Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Pastor Dong Hyun Choi of the First United Methodist Church of Greenwich







Methodist Christians have been present in Greenwich since the late-18th century. 

 With me on the Wednesday, July 31, 2019 broadcast in the studios of Radio 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio streaming was Pastor Dong Hyun Choi of the United Methodist Church of Greenwich. 

 Pastor Choi and his family are originally from Korea. In Greenwich's 379+ years of ongoing history, Pastor Choi is the first Asian American/Korean American to be the senior clergy of any church in the town. 

 You'll hear about Pastor Choi and his family, how they came to Greenwich, what they like most -and an introduction to both Korean language and culture. We'll feature all that and more as the show unfolds. 

 Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons is hosted by Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a direct descendant of the founders of Greenwich, Connecticut in the 17th century. The show airs every-other Wednesday morning starting 9:00 am on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com.
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Monday, July 15, 2019

Happy Greenwich 379th Founders Day! Linda Heald Joins us from Boston

The Feake Ferris House, Oldest House in Greenwich, Connecticut
Photo Credit: Greenwich Historical Society. 



Thursday, July 18 is Founders Day in Greenwich, Connecticut -379 years ago! 

My guest on Talk of the Town is Linda Heald. A resident of Jamaica Plain in Boston, Massachusetts, Linda Heald is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution who has extensively researched and documented her ancestry. 

In June she visited Greenwich in part to photograph the gravestones of her ancestors. One ancestor’s stone -Clarissa Sackett- had fallen and was overturned with its inscription facing downward. The other -Dr. Elisha Belcher- was no where to be found. 

When news of this reached my email box I knew that Linda Heald needed to be on the show -and that we needed to find the gravestones of these ancestors. 

And find them we did! For the first time in decades both Clarissa Sackett’s and Dr. Elisha Belcher’s gravestones can be seen again. 

The Gravestone of Dr. Elisha Belcher, New Burial Ground Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut. 


The Dr. Elisha Belcher Family Home, Circa 1745, Round Hill Road. Photo Credit: Jeffrey Bingham Mead


The Gravestone of Clarissa Sackett, New Burial Ground Association Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut. 

Justus Sackett House, 42 Patterson Avenue, Greenwich, Connecticut. 



I want to thank Christopher Shields, archivist, and Nola Taylor of the Greenwich Historical Society -as well as Andrew Melillo of the Acacia Lodge No. 86 Greenwich Free Masons for your valuable support and efforts. 

Thank you, Linda Heald, for your sponsorship of the Wednesday, July 17 Founders Day broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.

Linda mentioned that she is a recent member of the DAR, or Daughters of the American Revolution -which is over 125 years old, founded in 1890. It is a non-profit organization that can be found online at www.DAR.org. It is a fantastic web site where you can find your local chapter and see if one of your ancestors served in the American Revolution.

Greenwich has the Putnam Hill DAR Chapter with monthly meetings on the fourth Thursday of the month resuming after the summer in September. 

The objectives of the organization are threefold:
  • HISTORICAL -to perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence;
  • EDUCATIONAL -to carry out the injunction of President Washington in his farewell address to the American people, “to promote the general diffusion of knowledge,” and;
  • PATRIOTIC -to cherish, maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 

Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons broadcasts from the studios of 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut and anywhere via audio-streaming on WGCH.com. Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the 17th century founders of Greenwich, is your host. Tune in at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. 

 Can’t listen in real-time? All shows are freely available and archived on Podcasts.com via a special channel. You can also find archived shows on SoundCloud. 

 Listen on your time, anytime from anywhere.

 Please support Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons through our GoFundMe Campaign. 




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Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Special Broadcast: Happy July 4! Celebrations of American Independence


Photo credit: Greenwich Time






Today's broadcast was sponsored by Judy Goss, manager of the You Know You're From Greenwich Ct If Facebook Group. 
Thank you, Judy! 

Happy Fourth of July, 2019! 

 For generations, Greenwich and neighboring communities have been celebrating our precious freedoms and Independence Day every Fourth of July. 

 Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the 17th century founders of Greenwich, Connecticut featured historical vignettes of how citizens throughout the ages saluted and celebrated the red, white and blue. 

We featured a special 3rd of July, 2019 broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut USA and WGCH.com via live audio-streaming anywhere around the world, thanks to the miracle of modern technology. 

 Greenwich's far-flung expats around the nation and the world can tune in online via WGCH.com and connect at home. 

 Can't listen in real time? Fear not -we have you covered! Just go to the links above to our archived channels on SoundCloud and Podcasts.com. 

