GNH wins Turkey Bowl

QB Owen Stimpson ran in one touchdown and threw for two more against St. Paul Nov. 28.
Photo by Riley Klein
QB Owen Stimpson ran in one touchdown and threw for two more against St. Paul Nov. 28.
WINSTED — Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football ended the season with a 44-8 win against St. Paul Catholic High School Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 28.
Cold, rainy conditions made for a ground and pound game with GNH scoring five rushing touchdowns. QB Owen Stimpson completed three passes, two of which were caught for long-distance touchdowns.
St. Paul's lone score came in the fourth quarter on an 80-yard scramble by RB Jack Dennehy.
GNH's Everett Rigby rushed for two touchdowns Nov. 28.Photo by Riley Klein
The Turkey Bowl marked the end of the season for both teams. St. Paul finished with a record of 2-8 and GNH ended at 3-7.
GNH Coach Scott Salius earned his 101st win with the team and wrapped up his 17th season.
It was about 39 degrees during the game with unrelenting precipitation Nov. 28.
Both teams struggled to hold on to the hard, wet ball, resulting in a combined five lost fumbles and two interceptions. About a dozen more botched snaps and hand offs were recovered by offense.
Fumbles were common in the cold, wet weather.Photo by Riley Klein
Wes Allyn, tight end for GNH, reported the field was "actually not that bad. There are spots that are slippery but for the most part it's not awful." The stadium announcer reported 400 in attendance, most of whom sought shelter beneath raincoats, umbrellas and tents.
To start the game, GNH's defense forced two consecutive turnovers in St. Paul's territory in the first quarter. Both resulted in rushing touchdowns: the first was a five-yard run from Owen Adams and the next was one-yard sneak by Owen Stimpson. GNH took a 12-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, GNH's Owen Riemer rushed down the middle and powered through contact, dragging several St. Paul defenders with him to the one-yard line. Everett Rigby finished the job with a one-yard touchdown. Riemer scored later in the quarter on a 19-yard run to give GNH a 24-0 lead at half time.
GNH's Owen Riemer ran in one touchdown and caught another Nov. 28.Photo by Riley Klein
Rigby added to GNH's total with another touchdown in the third quarter. He faked out the St. Paul defense with a reverse play for a nine-yard rush to the end zone.
GNH scored again in the fourth with a 28-yard passing touchdown to Esten Ryan, extending the lead to 36-0.
St. Paul responded on the next drive with an east-west scramble by RB Jack Dennehy that eventually found daylight and went the distance for an 80-yard touchdown. St. Paul connected on the two-point conversion and brought the score to 36-8.
GNH got the ball back with enough time for a drive. Owen Stimpson threw a screen to Owen Riemer, who sprinted 60 yards past the St. Paul defenders down the sideline and into the end zone. GNH scored the two-point conversion and ended the game 44-8.
St. Paul's jerseys didn't stay white for long.Photo by Riley Klein
The season finale marked the end of high school football for seven GNH seniors: Jeremiah Robles, Everett Rigby, Jackson Campbell, Leif Johnson, Owen Adams, Owens Stimpson and Nick Mambrino.
GNH's 22 juniors played considerable minutes this year and many were present for postseason runs in 2022 and 2023. The experienced roster will have its work cut out in the 2025 season as they look to return to tournament play in the Naugatuck Valley League.
Wes Allyn, no. 6, is among the 22 juniors expected to return for GNH in 2025.Photo by Riley Klein
CORNWALL — Clyde Perham Weed, 74, passed away peacefully at his home in West Cornwall, Connecticut on Sunday, August 17.
Clyde was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Jeanne and Herbert Weed. He was the grandson and namesake of Clyde E. Weed, Chairman of the board of Anaconda Copper.
Clyde was a gifted scholar. He did his undergraduate work at Vassar College, his Master’s and PhD at Columbia University. He was a wonderful Professor of Political Science and taught at Colgate University, Baruch College and spent the last 20 years of his career as a tenured Professor of Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University.
Clyde had remarkable energy and a vivacity that is hard to explain! Through his teaching, kindness and mentorship he touched so many lives.
He also wrote two important works on political realignment theory, “The Nemesis of Reform: The Republican Party during the New Deal,” published by Columbia University Press; and “The Transformation of the Republican Party 1912-1936 from Reform to Resistance”. At the time of his death, he was completing a manuscript on the political thought of Walter Lippmann during the New Deal.
Clyde loved nature and all animals. He spent many happy years walking and loving the natural beauty in West Cornwall.
Clyde leaves behind his wife of 24 years, Amy Weed, and brother Michael Weed of Los Altos, California, sister- in-law, Patricia Hurley, nieces, Emily and Maggie Weed, Brielle Cleary and nephews Jesse Weed, Daniel and Teagen Cleary. He also leaves behind his beloved Scottish Terrier “Hoover.”
Calling hours will be at The Kenny Funeral Home, 41 Main Street, Sharon, CT 06069 on Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 5 p.m. to 7.p.m.
In lieu of flowers please consider sending contributions to The Little Guild of St. Francis, an animal shelter, 285 Sharon Goshen Tpke, West Cornwall, CT 06796.
Clyde was much loved and will be truly missed by all who knew and loved him.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
In light of rising local interest in the centuries-old game of Backgammon, Wednesday afternoon backgammon instruction and play sessions are being offered at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. The first such session was held on Wednesday, Aug. 13, attracting two enthusiastic participants, both of whom resolved to return for the weekly sessions.
