Christmas in CT & Shipwreck Found!

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The old movie “Christmas in Connecticut” only portrays how inlanders celebrate the holiday. In Mystic, Santa comes by tugboat followed later by a lighted boat parade! This year, you'll even have a chance to win a sailing trip for four on a catamaran at the Mystic River Yacht Club’s Holiday Open House. You can warm yourself by their fire with hot cider when you take a break from the merriment during the Downtown Mystic Holiday Stroll.

Shipwreck finds keeps rolling in. My friend Melissa thinks she may have found the sunken ship of John Paul Jones (father of the U.S. Navy). If so, perhaps they will find his personal effects that went down with the ship! See: Legendary Revolutionary War ship may be found.

Need a new Christmas song? Nashville’s Connie Howard has moved to Connecticut and played her new songs on my TV show. One is a tender look at Connecticut, but what is Mrs. Claus going to say when Connie starts singing about Santa's boots?

Anchors aweigh!
— Lisa Saunders
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Tues,12/2: Mystic River Yacht Club Holiday Open House

You are invited! Mystic River Yacht Club Holiday Open House

Door prize drawing for FREE, four-hour sail for four (2015 sailing season) on 35' catamaran

Tuesday, December 2, 6-9 p.m.
Holiday Open House
Mystic River Yacht Club
14 Holmes Street (next to Engine Room restaurant)
Mystic, CT 06355

The Mystic River Yacht Club invites you to their clubhouse to warm yourself beside the fire with hot cider and donuts during the Downtown Mystic Holiday Stroll. There will be a free door prize drawing for a four-hour sail for four, which includes lunch, in Fishers Island Sound on Miracles, a 35-foot catamaran owned by Bill and Joan Volmar. The evening includes
singer/songwriter Debra Lynn Alt  with her guitar.

Local vendors will make their maritime-themed gifts available for purchase and include:

Mystic Knotwork (Matt & Jill Beaudoin): nautical knot bracelets and coasters, woven mats and Christmas tree ornaments.

Stephen Sisk, scenic photographer of Mystic and Southeastern New  England. His images have appeared in books,  calendars, book covers, and in advertising and websites.

Matthew Goldman (A.K.A Constant Waterman): author and pen and ink artist of area landmarks, nautical prints and notecards.

Namaste' by Paige Manning (Denise Page): Lavender and/or chamomile eye pillows, soy candles, guest room gift baskets.

CT QuiltWorks (Mary Juillet-Paonessa): gifts for the quilter in your life and quilted gifts for everyone else. Gift certificates available.

Lisa Saunders, author of seven books including “Mystic Seafarer's Trail” and “Ever True: A Union Private and His Wife.”

Debra Lynn Alt is a singer/songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and author.

The Mystic River Yacht Club (MRYC) is a club for both sail and power boat owners, as well as those looking to crew on OPBs (other people's boats.) They host a variety of events throughout the year, both on and off the water. Anne-Marie Foster, MRYC board member, said, "It is our goal to be the friendliest yacht club in town!" For more information about MRYC, visit www.mysticriveryachtclub.com or contact: Jay McKernan, Commodore, jmckernan@msn.com, or Bill Volmar, Membership Chairman, bvolmar@yahoo.com.

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Photo caption: Miracle, 35' catamaran. Photo by her owner, Bill Volmar.

 

Mystic and Amelia Earhart.

http://eepurl.com/6HnxD

Lisa Saunders

 

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Widowed Physical Therapist Launches Print Magazine

 

Widowed Physical Therapist Launches Print Magazine

Pathfinder: A Companion Guide for the Widow/er’s Journey

 

Free sample online articles available at: www.widowedpathfinder.com

 

East Lyme, Conn.— The new magazine for widow/ers, Pathfinder: A Companion Guide for the Widow/er’s Journey, is now available in print.

“Pathfinder is designed to support widows and widowers as they strive to live joyful and meaningful lives after loss,” says publisher Dr. Joanne Z. Moore, a physical therapist from East Lyme, Conn. “It gives ideas to those who must follow a new life path.” Moore became a widow herself in 2009 after 37 years of marriage.

Pathfinder: A Companion Guide for the Widow/er’s Journey offers advice on money, health,  home, travel, friendship, dating, and return to work, in addition to inspirational articles on spirituality, art, poetry, and developing new hobbies. It includes stories of modern and famous historical people who have either lived the widowed stage of life well or have struggled.

