 What do the nineteenth century author Lydia Sigourney, the 18th century hero-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold, and the Revolutionary War battle of Bunker Hill have in common? They all come together in the story you are about to hear from Sigourney’s 1824 book SKETCH OF CONNECTICUT FORTY YEARS SINCE. Sigourney’s book, written early in her career, is a rare historical treat: a tale by a future-famous writer, written in 1824, reminiscing about life forty years earlier in 1784. The past remembering the past, in this episode of Grating the Nutmeg.

124. Lydia Sigourney, Benedict Arnold, & The Battle of Bunker Hill

Connecticut is a small state with big stories. GTN episodes include top-flight historians, compelling first-person stories and new voices in Connecticut history. Executive Producers Mary Donohue, Walt Woodward, and Natalie Belanger look at the people and places that have made a difference in CT history. New episodes every two weeks. A joint production of Connecticut Explored magazine and the CT State Historian Emeritus.

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   Did you know that comic books were invented in Connecticut? Well, sort of. There are lots of precedents for printing texts with images. But the origin of mass market comic book printing is 1930s Waterbury, where Eastern Color printing began by re-publishing comic strips from newspapers in magazine form. Eventually they partnered with Dell publishing to print the first original content American comic books. But today’s episode takes us a ways down Route 8 from Waterbury to Derby. From the 1940s to 1991, Derby was the home of Charlton Comics, unique for being a one-stop shop that included writers, artists, publishing, and distribution under one roof. The story of Charlton is colorful in more than one way. In this episode, Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Museum talks to Jon B. Cooke, author of The Charlton Companion. Learn about the seedy origins of the company, its often lackadaisical approach to quality control, and why there was nothing else like it in American comics. Learn more about the Nutmeg state’s connection to the comic industry by visiting the Connecticut Museum’s exhibition, Connecticut’s Bookshelf now on display at the museum in Hartford. Jon B. Cooke’s book, The Charlton Companion, is available in digital form online at twomorrows.com     ------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to get your copy of Connecticut Explored magazine delivered to your mailbox or your inbox-subscribe at ctexplored.org.  You won’t want to miss our Summer issue with new places to go and lots of day trip ideas!   This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Natalie Belanger and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Help us produce the podcast by donating to non-profit Connecticut Explored at  https://ctexplored.networkforgood.com/projects/179036-support-ct-history-podcast-grating-the-nutmeg   Photo Credit: My Secret Life, Charlton Publications, Vol. 1, No. 25, Sept. 1958. Connecticut Museum Collection.    

187. Derby's Charlton Comics: "No Other Place Like It"

   It’s Spring in Connecticut and this episode is part of our celebration of May as Historic Preservation Month. Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven is the first planned cemetery in the country. The design of Grove Street Cemetery in the 1790s pioneered several of the features that became standard like family plots and an established walkway grid. It is also one of the most beautiful places in Connecticut and is designated as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. It is on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.    Executive Producer Mary Donohue’s guests are Michael Morand and Channing Harris. Michael Morand is Director of Community Engagement for Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. He was just appointed the official City Historian of New Haven and currently chairs the Friends of the Grove Street Cemetery.  Channing Harris is a landscape architect. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the New Haven Preservation Trust and on the Board of the Friends of Grove Street Cemetery. At the cemetery he's been involved with replanting the next generation of trees, enhancing the front border garden, and assisted with the certification of the cemetery as an Arboretum.   Make a day of it in New Haven with a visit to Grove Street Cemetery and perhaps the New Haven Museum or the newly-reopened Peabody Museum. The Cemetery gates are open every day from 9-4. For the times and dates of the 2024 guided tours, go to the Facebook page of the Friends of Grove Street Cemetery. For more information on joining the Friends or volunteering, go to their website at https://www.grovestreetcemetery.org/become-member    -------------------------------------------------   Subscribe to get your copy of Connecticut Explored magazine delivered to your mailbox or your inbox-subscribe at ctexplored.org.  You won’t want to miss our Summer issue with new places to go and lots of day trip ideas!   This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Mary Donohue is an award-winning author, historian and preservationist. Contact her at marydonohue@comcast.net    and follow her Facebook and Instagram pages at WeHa Sidewalk Historian.   Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Help us produce the podcast by donating to non-profit Connecticut Explored at  https://ctexplored.networkforgood.com/projects/179036-support-ct-history-podcast-grating-the-nutmeg   image:    Henry Austin Papers (MS 1034). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. 