You can also get links sent to your email box by joining our email list. Send us a note to GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com anytime. 

 Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons relies on citizen-support to keep the show on the air. Please go to our GoFundMe campaign and contribute what you can. Thank you! 
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Port Chester NY History Day! Norm Davis, Manager of the Port Chester NY Historical Archive Group on Facebook Joins Us






On the Wednesday, 19th of June 2019 broadcast of the Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show starting 9:00 a.m. on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio streaming I am welcoming Norm Davis back to the show. 
I just flew in from many months away in Hawaii. I'll have strong coffee in hand since I'm jet-lagged to the max! Tune in via the links to SoundCloud and Podcasts.com to hear how I did. 
You may remember Norm appearing on the show in October, 2018 when we learned about a wayward gravestone of a Mead family ancestor he found in his Port Chester home. Thankfully, we were able to repatriate Rachel Mead's gravestone to its proper place in the cemetery next to Greenwich's iconic Second Congregational Church. 
Thanks to social media platforms such as Facebook people are connecting to their history and to each other as never before. Norm Davis is the manager of the Port Chester NY Historical Archive. Since being added to its 1250+ members, my horizons have been broadened -and I'm certain that yours will be, too. Greenwich's neighbor to the west in New York State has a remarkable history that deserves our attention. Please join! Consider yourself invited.
As time permits we'll learn about how Greenwich people became "whisker conscious" in the days coming up to Founders Day in 1956. Greenwich citizens and others all the way across North America were jolted out of their beds on autumn morning in 1935. There's more! What we don't cover today will be featured on our upcoming special 3rd of July 2019 Independence Day broadcast. 

You can also get links sent to your email box by joining our email list. Send us a note to GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com anytime. 


Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons relies on citizen-support to keep the show on the air. Please go to our GoFundMe campaign and contribute what you can. Thank you! 




Today's broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons was made possible by the generous support of Norm Davis Architect, a New York-based multidisciplinary architectural firm with experience throughout the Metro-New York region. 
Why should you hire Norm Davis to be your architect? Your dreams coupled with the professional expertise Norm Davis brings to your project comes on-time and within budget. 
Want more? Custom houses. Residential alterations. Commercial and industrial development. 
Whether you simply looking to enlarge your home or business on-budget or create a showpiece, Norm Davis Architect will blend your ideas with its imagination to make a truly unique and satisfying final product. Free consultations! 
Learn more at NormDavisArchitect.com. Call 24 hours, seven days a week at 718.479.6500 or during regular office hours at 718.225.0040, or email ndarch@earthlink.net anytime. 

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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

75th Anniversary D-Day; Helen Keller in Port Chester, 1913; Burying Hill; Hester Bush Mead; Port Chester NY Historical Archive and More!






Welcome to the Wednesday, 5th of June 2019 broadcast of the Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show starting 9:00 a.m. on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio streaming.

We live in an imperfect world -just in case you did not know. I had a guest lined up for tomorrow's show, but truth be told he had to cancel out at the last minute due to circumstances beyond his control. 

What's an historian and show host to do? Wing it! And that's precisely what's in store.

You'll hear about a remarkable talk at the Retired Men's Association commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. Mr. Bob Wylie spoke at the First Presbyterian Church starting 11:00 a.m. The public was invited to attend.


Did you know that Helen Keller lectured in Port Chester, New York in November, 1913? Tickets were priced at 75 cents! She caused quite a sensation. 


Speaking of Port Chester, you'll hear about a unique and insightful history group here in Facebook I recommend joining: the Port Chester NY Historical Archive administered by Norm Davis.


We'll cast our gaze to Hester Bush Mead -both to her gravestone in Union Cemetery and a watercolor of one of our ancestral homes attributed to her.


And finally, we'll head north to Round Hill where I grew up to an ancient cemetery known as Burying Hill replete with mysteries and history.

Can't listen in real time? That's okay; I've got you covered with show archives on Podcasts.com and SoundCloud.



We invite businesses to advertise on the show. Contact us at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com.

Tune in to our next broadcast on Wednesday morning, June 19, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Thank you for listening.
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Monday, May 27, 2019

Julien Icher, Founder & Executive Director of The Lafayette Trail Project (SHOW #18, May 22, 2019)






My guest on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 broadcast was Julien Icher, the founder and executive director of the Lafayette Trail Project. 

The project traces to route taken in 1824-25 by the Marquis de Lafayette which would turn out to be his farewell tour of the United States of America. Lafayette visited the Town of Greenwich in 1824.

We'll hear about the project as we expect and look forward to Julien Icher's upcoming visit to Greenwich.


