Thursday, October 20, 2011

By Lisa Reisman
Special to the Times

BRANFORD – In a row of mismatched chairs poised to be auctioned off at a garden party on a crisp evening in Stony Creek, one stood apart.

It might not have been the most colorful or elaborately adorned or ergonomically correct. But it went to the essence of the village and its history.

It was a simple chair, the legs and back composed of driftwood — “pre-Irene,” said Max Whalen who, along with Colin Newton, handcrafted it — the seat of granite, the whole held together by railroad nails. This wasn’t just any driftwood or granite or railroad nails, though. As a tag hanging from the top slat of driftwood attested, the chair was made from “only materials in Stony Creek.” Not just the materials: Whalen and Newton were themselves born and bred in Stony Creek.

The chair, in short, might not have been perfectly beveled and squared. It was, however, in precise conformity with the mission of the early-October gathering on the picturesque grounds at the estate of Francine Farkas Sears, the president of Fabrique Ltd./Women in Business: to raise funds for the Stony Creek Museum.

According to Ted Ells, a member of the museum committee and himself a fourth-generation Creeker —he lives in the house his great-great-grandfather built — the non-profit, member-based museum will occupy the former St. Therese Church and will display “a love of the town, a celebration of all aspects of its rich history, and an understanding of what the town used to be like.”

Take the seat of granite cut from the local quarry by Whalen and Quinn. Yes, that same distinctive pink and orange granite is part of many of our nation’s great monuments, from Grant’s Tomb to the Taft Monument in Arlington, Va. to the base of the Statue of Liberty.

Still, what gets lost in the sheer range of its illustrious uses is the vibrant nature of the quarry industry and the village that produced the granite, said Branford First Selection Anthony “Unk” DaRos, who was among the 75 guests at the event. “It really was something in its day.”

DaRos would know. A fourth-generation Creeker like Ells, his own family was among the hundreds of immigrants employed in the 1870s once quarry operators realized its potential for wealth and the need for labor.

At its height, Stony Creek pulsated with roughly 1,800 quarrymen and their families. There were several grocery stores, a blacksmith shop and movie theater, a shoe store, two barber shops, a druggist, and nine saloons lining its streets. Which meant there was no need for the quarrymen and their families to leave for anything.

None of which would have been possible without the construction of the railroad, said DaRos. As with oystering, the other major business of Stony Creek’s history, the quarrying of granite didn’t take off until the railroad made shipping possible. And like the railroad nails that Whalen and Quinn used to affix the granite to the driftwood, the train adjoined new industry with the beginning of Stony Creek’s summer resort era.

By the turn of the century, New Yorkers were cramming trains headed to roughly five hotels that had sprung up in both the village and the Thimble Islands to accommodate them, according to Branford town historian Jan Peterson Bouley. The largest and most elegant, the Flying Point Hotel, which the Great Depression effectively closed, was located, ironically, not far frm the very site at which the fundraising festivities were in full swing at Sears’ seaside home.

An undated black-and-white postcard from Willoughy Wallace Memorial Library’s archives shows the balcony-tiered structure peopled with vacationers. It’s easy to imagine a family gathered on Adirondack chairs taking in a view of the Thimble Islands on a gentle summertime evening amid the distant rumble from the railroad as strains from the Stony Creek Fife and Drum Corps, founded in 1886, drifted through the sea-salt air.

That’s in part what the Stony Creek Museum will seek to evoke, said Ted Ells. Nearby, Dick Howd, whose family has been in Stony Creek since 1667 and whose father was the longtime owner and operator of the Thimble Island Ferry Service, merrily tended bar. “It’s a little village but we’ve had quite a history,” Ells said. “And there are a lot of people invested in preserving it.” Archiving and research are in the works, he added, as are interviews of longtime residents.

In the end, the chair did not win the highest bid. Still, its very presence brought home why, in the words of Sears, “Stony Creek is, to those who live here, a chosen place.”

Donations to the Stony Creek Museum may be sent to Stony Creek Museum, P.O. Box 3047, Stony Creek, CT 06405. For a chair handcrafted solely of materials from Stony Creek, contact Max Whalen at max@brendonwhalen.com.

State Representative Pat Widlitz applauded the release of state bonding to help further establish the non-profit, member-based museum. The museum has been on the drawing board for more than two years, as its all-volunteer founding membership has chugged along with fundraising and Creek-centric artifact-gathering efforts.

“Final approval of this funding is great news because it will play a significant role in helping this project documenting Stony Creek’s rich history move forward,” said Widlitz, adding, “The story of this historic quarry town that supplied the granite base of the Statue of Liberty will be enjoyed by generations to come. The museum will enhance the appreciation of the culture of the ‘Creek’ and the Thimble Islands, in addition to serving as a tourist attraction in the area.”

On Dec. 2, 2010, Governor M. Jodi Rell and State Senator Ed Meyer, a champion of the cause, contacted news agencies with official word of their expectation that the grant would gain state bonding approval on

Dec. 10. The Sound broke the news to Stony Creek Museum Chair Judy Robison, who is credited as the originator of the museum concept.

Robison said the board was “thrilled” by the news. She added the monetary windfall came as a surprise, as the grant had been put before the state Bond Commission earlier in 2010, but didn’t gain approval. Robison said she felt Meyer’s efforts were critical in giving the grant a second chance.

Branford owns the building at 86 Thimble Island Road (the former St. Therese Church) that’s set to become the Stony Creek Museum. In 2009, the museum board officially announced the establishment of the museum’s future home there.

