FALL ISSUE CELEBRATES CT’s 375TH
Join us as our Fall issue celebrates Connecticut’s 375th anniversary and some of the family businesses that helped it grow and prosper over nearly four centuries.
But is the state really 375 years old? Find out in State Historian Walter Woodward’s story “Celebrating Connecticut’s Founding.” Then read on about one of the state’s rare family-owned newspapers (founded 166 years ago); how one of Litchfield’s first families adapted their business when spinning wheels became obsolete; about the illustrious Trumbull family which counted governors, patriots, merchants, and an artist in its ranks; how three generations of the Liverant family developed a thriving antiques business beginning in the 1920s; and more! We’ve got stories from across the state and covering the 18th to the 20th centuries. Subscribe or purchase the current issue online.
Every issue, I learn something about our cultural heritage that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for our state.
Your mouth will be watering after reading our photo essay on Waterbury’s Frankies Hot Dogs. Brothers Frankie and Paul Caiazzo founded the popular eatery in the midst of the Depression and built their success on the motto, “Come in and Eat or We’ll Both Starve.” You’ll learn about one business that found innovation in making square boxes (in the hat-making town of Danbury which only had use for round and oval hat boxes). And you’ll learn about the surprising role that Danbury played in the famous and enduringly popular children’s book series, Little House on the Prairie.
I invite you to join me by subscribing. Our readers are lifelong learners and avid “Connecticutophiles.” Readers have told us they value:
“The unique material presented in each issue! You just don’t find that anywhere else,”
and
“The human stories that have made our state what it is today. “
And, more big anniversaries are coming up that you won’t want to miss—notably Connecticut’s role in the Civil War and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 200th birthday. Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher
SUMMER ISSUE: Explore the Historic Connecticut Landscape
Join us as we explore the historic Connecticut Landscape in the summer issue. Find out where Tiffany’s found gems, where a cove disappeared, where Connecticut’s Chautauqua was, why mulberry trees caused some folks to make and lose a fortune, where two of our favorite historic lighthouses are (and how you can visit), and more!
This is our fourth issue under our new name (from 2002 to 2009 we were called Hog River Journal). The new name better reflects our mission to uncover and discover the Connecticut story–statewide. Every issue, I learn something about our cultural heritage that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for our state.
In our photo essay, you’ll read all about Forestville, a campground in Plainville infused with religious fervor in the late 1800s that is now a charming secular cottage colony. Find out about the Civilian Conservation Corps’ good works in Connecticut parks in the 1930s (if you know a CCCer, our author wants to hear from him); the historic landscape under three of Connecticut Landmarks’s historic house and garden sites (and which one was waterfront 325 years ago); the speculative craze for mulberry trees—the food of choice for silkworms—that cause financial ruin in the 1820s and 30s; and the myriad uses for pegmatite, a rock made up of feldspar, mica, and quartz (including gem-grade tourmaline), and where it was mined. Plus, where to find a great barn, Hartford Parks history, and a couple of great lighthouses. And don’t miss the childhood memoir of retired Hartford fire chief Charles Teale’s summers at Camp Courant!
What’s up next? For fall, we’re taking a look at the family business and the State’s 375th Anniversary. From minding the store to inventing new products, Connecticut clans built the state’s economy—and continue to today!
I invite you to join me by subscribing. Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher
Spring Issue Explores Hard Times Past
Welcome to our third issue under our new name: Hog River Journal is now Connecticut Explored! The new name better reflects our mission to uncover and discover the Connecticut story–statewide. Every issue, I learn something about our cultural heritage that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for our state.
This spring, we’re exploring how Connecticans have faced personal, economic, and political hardships in times past. We’ve got three stories from the Great Depression but that’s not the only time we’ve faced hard times, so you’ll also find stories from the Colonial era, the 1830s, the late 1800s, WWII, and the Vietnam War era. From the 1930s, we’re exploring how the citizens of Seymour pulled together to help one another before there was such a thing as the New Deal and Federal Aid; how the Peter Paul candy company (makers of Mounds and Almond Joys—my fave!) of Naugatuck actually succeeded during the Depression; and a photo essay on how the WPA’s Federal Art Project gave work to artists and great works of art to the State. New York University professor Thomas Truxes regales us with Connecticans’ exploits smuggling contraband under the noses of the British before the Revolutionary War, and we learn about Mary Hall’s personal struggles to be admitted to the bar as Connecticut’s first female lawyer—and then to practice the law!
