Remembering Sharon’s veterans

SHARON — Memorial Day celebrations have always been important to the town of Sharon, and First Selectman Robert Loucks can attest to that. Loucks grew up in Sharon, marching in the annual Memorial Day parade as a drummer in the Sharon Center School band. Now, a U.S. Navy veteran, Loucks helps organize the day of remembrance. “It’s an important event that people need to be reminded of,” he said. “You know, freedom is not free.” Though towns across the country remember veterans once a year, it is memorials such as the Sharon Veterans Memorial that create a daily reminder. The Sharon Veterans Memorial was built in 1994 and sits at the intersection of routes 4 and 44 on Main Street. It lists approximately 1,100 veterans who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Panama, Grenada and Desert Storm. The monument is made of granite so that other names may be carved into the memorial.“Everyday more boys and young Americans are lost,” Loucks said. “For this Mideast war we will be making up a list.”Another daily reminder is American Legion Post No. 126, named after an important Sharon veteran, Herbert G. Klebes. Klebes was a young U.S. Marine who served in World War I at the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood in France. The 26-day battle against the Germans was damaging to both sides. The United States alone suffered 1,811 casualties. Klebes was one of them. Historians say the battle was an important victory for the U.S. during a time when Germany seemed invincible. Although the Legion post and memorial are there for all to see every day, it is services and celebrations such as those held on Veterans Day and Memorial Day that remind us to look at them and remember.“We need to make people aware of the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf,” Loucks said.This Memorial Day, May 30, the parade down Main Street will begin at 10 a.m. An Air Force flyover is expected during the ceremony.

Latest News

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).

Keep ReadingShow less
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.

Keep ReadingShow less