‘Witness Stones Project’ Merges with Massachusetts-based Preservation Group

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This Witness Stones plaque commemorating the life of the enslaved Jack Howard is located at 5 Lyme Street, the parsonage of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

HAVERHILL, MA–Two organizations committed to recovering hidden histories, commemorating enslaved individuals and fostering a deeper understanding of the country’s complex past have joined forces. 

The Connecticut-based Witness Stones Project, which includes an active presence in Lyme and Old Lyme, has been absorbed by Historic New England, a preservation organization out of Massachusetts that goes back to 1910. 

The merger was announced Thursday in a press release from Historic New England. It brings the Witness Stones Project under the banner of Historic New England’s Stopping Stones initiative, which honors enslaved Americans through the installation of permanent markers and community ceremonies. 

Both the Witness Stones Project and Stopping Stones use small plaques in the ground to mark sites of enslavement – including 300 Witness Stones in seven states and more than 90 Stopping Stones from Vermont to Texas – but only the Witness Stones program incorporates a robust educational component. 

The Witness Stones Project in a website announcement said former Witness Stones Director of Operations Liz Lightfoot, of Lyme, will take on the role of Stopping Stones school and youth program manager. She will continue to use Witness Stone’s trademarked curriculum to help students explore historical records and to tell the stories of forgotten individuals, the group said. 

The Witness Stones announcement said schools, churches, and community organizations involved locally can rest assured their work is being preserved and will serve as a foundational part of the expanded effort. 

“And for the communities where we are currently working and will work in the future, the important research, education, and installations will proceed with the full backing of Historic New England’s resources,” the group said.

The Witness Stones Project was founded in 2017 by Dennis Culliton of Guilford. Stopping Stones, which is part of Historic New England’s Engagement Arts Fund, began in 2020 under the leadership of Paul Growald. 

Growald said joining with the Witness Stones Project enables his group to add a “powerful educational dimension” to the physical markers. 

“I have long envisioned curriculum components that accompany our memorials, inviting participants of all ages into this work,” he said. “This partnership fulfills that vision, aligning remembrance with education and community dialogue in a way that can truly transform how America reckons with its history.”

The expanded Stopping Stones team is led by director Pat Wilson Pheanious, a ninth-generation descendant of enslaved individuals in Guilford whose family history was among the first researched by the Witness Stones Project eight years ago. She is the founding chairman and a former executive director of the Witness Stones Project. 

“Embracing the past is vital to shaping America’s future,” Pheanious said in the Historic New England release. “This collaboration ensures that the work of these programs will remain strong, protected, and accessible to communities everywhere.” 

Historic New England CEO Vin Cipolla said the new collaboration will allow both groups to expand their reach nationwide by pairing memorial installations with classroom learning and community dialogue. 

“By uniting the Witness Stones curriculum with the national reach of the Stopping Stones program, we can ensure that the lives and legacies of enslaved people are recognized, remembered, and taught to future generations,” he said. 

Both initiatives are inspired by Germany’s Stolpersteine Project, which commemorates Holocaust victims with “micro-monuments” placed in public spaces. 

The merged groups will operate as part of Historic New England’s Recovering New England Voices (RNEV) initiative. RNEV supports research, storytelling, and public engagement to elevate underrepresented histories, including those of Indigenous people, women, immigrants, LGBTQ communities, and enslaved individuals. 

The public is invited to join the conversation at the Historic New England Summit, Nov.13–14. 

More information on the transition is available on the Witness Stones and Stopping Stones websites.

Old Lyme Boy Scout’s Eagle Project Benefits Rocky Neck State Park

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Henry Kyle recruited several friends to help him build a beach wheelchair shed at Rocky Neck State Park as part of his Eagle Scout project for the Boy Scouts of America. Left to right are Alex Glaras, Noah Brant and Kyle.

EAST LYME–A new beach wheelchair shed for Rocky Neck State Park is in place thanks to a soon-to-be Eagle Scout from Old Lyme. 

Boy Scout Henry Kyle of Troop 26, the son of Chris and Kate Kyle, assembled a crew of four Scouts and some of their parents to help protect beach wheelchairs from the elements. Project supporter Jolene Brant shared the details about the effort, which she described as ambitious from the start.

An Eagle Scout project, usually completed in a day or two with the help of volunteers, is a community service effort carried out by a Boy Scout to earn the rank of Eagle. It is touted by the Boy Scouts of America as a demonstration of leadership, planning, and problem-solving.

Kyle, a sophomore student at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, is set to receive his Eagle Scout recognition at the end of the month. 

Henry Kyle and Alex Glaras work with Steve Urbowicz to lay concrete.

Kyle chose the Rocky Neck project after he saw the need for the enclosure, which was affirmed when a state park employee told him it would be helpful if a Boy Scout could do the work as an Eagle project. He thought it over and decided he was the person that could take the lead on it, Brant said. 

The project required approval from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), which took about three months. Meanwhile, Kyle had to pivot after the concrete contractor he initially secured fell through due to health issues. That’s when Kyle’s Boy Scout connections led him to Steve Urbowicz of the Branford-based Concrete Connections.

Urbowicz donated the concrete, the delivery, and his time to teach the Boy Scouts how to pour and finish concrete.

