Monthly Archives: February 2021

Death Announced of Donald M. Russell, Father of Andrew Russell of Old Lyme

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Donald M. Russell

Donald M. Russell 93, born in Quincy, MA, passed away on February 2, 2021 in Plano, TX after a brief illness.

He graduated from Quincy High school in 1945 and enlisted in the US Coast Guard. When he returned and did a Post Graduate year at Thayer Academy in Braintree, MA. He then attended Bates College in Lewiston, ME and graduated in 1951. He played offensive and defensive tackle for the Bates College football team.

After graduating from Bates, Russell was a high school social studies teacher and coach at Hollis High School in Hollis, ME, assistant football coach and headmaster at Thornton Academy in Saco, ME and Turner Falls High School in Turners Falls, MA where he taught social studies coached football, basketball and baseball and was the athletic director.

In 1960, Russell joined the coaching staff at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT as the freshman football, basketball and baseball coach. Russell took over as the head football coach in June 1964. He became Wesleyan’s athletic director and chairman of the physical education department in 1968. His best season at Wesleyan as a coach was in 1969 when he led the Wesleyan Cardinals football team to an undefeated, untied 8–0 record. He was named New England Small College Coach of the Year while the team tied for the Lambert Cup. He led Wesleyan to Little Three football championships in 1966, 1969 and 1970. He served in leadership positions with the NCAA, ECAC and was a founding member of NESCAC.

He was very active in the Middletown community. He was a member of the Board of Education, the Common Council, Police Commission, Fire Commission, Chairman of the Middlesex United Way Annual Campaign, Board of Corporators of Middlesex Hospital, Palmer Field Renovation Committee, Park and Rec Commission, the Republican Town Committee and the Middletown Rotary Club.

Upon retirement, Don and Joyce split their time between Jekyll Island, GA and Lake ST Catherine’s, Poultney, VT until they relocated to Plano TX in 2003. While in Plano he continued his love of football by attending many Friday night high school games. He also played some of the best golf of his life in his 80’s and had three holes in one.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Joyce Hughes Russell; his children Beth Russell Campo and Norm of Barre, VT, Cathy Russell Pleines of Marshfield, MA, Andy Russell and Pam of Old Lyme, CT, Debbie Russell Smith and Andy of Woodbury, CT and his first wife, Helen O. Russell of Niantic, CT the mother of his four children. He also leaves behind Joyce’s children; Jayne Creelman of Van Alstyne, TX and Ralph Eric Ellis and Michele of Palm Harbor, FL. He has 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, George Cameron Russell, Lillian McIntosh Russell and his brother George.

There are no services planned at this time due to Covid-19. A quote from Don Russell from his high school yearbook was: He is one who has left a name behind him. Could not be better said.

 

A la Carte: Pork in a Pandemic, Roasted with Sauerkraut Gives Lots of Leftovers

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Lee White

The pandemic has certainly made my days and weeks disappear.

Has it really been almost 11 months since our children went to school? Last January, would we have understood the phrase “remote learning”? Would we have known what the heck this thing called Zoom is?

Most seasons used to involve food. April meant that first sweet radish, sliced thin on sweet buttered French bread. The first salad made with soft Boston lettuce. The first platter of fried clams or a lobster roll sitting outside at Captain Scott’s or Fred’s Shanty or the Clam Castle. A hamburger or hot dog in someone’s yard on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. Playing boules on summer Sundays.

Sure, I have cooked a lot. Honestly, I have cooked more than I ever thought I would. But so little of what I have cooked has been very seasonal.

Fortunately, I made corn chowder with corn I froze two summers ago. I didn’t bake as much since I’d no dinner parties and I was afraid I’d eat that pie in two days. Why open a bottle of wine when I would forget it in the refrigerator? 

And here I am, foraging in the big freezer in the garage. Wow, a pork roast dated 2019. I always made a pork roast on the last cool day in October. Here it is, almost February 2021, and I hadn’t made one yet.

But here it is. It’s a big one, enough for six to eight people. At the end of the recipe, I tell you how to make casseroles out of the rest.

Roast Pork Dinner … and Leftovers (for another day)

There is only one problem with this great pork and sauerkraut dinner: the pork is roasted over the sauerkraut, so you can’t make gravy from scratch. I use one of the gravy mixes you can buy at the market, preferably Knorr. To do a leftover casserole, make extra vegetables and mashed potatoes.

