State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) stands between Jerry and Dee Vowles after presenting them with a Citation from the State of Connecticut celebrating the 100th birthday of the ‘Sound View Carousel.’
OLD LYME — It might have been a drizzly day on Saturday but spirits were high in the Sound View section of Old Lyme where celebrations took place to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the construction of the beloved carousel.
Sound View Commissioners Frank Pappalardo (right) and Michaelle Pearson (second from right) join the Vowles family for this celebratory photo after presenting the Vowles family with a plaque from the Sound View Commission.
The merry-go-round has been in its current location at the foot of Hartford Ave.since 1976.
Old Lyme Economic Development Commission (EDC) Chairman Joe Camean (center) and member Mona Colwell (left) congratulate Dee and Jerry Vowles on their involvement in the business community after presenting a Certificate of Recognition from the EDC and Old Lyme Board of Selectmen. Master of Ceremonies and Sound View Commissioner Frank Pappalardo stands at rear.
Presentations were made by numerous individuals including State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, Old Lyme Economic Development Commission Chairman Joe Camean, Democratic Town Committee member Kathleen Tracy, and Sound View Commissioner and Historian Michaelle Pearson.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker (center) holds the US Proclamation from Representative Joe Courtney that she presented on his behalf to the Vowles family.
Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker commented, “It was an absolutely wonderful celebration!”
More than 150 people turned out to celebrate the carousel’s birthday.
Enjoy our photo essay of the celebrations. Many thanks to Martha Shoemaker for providing the photos.
A smiling Dee Vowles (left) and husband Jerry along with daughter Jen Vowles Lathrop enjoy the day.
The weather did not keep folks away from the fun event at which free carousel rides, 100 cent ice cream and hot dogs, and t-shirt raffles were all on offer.
Old Lyme Democratic Town Committee members Kathleen Tracy and Michaelle Pearson stand with Dee and Jerry Vowles, who hold an illustration of the carousel that had been presented to them.
Our congratulations to Dee and Jerry Vowles and family on being such an important part of the Old Lyme community.
A host of dignitaries inside The Carousel Shop gather for a photo—all were involved in the celebrations.
Old Lyme Selectman Jim Lampos (left) stands alongside Master of Ceremonies and Sound View Commission Chairman Frank Pappalardo as he gives a short speech congratulating the Vowles family on their commitment to the town.
Flowers and champagne were yet another contribution to the celebrations. Old Lyme Selectwoman Jude Read and Old Lyme Republican Town Committee member Maria Marchant (at left) stand with Dee and Jerry Vowles in this joyful photo.
And the horses rode on …
… while patrons of all ages enjoyed the celebrations. Photo by C. Nyberg.
Chase Gilbert of Old Lyme proudly holds her 1600 meters first place award at Saturday’s New England Track and Field Championship. Photo by A. Mercaldi.
NEW BRITAIN— On Saturday, Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Junior Chase Gilbert took first place in the 1600 meters at the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championship with a time of 4:48:33.
The event was held at Veteran’s Stadium at Willowbrook Park in New Britain.
Next Friday, June 20, Gilbert will run the 1600 meters again in the New Balance National Championship being held at University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia.
Lyme-Old Lyme High School Senior Zoe Eastman-Grossel will be running the 200 meters at the same championship.
Chase and Eastman-Grossel will be joined by two additional LOLHS athletes—Tabitha Colwell and Serena Mazzi—at the UPenn championship. Together the four girls comprise the LOLHS Sprint Medley team, which is currently ranked 14th in the nation.
Many congratulations to Chase.on her win yesterday and good luck to all four competing on Friday at UPenn.
Sunny Train will kick off ‘Make Music Old Lyme ‘with a family concert from 4 to 5 p.m. at Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau. LymeLine file photo.
OLD LYME–A popular live music stroll along Lyme Street, Make Music Old Lyme, returns Saturday, June 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. An international celebration of free music for all, the Old Lyme Arts District produces the town’s event in conjunction with the MusicNow Foundation.
Music for all ages will be offered by the Old Lyme Town Band. File photo by James Meehan.
With over a dozen performers, the seventh annual Make Music Old Lyme celebration takes place on Lyme Street, stretching from the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme where the Old Lyme Town Band will play, to the Old Lyme Firehouse where Colin Hallahan will entertain attendees.
The Colin Hallahan Band will again play in front of the Lyme Street Firehouse. LymeLine file photo.
Between these two locations, talented musicians from across the Northeast will give live acoustic performances on front lawns and sidewalks along Lyme Street.
Chris Gregor will play folk vocals on guitar during Make Music Day on Saturday. Find him on the Center School lawn this year. LymeLine file photo.
Chris Gregor returns this year and will perform on the Center School lawn. Gregor’s mix of pop, Broadway tunes, and even operatic selections entertained audiences at the 2024 Make Music Old Lyme.
Braiden Sunshine will play for fans on the side lawn of Nightingale’s Acoustic Café.
Braiden Sunshine will perform this year on the side lawn of Nightingale’s Acoustic Café. File photo by Alan Poirier.
Kelly Riley, home from Nashville, will perform in front of the Memorial Town Hall. New to Make Music Old Lyme, Riley has opened for Willie Nelson, the Steve Miller Band, and Lyle Lovett with country and folk songs including her own original works.
Genres this year include bluegrass, folk, indie-rock, American standards, and pop.
