I am officially installed on the board of the New Milford Historical Society. These were some of the images I shot at the annual meeting/dinner where myself and another member were voted in by the members. Happy to serve and preserve local history. #found #volunteerism #newmilfordhistoricalsociety #newmilfordct #history #goodpeople

I am officially installed on the board of the New Milford Historical Society. These were some of the images I shot at the annual meeting/dinner where myself and another member were voted in by the members. Happy to serve and preserve local history. #volunteerism #newmilfordhistoricalsociety #newmilfordct #history #goodpeople

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A Visit to Bethel Public Library to Present on my Favorite Topic.

Tonight I made my live debut at the Bethel Public Library to a crowd of 15 interested history hunters. Most were just interested in the history I’ve hunted and that’s ok. My favorite part is the opportunity after to chat with the audience - answer questions and hear about what interests them. 10/10 would do again, and again.

Early Photoshop fail?

Early Photoshop fail? - no! Just an innocent postcard from Wildwood New Jersey in 1914. Or, maybe that is the largest female bather the world has ever seen - someone get PT Barnum on the wireless- quick! The note isn’t really scandalous, but I wonder who the “boys in the white pants” are...Maybe just men of good humor?

Pick of the week - The Bronx Zoo before it was the Bronx Zoo

Pick of the week - that you can visit: The Bronx Zoo!  Many vintage books - this one about to be an antique - are much more interesting when signed by the owner. In this case Newtown’s own Mary Hawley. She took a trip on Thanksgiving Day in 1920 to what is still today the largest metropolitan zoo in the world.


Now called the Bronx Zoo (insert thoughtful cheer here) it was the required destination for elementary school students in a 50 + mile radius. At least it was when I went there - pretty sure my lunch cooler is still there in the lost and found waiting for me.

Mary is known for donating money and property to Newtown, among those properties is the Edmund Town Hall. Named for her father and the source of some confusion over the years, I am sure. Where is Newtown's Town Hall? In the Edmund Town Hall! Is that in the town of Edmund? And so on...

 

Coming To The Bethel Public Library - Live Hidden History!

Wow! The description written for my next live performance (Oct 3rd 6pm at the Bethel Library in CT) has me listed as a “Real” American Picker - I hope those “other” guys don’t read this. I have to admit that I don’t know which I enjoy more...finding these treasures, or sharing them before a live audience.

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Two things are certain in this world- Death and Awesome Tax Stamps

Found at a Danbury CT moving sale today. Thought it was a wry commentary on the State’s tax law rollercoaster week. Truthfully, I would like to know what year this stamp came into use. Others like it - Elevator inspection -for example have the year as part of the stamp. Despite the subject-matter I think these are neat!

Matchbook Monday presents the “what’s in a name edition”.

 The Statler Hotel in New York was built by the railroad across the street from Penn Station and named accordingly in 1919. Sold a number of times and in the 50s to Hilton, renaming it to the Statler Hilton. This landmark (unofficially) has also survived demolition several times. But how can you destroy the namesake of one of the Muppets? The hotel that was host to Faulkner and Castro? It’s most recent owner returned its name to the original title of Pennsylvania Hotel, but really? What’s in a name? The impressive part of the story is how this book of matches looks pretty darn good for a relic from 1936!

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The summer of coins.

This has been a summer of coins. This 1848 one cent coin spent 100 years and more in the ground and then another 26 in a zip loc bag with a rusty nail. That’s no way to treat lady liberty! It would be amazing to see what this coin saw in 1848. If only....
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Matchbook Monday: Southern Fried Matchbook

This hotel, which still stands today, is now all condos, but the structure is intact. If true, my favorite story from this hotel involves JFK sleeping with a Nazi spy in 1942. This was known and the spy’s actions were being recorded at all times. When Jack’s father Joe Kennedy heard the tapes, he got his son transferred to the Pacific theater. The rest they say is history, or a war conquest that at least sounded better on the campaign trail. The reproduction of the Charleston flower girl was a good piece of marketing -a good idea to be associated with an artist who was very well known in the south. I don’t know what happened to Ms Denmark, the Nazi spy. Maybe there’s a recording out there in someone’s attic?

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