In addition, Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead read a selection from Spencer P. Mead's Ye Historie of Ye Town of Greenwich that documents Lafayette's visit to town.


The show was made possible by the Acacia Lodge No. 85 Greenwich Free Masons. Pillars of the community since the 18th century in Greenwich, we thank the Greenwich Free Masons for its support. Click here for a news piece on Greenwich Free Press. 

Tune in to the broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere. It starts at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time every other Wednesday morning after the top-of-the-hour news.


The host and producer of the show is Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the founders of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut (Founded July 18, 1640). 



 Also, please CLICK THIS LINK to the current crowdfunding campaign to support and underwrite the costs of producing and bringing you Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.
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Genjiro Yeto and Japanese Influences on the Cos Cob American Impressionist Art Colony (SHOW #17, May 8, 2019)





LISTEN TO THE SHOW ON SOUNDCLOUD


May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. On the Wednesday, May 8 broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons, Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead welcomed Karen Frederick, curator of Museum Collections of the Greenwich Historical Society. 

Japanese culture made its mark on the American Impressionist Art Colony in Cos Cob. Genjiro Yeto -an unassuming Japanese artist who studied at the Arts Students League of New York and spent time at the Cos Cob art colony- was the topic of conversation. 



A gathering of Greenwich society people was held in a private home off North Street in 1919. The featured speaker was Dr. George Vincent, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, who had just returned from China. World War I had ended, but problems were plenty. To the people of Greenwich it was 'Shandong For China' -and resulting sentiments in Greenwich favored the return of that Chinese province to China. Read here about the role the Chinese played in the First World War. 


We'll cast our gaze to the islands of Hawaii where Horton Owen Knapp of Round Hill journeyed to in 1837 as a missionary, meeting his calling and his passing at age 32. 

Tune in to the broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere. It starts at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time every other Wednesday morning after the top-of-the-hour news. 


The host and producer of the show is Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the founders of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut (Founded July 18, 1640). 


Contact the show at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

 Also, please CLICK THIS LINK to the current crowdfunding campaign to support and underwrite the costs of producing and bringing you Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.
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Shelia Graves, Historian of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club Joins Us (SHOW #16, April 24, 2019)







Our next excursion into Greenwich's history takes us to one of its most renowned institutions: the Indian Harbor Yacht Club. 
With the generous assistance of Sue Hill McClenachan, the club's historian -Shelia Graves- was my next guest on the Wednesday, April 24, 2019 broadcast that started at 9:00 a.m., just after the top-of-the-hour news. 


We'll have our next installment on 19th century Greenwich Protestant missionaries who traveled to the Hawaiian Island -never to return to their ancestral homes here. Round Hill-born Charlotte Close Knapp was one of world-famous Punahou School's first teachers with her second husband, the Rev. Daniel Dole.
Tune in to the broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere. It starts at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time every other Wednesday morning after the top-of-the-hour news.


The host and producer of the show is Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the founders of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut (Founded July 18, 1640). 


Contact the show at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 

 Also, please CLICK THIS LINK to the current crowdfunding campaign to support and underwrite the costs of producing and bringing you Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.
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ANNOUNCEMENT! Listen to the Show on SoundCloud!



We're delighted to share the good news that broadcasts of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons are now available on SoundCloud. 

 Click here for 2018 shows, and click here for 2019 shows. 

 SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website based in Berlin, Germany that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio.
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Sunday, April 14, 2019

Rev. Huckel's 1919 Remarks About Greenwich, A 1787 Prenuptial Agreement, the Octagon House and Dr. James William Smith, Missionary in Hawaii





On the Wednesday, April 10, 2019 broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons, Host Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of Greenwich's founders, shared remarks published by Rev. Dr. Oliver Huckel a century ago about the New England flavor and heritage of the town. 

 Mead shares details of a rare recorded prenuptial agreement dated 1787 in Greenwich Town Hall Records. 

 You'll hear news of an architectural wonder that once graced Milbank Avenue -an octagonal-shaped home where Brunswick School's first classes were held. 

And finally, Mead takes us back in time to 1842 Hawaii, where Stamford native Dr. James William Smith served as the first ordained Protestant missionary minister and physician on the island of Kauai. 

 Tune in to the broadcast of Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on Radio 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere. It starts at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time every other Wednesday morning after the top-of-the-hour news.


The host and producer of the show is Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a descendant of the founders of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut (Founded July 18, 1640). 


Contact the show at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com. 


 Also, please CLICK THIS LINK to the current crowdfunding campaign to support and underwrite the costs of producing and bringing you Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere.
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