Musicians scheduled to perform include: Chris Gregor, Braiden Sunshine, Colin Hallahan, Rodney Brown, Two of Us, Barbara Harvey, Jack Hardesty, Kelly Riley, John Charland, Band of Friends, The Scoville Unit Jazz Duo, Howling Hound Dogs, The Celestials, Paul Loether, and the Old Lyme Town Band. Kipp “Kid Caviar” Sturgeon will perform while strolling the event as well.
Before the stroll, Sunny Train will perform a family concert at Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau (LYSB) from 4 to 5 p.m.
A children’s craft will be available in front of the Old Lyme Historical Society from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Lyme-Old Lyme Lions Club will also be in front of Center School with grill items including hamburgers and hot dogs for sale from 5 to 7 p.m. Nightingale’s Acoustic Café and The Chocolate Shell will also be open and selling refreshments.
The Lyme-Old Lyme Lions will once again do brisk business selling hot dogs and hamburgers in front of Center School. LymeLine file photo.
For those wishing to sit and enjoy one location’s performer, lawn chairs or blankets are encouraged.
According to “Ramblin’ Dan” Stevens, one of the volunteer organizers of the event, “We’re excited for our lineup of incredible musicians for Make Music Old Lyme. We love the chance to showcase the amazing talent right here in Southeastern Connecticut as well as welcome home some of our great musicians, who are traveling and doing shows around the country.”
Launched in France in 1982, Make Music Day is an international musical festival open to all who would like to participate, and takes place in over 1,000 cities in 120 countries on June 21, the summer solstice.
The State of Connecticut Office of the Arts debuted the State’s effort in 2018 with 528 free musical performances at 224 locations across the state, including Old Lyme.
A handout with musician locations will be available at the event or in pdf form on the website the day of the event.
The Old Lyme Arts District is a partnership of a dozen organizations and businesses promoting arts and culture on Lyme Street.
Make Music Old Lyme is supported by Connecticut’s Eastern Regional Tourism District and is sponsored by Pasta Vita, Essex Savings Bank/Essex Financial Services, the Herb Chambers Charitable Foundation, Bluewater Millwork & Construction, Mercer Advisors/Benchmark Wealth Management, and Shoreline Web News, LLC/LymeLine.com.
Guess what is happening the next day for these (and all other) Lyme-Old Lyme High School seniors! All photos by Michele Dickey.
OLD LYME — On Wednesday evening, the seniors from Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) took the streets — Lyme Street, that is — to celebrate their penultimate day as students at the school.
This car proudly displayed the Class of which these LOLHS seniors will be members for the rest of their lives.
They held a carefully planned parade in their decorated cars traveling slowly down Lyme St., ably supported by Old Lyme’s Police, Fire and Ambulance Departments.
Banners displaying the ‘Class of 2025’ were everywhere.
The soon-to-be-graduates, who will celebrate their Commencement Thursday evening, June 12, were cheered on by parents, friends and community members all along the parade route.
Smiles abounded in this vehicle.
The residents of both Lyme and Old Lyme took this special opportunity to wish the seniors well in the next chapter of their lives.
Vehicles came in all shapes and sizes!
Congratulations to all the LOLHS seniors on their impending graduation!
A view of the parade down Lyme Street.
We hope you (seniors) enjoy the Thursday evening post-graduation festivities … and here are a few more photos from the parade for you and all our readers to enjoy!
Enthusiasm for the next day’s graduation ceremony was visible everywhere.
So much to celebrate!
Old Lyme emergency vehicles particpated in the parade. First a firetruck …
… then an ambulance, and then several more.
Our photographer, Michele Dickey, celebrated the soon-to-be-graduates—and one in particular—with her grandchildren, Cecilia and Luca.
Witness Stones Poets (left to right) Antoinette Brim-Bell, Rhonda Ward, Marilyn Nelson and Kate Rushin will read tributes in verse to enslaved people remembered on Witness Stones plaques. Photo courtesy of Witness Stones Old Lyme.
Free Admission to ‘Their Kindred Earth’ Photography Exhibit on African-American History to Follow
OLD LYME–Witness Stones of Old Lyme will celebrate Juneteenth with jazz music and poetry at the Florence Griswold Museum from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 22.
The museum will offer free admission from 3 to 5 p.m. to view the closing day of Their Kindred Earth: Photographs by William Earle Williams, an exhibition that seeks to deepen understanding of sites of enslavement in Old Lyme and beyond.
The museum will be closed on the federal holiday, which falls each June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans.
Sunday’s event on the museum’s north lawn will feature music by the Avery Sharpe Quartet and readings by Witness Stones Poets Marilyn Nelson, Kate Rushin, Rhonda Ward, and Antoinette Brim-Bell, according to the event listing on the museum’s website. The poets will present tributes in verse to those remembered with Witness Stones plaques.
Witness Stones Old Lyme for five years has been marking local sites of enslavement with brass plaques. The group during that time brought in the four poets and several successive classes of middle school students from Lyme and Old Lyme to help tell the stories behind the plaques.
Three of the markers are located on the Florence Griswold Museum’s front lawn to honor those who labored in a house that once stood where the Griswold House is now located, according to the museum.
William Earle Williams, the museum’s artist in residence, will be on hand to sign copies of the newly released exhibition catalogue, Their Kindred Earth. Copies will be on sale at the event and in the museum shop.
Seating for the music performance and poetry readings will be provided under a tent and additional lawn chairs are welcome and encouraged.
The museum is located on 96 Lyme St. In the event of rain, the celebration will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road.
