NORTH CANAAN — Visitors from centuries past mingled with present-day residents Saturday evening as the town celebrated George Washington’s birthday and officially launched its 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The Washington Birthday Ball, held at the aptly named Colonial Theatre, brought colonial history to life through reenactors portraying figures with deep ties to Canaan.
Captain Gershom Hewitt — a member of the expedition that captured Fort Ticonderoga — was dressed in full regalia, happy to speak about his service. Portrayed by Tim Abbott, executive director of the Housatonic Valley Association and a well-known reenactor, Hewitt hoisted a cup of rum punch declaring, “Confusion to our enemies.”
Tim Abbott portrays Captain Gershom Hewitt at North Canaan’s Colonial Theatre.Ruth Epstein
Hewitt is buried in the town’s Mountain View Cemetery.
Also in attendance was Colonel Charles Burrall (played by Peter Bickford), a war officer who in his early life was destitute, but went on to become one of the wealthiest of Canaan’s early land speculators. He held important government positions during his life, serving as a long-time representative to the General Assembly and as one of the delegates in 1788 who ratified the Constitution of the United States.
And of course, George and Martha Washington (Falls Village First Selectman David Barger and his wife, Carmela Barger) circulated among the guests.
Town historian Kathryn Boughton, one of the event’s organizers, said she was especially pleased that descendants of early settlers attended in costume.
Dan Adam’s ninth great-grandfather was Squire Samuel Forbes, who started a blacksmith shop in Canaan and eventually amassed a large amount of land. “Our family has been farming here for over 200 years,” he said, a tradition that continues to this day.
Samuel and Lucy Forbes’ daughter Abigail married John Adam, and Forbes and Adam went into business together. They created a farm called “Land of Nod” which provided food for the workers at nearby Beckley Furnace. That farm still exists, and while not as large as it once was, the Adam family still sells homemade syrups and jams, as well as wool from their sheep.
Adam came dressed as Samuel Forbes, and his wife, Melissa Adam, as Lucy Peirce Forbes. Their daughter Abigail Adam came as her namesake.
Ellen and Charlie Goodyear traveled from Virginia to attend the ball. He came as his ancestor Isaac Lawrence and she as his wife, Lydia. Lawrence is reputed to be Canaan’s second settler, arriving in 1739. He purchased land on the banks of the Blackberry River and by the time he died in 1793 had accumulated 192 acres. The stately house, built in 1751 on Route 7, is still owned by his descendants. In 1756, he opened a tavern on the southern side of the house.
Martha and George Washington (Carmela and Dave Barger) attend the Washington Day’s Ball.Ruth Epstein
The theatre was filled with ball goers who got into the spirit of the evening wearing elaborate costumes. Many of the men sported white wigs, while women primped in long colorful dresses.
Guests sampled period food and drink and followed a caller’s instructions through square dances and the Virginia Reel. Music was provided by Relatively Sound.
Theresa Freund of Freund’s Farm Market researched the food she prepared for the evening’s menu. “There is no recipe I found in Martha Washington’s cookbook that would be edible in modern day,” she said, noting how she was able to tweak items to keep them as authentic as possible.
She explained that when the settlers came to New England, they found chestnuts, so chestnut soup was among the offerings, along with turkey soup, mini meat pies, chicken fricassee, ham and mustard pastries and biscuits. “They seemed to use a lot of sauces and mustard,” said Freund, “maybe to cover up the meat that probably was rancid. Everything appeared to be simmered over a fire. I promise no one will come down with dysentery tonight,” she joked.
Desserts included walnut pie, since Washington loved nuts, hermits and apple crisp, among other treats.
Among the libations was George Washington small beer, which was inspired by the president’s 1757 recipe. A description stated that “at 3% ABV (alcohol by volume), it reflects the practical, sessionable beer people drank throughout the day during that period. In the 18th century, beer was often considered safer than water, since colonists didn’t yet understand the germ theory, but they did understand fermentation.” The beer was provided by Norbrook Farm Brewery.
Martha Washington’s rum punch recipe appeared in her handwritten cookbook. In that era, punch was more common than straight spirits and was meant to be shared in a communal bowl. The wine came from Land of Nod Winery.
As Kathy Keane, leader of the town’s 250th celebration and an organizer of the event, looked over the crowd, she declared the evening “a smashing success. I’m so glad so many came in costume. It’s been a joy to have this in Canaan. We’ve combined history and silliness.”
Each piece makes a gift, a note or even a Christmas tree seem more personal, more considered, and more connected to humanity. Since then, demand for her personalized, hand-lettered tags, ornaments and cards has only grown, appearing in mailboxes across the region and at shops like the Cornwall Whale and Marton & Davis in Chatham, New York. Her precision is remarkable, and to watch her create these one-of-a-kind pieces is an art all unto itself.
In recent months, we’ve seen a deluge of stories on digital replacement. Data managers, bankers and even therapists are being replaced by computer programs in mass waves of layoffs. But what many still find surprising about the proliferation of nonhuman competitors in the job market is how it’s affecting the arts. Illustrators, animators, photographers, musicians and even on-screen actors are being supplanted by bots touted as “artificial intelligence agents.”
