OLD LYME—The Old Lyme Town Nurse Denise Piersa’s office locations have changed as of June 1. The new locations are as follows:
Old Lyme Town Hall (Mondays)
Christ the King Church in Old Lyme (Tuesdays-Thursdays)
Lyme Public Library (Fridays)
Town Nurse office hours are unchanged at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Town Nurse appointments are open to residents of Lyme, Old Lyme and South Lyme free of charge. Walk-ins are welcome, but residents are encouraged to call ahead of time.
The Town Nurse’s phone number is 860-434-7808.
More information about the Town Nurse and the Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association is available at https://www.oldlymevna.org.
Editor’s Note: We received the following op-ed from George Frampton Jr., who co-owns12 and 19 Tantummaheag Rd. in Old Lyme, with his wife Carla Darista.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker has now acknowledged in a published interview [with The Day] that she misrepresented the press release she issued Monday on the Town’s plans for Tantummaheag Landing as a decision discussed and voted upon by the Board of Selectmen. To the contrary, it was entirely her own doing since [she says] “as the CEO, I can ask the town attorney to do anything that I feel is right for the town.” And she also now reveals that the promised new “survey” will not be an actual or honest survey of the original 1701 right-of-way, but simply a re-embrace of the fraudulent 1931 survey that remains the sole basis for the Town’s claim that our back driveway has been a public highway for 320 years. This is laughable since the 1931 surveyor admitted in a signed memorandum that he moved the actual 1701 route onto our driveway to “give the town what it needed” in order to access the river, the original route (as he pointed out) having run over our neighbor’s property and been destroyed thirty years earlier by an ice-pond. Piling dissimulation onto fraud can’t erase the original fraud.
More central to the matter, Old Lyme’s two selectwomen continue to hide from the inconvenient truth: the 1701 right-of-way could not even be found by 1712 and was turned back over to the owner Richard Lord and replaced in 1713 in a deal the Town made with him to create a different right of way (which is now tracked largely by Tantummaheag Road) and which also never went across our property – – and on which public access rights would end at the owner’s death in 1727. This bargain, recorded in Town deeds, is indisputable and enforceable and must be honored by the Town.
This pair, however, have now apparently declared their plan to once again bulldoze our property just as they bulldozed the “peace agreement” their fellow-selectman Jim Lampos (an expert historian) and town counsel negotiated with us after a deep review of all the evidence, an agreement that seemed likely to lead to a long-term resolution. This “deny the facts and law, but bulldoze the property” strategy has failed miserably and is likely about to result in even more unfortunate consequences for the Town.
CEO Shoemaker seems intent on moving toward an inevitable endgame in which we have to close our property permanently to all public users including pedestrians, which we have the absolute right to do based on official Town records, and the dispute will then shift to federal court in New Haven where the Town and town officials as well as individual defendants who knowingly worked with the Town to threaten our safety, security, privacy and legal rights over the past three years work to resist the compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and injunctive relief to which well-established case decisions entitle us and which we will be seeking to prevent similar overreaching by Town government on our private property and the property of others in the future.
The CEO may be able to do “anything that I feel is right for the Town,” but is the bulldozer approach really what is in the Town’s long-term best interests?
‘Learn to Row’ this summer on one of the Old Lyme Rowing Association’s many courses.
OLD LYME—The Old Lyme Rowing Association (OLRA) is hosting the following summer ‘Learn to Row’ programs. The OLRA is home to the Blood Street Sculls and Lyme-Old Lyme High School Rowing. The following programs are all currently open for enrollment:
Adult/HS Learn to Row courses are offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-8 p.m. on these dates:
June 10 – June 21
June 24 – July 5
July 8 – July 19
Middle School Learn to Row courses are offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:15-10:15 a.m.. on these dates
June 24 – July 5
July 8 – July 19
July 22 – Aug 2
The Junior Competitive program is for high school students entering grades 9-12, recent graduates, or with the approval of the head coach. Find more information at this link. Registration opens around March 1. Summer juniors actively train and race for a period, starting June 19 – Aug 2 on weekdays from 6-8 a.m.
Scholarships are available for all levels of OLRA programs. If you have a financial issue, contact Paul Fuchs directly for a confidential discussion. For more information on all aspects of the Old Lyme Rowing Association, visit www.oldlymerowing.org.
‘Juneteenth’ Celebration with Jazz & Poetry Slated for June 22
Witness Stones at the Duck River Cemetery honor Phyllis Tantiphant, Salem Freeman, and Katherine Freeman, three African Americans and one Native American who labored in servitude nearby on Meeting House Hill (today’s Johnny Cake Hill).
OLD LYME – ‘Witness Stones Old Lyme’ will expand its project in 2024 to honor 10 enslaved persons, who labored in the Town of Lyme—historically known as North Lyme.
Ten new Witness Stones—historical plaques commemorating the lives of enslaved African Americans—will be placed in late May at the Lyme Public Library.
In 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Project installed a total of 38 plaques on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., and Old Shore Rd. in Old Lyme.
To deepen the untold story of local enslavement, ‘Witness Stones’ this year will honor Dina, Jenny, Pompey, Peter, Bristo, Suberiah, Boston, Cuff Condol, Prince Brown, and Pomp Henry.
To celebrate the town’s newly-installed Witness Stones, the Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership is holdingevents in May and June. All events are free and open to the public and take place rain or shine.
