Category Archives: Lyme

‘David Ruggles Week’ Concludes at Lyme Library with Painting of Community Mural Celebrating Ruggles, Saturday

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Acclaimed Local Artist Nancy Gladwell to Lead Mural Creation

LYME, CT—Lyme Public Library hosts a special ‘David Ruggles Week’ next week from Monday, June 23, through Saturday, June 28. To register to attend any of the events listed below in person ot to receive the Zoom meeting invitation, email programreg@lymepl.org or call 860- 434- 2272.

The schedule of programs is as follows:

June 23  (Monday) @ 6 p.m.
Local historian Jim Lampos will discuss the life, work and, historical impact of the African-American Abolitionist and Lyme native son David Ruggles.on American society
Lyme Library Community Room or Zoom

June 24  (Tuesday) @  6 p.m.
Professor and historian Dr. Jonathan Wells, Professor in the history of Afroamerican and African studies, will be appearing via Zoom to speak about his book “The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War”. Dr. Wells will recount how journalist, abolitionist and Lyme native son, David Ruggles, worked tirelessly, and at the risk of his own life to bring to light the injustices of institutional corruption that allowed slavery to continue to flourish in America on the eve of the American Civil War. 

Wednesday, June 25 @ 2 p.m. (Zoom)
Local historian Tom Schuch will be speaking about the Ruggles legacy and his genealogical connections to Lyme via Zoom.

Thursday, June 26th @ 6 p.m. (Zoom)
Dr. Graham Hodges, author of “David Ruggles: A Radical Abolitionist and the Underground Railroad in New York City” will speak about how David Ruggles saved lives via the Underground Railroad.

Saturday, June 28 2-4 p.m.
Calling artists of all ages to help make history happen at the library!

Local artist Nancy Gladwell, who is a member of PARJE (Public Art for Racial Justice Education), will be assisting all the artists (no age limit so adults and children are encouraged to attend) to come by and participate in painting a mural for the Lyme Library about the hero, abolitionist and Lyme native son, David Ruggles. The mural created will be proudly displayed in the library upon its completion.

Come in and help promote and participate in the legacy of racial justice that Mr. Ruggles fought so hard to uphold and make history happen at the Lyme Library.

Drop ins welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

Editor’s Note: This report was updated to correct the date of the final event.

Longstanding Foundation Gives Almost Half a Million Dollars to College Students From Lyme, Old Lyme

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The MacCurdy Salisbury Educational Foundation recently awarded grants to 26 students. Standing, left to right: Manu Geronimo, Caleb Todzia, Mason Freer, Simon Karpinski, Ryan Shapiro, Micah Bass, Chloe Datum, Thomas Kabel, Tabitha Colwell, Erin Durant, Lily Esposito, Samantha Fiske and Paige Phaneuf. Seated, left to right: Abigail Greene, Abby Griffith, Audrey Spiegel, Nola Slubowski and Ada LaConti. Award recipients not pictured:
Gloria Conley, Caeli Edmed, Grace Ferman, Christopher Gibbons, Lana Lopes, Elias Sahadi, Kelly Sheehan and Charlotte Tinniswood.

LYME/OLD LYME—On June 17, the MacCurdy Salisbury Educational Foundation honored 26 graduating seniors during a reception at the Lyme Art Association.

Foundation President Fred Behringer said there are 94 students from Lyme and Old Lyme currently receiving grants through the program. The awards continue for all four years of college, trade school, or other post-high school training, as long as GPA and Lyme-Old Lyme residency requirements are met.

Total awards amount to $448,500 for the 2025-26 academic year, according to Behringer.

Behringer said grants for this year’s graduating seniors come in at $118,100.

The grants are based on need.

Evelyn MacCurdy Salisbury established the foundation in 1893.

W.E.S. Griswold Award recipient Simon Karpinski, right, and Willis Umberger Award recipient Ryan Shapiro were honored June 17.

Three students also earned $500 special achievement awards.

Simon Karpinski, who will be attending Harvard University, received the W.E.S. Griswold Award. Incoming Columbia University student Ryan Shapiro received the Willis Umberger Award. Caeli Edmed was awarded the Rowland Ballek Leadership Scholarship for a student who has demonstrated leadership in the school and community by organizing, mobilizing or inspiring others. Edmed will attend Yale.

The special awards honor Bill Griswold, president of the foundation from 1965 to 1992; Willis Umberger, secretary/treasurer from 1966 to 1986; and Rowland Ballek, president for 20 years until he retired in 2022.

