WINSTED — Due to mechanical breakdowns and wear and tear, the Winsted Fire Department is facing severe financial hardships and is lacking proper equipment to protect the town, according to fire department Chief Robert Shopey.Shopey spoke during the public comments portion of the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Oct. 3.“Two weeks ago our ladder truck went out to have repairs on it because of electrical problems,” Shopey told the selectmen. “We were advised what the problems are and right now we are looking at $20,362 in repairs. Also, Tower One is now out of service because both rear springs on the rear axle are broken and have to be replaced. We are looking at almost $25,000 in repairs for everything combined.”Shopey said that the department does not have the funds in this year’s budget to pay for the repairs.“Right now, [the department] has $23,636.07 in available funds,” Shopey said. “But as we have talked about at numerous budget hearings, most of that money is already earmarked for mandated items that have to be completed throughout the year.”Shopey then went through a list of tests and repairs to equipment that he said is mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which includes pump testing, ladder testing and a repair in Engine 2 to the pump gearbox.“The total of [the tests and repairs] is $13,400, which leaves [the department] under $10,000 for the year if anything else happens,” Shopey said. “Now, I can probably cover the rear springs with $10,000, but there is no way my budget can survive $21,000 in repairs. So I am looking for some guidance from [the selectmen] for where to look for funds.”Shopey said that public safety is at risk due to the equipment being out for repair.“It is imperative that Tower One be repaired because we have too many buildings that are too tall for our ladders in town,” Shopey said. “We have one apparatus that has a 35-foot-tall ladder while the other ones have 24-foot-tall ladders. So if we have anyone that is trapped on the third floor [of a building] anywhere in the city, when [the department] tries to get to the roof, it’s not going to happen.”Shopey said the closest fire departments with tower trucks that provide mutual aid for Winsted are North Canaan, Torrington and Canton.Both Mayor Candy Perez and Selectman Karen Beadle recommended that Shopey speak to Town Manager Dale Martin and Finance Director Henry Centrella to come up with a solution.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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