents enjoyed the music and shared the latest news, the children cavorted in their games to the sounds of great music. Opera in Central Park of Manhattan is grand, the Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng Band in the courtyard of the CFA is local. Both are wonderful, but tonight it seemed nothing could possibly be better than the local glory of outdoor music in Middletown.



(Schilke photo)

July 4 is July 3

That is to say, the Fireworks Celebration this year is on the eve of Independence Day, Thursday July 3, as opposed to on the holiday itself, July 4. Boom!

A walk with the Wesleyan corridor committee

(This report is based on information provided by Lucy McMillan)

On Thursday June 26, the Wesleyan corridor committee met and walked Williams Street to discuss its potential transformation as a corridor linking Main Street in Middletown to the Wesleyan campus. The group focused on Williams Street because, although it is only one of several parallel streets which could be called corridors between Main and campus, it is the one, in the assessment of Wesleyan staff, and Wes Pres Michael Roth, in need of most help.

The group, which included members of Aware (a group of residents formed to interact with Wesleyan) Joan Hedrick, Shannon Brown, Melissa Schilke, Lucy McMillan and Jennifer Alexander, representatives of Wesleyan including Joyce Topshe, Brandi Hood and Middletown Town Planner Bill Warner, Tom Nigosanti from the Public Works Department and Michiel Wackers of Middletown's Planning Department.

The group walked down the street and examined each parcel of property discussing the ways in which the buildings and ground could be improved to make travel on the corridor safer, and more aesthetically pleasing.

Some of the parcels are held by Wesleyan, some by the Middletown Housing Authority, some by commercial establishments, and some in private hands.

The consensus was that there is much need for improvement, for while some private housing was nicely maintained, other properties featured hideous additions, or were in need of maintenance, and while some commercial buildings added nicely to the corridor, the newly remodeled offices of the Connecticut Humanities Council on the corner of Williams and Broad, for example, others need help.

Some good suggestions were made:

- Improved landscaping at the Wesleyan power plant
- Erecting two small buildings
- Narrowing of traffic lanes by allowing parking on both sides, and widening public walkways
- Closing the street completely to traffic
- Making street a one-way street
- Suggesting fence improvements on the CRT property
- Removing blacktop and planting lawns and landscaping between sidewalks and residences at Traverse Square
- Removing the blacktop parking on the corner of Hamlin and Williams
- Removing parking behind Wesleyan campus safety offices
- Improving landscaping in the parking lot behind the Wesleyan bookstore and Humanities Council

There are opportunities to make improvements including money to perform environmental cleanup at Forest Street Laundry if it is maintained as a laundry, block grants for fence renovations at the CRT building, adaptive historic reuse fundings for some of the privately held buildings, brownfield bundling by Weston Solutions for some of the affected properties.

Still there are challenges. Didato's Service Station on the corner of William and Broad is currently for sale. The Wesleyan Power Plant roof allows only minimal landscaping or construction. Some existing parking lots are still used regularly. Private property owners cannot be forced to make changes. Traffic changes will need public approval. And perhaps the biggest challege - where will money come from to make changes, and who will begin to take the initiative to create a plan to get the job done.

CFA Days and Nights

On those Spring nights when drunk undergrads are lurching loudly down my street, I lie awake and think that the advantages of living across the street from Wesleyan University far outweigh these slight irritations.

This week is proof.

The Wesleyan Center for the Arts is offering some great performances in its Days and Nights series. On Tuesday and Wesdnesday of this coming week (July 1 & 2) there are two amazing free events.

On Tuesday afternoon, renowned musical entertainer, and genius tap star Harold "Stumpy" Cromer will speak and perform at a noon event at Crowell Concert Hall. Cromer has appeared with some of the greats of musical theater including Burt Lahr, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Count Basie. There's an interesting interview with Cromer here.

On Wednesday evening in the CFA Courtyard, Kwaku Kwaakye (Martin) Obeng, a master drummer and dancer from Ghana will perform with his band in a free concert. These outdoor concerts draw crowds, and the kids in residence for the summer Creative Arts programs usually come out to lead the dancing.