Grating the Nutmeg

Connecticut Explored is celebrating its 20th anniversary with "20 for 20: Innovation in Connecticut History," a series of articles, podcasts, and public programs that highlight 20 "Game Changers" in the field of Connecticut history. The insights and ideas we gather through this five-minute survey will help individuals and organizations who are committed to keeping Connecticut history vibrant and relevant. Thank you for your time! Visit: www.surveymonkey.com/r/PODCAST1

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The Speedwell arrived in New London on July 17, 1761, after a journey of several months from Western Africa to the Americas. The boat departed with 95 enslaved persons. Only 74 survived the journey.

The captain of the Speedwell, Timothy Miller, sailed up the Connecticut River to Middletown after a few days in New London. Although the ship's records don't show where the Africans aboard the Speedwell ended up, the probate record of Normand Morison, a Hartford physician who owned 7/16th of the Speedwell, shows 21 enslaved West Africans were placed on his farm in Bolton, CT. Morison died in 1761 and the fate of the people on the Bolton farm is not yet known.

In this episode, Kathy Hermes, Lonnie Braxton, and Tom Schuch discuss Morison and the Speedwell, the Black Heritage Trail and its significance, and the impact of the slave trade on Connecticut and its trading networks.

This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Dr. Kathy Hermes and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan of High Wattage Media www.highwattagemedia.com/

Photo credit: Tom Schuch

The discovery of four 18th century male skeletons thought to be possible soldiers in the April 27, 1777 Battle of Ridgefield, prompted the most in-depth research into that crucial Revolutionary War conflict ever undertaken. In this presentation to the town sponsored by the Ridgefield Historical Society earlier this year, state historian Walt Woodward, historian Keith Jones, state archaeologist emeritus Nick Bellantoni, state archaeologist Sarah Sportman, archeologist Kevin McBride, and Historian David Naumec report on their discoveries to date.

The airship Hindenburg passed over Connecticut 21 times during its 17-month service between 1936-37. In the 1930s, air travel across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America was in its infancy. The vast airships of the German Zeppelin Company, zeppelins or dirigibles, took an early lead, competing not with airplanes but luxury ocean liners. In this episode, Asst. Publisher Mary Donohue, talks to historian Alexander Rose, author of Empires of the Sky, Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World (Random House, 2020). And you'll hear from Bridgeport historian Carolyn Ivanoff, author of the article "The Hindenburg Flies over Bridgeport" in the Summer 2022 issue of Connecticut Explored. Find out more about why the Nazi swastika is visible in many of the photos taken over Connecticut.

Thank you to our guests Alexander Rose and Carolyn Ivanoff. Rose has a new book coming out in December, 2022-The Lion and the Fox-and listeners can subscribe to his weekly Substack newsletter "Secret Worlds" which explores historical espionage (and occasionally aviation) at https://alexanderrose.substack.com/

Find out more about his other books at http://www.alexrose.com/about

The episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan of High Wattage Media www.highwattagemedia.com/

Donohue has documented the built environment and pop culture for over 30 years. Contact her at [email protected]

Photo credit: Hindenburg over The Travelers Tower, Hartford, 1936 - Jeffrey Hollis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MinmbjRta3w

The video, taken in October of 1936, shows the Hindenburg sailing over Hartford, Connecticut, seven months before its destruction.

For this episode of Grating the Nutmeg, Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Historical Society talked to Joanie DiMartino, Connecticut state Coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail. They discussed the origin of the marker program, and the criteria that went into choosing the Connecticut people and places honored with a marker. In addition, Joanie shares her thoughts on why the markers matter, and what the story of the suffrage movement can teach us about social justice movements today. To learn more, visit the National Votes for Women Trail. The site contains an interactive map of trail sites throughout the United States.

The National Votes for Women Trail marker program is made possible through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. The Connecticut Historical Society has partnered with the Pomeroy foundation to feature Connecticut cultural heritage on roadside markers at sites across the state. Learn more

Thanks to Joanie DiMartino for participating!

This episode was produced by Natatlie Belanger of the Connecticut Historical Society, and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan of High Wattage Media, highwattagemedia.com

Please join us again for the next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, released every two weeks.

Subscribe to Connecticut Explored, the magazine of Connecticut history, at ctexplored.org

In the Summer 2022 issue of Connecticut Explored, author and historian Steve Thornton of the Shoeleather History Project brings us the story of the internationally-renown activist, actor, and singer Paul Robeson and his wife Eslanda, an anthropologist, author and activist in her own right. The Robeson's home from 1941 to 1953 in Enfield, Connecticut is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail as well as the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hartford Courant reported on April 1, of 1941 that,

"The stucco house is situated on two and a half acres of land. The property includes a recreational building which houses a bowling alley and an outdoor swimming pool… A purchase price of about $10,000 was indicated by the attached revenue stamp."

The next day the Courant reported,

"Paul Robeson will move into his new home here, "The Beeches" on May 1… The luxurious house is in a state of disrepair but Mrs. Robeson has arranged with local workers to renovate the house and grounds…Built in 1903, the living room is richly paneled with a marble mantle… The grounds are shaded by many old trees, including several beeches on the broad lawns in front of the house."

What attracted the Robeson's to Enfield? Why did the FBI keep them under surveillance in Connecticut? And how did a Robeson concert at Hartford's Weaver High School in 1952 become a huge local controversy?

Let's hear from Steve Thornton about the Robesons activism and life while living in Connecticut.

