Honoring those who gave everything

WINSTED — While Memorial Day parades in surrounding towns were canceled on Monday, May 30, due to a heavy rain storm, Winsted parade organizer and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 296 Commander Neil Hunt said canceling the parade was never in his mind.“We would have had it in the rain anyway,” Hunt said. “We will never cancel the parade. They never canceled any wars for rain.”By the time the parade kicked off in the early afternoon, the rain had subsided.Veterans, military groups and civic groups marched down Main Street to honor and remember veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.Hunt served in the Navy during the Vietnam War starting in 1966.“There are a lot of veterans out there,” Hunt said. “If it wasn’t for them, we would not be free to do what we do. I would like people to remember that these young men and women are over there fighting for the country that they love and the principles that they believe in. It is a hard job being away from loved ones and doing whatever they must in a land where they may get shot or blown up at any moment. Many of them come home with scars that they must live with for the rest of their lives, be it mental or physical. They all gave something and some gave all.”In a statement released Monday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy saluted fallen soldiers and, in accordance with the U.S. Flag Code, directed flags to be flown at half staff from sunrise until noon on Memorial Day.“While over the years, Memorial Day has come to mean the unofficial start of summer, it’s important to reflect upon the true meaning of the day — honoring the brave men and women who have given their lives in service to our country,” the governor said. “Over the past decade in Connecticut, we have lost 56 soldiers in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They join the thousands of heroes who, over the course of history, have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our Constitution and the values we hold dear. It’s incumbent upon all of us to honor their legacy and thank them for their service.”

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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