Avon Talks

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re sitting down with Joel Samberg—author, historian, and the visionary founder of Avon’s very own Playhouse 44. We’re diving into what it takes to build an independent theatre company from the ground up, and how live storytelling breathes new life into our town’s history.

Grab a seat, the lights are dimming, and the show is about to start!

Avon Talks is available on:

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Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

For more than fifty years, the rolling pastures of Connecticut's Farmington Valley served as the office for Dr. Harry Werner, a legendary veterinarian who’s career bore witness to a profound transformation in American agriculture.

With his wife and partner Susan Werner, they navigated the challenges of a 24-7 business through decades of changing country life, watching the profession evolve from an era of clinical intuition to hyper-specialized, high-tech modern medicine.

In today’s episode, Dr. Werner shares the remarkable, often humorous, and deeply moving stories of a lifetime spent in the stalls—revealing not just how the care of our farm animals has changed, but how a family with strong dedication built a lasting legacy in veterinary care in the Farmington valley.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

Avon Talks welcomes Jeannie Parker, a lifelong resident who shares her memories of Camp Gertrude Bryant, Avon's Girl Scout Camp from 1947-1965.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

 Avon Talks shines a light on one of Avon’s most active and community-minded organizations: the UNICO Italian American Club. UNICO has a long tradition of service, fellowship, and pride in Italian-American heritage, and the Avon chapter is no exception. From scholarships and charitable giving to local events that bring people together, UNICO plays a meaningful role in the life of our town. Today I’m joined by the chapter’s officers, who will share the history behind the organization, the work they do here in the Farmington Valley, and how they continue to keep Italian culture and community service thriving in Avon. 

Be sure to follow Avon Talks by subscribing!

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

 Welcome to Avon Talks, I’m your host Jim Pabich.

William Faulkner once said “The past is never dead, It’s not even past”…..

When we look at recent events we have the benefit of both having lived through them as well as the capability of looking at them through the objective eyes of the future.

Today, we’re joined by Avon resident Professor Stephan Bullard, a respected scholar whose book “Covid 19: The First Six Months” traces the daily advances and setbacks as they happened.

 In this conversation, he brings a clear, grounded perspective on how the crisis unfolded in places like Avon, how it reshaped life across the country, and what its ripple effects look like around the world.

 Whether you lived through it on the front lines or felt its weight in quieter ways, Professor Bullard helps us understand what truly happened, what we learned, and how those lessons continue to shape our future.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

The return of AVON TALKS podcast!

Step back in time to discover what life was like during Avon’s earliest days. I'm your new host Jim Pabich and my guest is local historian and author Scott Lewis, whose new book Avon Connecticut's First Century, Visionaries and Victims takes readers through the town’s formative years — a period filled with a mix of ambition, hardship, and transformation.

Scott’s stories bring to life the local families who laid the foundation for the town we know today and the national figures who crossed their paths. We’ll talk about what inspired him to write this history, the surprising discoveries he made along the way, and why understanding Avon’s past helps us appreciate the community we live in now.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

In 1736, Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. This would be the first volunteer fire department of its kind in the United States and laid the foundations for a tradition that continues to be practiced throughout many American towns today. Avon is one such town. The Avon Volunteer Fire Department, with its four stations and almost two-hundred staff, is a completely volunteer-based organization that has been serving the town’s needs for over half-a-century. Joining us for this episode to discuss the history and development of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department are fire chief Bruce Appell and board member James DiPace.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

Baseball has long been known as America’s favorite pastime. Coincidentally, for many, it also happened to be the only pastime. That was certainly the case for many of those growing up in Avon in the 1950s. With relatively few means of interaction with kids outside any given neighborhood and no formally organized activities, most children in this period resorted to baseball to pass the time. For this episode, we’re joined by Bill Severni, David Jadovich, and Kevin Reichler as they discuss the pivotal role the sport played in the town as it grew from backyard pick-up games to the formally organized community event that it is today through the evolution of the Avon Little League.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

In August of 1955, Connecticut was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s modern history. Over the course of one week, two hurricanes – Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane – collectively dropped more than two feet of water and raised the Farmington River by over eighteen inches. These two storms, and the subsequent Flood of 1955 that resulted, ended up causing over 680 million dollars worth of damage across the Eastern Seaboard, with 350 million dollars of that being dealt to Connecticut alone. In response to these damages, Governor Ribicoff declared a state of emergency, requested federal assistance from President Eisenhower, and activated the state’s National Guard. By the end of the Flood of 1955, 87 Connecticut residents had perished, 668 dwellings were destroyed, and over 200 dams suffered partial or total failure. 

Avon, located adjacent to the Farmington River, was not able to escape the impact of the hurricane, suffering extreme damage to its public infrastructure, farms, and houses. For this episode, we are joined by Janet Carville of The Pickin' Patch Farm who, being a lifelong resident of Avon, was able to experience the Flood of 1955 first-hand. 

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org

In the 15th century, Johannes Guttenburg introduced the printing press to Europe, which not only defined print media’s dominant role for centuries to come, but also fundamentally altered the social, political, and religious structure of the Western World. However, since the turn of the 20th century, the media landscape has, once again, begun to rapidly evolve with the advent of radio, video broadcasting, and, eventually, the internet. This revolutionary change would not escape Avon. Joining us to discuss the rapidly transforming landscape of print publishing and media digitization in Avon and the Farmington Valley is Bruce Deckert, the founder and editor-in-chief of Today Publishing.

Avon Talks is available on:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube Music

Podcast Index

Amazon Music

Avon Talks is a monthly podcast about Avon, CT's history, landmarks, and current events from the Avon Historical Society and Town of Avon. It is hosted by Ethan Guo, an Avon Resident and current undergraduate student at Tufts University. 

Find more Avon Talks info on https://avontalks.buzzsprout.com 

Have any questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to: [email protected] 

Want to learn more about the Avon Historical Society? Visit www.avonhistoricalsociety.org