Read more in the Summer 2022 issue of Connecticut Explored "The Robesons Move to Enfield" by Steve Thornton. Get your copy at ctexplored.org And to learn more about Hartford history from the grassroots, visit The Shoeleather History Project at shoeleatherhistoryproject.com

To learn more about a Connecticut citizen was arrested and tried for being a Communist, listen to his first-hand account from Alfred Marder in Episode 7 of Grating the Nutmeg at https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/gtn7e-extended-version-a-communists-arrest-in-1950s-new-haven

And read more at https://www.ctexplored.org/al-marder-a-life-of-conviction/

This episode was produced by Mary Donohue, Assistant Publisher of Connecticut Explored, and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan of High Wattage Media, highwattagemedia.com

Song: Shenandoah, Paul Robeson (Copland, A.: Fanfare for the Common Man / Tilzer, A. Von: Take)

Donohue may be reached at [email protected]

Please join us again for the next episode of Grating the Nutmeg!

Painting by Everett Raymond Kinstler, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

Join Walt Woodward on a visit to the Katharine Hepburn Museum at "the Kate" in Old Saybrook. His interview with Executive Director Brett Eliott and Director of Community Relations Robin Andreoli about this gem of a museum for America's most Oscar-winning actor (and long-time Saybrook resident) should convince you to put both the Katharine Hepburn Museum and "the Kate" on your must-see-this-summer list. It's a must hear podcast about a must see museum.

In this episode, CTExplored publisher Elizabeth Normen talks with Connecticut River Museum curator Amy Trout about the museum's summer exhibition Speed: Hydroplane Racing on the Connecticut River, 1900 – 1940. Trout tells us what a hydroplane is and why racing them became popular in the midst of the Great Depression. As opposed to yachting, she explains, hydroplane racing was an everyman's sport that people flocked to the riverfront to watch. She talks boat design, which outboard engines were popular, and who the stand-out racers of the 20s and 30s—a number of whom were young women—were. Speed is on view through October 9, 2022.

Read more!

Pleasure Boating on the Connecticut River, Summer 2018

https://www.ctexplored.org/cover-story-pleasure-boating-on-the-connecticut-river/

Full Steam Ahead: Steamboat Travel in Connecticut, Spring 2009

https://www.ctexplored.org/full-steam-ahead-steamboat-travel-in-connecticut/

In 1822, the Hartford Retreat for the Insane was chartered as one of the first mental health centers in the United States, and the first hospital of any kind in CT. In 2022, the CHS is exploring of the story of mental health in our state. Recently, the CHS invited Dr. Harold I (Hank) Schwartz to talk about the history of the Hartford Retreat, renamed the Institute of Living in the 20th century. His presentation took us through the state of mental health care in the early 1800s, the reasons for the founding of the Retreat, and its place in the development of modern psychiatry. Dr. Schwartz, is the Psychiatrist-in-Chief Emeritus at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital and formerly served as Vice President, Behavioral Health at Hartford Healthcare. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. His talk is presented here for you with minimal edits. To learn more about the Connecticut Historical Society's exhibition Common Struggle, Individual Experience: An Exhibition About Mental Health, go to chs.org. You can view a 3D, virtual tour of the exhibition here. Image: "Hartford Retreat for the Insane," postcard, CHS collection 1984.13.109 Produced by Natalie Belanger. Mixed by Patrick O'Sullivan. See more: "The Institute of Living," Feb/Mar/Apr 2004, CT Explored.

Most people in the tri-state area have driven the Merritt Parkway with its extraordinary bridges and landscaped vistas. But can a roadway built in the 1930s during the Great Depression survive today in the 21st century without losing its charm?

In celebration of Historic Preservation Month, we will learn how the Merritt Parkway, the state's most heavily visited National Register historic district, was saved from modernization and restored to its original design.

In this episode, Asst. Publisher Mary Donohue learns more about the history and preservation of the parkway from her guests Christopher Wigren deputy director of Preservation Connecticut and author of Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places. He co-wrote the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Merritt Parkway and serves on the Department of Transportation's Merritt Parkway Advisory Committee. And her second guest, Wes Haynes, the Executive Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a non-profit organization committed to the preservation, revitalization and stewardship of the Parkway.

Thanks to Chris for being our guest. You can order his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Architecture-Stories-Places-Garnet/dp/0819578134/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1072LVNSI3O9I&keywords=wigren&qid=1651172449&s=books&sprefix=%2Cstripbooks%2C58&sr=1-1

And thanks to Wes for being our guest. Find out more about the Merritt Parkway Conservancy here: https://www.merrittparkway.org/

For more Connecticut Explored stories about the Merritt Parkway,

https://www.ctexplored.org/soapbox-preserving-the-meritt-parkway/

https://www.ctexplored.org/national-historic-preservation-act-40-and-fabulous/

https://www.ctexplored.org/meet-preservation-connecticut/

Photos used with permission from the Merritt Parkway Conservancy.

This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan, High Wattage Media, LLC at highwattagemedia.com

Donohue has documented the built environment and pop culture for over 30 years She may be reached at [email protected].

For over 2000 years, the American chestnut was the tallest, largest, and most omnipresent tree in all Connecticut. It's a tree for which a hundred hills, countless streets, and at least one Connecticut town were named, a tree whose nuts we sing about on the holidays, and a tree which helped frame our houses, shape our furniture, fence and feed our livestock, make tracks for our trains, and hold our utility lines. In this episode, Jack Swatt, President of the Connecticut chapter of the American chestnut Foundation, talks with state historian Walt Woodward about the long history and importance of the American chestnut tree, the devastation brought by the historic chestnut blight, and the amazing efforts by scientists today to restore this functionally extinct species to its former place in Connecticut's woodlands. Appreciation to Daniel Birch for "Trees in the Wind," episode intro music licensed by Creatrive Commons