They came, they saw, they were recruited to volunteer

CORNWALL — “It’s a very interesting place, I congratulate anyone who’s moved here on your selection,” First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said, welcoming newcomers to town at the appropriately dubbed Newcomers Tea. 

The tea was held on Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Cornwall Library in conjunction with The Chronicle’s 25th anniversary party. It did not feature any tea that could be immediately found, but there was wine, and there were newcomers. 

The reception was the town’s way of saying “salutations” to those freshly moved in, such as Scott and Lynn Wilcox, who had moved to Cornwall just 10 days prior. 

The Wilcoxes, who now have a summer home in Cornwall and will keep their residence in Florida for the colder months, have taken to the small town with unflappable optimism and a gung-ho spirit. It will serve them well in an area that prides itself on community involvement and volunteer positions for all. 

“Scott went into the package store and just said ‘Hello everyone! I’m new here!’” Lynn Wilcox laughed. “We’re outgoing people, and we’re both born New Englanders. I worked in New Haven, I was the third female telephone installation repair technician way back when. Twenty years ago he got a job offer in Florida so off we went, but we started saving immediately. I told him, ‘Some day we’re going back to Connecticut.’ We just love this area.” 

The Wilcoxes picked their new house based on the expanse of its scenic views. 

“Technically I think the house is one of the highest points in Cornwall. We’re really way up!”

This year marks a return for another newcomer, Chris Mullins, who grew up in Sharon and had been living in Maine with his wife, Michelle Shipp, until the pair decided to return to Litchfield County. 

“We got here before the summer, so we got to settle in compared to the family that’s only been here 10 days,” said Shipp. “But it’s never too late for a newcomers’ welcome! There are lots of people to meet.” 

Mullins and Shipp spent their summer moving in while also attending Cornwall’s Julyfest and ag fair. 

“Everyone’s been so friendly at everything we’ve gone to. The people who run the Cornwall Country Market are amazingly nice people, and when we first moved in and were working on the house, we probably survived on a meal or two a day just from them.” 

The couple’s goal was to renovate the new house exclusively through purchases and services from businesses in town. 

“Everybody was so kind, it made the whole experience of coming to town one big Newcomers Tea.”