Where Did the Time Go? It's the Final Show of Year 2022!

 

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

This podcast is made possible by 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 on the Atlantic Learning Consortium Network!

Welcome to the 27th of December 2022 show -the final one of the year. 

Cheers to a fascinating year soon to be behind us -and an amazing Year 2023 ahead. 

On Greenwich in the Gilded Age, we’re going to visit the glorious white Georgian-Colonial mansion ‘The Orchards’ in Round Hill, thanks to the Junior League of Greenwich and its book The Great Estates Greenwich, Connecticut 1880-1930. 

This thirty-two room mansion was constructed for Tyler Redfield and designed by Frank Ashburton Moore. 

For those of us who grew up here, we knew this place as Seabury House, the stately conference center for the Protestant Episcopal Church and the home of its presiding bishop. 

I’ll also share with you details of a lavish wedding that took place here in 1911. 

On The Judge’s Corner, Frederick A. Hubbard wrote in 1932 about the raising of game cocks in Greenwich, horse-racing marine sports and other favorites among the local population. 

“Greenwich police guard the railroad station as the train carrying Winston Churchill passes through at 4:18 a.m…The FBI aided by Greenwich police, raid more than 50 homes of enemy aliens to seize contraband…Greenwich Country Day School merges with Rosemary Junior School to become a co-educational school on the Country Day campus and more.” We’ll go back in history to the year 1942 as found in Greenwich Before 2000: A Chronology of the Town of Greenwich 1640-1999.

On Greenwich Life As It Is -and Was, in December 1922 Erwin Edwards related to his audience what Greenwich was like when the railroads were new starting in 1848, and their impact on the town. 

As we edge closer and closer to edging out Year 2022 You’ll hear a sampling of how how the people of Greenwich celebrated the end of one year and the beginning of yet another. 

We’ll share all sorts of historical news of crimes, fires and more. That includes a special letter-to-the-editor written on behalf of Greenwich's Italian American residents in 1926.

You’ve come to the right place to learn about the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, one of America's most interesting and extraordinary communities.  

We’ll have all this -and more- as history continues to unfold. 

I'm Jeffrey Bingham Mead, your host. Thank you for listening to the weekly podcast, now released on Tuesdays. 

Contact me and join our growing number of listeners anytime via email at greenwichatownforallseasons@gmail.com. 

Show podcast episodes are posted weekly on various social media platforms. Click this link to the show's Facebook site. 

I also encourage you to like and visit the group You Know You're From Greenwich Ct If, where links to the show are posted weekly, too. 

The discerning shopper’s destination for unique accessories and gifts, the Greenwich Historical Society's Museum Store is a local gem.  The store offers convenient online shopping and pick-up, ample parking and complimentary gift wrapping. Ask about discounts. 

Browse the latest arrivals, and relax at the Artists Café during your next visit, too. 

The Museum Store is open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, Weekends 12pm – 4pm.

Our next show -the first in Year 2023- is scheduled for Tuesday, January 3. 

Happiest Holidays! Rockefeller Estate, Selleck Grist Mill, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah & More!

 

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

This podcast is made possible by 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 on the Atlantic Learning Consortium Network!

Tis the season! Good tidings to you, that the glorious message of peace and love fill your hearts this joyous holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays! 

Seasons greetings to all during this bright, magical time of the year as I have the utmost pleasure to welcome you to the 20th of December 2022 episode of the Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show Podcast.

I'll share with you a sampling of how the holidays were celebrated in Greenwich's history. 

"Few people are aware that the Rockefeller family with its "residential park" influenced the orderly development of the central part of Greenwich more than any other landowner," states The Great Estates: Greenwich, Connecticut 1880-1930 by the Junior League of Greenwich.

"The existence of the two Rockefeller mansions is now a mostly forgotten part of the town's history, but the concerned and wise subdivision of the brothers' vast holdings has proved a priceless legacy for the Greenwich they loved." 

We'll visit the William G. Rockefeller Estate and Owenoke Farm, principally owned by Percy Rockefeller. 

Sylvanus Selleck Grist Mill (2018)

 

"Sylvanus Selleck got fed up with the trip and decided to build his own gristmill just east of Round Hill Road on his 47-acre farm," wrote Greenwich Realtor Mark Pruner in his column, published on the 16th of December 2022 in the Greenwich Sentinel. "Not only would he get flour for his family, but he'd get paid for providing a valuable service to the neighboring farmers in North Greenwich."

We'll share Pruner's article with you. You'll also learn about a new initiative to preserve the Selleck grist mill. The gristmill dates from 1796. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

You're invited to read my Greenwich Time piece published in 1988 about grist mills in Greenwich. 

Published on December 11, 1930 in The Greenwich Press, Judge Frederick A. Hubbard wrote about 'Motion Pictures, Outgrowth of Earlier Inventions 40 Years Ago-Marking Towns and Keeping Up Appearances- Seed Propagation.' I'll have the details. 

Thank you, Rick Hansen! Greenwich Library's local history librarian has announced the Heritage with Hoopla Series starting in January, 2023. I'll share details; be ready to mark your calendars. You're invited to join several events to help you achieve your genealogical research. Learn about Greenwich Library's resources here. 

Be sure to see Life and Art: The Greenwich Paintings of John Henry Twachtman soon. The exhibit closes one month from now on January 22, 2023. Weekly tours are offered. Mark your calendar for Afternoon in the Archives: Twachtman in His Own Words on Sunday, January 8, 2023 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. $15 members/$20 Non-Members. 

