The Archives
Volume XLVIII No. 1 - September 2020
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK: A LOOK BACK, RESIDENTS AROUND THE GREEN
Several things that constantly change in a neighbor-hood are the people and landscape. This is another excerpt from my email exchanges with Edwin Sundt, who grew up on 'The Hill'.
I had asked Ed about the Common Rd. area, specifical-ly if he remembered the two-story factory behind the tav-ern building, that the Society now occupies. Also, just up the road from that, an old barn that was on the side of Common Road. (That barn was used when the tavern was in operation and is mentioned in an 1760's deed.) Any comments would be of interest as we try to under-stand the area in the early to mid 1900's.
Ed's tour started with: “In the house on Route 44 [now 74] just before the start of the service road around the Common lived the Hornaks, one of at least three Czech families who lived on Willington Hill. Mrs. Hornak fash-ioned a beautiful, large rock garden on the west side, the large slope that led to (or from) the home of Bert Ruby. Directly across Route 44 [74] was their barn, perilously close to the highway now but once safely back from the original road.”
“Turning into the service road, the next building was the old tavern (Maple Corner). On the upper level lived the Miski family (late 1930's), whose daughter was a friend of my sister Rosa Ann; and then later, on the second floor lived Shirley Reda and her husband. The Moores lived on the lower level. Later, the building was the home of the Shipley family (1940's-1950's), for whom I babysat at 50 cents for the evening. It was an easy job. I listened to Yankee games and kept score.”
“The two-story “factory” you mention was no longer a factory in my day but was a meager home of the Whitman family. They had two children, May and Austin, and Mr. Whitman was a caretaker of the cemetery down the hill on Route 44 [74]. The Whitmans later moved to a house down the road that goes past the town hall and town clerk's office.” [This reference is Jared Sparks Rd.] “By 1940 or earlier, most of the former factory building was empty, as far as I know, and the entire building was empty after the Whitmans left. Mr. Whitman also had a significant sugaring-off operation in the springtime, taking ad-vantage of the many large maple trees that grew there.”
“One winter day while sledding down Common Road, I failed to negotiate the turn at the bottom and instead of continuing on the road or gliding into the yard of the tavern building, I ran straight into one of the maple trees. My Flexible Flyer sled came to an immediate stop, but I did not. For many minutes I remained there, appreciating the hardness of trees.”
“As one turned the corner and headed up the hill, the old barn was indeed there, although it did not seem to be in use at all. Maybe someone parked a car in it; I don't re-member. I never explored it. (to my surprise now that I think about).”
“Then came the home of Kia M. Brown and her sister, Emma Dodge. Widow Brown is the person in my tale of ringing the church bell on VJ Day.”
“Our home is next, the old Parsonage, where I grew up. The proximity to the Common was an excellent location for a young boy to climb trees and create many games, including tossing a ball onto the double-level side roof and catching its erratic bounces as it came off. In the summer I slept out on the upstairs front porch, surrounded each night by a friendly whip-poor-will. But it was not such a great place to be sleeping when the town decided to blast the near-by siren for air-raid practice.”
“Next to our house was a small, one-story building which we knew as the Scout Hall. It had a basket on the far wall, so we'd light the wood stove in the winter and play one-on-one games. The front section of the building was where we stacked all the newspapers we gathered during a paper drive in WW II, filling it to the roof from end to end, leaving just a pathway to get through into the main room. The foundation of that building had gaps in it, and this adventuring boy crawled in under the building and had some toys there to play with in the dirt. Being the only child at home and the only child on Willington Hill encouraged me to find creative ways of entertaining myself, especially when my mother would say, “go find something to do”.
“The next building up the hill is the old church, since remade into the Town Hall, the location of the observation tower during WW II and the chicken-wire enclosure for collecting aluminum and other metals, pots and pans, etc. that people would toss in there. Behind that is the newer, smaller building which was the Town Clerk's Office. The pasture after the Town Clerk's Building was the Mules' Lot, when Bert Ruby's two mules, Jerry and Chubby, came each day to graze and kill time. Our house had two apple trees that produced hundreds of small and inedible green apples each year, and those I dutifully put in baskets, loaded the baskets into my wagon, and took the apples to the mules who enjoyed them immensely. That Mules Lot now has houses on it. There had been a concrete foundation in the middle of the lot, but I never knew what building had been there.”
