MORRIS, Conn. — The West Cornwall-based Housatonic Valley Association’s 33rd annual Auction for the Environment, held Saturday, Nov. 23, at South Farms, drew a full house as it reached its fundraising goal and provided attendees with a few unexpected surprises.
In a bittersweet moment, HVA President Tony Zunino announced that the association’s long-time Executive Director, Lynn Werner, will be stepping down from the position she has held since 1995.
“We are saying goodbye to Lynn Werner. Her leadership and vision has made an indelible mark on the Housatonic Valley Association,” Zunino said, eliciting thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the crowd of about 100 supporters, environmentalists and staff.
Another twist to tradition came when auction chair Christine Baranski, who has traditionally greeted the crowd with her trademark humor, was called up to Newport for the filming of the movie “The Gilded Age,” and her daughter, Lily Cowles, stepped in to deliver the keynote address as auction co-chair.
The activist, writer and movie producer did her mother proud during her first HVA auction as she spoke of “this sweet valley” where she grew up as a child and returned to as an adult.
From left, Andrew Stathopoulos and Philippa Durrant of Cornwall Bridge, HVA auction co-chair Elyse Harney Morris and Tony Zunino, president of HVA. Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
“Our Housatonic Valley is sacred ground, and we gather today to honor that,” Cowles said. “I was born and raised here, and recently swam upstream to return to the home of my ancestors. There is no place sweeter than this valley, and there is so much to learn from this land.”
As if on cue, a phone rang nearby.
“It’s Mother Earth calling,” remarked Cowles. “Are you going to take the call?” she asked, without missing a beat, as the crowd erupted in laughter.
Growing up, Cowles said, HVA was a household name.
“It was like Christmas morning the day after the auction, and mom would get all excited wondering how much was raised,” she recalled.
Orchardist Peter Montgomery of Montgomery Gardens in Warren has been a frequent contributor of auction items over the years.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
During his speech, Zunino implored the crowd to “think about why we are here today. I hope it’s because you have a place in your heart for the Housatonic River Valley. It has brought a lot of us up here.”
The HVA president noted that his organization has protected 30,000 acres of important conservation land and has protected and restored 220 miles of the Housatonic River, a 41-mile stretch of which has been deemed “Wild and Scenic” by the federal government.
“It has taught school children and families how to keep the water clean and the turtles safe,” said Zunino.
During the silent auction portion of the event, staunch environmentalists and long-time supporters of HVA mingled with folks new to the area, and the organization, to peruse silent auction items as they sipped wine and nibbled hors d’oeuvres.
Peter Montgomery of Warren perused the items. The orchardist drove to the event in a classic red pick-up truck with a decorated Christmas tree in its bed, which he parked just outside the entry to the auction.
“I was trying to recreate a Hallmark moment,” Montgomery said with a chuckle, noting that he has contributed trees, fruit from his orchard and tutorials on orchards and apples as auction items in the past.
Nearby, Margery Feldberg, board president of the Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, had her eye on a Foodie Escape to Mystic, while Cindy Donaldson of Goshen remained in a “competitive hover” over the Exclusive Broadway Experience auction item offering two tickets to the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, “The Book of Mormon.”
Former State Rep. Jim Mahoney and State Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5), also showed their support for HVA. “They worked very hard on the Housatonic River Wild & Scenic designation,” noted Hayes, who had sponsored the legislation. “I am so deeply committed to the work that they do.”
As of Thursday, Nov. 28, an exact tally of the funds raised from the auction, which drew a near sold-out crowd, was unavailable due to processing difficulties, according to HVA spokeswoman Lara Beckius. However, she noted, “We are thrilled to have hit our goal and for the fantastic attendance,” she said.
Margery Feldberg, far right, board president of the Kent-based Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, was among bidders for the silent auction items.Photo by Debra A. Aleksinas
HVA officials had expected to match or surpass last year’s auction proceeds, which netted a record $205,000.
The next day, Werner reflected on this year’s Auction for the Environment, which was her last auction as executive director of the organization, as “such a heartwarming tribute, and a fantastic day.”
She said she felt the timing was right to step down from her long-held role.
“I let the board know in 2023 that I was considering it. It’s a good time, because we completed our Strategic Plan 2029 in the fall of 2023, and we have a strong set of strategies reaching into every part of the 2,000 square mile tri-state watershed toward achieving a climate ready Housatonic Valley by 2040.”
Werner praised HVA’s “amazing team of environmental scientists and community advocates on staff and a huge network of partners collaborating with us on land and water protection.”
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Izzy Fitch at Battle Hill Forge in Wassaic.