186.  New Haven’s Pioneering Grove Street Cemetery

   In this episode, we uncover a Connecticut World War II story that features airplanes without engines. Sound crazy? You’ll learn how these engineless gliders helped beat the Nazis. Executive Producer Mary Donohue will also talk to the author of a new book that details the role that over 45 Connecticut companies played in producing the ammunition, weapons and machines that the United States needed as part of the massive war effort during World War II.   Her guests today are Connecticut author Sharon Cohen and Melissa Josefiak, Executive Director of the Essex Historical Society.   Cohen has authored several books. Her new book Connecticut Industries Unite for WWII Victory was published in 2023 and placed second in the 2024 New England Book Festival. Its available from High Point Publishing:   www.highpointpub.com  . Sharon Cohen is available for book talks and signings. Contact her at cohencomm1@earthlink.net   The Essex Historical Society has new publications on the three Essex villages-Ivoryton, Centerbrook and Essex, where much of today’s story takes place. For information on the publications and programs of the Essex Historical Society, go to their website at https://www.essexhistory.org/ and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.   Subscribe to get your copy of Connecticut Explored magazine delivered to your mailbox or your inbox-subscribe at https://simplecirc.com/subscribe/connecticut-explored You won’t want to miss our Summer issue with new places to go and lots of day trip ideas!   image: Courtesy of Essex Historical Society   ------------------------------------ You can help us continue to produce the podcast by donating directly to Grating the Nutmeg on the Connecticut Explored website here:  https://ctexplored.networkforgood.com/projects/179036-support-ct-history-podcast-grating-the-nutmeg   Executive producer Mary Donohue is an award-winning author, historic preservationist and architectural historian. She can be reached at marydonohue@comcast.net   This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/    Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history.  

185.  Connecticut Industries Unite for WWII Victory: Pratt, Read & Co Gliders

   In this episode, we celebrate and commemorate National Borinqueneers Day coming up on April 13th. It recognizes the bravery, service, and sacrifice of the 65th Infantry Regiment,  a United States Army unit that consisted mostly of soldiers from Puerto Rico and the only segregated Latino unit in the United States Army.   But the honor and fidelity of the men of the 65th came into question in 1952 during the Korean War when 91 regiment members were arrested and tried for desertion and disobeying orders. How could this happen to such a distinguished and decorated unit of the Army?   Executive Producer Mary Donohue’s guest for this episode is accomplished Connecticut author of young adult literature, Talia Aikens-Nunez. In her book, Men of the 65th, The Borinqueneers of the Korean War, she guides us through the history of the 65th from its beginning in 1899.   This book is a great read for a young adult reader or anyone that has a member of their family that served in the regiment. There is a beautiful monument to the Borinqueneers in New Britain at the intersection of Beaver and Farmington Streets-well worth a visit. And we have an article that was published in Connecticut Exploredmagazine on the monument that is free to read on our website-link below.                   Read more about the Borinqueneers Memorial here:  https://www.ctexplored.org/site-lines-monument-to-connecticuts-borinqueneers/   Talia Aikens-Nunez is available for book talks and signings. She can be reached on her website at https://www.kidslitbytalia.com/   Can you use your power of giving to make a $250 dollar donation? We would love to send you our brand-new Grating the Nutmeg t-shirt as a thank you!  Donor and t-shirt recipient Jack Soos writes “I love how this podcast uncovers amazing stories and historical insights right in our backyard! Thank you so much and keep up the good work!”   You can help us continue to produce the podcast by donating directly to Grating the Nutmeg on the Connecticut Explored website here:   https://ctexplored.networkforgood.com/projects/179036-support-ct-history-podcast-grating-the-nutmeg   Executive producer Mary Donohue is an award-winning author, historic preservationist and architectural historian. She may be reached at marydonohue@comcast.net   --------------------------------------------------- This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/     Subscribe to get your copy of Connecticut Explored magazine delivered to your mailbox or your inbox-subscribe at ctexplored.org.  You won’t want to miss our Summer issue with new places to go!   Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history.    

184. The Borinqueneers: Puerto Rico’s Men of the 65th Regiment

   One of the most recognizable food brands in the world got started in a kitchen in Fairfield, Connecticut. In this episode, Natalie Belanger chats with historian Cathryn J. Prince about Margaret Rudkin, the woman who founded Pepperidge Farm.    Read Prince's full-length article about Rudkin on the Connecticut Explored website here: https://www.ctexplored.org/pepperidge-farm-healthful-bread-builds-a-business/   Natalie Belanger is the Adult Programs Manager at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. You can see the Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook in their current exhibition, Connecticut's Bookshelf, open now through September 8, 2024.    ---------------------------------------------------------- Can you use your power of giving to make a $250 dollar donation? We would love to send you our brand-new Grating the Nutmeg t-shirt as a thank you!  Donor and t-shirt recipient Jack Soos writes “I love how this podcast uncovers amazing stories and historical insights right in our backyard! Thank you so much and keep up the good work!”   You can help us continue to produce the podcast by donating directly to Grating the Nutmeg on the Connecticut Explored website at ctexplored.org   Click the donate button at the top and then look for the Grating the Nutmeg donation link at the bottom.   This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Natalie Belanger and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Photo credit: Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook cover, CMCH collection 641.5 R916m      

124. Lydia Sigourney, Benedict Arnold, & The Battle of Bunker Hill

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