Lasting memory

KENT — Memorial Day started out with a few thunderclaps and lightning bolts, but by 9 a.m. the clouds began to break and the firehouse on Maple Street was bustling with men, women, children and dogs preparing to march through the village center.The parade took off down Main Street at 9:30 a.m. The American Legion Color Guard took the lead, with veterans in cars and jeeps following.Other groups that participated in the parade were the Kent Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, with the Cub Scouts, Brownies and Daisies. The Kent Volunteer Fire Department and William McCann and his tractor-drawn wagon were at the end of the parade.The first stop was the Veterans Memorial, a monument dedicated Nov. 11, 2009. The Rev. Thomas Berberich gave an invocation, and World War II veteran Robert Bauer placed a wreath by the memorial.“We like to honor our fallen comrades,” Bauer said. “A lot of people forget about that.”The parade continued to the Civil War Monument, where a Kent Center School student recited the Gettysburg Address. The next stop was the Kent Memorial Library, where Berberich gave another invocation and Korean War veteran and commander of American Legion Hall-Jennings Post No. 153 Jerry White placed a wreath for World War I veterans. As First Selectman Bruce Adams read the names of Kent veterans in front of the library, two F15s from the Massachusetts Air National Guard roared over Main Street.“I planned that,” he said, smiling, before finishing the list of names.Just before the parade ended at the Kent Congregational Church cemetery, the sun came out.“It’s a very special day for all the men and women who laid down their lives for our country,” White said.Charleen Robarge was standing by the white picket fence just outside her house with her dog, Mini Cooper, watching the last of the marchers go by.“The parade always passes right by us,”Robarge said. “We watch it every year.”

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less