The project was also supported by Park Supervisor Marcella Hube, maintainers David Leiper, Cody Mullen, and Brett Lewis, as well as previous Park Supervisor John Guglielmoni. 

Two New Shows on View at Lyme Art Association Through Nov. 6

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Thomas Adkins’ oil painting, titled ‘Barnyard, Litchfield Hills,’ is the signature painting of the Lyme Art Association’s ‘New England Landscape’ exhibition openng Sept. 19.

‘New England Landscapes’ and ‘Timeless’ on View in LAA Galleries

OLD LYME—On Friday, Sept. 19, the Lyme Art Association (LAA) unveils separate exhibitions on New England landscapes and the timelessness of art.

A free, opening reception for New England Landscape and Timeless exhibitions will be held Sunday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Association in a press release said New England Landscape is an annual member exhibition honoring the “many moods, colors, and textures that define New England’s natural splendor.”

Jim Laurino, ‘House in Cornwall’

The exhibit is supported by Ascend Bank in partnership with the Community Foundation of Middlesex County.

Timeless, the American Artists Professional League’s juried national member exhibition, will be on view simultaneously in LAA’s Goodman Gallery.

The LAA describes Timeless as a contemporary approach to realism, with artists rendering moments of life through the interplay of light, shadow, and form.

Both exhibitions will run through Nov. 6.

Hours at the 90 Lyme St. gallery are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment. Admission is free; contributions are appreciated.

For more information, visit www.lymeartassociation.org or call (860) 434-7802.

Calling all Korean, Vietnam War Veterans from Lyme

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LYME –Town officials are compiling a list of veterans from the Korean War and Vietnam War to be recognized by the state’s lieutenant governor.

The town in a release said First Selectman David Lahm will provide the list to Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who is planning a ceremony to honor living veterans from those wars. Veterans are eligible if they served between 1950 and 1953, or between 1961 and 1975.  They do not need to have been deployed overseas.

Bysiewicz since her tenure as secretary of the state has celebrated the state’s veterans, beginning with 15,000 World War II veterans. The program has grown to encompass Korean and Vietnam War veterans all over the state.

Lyme residents, who served in the armed forces during the specified timeframe, are encouraged to contact Lahm at 860-434-7733 or selectman@townlyme.org.

Letter to the Editor: Lyme Democrats Choose Conversation Over Confrontation

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To the editor:

It was disappointing to see Tom St. Louis resort to mischaracterizing recent events and conversations about the approach our Democratic Town Committee (DTC) is taking to connect voters with our candidates in advance of the upcoming election. His letter seemed intent on instilling drama and creating controversy where there is none. 

That’s not how we operate. The Lyme DTC is going to continue our efforts to meet with voters individually and in small groups to present our team of Democratic and Unaffiliated candidates to them, and facilitate productive conversations between our candidates and constituents that give us the opportunity to both listen and learn.  Lyme is a small enough town where we can make those kinds of connections happen.

In the world we live in now, we have all repeatedly witnessed that debates and forums too often result in generating public conflict between candidates and political parties, rather than forging personal conversations between candidates and voters.  These are not “unfounded” concerns, as characterized in Tom’s letter.

We believe voters should have an opportunity to speak personally with our candidates and express their ideas and concerns, and that our candidates have an obligation to listen and act on those concerns once in office. 

Our experience in the last municipal election demonstrated that we can connect powerfully with constituents when we meet with them for candid, one-on-one conversations about our town’s future … listening, answering questions, asking questions, understanding their concerns, and discussing what they want from town government. This approach results in rich, personal conversations that give us the opportunity to listen to and understand the issues that are important to voters as individuals and families. 

After engaging personally with constituents like this in the 2023 election, Lyme voters turned out in force at the polls.  We believe this type of personalized voter engagement is the foundation of our democratic electoral process.

Our goal is to knock on as many doors and meet with as many residents as possible between now and November 4. The goal of his letter, however, appears to be to instill a spirit of divisiveness into the campaign, which is something we have all seen take place with increasing frequency in other communities across the country. We think Lyme deserves more than that.  We think Lyme deserves better than that.  

It’s unfortunate that Tom and his wife Mary, who are running for First Selectman and Selectman respectively, have chosen to pull our community in that direction and it’s a decision we hope they will reconsider. We’ve had voters from both parties tell us they are uncomfortable with the idea of community divisiveness in Lyme and with the possibility of a husband-and-wife team making decisions for the entire town.

We’re not interested in fostering divisiveness.  We’re interested in fostering community.  

We’re not interested in confrontations between candidates.  We’re interested in conversations with voters.  

Lyme has always been a place where people of all political affiliations can work together on our boards and commissions in the best interests of our town. That’s certainly been true for the eight years I’ve served on the Board of Selectmen – and it’s a tradition that goes back much farther than that. It’s a tradition I hope we can continue.

To the voters of Lyme, our candidate team – which includes Christy Zelek, Kristina White, myself and others – look forward to seeing you in person for an open and insightful dialogue, and to seeing you again at the polls.

Early voting starts October 20; Election Day is November 4.

Sincerely,

John Kiker

Editor’s Note: i) The author is the chairman of the Lyme Democratic Town Committee and a candidate for selectman.
ii) Here is a reminder of our Policy on Letters to the Editor and our Policy on Comments.