Grating the Nutmeg

In the spirit of the season, we're pleased to present a Victorian era Christmas story, written by the celebrated 19th century author from Guilford, Reverend William Henry Harrison Murray. Better known as "Adirondack" Murray, because his books almost single-handedly transformed that region from a New York wilderness to one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, Murray was one of the first mass audience authors to promote recreational camping as a leisure time activity, and coined the term "vacation." He is recognized as a father of the American Outdoor movement. His belief that the north woods were health giving and spiritually beneficial, and that the rustic nobility of Adirondack woodsmen was produced by their wilderness life, drew Americans by the millions to the woods, and to his books and tales. In "John Norton's Vagabond," fro Murray's 1897 book "Holiday Tales: Christmas in the Adirondacks," we meet one of those noble rustic woodsmen, the trapper John Norton, who decides, in counsel with his dogs Rover and Sport, to hold a Christmas dinner, to which he will invite even vagabonds. It might be helpful to know that in John Norton's trapper's world the word vagabond meant more than just a person who wanders about–it meant a person who stole other men's traps and poached their furs, in short, the worst of the worst. So with that as background, get a cup of cocoa, grab an easy chair, and have a listen to Rev, William Henry Harrison "Adirondack Murray's" Christmas story, "John Norton's Vagabond. Special thanks to the Free Music Archive, Creative Commons, and these amazingly talented artists for the use of this wonderful music: Borrtex, "Christmas Memory," "Christmas Tree," Poddington Bear, "Angels We Have Heard on High" Rue Royale, "Snow on Snow"

Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Historical Society is joined by historian Barbara Sicherman, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emerita at Trinity College, to discuss the landmark reproductive rights case, Griswold v. Connecticut. Professor Sicherman talks about the origins of the lawsuit, what it meant for women in our state, and its long-term influence on civil rights rulings. If you want to learn more, you can read Barbara Sicherman's article, "Connecticut Women Fight for Reproductive Rights", in the Fall 2017 issue of Connecticut Explored, or see her pieces about Estelle Griswold and Catharine Roraback in the Summer 2011 article, "Women Who Changed the World." This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Natalie Belanger and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan. Subscribe to Connecticut Explored, the magazine of Connecticut history at https://www.ctexplored.org/subscribe/

Recently, Connecticut State Historian Walt Woodward announced he will be retiring next July 1st. To find out what "historical" retirement is like, Woodward sat down with Nick Bellantoni, who retired as state archaeologist in 2014, and is now Connecticut's state archaeologist emeritus. The resulting conversation was a fascinating discussion of archaeological sites in Connecticut, Nick's successor state archaeologists, and Nick's own career of amazing discoveries.

What more do we need to know about Sam Colt? In Hartford we have the iconic blue-domed Colt Armory, Colt Park, the Colt addition to the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Church of the Good Shepard and Colt's home Armsmear. But it turns out that we may not have known much about Colt's life before he became fabulously wealthy—he traveled with a novelty act, womanized, drank, smuggled guns to Russia, bribed politicians, and blew up ships in New York Harbor with electricity. Mary Donohue, Asst. Publisher of Connecticut Explored, the magazine of Connecticut history, digs into some of these stories with Jim Rasenberger, author of Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-shooter that Changed America. He is the author of three other books—The Brilliant Disaster; America, 1908; and High Steel—and has contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, and other publications. A native of Washington, DC, he lives in New York City. Find out more at https://www.jimrasenberger.com/ Coltsville, Sam's industrial village including the Colt Armory, workers housing, and his estate, have been listed as a National Historic Landmark and authorized as a National Historical Park under the guidance of the National Park Service. For more history and self-guided tours, go to their website at nps.gov/colt. Find out more about Sam Colt in these Connecticut Explored stories: https://www.ctexplored.org/the-suspicious-colt-armory-fire/ https://www.ctexplored.org/sam-colt-mines-the-arizona-territory-2/ https://www.ctexplored.org/making-a-success-of-coltsville/ This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan. Donohue has documented the built environment and pop culture for over 30 years. Contact her at marydonohue@comcast.net This episode of Grating the Nutmeg received support from the State Historic Preservation Office of the Dept of Economic and Community Development with funds from the Community Investment Act of the State of Connecticut. Subscribe to Connecticut Explored at https://www.ctexplored.org/subscribe/

A Connecticut Historian Makes History: Recovering Phyllis Wheatley's Lost Years UCONN legal historian Cornelia Hughes Dayton was searching through Massachusetts Court cases from the 1700s, working on a project involving mental disabilities in early America, when she came upon a find that was itself history-making: a cache of court cases that illuminate the formerly "missing years" in the life of America's first published African American author and the mother of the African-American literary tradition Phyllis Wheatley Peters. Dayton discusses her discovery of the court cases and their many revelations, as recounted in her just published and prize-winning article Lost Years Recovered: John Peters and Phillis Wheatley Peters in Middleton," New England Quarterly 94 (September 2021): 309-351. Watch for the release of primary source documents from the "Middleton dossier" on the the Wheatley Peters Project website (forthcoming). Track its progress at the Twitter account #Wheatley_Peters.

