Hebron Historical Society

Hebron Historical Society is pleased to announce that Mike Kachuba, former Connecticut State Troubadour, is appearing at their regular meeting on Thursday, April 26. The event will be held at Hebron's Old Town Hall starting at 7:30 p.m.

Kachuba will present a lively and entertaining collection of songs and stories of Connecticut's past heroes and events.

This family-friendly event will feature Kachuba performing on guitar, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, English concertina and even more!

Mike Kachuba is a songwriter, musician, and arts educator who brings music to audiences of all ages through performances and workshops. He is currently on the roster of performers for Young Audiences of Connecticut and a Master Teaching Artist for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Students from pre-school to college have experienced Mike in either performances or residencies in the school. His programs are linked to curriculum and to State of Connecticut education standards, especially in the areas of writing, math, social studies and music.

Mike is also an artist in residence at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, bringing song-writing and music to children in the hospital setting. He has extensive experience singing for those in convalescent hospitals and assisted living facilities as well.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 26 and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience with Mike Kachuba. Light refreshments will be served; donations to support the Society's educational programs are gratefully accepted. For more information, please contact Program Chair Louise Casarella at 860-643-9288.

Where were YOU during World War II?  Were you living in Hebron or Columbia?  Do you remember the Civilian Aircraft Observation Posts “manned” by residents between 1941–1943,  the second one having been located just over the Hebron/Columbia town line on top of Post Hill?   Have you noticed the little white building new to the Hebron Town Office Building complex?  That’s the old Observation Post, and it will have its lookout tower back soon.

In conjunction with the Observation Post restoration, the Hebron Historic Properties Commission wants to gather information about both Hebron and Columbia and their war preparedness involvement.    Did you volunteer as an aircraft observer?  Were you a student collecting scrap metal for recycling?  Did you sew bandages for the Red Cross for use overseas?  Do you remember the blackout drills?  Did you buy war bonds?  How did your family deal with ration stamps?  Whatever you did for the hometown war effort, we want to hear about it.

Carla Pomprowicz, Hebron’s Town Clerk, has offered to act as moderator for  “Remembering World War II in Columbia & Hebron.” which will be videotaped. The event will be held in the Community Room of the Douglas Library, on Friday, February 10th 2012 at 2:00 PM.  Join us and share your memories so that this portion of our local history will be preserved.

Hebron Historic Properties Commission

Hebron Historical Society is excited to announce that local resident, Peter Billard, is the keynote speaker at their February 23 meeting.

Billard has initiated the Hebron Heritage Photo Project. The purpose of the project is to discover, scan, preserve, and display old photographs pertaining to Hebron’s history and way of life. At the meeting, he will give an overview of the photos on display and speak about the method of scanning, gathering relevant information, and organization of image categories. Part of the emphasis of Billard’s presentation will be the ease of using computer, scanner and Photoshop to make copies that can show an improvement when placed side-by-side with the original.

“HHPP's purpose is to be a community accessible resource and repository of early Hebron images,” said Billard. “It allows all who are interested to view images, as well as contribute old photos they or their family possess. Of particular interest are images showing the way of life, milestone occurrences, agriculture and business in action, people involved in both daily life and special events, celebrations, and functional aspects of the community.”

Many old photos out in the community will be lost forever as residents move away or pass away. Today scanning, copying and preserving old photos is relatively easy. The initial photo scanning days in spring 2011 were very successful in bringing out long-time residents and their photos. Repeat scanning days are in the works for March, April and May 2012. Additionally, individual scanning sessions have taken place at the convenience of the parties.

“Many of the long-time residents who have brought in old pictures have very good recall of the events and people in them,” said Billard. “We are also documenting those memories to go with the pictures. At the meeting, we are hoping that more people will bring in pictures and share their memories with the audience.”

For more information about the project, go to www.hebronheritagephoto.com. Images are added as they're acquired. In addition to the February meeting, Billard will also be at Old Town Hall during Maple Fest to talk about the project with visitors

Mark your calendar for February 23. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Hebron’s Old Town Hall. Light refreshments will be served. As always, the Society’s meetings are free and open to the public, although donations are gratefully accepted. Parking is available in the adjacent area and across the street at Century 21.

For the 23nd consecutive year, Hebron Historical Society will again hold their annual Quilt Show, and delight visitors once again with over a hundred quilts, both modern and historical, displayed at Old Town Hall. Nathalie Peltier-Horton is again hosting the show. If you have a quilt you'd like to display, please contact Peltier-Horton at 860-645-8421.

This year's quilt show will honor the work of lifelong resident, Marie Smith Billard. Billard has quilted for decades, both for her family and for numerous charitable organizations. "Marie never goes anywhere, even vacation, without her sewing machine," said Peltier-Horton. "Quilting has played a defining role in her life and in her community work, and we want to pay special tribute to her creative talent by featuring many of her pieces."

"Nathalie's creativity is what makes the Quilt Show so popular every year," said Maple Fest Coordinator Annie Piggott. "She collects different quilts of all styles and colors, and artistically displays them in a manner that makes each show unique." Visitors are allowed to photograph (but not touch) the quilts, so remember to bring your cameras!

Another popular event will be repeated this year: quilting demonstrations offered by Peltier-Horton, Elaina Strid, and Karen Strid, a well-known local quilter and owner of Sew Little Time. The demonstrations are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday. Other local quilters will be on hand to answer questions about fabrics, styles and methods.

Donations to the Quilt Show are $2 for adults; children are always free. To protect the quilts, no food or beverages are allowed inside Old Town Hall during the show.

