HOLIDAY HISTORIC HOUSE TOUR OF FALLS VILLAGE - DECEMBER 4

Presented by The Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society
Sunday, December 4, 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM; Snow Date, Sunday December 11


The Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society is pleased to announce The Holiday Historic House Tour of Falls Village to take place on Sunday, December 4. The tour will begin with a brief welcome and introduction to the five houses on the tour at P.D. Walsh's Country Store, 11:30 AM at 107 Main Street in the village, within walking distance of two of the houses featured on the tour. At Noon, tour pass holders may begin their self-guided tour with guidance from the Society's brochure and map, researched with the help of the homeowners and photographed by the Society. Each of these homes has a unique ambiance which reflects an earlier time in Falls Village and celebrates the spirit and endeavors of residents who came before us, as well as the creativity of present day owners in preserving this history.

Tickets: $20. Children 8 to 16 are free. Tickets are available at P.D. Walsh's Country Store, Toymaker's Cafe, The Falls Village Inn, Jacob's Garage, Crossroads Deli, D.M. Hunt Library, Falls Village Town Hall or by calling the Historical Society at 860-824-8226. Cash or checks only.
Houses on the tour are not wheelchair accessible and strollers are not permitted inside them.

The tour coincides with the village's annual tree lighting ceremony and visit from Santa Claus later in the day. After the tour, stick around, grab a hot cup of cocoa and enjoy the village's tree lighting on the town green at 4:30 PM.

For the day, tour guests are encouraged to stop for a snack or meal at Toymaker's Cafe (7 AM-4 PM) and The Falls Village Inn (Brunch 11 AM-3 PM, Dinner 5-10 PM). When guests show their tickets, a portion of the proceeds from each meal will benefit the Society. Proceeds from the tour will help replenish funds of the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society. The Society spent $11,000 to replace the platform roof at the Falls Village Railroad Depot that collapsed under the weight of heavy snows earlier this year. Insurance would not cover this expense.

The Holiday Historic House Tour is designed to offer the community a peak into the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the village including five of the oldest homes in the area. Each home on the tour will be open from Noon until 4 PM. Protective shoe covers will be available at each home.


The house at 55 Belden Street (above), once known as the Hogoboom House, was built around 1730 by Peter Hogoboom, one of the original Dutch settlers who founded the area in 1722. The house, a post and beam center chimney colonial, was built into the hillside near a spring, which still runs today. The property is currently owned by Sergei and Zoe Fedorjaczenko.


The small and elegant Greek Revival Brewster House, at 42 Brewster Road (above) on the corner of Brewster Road and Rt 126, was built for Daniel Brewster and his wife Mary Ann Canfield, probably at the time they were married in 1842. Daniel's father, Jabez Brewster, lived in the large house across Point of Rocks Road. The property, now owned by Bunny Williams and John Rosselli, is currently used as a guest house.

The main part of the Greek Revival-style house at Grassy Hill, 18 Brewster Road, was built by miller and farmer Cornelius Brown in 1852. Also known in more recent memory as the Arvidson farm, additions and renovations have taken place over the years. The property is currently owned by Richard and Mary Lanier.


The Burrall-Belden House at 6 Barnes Road was built around 1780 by Col. Charles Burrall who led Burrall's Regiment in the Canadian campaign of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Owned by a succession of prosperous family members, the frame house in the Federal Style faces the South Canaan Meeting House and is currently owned by Susan Pinsky and Marc Rosen.

The house at 155 Johnson Road, a classic New England colonial saltbox, started out at as a small barn on the Nathan Hale property in the 1740s and was later converted as a residence for tenant farmers. Briefly owned by Doris Day early in her career, the building survived a fire in the 1990s that almost destroyed the structure. The house is currently owned by Diana Burroughs who is enthusiastically restoring and adding attractive gardens.

3rd ANNUAL ARTISAN CRAFT MARKET AT HUNT LIBRARY - DECEMBER 7

Wednesday, December 7, 5PM to 8PM

The Friends of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Artisan Craft Market to be held on Wednesday, December 7 from 5pm to 8pm at the library. This event is free and open to the public, refreshments will be served and free on-site childcare will be available.

