Category Archives: News

Lyme Land Trust Announces Two New Programs for Kids

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The beautiful Banningwood Preserve is where Lyme Land Trust’s new Sapling Club will meet on second Saturdays o the month.

LYME — The Lyme Land Trust will offer two monthly groups for children beginning March 13, 2021 and meeting the second Saturday of each month ( April 10, May 8, June 12).  The clubs will be directed by two volunteers, Regan Stacey and Angel Santos Burres. Both have children in the Lyme-Old Lyme school district.

Environmentalist/artist Stacey currently runs the Tree Collective, a Lyme Land Trust program for teens. Most recently, Santos Burres was the director of Outdoors Rx, a program of the Appalachian Mountain Club.

For elementary school-aged kids, the Sapling Club will provide outside play and adventure in the forest. The group will meet every second Saturday of the month from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Banningwood Preserve, Town Street, Lyme. 

Parents are welcome to stay or drop-off.

For middle-schoolers, the Hiking Club provides exploration of the natural world at a different preserve each month. It meets every second Saturday per month at 3 to 4:30 p.m., beginning March 13 at Banningwood Preserve. 

Registration required. To register for either club, contact: reganstacey@gmail.com

For more information about these and upcoming events: https://www.lymelandtrust.org

Lyme-Old Lyme High, Middle Schools Announce Q2 Honor Rolls

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Lyme-Old Lyme High School
2020-21 Quarter 2 Honor Roll

HIGH HONORS
Grade 12:
Kaylee Armenia, Sonia Bair, Maxwell Bauchmann, Jason Beebe, Emma Boardman, Kyuss Buono, Keenan Burr, Kate Cheney, Hunter Collins, Emerson Colwell, Megan Cravinho, Patrick Dagher, George Danes, Emily DeRoehn, Francette Donato, Isabella Flagge, Sadie Frankel, Fiona Frederiks, Schuyler Greenho, Regan Kaye, Avery Lacourciere, Grace Lathrop, Mackenzie Machnik, Elle McAraw, Emma McCulloch, Brendan McTigue, Riley Nelson, Connie Pan, Olivia Papanier, Lauren Pitt, Aidan Powers, Ezra Pyle, Julie Rudd, Hayden Saunders, Tessa St. Germain, Lian Thompson, McKenzey Thompson, Lauren Wallace, Kelly Walsh, Alison Ward, Lucas Wood-Muller

Grade 11:
John Almy, Nihad Bicic, Hannah Britt, Mackenzie Bussolotti, Evan Clark, Ryan Clark, Lauren Creagan, Elise DeBernardo, Elias D’Onofrio, Eleanor Dushin, Lauren Enright, Victoria Gage, Samantha Geshel, Shawn Grenier, Austin Halsey, Jackson Harris, Andrew Hedberg, Zoe Jensen, Nevin Joshy, Kian Kardestuncer, Robyn King, Michael Klier, Felse Kyle, William Larson, Reese Maguire, Abigail Manthous, Stephanie Mauro, Emily Mesham, Evan Morgan, Samuel Mullaney, Elle Myers, Emily Nickerson, Bella Orlando, Lauren Presti, Adeline Riccio, Margaret Rommel, Alexander Roth, Frank Sablone, Calvin Scheiber, Abigail Sicuranza, Abby Speckhals, Drew St.Louis, Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum, Maverick Swaney, Madison Thompson, Evan Visgilio, Aidan Ward, Melanie Warren, Ellie Wells, Ryan Zbierski

Grade 10:
Whitney Barbour, William Barry, Callie Bass, Livie Bass, Jillian Beebe, Cooper Bowman, Ava Brinkerhoff, Jamie Bucior, Hayley Cann, Liam Celic, Alexander Chrysoulakis, Grace Colwell, Nicholas Cox, William Danes, Anna Davis, John Eichholz, Zachary Eichholz, Makenna Harms, Willa Hoerauf, Arber Hoxha, Aidan Kerrigan, Theodore Lampos, Jonah Lathrop, Jacob Lopez-Bravo, Marielle Mather, Kennedy McCormick, Madalyn McCulloch, Caden Monte, Calvin Monte, Madeleine Morgado, Cooper Munson, Alexander Olsen, Alain Pecher-Kohout, Jaden Reyes, Izzadora Reynolds, Santiago Rodriguez, Rhyleigh Russell, Eli Ryan, Alden Sarnoski, Anders Silberberg, Alyssa Spooner, Samantha Tan, Kaitlyn Ward, Harry Whitten, George Williams