Preservation efforts are about to get underway at the Thomas Lyon House. Greenwich Preservation Trust is offering tours of the house to those who are interested. Contact Greenwich Preservation Trust for more information.

Members of the Conservation Commission conducted a site walk at the Old Burying Ground at Byram. The gathering was a productive one. Matters concerning the cemetery are expected to be placed on the commission's January, 2023 agenda.

The Horseneck Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution held its Wreaths Across America ceremony at the Old Burying Ground at Byram on Byram Shore Road.

In Greenwich Life As It Is-And Was, a century ago (1922) it was noted that Christmas in Greenwich "has become more and more celebrated... Never have the Greenwich stores carried such assortments of all kinds of articles, expensive and not costly in price, especially for the Christmas trade, as have been displayed this season..." 

We’ll share all sorts of historical news of crimes, fires -perhaps a catastrophe or two -and more! 

You’ve come to the right place to learn about the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, one of America's most interesting and extraordinary communities.  

We’ll have all this -and more- as history continues to unfold. 

I'm Jeffrey Bingham Mead, your host. Thank you for listening to the weekly podcast, now released on Tuesdays. 

Contact me and join our growing number of listeners anytime via email at greenwichatownforallseasons@gmail.com. 

Show podcast episodes are posted weekly on various social media platforms. Click this link to the show's Facebook site. 

I also encourage you to like and visit the group You Know You're From Greenwich Ct If, where links to the show are posted weekly, too. 

The discerning shopper’s destination for unique accessories and gifts, the Greenwich Historical Society's Museum Store is a local gem.  The store offers convenient online shopping and pick-up, ample parking and complimentary gift wrapping. Ask about discounts. 

Browse the latest arrivals, and relax at the Artists Café during your next visit, too. 

The Museum Store is open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, Weekends 12pm – 4pm.

Our next show is scheduled for Tuesday, December 27, 2022. 

HMT Rohna Disaster, Belle Haven’s ‘The Knoll,’ 1839-1841, Deacon Abraham Mead and His Pottery, and News!

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PODCASTS.COM

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

This podcast is made possible by 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 on the Atlantic Learning Consortium Network!

On Talk of the Town, you’ll hear an encore conversation I had several years ago with Greenwich playwright Catherine Ladnier and her associates about the HMT Rohna Disaster in 1943 -which was kept classified for decades. 

Of the 1,981 U.S. Navy personnel aboard, 1,015 were lost -including one who called Round Hill in Greenwich, Connecticut his home. 

This is from the Greenwich News & Graphic, dated October 31, 1924: "One of the features of the day was the appearance of Master John Campbell Moore, the three-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Moore, attired in full Highland costume, carrying a miniature set of bagpipes. The little fellow marched about the grounds playing with the band and his performance was most amusing and greatly enjoyed." 

Sadly, John Campbell Moore died in the attack on the HMT Rohna. His father was Charles A. Moore, Jr., founder of the Round Hill Highland Games. 

My guests believe that the family here in Greenwich never knew what happened to him -or why because the circumstances of the attack was classified. You'll learn why. 

On Victorian Summer, we'll pay a visit to 'The Knoll,' thanks to Matt Bernard's acclaimed book The Historic Houses of Belle Haven Park, Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Before it was demolished in 1943, The Knoll was built in 1893 for George Washington Helme at 204 Otter Rock Drive. That vacant lot recently sold for over six million dollars. 

On The Judge’s Corner, Frederick A. Hubbard wrote in 1930, “One hundred and fifty years ago Abraham Mead, the eleventh son of Ebenezer Mead, was apprenticed to a Dutchman who operated a pottery where the Held house now stands, at the head of Indian Harbor.” “Potter” Mead’s works are the subject of commentary, collector’s items in both private and in museums. 

A century ago, “One of the most notable things about the growth of Greenwich, is the increase and important of business transacted in the town. Half a century or more ago, men of affairs, who gave thought to civil conditions, were unanimous in their opinions that there never would be much retail business done in Greenwich.”  

On Greenwich Life As It Is -And Was you’ll hear how wrong such assertions were. 

In 1840, it was voted that “no sheep or horses be allowed to run at large” on the public highways and a penalty of a dollar for each offense is imposed. We’ll go back in history to the years 1839, 1840 and 1841 as found in Greenwich Before 2000: A Chronology of the Town of Greenwich 1640-1999.

We’ll share all sorts of historical news of crimes, fires and more. 

Tis the season!

You’ve come to the right place to learn about the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut, one of America's most interesting and extraordinary communities.  

We’ll have all this -and more- as history continues to unfold. 

I'm Jeffrey Bingham Mead, your host. Thank you for listening to the weekly podcast, now released on Tuesdays. 

Contact me and join our growing number of listeners anytime via email at greenwichatownforallseasons@gmail.com. 

Show podcast episodes are posted weekly on various social media platforms. Click this link to the show's Facebook site. 

I also encourage you to like and visit the group You Know You're From Greenwich Ct If, where links to the show are posted weekly, too. 

The discerning shopper’s destination for unique accessories and gifts, the Greenwich Historical Society's Museum Store is a local gem.  The store offers convenient online shopping and pick-up, ample parking and complimentary gift wrapping. Ask about discounts. 

Browse the latest arrivals, and relax at the Artists Café during your next visit, too. 

The Museum Store is open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, Weekends 12pm – 4pm.

Our next show is scheduled for Tuesday, December 20, 2022.