Expert player and instructor Roger Lourie of Sharon, along with his equally expert wife, Claude, led the session, jumping right into the action of playing the game. Claude chose to pair with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury, a moderately experienced player looking to improve her skills, while Lourie teamed himself with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, who was new to the game.
In 2023, Lourie formed Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut with two objectives: to promote the game in the northwest corner of the state and to teach it to children and adults interested in learning. In addition to the Wednesday sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, an informal, casual group meets at Le Gamin in Sharon every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.
Acting as co-chairman is Ed Corey who leads the Le Gamin sessions, offering advice and instruction. Both Corey and Lourie play competitively and have distinguished themselves by winning tournaments. There are no fees for participation at either Hotchkiss or Le Gamin. Children, ages 8 and up, are welcome to come and learn the game, along with adults of any experience level.
Lourie says that he can teach a person to play competitively in three lessons.
Sessions at The Hotchkiss Library will continue until the end of the year and perhaps beyond, depending on interest. Lourie will be the instructor until mid-November, when expert player Ed Corey will assume responsibility for the sessions at the Hotchkiss Library.
“We’re hoping for more people and also to see youngsters participating and learning the game,” Lourie said.
“The beginner can be the expert with the right dice,” said Lourie, explaining that it is a game combining chance and strategy. An understanding of mathematics and probability can be helpful.
Lourie summarized the randomness of dice and the strategy of poker. “I want to know the proper etiquette,” Kaufman offered, intent on knowing more about the proper moves, although her play indicated a credible level of skill.
Stopping in to observe the Hotchkiss session, executive director of the library, Gretchen Hachmeister said, “We know that people come to library game sessions. People love games, getting together to learn something new.”
Lourie learned the game under extremely unusual circumstances — as a detainee in a Soviet prison during the1960s missile crisis, while working in Naval Engineering to decipher code for the U.S. Office of Technological Security.
Imprisonment was not terrible, he said. There was predictable questioning by day when he repeated daily the details of his cover story. But at night, the guards — many the same age as the detainees — had finished their shifts and of interrogation.They unplugged the cameras to brew tea and the backgammon games would begin. That was how Lourie learned the game and became an expert.
Board games date back 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Modern backgammon goes back to 17th-century England, having evolved from a 16th-century game called “Irish.”It grew in popularity in the 1960s, leading to formation of a World Backgammon Club in Manhattan. And then in 2023, Backgammon of Northwestern Connecticut came to be.
To learn more about the Backgammon sessions at The Hotchkiss Library, visit: www.hotchkisslibraryofsharon.org or contact Lourie directly at Rlourie@gmail.com.
Pantry essentials at Dugazon
You are invited to celebrate the opening of Dugazon, a home and lifestyle shop located in a clapboard cottage at 19 West Main Street, the former site of The Edward in Sharon. The opening is Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.
After careers in the world of fashion, Salisbury residents Bobby Graham and his husband, Matt Marden, have curated a collection of beautiful items that reflect their sense of design, love of hospitality, and Graham’s deep Southern roots. Dugazon is his maternal family name.
“My Louisiana roots come from my mother’s family in Baton Rouge via New Orleans where many of my memories of cooking, food, antiquing, flea markets, hospitality, entertaining, originate,” Graham said.“Being raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, enhanced the importance of community, family, friends and regional cultures, forming the essence of Dugazon.”
Graham and Marden sat on the front porch telling the story of their shop’s evolution. With its wicker loveseats and geraniums in bloom, the old porch invites visitors to linger.
Matt Marden and Bobby Graham open Dugazonat 19 West Main St.in Sharon on Aug 27. Jennifer Almquist
“Bobby has been talking about Dugazon ever since our first date 21 years ago,” Marden said smiling. “I could not be more thrilled that his dream has finally become our reality.”
Graham laughed, then shared their hope that Dugazon embodies the spirit of lagniappe, a French concept of “adding a little extra to bring unexpected kindness, generosity and delight into everyday life.”
Marden worked at Staley-Wise Gallery in New York City. “Town & Country” recruited him to cover men’s fashion. He became fashion director of “Details” magazine and later style director for “Esquire” magazine.
Graham spent 24 years at Condé Nast as a Fashion and luxury advertising sales executive for “Vogue,” “GQ,” “Vanity Fair,” “AD,” and “The New Yorker.”
Within their light-filled shop, unique antiques and vintage cookbooks mix with kitchen necessities such as wooden spoons and cutting boards. Dugazon is bursting with elegant and functional items ranging from designer John Derian treasures to Louisiana hot sauce, luxurious table linens from Milan-based La Double J, and pantry essentials including Café Du Monde beignet mix, Mam Papaul’s jambalaya fixings, and various jams.
Scandinavian 19-inch tapered candles from creators ester & erik are available in 30 colors. Other offerings include vivid naïve paintings by New Orleans-born artist Alvin Batiste, who now works out of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and paper goods designed by Marden’s first cousin, Carey Marden Shaulus.
Alvin Batiste paintings and ester& erik candles on display at Dugazon.Jeff Holt
“Dugazon becoming a reality has been a lifelong dream that comes from deep in my creative soul,” Graham said.“My experiences and memories from my roots, family and friends is what Dugazon is all about. Being able to share this with the world means everything to us.”
Dugazon opens Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.and will be open Wednesdays through Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Phone: 860-397-5196
Instagram:@dugazonshop
Website:www.dugazonshop.com