NORTH CANAAN — Town officials have begun addressing traffic problems in and near North Canaan Elementary School grounds.Among the issues is a significant number of drivers going the wrong way during arrival and dismissal times, when Pease Street is designated as a one-way street.A messy situation has long existed there that combines a difficult intersection and crosswalk with drivers (including parents and school staff) who seem unwilling or unable to follow the designated protocols. The potential hazards were called to the board’s attention when crossing guard Don Caranci was moved to the corner. He’d been assigned to a different corner, in the center of town, but was moved closer to the school when that crosswalk was “eliminated.” He has pointed out the problems and pushed for a solution.North Canaan Principal Rosemary Keilty reported to the school board May 12 that traffic issues are being addressed with new signage purchased by the town, including school zone and one-way signs.The selectmen rejected a recommendation by the school board’s transportation committee for an engineering study to determine if there is a better approach there, such as making the one-way designation full time.“The Board of Selectmen is not going to spend the money on an engineering study,” Keilty said. “But they are going to look at other options, such as lighting. The board and the resident trooper agreed that the crossing guard hours there should advance by 15 minutes. But since there is so little of the school year left, that probably won’t start until the fall.”Meanwhile, Caranci said an effort by the school and media toward awareness of the dangerous things drivers and pedestrians do has had an uneven effect. Resident State Trooper Jim Promotico has monitored the situation several times.When the trooper is there, Caranci said, the situation improves considerably. When he’s not, things return to chaos. He added that it has become clear to him that it’s not about people being unaware of the rules. For instance, wrong-way drivers turned around by the trooper one day have been coming back the next day to commit the same offense.He also said that some teachers and school staff continue to create their own parking spaces in traffic lanes in the Town Hall parking lot; drivers continue to ignore stop signs and the speed limit; and pedestrians continue to jaywalk.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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