Girl Scout Week

Girl Scout Week is March 6-12. The week begins with Girl Scout Sunday on March 6, and ends with Girl Scout Sabbath and our 104th Anniversary on March 12. We hope you will take a moment to recognize the girls and women who are or who have been Girl Scouts. For more than 104 years, thousands of dedicated volunteers and Girl Scouts throughout Connecticut make a difference every day in their communities. All girls from Kindergarten through 12th grade are welcome to participate in Girl Scouts, explore their faith, and attend our summer camp programs. Please visit us online at gsofct.org for more information.

Bushnell Announces New Broadway Series

The Bushnell in Hartford has announced their new Broadway Series for 2016-2017. If you haven't signed up for your yearly subscription, there is still time. Prices for all 7 shows begin at $194. 

IF/THEN
August 3-7, 2016

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
October 25-30, 2016

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
November 15-20, 2016

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
December 27, 2016 - January 1, 2017

BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL
January 17-22, 2017

Rodgers + Hammerstein's THE KING AND I
May 30 - June 4, 2017

FUN HOME
Winner! Best Musical 2015 Tony Awards
June 20-25, 2017

Plus, these exciting off-series shows:

DISENCHANTED
The Hilarious Hit Musical
September 30 -October 2, 2016

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL
December 9-11, 2016

THE BOOK OF MORMON
February 14-19, 2017

CIRCUS 1903
April 28-30, 2017

Hebron Maple Festival March 19-20, 2016

Save the date. The Hebron Maple Festival is coming up and for two days in March, this Connecticut town is alive with the smells and taste of "maple". The festival takes place from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. amn features food, entertainment and a variety of other activities. You will also be able to tour local sugar houses. 

Sugar houses that are open include:

• Wenzel's Sugarhouse

          522 East St. | Hebron, CT 06248

          (860) 649-0841

          http://www.intelab.com/wenzel/

          Maple Pudding Cake

• Woodyacres

          80 Cone Rd. | Hebron, CT 06248

          (860) 228-1110

          Face Painting

• Bright Acres Farm Sugar House

          46 Old Kings Highway | Hampton, CT 06247

          (860) 455-9654

          info@brightacresfarmsugarhouse.com

• Fabyan Sugar Shack

          384 Fabyan Rd. | North Grosvenor Dale, CT 06255

          (860) 642-7364

• Hydeville Sugar House

          118 Hydeville Rd. | Stafford Springs, CT 06076

• Norman's Sugarhouse

          387 County Rd. | Woodstock, CT 06281

          (860) 974-1235

• River’s Edge Sugar House

          326 Mansfield Rd. | Ashford, CT 06278

          (860) 429-1510

• Oweneco Farms Sugar Shack

          2067 Exeter Rd. (Route 207) | Lebanon, CT 06249

          (860) 642-7364

Check out their website for all the activities. 

Things to Do With the Kids: New Haven Museum

Looking for a new place to take the kids? Why not head to the New Haven Museum. It is free on the first Sunday of the month so you have no excuse.

Currently they are presenting an interesting exhibit entitled “Fun, Fascinating and Made in the Elm City: ‘From Clocks to Lollipops: Made in New Haven’"

From the Colonial era to the present day, New Haven has produced an astonishing variety of goods, including hardware, carriages, automobile parts and accessories, firearms, corsets, clocks, carpeting, rubber overshoes, clothing, musical instruments, and candy - just to name a few.  From Clocks to Lollipops: Made in New Haven” features a wide-ranging and sometimes humorous look at the production of consumer goods in New Haven over the past three centuries.”

There is much more to see beyond this exhibit, check out their website for details. 

Whats Coming Up for 2016 at Goodspeed

There is still time tn get your season tickets or individual show tickets for the Goodspeed Musicals 2016 Season. The season begins with "Anything Goes" from April 8-June 16. The second show is "Bye Bye Birdie" from June 24 to September 4 and the final show is "Chasing Rainbows" from September 16-November 27.  

There are a few different ticket options so be sure to check out their website for details. 

Anything Goes

April 8 - June 16

The Goodspeed

- See more at: http://www.goodspeed.org/shows-tickets/See-a-show#sthash.n6RM7QaZ.dpuf

Genealogy Research in Connecticut

If you live in Connecticut,  you have access to some great genealogical resources. I have been working on my genealogy for the last 30 some years and I have used the resources that are available to me locally many times.

Godfrey Memorial Library

Founded in 1951, Godfrey memorial library has been open to the public ever since. They have over 200,000 pieces in their collection and are also a Family History Center so you can have tapes sent their from Salt Lake City for you to use.

The American Biological Index is one of their most popular attractions, it is an index to 4 million American family ancestors.

If you live a distance from Middletown you may want to become a Godfrey Scholar so that you can access many of their records online. Included in this are the photos from Ed Laput of headstones in the State of Connecticut.  

Check out their website to see what they have to offer. 

French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut

Located on the town green in Tolland, Conn. this was my home away from home for two full years. I worked in the courthouse every Saturday until I felt I had gotten every bit of information out of the records. One of the great advantages of coming here is that the other people who are researching are likely your French Canadian cousins and it is fun to exchange information and heritage.

I arrived by 10 a.m. most Saturdays and didn't leave until they closed at 4 p.m. I never took a lunch break but luckily there is a Subway right before you get back onto I-84 so most weeks I grabbed a small veggie grinder before I headed home.

Library Hours Are:

 Monday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

 Wednesday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

 Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

I personally maintained a membership for several years and it was money well spent.  Among the reference materials, you will find Connecticut marriage and death information on descendants of French Canadian and Acadian extraction taken from local newspapers and parish records by Society members.

They also have copies of Arsenault's History and Genealogy of the Acadians, the Red and the Blue Drouin and Jette's Genealogical Dictionary of the Families of Quebec. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Check out their website for a complete list of the library holdings.

Connecticut State Library

Located in Hartford, the Connecticut State Library is open for research Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The State Archives are at the same location. They have an extensive catalog of their holdings which include personal papers, land records, probate court records and a whole lot more.

The records cover the period from the founding of the state. Many church records are held here as well as town directories, the Barbour Collection which is an index to early vital records and the Hale Collection of tombstone inscriptions.

To find out the full collection of the archives, the website for the Connecticut State Library offers a very good listing.

These are just three of the very good reasons to start your genealogical research at home in Connecticut and don't overlook the local library and historical society.