SALISBURY — It was a busy year for Salisbury.Selectman Mark Lauretano, a Republican, kept a high profile during his first year on the Board of Selectmen. The retired state trooper brought a number of issues, often controversial, to the board and clashed repeatedly with Selectman Jim Dresser and First Selectman Curtis Rand, both Democrats.Lauretano was critical of Dresser’s handling of payments to tradespeople during the rehabilitation of a town-owned house on Academy Street; he spoke out on several occasions about what he believed to be a suspect real estate transaction involving an apartment house in Lakeville, the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development, the Affordable Housing Commission and the involvement of commission chairman Bob Riva. Lauretano called for Riva’s resignation, which Rand, after his own investigation, refused to do. Lauretano then criticized Rand’s investigation.Lauretano also kept the heat on for the adoption of a code of ethics for town employees and officials (elected and appointed). A draft code (available on the town website) went through several revisions as the selectmen met with town employees and received feedback and suggestions. At a Dec. 15 meeting, Lauretano’s proposed code of ethics — and the ethics commission to provide enforcement — was met with considerable skepticism, with strong opposition expressed by Don Mayland (a Board of Finance member) and Roger Rawlings (a longtime member of the Board of Education), among others.Lauretano proposed that meetings of the Board of Selectmen begin with a moment of silence for American military personnel and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Rand and Dresser voted against the pledge, and voted for a compromise on the moment of silence, to be held during the May and November meetings (to coincide with the Memorial and Veterans Day holidays).Rand read a statement explaining his reasons for voting against the pledge, and Lauretano then published a letter to The Lakeville Journal (one of several during the year) taking Rand to task on a number of issues.In addition to letters to newspapers, Lauretano also maintained a blog on the Republican Town Committee website and posted a video describing the events of the November selectmen’s meeting (which was not videotaped by CATV-6).Dresser pushed back over the course of the year, objecting to both the content and length of Lauretano’s remarks, and Rand did what he could to keep the meetings moving forward.The former firehouseThe fate of the old firehouse on Sharon Road was not resolved in 2012. Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Finance joined the selectmen at a special meeting Oct. 1, after a second offer from Frank Gallogly to buy the two buildings at 9 and 9A Sharon Road (for $475,000) was made and then withdrawn during the summer. (Gallogly made a similar offer last year.)Suggestions from that meeting included lowering the price, and the general mood was one of frustration.Amesville bridgeSpeaking of frustration, the one-lane bridge over the Housatonic River from the Amesville section of Salisbury to Falls Village was closed indefinitely April 26, after the state Department of Transportation (DOT) inspected the bridge and recommended it be closed until full repairs can be made. The two towns, with Salisbury taking the lead, applied for and received federal grant money to repair or replace the bridge. Sentiment in both towns was strong that the bridge should remain one lane and stay where it is. Updated POCDThe Planning and Zoning Commission wrote a new Town Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), after several meetings with residents and a great deal of work. The P&Z also took on the task of revising the town’s zoning regulations; the POCD forms the basis of those regulations.News from Salisbury youthThe Board of Finance raised the mill rate from 10 to 10.2 for the 2012-13 fiscal year, largely to offset the expected hike in the town’s Region One School District assessment as Salisbury sends a larger than usual number of students to Housatonic Valley Regional High School.Two alumni of Salisbury Central School, Don Mitchell and Keith Boynton, brought a camera crew to town in July. Boynton was making a music video for “Terrible Things,” a song by Mitchell’s band, Darlingside (which plays at Infinity Hall in Norfolk on Jan. 12), and they shot scenes in LaBonne’s, with Salisbury residents as extras.For the second year, Camp Sloane YMCA hosted children of Connecticut military personnel for a two-week stay at the camp. The campers have a parent in the deployment stage — going into action, in action or returning from action. Lisa Carter, a social studies teacher at the regional high school, took over as interim principal at Salisbury Central School after Chris Butwill resigned in August to take a job closer to home. The village centerFriends of Robert Willis, chef and owner of Cafe Giulia, who died June 28, established a large table and chairs in the courtyard between LaBonne’s, Salisbury Bank and the pharmacy/coffee shop in honor of their friend.And in the same neighborhood, work on Academy Street — improved drainage, new sidewalks and repaving the street — began in the fall. An unexpected bonus came when representatives of Connecticut Light & Power told Rand that it would be easier and cheaper to bury the utility lines on that part of Academy Street than to replace the utility poles. The selectmen voted to include that and new lighting at the Route 44 crosswalks in Salisbury and at Bicentennial Park in Lakeville as part of a state grant package.MilestonesThe 2011-12 town report was dedicated to Rusty Chandler, who led the fundraising effort for the new firehouse on Brook Street.Noble Horizons celebrated its 40th anniversary.The war memorial at Town Hall received a new plaque honoring Salisbury men who died in the Revolutionary War.A stone marker, reading “Charlotte Remington, 1891-1968,” was noticed on a hiking trail in Dark Hollow. Who put it there, and why, remains a mystery.Salisbury lost two giants with the deaths of John Fitch Oct. 31 and Carl Williams Jan. 13.
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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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