Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path

On a CT Whale Hunt, They Found the President’s Desk

The story of how the famous Resolute Desk in the President’s Oval Office came to be is full of twists and turns – with CT playing a critical role in making it a reality. You simply won’t believe how an expedition to hunt for whales brought such a piece of furniture to the White House. Hear the story from the Executive Director of the New London County Historical Society, Steve Manuel.

Timing is Everything: CT as Clock-Making King

Connecticut produced a lot of “firsts” for the new United States. Among them was clock-making. Plymouth, Bristol and Waterbury were the leading clock manufacturing centers in the country for more than a century. While the technology for making clocks was brought here from England, an ingenious advancement by Eli Terry brought a breakthrough approach to mass production that was copied by other businesses as the industrial revolution grew. Terry’s pupils included the venerable clock maker Seth Thomas. Terry’s activities also spawned the Waterbury firm that created the famous TIMEX watch. Even Mickey Mouse had a role to play in advancing the industry. Hear the story from the Executive Director of the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Patti Phillipon.

UFOs Over Connecticut

Ever since The New York Times reported in 2017 the existence of the Pentagon’s secret UFO tracking program, and both government and academia now say there’s something to UFOs, the matter has come out of the closet. In Connecticut, many sightings have occurred over the years, including a famous series of incidents over the western portion of the state in the 1980s. From the Roswell, New Mexico incident to the U.S. Navy pilots who were stunned by what they tracked on radar over the Pacific Ocean, we’ll discuss the issue with Mike Panicello, State Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network (MUFON).

200 Years of Fatal Train Accidents in Connecticut

Rail travel in Connecticut is nearly 200 years old and during that time the state has suffered numerous fatal train accidents. Several incidents set records for accidents in the history books. Seven crashes - in Bridgeport, Darien, East Thompson, North Branford, Norwalk, Ridgefield, and Trumbull - dating back to 1853, killed 85 people and injured hundreds of others, many quite seriously. Host Mike Allen recounts the backstories behind these incidents.

When Hungarian Soldiers Came to Rural Connecticut for the Winter

Rochambeau’s French Army helped the Americans win the fight for independence against Britain in 1781. Yet, they had to overcome multiple cultural and economic hurdles to do so. Among the issues: Hussar Soldiers wore colorful and distinctive uniforms and were brave fighters, but they only spoke German and occasionally pillaged livestock and crops from the citizens of rural, English-speaking Lebanon, CT where they spent the winter of 1780. Yet, the locals were happy to have the money they spent on supplies. Revolutionary War expert Dr. Robert Selig explains this oft-forgotten aspect of the Revolutionary War and Connecticut’s role in it.

The Making of Candlewood Lake - CT’s Disneyland

Connecticut’s largest lake is actually a major hydroelectric generating facility. Candlewood Lake, bordering five towns in western CT, is nearing 100 years old. It’s been generating green electricity since long before the term came into vogue. The story behind its creation – the clearing of 4,500 acres of land, the building of a massive earthen dam to hold 46 billion gallons of water, and the flooding of two former villages – is not well known. Hear the details from two officials with the lake’s owner, First Light Power: External Affairs VP Leonard Greene and the company’s Senior Manager of Land Management, Brian Wood.

Thanks CT for Cleaning Up U.S. Rivers

Connecticut’s rivers – like so many around colonial America – were the waste receptacles of their time. Sewage and industrial waste, bulky garbage and many other items clogged and polluted the waterways people depended on for drinking water and transportation. The rivers smelled horrible and were unhealthy. What turned them around were pivotal court cases involving New Britain’s use of Piper Brook, towns using the Naugatuck River, and Danbury’s pollution of the Still River. Local historian Bill Devlin explains how the courts helped Connecticut lead the way in improving stream quality, which paved the way for the federal Clean Water Act.

Connecticut Radio Turns 100

Radio has been a part of Connecticut for 100 years. Some of radio’s pioneers came from Connecticut and played a key role in making both AM and FM come to life. And, the famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast impacted listeners in the state as well as the rest of the country. Hear from an expert, Brandon Kampe, who has compiled the definitive history of the state’s earliest radio stations.

Bell Town USA is in CT

The bells that are (1) on all Good Humor trucks, (2) marked the rounds between Mohammed Ali’s iconic boxing matches, (3) gave Clarence his wings at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and (4) open and close trading on the New York Stock Exchange each day all have one thing in common – they were made by Bevin Bells in East Hampton, CT. East Hampton – or “Bell Town” as they call themselves – has been the center of U.S. bell manufacturing for the past two centuries. Bevin Bells is the last bell manufacturer left. Hear their history – and literally hear the difference in tone that shape, material, and size make – in this unique episode, featuring company Chief Operating Officer Cici Bevin.

Whaling in CT

Whaling was a critical part of the Connecticut economy for 200 years, ending only in the 1920s. Of the 2,700 wooden whaling ships built over that time, only one remains – the Charles W. Morgan, anchored at Mystic Seaport in CT. Voyages lasted for several years, with 60 whales caught on each trip for blubber, oil and bone. The oil literally made the Industrial Age possible by lubricating machine parts. It’s an amazing story, as told by the woman who has led demonstrations aboard the Morgan at the Seaport for decades, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards.