Category: People of Manchester

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Manchester Women’s Club

“If you’ve got five minutes or five hours…”

 

In January, I sat down with Manchester Women’s Club (MWC) President Karen Allies at the Mary Cheney Library. The MWC is a local chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Club, an international nonprofit community service organization. The Manchester chapter was reformed in 2018 by Grahame Slogesky. They meet on the second Tuesday of every month in the faculty lounge at Manchester High School. Zoom meetings are held if needed. The cost of membership is $30, but there are subsidies available.

Although COVID impacted membership numbers in 2020, this past year saw an increase. Karen describes the MWC as a service-oriented club with a social aspect. “We want members to be comfortable. Whether we’re working in town, they’re just going to book club or dinner club, working at Mac charities. We work there, the last Friday and Saturday of every month and when they need us throughout the month. Here is a the list of some of the things that we’ve done”:

 

The club is open to any woman 18 or older. You will find volunteers working the membership drive tables at open-air markets in Manchester. Last year they set up a table at the 2nd Saturdays Downtown. The Northwest Park Farmer’s Market will be added for 2022. During the week of Manchester Pride, the club will be at the town-wide tag sale.

Filling community needs is a primary focus of the MWC. Any member may bring an idea forward at a meeting; the members work hard to fulfill that need. According to Karen, “Currently, we’re doing a fill the purse project. We collect trials, travel-size supplies, put them in the purses, and we’re heading out to local shelters. The club has also made blankets for kids, either displaced through domestic reasons—fires, whatever the reason. When they show up at a shelter, they’ve got something to call their own. We’ve sent cards and collected packages for those that are deployed. We did Christmas cards and holiday cards for local health centers and nursing homes, including the caregivers. We’ve done Valentine’s for veterans.”

 

 

 

As committees form, different members step forward to chair each committee. One person handles fundraising; a small group runs the little free libraries around town.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs initiative is children’s literacy. The MWC has seven free libraries around town to ensure that children in every neighborhood access literature. The Manchester Recreation Department built the libraries. The group replenishes the little free libraries using books collected at book drives and stored at a former elementary school.

Leadership consists of a president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and assistant treasurer. Karen adds, “We gather monthly just for the structure, but overall, we’re very free-flowing. There’s a section set aside for the member moments at every meeting. What are your suggestions? What are your thoughts? What would you like to do? Here’s what we’ve seen that we think we need to do. Is anybody interested in heading this committee? So it’s very open flowing? But anything in the community, anything that anybody sees, if you’ve got five minutes or five hours, yeah, we will. We will take any help that you can offer.”

For more information follow this link to the MWC website:

https://www.manchesterwomensclub.org/blog

To join follow this link for an application.

MWC Mem

This was originaly posted a few months ago.  The link didn’t work properly so I am re-posting in the hopes that it will work now.

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Manchester Women’s Club

“If you’ve got five minutes or five hours…”

 

In January, I sat down with Manchester Women’s Club (MWC) President Karen Allies at the Mary Cheney Library. The MWC is a local chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Club, an international nonprofit community service organization. The Manchester chapter was reformed in 2018 by Grahame Slogesky. They meet on the second Tuesday of every month in the faculty lounge at Manchester High School. Zoom meetings are held if needed. The cost of membership is $30, but there are subsidies available.

Although COVID impacted membership numbers in 2020, this past year saw an increase. Karen describes the MWC as a service-oriented club with a social aspect. “We want members to be comfortable. Whether we’re working in town, they’re just going to book club or dinner club, working at Mac charities. We work there, the last Friday and Saturday of every month and when they need us throughout the month. Here is a the list of some of the things that we’ve done”:

 

The club is open to any woman 18 or older. You will find volunteers working the membership drive tables at open-air markets in Manchester. Last year they set up a table at the 2nd Saturdays Downtown. The Northwest Park Farmer’s Market will be added for 2022. During the week of Manchester Pride, the club will be at the town-wide tag sale.

Filling community needs is a primary focus of the MWC. Any member may bring an idea forward at a meeting; the members work hard to fulfill that need. According to Karen, “Currently, we’re doing a fill the purse project. We collect trials, travel-size supplies, put them in the purses, and we’re heading out to local shelters. The club has also made blankets for kids, either displaced through domestic reasons—fires, whatever the reason. When they show up at a shelter, they’ve got something to call their own. We’ve sent cards and collected packages for those that are deployed. We did Christmas cards and holiday cards for local health centers and nursing homes, including the caregivers. We’ve done Valentine’s for veterans.”

 

 

 

As committees form, different members step forward to chair each committee. One person handles fundraising; a small group runs the little free libraries around town.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs initiative is children’s literacy. The MWC has seven free libraries around town to ensure that children in every neighborhood access literature. The Manchester Recreation Department built the libraries. The group replenishes the little free libraries using books collected at book drives and stored at a former elementary school.

Leadership consists of a president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and assistant treasurer. Karen adds, “We gather monthly just for the structure, but overall, we’re very free-flowing. There’s a section set aside for the member moments at every meeting. What are your suggestions? What are your thoughts? What would you like to do? Here’s what we’ve seen that we think we need to do. Is anybody interested in heading this committee? So it’s very open flowing? But anything in the community, anything that anybody sees, if you’ve got five minutes or five hours, yeah, we will. We will take any help that you can offer.”

For more information follow this link to the MWC website:

https://www.manchesterwomensclub.org/blog

To join follow this link for an application.

MWC Mem

This was originaly posted a few months ago.  The link didn’t work properly so I am re-posting in the hopes that it will work now.

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The Sculpture Project

“…other people walked among us…and their greatness maybe wasn’t known right away.”

– Lynn Sottile

Elisabeth Bennet Maquette

 

On August 30, I sat down with Lynn Sottile in her graphic design office above Mulberry Street Pizza to talk about the Sculpture Project. Lynn is excited about the project’s success, whose idea first came to her in 2016 while visiting family in Naperville, IL. She was impressed with the statues along the Naperville Riverwalk. Lynn and a small group of civic-minded residents had been discussing making a permanent contribution to Manchester. The group who had worked on other projects together, like Imagine Main St, included Joyce Hodgson, Tana Parseliti, Susan Barlow, and Eileen Sweeney. Soon after, the Sculpture Project was born.

Each committee member makes a unique, significant contribution to the overall success of the project. Joyce Hodgson-Post ran Imagine Main St for a few years and has talent with social media. She has since married and moved to New Jersey, but she continues to participate. Tana Parseliti was downtown manager and is also excellent with social media. She manages the budget. Eileen Sweeney was a big help in acquiring the fiduciary, the Manchester Historical Society. She is no longer active with the group. Town Historian, Susan Barlow, a proficient researcher, depicts Elizabeth Bennet in the videos found here:

http://www.manchesterhistory.org/MHS3_SculptureProject.html

The Sculpture Project Committee continues to grow. Today, other members include Michele O’Neil, Catherine Wynn, Susan Wright, Claudia Keuhl, Ann Lucente, Donna Fitzgerald, and Ed Burzawa. The concept behind the Sculpture Project was to tell the story of the people from this community. The group considered sculptures for the Cheneys, but their legacy is well established with buildings, artwork, and magnificent homes. 

People were invited to submit names, and each group member did some of their own research. The final list included twenty extraordinary people who had made a unique contribution to Manchester that would stand the test of time. The group set some parameters to narrow the list, including that the person must be deceased. With careful consideration, the decision was made to begin with three people, Joe McCluskey, Elisabeth Bennet, and Emily Cheney Neville.

Over the next three years, the committee raised money, found a sculptor, and erected the first statue of Joe McCluskey. Manchester-born Sculptor Michael Keropian works closely with the group by first creating a miniature clay model called a maquette. Props can be added, the tilt of the head can be changed, the pose can be modified. When all are happy with the maquette, Michael will use it to make the life-size bronze sculpture.

Joe McCluskey was a four-time winner of the Manchester Road Race. He was a 1932 Olympic bronze medalist in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Joe developed his skills jumping over hedges in Manchester while delivering morning and evening editions of local newspapers to Manchester residents. Money for this statue came from donations large and small, including the Manchester Road Race Foundation and the McCluskey family. The statue is located on the road race course across from Highland Park Market. Joe’s eight children, their spouses, his grandchildren, and other family members attended the dedication of the statue in November of 2019.

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Elisabeth Bennet’s maquette has been created, and fundraising is well underway. Elisabeth was a teacher, principal, and supervisor of new teachers who brought art, music, physical exercise and dance, and audiovisual equipment to Manchester’s schools. She was dedicated and self-less, using her own time and money to raise funds for a Steinway piano and school libraries.  In 1913 she led the evacuation of Barnard School before a fire destroyed the building. All 900 students were evacuated safely. 

Props included in the sculpture will begin to tell her story and hopefully arouse the curiosity of adults and children alike. She will be holding an art palette and a music clef, and a hopscotch will lead up to the statue. The Elisabeth Bennet Sculpture will be placed in front of Bennet Academy.

Next up for the Sculpture Project will be 1964 Newbury Award Winner Emily Cheney Neville, author of many books, including It’s Like This, Cat”.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Sculpture Project follow this link:

http://www.manchesterhistory.org/MHS3_SculptureProject.html

A fundraising tour of the David Hayes Sculptor Field in Coventry will be held in the spring of 2022. The tour was initially scheduled for September 25, 2021, but has been postponed due to damage from a tornado.

 

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Close Encounter Mystery in Manchester

In the late 1950s, Staff Sargeant George Brunder of Brooklyn, New York, served with the United States Army as a Fire Control Mechanic with the 11th AAA Missile Battalion (Nike), Battery C in Manchester, CT. His job was to check out the command center and repair it as necessary. On a cloudy day in 1957, he powered up the system. “When we do a checkup, we power up the system (including the radars) and check all the operator positions, etc., and make sure everything is operating correctly. In those days, things were analog (tubes), not digital like today.”

That day, a blob appeared on the screen that Sergeant Brunder initially thought was a malfunction in the radar scope. However, the blob was rapidly approaching the eastern seaboard, moving at speeds exceeding thousands of miles an hour from the direction of the ocean. He promptly contacted his superior, Chief Warrant Officer Kiddey. George used the target tracking radar to lock on the target and automatically track it. It was shaped like a tube on the screen (not a saucer) and was so big it overlapped on another screen. He asked it to ID itself as friend or foe. There was no answer, but it stopped moving in an instant.

When Chief Warrant Officer Kiddey saw the screen, he called Lieutenant Caffee, the Battery Commander. Lieutenant Caffee raced over to take a look.  He immediately put out a red alert to man the positions, and the missiles were armed. Even though the object was still not moving, the lack of response continued to be a concern. So, Lieutenant  Caffee contacted an air force base that sent out fighter planes to check out the Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).  As the aircraft approached the UFO, it went straight up and disappeared off the screen.

What did the fighter pilots see? To this day, no one but the pilots and their commander knows for sure.  Staff Sargeant Brunder has believed for the past 64 years that we are not alone. The event so moved him that he eventually joined JPL (NASA) when he got the opportunity.  He worked on deep space projects and retired as a Senior Engineer after 28 years.

After graduating from Brooklyn High School of Automotive Trades and working at various technical jobs, George enlisted in the army for three years. He went to basic training and then was enrolled in the Surface-To-Air Guided Missile School at Fort Bliss, Texas, from June 1955 to June 1956. His training at the specialized school for high achieving students was in electronics, radar, and associated equipment.

George was stationed at the Nike Site in Manchester after completing his training in Fort Bliss. The concern in the late 1950s was that the Russians could attack the east coast with their bombers.

George enjoyed his time in Manchester and especially liked walking from the base to downtown Manchester. It was a lively place in 1957 with lots of shops and people around. Following his honorable discharge from the army, George attended evening classes at the City College of New York.  And then Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he earned a B.S. degree with a major in Physics. George held many engineering jobs around the country and has retired to Arizona with fond memories of his time in Manchester, CT.

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Chris Silver

 

Early Life

Chris Silver has spent a lifetime preparing for the job of Manchester’s Director of Leisure, Family, and Recreation.  Chris grew up on the Westside of Manchester with his parents and seven siblings in one side of a two-family house.  The Silver family side of the house consisted of a large kitchen and small living room on the first floor, three small bedrooms on the second floor and two small unheated bedrooms on the third floor.

Chris was the youngest of the eight children and when he outgrew sleeping in a crib he moved to the floor of his parent’s bedroom.  Rolling under his parent’s bed on occasion scared him and woke his parents. Since Chris liked the idea of camping out and had a nice new frog sleeping bag to sleep in he didn’t mind moving from the floor of his parent’s bedroom to the floor of the hallway which felt like his own little private space. He never resented the lack of a bedroom and when he was ten Chris moved to a bedroom of his own.

Carl Silver, Chris’ father worked second shift (12-9) as the Assistant Director of Recreation when Chris was growing up.  His mother worked third shift as a nurse at Manchester Manor and tried to get some sleep during the day. The wide open spaces of parks, gyms, and pools were appealing to someone growing up in a small home crowded with ten people, nine of whom were trying their best to keep quiet during the daytime. So Chris spent lots of time at the nearby Westside Recreation Center until it was torn down in 1977 and then at Mahoney Rec which was built and attached to the Washington School in 1979.  Chris and most of his siblings also attended Washington School.

Chris, a self-described rec rat, has wonderful memories of the summer recreation programs at Washington in the seventies when families tended to be large and everyone was outside playing.  There were so many children to play with on your own street that children living a few blocks away were strangers. Chris remembers fondly the playground leaders who were role models for him growing up, with the playground open from nine to twelve, a one hour break for lunch and then another session from one to four.  Street hockey, wiffleball, and kickball were usually played in the cooler morning hours.  Sometimes the children from one playground would ride their bikes to another playground and challenge them to a game.  Afternoons were spent doing arts and crafts,  jumping double dutch, playing marbles, and tetherball,  and other quieter games.  The two adults were like the parents that all the kids needed to guide them and contribute to a feeling of emotional and physical safety.

During the winter Chris continued his “rec rat” life with his father.  Chris would come home from school and go right out to do his paper route.  Then, have dinner with his father during his father’s lunch break from work at 5.  His father then took him to one of the rec centers for swimming lessons or a basketball game or if nothing was scheduled Chris would just drive around with his father to each of the centers as his father checked in on the activities.  During high school, Chris started working part-time for the recreation department.

College Years

Four of the eight Silver siblings went into the military after high school.  Since his father had been in the military and there was little money for college his parents pushed for high school graduation followed by service in the military rather than college.  Chris was the first to go to college.  He started at MCC and then transferred to Bryant College as an Accounting major.  A graduation requirement at Bryant was a full-time internship for one semester.  Chris completed his internship in the tax department at Connecticut Bank and Trust in Hartford and was miserable. Meanwhile, during his time at MCC and Bryant, he continued working for the recreation department on the weekends.

During his unpleasant internship, Chris recognized that accounting was not his dream job and he needed to make a change.  He discovered that the University of Colorado had a Community and Commercial Recreation Major in their School of Business.  So, Chris transferred to Colorado.  However, once there he realized that the courses he needed to graduate were full and he returned home to finish his degree at UConn’s School of Education.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Parks and Recreation Management and then went on to get a Master’s Degree from Southern CT.

Career

After college Chris took the position of Activities Director at Manchester High School.  He worked at the high school for two years then became a rec supervisor in 1996. During this time he finished at grad school in 2000 and started teaching at SCSU.  He taught part-time for 10 years while working full time at the recreation department.  He eventually shortened his teaching commute by moving to teach at MCC part-time. He expressed a great appreciation for the dedication of public school teachers after his experiences teaching part-time at Southern and MCC.  He doesn’t know how public school teachers manage to prepare for a full load of classes and find time for their own life.

Carl Silver eventually moved up to the director role and after he retired Chris became Assistant Director.  But, in 2008 Manchester brought in a consultant to develop a Children, Youth, and Family Master Plan for the town.  Chris was assigned to that project for a year.  As a result of the plan, the city created a new Department of Neighborhoods and Families. Chris was tapped to be the director of the new department and left the recreation department from 2009-2015.

In 2015, Chris became Director of Leisure, Family, and Recreation when the departments were merged.  Today Chris oversees neighborhoods and families, parks and rec, youth services and Work_Space. Bringing recreation, youth services,  and neighborhood events together under one director creates a more impactful department with tremendous opportunities for collaboration.  Although Chris has the final say on major decisions, the departments meet weekly and then the heads of each department also meet weekly with Chris to coordinate upcoming events and activities. 

Core Values Guiding Decisions

Manchester has been fortunate in that the Cheneys built schools and recreation centers with workers in mind.  Many of the more populated areas of town: West Side, East Side, Robertson have recreation or community centers.  This way people living in close quarters have nearby green spaces or gyms to get out and run and move.  Also, children have adult role models within walking distance of their homes.  Chris believes it is best to have Centers located in the core of the community.

Manchester recreation and community centers are located at the Bennett Leisure Center on School St, Center Springs Park on Lodge Dr, the Community Y on North Main, Mahoney Rec on Cedar St, Nathan Hale Activity Center on Spruce St, East Side Neighborhood Resource Center on Spruce St, Northwest Park on Tolland Turnpike, Nike Site on Garden Grove and the Youth Services Bureau on Linden St.

Chris believes that since his childhood our entire culture has changed in how we interact with each other, how we play with each other how we socialize.  In the seventies,  playground leader accountability for children didn’t exist.  The recreation department did not run camps, there were only supervised playgrounds where children were free to come and go as they pleased.  No one took attendance.

In 1985, the first two camps in town were started along with the supervised playgrounds.  Also, the mid-eighties saw the beginning of before and after-school programs for children.  Accountability for care shifted as more mothers went back to work and there were more single-parent homes.  This shift in responsibility of care for children created a need for more day camps and a corresponding decrease in the numbers of children attending supervised playgrounds.  Also, there were issues of equity as families who could afford it were sending their children to camp but some working parents were leaving children at playgrounds all day. The supervised playground model didn’t work, so Manchester became an all-camp system with a scholarship program.

The area downtown known as Work_Space is another project of the department.  It is a collaborative workspace,  co-working space and conference center.  The space was developed in a way that wasn’t typical of a government building. Chris values the hiring of creative talent to market the programs and develop spaces.   The goal is to increase participation but also to be fair and inclusive when developing programs.  It is imperative to find ways to get information to people and also to make sure the programs provided represent what the community is and looks like and to engage people.  When going into a community if one sees a high quality visual it says something to the observer about the care of the people working in the community.  But while looking good is important it is more important to perform well too. There is an economic value of investing in, developing, programming, and marketing green spaces, recreation centers, and community centers.  People will be excited to come to town to play and live and work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Carolyn Chudzik

In a second-floor walk-up, at the upper end of Main Street, Carolyn Chudzik and her good friend Terry Eliason opened a Window Dressing and Slipcover Shop almost 20 years ago.  Working with some 1950’s era Singer Sewing Machines purchased from old garment factories in Fall River, MA, an old Lewis Machine bartered for work completed and a rack from Marlow’s Department Store (remember Marlow’s?) the shop has made drapes, slipcovers, bed skirts and pillows for homes all over the area including two Cheney Mansions.

 

All but one of the machines was manufactured in the 1950s or earlier and according to Carolyn, “The machines are real workhorses without any bells or whistles.”  Carolyn has found a reliable senior repairman who enjoys working on these machines.

The work completed by Carolyn and Terry is truly custom.  During my visit, Carolyn shared some pictures of finished window treatments and slipcovers.  The slipcovered couches looked more like re-upholstered furniture than the slipcovers I imagined.  I have purchased slipcovers at various box stores or online over the years that have to be re-adjusted every time someone sits on them.  Not so with this custom work.  Some of the window treatments have four or five different types of trim blended expertly to create a unique finished product.

One of the shops more creative solutions for people with young children and pets came to the seamstresses from a client.  They use a painter’s drop cloth to make slipcovers for a family room couch.  There may be some imperfections in the fabric but with the deft touch that comes from 20 years of experience on the old workhorse machines, the custom look on all of their projects is striking.  Also, the drop cloths are really durable.

Carolyn and her husband Bill have lived in Manchester since 1980.  They bought a house and raised their three children in town.  Her children attended Nathan Hale, Bennet, and Manchester High School and went on to become a musician, a nurse, and a teacher.

Carolyn actually started the business at home making drapes for friends and acquaintances but the business quickly outgrew the space.  She found this shop within walking distance of home.  Working close to home turned out to be a tremendous advantage over the years as her children became more independent but still occasionally in need of adult supervision.  She recalled one day when one of her children called her at the shop to ask how to turn off the smoke detector.  She was home in 2 minutes.

Carolyn likes being located on Main St and being a part of the downtown Manchester scene.  She has a great view of the sledding hill at Center Memorial Park out her large front windows.  She describes her shop as a studio shop more than a retail place.  The location of the studio on the second floor has curtailed the number of unexpected shoppers, allowing for more time to complete jobs.

In addition to the skill and camaraderie offered by Terry and the great location in downtown Manchester, Carolyn also credits the success of her business to a fantastic landlord, Raheem Shamash.

Carolyn and Terry are not really looking for many new jobs at this time as they ponder retirement.

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Manchester and Amby: A Win-Win Connection

Manchester Road Race Compares Favorably to the Boston Marathon in Amby Burfoot’s Experience.

Amby Burfoot: Manchester & Me was the title of a presentation I attended at Whiton Memorial Library on Monday night. Amby who has won the Manchester Road Race nine times and the Boston Marathon once will run tomorrow morning in his 56th consecutive race around the 4.748 mile course in town.

At 72, Amby is no longer a red-head with a full red beard but is still long, lean and bearded.  He spoke for one hour about his experiences as a runner from high school to the present day.  He had many kind things to say about the town of Manchester and the Manchester Road Race as he reminded us that  “Every day is a gift, every mile is a gift”. He used a PowerPoint with some great pictures and let us know his books were being sold by his wife Cristina off to one side of the auditorium.  He offered to autograph any books purchased.

Amby described himself as the worst player on the JV basketball team as a sophomore in high school.  During one particularly bad practice the team was kicked out of the gym and sent out to run the cross-country course.  Winning easily over the other players he made the emotional decision to quit being the worst player on the team in a sport he loved  to try  cross-country.

He ran his first practices in his high top Keds basketball sneakers and his first race in an old pair of bowling shoes on a rainy day.  The shoes got soaked and de-laminated and he crossed the football field at the end of the race with a flapping shoe sole to finish in 5th or 6th place.  After the race Amby was feeling nauseous and disappointed when John J. Kelly, “the most inspiring, most intelligent, most astonishing man I’ve met” put his arm around Amby’s shoulders and offered words of support and encouragement.  John predicted that Amby had some potential for a good future in this sport.

Amby’s first road race was in Manchester in 1963.  He had been running high school cross-country for only two years.  He won the high school division that year and fell in love with road racing and the big enthusiastic crowds in Manchester.  He compares the crowd support in Manchester to that of Boston and contrasts it with the rest of the world, where back in the day, road racers were considered “creatures from a foreign land” and beer cans and beer bottles were thrown out of windows at the runners.

The sport has come into its own since those early days and grown in popularity around the world.  It’s been 45 years since he felt the thrill of flying down Main St in Manchester to break the tape and get his picture in the paper.  He has returned every year for 56 years because of the community, the crowds and the people of Manchester. Something very special is going on in this town.  What it is and what it has always been is the community support of tens of thousands of people.

One of Amby’s best memories was his 50th Manchester Road Race.  He was expecting cheers from the spectators during this special anniversary running  but discovered the dirty little truth about running in the middle of the pack.   It’s so difficult to spot anyone in particular among the throngs of other runners that anonymity is almost guaranteed if you aren’t breaking the finish line tape. However, the thrill of the incredibly energetic scene at the starting line every Thanksgiving Day in Manchester continues for him.

In 1961 Manchester became famous for being the first road race in the country to have a woman finish the race.  Amby talked about his interest in the history of women runners which he wrote about in his book “First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles Of The Rebels, Rule Breakers And Visionaries Who Changed The Sport Forever.”  Julia Chase-Brand, a 21-year-old college senior was the first woman to finish a road race in the U.S. and she ran it in Manchester.  Although being denied entry into the race by the organizers at the time, she ran the race anyway and crossed the finish line in good form. Another woman also ran in that race.  She was from Great Britain and had run in races there but stepped off the course before the finish line because she thought she would be banned from U.S. races forever by the athletic authorities. Today some of the most elite female runners in the world compete at the Manchester Road Race.

Amby talked about the cast of characters who participate in Manchester, from Olympians to guys as old as he is today trotting around the streets, to costumes and Safety Man and a variety of bands.  It is the only race in country to have an awards  lunch celebrating those over 75.  He’s looking forward to attending that lunch in a few years.

Manchester owes its success as a world-class event because the right people in town have stepped up at the right time to make it a premier road race.  According to Amby, “This is an event that has a history and has a sparkle to it and that has to be maintained.”  People in town  started the famous “Irish Connection” where John Treacy and Eamonn Coghlan contributed to making it a world-class event.  It has continued with the large contingent of top-notch runners from East Africa who have dominated in recent years.

The race tomorrow morning will be a cold one so good luck to all the runners, spectators, and officials.

 

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Manchester Community Services Council Meeting

Kind and Caring People Co-ordinate Services to Offer Support & Resources

 

Last Thursday, on the second floor of the Manchester Police Department, the Manchester Community Services Council (MCSC) met.  Approximately 20 people attended the meeting.  This group meets once a month to focus on networking and timely topics with a goal of matching resources and agencies with Manchester people in need.  Shannon Baldassario, Director of Community Outreach and Emergency Services for Manchester Area Conference Of Churches (MACC) was the speaker.

Attendees were from Eastern CT Health Network (ECHN), Rebuilding Together, Highland Park Market, Manchester Adult & Family Services, National Alliance for Mental Illness, Manchester High School Family Liaison, Interval House, Pastoral Counselors from the  Unitarian Universalist Society, a retired University of St. Joseph professor, and a representative from an organization that helps homeless veterans.  (I don’t always write fast enough to get names of all of the organizations so please excuse any errors or omissions.)

Meeting attendees provided a glimpse of the good work performed daily to offer valuable assistance to those in need in Manchester.  Shannon Baldassario, of MACC Charities, spoke to the group about her efforts to provide outreach to people whose circumstances leave them without a home.  She informs them of services available, including clothing and showers at MACC Charities, free laundry, and appropriate referrals for mental health and addiction services.  Once a connection is made, follow-up occurs after a week or two with additional support provided if needed. Shannon is persistent and thorough in reaching out as often as needed to connect individuals with appropriate resources.

Another service provided by MACC utilizes resources available at MACC Charities to keep individuals or families in their home or apartment.  Clothes, dishes, grocery vouchers and funds to pay for utilities are available for people at risk of losing their home/apartment.  This is short term help to keep people and families from becoming homeless.

Emergency referrals can be made directly to Shannon Baldassario by calling (860)647-8003 X 31 or emailing sbaldassario@macc-ct.org.  A phone call may also be placed to 211 to refer someone to the Coordinated Access Network (CAN).  This network provides triage for people at imminent risk of becoming homeless or for people who are chronically homeless.  Individuals will be placed in shelters or on a waitlist for a shelter. The maximum stay at a shelter is 30 days.  Families are referred to an organization called Journey Home.

If you are interested in helping out here is a brief list of needs:

  • Joy of Community Sharing (adoption of 40 families not receiving services but in need for Thanksgiving and Christmas)
  • December 20 – Holiday Party for children under 10, volunteers needed
  • November 10, 11, 17 & 18 Stop & Shop Food Drive
  • Yoga for Food TBA
  • Thrift Shop open Mon-Sat
  • Check out MACC-CT.org for volunteer opportunities
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Manchester Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast

 

October 31, 2018

The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) is located in a Cheney Mansion built by Frank Cheney, Manchester’s first fire chief.  It’s situated at 20 Hartford Rd. close to Main St.

Early Wednesday morning the chamber, in partnership with AT&T, hosted a breakfast for people running for office.  After eating breakfast provided by AT&T at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills and some time to wander around meeting people, April DiFalco, President of the GMCC asked everyone to sit down.  The pre-election forum was set up with a panel of candidates facing the audience and a moderator, John Emra from AT&T.

The panelists seated from left to right were:

  • Mark Tweedie (R), CT Senate District 4
  • Thomas Tierney (R), CT House District 12
  • Jennifer Fiereck (R), CT House District 13
  • Jason Rojas (D), CT House District 9
  • Geoff Luxenberg (D), CT House District 12
  • Jason Doucette (D), CT House District 13
  • Jeff Curry (D), CT House District 11
  • Steve Cassano (D), CT Senate District 4
  • Jennifer Nye (R), US House District 1
  • Jeff Russell (G), US Senate
  • John Larson (D), US House District 1

Each candidate had two minutes to introduce themselves. I took brief notes on the introductions that I will share here:

  • John Larson is an incumbent U.S. Congressman who talked about being proud to be involved in a bi-partisan technology take-off that helped Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney and Electric Boat in the state of CT.  Also, he had a plan to fix and fund social security and talked about how it is unfair to women.
  • Jeff Russell is the green party candidate.  He isn’t worried about the U.S. running out of money because the U.S. is the source of money.  Our debt is not actually a debt but represents the money supply.  He is for universal health care.
  • Jennifer Nye’s experience in office included a position on the Manchester Board of Directors.   Running against John Larson to be a representative in the U.S. Congress  she would support strong borders, legal immigration and term limits.
  • Steve Cassano previously had served as deputy mayor and then mayor of Manchester.  He is an incumbent running for office for the last time and is running against Mark Tweedie.  He wants to fill manufacturing jobs at Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Electric Boat by providing training.  He doesn’t think everyone needs to go to college and that junior high school is the place to begin to let students know about all of the career options.
  • Jeff Curry is an incumbent who is running unopposed.  His district includes the Buckland Hills area and East Hartford.  He is concerned about crumbling foundations and as a state rep has been involved in a committee that will provide funding to homeowners whose foundations are deteriorating from pyrrhotite.  There will be a rollout of funds which will be available in December to homeowners.  He wants to improve the predictability of education funding so schools are not scrambling at the last minute or during the school year to fund teaching positions.  He has championed LGBTQ rights.
  • Jason Doucette is an attorney and small business owner running against Jennifer Fiereck.  He started his own law practice and works with many small business owners.
  • Geoff Luxenberg recognized local politicians Jay Moran, mayor of Manchester and Darryl Thames, Board of Education member who were in attendance in the audience.  He also defended Chris Murphy who he felt had been unfairly attacked by Jennifer Nye because he has enrolled his children in school in D.C.  Geoff defended Mr. Murphy’s decision to be involved in raising his family by moving them closer to where he spends most of his work days.  Jennifer had questioned if Chris Murphy  is still considered a CT resident.
  • Jason Rojas is running for a 6th term.  He serves as co-chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and is a member of the Planning and Development Committee and works closely with the Appropriations Committee.  There is much work to do but behind closed doors there is a bi-partisan effort to get things done for CT.
  • Jennifer Fiereck is a political outsider who wants to make the world better for her children.  She is a small business owner who supports term limits and doesn’t want additional burdens on the wealthy and big business.
  • Tom Tierney is running as an unaffiliated candidate but has been supported by the Republicans.
  • Mark Tweedie runs a dental lab that makes crowns and bridges.  He believes business is the answer to our budget problems and we need less red tape which slows growth.

