Monthly Archives: September 2025

Renaissance Masterworks by Albrecht Dürer Take Center Stage at Lyman Allyn through November

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Included in the exhibit is Dürer’s “Joachim and the Angel,” ink on paper.

NEW LONDON–The Lyman Allyn Art Museum has announced the opening of “Albrecht Dürer: Master Prints,” featuring over 40 woodblock prints and engravings from  the German Renaissance master printmaker. 

The exhibit will run through Nov. 30. 

The museum in a press release described Dürer (1471-1528) as an extraordinary innovator who revolutionized printmaking.

The exhibition features a selection of Dürer’s prints, including two woodcuts from his celebrated Apocalypse (1498), his engraved Adam and Eve (1504) and his Meisterstiche (master engraving) of Saint Jerome in His Study (1514). All sixteen prints from Dürer’s Engraved Passion (1507-12) will be on view, along with examples of his Small Woodcut Passion cycle (1508-10), and his Life of the Virgin (1503-10). Several compositions by some of the artist’s most influential contemporaries and predecessors are included, with examples by Albrecht Altdorfer and Martin Schongauer, among others.  

Born in Nuremberg, Dürer apprenticed under his goldsmith father and under the Nuremberg painter and printmaker Michael Wolgemut. He soon rose to prominence, utilizing his skill and ambition to produce increasingly accomplished drawings, paintings, and prints. After several years of travel and work in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy, Dürer returned to Nuremberg to focus on printmaking. Dürer’s woodblock prints and engravings brought printmaking to a new level of sophistication, establishing an international reputation for the artist.  

Lyman Allan Curator Tanya Pohrt said Dürer redefined printmaking in the early 1500s. 

“Visitors will have the unique opportunity to explore the artist’s exceptional mastery of a remarkably complex medium,” she said. 

The exhibit is organized by the Reading Public Museum of Pennsylvania. Additional works from Connecticut College’s Wetmore Print Collection will be featured in the exhibition. Funding comes from an anonymous foundation as well as the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

The museum at 625 Williams Street, New London, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. For more information call 860-443-2545, ext. 2129 or visit www.lymanallyn.org.

SECWAC Hosts Author Talk in Old Lyme, Book Recounts Mother’s Real Life Escape, Survival on WWII Eastern Front

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Charov will talk about the book she wrote based on her mother’s diaries.

OLD LYME–The Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) this month hosts author Helen Charov in a presentation on her book “Tatyana’s War: Escape and Survival on the Eastern Front in World War II.”

The Thursday, Sept. 25 event will be held at 6 p.m. in the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. It will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

SECWAC in an event description said Charon was born Brooklyn, New York, to émigré parents, who came to the U.S. as displaced persons after World War II. Charov grew up in Sea Cliff, a village on Long Island’s north shore. After graduating from New York University, she traveled extensively throughout the USSR with a U.S. government exhibit. She lives in Connecticut.

Charov’s book has its origin in diaries belonging to her mother that were found in a Connecticut attic. There, Charov discovered an account of her mother’s life as a teacher in the Stalinist Soviet Union, the 1941 Nazi invasion of Donetsk, her survival under Nazi occupation, and her harrowing escape to the West. 

“Tatyana’s War” tells the story of Tatyana Artemyeff, a 25-year-old teacher, as Nazi troops invaded her home of Donetsk, Ukraine, in 1941. The 25-year-old teacher was left on her own to save her two children and mother when her conscripted husband’s unit retreated from the city. Tatyana, who spoke German, was determined to find a way to survive the brutal occupation and keep her family from dying of starvation or execution.

SECWAC members are free. Non-Member in-person attendance is $20. Non-Member Visit this link to register.

For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.

Two Lyme-Old Lyme Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

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Rose E. Dimmock and Alexander L. Glaras have been recognized as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition.

LYME/OLD LYME–Two Lyme-Old Lyme High School seniors have been announced as semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship competition. 

Rose E. Dimmock and Alexander L. Glaras stood out from 1.3 million high school students when they took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) in 2024, according to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Less than 1% of test takers that year earned the semifinalist distinction. 