But calligraphy — and handwriting in general — has been in the crosshairs of mechanical progress for centuries. There was a time, if you can believe it, when writing anything required ink, paper and sometimes even a living, breathing human scribe. No typewriters, no word processors, no voice-to-text programs.
Then came Gutenberg’s printing press. Sure, it changed the world for the better, ensuring a greater distribution of ideas, and helping spark some of the most important political movements in history. But it also marked one of the first moments when technology replaced the artistic work of the human hand. Over the centuries, printers, designers and technologists have continued to innovate. Today, with Photoshop or Illustrator, an entire universe of alphabets exists, from ornate and embellished to precise and futuristic — all designed to replace the human hand.
Melissa Gamwell, crafting custom Valentine’s Day cards in her office in Cornwall. Kevin Greenberg
Yet, despite this centuries-long assault from technology, Gamwell has found her own way to thrive. Largely self-taught, she combines her drawing and industrial design background with an old-school New England childhood in Maine that involved “very tangible, hands-on, creative problem-solving using many materials.” Raised by “parents who loved antiquarian books, often filled with hand-written dedications,” hers was the kind of upbringing in which “traditional practices were cherished and flaunted” — a time and place with “hand-painted lettering on churches, street signage, the stones in beautiful churchyard cemeteries, and log books.”
Those early impressions have stayed with her, heightening her appreciation of sometimes overlooked details.
“There’s so much ephemera floating around with traces of beautiful handwriting to see everywhere, even now in Connecticut,” she said.
Even in a digital age, she keeps technology at a distance.
“You will not find ChatGPT on my phone, and you will usually not find my phone on me,” she said. Instead, she opts for a notebook, a scrap of paper or the back of a receipt. Sometimes, she goes even further, gathering black walnuts from trees on her property to make the specialized ink for her practice.
Gamwell’s approach to her craft is also philosophical. “There is no better feeling than working through something with your own brain and your own hands, even if you find it less exemplary than you would hope. And it only uses the water you’re already consuming. Do you need to convey an idea? Draw it, however horrific or childish. Write it, even if you never learned proper grammar — because you’ve always had programs do it,” she said.
“Sometimes I think that everything I like is ‘historic’ but it’s really that I just find more value in the traditional methods, which are still alive and well, and desperately in need of stewards for the future.”
After nearly 400 years of pressure, it’s encouraging to see handwriting — an art form that once seemed destined for obsolescence — still thriving, one careful stroke at a time. And thanks to Gamwell, perhaps there’s a new generation of observers, collectors and future calligraphers ready to carry it forward.
D.H. Callahan is a voice actor, creative director and trail steward. He lives with his wife, artist Lane Arthur, in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
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New works on display at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Kent
An intricate woodcut print by Eve Stockton and the organized chaos of Margaret Neill’s abstract drawings dazzled the eye. But much of the show’s distinctive texture came from its sculptural works.
Catherine Latson’s wire structures, tightly wrapped in hand-dyed threads, bring to mind pastel- hued sea anemones and become more impressive upon closer inspection. Translucent, hanging cast-resin vampire bats by Tristan Fitch blend into the ceiling until viewed up close, when they become an inescapable presence.
Detail of“Specimen 42” by Catherine Latson at KBFAD.H. Callahan
An intriguing sculpture by Julie Maren features acorn caps affixed to the wall, filled with vibrant, shimmering colors.
Paintings and a sculpture crafted from reclaimed wood by Maine-based artist Matt Barter demonstrated the range of mediums represented by a single artist.
While some of the works are already spoken for, all are on view through late April.
For more information, visit kbfa.com
Harriet Newman Cohen
Provided
Cohen writes fearlessly, with a good dose of wry humor, about her own struggles balancing marriage and divorce, raising four daughters, entering Brooklyn Law School in 1971 at age 38, and her ensuing legal career. According to Bernstein, “Passion and Power” is as much about the reshaping of American cultural norms as it is about one remarkable woman’s role at the forefront of legal and social transformation.
Cohen’s work in the legal profession has been pivotal to social change. A 2021 HBO documentary, “Nuclear Family,” directed by Ry Russo-Young, chronicles the landmark custody struggle of Russo-Young’s parents, a queer couple who hired Cohen as their lawyer.
Cohen is an honest storyteller, unflinching in admitting her mistakes and rightly proud of her accomplishments. Her story ranges from tales of her father’s fortune made producing the Hula-Hoop to her memory of schoolmate Kiki Bader — Ruth Bader Ginsburg — as a cheerleader waving pom-poms in Brooklyn. She also writes of her deep love of family, the stultifying suburban life of her first marriage, mentorship by legal icon Louis Nizer and riding the wave of social revolution that buoyed her career.
Norfolk author Gillian Linden writes of her step-grandmother, “Harriet Newman Cohen is a funny, edifying guide — precise, curious, warm. Entirely unsentimental. Marriage and its many paths is rich territory. This book is filled with the strange, glamorous, desperate and sadistic characters you hope to meet in the very best novels.”
For details, visit norfolklibrary.org
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