The giant metal mantis, built by artist Jim Hackett, is now part of a summer contest Fitch devised. He’ll strap it to the roof rack of his car and drive it around. When people spot it, they can take a photo, post it on social media and tag @battlehillforge, @lakevillejournal and @themillertonnews. At the end of the contest, names will be drawn at random and gift certificates to Battle Hill Forge will be awarded.
“It’s just for fun,” said Fitch, whose work often blurs the boundaries between art, utility and play. “Who couldn’t use more fun these days?”
Fitch moves through his sprawling workshop spaces like an enthusiastic museum guide leading visitors through a collection he forgot he owned. Every few steps, something catches his attention. A hand-forged daffodil. A dragonfly. A prototype trellis. A powder horn his great-grandfather taught him to make. A concrete toad inherited from his grandmother.
“Oh, this is cool,” he says, veering off course.
A few minutes later:
“Oh, I forgot to show you this.”
Then:
“You want to see something really cool?”
The tour never quite follows a straight line.
Neither does Fitch.
Long before Battle Hill Forge became known for custom gates, garden structures and sculpture found everywhere from private estates to major cultural institutions, Fitch was a child building armor for toy animals.
“I had a Black Panther that was this big and I armored it,” he says, holding his hands a few inches apart. “I made all my little people and creatures, and I armored them all up and I made all the weapons for them.”
Fitch’s father was a logger. Tools were plentiful. Toys were not.
“He wouldn’t buy us toys really, so we would have to make our own.”
The family business, if there was one, was making things.
Izzy FitchNatalia Zukerman
His great-grandfather was a master craftsman who made Windsor chairs in collaboration with his uncle, Bert Fitch. His father supplied the raw materials, Bert made the chairs, his great-grandfather carved the spindles. His relatives were renowned woodworkers. People would travel from far and wide to have his great grandfather make handles for them.
“I really learned a lot from spending time with my grandparents and my great-uncles,” he says.
Today, that inheritance is visible everywhere inside the forge.
Giant steel pumpkins wait beside elegant peony supports. Honeycomb sculptures support an endearing bee also made by Hackett. Giant orbs loom playfully. Metal mushrooms, used in classes Fitch teaches to children, line the windowsills.
Many are prototypes Some are commissions. Some exist simply because Fitch thought they might be fun to make.
“I just think of something cool,” he says. And then he makes it.
“Most of the metalworkers that I work with don’t want to talk to people,” he says. “They’re like, ‘Just tell us what you want. Give me the plans and I’ll make it.’”
Fitch is different. Part craftsman and part translator, he enjoys helping clients discover what they want before it exists.
Unless, of course, he’s distracted by a frog story.
The previous Battle Hill Forge location, in Millerton, included a small pond where Fitch often ate lunch.
“There was a dead mouse out there one time,” he recalls. “This frog was so clever. He would sit near the dead mouse and when flies came down, he would get a fly.”
He watched the frog for an entire lunch break.
The story arrived somewhere between explanations of Japanese patinas and custom railings.
It also explains a lot.Fitch notices everything: plants, insects, old tools, odd solutions, clever engineering tricks. His work is filled with observations gathered from gardens, forests, old European designs and conversations with other makers.
A peony support isn’t just a peony support. It’s an opportunity to improve something. A trellis isn’t just a trellis. Maybe it can come apart for shipping. Maybe it can help a plant grow differently. Maybe it can do something no one has considered before.
“I’m not really inventing anything new,” he says. “I just tweak it a little bit.”
After its beginning in Falls Village, moving to Millerton and eventually settling in Wassaic, Battle Hill Forge has become one of the region’s success stories. The shop is booked months in advance. Projects range from garden ornaments to monumental railings weighing hundreds of pounds. Designers seek him out. Gardeners collect his work.
Yet Fitch remains most animated when discussing collaboration.
The intern helping in the shop first met him as a student in one of his metalworking classes. Local glass artists add to his sculptures. Garden designers have helped refine his plant supports. For Burning Man this summer, he’s joining a team of fellow artists to build an installation featuring an oculus and a pair of metal sphinxes.
“We’ll have a little party,” he says.
The phrase could describe half the projects in the shop, especially the praying mantis. Technically, that sculpture belongs to Hackett.
“He makes all this cool stuff,” Fitch says. “I sell them for him because he’s one of those artists who doesn’t want to deal with the public.”
Fitch laughs.
“Which is totally smart.”
Outside, a dog wanders through the yard. A timber framer works next door. Metal rusts into beautiful shades of brown. New ideas wait in various stages of completion and there’s just a little magic around every corner.
To contact Battle Hill Forge, visit battlehillforge.com.
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