A view looking south down the Connecticut River with Watch Rock Preserve to the left. Photo by Edie Twining.
OLD LYME — On Sunday, April 27, take a step back into the history of Old Lyme’s Native Americans with a presentation and walking tour led by Dr. John Pfeiffer, PhD, Anthropology, SUNY Albany.
At 1 p.m., Pfeiffer will give a lecture at the Old Lyme Historical Society, 55 Lyme St. Light refreshments will be offered.
At 2:15 p.m. take a guided walk led by Pfeiffer at Old Lyme’s Land Trust Watch Rock Preserve at 7 Joel Rd.
Pfeiffer has conducted over half a century of research as an anthropologist, historian, and archaeologist with our local Schaghticoke, Mohegan, and Nehantic tribes.
On Saturday, April 26, the Old Lyme Town Band celebrates its 50th anniversary with a free Community Concert at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. All photos courtesy of Old Lyme Town Band.
OLD LYME —The Old Lyme Town Band (OLTB) sounds off its 50th anniversary season with a free gala concert in the auditorium of Lyme-Old Lyme High School on Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. A reception will follow the concert. All are welcome and there is no charge for admission.
These four early members of the Old Lyme Town Band still play in it today. Michele Smith Dickey at right conceived the idea of re-forming the band in 1975 after a 65-year hiatus. The other three members are from left to right, Barry Weiner, Ann Lander, and Ned Perkins.
it was Michele Smith Dickey of Old Lyme—a member of the current band—who conceived the idea of re-forming the band in 1975 after a 65-year hiatus. She notes there were about 30 musicians at that time and the first volunteer conductor was Donald Janse. That was, in Dickey’s words, when, “We started making music and making friends a half century ago”. “
The original incarnation of the Old Lyme Town Band (OLTB) spanned 1886-1910. It was re-formed by Dickey in anticipation of the US Bicentennial coming a year later in 1976.
This photo shows the band in 1910 shortly before it took a 65-year break.
“The group has played continually for half a century,” she noted, continuing, “It’s great to have a musical outlet for people of all ages where friendships are forged.”
A series of 15 conductors followed Janse through the years. Under the direction of its current conductor, Richard Chiappetta, the band entertains audiences with a variety of music including movie medleys, traditional marches, showtune favorites, and Americana selections.
Dickey commented that the band has grown to more than 50 members since 1975 and continues to provide summer and holiday concerts to shoreline and river valley communities.
The April 26 concert will feature a commissioned piece by composer Anthony Susi titled, “Impressions of Old Lyme.” It was inspired by three Lyme Art Colony painters in summer residence at the home of Florence Griswold, where the new school of painting became the center of American impressionistic art. Susi hopes “Impressions of Old Lyme,” expresses the rich art history of the community. “The French impressionists often painted scenes around Paris; the American impressionists in Old Lyme painted the rural landscapes of New England.”
This famous work,“Kalmia” by Willard Metcalf, is one of the paintings that inspired Anthony Susi’s original work, “Impressions of Old Lyme,” which will be given its premier by the Old Lyme Town Band at their celebratory concert on April 26.
They used a technique of high-key colors and broken brush strokes seen in the paintings “The Ledges” by Childe Hassam, “Peonies” by Matilda Browne, and “Kalmia” by Willard Metcalf. The works reflect the meadows, marshes, and flowers in the area known for inspiring art.
Brian Girasoli, OLTB President, said that the show will feature debut compositions as well as old favorites as the group celebrates 50 years of musicianship.
“Since 1975, we have been fortunate to not only have nearly a thousand people from the surrounding area provide his or her musical acumen, but also the support of the community to put on more than a dozen concerts each year,” he continued.
Concert dates can be found at oldlymetownband.net/oltb and by visiting Old Lyme Town Band on Facebook. Regular annual events include a concert preceding the fireworks display at the Midsummer Festival, a summer concert on the Town Green, and a winter holiday concert at Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. New this summer will be a concert at Water’s Edge in Westbrook.
The OLTB welcomes players of all ages, students to retirees. No audition is necessary. Rehearsals are held Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at Christ the King Church in Old Lyme.
The campaign headquarters for Lyme and Old Lyme Democrats opens Sunday.
Old Lyme – Lyme and Old Lyme Democrats will celebrate their new campaign headquarters on Lyme Street with a grand opening Sunday.
The event will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at 10 Lyme St.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Comptroller Sean Scanlon will be among the elected officials attending, according to publicity from the town committees.
