And they’re off! A raised hand prepared to blow the starting horn for the LYSB Kids’ Race.
OLD LYME—Glorious sunshine greeted Old Lyme’s Midsummer Festival on Saturday and the day continued under clear skies all the way through to the fabulous fireworks late in the late evening.
Things kicked off with the 5K Midsummer Run organized by Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau followed by the always popular Kids’ Run.
The day began with LYSB Kids’ Run, which saw 70 youngsters sprint round Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.
There were stands galore at Lyme Art Association …
Elizabeth Farrell offered a great variety of products from Fat Stone Farm in Lyme, which she and her husband own.
There were good things to eat …
The Lyme Pollinator Pathway tent was co-hosted with Pollinate Old Lyme and the Old Lyme Conservation Commission. It offered a treasure trove of information.
Good things to learn …
Veterans Richard Mason and Ed Shyloski shared facts and figures about the VFW Post 1467.
and good people to meet.
Folk musicians played with vigor at Lyme Art Association.
Great music was played …
Edie Twining and Mark Terwilliger manned the Old Lyme Historical Society.
History was shared …
Old Lyme Open Space Commission member Andrea Fenton (center, holding document) gave information about the respective roles of both the Commission and the Old Lyme Land Trust to visitors galore.
And Open Space was discussed.
Marketing Coordinator Emily Clark greeted visitors at the Florence Griswold Museum..
Over at the Florence Griswold Museum, there were some canine matters under review …
This regal dog made a striking pose at the Dog Show sponsored by the Vista organization.
The annual Dog Show hosted by the Museum drew a large number of entries. The four-legged folk came in all shapes and sizes …
This dachsund and his owner wore coordinated costumes!
There were small dogs …
This ‘Daisy Dog’ walked away with a top award.
There were middle-sized dogs …
Butterflies were everywhere!
There were Butterfly Dogs …
Both this dog and his owner offered a wonderful show of patriotism!
And there were Starry Dogs!
Julie Martel puts ‘Sunkist’ Winnie through her paces. Winnie was subsequently declared the winner of the Longest Nose Award and also runner-up in the Best Trick contest. She even won a raffle prize as well!
Meanwhile, up at the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, the Lyme-Old Lyme Lions held their popular Classic Car Show.
The Lyme-Old Lyme Lions hosted their Classic Car Show at the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.
Gleaming vehicles were on show all around the grounds of the former Bee and Thistle Inn.
A delighted David Kelsey received an award from Lyme-Old Lyme Lions Car Show emcee Phil Parcak.
The show was a huge success drawing a record number of entries.
The ‘Fence Artists’ displayed their work at the Old Lyme Inn.
Over at the Old Lyme Inn, the ‘Fence Artists’ showed their skill through their paintings and photos that were for sale. Business was brisk throughout the day.
An amazing fireworks display lit up the night sky over Lyme-Old Lyme High School.
And finally, the end of another wonderful Old Lyme Midsummer Festival was celebrated with a spectacular fireworks display held on the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools campus.
We were proud to be a sponsor of such a special community event and indebted to the Old Lyme Arts District for all their hard work organizing such a remarkable day for so many to enjoy.
Lyme-Old Lyme High School graduate Liam Corrigan is the stroke in the Team US Mens’ Four boat that competed in Heat 2 Sunday.
PARIS, FRANCE/OLD LYME—The U.S. men’s four, with Old Lymes’ Liam Corrigan in the stroke seat, won its heat to advance directly to Thursday’s final, at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Corrigan graduated from Lyme-Old Lyme High School in 2015 and then went on to attend Harvard University, where he was ultimately captain on the men’s rowing team.
Racing in the second of two heats, the men’s four of Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University/California Rowing Club), Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club), and Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club) took the lead off the opening strokes and held nearly a one-second advantage over Australia 500 meters into the race.
The Team USA Mens’ Four boat cruises to victory in Heat 2.
The U.S. continued to power away from the field during the middle 1,000 meters, taking an open-water lead over the Aussie crew as the boats entered the final sprint. The American boat cruised to the finish, winning by just under a length in a 6:04.95. Australia finished second, claiming the other spot in the final in a 6:06.84.
The Team USA boat (bottom left) approached the finish line in first place in this morning’s Heat 2 of the rowing contest at the Paris Olympics.