T
he first print issue of Pathfinder features:

• Dr. William Petit of Connecticut, whose wife and daughters were murdered in a home invasion, and the foundation he created in their memory.
• Gambling--a fairly common pastime for widow/ers, which can lead to devastation when entertainment becomes an addition.
• Chocolate king Milton Hershey, widowed for 30 years and founder of a school built for less fortunate children in honor of his late wife.
• Exercising over the age of 50.
• Pathfinder also features the health benefits of chocolate, couponing, the importance of gratitude, strategies for making new friends, poetry, a book review, and an introduction to retreat as a spiritual practice.

Joanne Z. Moore, PT, DHSc., a noted speaker and workshop facilitator on end-of-life and survivor issues, is a member of Toastmasters International, and has achieved Distinguished Toastmaster level. She is the owner of Shoreline Physical Therapy, LLC, in East Lyme.

 

For more information, contact Dr. Moore at jmoore@widowedpathfinder.com or visit: www.widowedpathfinder.com

 

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Media and event coordinators may contact Dr. Moore directly for her availability to speak, to publish an excerpt, or to receive a free print copy of the magazine at jmoore@widowedpathfinder.com, 860-448-5149 or visit: www.widowedpathfinder.com.

(If you would like to see her interviewed on my local public access TV show, click on: Dr. Joanne Z. Moore discusses insomnia, yoga, and Pathfinder magazine for widow/ers).

THE ABOVE PRESS RELEASE RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IN THE DAY:

East Lyme therapist helps bereaved find a new path

 

Are you surviving loss?

I have a free e-book available: Surviving Loss: The Woodcutter's Tale.  It's a fairytale written by my father and told to me after our daughter died. The softcover version is available on Amazon.

For those surviving the loss of a spouse, I write for Pathfinder: A Companion Guide for the Widow/er’s Journey. My "Widow/ers of History" column includes stories on Mary Todd Lincoln, Mystic's Mrs. Wolfe/Sisson;  Norman Rockwell and Milton Hershey (the Chocolate King). (The subscription rate for the magazine is very reasonable and makes a thoughtful gift!)

Lisa Saunders, Inspirational Speaker/Workshop Facilitator

Lisa Saunders is an award-winning publicist, TV host and instructor at New London Adult & Continuing Education. A graduate of Cornell University, she is the author of seven books and lectures on several topics. Her speaking venues have included Fox CT, News 8, USA 9 News, Cornell University, grade schools, Washington Independent Writers Assoc., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lisa’s topics include:

1. Memoir Writing & Publishing
2. Cornell University’s “Horse Book in a Bucket” Program: Writing and Horse Fact Fun
3. How to Market Yourself
4. Civil War: A Union Private & His Wife (can include readers theater)
5. Prevent the #1 Birth Defects Virus: Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
6. Mystic Seafarer’s Trail: Journey to Adventure and Amelia Earhart’s Secret Wedding

Testimonials:

 

"Lisa's talk on 'How to Market Yourself' was fabulous. She was very well received by the members who felt she really knew what she was talking about."Anne-Marie Foster, Co-Founder, freshconnections, a networking group for women in business.

"Lisa's writing advice was advanced enough for adults, but simple enough for children. By the end of the workshop, even the shyest students were sharing their literary creations!" Andrea McKenzie, Bill Library, Ledyard, CT


"We received very positive reviews from the participants of your memoir writing class. Your workshop was very professional. I appreciate you jumping into this workshop without knowing who the actual target audience was and what level of expertise to expect." Jean Schweid, Librarian, Groton Public Library
 

"Lisa, I just want to thank you for your class on publishing and pointing me in the right direction.  I really appreciated your time and knowledge. Now to jump in." Sue Palmer
 

"Lisa’s talk, 'Graveyard Adventures,' was both informative and entertaining. I've never seen another speaker get the ladies so engaged and laughing.”-- Nancy Wilkie, Mystic Women’s Club, Conn.
 