HADLYME — Kathryn “Kathi” Tray Hill, a beloved mother, grandmother, partner, and friend, passed away on April 12, 2025 surrounded by love. She was predeceased by her devoted husband of 32 years, Thomas W. “Dutch” Hill …
Born and raised in Narberth, Pennsylvania, Kathi was a walking ray of sunshine …
Later in life, Kathi reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Skip Broom, and together they created a beautiful new chapter. She moved to Hadlyme, Connecticut, and through Skip and his children, she discovered the beauty of Fisher’s Island …
Kathi is survived by her loving children: son Justin Hill, and daughter Carlye Miller and her husband Matt. She was a deeply proud and doting Grandy to Trey (18) and Beckett (15) Miller, and Kai Hill (14). She is also survived by her brother, William Tray (Carol), her partner Skip Broom; his children Adrien Broom (Nico) and Margot Broom McClowry (Terry); and Skip’s grandchildren “T” and Cal …
Editor’s Note: We are delighted to welcome transport guru Jim Cameron , pictured left, back to LymeLine. He was wrote for us regularly for almost 10 years starting in 2011 and his columns were always popular with our readers. He is the founder of the Commuter Action Group and advocates for Connecticut rail riders. He writes a weekly column called ‘Talking Transportation,’ which is published by a number of publications in the state. Here is the inaugural column of his second season with us.
Five Worst Ideas for Solving Traffic Congestion
While I’m on vacation this week I thought I’d revisit a commentary I wrote in 2014. Judge for yourself how little has changed in 11 years.
Everybody loves to complain about our traffic. And for some, the solutions are simple, if impractical. If there were easy answers to our woes, they’d have been implemented by now.
Look … this is really a matter of supply and demand: too much demand (highway traffic) and not enough supply (space on those roads). I think the solution is to manage the demand. But others say it’s a “supply side” issue.
So here are a few of the crazier ideas for fixing our traffic that I’ve seen proposed over the years:
The photo shows a double-decker highway in Texas. Photo credit: TexasFreeway.com
1) DOUBLE-DECK I-95: Seriously, this was once proposed by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. Can you imagine the decades of construction and billions in cost, with “upper level” roads having to soar hundreds of feet over existing bridges?
2) ALLOW TRUCKS ON THE MERRITT PARKWAY: There are two words to explain why this can’t happen: low bridges.
3) BAN TRUCKS FROM OUR INTERSTATES: This was once suggested to me by a Fairfield County First Selectman. But as I reminded him … trucks are high-occupancy vehicles delivering goods to the stores where you drive your single-occupancy vehicle to shop. No trucks, no goods, no shopping.
4) DRIVE IN THE BREAK-DOWN LANE: This was then-Governor Rowland’s idea in 2000 and he even wasted a million dollars studying it. But if you think of that far right-hand lane instead as the “emergency rescue lane”, you’ll see why this doesn’t make sense. This plan would also require re-striping the road to create narrower lanes, making driving even more dangerous.
5) WIDENING I-95 TO FOUR LANES: Again, billions in cost and decades of construction. And if you build it, they will come. The immutable law of “induced demand” means that traffic will expand to fill available space. Then what, a fifth lane?
There are better ways to manage congestion, some of them already being implemented:
OPERATIONAL LANES: Adding a fourth lane from on-ramps to the next off-ramps gives traffic a better chance of merging on and off the highway without blocking the through-lanes.
WIDENING CHOKE-POINTS: For example, the exit 14-15 bottleneck in Norwalk. But this widening project (for less than one mile) cost $50 million and took three years. The I-84 / Route 8 “Mixmaster” rebuild in Waterbury took six years and cost $253 million. Both projects were funded mostly with Federal funds, but it’s anyone’s guess what will happen to that money pot under the new administration’s budget cutting.
ADD A ZIPPER LANE: Sure, this may require highway widening, but just one lane that’s reversible depending on demand, a system that was used successfully on the Tappan Zee Bridge before its reconstruction. By moving the extra lane, capacity can be added to the direction where there’s the most traffic.
CHANGE COMMUTING HOURS: Does everyone really need to work 9 am – 5 pm? How about starting earlier or later and spreading out the traffic? Your employer should understand and you’ll be happier and more productive.
And the very best idea of all: IMPROVE MASS TRANSIT TO ENCOURAGE DRIVERS to get off of the roads.
As I say, there are no simple solutions to highway congestion. So when anyone says he or she has one, be skeptical. It’s easy to identify the problems. But fixing them will always be hard … and usually expensive.
