Category Archives: Old Lyme

Justice Dance Performance Project Presents Staged Reading of ‘With These Hands’

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“With These Hands: Connecting Self, Community, and the Earth” was first performed at York Correctional Institution in 2024 as the culmination of a year-long performance residency overseen by the Justice Dance Performance Project (JDPP). Graphic courtesy of JDPP.

OLD LYME — A staged reading of ‘With These Hands,’ a piece developed by incarcerated individuals at York Correctional Institution, will be performed next month at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. 

The free performance will be held at 11:30 a.m. on May 4.  

“With These Hands: Connecting Self, Community, and the Earth” was first performed at York in 2024 as the culmination of a year-long performance residency overseen by the Justice Dance Performance Project (JDPP).

Participants at York created written pieces, dances, and songs, while working with JDPP teaching artists to develop the performance. 

JDPP will bring excerpts from the piece as a staged reading that includes narrative, song, and dance. The cast includes JDPP teaching artists from the project and women who are part of JDPP’s Stepping Out program for returning citizens in the community.

Call for Homes: Join the 2025 ‘Homes for the Holidays’ Tour

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OLD LYME – The Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center has announced the return of the Homes for the Holidays Tour – and they’re looking for homeowners on or near Lyme Street who are willing to open their beautifully decorated, holiday-themed homes to visitors.

The popular fundraiser will be held Saturday, Dec. 6 from mid-morning through early afternoon. 

OLCLC Board of Directors President Kristen St. Germain in an email said the center has already secured some homes and is hoping to add more.

“Whether you showcase a few rooms or the whole house, your participation helps bring joy to visitors and raises critical funds to support high-quality childcare for working families in our area,” she said. “This festive event not only celebrates the spirit of the season but also highlights the architecture and warmth of our beautiful community.”

Interested homeowners are asked to email St. Germain at bod.olclc@gmail.com or board member Marie Ryan at mcargr@aol.com.

OLCLC has been providing childcare on Lyme Street for almost 40 years. But a severe leak in 2023 forced the center to close its doors for a complete renovation of the historic home. It reopened last October. 

St. Germain in a separate letter to area homeowners described the closure as a logistical and financial challenge at a time when the center was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic to find an altered childcare landscape. 

“The need for quality childcare in Connecticut has never been greater,” she said. “Since the pandemic, our state has faced a critical shortage of childcare options, making it even more difficult for working families to balance their careers and their children’s care. OLCLC is committed to being part of the solution, but we need the community’s help to get back on our feet.”

The center will also host a holiday boutique inside the Old Lyme Town Hall as part of the tour.

Death Announced of Linda (Lynn) Roberts, 61, of Old Lyme; Wife of John, Trust Administration Officer at Dime Bank

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OLD LYME – Linda Banks Roberts, age 61, of Old Lyme, passed away peacefully April 16, 2025, surrounded by loved ones. She was a beloved spouse, parent, grandparent and friend whose kindness and strength touched everyone she met.

Born Feb. 6, 1964, in Philadelphia, Pa., Lynn was the cherished child of George and Elizabeth Banks. She went on to earn a degree in criminal justice from Temple University, a testament to her dedication to learning and personal growth. Since 2011, Lynn worked at Dime Bank as a trust administration officer, where she built many lasting and meaningful relationships with her clients.

… She is survived by her devoted spouse, John; her parents, George and Elizabeth Banks; loving children, Alyssa, Jonathan, and stepdaughter Jill; and adoring grandchildren: Jackson, Ava, Ariana, Christian, Orion, Paxton and Atlas. She also leaves behind her siblings, George, Maribeth and Susan.

Calling hours (were held) Thursday, April 24, at Byles Memorial Home … In honor of Lynn’s memory, a Catholic Mass will be held in New Jersey at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Christ the King Church in Old Lyme, in honor of Lynn’s generous spirit.

Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read the full obituary published by The Day on April 22, 2025.

Literature in the Lymes: ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman

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Oh, I wish there were a million more of his books. Instead, this far, there are only four in this series and one in the new series.

More to come, but who can wait when they are this good?

Osman is not only a maestro of the mystery but a comedy man. His characters are spot on cleverly written and usually hilariously so. 

Osman is a writer, who doesn’t assume the reader needs a long drivel of an explanation, so his brevity is flattering. We feel in on the joke when he describes someone.

The Thursday Murder Club is the first of this series and I’d never heard of it when I previewed the upcoming film. 

I immediately ran out for the book and was even more delighted. Each subsequent book was better but I begin here.

