TORRINGTON — It was a peculiar night of baseball at Fuessenich Park Monday, July 4.It was at times absolutely picturesque, with Winsted Whaler All-Star Donny Crossman throwing blazing strikeouts as fireworks ignited in the distance over center field. It was at times entirely bizarre, with Willie Hung of “American Idol” fame singing grisly renditions of “Take Me Out” and “She Bangs” between innings to the fan’s delight. There were even moments of honest, nostalgic delight, as former Yankee pitcher and 1962 World Series Champion Jim Bouton received a roaring standing ovation after pitching a scoreless fourth inning at the age of 72. Titans’ starting pitcher Ben Doucette dueled with Winsted Whaler All-Star Adam Piechowski through three scoreless innings, in which Doucette struck out six and Piechowski dropped three of his own.The fourth inning delivered what many had been anticipating all day, as Bouton, former All-Star and author of the legendary baseball book “Ball Four,” took to the hill to pitch for the Tri-State All-Stars. The veteran pitched a spectacular inning, baffling the youthful Titans, who were unable to hit his dancing knuckleballs out of the infield. Steven Price drilled a home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the fourth to put the All-Stars ahead by one.The Titans responded, grappling the lead away from the All-Stars to lead 2-1 into the top of the sixth, then pulled ahead 3-1 going into the seventh. Tri-State All-Star Adam Claire closed the gap with an RBI base hit in the seventh, but the Titans took advantage of a few near errors in the bottom of the inning to pull ahead by five. All-Star Eric O’Toole brought some life back into the Tri-State dugout with a hard line drive up the middle for a base hit in the top of the eighth. Devin Murphy drove a fierce grounder out of the infield for a base hit and an RBI to cut the Titans’ lead to 5-3. Claire remained hot at the plate, knocking out a base hit that worked its way through the first and second basemen to drive in two more runs, tying the game at five apiece.Winsted Whaler All-Star Donny Crossman took over command at the mound in the bottom of the eighth. The Titans were able to extend their lead to 8-5 and win the game.
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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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