Come fulfill your holiday shopping needs as over a dozen local artisans display their goods for sale. Among the many offerings will be holiday metal work by the Battle Hill Forge, whimsical handmade jewelry by Jocelyn Krodman, home décor by Heather Allyn, ceramics by John Dildine and stoneware by Joey Jablonski, cards and illustrations by Sarah Martinez, hula hoops by Diann Franson, one-of-a-kind bird houses by Bob Reed, weaving by Karin Gerstel, knitting by Sarah Clawson, and Amesville wool blankets from Jenny Law and Alan Lovejoy.


A portion of the each artisan’s proceeds will benefit the library.


Weaving by Karin Gerstel


Ceramics by Joey Jablonski


Bird houses by Bob Reed.

11th Annual Ed McGuire Memorial Culligan Cannonball 5-K Run: Saturday November 5, 2011

Edward Gordon McGuire
July 21, 1939 – April 12, 2000

Ed McGuire graduated from the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 1957, and attended Southern Connecticut State University. He served in the US Army in Germany as a radio operator until 1964. Upon returning from his tour of duty, he became a supervisor at Becton Dickinson Company in North Canaan. Within a few years he owned and operated the Falls Village based Culligan Water Conditioning of Litchfield County and New Haven County. McGuire ran Culligan Water Conditioning with his wife, Hazel, for over 30 years. During his career with the company, he earned many awards and much recognition for his success and outstanding business practices.

Dedicated to public service, Ed was the first member of the Canaan Fire Commission, and went on to become the commission’s chairman. He was the burning official for the Town of Canaan for many years. He was a member and chairman of the Recreation Commission and the Democratic Town Committee in Falls Village. He was a member and served as President of Eastern Water Quality Association. He was also a member of the Elks Lodge #372 in Torrington, CT.

Ed McGuire was an active member of the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department (FVVFD) in the northwest corner of Connecticut, and the department’s chief from 1979 to 1989. He also served as the company’s treasurer, deputy marshal and was on the board of directors. In addition, he participated with the Falls Village Ambulance Squad as an emergency medical technician for many years. Ed also served as Fire Marshal of North Canaan, Deputy Fire Marshal for Canaan-Falls Village and was the President and Financial Secretary of Litchfield Fire Chief’s Emergency Plan. Ed’s dedication to the wellbeing of his town and its residents was continuously demonstrated.

In 2000 Edward McGuire was honored posthumous with the Falls Village public service award. Sponsored by the Culligan Water Company, the Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department has been holding the Cannonball 5-K Run every October. This annual fundraiser, organized by Ed’s family and friends, is in honor of one of our communities outstanding citizen who to-this-day continues to contribute to the town and Volunteer Fire Department that meant so much to him.

Seen in Salisbury: Jack Limpert's Paintings

Falls Village resident Jack Limpert's beautiful landscapes are being displayed at Chaiwalla, 1 Main St. in Salisbury during the month of October. Chaiwalla features exotic teas and a luncheon and dessert menu Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Meet Author Mary Atwood on Friday, September 9, at the David M. Hunt Library

The David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village is pleased to announce a presentation by village resident Mary Atwood on her recently published book, I Drank My Tea: Family Adventures in Kyrgyzstan (2011, CreateSpace). The event will take place at the library on Friday, September 9 from 6 to 8 PM. A slide show will be featured and the author will sign copies of her book during a brief reception following the presentation.

Mary and Tracy Atwood have long traveled the globe and lived in some remote places while Tracy worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As newlyweds, the Atwoods went to Yemen in 1981 and were in Mali from 1987-1991. In 1999, after anchoring for eight years in Washington, DC to raise their three young children, the Atwoods were posted to Kyrgyzstan, part of the former Soviet Union, where Tracy would serve as the USAID Country Representative. Their teenagers, John, Joseph, and Catherine, would continue their education through correspondence courses. All of them would study Russian. Preparations were made for the big move including the purchase of consumables and the transportation of the family cats, Nibble Toes and Cloudy Spy.