“Across the road from the Town Clerk's Office lived Leon Woodworth, the town clerk and keeper of another splendid rock garden which he delighted in showing to visitors. Leon always greeted us with a hearty “Hi There” as he walked across the Common to get his mail or tend to duties at the church. During WW II, when we had to convert our oil-burning furnace to coal, he came each evening to bank the fire and then early every morning to get the banked fire going again.”
“At the top of the Green was “YE OLDE Manse”, home of Walter Malo and his wife, then came the large white home of George V. Smith, lawyer.”
“So that takes you all the way around the service road and the Common as things were when I lived there, 1935 to approximately 1954. More than you wanted, probably.”
“But I hope I filled in a few gaps.”
Sometimes folks will mention they don't know much or anything about Willington History. This is how we all learn, by asking questions. Come and join us at the Society, we can learn together.
CLASS DIMISSED!!
Bob Shabot
ELECTION CAKE
Let it rise again!
During the Colonial era, English immigrants and their descendants put naturally leavened, spirited, spiced, fruit cakes at the center of their political rituals.
After the American Revolution, the cake became known as Election Cake. It was a special food for a special occasion when Americans treated Election Day as a revered holiday.
The first published recipe for Election Cake is credited to Amelia Simmons in 1796 as contained in her American Cookery.
As a political tradition, Election Cake had largely vanished by the early 20th century. This being the result of changing tastes and a changing political landscape.
In our present run up to the 2020 Presidential election, with nerves frayed and fingers pointing in each direction, perhaps the most ‘fruitful’ way to create a political ‘stir’ is in the kitchen!
Consider making an Election Cake. There are numerous recipes to be found on the internet. Here’s one you might like to try.:
Two 1/4-oz. packets yeast 1 cup warm water 3 cups all-purpose flour . cup (1 . sticks) butter 1 cup dried fruit, ( raisins, currants, . cup chopped nuts cranberries and/or chopped dates) 1/3 cup whiskey, brandy or . cup plus 2 Tbsps. brown sugar . cup granulated sugar 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon . tsp. ground allspice . tsp. freshly grated nutmeg . tsp. fine salt 3 large eggs, at room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a medium bowl. Stir a few times and let stand to allow the yeast to dissolve and begin bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Sift 1 . cups of the flour into the bowl and stir until mostly smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes. The mixture will expand, loosen in texture, and will have large bubbles on the surface.
While that sits, generously grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside. Place the dried fruit, nuts, 2 Tbsp. of the brown sugar and the 1/3 cup liquor in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Heat in the microwave until hot and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir and set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 1 . cups flour with the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. Beat the butter with the remaining . cup brown and the granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined (the mixture may look slightly curdled at this stage), and then add the vanilla.
Beat in the yeast mixture and then reduce the speed to me-dium-low and gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the plumped dried fruit with any remaining liquid and beat on medium speed until the fruit is well blended. The dough should be soft and elastic at this point. Transfer the dough to the prepared Bundt pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until the dough fills the pan about three-quarters of the way, about 2 hours.
When the cake is almost done rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cake until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and turn onto the wire rack to cool completely.
Before serving, stir 1 cup confectioners' sugar, . tsp. vanil-la and 1 Tbsp. Gradually add additional milk as needed to make a thick glaze that will just gently run. Spoon over the top of the cake, allowing the glaze to slowly run down the outside and inside of the cake.
Note: This cake is great made a day or two in advance. Just hold off on the glaze until you are ready to serve.
ANNUAL MEETING
Because this year 2020 has been an unusually historic year, the Society will not be able to hold its Annual Meeting in person. However, please plan to join in on a “virtual” meeting of the Willington Historical Society on September 29th at 7:00 p.m..
In addition to the election of Officers, there will be a discussion of the report about renovations to the Glazier Tavern that recommends upgrades to the building that will make it compliant with the Building Code. When these corrections are completed the Tavern will be able to be used for local functions and events, once pandemic restrictions are lifted.