POSTPONED: Lyme Ambulance Presents ‘Better Than Ever: Thriving at 65 and Beyond,’ June 28

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LYME, CT–The nonprofit Lyme Ambulance Association is hosting a free workshop for older adults and their family members about how to maintain “independence, strength and joy” at home. 

The workshop will cover simple home safety modifications to make daily living easier, ways to stay active and connected in the community, and how to access the local caregiving support network. 

The event will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the Hamburg Fire Station, 213 Hamburg Road. Anyone with questions is invited to contact Deputy Chief Ariana Eaton at deputychief@lymeambulance.org or (860) 434-7225.

Lyme-Old Lyme MS ‘Eco Warriors’ Go Into Trenches at Food Share Garden

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Members of the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Eco Warriors club visit the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden at Town Woods Park to learn more about the group that they help support through lessons learned in the middle school greenhouse.

LYME/OLD LYME–A partnership between the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG) and Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools continued last week as a group of “Eco Warriors” descended on the garden at Town Woods Park in Old Lyme. 

Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden Board Member Peter Hunt said the members of the LOL Middle School Eco Warriors club were given a tour of the food share and pollinator garden. They also helped roll up row cover in the cabbage patch to help prevent the cabbage from overheating and bolting during a hot spell as the plants enter their final weeks of maturation.

The visit stemmed from last year’s joint effort to restore the greenhouse at the middle school to benefit the schools and wider community. A fundraising push by the LOLFSG yielded $8,000 in donations from the community and the statewide SustainableCT initiative. 

Eco Warriors uncover cabbage in the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden at Town Woods Park.

The project included replacement of polycarbonate panels on the roof, sides and gable end of the greenhouse. Exhaust fans, shutters, and vents were added, along with an irrigation system and hydroponic tower. 

Hunt said the Eco Warriors were especially interested in where the crops go after harvesting. All produce is donated to local free food distribution programs in Old Lyme and New London County.

Letter to the Editor: Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley Needs You Now More Than Ever

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To the Editor:

For more than 100 years, Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley has been a trusted presence along the Connecticut shoreline, providing compassionate, high-quality healthcare to individuals in the comfort of their own homes. As a not-for-profit, community-based agency, our mission has always been to put people before profit—and we remain deeply committed to that mission today.

Our dedicated team of skilled nurses, physical, occupational, and speech therapists, home health aides, and social workers work tirelessly to help patients heal safely and comfortably at home. Whether you’re recovering from surgery, managing a chronic illness, or need support transitioning from hospital to home, we’re here when you need us most.

But now, we need you.

Why Community Support Matters

As a small, independently operated agency, we are facing unprecedented challenges:

  • Declining reimbursements from insurance companies
  • Rising competition from large, corporate healthcare systems
  • Referral limitations by hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that often direct patients only to their partnered agencies

These trends threaten the existence of independent providers like Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley—providers who have long stood as pillars in their communities.

Despite these pressures, we refuse to compromise on what matters most: personalized, timely, and compassionate care.

What Sets Us Apart

  • No delays in services—we’re small, responsive, and focused on your needs
  • Personalized attention—you’re never a number
  • Local and not-for-profit—choosing us supports a community-based agency that reinvests in your neighborhood
  • Trusted for generations—our roots in the Lower Valley run deep

You Have the Right to Choose

Did you know that you have the legal right to choose your home healthcare provider? Under Connecticut General Statute 19a-504d, patients can request the agency they prefer. When you’re at the hospital or rehab facility and planning your return home, ask for Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley by name—and continue with the team you already trust.

How You Can Help

  • Choose us and support local when you or a loved one needs homecare
  • Spread the word to family, friends, and neighbors
  • Advocate for patient choice in healthcare
  • Donate to support our not-for-profit mission and help us continue serving your community

To learn more about our services or how to support our work, visit www.visitingnurses.org or call 860-767-0186.

We are honored to walk beside you on your care journey—and with your support, we’ll continue to do so for the next century and beyond.

Sincerely,

Sarah Foley on behalf of The Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley,
Old Lyme

Editor’s Note: About 15% of Visiting Nurses of the Lower Valley’s clientele comes from Old Lyme. The group also serves Centerbrook, Chester, Clinton, Deep River, East Haddam, East Lyme, Essex, Haddam, Ivoryton, Killingworth, Madison, Moodus, Old Saybrook, Waterford, and Westbrook.