Historic postcards like these will be featured in Jim Lampos’s talk on Monday at the Old Lyme Historical Society.
OLD LYME —UPDATED 8/17 with details of where to see a preview of the postcards: On Monday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., the Old Lyme Historical Society Incorporated (OLHSI) hosts an historic postcard presentation by Jim Lampos titled, “Having a Swell Time.”
The presentation will be followed by a Vintage Postcard Sale when a selection of ‘extras’ from a recently-purchased collection will be available for sale. The postcards variously offer views of Old Lyme streets, landmarks, and beaches circa 1902-1970.
Visit Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall to enjoy a preview of much of the postcard collection. A selection of the postcards is on display in the front foyer and behind first floor staircase.
The event will take place at the Society’s building at 55 Lyme St. in Old Lyme. All are welcome and admission is free.
This is another in a series of speaker events sponsored by the OLHSI.
There is no charge for admission but donations are welcome to the Carol Noyes Winters Scholarship Fund.
Full Slate of Candidates for November Election Unveiled, Shoemaker Will Not Run Again for BOE
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker
OLD LYME–First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, unanimously endorsed this week by Democrats in her bid for a second term, wants to keep trying her best for the town.
“There are still things that I want to finish,” she said Thursday at the Town Hall.
Shoemaker, who also serves on the Region 18 Board of Education, said she will not run again for the school board.
The first selectwoman cited several big projects she hopes will come to fruition in the next two years, as well as some new initiatives bolstered by volunteers committed to making the roads safer and the shoreline more resilient.
“I’d like to see the sewer project through,” she said of the decades-long push to update several beach communities currently reliant on septic systems. “I’d like to see the Grassy Hill (Road) Bridge and the Emergency Operations Center completed.”
She said she’s excited to see the work being done by a reinvigorated Flood and Erosion Control Board. The group had been dormant for four years before she made good on a campaign promise two years ago to bring it back.
“We live in an area that is prone to floods, and we need to do everything in our power to make sure that we’re keeping all water areas safe,” she said.
She also pointed to the creation of the Road and Public Safety Committee earlier this year to address resident concerns about speeding and other safety issues.
Shoemaker became first selectwoman in 2023 with a 51.8% majority. She brought in 1,820 votes compared to Republican opponent John Mesham’s 1,697.
The Republican Town Committee on Thursday had not yet announced the slate of candidates approved at the party’s Tuesday endorsement meeting.
Shoemaker acknowledged the past two years have not been without controversy.
A plan from the Halls Road Improvements Committee to reenvision the commercial strip as a mix of apartments and businesses was widely panned. The Board of Selectmen, which had voted to send the proposal to the Zoning Commission, reacted to the subsequent outcry by putting the Halls Road committee on hold while considering a new path forward.
The scaled-back focus now is on sidewalks, according to Shoemaker. She signed off in May on a grant application to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) for $800,000 to install them on the north half of Halls Road.
Also contentious was Shoemaker’s failure to promptly disclose public documents requested by the CT Examiner involving the independent Old Lyme Ambulance Association. Reporters for the media outlet told the state Freedom of Information Commission it took 168 days for Shoemaker to provide incident reports revealing allegations that an intern was touched inappropriately and repeatedly by an adult emergency medical technician.
The state commission issued Shoemaker a $250 civil fine for not promptly handing over the public documents. The hearing officer at the time acknowledged Shoemaker had put corrective measures in place and agreed to annual transparency training.
“I made a mistake,” Shoemaker said, without specifying where she went wrong. “I paid the fine. And we’ve revamped.”
The Democratic Town Committee on Wednesday voted on a slate of candidates that includes incumbent Jim Lampos for selectman, according to a committee press release.
Shoemaker said Lampos’ love for the town makes him an ideal running mate, again.
“He is so thoughtful in his comments,” she said of the business owner and author of several books on local history. “He has a historical perspective to anything that we are looking to do.”
Also endorsed were: (*incumbent, +current alternate)
Planning Commission – Michael F. Riggio
Board of Finance – Kimberly Thompson*, Candace A. Fuchs*
Board of Finance Alternates – Diane Y. Linderman*, Tom Walsh, Fred Behringer (U)*
Zoning Commission – Michael Fogliano (U)*
Zoning Board of Appeals – Michaelle Pearson+, Kip Kotzan*
Zoning Board of Appeals Alternates – Kathleen Tracy*, Richard Korsmeyer
Board of Assessment Appeals – Devin Berke+
Regional Board of Education – Jason L. Kemp*, Michael J. Hansen, Sheryl Shyloski and Cynthia Love McCollum
Editor’s Note: This article was corrected to show the Republican Town Committee endorsement meeting was held Tuesday.
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.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, center, with Selectman Jim Lampos, left, and Selectwoman Jude Read, right.
OLD LYME–Selectwoman Jude Read is calling for the dissolution of the Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) as the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen continues to back away from big picture changes to the road that have evolved over the past decade.