Mary's memoir of four years in Central Asia contains stories of everyday life mixed with accounts of adventurous travel throughout the country. She makes a home in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, copes with the challenges of independent study, discovers a Baptist church on a snowy Christmas morning, entertains guests including her eighty-six year old mother, and makes trips into the mountains for encounters with local people, yurts, fermented mare’s milk, vodka and slaughtered sheep.

Though Mary found the Russian language to be her biggest challenge, she and her family nonetheless made many Russian and Kyrgyz friends. John, Joseph, and Catherine successfully completed their studies and went on to college. Kyrgyzstan was a wonderful experience for the whole family. Lasting ties were developed. The Atwoods helped a Kyrgyz friend Medina come to the US to study nursing, and brought home a new cat, Dudley, a native of Kyrgyzstan.

AUTHOR PRESENTATION:
I DRANK MY TEA: Family Adventures in Kyrgyzstan by Mary Atwood
David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main Street, Falls Village, CT 06031, 860-824-7424
Friday, September 9, 6-8 PM
Refreshments, on-site free childcare; wheelchair accessible
Free

Last Chance Absentee Ballots

If you won't be around on Tuesday, August 23, to vote in person from 6 am to 8 pm for the referendum on the new emergency services center, you can pick up at absentee ballot on Sunday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 or on Monday. Here's what First Selectperson Pat Mechare told me when queried.


You have to come to Town Hall. You have to complete an application for an absentee ballot. Once that is completed and returned to Mary, then you are given the actual ballot with the directions for completion and then that is returned to her. If you appear in person the whole process can be done all at once. it is my understanding that Mary will be at Town Hall, tomorrow, Sunday from 8:30 AM-9:30 AM to accommodate those who might want an absentee ballot. If that is not convenient you can get a ballot on Monday during operating hours and do the process then. Mary usually takes her lunch between noon and 1 PM so you might want to call to make sure she is there if you thought you'd come somewhere around that time.

Shouldn't there be a big sign outside Town Hall reminding everyone about this important vote?

Can Falls Village Afford a New Firehouse?

That's the issue at the special election/referendum on Tuesday from 6 am to 8 pm at Town Hall.. There are supposed to be absentee ballots for weekenders who will not be here to vote. This is what is being voted.


SHALL THE TOWN OF CANAAN APPROPRIATE $2,500,000 FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE FALLS VILLAGE FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY SERVICES CENTER, AND AUTHORIZE THE ISSUE OF BONDS AND NOTES IN THE SAME AMOUNT TO FINANCE SUCH APPROPRIATION?

TOWN MEETING TONIGHT

There will be a VOTE tonight at the town meeting at the Kellogg School at 7 pm on the new firehouse. I am told there will most likely be paper ballots so your vote can be confidential. If the proposal is not passed tonight, there will not be a referendum vote next Tuesday. If the proposal is passed, there will be a vote (with absentee ballots) on August 23.

What's the Future of Falls Village?

The Northwest Planning Collaborative is hosting two public forums. The June 27th forum will focus on housing issues (description below) and the July 11th forum will focus on "creating jobs and supporting local businesses" - both will be held at the senior center at 6:30pm and there will be pie & coffee for all.


WHAT Falls Village Pie & Planning Focus Group Session:
Encouraging age & housing diversity in Falls Village
Come hear about actions Falls Village could take to create housing options from community experts and provide your input about housing needs and strategies.
Pie & coffee will be provided.

WHEN Monday, June 27th at 6:30pm
WHERE Falls Village Senior Center (across from Town Hall, 2nd floor)

WHO Sponsored by the Falls Village Planning & Zoning Commission. All who live & work in Falls Village are welcome to attend.

DETAILS Through the Town Plan update survey (April 2011), respondents said that the town should pursue housing and job creation strategies that would bring/keep more young families with school aged children in town. Many respondents also agreed that there is a need for housing that young emergency volunteers and school teachers can afford.

The focus group session on June 27th will seek to identify community supported strategies for creating housing options young families, volunteers, and teachers can afford. Guest speakers include: Bill Bachrack, Kent Affordable Housing, Lea Davies, Sharon Housing Authority, and Pat Hare on Accessory Apartments.

