KENT — Seeking to promote a next generation of trade and crafts people, Hudson Valley Preservation promoted a Touch a Trade event on Saturday, Oct. 22, hosted by the Eric Sloane Museum and the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association.
The event featured professionals from fields including carpentry, woodworking, masonry, welding, plumbing, electrical wiring and more. Guests were offered the opportunity to get hands-on instruction from experts.
The Eric Sloane Museum hosted crafters who specialize in historical trades, such as the Kent Quilters and Heddle Over Heels.
“I’m working on a little floor loom. These are just some samples that people can sit down and play with, showing different weaving styles,” said Katie Strano of Heddle over Heels in Southbury.
Next door, Connecticut Antique Machinery hosted more modern tradespeople, including Eastern Water Solutions and CrateCrafts Fine Woodworking.
“We do historical architecture element repair and our bread and butter is window sashes,” said Laura Peckar of CrateCrafts in Waterbury as she worked to restore a 19th-century window.
In addition to technical training, the event offered arts and crafts, pumpkin painting and some unique experiences. The lumber slalom course, for example, was a challenge in which two-person teams traversed a slalom course while carrying a 12- foot wood beam.
Hands-on experience was at the heart of the event’s efforts with every booth offering a different tool, machine or piece of equipment to try. Safety was also a top priority with protective goggles and ear plugs distributed to all who entered. This was the first Touch a Trade event, with the hope for more community outreach in the future.
A potential summer camp and regional maker space for Litchfield County communities are envisioned for the coming years. For more information, go to www.touchatrade.org.
125 years ago — February 1901
Miss Muffins of Boston has come to reside with Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Selleck. Miss Muffins is a kitten of the Angora breed and is as odd as it is valuable. It is a gift to Mrs. Selleck from her brother, Mr. Frank Wolfe.
CHAPINVILLE — Mr. Bain of Falls Village has bought the MacNeil place of Watson Parmalee. Price $4,500.
The Falls Village Inn had a very narrow escape from being burned Tuesday night, the ceiling catching fire over a lamp in the pool room.
Mr. John Cleaveland of Sharon is visiting at Mrs. Jane Cleaveland’s. Mr. Cleaveland is a man of 72 years and made the trip from Sharon on foot last Saturday.
The west bound freight on Wednesday afternoon became stalled in the snow at Cook’s Cut. As a result, the 5:25 o’clock passenger train was held at this station for two hours until the road was cleared. Some of the passengers remained in town over night.
100 years ago — February 1926
ORE HILL — The James Flint family have a new victrola.
A party of young women from Garden City, L.I., came up to enjoy the winter sports over the week-end, making their headquarters at Farnam Tavern.
50 years ago — February 1976
It was an anxious five days for the Aller family in Lakeville before members knew that Mr. and Mrs. Howard Aller Jr. and their party were safe in their vacation house in Antigua, Guatemala, after the devastating earthquake of Feb. 4.
Driver education will no longer be required at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, the HVRHS board decided Tuesday night. The board agreed to offer both classroom training and on-the-road driver education as elective courses.
CORNWALL — The first order of business at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Monday night meeting was to approve the Nestle Corporation’s plan for a structure to house a 5000-gallon water storage tank. The 8 by 40 foot shed of cedar siding will stand on six existing concrete saddles located near the Nestle spring on old Route 4 in Cornwall Bridge. The company was recently granted a variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals to construct a tank for commercial use on the site, which is in a residential zone.
25 years ago — February 2001
The reaction in local towns was mixed yesterday to a proposal from Gov. John G. Rowland that the state purchase more than 15,300 acres of land from the Kelda Group, a regional water company, and its subsidiaries, Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. and Aquarion. Of those lands, which surround the utility’s reservoirs, 1,668 are in Litchfield County. The largest parcel in the county is 1,123 acres in Falls Village. The second largest parcel is 428 acres in Salisbury.
On Tuesday, a small chemical spill occurred at Cornwall Consolidated School. Fortunately, classes had been cancelled for the day due to the weather and no children were present. The chemical, potassium hydroxide, was added to the boiler of the school as a water softener to prevent rust.
Mia Purcell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Purcell of Falls Village, has joined the staff of Audubon Expedition Institute in Belfast, Maine, as development director.
KENT — Navy Comdr. Kathleen M. Lindenmayer, daughter of Maureen and Tom Brady of Elizabeth Street, recently reported for duty at Naval Maritime Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C.
CANAAN — The Colonial Community Theatre Group, which is ready to move ahead with the purchase of the historic Colonial Theater it is trying to save, has hit an unexpected stumbling block. The owners have not acknowledged written offers or returned phone calls from the group. The theater closed four years ago this month with the sudden death of owner/operator Shirley Boscardin.
