Claim OwnershipAmazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path
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Noted story teller and former journalist Mike Allen interviews special guests and then produces amazing tales about people, places and events from Connecticut history. His style and enthusiasm make history relatable, interesting, fun and informative. You certainly don‘t have to be from Connecticut to enjoy these stories -- you just need to find history interesting and to love a good story. New episodes are published every Thursday. Theme music (Musical Interlewd 1, intro; Musical Interlewd 2, outro) by Christopher Cech. Podcast logo design by Ashley Cech. Logo photo by Yvonne Cech. This podcast is a production of True North Associates, LLC.
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It’s one of the largest, single-day losses of boats by the United States in a military campaign – and it held that record for 200 years, until Pearl Harbor. The British raid on Essex during the War of 1812 saw more than two dozen ships destroyed. Also ruined were the local economy and the fortunes of those who made their living both in ship building and high seas merchant trading. It was a daring raid, told in great fashion by the foremost expert on the raid, Jerry Roberts, who’s researched and written on this major event.
The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the 1690s. It was decades earlier that CT’s witchcraft frenzy occurred. Nearly a dozen women and men were hanged for witchcraft, until young CT Colony Governor John Winthrop used his political expertise to get the state to end executions entirely. This dark chapter in CT history is told by the State Historian Emeritus, Walt Woodward.
The successful development of western Connecticut, following the arrival of European settlers, can largely be attributed to a single dirt path, that was nearly lost to history. The 350-year-old Old Woodbury Path ran from the 1600s settlement of Woodbury to the bustling port of Derby, known at that time as the “new Boston” due to its importance as a trading hub. As development expanded around Woodbury and into Litchfield, farmers brought their crops to Woodbury for transport down the 21-mile cart path to Derby for export. A Seymour man has spent the past 10 years painstakingly poring over ancient maps and walking through the woods to piece together the route and backstory of this path. Pete Rzasa shares his findings in this episode.
From piano keys to combs, buttons, and other various other items, the smooth, glassy touch and feel of ivory was a highly regarded commodity in high demand. And 90% of the ivory products made throughout the world were made in two communities in the lower Connecticut River Valley for many decades. The Village of Ivoryton owes its name to the industry. Opposition to harvesting endangered elephant’s tusks coupled with unforeseen other challenges brought the industry eventually to an end. The fascinating story is told by Melissa Josefiak, Director of the Essex Historical Society.
During WW II, there was a top-secret project known as “Post Office Box 1142.” A Connecticut man played a major role in the operation, which focused on prisoners of war – both Americans held overseas as well as influential German and Italian prisoners who were kept at Fort Hunt in Virginia. A number of James Bond-like gadgets were made at Fort Hunt and shipped clandestinely to the Americans overseas, with corresponding coded messages advising them what was hidden inside. It’s a tale told Peter Bedini, son of the man who led the coded correspondence effort and which just became public knowledge recently.
It was nearly 100 years ago when the shooting death of Seymour First Selectman Ray Gilliard occurred in his Town Hall office. He called the telephone operator, said he had been shot, described his assailants, and asked for police and a doctor to be dispatched. Then, the line went dead. The outcome of the investigation shocked virtually everybody in town. Telling the story is Naugatuck Valley historian Robert Novak.
Connecticut is the home of many inventions. One that's of particular interest is the first robot. The first industrial robot ever placed on a production line was built in Danbury and spearheaded by the holder of the patent (George Devol, of Wilton) and the marketing mastermind who found the markets and promoted the invention (Joseph Engelberger, of Newtown). Engelberger, known as “the father of robotics,” also spearheaded the first use of robots in hospitals. Hear the story behind the development of robots with Newtown Historical Society President Ben Cruson.
Today, we often hear of building collapses, with workers or members of the public trapped underneath debris. One of the first such incidents to capture the public’s attention was the collapse of the L’Ambiance apartment building while it was under construction in Bridgeport in 1987. Tons of concrete slab floors were being hoisted into place, while workers tended to their tasks beneath them. The concrete floors fell, pancake style, landing on top of 28 workers. None survived. It was the worst disaster in the city’s history, and one of the worst in state history. The 37-year-old incident is remembered by the man who was Mayor of Bridgeport at that time, the Honorable Thomas Bucci.
Some call it, Connecticut’s Alamo. The Battle of Groton Heights was a massacre by any measure, with 1,600 British soldiers greatly outnumbering 165 Patriot soldiers in one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War. The British were led by Benedict Arnold, who had only recently switched allegiances and who was born less than 10 miles from the battle. The decision by Colonel William Ledyard not to surrender the fort, with essentially only farmers under his command, ended with only a handful of fighters not being killed or wounded. This harrowing story is told by the President of the Friends of the Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park Foundation, Hali Keeler.