The Society will also be offering its usual dazzling variety of "teacup auction" items. These baskets and auction items feature things that appeal to all ages, including hand-made goods, kids' baskets, and food baskets. As in past years, tickets for the auction items are still only 50 cents apiece, or 3 for $1.00. Winning tickets will be drawn Sunday at 3:00 p.m.; you do not need to be present to win. Winners will be called.

Peter Billard will also be back for the second year inside Old Town Hall, discussing the Hebron Heritage Photo project. Billard, with the help of many longtime residents, has been collecting old photographs, documenting the history behind the photos based on oral memories, and posting them to his website, www.hebronheritagephoto.com. This is a great project that has already benefited many who study genealogy or are researching their own family roots.

The Society's famous Maple Milk will be available in the front of Old Town Hall, located adjacent to the Douglas Library right in the center of Hebron. Many visitors claim they come to Maple Fest just for the maple milk, a delicious concoction of milk, syrup and "secret ingredients." Ned Ellis and Farmers Cow have again donated the fresh whole milk.

Farmers Cow representatives Robin Chesmer and Kathy Smith will also be joining the Society for the second year in a row to promote the company's newest ice cream flavors. The Society is pleased to support Farmers Cow in honor of Hebron's long history of dairy farming.

For the second year, the Lebanon Towne Militia will be doing a military encampment in the Old Town Records/Gull School House area, adjacent to Hebron Town Office Building. There is plenty of parking available in the Town Office Building parking lot. Last year, well over 700 visitors attended the encampment and were thrilled to see the demonstrations of colonial military life and what patriots had to endure just to survive.

For a great learning adventure, a live animal demonstration featuring Nate Baribault's famous goats will be held at the Old Town Pound, located at the intersection of Chestnut Hill Road and Route 66, just west of the center of town. This popular attraction drew almost 250 visitors last year, and keeps growing in attendance every year. Old Town Pound will be open Saturday only from 10:00 a.m. until 200 p.m. Admission is free to all.

Carolyn Aubin and her team of National Honor Society volunteers will be offering tours of two historic one-room school houses. Aubin is an experienced docent in the field of colonial education, and her programs delight both young and old. Please note that the two buildings will be open Saturday only.

The Gull School House, located on Marjorie Circle and adjacent to the Town Office Building parking lot, will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Parking is available at the Town Office Building parking lot (15 Gilead Street) with easy access to the historic building via the new granite steps installed by Parker Aubin as part of his Eagle Scout Project.

The Burrows Hill School House, the oldest school house in town, located on Burrows Hill Road, will be open from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free, although donations are gratefully accepted.

Mark your calendars for Maple Fest, and make sure your plans include stops at these many events that feature Hebron history. Enjoy Hebron... It's Here to Stay!

There is a new event at Maple Fest this year, and this is definitely one to put on your “Must Do” list.

Hills Farm, located at 527 Gilead Street, is reopening to the public, and this is your chance to experience life on a dairy farm first-hand.

As many know, Alan and Denise Hills retired from the dairy farm business about 7 years ago, but now, the farm is now back in full operation thanks to their son Greg and his wife Kim. The farmhouse itself goes back to the 18th century.

Alan was a 3rd generation farmer. “Farming is a hard life style, but it is also a ‘feel good’ profession,” said Kim. “Knowing what you have and where it came from gives you a real sense of a quality life.”

“Farming is such a unique lifestyle and something that I couldn't walk away from,” said Greg. “I hope someday that my kids will grow up the way that I did."

“We had been planning on restarting the farm for about 3 years and deciding what our niche would be, so we started fixing up the farm and the barns,” said Kim. “We got the cows in July of last year, and now we have 43 milkers and 7 young stocks.”

A lot of hard work went into getting the farm started again which couldn't have been accomplished without the amazing help of our family and friends," said Greg.

“We talked about it for so long, doing a lot of planning and preparation. “We knew we had to start somewhere, so we began shipping with a local dairy cooperative, DairyLea, whose products go into labels like Hood and Garelick,” said Kim. “In the meantime we are researching options for our own unique product line.”

At Maple Fest, the newest generation of Hills will be doing farm tours, showing the historic barns, milk parlor, and milk room. Visitors will be able to walk through the milking barn and calf pen area. They will also be able to take pictures with calves, sit up on tractors, and generally have some great photo opportunities for their special day at Hills Farm.

All of the Hills Farm Holstein cows have unique names, such as Sienna, Amar, Wilda, and Kimmie. This will be an extremely family-friendly event with residents and visitors able to personally meet, touch, feel and experience life on a dairy farm whose roots are grounded in Hebron’s origins.

“I don’t think people realize all that goes into dairy farming when they pour a glass of milk,” said Kim. “It’s powerful to understand where it all comes from and what goes into the production of such a daily staple in our lives.”

“We’re excited for you to visit our farm and see the family tradition!” said Greg.

Mark your calendars for the Hills Farm Exhibit on both Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11, from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Make the Hills Farm either your first stop into town, or your final stop upon leaving the downtown Maple Fest activities. Or just spend an entire day there!

A unique and very special treat is also in store for visitors when they come to Hills Farms. Greg and Kim will be selling baskets of fresh fried cheese curds with your choice of Maple Chiptole, Orange Maple Cranberry, Whiskey Maple Cream, or Mango Maple Barbeque sauce to dip or drizzle on the curds. All sauce recipes have been specially created by Kim and Greg.

You won’t find this kind of eating delight anywhere else… and you’ll get to enjoy the re-opening of the historic Hills Dairy Farm all at the same time!