 

“Lisa was eloquent and insightful about her experiences raising her handicapped daughter. She captured the attention of the students, special education teachers, therapists, and social workers -- inspiring them with greater empathy and commitment.”--Mary Goodin, M. Ed., OTR, Johns Hopkins University
 

 

Contact Lisa Saunders at lisasauders42@gmail.com or visit:

www.authorlisasaunders.com

Thurs, 10/23 & 30, 7 p.m. FREE Memoir Writing Workshop

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jean Schweid at 860-441-6750 or jschweid@groton-ct.gov

 

Memoir Writing for Adults, a Two-Part Workshop at the Groton Public Library

Memoir Writing for Adults, a two-part workshop facilitated by Lisa Saunders, will be held at the Groton Public Library on Thursday, October 23 & October 30 at 7 p.m.

The workshop will give participants an opportunity to practice writing their life story to share with family, friends and the public.  Participants only need  bring pen and paper or a laptop to class. Other helpful materials to bring to class include yearbooks or photo albums.

Writing exercises will include some basic questions to start the process of writing a life story.  Answers will be shared in the second class. Some of the questions participants will be asked are:

•        When/where born?
•        What was your childhood home like?
•        What were the happiest times?
•        List your most vivid memories. Pick one and expand upon it.
•        Were you ever in an accident?
•        What major life lesson have you learned?
•        Did someone ever save your life or you save theirs?
•        Were you ever afraid of something?

About the Instructor: Lisa Saunders of Mystic is a freelance writer and author of three memoirs including Mystic Seafarer's Trail.  She is also an award-winning writer, TV talk show host, publicist and columnist for Patherfinder magazine where she features "Widow/ers of History." A graduate of Cornell University, she is a part-time historical interpreter at Mystic Seaport, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Mystic River Historical Society, and is the parent representative of the Congenital CMV Foundation.

Participants should plan to attend both sessions. Space is limited. Registration is required. Please call the Library at 860-441-6750 or email the library at reference@groton-ct.gov

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10/25:Tea and Talk on 100-year-old Time Capsule Message from WWI Europe

 

 

 

 

100 Year-Old Time Capsule from Europe During WWI--

Former Confederate Nurse and Great-Granddaughter of Benedict Arnold’s Would-Be Slayer Speaks from Grave

 

 

Message will be read at Anna Warner Bailey Chapter’s annual tea fundraiser on October 25

 

 

Groton, Conn.— After 100 years, the mysterious contents of a time capsule were partially revealed at the meeting of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). The recently transcribed time-capsule letter and the life of the sender will be discussed on:

 

Saturday, October 25, 2014, 2-4 p.m.

"Tea and War-Weary Message from Century-Old Time Capsule"

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 15 Pearl St., Mystic, CT

Keynote Speaker: Lisa Saunders, author

Admission: $8.00. The Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution (CTDAR) will serve tea, finger sandwiches and dessert on bone china. Proceeds from the tea fundraiser will benefit several civic projects such as the Good Citizen, American History Essay and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) student awards. 

 

Over the past century, the time capsule was held in a safe at the Fort Griswold Monument House in Groton. Abigail (Abby) Day Slocomb sent the soldered-shut tin case to the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter in a wooden box from her hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1914 during the early months of WWI. Slocomb is the great-granddaughter of Abigail Dolbeare Hinman who tried, but failed, to shoot traitor Benedict Arnold with a musket through her window as he marched on New London ordering it burned.

 

The time capsule was opened on September 6, 2014, the 233^rd anniversary of traitor Benedict Arnold’s burning of New London and the massacre at Fort Griswold in the Battle of Groton Heights, Conn., on September 6, 1781. The time-capsule message was written by the 76-year-old Abigail Day Slocomb on Thanksgiving Day of 1914. In keeping with her patriotic ancestors, Slocomb, the first regent of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, hoped that sending a time capsule to her DAR chapter would inspire someone to read its enclosed uncensored accounts of the war in order to report the truth about it. She wondered how history would remember the Kaiser: “Is he a mad-man? thirsting for blood?”

 

 

Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Oct. 5, 1838, Abby Day summered with her family in Stonington, Conn., beginning in 1851. Abby married Cuthbert Harrison Slocomb of New Orleans and served as a nurse for the Confederate Army while her husband served as an officer. Abby found him among her patients after he was badly wounded carrying dispatches to General Robert E. Lee. Cuthbert died in 1873, and in 1888, Abby moved to Monument Street next to Fort Griswold in Groton. She named her home “Daisy Crest Over Groton.” It’s now a condominium.