What’s up next? For summer we’re planning an issue aptly themed “Exploring Connecticut,” that is, we’re taking a look at the historic landscape and historic places to visit this summer. You’ll learn about pegmatite mines, the mulberry tree-growing craze, where to see the work of the Civil Conservation Corps, Connecticut’s own Chattaqua and more!
I invite you to join me by subscribing.
Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher
New Year, New Name, Same Great Magazine!
After publishing for nearly seven years as Hog River Journal, we begin our eighth year of publication with our second issue under our new name, Connecticut Explored. The new name better reflects our mission to uncover and discover the Connecticut story–statewide. Every issue, I learn something that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for our state.
We are “mad for moderns” in our current issue! We may be the land of steady habits, but Connecticut was a hot bed of innovation in architecture in the 20th century. We thank the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism for sponsoring the issue and for the editorial leadership of the issue by Mary Donohue of the Commission.
In this issue, Mary also writes for us on one of her passions, roadside architecture, in “A Hip Road Trip”. It’s all about the treasure trove of mid-century roadside architecture still to be found on the Berlin Turnpike. Connecticut’s star turn in film is the subject of Wesleyan professor Jeanine Basinger’s story. You’ll want the issue alone for its film stills of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Troy Donohue, and Cary Grant—all on location in Connecticut! Hartford Courant columnist Tom Condon talks about one piece of mid-century infrastructure (I-84) that might just need to come down in order to “reunite” Hartford; and you’ll hear from Glass House-architect Philip Johnson in his own words in revealing excerpts I’ve selected from Yale dean Robert A. M. Stern’s new book The Philip Johnson Tapes. PLUS—the issue’s photo essay features 14 of the best examples of modern architecture in Connecticut!
What’s up next? For Spring, we’re exploring how Connecticans have faced personal, economic, and political hardships in times past, including how the citizens of Seymour pulled together to help one another during the early years of the Depression; how the Peter Paul candy company of Naugatuck actually succeeded during the Depression; the role of Connecticut’s smugglers during the French & Indian War; the struggles of Connecticut’s first female lawyer, Mary Hall; and more.
I invite you to join me by subscribing.
Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher
WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE UNDER OUR NEW NAME!
After publishing for nearly seven years as Hog River Journal, this is our first issue under our new name, Connecticut Explored. The new name better reflects our mission to uncover and discover the Connecticut story–statewide. Every issue, I learn something that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for the Nutmeg State.
Our latest issue is on the theme “The Sporting Life” and explores Connecticut’s sports history. The issue is a treasure trove of stories covering: the longest-running football rivalry in the nation, The Whalers, women’s basketball, boxing, bicycle racing, running, plus a surprising place where you can find a vintage baseball card collection, where to find a list of Connecticut’s lost ski resorts,–and, ESPN, in it’s 30th anniversary year, explains how they came to be headquartered in Bristol.
What’s up next? For Winter, we’re exploring modern architecture in Connecticut. We may be the land of steady habits, but Connecticut was a hot bed of innovation in architecture in the 20th century. We thank the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism for sponsoring the issue and for the editorial leadership on the issue by Mary Donohue of the Commission.
Next spring we explore how Connecticans have faced personal, economic, and political hardships in times past. You can be assured it was with grit and ingenuity!
I invite you to join me by subscribing. Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher
NEW NAME, NEW WEBSITE
Welcome to the Connecticut Explored website. The (former) Hog River Journal has a new look and a new site, and we invite our readers to explore both. Connecticutexplored.org offers more opportunities to get involved with the magazine: read articles online, search for lesson plans, or discuss your opinions on stories in the brand-new readers’ forum- and remember, the Fall 2009 issue of Connecticut Explored will be available on newsstands soon!