“It felt solid,” Best said. “It was exciting. We’ve been building up a lot of excitement to get out there and race again. We had a lot of good momentum coming from World Cup II, and we all kind of knew, ‘Let’s get back to the work. There’s still the Olympics to get ready for.’ I think over the last few weeks we were at a training camp in Italy, and we were really excited to let it rip (down) the course. Coming through the last 250 (meters), that was incredible hearing all the audience. That was a first time for me to hear something that loud doing the sport I love.”
“One unique thing about this lineup and this crew is we’ve been together so long relative to other American crews in the past,” Mead said. “We have a ton of confidence in each other. We’ve been rowing together for about a year and training together for five or six years, so it’s a huge advantage when we come to these races knowing I don’t have to worry about what the guys in front of me are going to do. I know that they are going to execute the plan like we’ve talked about and that brings a relaxation and freedom to the race that in the past we’ve not had.”
Corrigan (left) led the Team USA Men’s Four boat to victory in Heat 2 Sunday morning.
“It was an exciting day, and Liam and the boat felt good. They know this is just the first step and will rest and prepare prior to the finals”, said Brian and Joan Corrigan of Lyme, Conn.
Team New Zealand won Heat 1 with a time of 6:03:06 They will join Team USA, Team Australia and Team Great Britain in the final. battling for the additional spots in the final via the repecharge are Team Netherlands, Team France and Team Italy.
The finals will be live on Thursday at 6:10 a.m. EST.
Go Liam! Go Team USA!
Editor’s Note: This story is adapted from US Rowing with their permission.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new ‘Kelsey Family Children’s Innovation & Discovery Center’ at CT Audubon’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center was held Wednesday, July 10. Pictured above are, from left to right, Alex Kelsey, David Kelsey, Dottie Kelsey, Tom Kelsey and Amanda Kelsey.
OLD LYME — Connecticut Audubon’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC) has announced the opening of a new children’s education center on its five-acre property in Old Lyme. Funded by private donations, The Kelsey Family Children’s Innovation & Discovery Center is located in a renovated and expanded 1,632-square-foot cottage.
“The Kelsey family is fortunate to be able to support such a worthy endeavor of the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center,” said J. David Kelsey of Old Lyme. He continued, “The commitment of the center to the nature education and growth of intellectual curiosity in our young kids is critical to the establishment of lifelong learning and coupling that with an introduction to conservation and an important understanding of the contributions of birds to our world is a wonderful thing of which to be a part.”
The center officially opened July 3 and will be the home of an array of new, specially-designed programs for children ages three and up. Program participants will have the opportunity to learn about conservation and the environment through stories and art, the use of scientific equipment, and explorations of local habitats.
The newly-renovated building includes classrooms, a studio and lab equipped with digital microscopes and other scientific equipment, an organic vegetable garden, and water and nature play area
The center features the following programs: Little Naturalists, a weekly nature class for parents/caregivers and children ages three to five years old, encourages discovery, exploration, and expression through stories, hands-on activities, and art with themes such as birds, insects, soil, water, mammals, and fish.
Family Ecology Days invite children of all ages to participate in a morning of ecology exploration through seasonal activities including macroinvertebrate exploration with scopes, plant ID in the center’s pollinator garden, and searching for birds with binoculars.
Birding Basics teaches children ages 12 and up the basics of birding with an ID classroom portion paired with practice in the field. The program is offered seasonally in the fall, winter and spring.
“With the establishment of the new center, we are now able to provide innovative, hands-on, and experiential STEM programs both after school and during our summer sessions,” said Alisha Milardo, director of Connecticut Audubon’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.
In addition to classroom programs, the center will also be available for private events, including children’s birthday parties.
Connecticut Audubon’s RTPEC dedicates itself to future generations through experiential education and conservation of the land, waters, and the species that inhabit them. Established in 2015 as a regional center of the CT Audubon Society, RTPEC focuses on protecting and conserving the dominant biosystems of southeastern Connecticut.
The Center’s programs reach over 8,000 students throughout the southeastern CT region.
The CT Audubon Society protects Connecticut’s birds, other wildlife, and their habitats through conservation, education, and advocacy. Founded in 1898, CT Audubon operates nature facilities in Fairfield, Milford, Pomfret, Hampton, Sherman, and Old Lyme, and an EcoTravel office in Essex.