This 100-year-old western CT murder case was a difficult one to solve. There was no body in home where murder victim George Hultz lived that had burned to the ground. The motive was elusive. And the perpetrator who was eventually identified was quite good at deflecting suspicion. Yet, the man who would rise from Sergeant to Commissioner of the CT State Police, John Kelly, finally cracked the case. And the person who has the details of this story is the retired longtime editor of the Ridgefield Press newspaper and local historian, Jack Sanders.
When we speak about draft dodgers, we normally mean the potential recruits, who are trying to stay out of the military. In the case of Dr. Josiah Beckwith, he was a CT doctor examining recruits for the Civil War, and more than 90% of them got medical deferments, meaning they didn’t have to serve. The intriguing back story is told by the author of Litchfield County and the Civil War, Peter Vermilyea.
We live in a state with a lot of open space, correct? Well, while 60% of our land is forested, much of it is privately-owned and potentially subject to development. The state legislature established a goal of setting aside 21% of the state’s land by 2023. We’re at about 16%, and an extension to that target is being developed. Land trusts play a critical role in identifying, securing, and managing open space. With climate change and the impact on biodiversity, CT Land Conservation Council Executive Director Amy Blaymore Paterson says that our past development trends could impact our future lifestyles if more land isn’t conserved fairly soon.
Connecticut native Noah Webster not only created the first American dictionary, but he made numerous contributions to the field of education, establishing teaching approaches that exist as the norm to this day. His writings on establishing a new U.S. government were studied by the authors of the U.S. Constitution – before they wrote it. He was the father of U.S. copyright law and the founder of New York City’s first daily newspaper. Webster was so prolific, and yet he tends to only be remembered for the dictionary. The Executive Director of the Noah Webster, Jeffrey Mainville, will share the many accomplishments of this forgotten founding father.
Connecticut once had five zoos. Now, it just has one accredited facility – Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Not only is the history of how the facility began quite interesting, but so it its mission of keeping highly endangered species alive and multiplying in the hope of keeping them from going extinct. The current director, Gregg Dancho, talks about some of his memories during his 40 years at the helm, a time period cited by many observers as being the most positive and consequential in the 100-year-old history of this fabulous zoo.
A CT man survived the sinking of the Titanic 110 years ago, but he was accused of getting into a “women and children only” lifeboat by wearing a dress. The problem is, it was a completely fabricated story. Yet, the lie followed William Sloper for the rest of his life, because his father urged him to ignore the controversy. In the absence of a denial, the story stuck. The truth finally emerged, but not in time for Sloper. This intriguing tale will be told by Cathy Nelson, Librarian Emeritus of the Berlin Public Library.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the pilot of a small plane you were riding in died in mid-flight? On Easter Sunday, 2009, the pilot of a twin-engine plane out of Florida suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving a father, his wife, and two daughters alone in the plane. A CT flight instructor, who was familiar with that type of plane, was contacted to provide cell phone advice to air traffic controller, who relayed it to the pilot to help him land the plane safely. Flight instructor Kari Sorenson and his partner Ashley Harrison share their memories of that fateful day.
1There are 169 towns in Connecticut, and it would seem like a simple question: which town was the first to be settled? Well, there is still some controversy – nearly 400 years after the fact – as to whether it was Windsor or Wethersfield. The debate falls along the definition of settlement, versus trading post. Either way, some would argue, what about the indigenous people who were here before European settlers? We’ll look at all of this with two representatives of the Windsor Historical Society, Executive Director Doug Shipman and Librarian/Archivist Michelle Tom.
In this second of a two-part series on the sinking of the S-48 submarine 100 years ago in Long Island Sound, we’ll have the exciting conclusion about the survival efforts made by the 41 crew members trapped 60 feet below the surface of The Sound, off the coast of Fairfield, with icy water and poisonous chlorine gas filling the vessel and no communications system to let others know of their dire circumstances. CT author and local historian Michael Bielawa finishes this incredible story.
Many people have no idea that the S-48 submarine sank in Long Island Sound off the coast of Fairfield back in 1921, with 41 crewmen onboard. This first of a two-part series takes us through a detailed accounting of the first hours of what the crew encountered over a 12-hour period, based on statements from the survivors. It is an absolutely spellbinding story of bravery and ingenuity as one challenge after another met these men on a relatively routine sea trial mission that went horribly wrong. Join local history expert and author Michael Bielawa for this unforgettable story.
It’s one of the most documented cases of supernatural activity in world history – the so-called “Lindley Street Poltergeist.” In a house in Bridgeport in the 1970s, the three residents were tormented by floating refrigerators, knives and crucifixes flying through mid-air, and a talking cat. More than a dozen police officers and firefighters reported seeing and hearing these incidents. When newspapers reported it, thousands of spectators gathered nightly, causing traffic jams. The Catholic Church became involved as did the infamous ghost hunter couple Ed and Lorraine Warren. Hear this remarkably unsettling story from the Assistant Archivist at the Bridgeport History Center, Jaime Pettit.
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