Home of the Free Because of the Brave: Memorial Day in Greenwich, Connecticut

 

Memorial Day 1943 or 1944, Sound Beach Avenue, Old Greenwich.
Source: Greenwich Historical Society

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This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), the Ambassador Museum United States of America, Kevin M. J. O'Connor of Jeffrey Matthews Wealth Management, and listeners like you everywhere! 

It’s Memorial Day weekend Year 2022. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday through an act of Congress in 1971, and its roots date back to the Civil War era, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs. 

Unlike Veterans Day, Memorial Day honors all military members who have died in while serving in U.S. forces.

On Monday, May 30, 2022, Americans across the country will celebrate the brave servicemen and servicewomen who died defending our country. It’s a day of remembrance to honor the sacrifice made by the men and women who have died during their service in the United States military. 

Memorial Day, 1907

Memorial Day is a special time to honor America’s history and commemorate the bravery, courage and honor of our troops. Even though Memorial Day is a time to celebrate the freedom we have in America, we should never forget that that very freedom came at the expense of the brave heroes who lost their lives fighting to protect it.

It is said that America is home of the free because of the brave. How true indeed.

For today’s show I’ve decided to go through our newspaper archives and peer back in time, to see how Memorial Day was observed. You’ll hear about that on today's show.

To all -I send you my warmest wishes. I am grateful for your friendship and support, as always. Thank you! 

I’ve got a petition for you sign to halt the possible destruction of historic homes on Church Street in the Fourth Ward Historic District. 

Contact me at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

I’m on Facebook, too. Just look for Jeffrey Bingham Mead and send me a friend request. The show is also available on Facebook at Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. 

Learn more about the show -and listen to past episodes for free- on the web at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com

Be sure to tune in for our next show, which is scheduled for Friday, the 3rd of June 2022. 

Meet The Silhouette Lady & Asian Heritage Month: Japanese Art and Culture at the Cos Cob Art Colony

 

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

SUPPORT THE SHOW THROUGH GOFUNDME. THANK YOU!

This podcast is made possible by Peter F. Alexander of Site Design Associates; the Long Island Sound Institute (LISI), the Ambassador Museum United States of America, Kevin M. J. O'Connor of Jeffrey Matthews Wealth Management, and listeners like you everywhere! 

There is only one Silhouette Lady, and her name is Deborah O’Connor. Based in Rhode Island, O'Connor is one of the nation’s renowned leading artists focused on preserving and perpetuating this centuries-old tradition into the modern era. 

I heard about her when I received the good news about the return of the Tavern Garden Markets on Wednesday, May 4 at the Greenwich Historical Society. It brought back memories of my own experiences growing up in Round Hill in Greenwich's backcountry when a silhouette artist came to our home where we posed. 

With Mother’s Day coming, Deborah O’Connor is ready to work her scissors magic and create silhouette portraits cut “in exacting detail.” It is said that her resulting images often astounds —for not only does the silhouette capture the likeness of the person, but it also conveys something essential about his or her character. This quality is particular to the fine art of silhouette cutting and is the reason the art-form is still in demand, generations after its heyday in the 1700’s. You’ll hear my conversation with Deborah O’Connor. Learn more and order your silhouettes at thesilhouettelady.com. 

May is Asian Heritage Month across the United States. On today's show I had the pleasure of sitting down with Maggie Dimock, curator of Exhibitions and Collections, along with Kelsie Dalton, Assistant Curator for Interpretation and Collections of the Greenwich Historical Society. 

Starting on the 4th of May, the public is invited through a curator-guided tour to explore the Bush-Holley House with a focus on learning how Japanese art and culture were understood and imitated by American artists of the Cos Cob art colony. Visitors will also receive an introduction to the life and work of artist Genjiro Yeto, a Japanese immigrant who frequented the Holley family boardinghouse, and established a career as a successful illustrator of books for American audiences. All this was part of a late 19th century craze for Japanese art, aesthetics and craftsmanship that swept Europe and the United States, radically transforming visual culture.

To all -I send you my warmest wishes. I am grateful for your friendship and support, as always. Thank you! 

I’ve got a petition for you sign to halt the possible destruction of historic homes on Church Street in the Fourth Ward Historic District. 

As always, my friends, there’s more history out there than we know what to do with. I’ll have this and more as today’s show unfolds.

Contact me at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

I’m on Facebook, too. Just look for Jeffrey Bingham Mead and send me a friend request. The show is also available on Facebook at Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons. 

Learn more about the show -and listen to past episodes for free- on the web at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons.blogspot.com

Be sure to tune in for our next show, which is scheduled for Friday, the 6th of May 2022.