The Lyme-Old Lyme students, along with 245 students from across Connecticut, join more than 16,000 semifinalists continuing in the competition nationwide. 

Dimmock and Glaras will compete for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be announced next spring. Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the next level of the competition, with approximately half of the finalists earning a National Merit Scholarship. 

The organization will select finalists based on academic records, school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and any honors and awards they have received. Judges will also look at recommendations, a personal essay and SAT scores. 

The 2026 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced starting in April.

Lyme-Old Lyme Soccer Roundup: Girls Notch Two Wins, One (Big) Draw; Boys Take One Win, One Loss

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OLD LYME— Playing at home Thursday, Sept. 11, the Old Lyme girls defeated Westbrook 3-0. Scoring for the Wildcats were Anna Bussman, who put two goals into the net, and Vivian Boller, who also added two assists to her one goal tally.

Brooke Burgess had an assist while Grace Osborne in the Old Lyme goal made two saves.

Shay Sotiridge in goal for Westbrook made 18 saves.

The girls are now 2-2-1 overall and 2-2-0 in the Shoreline Conference.

Playing away at Hale Ray on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the girls notched a big 4-0 win.

Scoring for the Wildcats were Olivia Lovendale and Anna Bussman with one apiece and Vivian Boller , who put in the other two.

Assists were by Ava Fuller and Natalie Suisman. while Grace Osborne made six saves in the Old Lyme goal.

Kinley Smith made a remarkable 24 saves for the Hale Ray.

Playing away ay East Lyme on Saturday, Sept. 6, the girls pulled off a thrilling 3-3 draw against East Lyme.

Scoring for the Wildcats were Anna Bussman, Brooke Burgess and Vivian Boller with Addy Morosky adding an assist.

Layla Turdo, Kaylee Knapp and Juju Guarraia scored for East Lyme.

Wildcat Boys

Playing at home Tuesday, Sept. 9, the Old Lyme boys defeated Hale Ray 2-1 with Ian Maeby scoring both goals for the ‘Cats. Assists were by Colman Curtis’s-Reardon and Rowan McCormick. 

Marcus Brown scored the lone Hale-Ray goal.

Sam Edmed in goal for Old Lyme made six saves, while Owen Kelly for Hale Ray made 11.

The boys are now 2-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the Shoreline Conference.

Playing at home on Thursday, Sept. 4, Old Lyme was defeated 5-1 by East Hampton.

The Wildcats goal was scored by Ian Maeby with an assist by Elliot Dunn-Sims.

Sam Edmed made 10 saves for the ‘Cats and Liam Mccormick added one.

Scoring for East Hampton were Colin Marshall and Luke Davidson, both with two and Sebby Woodson making the fifth. Assists were by Colin Marshall and Sebby Woodson. 

Shane Ruggiero made four saves in the East Hampton goal.

Op-Ed: Why Plagiarism Matters in Our Local Election

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Editor’s Note: This op-ed was written by Stephen Olbrys Gencarella, Ph.D. of Lyme.

It has been six weeks since I wrote a letter to the editor regarding how Christy Zelek, an Unaffiliated candidate for Lyme First Selectwoman, plagiarized DTC chair John Kiker. It has been six weeks of silence. I think it is safe to assume that Ms. Zelek has no intention of offering an explanation or an apology for her dishonesty. Perhaps she confuses cowardice with leadership.

Accordingly, in penning this op-ed, I request a written response from Ms. Zelek. As a lifelong Democrat and a potential constituent, I seek assurances that the leader of my town forefronts honesty. I also intend to explain to my fellow Democrats what plagiarism is and why its specific use in this case of local politics matters. I apologize upfront for the length.

There are many excellent primers on plagiarism, but I will draw from a source meaningful to this case, namely the Lyme / Old Lyme Parent-Student Handbook. That handbook succinctly defines plagiarism as “the act of presenting someone else’s words, work, or ideas as one’s own” and encompasses the “use of quotations, ideas, or work without proper citation” (2025, page 14).

Generally, it is not considered plagiarism when a candidate repeats political platitudes, phrases, clichés, or simple statements that describe a platform in partisan terms—what Tom Beyer calls “messaging” in a response to my original letter. It is plagiarism, however, if a candidate uses the specific words of another without attribution, and especially if they represent those words as their original expression.

