MILLBROOK — Friday, April 19, marked the National Day of Silence, when students across the country vowed to remain silent throughout the day to bring attention to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment that occurs in schools every day. The student-led event sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) allows students to stand in solidarity with those who have been harassed or bullied due to their sexual identity. It is intended to create a safe environment for students regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.Day of Silence in Millbrook Middle SchoolStudents of Millbrook Middle School (MMS) have participated in the National Day of Silence in years past, as has the high school. MMS Principal Phyllis Amori sent out an email notice to parents of the school on Monday, April 15, informing them when the National Day of Silence would occur.“MMS students have participated in this day in the past and I would expect the same this year,” stated Amori. “Our teachers are fully aware and it is their decision whether or not to ask students to verbally contribute to class on this day. I write so that you are aware of the event should you wish to have a discussion with your child as to his or her participation.”Students’ rightsThe National Day of Silence website explains the constitutional rights students have when choosing to be silent. According to Lambda Legal, under the Constitution public schools must respect a student’s right to free speech, which includes their right not to speak. This also includes allowing students to wear buttons or T-shirts that support a cause, although this right does not apply in the classroom. Students cannot remain silent during class, though they can inform their teachers of their participation in such an event and leave it up to the teacher whether they will be asked to speak or not.In Millbrook, some parents voiced their own concerns that the middle school was overstepping its bounds by allowing a LGBT event to take place at all.The reactionDays after the event, at the Tuesday, April 23, Board of Education meeting, a number of parents shared their thoughts on how the district handled things.Philip D’Angelo, superintendent, also spoke.“In the past, and we have legal opinions from our attorneys and researched in the school law book. It was a student-led activity and it doesn’t cause a disruption to the educational process, and we need to allow that to occur,” he said, adding the district also addressed the situation with a staff member who got somewhat involved with the event, which was supposed to be entirely student run.D’Angelo said in years past the Day of Silence has gone under the radar, but this year a staff member made it seem as though it was a school-sponsored event. That, coupled with Amori’s email, caused concern among parents. Amori said she wrote that notice primarily for parents of sixth-graders, new to the middle school and its activities.D’Angelo said despite the confusion, Friday was a good day and there were no interruptions and no teachers or staff members experienced any difficulties.Middle school parent Chris Williams told the BOE at its meeting he wished there was better communication regarding such events, along with a clear indication of the district’s stance. Williams said he was concerned the Day of Silence was taking place in the middle school with 10- and 11-year-old students in the building. Too young?Amori agreed sixth-graders are unique in the middle school since they are used to being in an elementary school setting. She said next year she would like to have face time with sixth-graders’ parents to let them know about the Day of Silence in advance. “I would like to say that my immediate reaction was outrage and I was highly upset by getting that email,” said parent Alec Pandaleon. “One of the first things I did was I called a friend of mine who lives down in Charlotte, N.C., south of the Mason Dixon line, and his reaction to it was the following: ‘Alec if that email had been sent out by my daughter’s middle school within the hour you would have seen 100 cars pull up and fathers take their children out of the middle school.’ That’s how controversial this was for some of us.”Pandering to LGBT?Pandaleon said that he looks to the school for reading, writing and arithmetic, and nothing else. He added that the middle school has roughly 200 sets of families and the school needs to respect the different values of each of those families.Pandaleon said that when his son is ready to learn about the LGBT community it will come from him, and not from the school. Students leadBoard member Craig Wolff said the students have every right to express their own opinions, and stressed the Day of Silence was a student-led event. Wolff said that whether parents are offended or not really isn’t an issue, students have right to participate in the event. Amori said that her intent with sending out the email to parents was to make them aware this would be taking place so they could discuss such sensitive issues in a way they see fit with their children ahead of time.“I think it’s very important, for the record, as principal and all of us as administrators, to know that we are obligated to uphold the law, we are civil servants,” said Amori. “The law is very clear on students being able to express an opinion. They don’t have the exactly the same first amendment rights as a normal citizen outside a school building, but they certainly have rights and it’s very important.”Protection for allJodi Wolff is a parent with children who have participated in the Day of Silence in years past and has a child who participated this year. Wolff said she felt her children did not feel it was just a day for bullying of the LGBT community, but a day to recognize all forms of bullying inside schools.“Regardless of LGBT, regardless of disability, regardless of race, age whatever,” said Wolff, “that’s how I believe our students are looking at this. Just because a certain group may have taken the initiative to bring it forward does not necessarily mean it’s just about a particular group. I would also like to inform every parent that major corporations have this as well, so your children are going to get this. They’re going to be facing this every year going forward more and more into our society. We need to be tolerant of everything.”Communication appreciatedParent Meredith Nohai thanked Amori for being proactive this year in communicating with parents about what is happening in the middle school. Nohai said she appreciated Amori allowing parents to have the right to have discussions with their own children. D’Angelo said that this year’s Day of Silence was a learning experience for the district as a whole and said for next year they will probably just say it’s a day of tolerance.
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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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