On July 9, Old Lyme resident Amy Gamerman will discuss her first book, “The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West” in a presentation at the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library.
OLD LYME—On Wednesday, July 9, at 6:30 p.m. local writer and Old Lyme resident Amy Gamerman will discuss her newly-published and already highly-acclaimed book,The Crazies: The Cattleman, the Wind Prospector, and a War Out West at Old Lyme’s Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase to benefit the Library.
Readers may know Gamerman better as Amy Conley, Old Lyme resident and mother of Max, Sarah, Jack and Gloria. Her husband is writer and editor Kevin Conley,
A true story of conflict over competing interests in the rangeland of Montana, The Crazies combines a remarkable cast, a compelling setting, and an engaging story line.
But the book is not fiction—it is based on hard, solid fact and is truly a tale for our times.
The book has been drawing critical praise.
Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction, described The Crazies as, “A fascinating story about the new energy economy. If you want to understand why change does—or doesn’t—happen in America, read The Crazies.”
Gamerman is a longtime contributor to the WallStreet Journal‘s Mansion section. Prior to that, she was the WSJ’’s drama critic and a staff writer on the Leisure & Arts page.
Her work has been recognized with multiple awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Her writing has also appeared in Vogue, Redbook and Departures. She attended Yale University and King’s College, Cambridge.
The Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library is located at 2 Library Lane, Old Lyme, CT 06371.
Editor’s Notes: i) On Sunday, July 6, we will publish an article by Elizabeth Regan about Gamerman and her book based on an interview Regan conducted with Gamerman earlier this week.
Thomas Jerald “Jerry” Moore left this world peacefully on June 21, 2025, surrounded by his family. He was a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, and friend, and his impact on those who had the good fortune of knowing him was profound …
Jerry[‘s] true passion was his family. His wife of 63 years, Gail, and his daughters, Tracy Moore Chandler, Lesley Owens Moore, and Caroline Moore Broadfoot, were the center of his world … His love and devotion knew no bounds and included sons-in-law, Chisholm Chandler and Elliot Broadfoot, and nine grandchildren, Zachary, Halle, Rusty and Lily Chandler, Thomas Moore and Jack Montmeat, and Sumner, Marshall and CeCe Broadfoot …
Finally, he cherished the many wonderful friendships they made in the places that he and Gail called home including West Hartford, Palm City, Fayetteville, and most recently, Old Lyme. Their summer home at Old Black Point was uniquely special, as Jerry was determined to have a place for his daughters and their families to come home to no matter where his business career took them.
A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held for family and friends at the First Congregational Church in Old Lyme, CT on Monday, June 30th at 2pm. There will be a reception at The Old Lyme Inn immediately following the service.
OLD LYME—UPDATE 6/20: The Old Lyme Town Clerk and Selectman’s offices will be closed today, Friday, June 20, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.so that employees can attend Eileen Coffee’s funeral.
The Old Lyme Town Hall administration asks that you plan accordingly and thanks you for your understanding. You can contact either office by phone or email, and your message will be returned. Documents can be left in the drop box outside the main entrance to the Town Hall.
OLD LYME — Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and faithful public servant, Eileen Keating Coffee passed away unexpectedly at home June 13, 2025. A devoted wife, loving mother of five, proud grandmother and great-grandmother, and a respected public servant, Eileen lived a life full of warmth, faith and quiet strength.
Eileen was born [Feb. 5, 1946] to Lawrence Keating, of Valencia Island, County Kerry, and Bridget “Veronica” Lavelle Keating, of Straide, Mayo County, Ireland …
Raised in New London, Eileen attended St. Mary’s Grammar School and Saint Bernard’s High School. It was at Saint Bernard’s that she met her high school sweetheart, Kenneth W. Coffee. They married and recently celebrated 58 years of love and partnership.
Together, Eileen and Ken raised five children: Kenneth L. (spouse Teresa), Brian M. (spouse Brittany), Elizabeth A. Hutchinson, Edward “Ned” J. and Daniel J. Her pride in her family was immeasurable. She was a loving grandmother … She was a cherished great-grandmother … Eileen is survived by her brother Lawrence Keating and his children: … as well as her sister Mary Keating of Waterford. She is lovingly remembered by her extended Coffee family: Shirley Coffee, John and Sue Coffee, Josephine McCulloch, Hugh and Heike Coffee …
… Later, she served the town of Old Lyme with distinction, first as assistant Town Clerk and then as elected certified Town Clerk for two terms. Her commitment to the town continued as she worked part-time in the clerk’s office up until her passing …
Calling hours will be held from 4 until 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19, in Christ the King Parish Hall, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 20, in the church. Interment will follow in Duck River Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Christ the King Church or to your favorite charity.
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.”
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.