Yield: 2 for dinner; the casserole will feed 4 to 6 for dinner

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Large can of sauerkraut
6 pound (about) pork loin, bone-in (make sure butcher breaks chine so chops are easy to cut apart)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Apple sauce (24-ounce or so)
2 to 3 pounds Yukon potatoes
Fresh vegetables (broccoli, carrots, Brussels sprouts, beans, peas or a combination)
2 envelopes gravy mix

In the sink, place sauerkraut in a colander. With your hands, twist water out of the kraut as much as you can. 

In a large Pyrex baking dish, form sauerkraut into a flat loaf with your hands. Put the pork loin, bone down, onto the kraut. Season with salt and pepper. Place pork and sauerkraut onto the oven and cook for one and one-half or two hours.

Remove from the oven and, using two big forks, put kraut into another baking pan, placing the pork back onto the Pyrex baking dish. Mix apple sauce with sauerkraut in the smaller pan, and place both pans into oven. Bake for another hour.

While pork and kraut bake, make your mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy mix. Serve.

***

After dinner, create the new casserole(s) in a freezer-safe, oven-safe container by layering the casserole(s) with mashed potatoes, vegetables, sauerkraut and small chunks of pork; pour leftover gravy on top. Place casserole(s) into a jumbo zippered plastic bag and freeze. When ready to serve, thaw, remove zippered plastic bag and roast in a 350 degree oven until hot. Serve with fresh gravy and apple sauce.

About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years but now lives in Groton, Conn.

Old Lyme PGN Library Launches ‘Black History & the Graphic Novel’ Book Boxes for Age 12 & Up

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OLD LYME — The Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library is offering personalized book boxes for readers aged 12 to adult. The first thematic offering is Black History and the Graphic Novel – a spotlight of Black story-telling through the immersive, artful form of the graphic novel.

To request their own Book Box, patrons are asked to share their preferred genres and keywords using this form, which can also be found on the library’s website.
The Black History and the Graphic Novel box comes with two limited edition bookmarks (is that Bernie on the new patio?), a snack-y food, a Black History button-making activity, notes from the librarian about why your books were chosen, including what to read next, and some other surprises.

Once their box is ready for curbside pick, patrons will be notified. Curbside hours on Friday are 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., and Monday to Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Young Adult librarian Nike Desis will choose two to three titles for each reader from a collection of majority Black authors and Illustrators. The books could include a memoir, a love story, or an account of an historical event.
In this program, history includes fiction, as storytelling can help to form culture and shed insight on history.
Desis comments, “The Young Adult collection of graphic novels is a portal to diverse stories, detailed histories, and rad futures.”
In parallel to thee Black History and the Graphic Novel Book Box program, new graphic novels are being added to the library’s collection from the independent. CT-based, Black-owned bookstore project, The Key Bookstore.

For more great reading suggestions, for any time of year, from Black educators and Black-centered institutions, check out the stories of @olpgn_library on Instagram, where resources from diverse networks are curated and shared.

Why Read Graphic Novels?

“[Reading a graphic novel] is a fun, immersive, and beautiful way to learn about and recognize the accomplishments of black Americans throughout time, and it just might change the way you see history. The true stories of black Americans are far too often overlooked and neglected, even left out of the history books entirely. ” https://www.bustle.com/p/11-powerful-graphic-novels-to-read-this-black-history-month-35848

“Research about children and graphic novels has established that children find reading graphic novels enjoyable and compelling, that graphic novels can infuse some readers with feelings of academic success in ways that traditional books do not, and that children are more likely to read graphic novels than read nothing at all… More and more, graphic novels are helping to shape children’s ideas of what is normal, acceptable, and powerful in a society they are just learning to navigate on their own. The combination of image, text, and story that graphic novels employ makes their influence a visceral and powerful one. “http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol21/SLR_DrawingDiversity_V21.pdf

“Graphic novels have become a standard in the [book] award community for giving children new means to explore difficult subjects that may be hard to understand or digest.” https://www.literacyprojecteaglecounty.org/latest-news/why-graphic-novels-matter

Lyme-Old Lyme Lions Cancel Super Bowl Pancake Breakfast This Year Due to COVID

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OLD LYME — The annual Super Bowl ‘Scholarship Breakfast’ traditionally hosted by the Lyme-Old Lyme Lions will not be held this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

Funds from the event benefit the Lion’s Scholarship Fund, which gives scholarships to deserving Lyme-Old Lyme High School students.

The Lions asked us to let readers know that the Pancake Breakfast will definitely be back next year!

If you wish to donate to the Lion’s Scholarship Fund, visit this link.