The $75,000 state grant is the largest sum the board has raised to date, Robinson told The Sound in early December.

“It will help us turn a long-vacant building into a showcase for the community. The intended use [of the grant] is for window replacements, insulation, and a new furnace,” she said.  (The original article can be found here)

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with your friends too.

Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library at 7 pm

Join Us… seating limited

July 23: Thimble Islands Part 1, Slides & Anecdotes by Jane Bouley, Branford Historian

August 6: Stony Creek Ramblings, with Bud Dougherty, Unk DaRos and Friends

August 20: Thimble Islands Part 2, Slides & Anecdotes by Jane Bouley, Branford Historian

Having a wonderful time… wish you were here!

Suggested Donation $10

Mark Your Calendars – Tell Your Friends!

Stony Creek Museum Plans

On Friday, April 9^th the Board of the Stony Creek Museum kicked off spring at the home of Tina and Ted Ells, co-chair. “We raised our glasses to the many important milestones that have been achieved thus far, and then we rolled up our sleeves and got down to business”, said Judy Robison, chairman. There is a tremendous amount of work left to do, but to date, the Museum Project has formed a not-for-profit corporation, recruited an able and energetic Board, secured a space, clarified a strong mission, held an opening celebration, had a successful initial fundraising campaign, placed an exhibit at the Willoughby Wallace Library and, most importantly, has collected and cataloged numerous collections and items of interest for exhibition.

A very special thank you to the Branford Land Trust for being a temporary “home” to our current collections. Thank you for your generosity – it’s a testament to the importance of preservation of community that both organizations feel so strongly about.  We look forward to being a good neighbor and partner in the years to come.

An exciting recent development has occurred regarding the space itself. The Museum now has a complete set of plans, courtesy of David Conell of Conell Associates. The plans are broken down into three phases and it is anticipated that there will be a building permit very shortly. Thank you David! Those with a muscle, tools and knowledge are encouraged to contact the Museum about volunteering – investments of both small and large amounts of time are needed.

Marv Zimmerman has been interviewing and recording our history through the stories of residents of Stony Creek. This important project allows us to record, share and preserve the stories of our lives.

Others can also get involve, as well:

-The Museum is actively seeking committee members to join the current Board.

-You can help in organizing lectures at the library about the history of Stony Creek’s hotels, hurricanes, boats, islands, natural resources, postcards, and maybe even a knot demonstration.

-If you have a Stony Creek story to share – please email it to us. It might just end up in the museum newsletter, website or in the museum itself!

-You can be put on the Museum E-Newsletter list, join a committee, donate an item, or make a financial contribution by contacting: info@stonycreekmuseum.com

To learn more or view historical photographs visit:

www.stonycreekmuseum.com or call Judy Robison: 203-481-9369.

If you are interested in joining a committee for the Stony Creek Museum project, please email us: info@stonycreekmuseum.com

Thank You!

Founding Member Ron McDermott and Board Member Maureen DaRos

The Stony Creek Museum project Champagne Dedication Celebration was a tremendous success. If you were one of the few in Stony Creek NOT to make it to the event on Sunday, check out this great article and photos on the New Haven Independent written by Diana Stricker.  A BIG thank you to everyone who attended and to Governor Jodi Rell for the Museum’s Proclamation.  A special thanks goes out to: First Selectman Unk DaRos, Third Selectman John Opie, Senator Ed Meyer, State Rep. Pat Widlitz and State Rep. Lonnie Reed, RTM member Josh Brooks. And of course those who came out just because you love the Creek!

Stay tuned for the next page in the museum’s chapter…

at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library

“Celebrate our rich past – toast the future of the new museum.”

2 pm

For the Dedication of the STONY CREEK MUSEUM Project

Champagne Toast, Hors D’Oeuvres, Sneak Peek of Collections, Music

In the Morgan Keyes Gallery

(Co-Sponsored by the Friends of WWML)

NOTE: The museum’s new space is not ready for public access just yet. The library has generously offered their space for our event.

“Celebrate our rich past – toast the future of the new museum.”

Sunday, May 24, 2009

2 pm

For the Dedication of the STONY CREEK MUSEUM Project

Champagne Toast, Hors D’Oeuvres, Sneak Peek of Collections, Music

In the Morgan Keyes Gallery

At the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library

(Co-Sponsored by the Friends of WWML)

Great News! The RTM of the Town of Branford has granted our Stony Creek Museum a 20 year lease on the upstairs section of the building at the corner of School Street and Thimble Islands Road (the one time ST. Therese’s Church which recently has been used by the standards for use as a museum and community cultural center.

With this news comes the enthusiasm of a larger group of talented and dedicated people Stony Creek and the Thimble Islands. What at a rich history we have with the quarry, the Thimble Islands, the summer hotels, school, church and the Fife and Drum Corps.

Getting to this point is the result of numerous committee meetings and talks with town officials. Our newly formed executive board has begun collecting memorabilia. The museum is an extension of the successful quarry project that celebrated the quarry workers and the village of Stony Creek and the Thimble Islands.

We now need to mobilize our larger community. Please let us know if you are interested in either helping with cataloguing the papers, photographs and materials presently in hand or helping to get the building in “museum” form. Perhaps you are interested in fundraising. Of course, do you have things to donate?

Our sincere thanks go out to Ron McDermott, who is responsible for jump starting this project – with his generous donation of his large collection of photos, papers, school records, and ’38 hurricane reports. He has lovingly collected Stony Creek memorabilia for decades.

Sincerely,

Judy Robison & Ted Ells, Co-Chairman