Ms. Zelek’s full introductory statement to voters is as follows:

“I am grateful to have received the support of the Lyme DTC. I’m running for office because I love this town. My priorities will include keeping our town the beautiful, historic place it is; keeping our financials in check; keeping our taxes low and supporting our schools; and continuing to address our town’s capital needs, such as our roads, bridges and town equipment” (LymeLine, July 24, 2025).

Most of this is just common and harmless political phrasing. Indeed, it’s more notable for what is missing, such as even a modicum of support for Lyme’s LGBTQIA+ youth, veterans, immigrants, lower-income families, first responders, and social programs for children.

But as I explained earlier, the phrase “I love this town … keeping our town the beautiful, historic place it is” is directly lifted from chairman Kiker’s statements in Lyme Matters, the DTC newsletter. Those patterned words and sentence structure are unique to Mr. Kiker, who employed them repeatedly over the course of several years in specific contexts and who often signed his name to them. So, the use of that phrase is not general “messaging” akin to “God Bless America” (as Mr. Beyer contends). It’s taking someone else’s quotable words without citation and representing them as one’s own.

Why does this matter?

As I’ve noted before, Ms. Zelek’s use of Mr. Kiker’s words raises questions about the nature of her campaign and who would actually be in charge of the town. It is reasonable to wonder, further, if Mr. Kiker wrote that statement for her, recycling his own language, but that would raise the subsequent question of why Ms. Zelek did not compose her own introduction to voters, which is not difficult work.

It’s important to recognize that Ms. Zelek is asking to be elected First Selectwoman. Yes, Lyme is a small town, but the office she seeks is the equivalent of being hired as the CEO of a small company or the president of a small college. It is a position that must have command of financial and legal matters, demonstrate good judgment in appointments, well represent the town to other municipalities, and provide calm and skillful leadership in the case of a crisis such as a hurricane or an ICE raid.

By her own admission, Ms. Zelek has not served on any town board, commission, or regional association. Instead of following a normal trajectory of requisite—or at least relevant—experience to First Selectwoman, she has instead posited that her primary qualifications for the town’s top job are her “leadership positions in parent-teacher groups at the high school, middle school and elementary school” (LymeLine, July 24). In other words, Ms. Zelek is asking voters to judge her readiness for leadership and to grant her public trust and authority according to her contributions to an educational community.

It is unthinkable that someone who has dedicated such time to educational support would not comprehend the nature and problem of plagiarism. Indeed, I trust that Ms. Zelek, as the longstanding president of the PTO and PAB, understands the significance of this issue better than most people, especially as it concerns modeling proper behavior for youth. I trust that she understands the crisis that we teachers are facing in the rampant and escalating practices of dishonesty among students. I trust that she knows we educators implore young people not to risk plagiarizing and to err on the side of caution if there’s a chance it could happen.

And that is why it is so disappointing that given the opportunity to introduce herself to voters, she opted to take the course of action that she did. It was a failure of principled leadership—and by her own stated standards.

I assume that many Democrats in Lyme will simply circle the wagons and find a way to excuse this behavior. So, to them, let me ask: If plagiarism is wrong when done by Melania Trump or Pete Hegseth or Benny Johnson, is it not also wrong when people on our side commit it? And do we or do we not as Democrats wish to restore the value and virtue of honesty in public life?

I will close with a relevant citation from the Honor Code of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School:(http://lolhsnews.region18.org/uploads/2/1/7/9/21791640/honor_code_8_17.pdf):

“We believe in taking ownership and pride in our actions and choices by demonstrating our Core Values of Accountability, Integrity, Respect, and Perseverance. In addition to abiding by the rules set forth in the student handbook, LOLHS Honor Code is founded on the following pillars of character:

Honesty is demonstrated by:

  • Refusing to lie, plagiarize, steal, or deceive in any way”

Despite its widespread decline in adherence, especially among politicians, it is still the right message. And I wish all local candidates and elected officials supported by my party lived by it.

Editor’s Note: This is the opinion of Stephen Olbrys Gencarella, Ph.D.