A year of car parades and protests on town Greens

Although this was a year when large indoor gatherings were discouraged because of COVID-19, there were plenty of outdoor gatherings, including protests in all the area towns against injustice toward Black Americans.

The protests were often large and always peaceful. Everyone wore face masks.

Unusually, many of the protesters were teens and college students; unusual because, often in the Northwest Corner, protests are mostly attended by retirees, including many who participated in historic anti-war and civil rights protests of the mid and early 20th century.

Not all the gatherings last year were protests about police brutality and civil rights. There was also a protest in Salisbury related to proposed cuts to postal service; and there was a memorial service on the Salisbury Green led by state Rep. Maria Horn following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

A new wrinkle on group gatherings this year were car parades, which allowed groups to express strong feelings while remaining in the relative safety (from COVID-19) of their cars and trucks. There were memorial parades and birthday parades. Groups of teachers drove by the homes of students to wave and let the youngest among them know they weren’t forgotten. There were graduation parades in spring, including the ceremony at Lime Rock Park for the Class of 2020 at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.

And there was a traditional Northwest Corner car parade: Lime Rock Park couldn’t hold its normal Labor Day weekend historic and vintage car festival, but car owners from the area turned out for the annual parade that normally kicks off the vintage festivities. 

Litchfield County residents came together on the Salisbury Green in front of The White Hart in May to protest police action following the murder of George Floyd, who was killed during an arrest in Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Litchfield County residents came together on the Salisbury Green in front of The White Hart in May to protest police action following the murder of George Floyd, who was killed during an arrest in Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Photo by Alexander Wilburn

Latest News

Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eliot Warren Brown

SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.

In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.

Keep ReadingShow less
Randall Osolin

SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.

He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.

Keep ReadingShow less