 

As the great-granddaughter of Abigail Dolbeare and Capt. Elisha Hinman, a New London privateer during the Revolution; and granddaughter of mariner Capt. James Day, “who, during the War of 1812, deliberately wrecked his vessel off Point Judith to prevent its capture by the British,” Abby was asked by the Daughters of the American Revolution (founded 1890) to be the first regent of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter (organized 1893). Under Abby’s determined guidance, the Chapter was responsible for the design of the Connecticut State flag and organization of the Monument House Museum at Fort Griswold.

 

In 1906, when her married daughter living in Europe became ill, Abby left her Groton home to care for her.  Abby did not, however, stop performing patriotic duties. When what was to become known as the Great War broke out, she was determined that the truth would be told it: “…now in my old age I seek in vain for an absolutely unprejudiced & true History of those trying days!”

 

Janet F. Purinton of Mystic, Regent of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, said, “We do indeed have many hours of history which we’re anxious to share. Historic Preservation Chairman Louisa Watrous will be opening, cataloguing and storing all the information in archival boxes, which will take a bit of time."

Abby did not live long enough to see the end of the war, which was one of the bloodiest wars of all time. She died three years after sending the time capsule on December 6, 1917, at the age of 79. The war ended on Nov. 11, 1918, on what is known as Armistice Day or Veteran’s Day. Abby is buried at Enzenbuhl, Zurich, Switzerland.

 

To see images and videos of the time capsule, visit: http://authorlisasaunders.blogspot.com/2014/09/tea-and-talk-on-100-year-old-message.html

For more information, contact Mrs. Janet F. Purinton of Mystic, Regent of Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, CTDAR, at: (860) 572-8780, awbregent@gmail.com.

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Watch time capsule opening on Youtube:

 

1. Time Capsule Introduced

1. Time Capsule is Opened

1. Time capsule letter introduced plus postscript   

 

The portrait of Abby Day Slocomb, the first regent of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, amid reflections of the artifacts in the Monument House Museum at Fort Griswold, which she helped organize.

 

Connecticut State flag. Designed by Abby Day Slocomb and her Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Based on the 1639 Connecticut seal, the Latin transcription means, “He who hath transplanted shall sustain.” The flag hangs in the Monument House Museum at Fort Griswold.

The time capsule at Fort Griswold Monument House was sent in 1914 by Abby Day Slocomb, first regent of Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, from Zurich, Switzerland. She addressed it to regent of the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter,
DAR. A letter from a U.S. Special Commissioner dated March 1, 1915, stated that the “package is to be passed at the port of arrival without examination of its contents, and WITHOUT DESTRUCTION OF THE INNER METAL CASE.”

The opening of the century-old time capsule from Abby Day Slocomb to the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Cut open at Fort Griswold Monument House, Groton, by Joe de la Cruz of Hillary Company, a metal-fabrication manufacturer.  The portrait of Abby Day Slocomb is in the background.

 

 

Letter written Thanksgiving Day in 1914 and inserted into time capsule by Abby Day Slocomb, first regent of Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, from Zurich, Switzerland.

One of several hand-sewn linen packets pulled from time capsule.

The portrait of Abigail Dolbeare Hinman  by Daniel Huntington was commissioned by her grandson, Thomas Day, and completed in 1856. The portrait was donated to the
Lyman Allyn Art Museum of New London, Conn., by a descendent. 

Contact: Rebecca Marsie, Communications Coordinator, 860.443.2545 x112 / marsie@lymanallyn.org o
or

Erin Walker

Collections Assistant

Lyman Allyn Art Museum

625 Williams Street 

New London, CT  06320

860.443.2545 ext. 129

 Image is used on the cover of the 2006 book, “Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence,” by Carol Berkin.

***

 

Lisa Saunders, Public Relations Chairman

Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, Inc.
P.O. Box 389, Mystic, CT 06355
LisaSaunders42@gmail.com

About the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution:

Chapter meetings/luncheons are 2nd Thursday of Oct-Dec, Mar - Jun, 11 a.m. September meetings held on the 6^th to commemorate Battle of Groton Heights.

Mission of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution: to perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence; to promote the development of an enlightened public opinion, and to foster patriotic citizenship.

Any woman is eligible for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution who is not less than 18 years old and who is descended from a patriot of the American Revolution.

For more information, contact Mrs. Janet F. Purinton of Mystic, Regent of Anna Warner Bailey Chapter, CTDAR, at: (860) 572-8780, awbregent@gmail.com.