A large crowd listened to ‘Locomotion’ while watching the sun go down across the Lieutenant River.
OLD LYME—It was a night of music and merriment as Old Lyme’s Midsummer Festival 2024 kicked off yesterday evening with a toe-tapping concert presented by ‘Locomotion.’
It was a perfect evening for a great concert.
Picnics were eaten, beverages were consumed, friends reconnected, and people danced to their heart’s content.
Liam Corrigan is at right in this photo of the US Men’s Four boat. Photo by Brian Corrigan.
LYME/OLD LYME — Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) 2015 graduate Liam Corrigan will represent the United States at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which start on Friday. He will be a member of the US Men’s Four boat in the rowing competition.
Heats 1 and 2 of the Men’s Four contest will be held respectively on Sunday, July 28, at 12:50 and 1 p.m. Central European Summer Time (six hours ahead of EST.) The finals are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1.
Corrigan’s parents Brian Corrigan and Joan Rivington travel to Paris this week to watch Liam compete.
We are delighted that Brian has agreed to keep LymeLine updated from Paris on Liam’s progress.
Corrigan’s parents, now live in Lyme, Conn. after spending a number of years as residents of Old Lyme.
This is the second time that Corrigan has been selected as part of the US Rowing team. He was a member of the Men’s Eight, which finished fourth in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics—that roster included another LOLHS graduate, Austin Hack, from the Class of 2010.
Hack also represented the US in the Men’s Eight at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, when the boat again finished fourth.
Liam Corrigan, LOLHS Class of 2014.
This time Corrigan will row in the Men’s Four and the team chosen comprises the same members, who brought home a silver medal for that event from the 2023 World Rowing Championships.
The other team members are Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University/California Rowing Club), Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club), and Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University/California Rowing Club).
Corrigangraduated from Harvard with an honors degree in Physics and Astrophysics and while at Harvard, he was captain of the men’s crew.
Since graduating, he has moved to Oakland, Calif. to train with the men’s training center for the upcoming Olympics. He is a member of the California Rowing Club.
His accomplishments with Team USA include finishing fourth in the pair at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, placing fifth in the four at the 2015 World Rowing Junior Championships, taking eighth in the pair at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and finishing ninth in the eight at the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships.
Corrigan rowed in the men’s four that won the B final at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
Responding to a question about how he felt after learning Liam had been selected for the US Men’s Eight, Corrigan’s father, Brian, told LymeLine exclusively, “Both Joan and I are very proud of Liam, and very thankful for the opportunities he was given as part of the rowing programs at LOLHS High School and the Old Lyme Rowing Association that got him started in rowing.”
He added, “The Tokyo Olympics did not allow spectators because of COVID-19, so this will be our first chance to watch him compete at the Olympics in person, and we are looking forward to being able to watch him compete in Paris this summer.”
We wish Liam the best of luck in his Olympic endeavor!
“Go Old Lyme! Go USA!”
Editor’s Note: Old Lyme Rowing Association (OLRA) oversees LOLHS crew, and Blood Street Sculls. Blood Street Sculls was established by Fred Emerson (on Blood Street) around 1965, for the cultivation of rowing for local high school students, college students and adults.
Some of the country’s most notable athletes called Blood Street Sculls home in the early days including Jim Dietz who is one of the most decorated scullers in US history (named to three US Olympic teams).
A strong supporter of the nascent sport of women’s rowing, Fred Emerson organized some of the first women’s national championships to be held on Rogers Lake in 1971, which included athletes who would ultimately represent the US in Olympic competition.
Blood Street Sculls was an incubator for rowing programs for high schools and colleges across New England. USCGA and Connecticut College got their start in this manner.
Anita DeFrantz first learned to row as a Connecticut College student, rowing on Rogers Lake. DeFrantz went on to represent the US in the 1976 women’s eight. She was a vocal legal authority when US athletes were prohibited from competition in 1980 and she has risen through the ranks of international rowing and is currently the vice president of the IOC.
Since record-keeping was initiated in 1997, over 100 athletes in OLRA programs have gone on to represent their university in collegiate rowing competition.
Paul Fuchs, Director of Rowing, holds the men’s lightweight course record for Head of the Charles, and competed on seven US World Championship teams. He has coached at the Olympic and World championship levels and serves on the Executive Council of FISA, the international governing body for the sport of rowing.Fuchs is an Old Lyme resident.