After each person spoke the candidates were asked questions; first by the moderator and then by the audience.  The initial questions were on transportation and the crumbling infrastructure and how to fund both.  John Larson is concerned that infrastructure funding has not increased for 8 years.  He is an advocate for using federal funds to build two tunnels through Hartford to re-connect the city divided by I-84 and gain access to the riverfront cut off by I-91.  Jennifer Nye does not want a tunnel but would go through the northend of Hartford.

Jason Doucette would fund infrastructure improvements by requiring tolls for out of state traffic.  Steve Cassano supports a mix of spending.  Mark Tweedie thought the cost of the tolls would be passed on to the consumer.  Jeff Russell questioned if tolls were a violation of the commerce clause of the constitution.

Additional questions were asked about what has been done in the past year to train people to fill the 35,000 job vacancies at Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky and Electric Boat.  Steve Cassano stated that a program was started in Jr. High Schools to get students interested in those careers and Jason Rojas indicated that money was re-allocated to workforce programs.

The final question was asked by Darryl Thames of the Manchester Board of Education.  He mentioned that state funding for schools has diminished and requested that the candidates share their views of funding public education.  Jeff Russell addressed this question by speaking strongly about the need for better leadership from the U.S. Department of Education.  We need someone who supports students by getting rid of these ludicrous tests that are turning public education into child abuse.  Geoff Luxenberg also spoke up in support of more funding for the public school system.

At that point we ran out of time.  I went back later to speak to April DiFranco and get pictures of the building.  Since Election Day is tomorrow I felt that sharing this information as soon as I could was important so please excuse any errors and please vote tomorrow.

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Abdullah Al-Mubeen

Abdullah Al-Mubeen has lived in Manchester for most of his young life.  He was born in New York City and also travelled to Bangladesh and lived there for a short time.  He is the youngest of five children.  He has attended school at Washington, Verplank, Bennet and Illing.  He went to Manchester High School for a short time but currently attends Sport & Medical Sciences Academy (SMSA) which is a magnet school in Hartford.  I met Abdullah at the Silk City Cafe on Main St. for this interview.

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Abdullah is a senior at SMSA and plans to enroll at  Manchester Community College next year to study engineering.  His favorite course at SMSA was a marketing course taught by Ms. Anne Nguyen.  He credits this course with helping him overcome his shyness and fear of public speaking.  Another favorite teacher has been Ms. Cindy Petrillo who was his math teacher.  He thought she was an excellent teacher and he liked the way she explained math concepts and assigned creative projects to help the students learn.

For his senior capstone project Abdullah would like to raise money for diabetes research.  His family has been impacted by the disease.  He has contacted the Diabetes Foundation and with their assistance is considering holding a walk-a-thon in Hartford.

Abdullah loves living in Manchester.  It’s quiet here and is a good place to grow up. He hangs out at the mall or the movie theater. In elementary and middle school he played at the playground at Verplank School.  He enjoys skateboarding which he learned last year. He likes to skate board around his neighborhood and near Cheney Tech.

The T-Mobile on Main St hired Abdullah in July.  He loves this job but not the servers which crash sometimes.  He likes talking to people and explaining the cell phone plans.  He likes technology and picks things up easy.

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He is also interested in Japan and has always wanted to visit.