These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.
In 2014, President Barack Obama called it “the most vital piece of infrastructure that needs to be built in the entire country”. In 2026, New York’s Senator Charles Schumer said Gateway was “the largest public works project in America”. Perhaps because of its decades long timetable (2022-2038) and its physically low-lying nature, it is not well known to Northwest Corner residents.
Begun in 2011 as a project to improve that crucial part of the Boston-to-Washington Northeast Corridor(NEC)rail system between Newark, NJ and New York, NY, the need for Gateway became considerably more apparent in 2012 with the damage to the “North River” pair of tunnels beneath the Hudson River. The two parallel single track tunnels opened back in 1910, suffered widespread damage from Hurricane Sandy and were in need of major repair and renovation as well. The basic idea of the Gateway project was to build two new single track tunnels adjacent to the original North River ones, then rebuild the original pair and throughout the entire construction process attend to the myriad repairs and improvements to bring the whole area’s rail service up to modern standards. The improvements are expected to double train capacity.
It took nearly a decade to line up both funding from federal agencies and the state governments involved and to complete regulatory filings. In 2021, the project was formally approved by the federal government and work officially began in 2023. The total cost was estimated (in August 2021) to be $16.1 billion. The new tunnels are scheduled to be completed in 2035, the re-construction of the original in 2038.
The Gateway Project is the central, most congested portion of what is commonly known as the NEC which extends from Boston to Washington, DC (with plans eventually to extend to Maine and Florida). Each day Amtrak carries more than 750,000 passengers on its trains. Its tracks also carry eight commuter rail company lines and several freight lines. NEC has developed a program of high speed trains, one of which, the Acela reaches speeds of 160 MPH along parts of MA, RI, and NJ; trains only await funding for improved track beds for the faster trains.
The NEC, from Boston to Washington, of which the Gateway Project is the centerpiece, runs through nine states and the District of Columbia; all of which politically, are Democratic. All of the Federal funding for the project was legislated under the Biden administration’s 2023 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. President Biden himself was a major supporter of rail travel. President Trump, never a fan of trains, has several times tried to block or reduce federal funding for Gateway. Under the funding agreements the states of New York and New Jersey each are responsible for a quarter of the overall costs with the Federal government paying for half of the cost. The Department of Transportation, under President Trump’s direction has been withholding scheduled payments to The Gateway Development Commission over feeble excuses with the result that Gateway runs out of money by February 6th and must lay off its staff of over 1,000 workers and shut down the entire project unless Trump directs the Transportation Agency to continue funding the project forthwith. “As this lawsuit makes clear, President Trump has illegally frozen congressionally appropriated and contractually obligated funding for Gateway,” said Senator Schumer. “This lawsuit would be unnecessary if President Trump did the right thing for New York and New Jersey and lifted his arbitrary freeze”.
Recently, the parts for two giant hole boring machines arrived from Germany and are in the process of being assembled near the point at which they will start their operations of digging down to and boring two enormous side-by-side tunnels beneath the Hudson River.
While the two new tunnels will be the centerpiece of Gateway, there is much more to this giant construction project. Penn Station in Manhattan and Penn Station in Newark are the ultimate destinations of the new tunnels, both some distance from the Hudson. Particularly in these extremely congested areas, constructing manageable train routes from tunnels to stations for both trains and passengers will be a formidable task.
Between the Hudson and Newark are more than a dozen rail bridges that need revisions or repairs to be a functioning part of the overall system. And there are countless appurtenances and tracks that must be re-aligned. The above ground portion of the project is very large and includes storage yards for trains in New Jersey and Long Island.
Not only the smooth functioning of rail transportation along the Eastern Seaboard depend on the successful resolution of the Gateway project. So also does the modernization of the American railroad industry. Plans across the country for enormous improvements, including new modern routes, High -Speed trains and more are waiting for this “kick in the pants” that a project like Gateway can help provide.
On February 6th, The New York Times reported that President Trump was ready to make a deal with Senator Schumer to release the withheld funds for the Gateway project if Schumer would support re-naming Penn Station and Dulles Airport after Trump. (Would this even be legal?) Stay tuned.
Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville.
A 12-acre lakefront home at 430 Milton Road, which sold for $2.69 million, was the most expensive property sold in Goshen outside Woodridge Lake in the past 10 years. The 5,000-square-foot house features two ponds, an in-ground pool with an infinity waterfall and three fireplaces.
GOSHEN —Single-family home prices in Goshen were largely flat year over year.