Feb. 4 COVID Update: Encouraging News with Cases Rates Down in Both Towns, But Prevention Methods Still Critical; OL Reports 264 Cumulative Cases, Lyme Holds at 77

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This map published Feb. 4 shows the average daily rate of new cases of COVID-19 by town during the past two weeks. Only cases among persons living in community settings are included in this map; the map does not include cases among people who reside in nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.

LYME/OLD LYME — Despite the fact that January was the worst month to date in terms of total cases in both Lyme and Old Lyme, the Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Thursday, Feb. 4, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) for data as at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 3, gives some encouraging news.

It shows that Old Lyme’s COVID-19 cumulative case numbers since the pandemic began decreased by one to 264 compared with Wednesday’s number of 265.

Lyme’s cumulative total stayed constant at 77 in Thursday’s CT DPH report, the same number as in Wednesday’s report.

Additionally, Ledge Light Health Department (LLHD) issued their Weekly COVID Report yesterday, which LLHD Director of Health Stephen Mansfield prefaces with the words, “We are encouraged to see a moderate decrease in cases for the 3rd consecutive reporting period, and are hopeful that this trend will continue.”

He adds though, “The demand for vaccine still exceeds the available supply and will for some time,” and asks for our help, “… in continuing to promote other prevention methods such as mask wearing and social distancing.”

So here at LymeLine.com, we stress again to readers that the pandemic is not over yet and to keep the situation moving in the right direction, we must continue to wear masks, wash our hands and socially distance.

And in other positive news, the latest two-week case rate per 100,000 population, which was announced yesterday, Thursday, Feb. 4, has fallen in both Lyme and Old Lyme, which, in turn, reflects the fact that the number of cases has fallen in both towns over the two week-period.

The two-week case rate for the period 1/17 to 1/30 decreased (compared with the previous two-week case rate for 1/10 to 1/23)  in Lyme from 24.4 to 21.4 and over the same period in Old Lyme from 48.5 to 38.8.

The same report shows that Old Lyme had 23 (27) cases in Week 1 and 17 (23) in Week 2 while Lyme had 5 (3) cases in Week 1 and 2 (5) in Week 2.  (The previous Week 1 and 2 figures are shown in parentheses.) This data was updated Feb. 4, 2021.

Both Towns Still in ‘Red Zone’

Bringing us right back to reality though, the Daily Data Report for Connecticut issued Thursday, Feb. 4, by the CT DPH does however, shows that both Lyme and Old Lyme are still in the state-identified ‘Red Zone’, where they have been for the past several weeks.

As of the Feb. 4 report, eight towns in the state — Bridgewater, Canaan, Cornwall, Colebrook, Norfolk, Scotland, Union and Warren — are now in the ‘Gray Zone.’

  • The red category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town exceeds 15.
  • The gray category is defined as when the Average Daily Rate of COVID-19 Cases Among Persons Living in Community Settings per 100,000 Population By Town is less than five or less than five reported cases.

In all cases, this rate does not include cases or tests among residents of nursing home, assisted living, or correctional facilities.

Old Lyme – Confirmed Cases Down One

Old Lyme now has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 259 confirmed COVID-19 cases and FIVE probable cases, making a TOTAL of 264 cases.

This represents an DECREASE of ONE in the cumulative number of confirmed cases over the number reported Wednesday, Feb. 3, (265) and NO CHANGE in the number of probable cases over the number reported the same day.

The total number of Old Lyme residents tested is 4,453.

There have been two fatalities in Old Lyme.

Lyme – Confirmed Cases Unchanged

Lyme has a cumulative total (since the outbreak began) of 72 confirmed cases and FIVE probable cases, making a TOTAL of 77 cases.

This represents NO CHANGE NO CHANGE in the number of confirmed cases or probable cases from the number reported Wednesday, Feb. 3.

There have been no fatalities in Lyme.

The total number of Lyme residents tested is 1,198.

Connecticut Hospital Occupancy

At the request of several readers, we are adding a new report today showing the respective rates of hospital occupancy at local hospitals. The data for this report is obtained from the Connecticut Hospital Occupancy Report published weekly by the CT DPH and extracted from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) facility-level data for hospital utilization aggregated on a weekly basis (Friday to Thursday).

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Editor’s Note: The state issues a COVID-19 metric report daily around 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, which includes current data up to the previous evening. In light of the serious rise in Coronavirus cases, we started a new weekday update reporting confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Lyme and Old Lyme. The next CT DPH Daily Data Report for Connecticut will be issued in the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 5.