Grade 9:
Emma Bayor, Oliver Berry, Alis Bicic, Elliot Bjornberg, Drew Brackley, Natalie Buckley, Jackson Bullock, Sarah Colangelo, Ella Curtiss-Reardon, Eric Dagher, Eva D’Onofrio, Marcia Geronimo, Ryder Goss, Sydney Goulding, Alexis Grasdock, Justin Green, Douglas Griswold, Katherine Gryk, Abby Hale, Ella Halsey, Parker Holland, Sedona Holland, Agatha Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Sabina Jungkeit, Emmerson Kaye, Grady Lacourciere, Griffin McGlinchey, Delaney Nelson, Isabelle O’Connor, Ronald Olin, Dylan Paynter, Jack Porter, Luisa Raby, Cailin Ruhling, Louisa Warlitz, Mason Wells, Tyler Wells, Summer Wollack

HONORS
Grade 12:
Paige Alpha, Colbe Andrews, Ava Berry, Sadie Bowman, John Cox, Axel Cruz, Bianca Dasilva, Corah Engdall, Jackson Goulding, Isabella Hine, Samuel Koenigs, Paige Kolesnik, Destiny Kus, Owen Macadam, Brianna Melillo, Sophia Ortoleva, Nicholas Parrillo, Anwyn Paynter, Gavin Porter, Tait Sawden, Jesper Silberberg, Kassidy Standish, Jake Stewart, Avery Welch, Katelyn Zbierski

Grade 11:
Grace Arnold, Dylan Avelange, Anne Colangelo, John Conley, Grace Coverdale, James Creagan, Caroline Crolius, Elizabeth Duddy, Iona Fitzgerald, Aiden Goiangos, Nicolette Hallahan, Fiona Hufford, Julia Johnston, Cora Kern, Jacob Meyers, Brendan O’Brien, Michael O’Donnell, Jacob Ritchie, Aidan Russell, McLean Signora, Victoria Stout, Olivia Turtoro, Mary Wholean, Aden Wilson, Paige Winchell, Jenna Woods, Jerry Zhang

Grade 10:
Sophia Adkins, Olivia Alpha, Gillian Bradley, Gretchen Burgess, Sarah Burnham, Jennifer Cajamarca, Jacob Derynioski, Kylie Dishaw, Alexis Fenton, Matthew Grammatico, Ethan Hale, Clarence Hinckley, Karissa Huang, Madison Krol, Phoebe Lampos, Monique Lavoie, Ford Macadam, Amy Magalhaes, Grace McAdams, Olivia Powers, Kelsey Pryor, Benjamin Roth, Dylan Sheehan, Ned Smith, Tova Toriello

Grade 9:
Jedidiah Arico, Ava Cummins, Macklin Cushman, Lucas DaSilva, Mulanga Drysile, Alexis Frascarelli, Kenneth Gray, Leland Hine, John Holzworth, Yanza Lata, Luke Legein, Matthew Mazzalupo, Matthew Miller, Elaina Morosky, Katherine Mullaney, Grace Phaneuf, Ava Roth, Elias Sahadi, Kylie-Jean Sevigny, Haley Shaw, Owen Snurkowski, Madeleine Soriano, Hannah Thomas, Gabriel Tooker, Kalea VanPelt, Jacob Volkerts, Keara Ward, Duohui Yan

Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
2020-21 Quarter 2 Honor Roll   

HIGH HONORS
Grade 8:
Christopher Anderson, Emma Arelt, Quinn Arico, Oliver Avelange, Natalie Barndt, Molly Boardman, Nathaniel Bradley, Mark Burnham, Nathan Burres, Chase Calderon, Andrew Clougherty, Tabitha Colwell, Gloria Conley, Chloe Datum, Andrea DeBernardo, Shane Eastman-Grossel, Zoe Eastman-Grossel, Caeli Edmed, Anna Eichholz, Ella Evans, Grace Ferman, Benedict Frazier, Hoshena Gemme, Ava Gilbert, Henry Griswold, Jonathan Harms, Kaela Hoss, Rowan Hovey, Simon Karpinski, Olivia Kelly, Ella Kiem, Peter Kuhn, Bronwyn Kyle, Ada LaConti, Straub Lahot, Elise Leonardo, Evan LeQuire, Andrew Liu, Colette Marchant, Abigail O’Brien, Kanon Oharu, Filip Pecher-Kohout, Mutia Quarshie, Ysabel Rodriguez, Andrew Sicuranza, Drea Simler, Nola Slubowski, Audrey Spiegel, Kathleen Walsh, Ava Wood-Muller