Survey results on housing related questions:
74% of respondents agreed that the town should pursue housing & job creation strategies that would bring/keep more young families with school aged children in town.

80% of respondents agreed the town should do more to encourage and support housing opportunities for families earning between $50K and $90K. (only 59% agreed for families earning less than $50K)

80% of respondents would like to see Falls Village be a community with residents of all ages-

60% of respondents would like to see Falls Village be a community with a diversity of incomes.

64% of respondents agree there is a need for housing that young emergency volunteers and school teachers can afford (22% don’t know).


BTW- full survey results and more info on the Town Plan update is available on the website

The BIG Hunt Library Sale June 4 & 5

Remembering Christopher R. Morley on May 28 at Music Mountain

Christopher Morley, the Falls Village resident whose generosity and support of the arts was legendary, will be memorialized at a free concert at Music Mountain on Saturday, May 28, at 7 p.m. Morley died unexpectedly in April at the age of 58 at his home on Undermountain Road.

Two of Morley’s favorite organizations were the Falls Village Children’s Theatre and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, and each group will present performances in his honor. Every year, Morley paid for tickets so all interested children in Falls Village could attend a Shakespeare play in the Berkshires.

In his memory, four actors from Shakespeare & Company will perform at Music Mountain: Kate Abbruzzese and Sam Parrott will stage the great fight scene from “Hamlet,” and Dana Harrison and David Joseph will perform excerpts from “Shakespeare & the Language That Shaped a World.” The children of the FVCT will sing a selection of greatest hits from the first five seasons, and there will also be performance by Vance Cannon and Donald Sosin.

Morley was also a major benefactor of the D.M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, where he underwrote the new Art Wall, and the library will offer readings in his honor, too.

Friends and neighbor are invited to picnic on the majestic Music Mountain grounds beginning at 5 p.m., before the 7 p.m. performance.

Bingo for Scholarships: May 6, 2011

FVCT at Housy This Weekend Aprl 1 - 3

A Hot Night to Benefit the Library - Feb. 26

Banish the winter and heat up your taste buds!

The Northwest Corner’s hottest winter event is back. The D. M. Hunt Library in Falls Village will be sure to melt snow and ice with their annual fund raiser Chocolate & Chili in the Village on Saturday, February 26th at the Old Town Hall from 5 to 8 pm. This year’s event will be held upstairs in the Senior Center .

This popular event will feature a lineup of competing chili varieties prepared by local community organizations. Each attendee will have the opportunity to taste each chili and cast votes for their favorites. Some of the competitors this year include The Falls Village Inn, the Fire Department, Daycare Center , Historical Society, Great Mountain Forest , Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Toymakers Café, and Crossroads Deli.

Dozens of delectable chocolate creations from sweet to savory will be on hand for tasting and buying. Amazing baked goods, truffles, chocolate mice, chocolate granola, and chicken with mole sauce are just some of the treats that chocolate lovers can sample.

Joshua Stone, Falls Village ’s own Emmy Award-winning composer, will host “Name that Tune” a musical game with prizes which always draws a crowd after the chili awards are announced. A live auction featuring gift certificates for chocolate desserts, books and more will round out the event.

Tickets are $25 per person and include all the chocolate and chili you want, beer and wine, and ten tickets to vote for best chili. All proceeds benefit the library. For information and to reserve tickets call the library at 860-824-7424.

Chocolate & Chili in the Village
To Benefit the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village
5pm to 8pm, Saturday, February 26
The Old Town Hall – 107 Main Street , Falls Village , CT 06031
Tickets $25 / Information: 860-824-7424
Wheelchair accessible
Interest: Adult

Chris Murphy Is Coming to Town!

He will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on the economic future of the northwest corner on Monday February 7 at 5 pm at the Kellogg School.

The Fire Department's Future?

The Falls Village Volunteer Fire Department is hosting an open forum on Saturday, January 22, at 10 am at Town Hall. If you have questions about the new firehouse on Route 7 and the options for funding it, this session is a must-attend event.