Fun was had by everyone on the Trip to Goodspeed Opera. First was a good lunch at the Gelston House followed by the Holiday Inn at the Goodspeed Opera House.
‘Norwalk’ includes a wonderful collection of vintage photographs of the area. In this presentation, she’ll talk about the history of the area with special attention given to the parts of Norwalk near or in Darien like Old MacDonald’s Farm, the trolley on Tokeneke Road leading to Rowayton, Roton Point Park, White Bridge, and more.
Located on the shores of Long Island Sound, Norwalk’s close proximity to New York City prompted the building of many summer residences and guest cottages along its coast. In the summer, steamships and trolleys arrived with passengers looking to enjoy the local amusement park, Roton Point. Norwalk’s earliest industries included farming as well as mills powered by its rivers. The area has been famous for its pottery, oystering, and hat manufacturing. Over time, this community has endured disasters; it was burned during the American Revolution, and the flood of 1955 wiped out much of the Wall Street area as well as several bridges on the Norwalk River. Norwalk shares vintage images from the mid-1800s through the 1960s, highlighting memorable sites such as Old MacDonald’s Farm and the Melton Automobile Museum. The revitalization of Norwalk’s downtown areas proves it is possible to respect the past and those that came before through the renewal of historical architecture.
Author Bio: Lisa Wilson Grant is a lifelong Norwalk resident and has been collecting images for many years. In addition to her own images, she has also included many from local historical societies and private collections. She also co-authored Postcard History Series: Roton Point with the Roton Point History Committee.
Arranged by Scott Hutchason
‘ Hell Before Breakfast ‘ is about the Russian Wars in the late 1800’s. It is a history of America’s first war correspondents.
Patton, 57, was born 12 years after “Old Blood and Guts,” as the general was known, died at 60 on Dec. 21, 1945 following a freak car accident in Germany, a few months after the end of the war.
“I thought ‘Patton’ was a great movie,” he said. “My favorite part was the general’s pampered childhood. He was called Georgie, was dyslexic and was kept at home until the age of 12. He barely graduated from West Point after being held back a year. He had that motor in him that never stopped and was never satisfied. He gave his all to the Army and he had a few days in a hospital bed to savor the victory of World War II before he uttered his last words — ‘I guess I wasn’t good enough’ — and died.”
The grandson grew up under a heavy shadow cast by famous warriors. He came of age during the ’60s anti-war movement and was drawn to poetry and literature rather than the military, the family business for two centuries. Patton was the first male on both sides of his family going back five generations who did not graduate from West Point.
When the proud son told his father he had been accepted for admission to Ivy League Brown University, his father, a career Army officer, asked: “What the hell is Brown?”
At Brown, Patton spent two years in the ROTC program at nearby Providence College. “I realized I didn’t have the family calling,” he said. “My dad was bred to be a master sergeant. He did three tours of duty in Vietnam and would have done four if they let him. He had a certain hardness about him, but he was a patriot who loved his men. War was attractive to him, and by God he couldn’t wait to get back to the action. It’s a very complex phenomenon.”
Arranged by Tom Lom
Marc Thorne will lead our DMA book discussion for November of the chosen selection: “Look Me In the Eye” My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison.
The meeting will be held on at the Darien Library in the Harris Room on the 2nd floor beginning at 12:30 p.m.
“Look Me in the Eye” is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective.”
Media Reviews:
Robison succeeds in his goal of helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger’s to see how it is not a disease but a way of being that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others.” – PW.
“John Robison’s book is an immensely affecting account of a life lived according to his gifts rather than his limitations. His story provides ample evidence for my belief that individuals on the autistic spectrum are just as capable of rich and productive lives as anyone else.” – Daniel Tammet, author of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.
Copies of the book are available in the Book Club section behind the front desk.
Daryl Hawk, a documentary photographer, will present a slide show and speak about “Ladakh: Land of High Passes.”
Ladakh is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and its culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet.