Grade 7:
Charlotte Antonino, Zoe Brunza, Trevor Buydos, Tyler Cann, Julia Clark, Jack Conroy, Colman Curtiss-Reardon, Christopher Dagher, James Dahlke, Sophia D’Angelo, Rose Dimmock, Jonathan Farrell, Chase Gilbert, Alexander Glaras, Benjamin Goulding, Scarlette Graybill, Anne-Marie Hinckley, Christopher Kachur, Thomas Kelly, Katherine King, Harrison Kleefeld, William Landon, Jade Lawton, Maya LeQuire, Emily Looney, Sebastian Lopez-Bravo, Elise Marchant, Yanza Marin, Samuel Masanz, Carter McGlinchey, Sybil Neary, Nina Nichols, Ryan Olsen, Ryan Ortoleva, Louis Patana, Quenten Patz, Isabella Presti, Jacob Prokopets, Taylor Quintin, Jenna Salpietro, Sophia Shaposhnikova, Luca Signora, Emma Singleton, Tanner Snurkowski, Addison Spooner, Carson St. Louis, Andrew Taylor, Meredith Thompson, Margaret Thuma, Lucian Tracano, Madeleine Trepanier, John Turick, Connor Vautrain, Eve Videll, Elisabeth Viera, Warren Volles, Edith Williams, Oliver Wyman, Stella Young, Carl Zapatka, Katherine Zhang

Grade 6:
Lucia Arico, Addison Arndt, Zak Avelange, Phineas Barrett, Zachary Belval, Ceciley Buckley, Morgan Buerger, Marla Bulas, Brooke Burgess, William Burgess, Brennan Butzer, Lillian Calabrese, Chase Catalano, Isaac Chartier, Johanna Coker, Elliot Dunn-Sims, Samson Edmed, Edward Fiske, Lauren Fulara, Kaedin Gerster, Samuel Gilbert, Gavin Goulis, Harrison Goulis, Skylar Graybill, Charles Halsey, Owen Holth, Carolyn Hu, Elsa Jungkeit, Josephine Kiem, Allisondra Krol, Paul Kuhn, Alexa Legein, Olivia Lovendale, John Morosky, Emelia Munster, Grace Osborne, Mia Palmer, Kaitlyn Pannier, Ainsley Rinoski, Cameron Russell, Kevork Shegirian, Nicholas Sokolowski, Milo Stiles, Magdalena Tooker, Bowen Turick, Kaylyn Vernon, Ivy Wilson

HONORS
Grade 8:
Micah Bass, Jared DeMarco, Davis Fallon, Samantha Fiske, Marcella Gencarella, Abigail Griffith, Kyle Ingersoll-Bonsack, Charlotte Tinniswood

Grade 7:
Alec Butzer, Braden Dawson, Michael DeFiore, William Donnelly, Gabrielle Field, Bodie Holland, Ian Maeby, Bridget McAdams, Michael Nickerson, Daniel Shaposhnikov, Gabriel Waldo

Grade 6:
Mia Bonatti, Aidan Carpentino, Zachariah Guidi, Ashley Hendrick-Keel, Dina Hightower, Marley Iaia, Callahan Lacourciere, Eva Oulahan-Smith, Arthur Riccio, Hunter Supersano, Carli Teixeira

Reading Uncertainly? ‘The Survival of the Bark Canoe’ by John McPhee

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John McPhee, the ever-curious observer, listener, and recorder, has written and published some 30 books, exploring almost every facet of human existence. I’ve just re-read one of his earliest, and best, from 1975, an ode to, of all things, the canoe.

Attracted to the water at an early age, he confesses “the canoe … is the most beautifully simple of all vehicles.” So it is natural that he is attracted to Henri Vaillancourt, a New Hampshireman with Nova Scotian blood, a builder of birchbark canoes, for a mid-life story (McPhee was 44 when he wrote this book.)

McPhee introduces himself, establishes a connection and persuades Vaillancourt to join three of his friends for a lengthy excursion in the far north of Maine’s lakes and rivers. This is the story of that trip.

It begins with no-see-ums, those pestilent creatures that sneak through almost any screening. And as they paddle north, we learn almost everything there is to learn about bark canoes.