Are you your family's historian? The one that listens to all the elders' stories or digs into that big box of old family photographs? Ever wonder how many of your dad's stories are really true? Or if you have a big family secret that hasn't been revealed for generations? If so, this episode is for you! In celebration of National Archives Month, we're talking to two accomplished family historians. Mary Donohue, Asst. Publisher of Connecticut Explored, the state's history magazine, interviews author Jill Marie Snyder. Snyder has a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. in Communication from Fairfield University. Retired from a corporate career in the insurance industry, she's completed Boston University's Principles of Genealogy course. Her book Dear Mary, Dear Luther, based on letters written between her parents, won the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Award for Nonfiction Romance/history in 2020. Jill will be teaching a workshop on "Telling Your Family Story, Putting it all together" on Oct 20, 2021 for the Ancient Burying Ground Association and Hartford Public Library. Register for the workshop on the Ancient Burying Ground Association's Facebook page under events. Our second guest is well-known Hartford Jazz musician and recording artist Orice Jenkins. He studied music at the Hartt School and has released four solo albums including the fantastic Centennial Cole: the Music of Nate King Cole in 2019. He teaches in his hometown of Hartford and tours nationally with the Afro-Semitic Experience. His website features his family history blog Chesta's Children: a Collection of Stories, People, History, Records and Research. Find out more about our guests at their websites, https://www.jillmariesnyder.com/ https://oricejenkins.com/ Order Snyder's book at https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Mary-Luther-Courtship-Letters-ebook/dp/B0793Q7LTM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jill+marie+snyder&qid=1633030224&sr=8-1 For more about family histories, read the stories in Connecticut Explored's Family History issue here https://www.ctexplored.org/fall-2019-family-history-separating-fact-from-fiction/ For more on Connecticut's African American history, visit our Topics page at https://www.ctexplored.org/african-american-history-in-connecticut-2/ This episode was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan. Donohue as documented the built environment and pop culture for over 30 years. Contact her at marydonohue@comcast.net Subscribe to Connecticut Explored at https://www.ctexplored.org/subscribe/

History has often been described as the present having a conversation with the past. Meet Kevin Johnson, who makes those conversations both real and personal: as a Technical Assistant in the History and Genealogy unit of the Connecticut State Library in Hartford; as William Webb, a Civil War volunteer in the 29th Connecticut Colored Volunteer infiantry; and as Jordan Freeman, the African American who died a heroes death at the Revolutionary War Massacre at Fort Griswold. It's 250 years of history, all through one person: "The Three Lives of Kevin Johnson."

In this episode, join Mary Donohue, Asst. Publisher of Connecticut Explored, for a discussion with Dr. Helen Sheumaker about Victorian jewelry and wreaths made from human hair. Dr. Sheumaker is the author of Love Entwined: The Curious History of Human Hair Work. She teaches history and American Studies at Miami University of Ohio. Find out more about this now unfashionable way to remember your loved ones! Read Dr. Sheumaker's feature story in the Fall 2021 issue of Connecticut Explored-order your copy at ctexplored.org And see more about her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Entwined-Curious-History-Hairwork/dp/0812240146/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Love+Entwined&qid=1630356702&sr=8-2 This episode was produced by Mary Donohue, Assistant Publisher of Connecticut Explored, and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan. Donohue has documented Connecticut's built environment and popular culture for over 30 years. Contact her at marydonohue@comcast.net And our thanks to the Lane Public Library in Oxford, Ohio for providing Dr. Sheumaker with a recording space. Want to know more about Connecticut's landmarks, museums, art, and history? Subscribe to Connecticut Explored-in your mailbox or inbox. And for a daily dose of history, visit Today in Connecticut History produced by the Connecticut State Historian at TodayinCThistory.com

What do the nineteenth century author Lydia Sigourney, the 18th century hero-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold, and the Revolutionary War battle of Bunker Hill have in common? They all come together in the story you are about to hear from Sigourney's 1824 book SKETCH OF CONNECTICUT FORTY YEARS SINCE. Sigourney's book, written early in her career, is a rare historical treat: a tale by a future-famous writer, written in 1824, reminiscing about life forty years earlier in 1784. The past remembering the past, in this episode of Grating the Nutmeg.

In this episode, join Mary Donohue, Asst. Publisher of Connecticut Explored, for a discussion with Pablo Delano, visual artist, photographer and professor of fine arts at Trinity College - and the artist behind the new book Hartford Seen, published in 2020 by Wesleyan University Press. His work is featured in the photo essay "Visually Breathtaking Hartford Explored" in the Summer 2021 issue of Connecticut Explored magazine. Professor Delano's father, Jack Delano, was a renown American New Deal-era photographer for the Farm Security Administration who photographed Connecticut in 1940. To see more of Pablo Delano's work, visit www.pablodelano.com and look for his new book Hartford Seen wherever you get your books or order here https://www.hfsbooks.com/books/hartford-seen-delano/ For more information on "The Museum of the Old Colony" exhibition, see the exhibit website and exhibition information below: Official website: www.museumoftheoldcolony.org Web page from the last iteration of the project at Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture: https://cadvc.umbc.edu/pablo-delano-the-museum-of-the-old-colony/ Web page from Photoville Festival https://photoville.nyc/the-museum-of-the-old-colony/ Exhibition catalog from CADVC https://cadvc.umbc.edu/files/2020/02/Museum-of-The-Old-Colony-2.pdf Exhibition catalog from Hampshire College https://sites.hampshire.edu/gallery/files/2018/10/MoOC_catalogue_spreads.pdf To see more of Jack Delano's work as a photographer for the Federal Security Administration, go to the Library of Congress website at LOC.gov Jack Delano Photographs, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/photos/?fa=subject:color%7Ccontributor:delano,+jack Jack Delano Papers, 1927-1995, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/item/mm98084274/ To read more about Jack Delano's photographs taken of Connecticut's Jewish farmers, get the book A Life of the Land: Connecticut's Jewish Farmers available from the Greater Hartford Jewish Historical Society on their website at https://jhsgh.org/ This episode was produced by Mary Donohue, Assistant Publisher of Connecticut Explored, and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan. Contact Donohue at marydonohue@comcast.net Want to know more about Connecticut's landmarks, museums, art, and history? Subscribe to Connecticut Explored-in your mailbox or inbox. And for a daily dose of history, visit Today in Connecticut History produced by the Connecticut State Historian at TodayinCThistory.com