Monthly Archives: June 2023

‘Summer Sculpture Showcase 2023’ on View Through October in Old Lyme, Features Works by 14 Acclaimed Artists

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This work by William Brayton is featured in Summer Sculpture Showcase 2023, which open Saturday with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme.

OLD LYME — Now in its eighth year, the Showcases have featured the selected sculptural works of over 100 acclaimed artists, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their sculpture in an outdoor environment specifically designed to nurture the creative arts. The annual exhibitions have drawn a total of over 7000 viewers to the 4.5-acre sculpture garden located on the Connecticut shoreline.  

In response to the success of the previous Showcases, Gilbert Boro, owner and sculptor at Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme, has announced that Summer Sculpture Showcase 2023, featuring 14 outstanding sculptors this year, will be on display from June 10 through Oct. 29, 2023. The works selected for the Showcase are intermingled with Boro’s own permanently-displayed works throughout the Sculpture Grounds. Boro’s sculptures now number in excess of 80 works in greatly varying sizes.

The 2023 Showcase effectively creates a new exhibition within the Sculpture Gardens. Boro comments, “I’m delighted to be able to open my grounds to these exceptional sculptors whose work intrigues me. Each one offers original creative thinking resulting in a combination of contrasting conceptual designs in a variety of media. I think any visitor to the exhibition is going to be thoroughly engaged by what he or she sees – including children.”

Boro is somewhat unusual as a professional sculptor in that he loves to see folk of all ages directly interacting with his sculptures, noting that he has a strong aversion to exhibitions, “… where people can’t touch my work.”

Apart from attracting visitors to see the works on his grounds, Boro is deeply invested in the vibrant Old Lyme arts scene and hopes this exhibition will help cement the town as a summer destination for art-loving visitors from near and far.

Boro explains that Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds is, “A vibrant community environment dedicated to arts education and appreciation,” with a mission, “To create a bond between art, nature and community by inspiring and promoting participation in the arts.”

Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds is located at 80-1 Lyme St., less than a minute from Exit 70 on I- 95. The Sculpture Grounds are open 365 days a year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is free. Children, field trips, group visits and dogs are all welcome.

For further information, contact info@sculpturegrounds.com.

Unexpected Death Announced of Park McLeod Morrison, 67; Born, Married in Old Lyme, Played ‘Countless Rounds’ of Golf at Black Hall Club

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ROCKPORT, MAINE — Park McLeod Morrison, 67, of Rockport, died unexpectedly Saturday, May 27, 2023, while enjoying his favorite pastime — golf.

Park was born to the late Betsy and Victor Morrison Jr. in Old Lyme, Conn., on Nov. 29, 1955 … Park married Melissa (Missy) Chapman, in Old Lyme, Conn. in 1980 …

He was a lifelong golfer who played countless rounds at Old Lyme Country Club, Black Hall Club and Megunticook Golf Club …

Park will be lovingly remembered by his wife of almost 43 years, Missy Chapman; daughters, Storrey (Jeff Ryckbost) and Sarah (Aaron Fulton); brother, Victor III (Patty Dunn); sister, Susan; …

Family and friends will remember Park at a celebration of life later this summer. In memory of Park, please consider donations to the Coastal Mountains Land Trust, take time to watch the birds or perform an act of kindness to promote peace in the world.

Visit this link to read the full obituary published June 9, 2023 on The Courier-Gazette.

Suisman Shapiro Attorneys Zrenda of Old Lyme and Bouchard Win Over $284,000 at Trial on Behalf of Client Injured in Workplace

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NEW LONDON/OLD LYME — Recently, following a two-day trial, a New London County jury awarded Attorneys Kyle Zrenda and Tim Bouchard’s client $284,514.07 for injuries he suffered in a slip on a wet floor at work. Zrenda, who resides in Old Lyme, and Bouchard are both employed as Attorneys at Suisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law in New London.

Despite not putting up any warning signs, the defendant, a commercial cleaning company, argued that the wet floor was not dangerous, and should have been obvious to the client.

Suisman Shapiro’s team was able to convince the jury that the floor was hazardous, and that their client could not have seen its dangerous condition before he slipped.

The client, a 33-year-old New London man, previously injured his back in a car accident four months earlier. Attorneys Zrenda and Bouchard successfully argued that his slip made those back injuries worse, and played an important role in his need for additional treatment.

Lyme-Old Lyme HS Seniors Celebrate Impending Graduation with Exuberant Car Parade Down Lyme Street

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Cars packed with cheery students waving to the crowds slowly wound their way down the parade route. on Lyme Street All photos by A. Fenton.

OLD LYME — Yesterday evening, the Seniors from Lyme-Old Lyme High School Seniors took the streets — Lyme Street, that is — to celebrate their penultimate day as students at the school.

They held a carefully planned parade in their decorated cars traveling slowly down Lyme St. to Ferry Rd., ably supported by Old Lyme’s Police, Fire and Ambulance Departments.

The soon-to-be-graduates, who will celebrate their Commencement tonight, June 8, were cheered on by parents, friends and community members all along the parade route.

The Seniors clearly enjoyed the experience …

… and the people of both Lyme and Old Lyme took this special opportunity to wish the Seniors well in the next chapter of their lives.

Congratulations to all the Seniors on their impending graduation and enjoy the festivities (safely) tonight!

A Tangled Story: Witness Stones Project Celebrates Placement of New Historical Plaques Honoring Lives of Enslaved Persons in Old Lyme

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Connecticut Poet Laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell reading reflections in verse. Photo by Liz Frankel and Carolyn Wakeman.

OLD LYME — On June 2, a large audience, along with musicians, singers, genealogists, poets, and descendants, gathered on the lawn of the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library to honor the lives of enslaved persons who lived in Old Lyme. 

The Old Lyme Witness Stones Project, with the support of its many local partners, recently installed new historical plaques on a grassy triangle on Old Shore Road. The plaques detail the names and stories of eight enslaved African-Americans and indentured Indigenous people, who lived and labored in the Black Hall section of the historic town of Lyme in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Select Singers performed at the ceremony.

These new brass plaques, four inches square and set flush to the ground, join 30 plaques that have been installed over the past two years on Lyme Street and in front of the Duck River Cemetery on McCurdy Road. 

Speakers and musicians included saxophonist Richard Wyman;  historian John Mills; Genealogist Vicki Welch; and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School poets.
Eight plaques newly installed on Old Shore Road.

Carolyn Wakeman, an historian and organizer of the project noted: “This is a tangled story in which families of the enslaved and the enslavers intertwined, but the circumstances of those enslaved . . . allow us today to discern the contours of northern slavery.” 

A postcard/map is available at the Town Hall, the Library, the Florence Griswold Museum, the First Congregational Church, and on the Witness Stones Old Lyme website https://www.witnessstonesoldlyme.org/.

Between 1670 and 1826, over 250 enslaved African-Americans and indentured Indigenous people labored in what are now the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme, and parts of East Lyme and Salem. They were young and old, male and female, parents and children. Some died as slaves, some were given freedom; some were soldiers, sailors, soap makers, runaways, fiddlers, and farmers.

The project will be completed over the next two years with a total of 50 plaques installed in Lyme and Old Lyme.

An interpretive sign on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library marks the Witness Stone trail.

The commemorative plaques in Black Hall, placed together in a group, expand the power of an individual story.