The 12-month median home price for 2025 was $645,000, based on 36 sales, only slightly above the 2024 median of $642,500, which reflected 46 transactions.
December activity included six single-family home transfers, two of which closed above $1 million, neither located in the Woodridge Lake area.
While median prices showed little movement, the average price per square foot increased to $315 in 2025, a 13.7% rise compared with 2024.
Inventory remains constrained.
December Transactions
110 Bentley Circle — 2 bedroom/2 bath home built in 1999 sold by Donald Calkins Jr. to Rodney Zander for $150,000.
430 Milton Road — 7 bedroom/7 full bath/2 half bath home built in 1930 with two parcels of land sold by Robert Siegel Dynasty Trust to Daniel Kahn for $2,690,000.
15 Tyler Lake Heights — 2 bedroom/2 bath home on .21 acres built in 1953 sold by Launa Goslee to Andy and Kristy Santiago for $450,000.
109 East Street North — 4 bedroom/2 bath home sold by Estate of Concetta Kincaid to Vivian and Matthew Hall for $760,000.
455 Milton Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2.57 acre sold by Andrew Roraback to 455 Milton Parking LLC for $1,650,000.
127 School House Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath home on 3.3 acres sold by Keith and Annette Tillman to Michael and Meghan Bennett for $340,000.
* Town of Goshen real estate transfers recorded as sold between Dec. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025, provided by Goshen Town Clerk. Transfers without consideration are not included. Current market listings from Smart MLS. Note that recorded transfers frequently lag closed sales by a number of days. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Salesperson with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
A question of profound consequence: Why and how the U.S. corporate news media ignore open-source history
The survival of human civilization as we know it depends in large part on widespread understanding of uncensored, detailed answers to this question.
In a recent letter to the editor on The Berkshire Edge online news site, I wrote that the U.S. mainstream corporate news media coverage of vital economic and political issues frequently distorts or entirely ignores essential, easily accessible historical and factual open-source information, from detailed, well-documented sources, information directly relevant to those issues.
Why do the editors and producers of Fox News, PBS News Hour, the CNN/PBS program ‘Amanpour & Company,’ CNN, MS NOW, NPR News, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times (many of whom have impressive academic credentials) all appear to be totally ignorant of these detailed, often impeccably documented sources?
Surely many, if not most, of the producers, editors, and corporate owners behind the pretty faces and mellifluous voices of the broadcast media and behind the print reporters and opinion writers in our major newspapers are aware of these easily accessible sources.
To understand how and why this form of journalistic malpractice is so widespread, I suggested that readers consult the 1988 book “The Manufacture of Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media” by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman.
That suggestion was too cryptic. “The Manufacture of Consent” is a thick book, which I think few readers will be likely to have the time or the inclination to read.
Here are three short ways in which Chomsky and Herman state their central thesis:
“Especially where the issues involve substantial U.S. economic and political interests and relationships with friendly or hostile states, the mass media usually function much in the manner of state propaganda agencies.”
Their propaganda model for how U.S. corporate journalism works does not posit direct censorship or control over the news and opinion that is broadcast or printed, but explains:
“The raw material of news must pass through successive filters … that fix the premises of discourse and interpretation, and the definition of what is newsworthy in the first place …”
They add:
“The elite domination of the media and marginalization of dissidents that results from the operation of these filters occurs so naturally that media news people, frequently operating with complete integrity and goodwill, are able to convince themselves that they choose and interpret the news ‘objectively’… [but] the constraints are so powerful … that alternative bases of news choices are hardly imaginable.”
For me, Chomsky and Herman’s model explains well why mainstream corporate media coverage is so negligently incomplete about three vital current public issues, all of which have simmered for decades. Each one now threatens to erupt into a toxic boil, fatal not only to what we like to call democracy, but to human civilization as we know it.
1. The history of Israel’s actions and the United States’ lavish support for them since 1948 in Gaza and the occupied territories of the region formerly known as Palestine.
2. The history of relations between the United States and Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 as essential context for understanding the development of the nearly four-year-old war between Russia and Ukraine and for international efforts to prevent its escalation into a nuclear war, which would destroy human civilization.
3. The chronically ruinous domestic economic effects of our country’s 80-year addiction to preparing for and waging war. The history of the development of this economic malignancy has been completely ignored in the mainstream corporate media that I have read regularly since 1961.
In his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell wrote “Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.”
Substituting the word “journalism” for “English” and “journalists” for “writers” in this passage creates a fitting conclusion to this commentary.
John Breasted is a member of The Kent Center School Class of 1961 and the HVRHS Class of 1965.