On the selectmen’s table now is a scaled-back plan that includes new sidewalks, but no other substantial upgrades like the bow bridge and trail system envisioned by the HRIC. First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker in May signed off on a grant application to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) for $800,000 to install sidewalks on the north half of Halls Road.
Josh Morgan, DOT Communications Director, said in a Tuesday email that he expects the award announcements to go out in the next several weeks.
During their Monday evening regular meeting, the selectmen considered creating a new committee to guide the process if a grant is awarded. But Read emphasized the existing Halls Road committee should be disbanded before forming a new one.
“The other thing I think would be helpful – these are my thoughts – is, if and when we start a new committee, we’re careful about the charge, what the goal is, (and) how many people are on that committee.”
Read also suggested requiring a unanimous vote when appointing members to a new committee. She is the lone Republican on the board with Shoemaker and Selectman Jim Lampos, both Democrats.
Lampos and Shoemaker declined to disband the committee right now because they need more information on the status of projects that were pending when selectmen voted to put the group on a hiatus in April.
The HRIC has been controversial since it started in 2015 under Democratic then-First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder with a charge to consider a master plan for the commercial span. The result – honed over the course of dozens of public meetings, information sessions, and workshops – evoked images of village-like storefronts and apartments, a pedestrian bridge, more greenspace and sidewalks.
Reemsnyder successor Tim Griswold, a Republican, a few years later called the vision too grandiose. He said at the time that he preferred to focus on building sidewalks one segment at a time before considering such broad plans.
But opposition came to a head earlier this year when more than 550 people filled the Lyme-Old Lyme High School auditorium for a public hearing on changes to the town’s zoning regulations that the committee hoped would turn their vision into reality.
The proposal to create an overlay district in the commercial zone would have allowed as many as 40 housing units per acre to be built above, or behind, ground-floor businesses.
The plan was rejected by the Zoning Commission, HRIC Chairwoman Edie Twining subsequently resigned, and the board of selectmen put the committee on hiatus while attempting to manage the fallout.
Crossing That Bridge
Before making any decisions on whether to disband the HRIC, Shoemaker and Lampos on Monday said they wanted to get a better understanding of how much has been spent on Halls Road projects to date and which contracts remain outstanding.
At the behest of the HRIC, selectmen in 2023 hired AI Engineers of Middletown to come up with plans for a pedestrian bridge over the Lieutenant River and a trail system between Lyme Street and Halls Road. The company’s work was funded with $135,000 in federal American Rescue Plan money and a $28,500 grant through the Connecticut Recreational Trails program.
Old Lyme Finance Director Anita Mancini said the committee spent $13,500 of the trails grant so far.
The committee in an FAQ document said AI Engineers was tasked with taking charge of conceptual designs, formal designs, permitting and the construction bid process. No funding for construction has been secured.
The decision to accept or reject the designs would be up to the public, according to the committee. Old Lyme’s form of government calls for the public to vote on major decisions at town meetings, with options to send the biggest issues to referendum.
Shoemaker said the town could be responsible for returning $13,500 to the state if the town doesn’t complete the design project.
Read argued it might be prudent in some cases “to take a loss.”
“Is it better to lose $13,500 or spend another $15,000, have it designed, and not be sure if the town’s going to approve it or not?” she said.
Shoemaker and Lampos reiterated they need a better idea of the financial picture first.
They said it’s been difficult to pinpoint how much has been spent, and in which line items, in a decade of budgets overseen by multiple administrations.
Lampos credited the current selectmen with making the budget process and town procedures more transparent.
“I think there’s a lot of clarity, but there’s just so much that we can answer for what happened before us,” Lampos said.
LymeLine in April requested documents related to the amount expended so far on HRIC projects. Shoemaker on Monday said the information will be available next week.
Lampos, who wrote the grant with Shoemaker’s executive assistant Katie Balocca, emphasized there is nothing in the grant to cover the HRIC’s bow bridge proposal.
“It is currently on hiatus. We’re not addressing it,” he said.
Building the bow bridge would require the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to transfer ownership of its property on the east bank of the Lieutenant River to Old Lyme, which the agency has agreed to do as long as the town agrees to put a fishing pier, a dock for portable boats and parking spaces there.
Lampos acknowledged the idea, like other elements of the HRIC plan, is controversial. That’s why the grant application focuses solely on sidewalks.
“Almost everybody was saying, ‘forget the overlay,’ half the people were saying, ‘forget the bridge,’ and just about everyone was saying, ‘but we want the sidewalks,’” he recounted.
Read wondered if a new committee should be limited to overseeing only what’s in the grant or if they should be empowered to look at other improvements and funding sources.
“We have requests for sidewalks, lighting, signage, beautification,” she said.
Lampos put it this way: “If we don’t get the grant, I think we cross that bridge at that time.”