For the past twenty-five years, explorer and international documentary photographer Daryl Hawk has traveled alone to some of the most remote places in the world telling stories with his camera. Hawk spends months at a time documenting and immersing himself in different cultures and landscapes. He is a passionate defender of the world’s remaining wilderness areas and uses his photography to shine a light on why we need to protect them. His articles and images often appear in magazines and newspapers worldwide. He has also been featured several times on NBC’s Today Show and FOX 5 television. He is a member of the Explorers Club, founded in New York City in 1904 promoting the exploration of land, sea, air and space. He is also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Professional Photographers Association. He is a lecturer and presenter for the World Explorers Bureau.
Hawk is also the producer and host of the Cablevision television show “The Unconventional Traveler” which features some of the world’s leading explorers, travel photographers and filmmakers sharing their work from various expeditions and documentaries. He has produced over 100 shows over the past 10 years. Some of his guests have included Buzz Aldrin, Jane Goodall and George Schaller.
In 2004 Hawk had the unique distinction of carrying the historic Explorers Club flag across the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan (“Bhutan West to East Traverse”, flag #73). A guest of the Royal family, he was hired to produce and host an indepth documentary for both American and Bhutanese television as well as international magazines. An Explorers Club flag expedition must further the cause of exploration and field science.
Arranged by Andre Guilbert
Kent Haydock will lead our DMA book discussion for September. The chosen selection is A Higher Call by Adam Makos.
On December 20, 1943, two enemy pilots met in the skies over Germany—an American, Charlie Brown—and a German, Franz Stigler. What transpired would be called: “WWII’s most incredible aerial encounter.” Now, for the first time, A Higher Call tells the complete story of Charlie and Franz’s WWII experiences, their gritty tales of aerial combat over the African desert, the seas of Sicily, the fog of England, and the ultimate battleground—the frozen skies of Germany. The library will have copies of the book available on or about August 1st.
The meeting will be held on at the Darien Library in the Harris Room on the 2nd floor beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Kevin Monahan has arranged with Sterling Farms for a DMA Golf Outing to be held on Friday, October 3 starting at 10:30 AM. We have 5 tee times starting at 10:30 AM enabling us to have 20 players. The cost per player is $42.00 including the golf cart. An announcement will be made at next week’s meeting at which we will have a sign up sheet. Kevin will be away that day and Alex Garnett will be covering for Kevin in his absence.
Our first hike for 2014-15 is scheduled for Thursday, September 11 in the 400 acre Mianus River Park which straddles the towns of Stamford and Greenwich and is owned jointly by them. Those who hiked the Mianus River Gorge last year may be particularly interested in exploring the trails on this downstream stretch of the river. We will hike approximately 4 miles and, starting at 10am, be done by about 12.30 pm.
As usual, participation by spouses, significant others and friends is welcome. The hike will be followed by lunch at a Stamford restaurant (optional).
Meet in the parking lot at the Stamford entrance of the Mianus River Park on Merriebrook Lane, off Westover Road. Park on the lower level, just below the large red cabin on the right side of Merriebrook Lane.
The Mianus River begins its spectacular 20-mile journey to Long Island Sound by flowing north into Bedford, NY near the Greenwich border. Geologists say that the Mianus originally continued north to the Hudson River. However, during the last Ice Age, rock deposits from melting glaciers forced the river to turn south just below Bedford’s Indian Hill. Today, the river flows south-southeast from Bedford through Mianus River Gorge Preserve and into Stamford.
Between Westover Road and Valley Road, the river turns southwest into Greenwich, where it flows through Mianus Pond, over a dam near Rt. 1 into Cos Cob Harbor and, finally into Long Island Sound
Do you like boats and getting out on the water? Then you should join the DMA Boat Club.
Activities include day sailing, fishing, cruising and kayaking.
Membership is open to boat owners and non-owners.
The club would be active year round with on-the-water boating events spring, summer and fall. In the winter, we hold seminars on water-related activities.
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