Four residents of Coopers Chase retirement community have formed a club. They each bring experience and a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the table when it comes to solving murders. This they do with alarming and hilarious alacrity, much to the consternation of the local constabulary. 

Osman’s gift is hiding the clues so well that you have no idea what’s coming. In the land of predictability you are blindsided every few chapters and it’s marvelous.

At first there is a murder at Coopers Chase. A builder and his henchmen are so busy swindling and bribing, they don’t realize they are being watched.

The Thursday Murder Club is going to get to the bottom of all this. Who is doing this killing? This bribing? Are they going to lose their homes? Oh no they are not!

If anyone thinks these four seemingly sweet, innocent, elderly people are what they seem, then they are in for quite the surprise. 

Watching these four — Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron and their supporting cast — become friends is so heart-warming.

As cloying as it sounds, it’s such a good time to find a series of books that you can curl up with and just be happy in a world away from the world.

Jennifer Petty Hilger

About the author: Jen Petty Hilger grew up in New York and London, England, but finds herself happily quiet living by the water in Old Lyme.

She and her husband have six children between them and a myriad of rescued animals.

Lyme First Selectman David Lahm Will Not Seek Reelection; No Candidates Announced Yet

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LYME – Newly unaffiliated First Selectman David Lahm will not be seeking reelection in November. 

“I’ll be 66 years old when I leave office,” he said from the Town Hall Tuesday night. “I’ve been a volunteer in one way or another in this town, and in the service of our country in the military, since 1975. It’s time for my wife and I to build some time for us.”

Lahm was a Republican selectman when he was appointed to the top seat in 2022 after the mid-term retirement of Democrat Steve Mattson. 

He said he informed the leadership of both major political parties back in January of his intention not to run for another term. No candidates for the first selectman’s seat have been announced. 

“All things considered, I would have liked to have spent another term, but I look at some people I know who are no longer with us, and I don’t want to be one of these guys who works and then, six months after he retires, dies,” Lahm said. 

Lahm acknowledged that he switched his political affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated a few weeks ago. He said he based the decision on “national politics” under President Donald Trump. 

“I can’t be affiliated with that administration,” he said. 

But his discontent with the situation nationally did not drive his local reelection decision, according to the first selectman. He said officials in Lyme “have a long tradition of working across the aisle.”

Lahm recalled starting out his voting life as a Democrat. He became a registered Republican in 1992. 

“I changed then because I felt the Democratic Party had left me, and I now feel the Republican Party has left me,” he said. 

Lahm began volunteering in Lyme at age 16 as part of the Lyme Fire Company. He went on to join the U.S. Army, earn his law degree, and serve in the Connecticut National Guard until his retirement as a full colonel in 2012. His service includes tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Lahm was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2021. Democrat Kristina White was appointed to take his place when he took over for Mattson as first selectman.

The board under Lahm’s leadership changed its name to the Board of Selectpeople in 2023, though he said at the time they would retain the gendered forms of their titles individually.

Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Mary Powell-St. Louis in a Wednesday phone call said the committee is finalizing its slate of candidates for all board and commission seats up for election in November. She expects to announce the full slate by the end of June.

Powell-St. Louis said she’s been the local Republican chairwoman since March of last year. She replaced Lahm, who resigned from the committee the previous December.

She said she wishes him well on “the next chapter of his journey.”

“I think he’s been a solid force for the town and I think his leadership was well received by the entire community – the Republican, Democratic and unaffiliated sides,” she said. 

She described Lahm’s decision to change his political affiliation as a personal one. 

She said the Republican Town Committee is more concerned with local issues than what happens on the national stage. 

“Speaking for myself, I think that the national politics don’t belong in the small town of Lyme,” she said. “We’re focused on the local issues and local representation.” 

John Kiker, a selectman and the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, said Lahm’s inclusive leadership style will be missed. 

Kiker and Democrat Kristina White serve with Lahm on the three-member board. 

“He definitely sought our input on all matters,” he said. 

Kiker also emphasized Lahm’s thoughtful way of addressing problems. 

“He has a very calm way of dealing with people, taking things in and making a decision,” he said. 

White in a Wednesday phone interview said Lahm’s commitment to Lyme, a town that has always relied on volunteers, is evident. 

“I think he just exemplifies how we run the town, and exemplifies the character of the town that has always been for people to step up and volunteer,” she said. “And he did that, both as a selectman and stepping in after Steve Mattson resigned.”

Both Kiker and White said they will be running for reelection as selectmen. 

Kiker said local Democratic leadership has identified a possible candidate for first selectman. He declined to announce the name pending a vote by the full Democratic Town Committee in May.