LAKEVILLE — Summers in the Northwest Corner have always drawn crowds from the city. After all, since the late 1800s, there have been summer camps scattered throughout the Berkshire hills for the children of urbanites and there have been second homes here for centuries. There’s not much missing from our trails and lakes and there is little one could ask for in the way of summertime amenities. Unless you’re Lee Minoff, a psychotherapist who lives and practices in New York City and Sharon and who has a penchant for some wholesome competition. He and a few other city professionals started a Sunday softball game in the summer of 1983, at the field behind Patco in Lakeville.There are no practices and the only schedule is one that starts on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and ends the Sunday of Labor Day. Some ball players show up in cars and on bicycles, others on motorcycles or in pick-ups. Bill Riiska, a lawyer in town, walks from his office with his own bat. It’s simple. You show up. Take batting practice and throw the ball around. “The Commissioner,” as Minoff is known, picks the teams, assigns the positions and the batting order. There’s no choosing and there are no choices. If Big Jack is around, he’s the umpire and if he’s not then the catcher or someone else calls it.There were games early on where so many people showed up, they had to play two games. The game has always allowed for everyone who wanted to play to play. Largely based on seniority, newcomers waited until the later innings but always got in the game. Men, women and some children have played. As some of the veterans have gotten older, the kids who showed up would pinch run or shag fouls. Folding chairs line the third base line. Dogs run on and off the field. Kids have a catch with their dads. It’s real American pie.As if the competition wasn’t a good enough reason to show up at 10 a.m. on a lazy Sunday, the roster of past alumni reads like a who’s who. Tom Brokaw played for years, even brought a film crew out to do a piece on American leisure. CNN’s writer/journalist/newsman Jeffrey Greenfield, Micky Kramer from Time magazine and director/writer Andrew Bergman have played for many a Sunday. The owner of the Colorado Rockies, Dick Monfort, usually plays shortstop. Even the guy who wrote the “Baseball Encyclopedia,” Jim Charlton, has played on the hallowed Community Field in Lakeville.And then there’s the rest of the guys. Real estate developers. Real estate managers and real estate speculators. Jim, with tape measure in hand and a stogie pinched between his index and middle finger, is sure that the bases are properly situated. He’s even played ball at Yankee stadium. We have a bunch of lawyers. And a few doctors — specializing from head to toe. And then there’s Gary, a Miami Beach hotel owner, and Duke Moore, our resident architect (in case we need to build a stadium). We’ve also played an esteemed professor at New York University. Authors, writers, wrestling state champions traveling from Millbrook, N.Y., to Norfolk. Coming down from Great Barrington, Mass., and over from Ancramdale, N.Y. And from Lakeville and Salisbury.There were summers when some of the local teams from North Canaan would come by and play the older guys. It was competition with all the flavor, wit and humor that can only be imported. There are tempers and tactics but never at the expense of goodwill. And in the end, it’s always a good game and it doesn’t matter because we’ll do it again next Sunday.We get rained out now and then, and some of the guys get injured and some of them get old. But when they show up, they show up to play. There are some good father/son combos who play, and with Cathy at third and her son at short, well, that’s a good combo, too.There are many places to see and dozens of things for families to do when it comes to the most venerable of all American vacations. And the summertime sure is easy with The Commissioner and the cast of thousands playing ball over at Community Field. If you’re like many, filling up at the service station or heading to the Grove for a swim, and if it just happens to be around 10 on a Sunday morning and you feel like getting in the game and maybe buying some real estate, stop by and bring a friend, because after almost 30 years of summer Sundays, we could sure use a few new recruits.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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