Poet Rhonda Ward will speak at the Witness Stones installation ceremony on Mary 31.
Witness Stones Installation Ceremony
Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, 2 Library Lane, Old Lyme CT Friday, May 31, 10 a.m.
The community will gather on the lawn of the Old Lyme Library to celebrate the fourth installation of Witness Stones in the Lyme-Old Lyme area. The program offers music, poetry, and words from community partners.
Guest speakers include Rhonda Ward, Witness Stones Old Lyme poet and first New London Poet Laureate; Nikita Waller, soloist; Rick Wyman, saxophone; Martha Shoemaker, Old Lyme First Selectwoman; Melissa Fournier, Lyme librarian; Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School poets and Select Chorus.
Juneteenth Celebration with Jazz & Poetry Florence Griswold Museum—north lawn, 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme CT. Saturday, June 22, 2 to 4 p.m..
The celebration in honor of Juneteenth—a federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans—will take place on the north lawn of the Florence Griswold Museum.
The event features a quartet led by legendary bassist Nat Reeves and new work by Connecticut poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, who in 2021 created a tribute in verse to those enslaved in the historic town of Lyme. The jazz quartet includes world-renowned saxophonist Abraham Burton, celebrated pianist James Austin, Jr., and impressive percussionist Michael Ode.
On June 22, bassist Nat Reeves leads a jazz quartet at the Juneteenth Celebration with Jazz and Poetry.
The event has received generous funding from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. In case of rain, the Juneteenth celebration will take place at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.
Witness Stones Old Lyme joins a growing coalition of Witness Stones Project communities dedicated to restoring history and honoring the humanity and contributions of those formerly enslaved. The Old Lyme initiative was made possible through the support of the Lyme-Old Lyme community, including local institutions and the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.
The Witness Stones Project in Old Lyme is vital at this time of learning about and engaging with the history of slavery in Connecticut. But this local project also has national reach as America comes to grips with its complicated past regarding the enslavement and indenture of African and Native people.
Each Witness Stone placed on Lyme Street, McCurdy Rd., Old Shore Rd., and at the Lyme Public Library includes the name of an enslaved individual, along with details about their lives and circumstances derived from land records, emancipation certificates, and other available historical documents.
An interpretive sign installed on the lawn of the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library provides a map showing the locations on Lyme Street of the small brass plaques that are installed flush with the ground.
The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership
The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership’s goal is to expand the understanding of local history and honor the humanity and the contributions of those formerly enslaved in our community.
The partnership’s founding members include the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, the Florence Griswold Museum, the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools, and the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.
Community partners include the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau, and the Old Lyme Historical Society.
The Partnership has received generous support from a Health Improvement Collaborative of Southeastern Connecticut (HIC) Partnership Grant for Racial Equity.
Sincere thanks to Michele Dickey and Troy Christopher who together are responsible for all the photos in this essay.
OLD LYME— Yesterday morning, the big question was, “Is it on?” The weather was not being entirely co-operative and no one was sure if Old Lyme’s traditional Memorial Day parade would happen.
But the man in charge, Tony Hendricks, made his decision … and what a great one it was! He said that, despite the inclement weather, the parade must go on …
The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen comprising Selectman Jim Lampos (left), First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker (second from left) and Selectwoman Jude Read (right) enthusiastically marched down Lyme St. with State Rep. Devin Carney (R-23rd, second from right)
The Fife and Drum Corps played their pipes.
The Future Firefighters of Old Lyme were out in force.
The Lyme-Old Lyme High School Techno-Ticks displayed their skills.
Old Lyme’s Engine #1 looked resplendent.
The Old Lyme Fire Department walked proudly in a solemn line.
Fire equipment of yesteryear found a place in the parade.
With its lights flashing in celebration, this Old Lyme Ambulance took its spot in the parade.
Members of the Lymes’ Senior Center performed an impressive dance routine.
At the other end of the age spectrum, this young lady was clearly thrilled to be riding in the parade!
Phoebe Griffin Noyes aka Mary Dangremond represented her namesake Library with her usual flair
This young man delegated the hard work to his dad while he rode in comfort.
The Class S 2024 State Basketball Champions from Lyme-Old Lyme High School took a well-earned victory march down Lyme Street.
Little Leaguers swapped their bats for banners for the day.
Softballers cheerfully waved a patriotic flag.
Bruce Noyes drove his treasured army vehicle with wife Tammy and veterans atop.
Lyme Fire Department featured in the festivities.
What a cheery wave from this EMT and her canine companion!
Old Lyme Historical Society (OLHS) Board Member Edie Twining (left) sat with other OLHS members on the familiar, bright blue truck.
The Lyme-Old Lyme Lions proudly declared their mission of, “We Serve.”
The Old Lyme Land Trust’s truck was appropriately festooned with trees.
Talking of trees, here’s a great smile from one of our Forestry team!
This vintage automobile drew appreciative applause.
These Brownies demonstrated the meaning of teamwork.
Scouts proudly carried the Stars and Stripes as well as their own banner.
Lyme Ambulance joined the throng heading to Duck River Cemetery.
Arthur “Skip” Beebe was full of smiles as he rode in well-deserved style.
Nightingale’s Ukele Band added a musical touch.
Then came the ceremony at the cemetery when speeches were given, ‘Taps’ was played, heads were bowed, prayers were said, names were read, bells were rung, and salutes were given.