What is a wulegessis? It’s a “flap of bark that forms a deck over the bow (or the stern) and extends a short way down the sides of the canoe.” But this is an essential piece of knowledge if you are building your own birchbark canoe, assuming you have the time, energy, and patience!

McPhee recounts the conversations, frictions, stories and favorite words of this group (“bummer” is Henri’s normal), even while diverting to history: how the native Americans developed the “vehicle”, and the story of Thoreau’s similar trip to Maine a century earlier.

He lets the reader know that it is indeed possible to travel in a canoe from New York City to Alaska, and down the Yukon, to the Bering Sea (with, perhaps, a few portages …)

And we learn a few new word meanings: “to frog it” is to manhandle a canoe through shallow, rushing water, standing on its side. And how five men manage their “acute propinquity” during several weeks in the wilderness? Their “continued sense of motions, the clear possession of a course to follow, the sense of journey” bring them all closer together.” Plus the loons forever laughing at them …

The end? They finally reach the conclusion of their travel, disappointed that they have seen not one moose, predicted at their start. Then, as they are driving south, they are forced to the side of the dirt road to let a moose rush by, going north, pursued by a huge truck.

John McPhee is now 90. I eagerly await his next set of musings.

Editor’s Note: ‘The Survival of the Bark Canoe’ by John McPhee is published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux, New York, 1975.

Felix Kloman

About the Author: Felix Kloman is a sailor, rower, husband, father, grandfather, retired management consultant and, above all, a curious reader and writer. He’s explored how we as human beings and organizations respond to ever-present uncertainty in two books, ‘Mumpsimus Revisited’ (2005) and ‘The Fantods of Risk’ (2008). A 20-year resident of Lyme, Conn., he now writes book reviews, mostly of non-fiction, a subject which explores our minds, our behavior, our politics and our history. But he does throw in a novel here and there. For more than 50 years, he’s put together the 17 syllables that comprise haiku, the traditional Japanese poetry, and now serves as the self-appointed “poet laureate” of Ashlawn Farm Coffee, where he may be seen on Friday mornings.
His late wife, Ann, was also a writer, but of mystery novels, all of which begin in a village in midcoast Maine, strangely reminiscent of the town she and her husband visited every summer.

Planning Continues for 2021 White Elephant Sale, But No Final Decision Yet on Whether it Will Happen

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Will the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme’s White Elephant Sale take place this year?

OLD LYME — They kept it going through World War II, but last year — for the first time in 83 consecutive years — the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme had to cancel their White Elephant Sale (WES) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked if this year’s sale was going ahead, Bob Davis, who has been chairing the WES for some 20 years, said by email, “We are currently in a holding pattern waiting to see the impact of the vaccination program, the state’s approval of large crowds and the final approval of our ministers.”

He continued, “The WES Board met in December, as usual, to plan for this years sale. We looked at shifting the dates to late summer and fall to buy us time; but either Christ The King church parking was unavailable or we ran into other organization’s events and a fall venue with folks back to school and work is not practical for a two day sale.”

Davis added, “With that, the board decided to keep to our original schedule of July 9 and 10 [for 2021.]”

He concluded by explaining that the WES Board would continue, “… reserving tents, parking, banners, etc. hoping for the best.”

Expressing an optimistic air, Davis said, “Those eligible for vaccinations, hopefully will be receiving them soon and we can look forward to some normalcy in our lives with the WES.”

Editor’s Note: We will update this information as further decisions are taken regarding whether or not the WES will take place.

 

Basketball Update: Old Lyme Boys Steal Last Minute 50-47 Win Over Coginchaug

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LYME/OLD LYME — In a thrilling game played away Saturday in the Coginchaug gym, the Old Lyme boys ultimately outlasted Coginchaug 50-47 in a tightly contested Shoreline Conference game.
Caden Monte his a jump shot with less than a minute to go to give Old Lyme the lead at 48-47 and Jacob Ritchie added two free throws with five seconds left for the final victory.
Coginchaug had a last second look at three points on the buzzer, which would have tied the game, but — for the Coginchaug fans — excruciatingly, it bounced out.
Leading the Wildcats was Jacob Ritchie with 16 points, Colbe Andrews was close behind with 13 and Frank Sablone added 10.
Coginchaug was led by AJ Defilio with 17 points, Tyler Garratson 13, and Jaysen Penney 11.
The boys meet Valley this evening away with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.