Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path

CT’s Game-Changing Contribution to Telephone Communications

Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone was made phenomenally more valuable when the telephone switchboard was invented. George Willard Coy doesn’t get nearly the same name recognition as Bell, but his invention catapulted phone usage globally. It all started with humble, home-made components in a building in New Haven and grew to become the Southern New England Telephone Company and also brought about the first telephone directory and telephone poles. Hear the story from the Photo Archives Director of the New Haven Museum, Jason Bischoff-Wurstle.

One Town - Two Very Different American Flags

Civil War protests in northern states were generally limited to the flying of a white, so-called “peace flag,” with most being lowered after the first year. In Brookfield, a very different American flag was created and flown in protest throughout the entirety of the war – and it looked very similar to the true American flag but was very different in one key aspect. It caused division throughout town for several years – because of its location, making it visible everywhere. Find out what happened to that flag from the President of the Brookfield Museum and Historical Society, Bob Brown.

The Greatest Rock Concert That Wasn’t

It’s been called “The greatest rock concert that wasn’t” – “sex, drugs, and NO rock & roll.” Hear the amazing story of how tens of thousands of would-be concertgoers converged on the tiny CT town of Middlefield – home of the Powder Ridge ski area – despite the fact that a court injunction had cancelled the show. The story is told by Waterbury native and international renowned filmmaker Gorman Bechard, who’s producing a film on the concert.

169 Noteworthy Signs

They’re everywhere – in all 169 towns and cities in Connecticut. Those blue and white history signs that summarize each town’s history. Have you ever taken the time to stop and read the one in your town? Or, when you travel around the state? Hear Tom Fatone tell about going to every CT municipality, reading the sign, taking a picture of it, writing some comments about it, and then publishing the information for all to see.

Escaping Execution by Hiding in Judge’s Cave

When the British monarchy was toppled for 10 years in the 1600s, two of the 60 jurors who condemned King Charles I to death fled England for Connecticut. These high-ranking military officers were chased by agents for King Charles II, the son who wanted to bring revenge on behalf of his father. It’s a nearly 400-year-old episode, with many twists and turns, starting in England and leading to Judge’s Cave on West Rock in Hamden. Their harrowing story is told by the author of The Great Escape of Edward Whalley and William Goffe, Madison school history teacher Chris Pagliuco.

What Remains of CT’s Earliest Turnpikes

During COVID, a Connecticut resident tracked down – and then drove – all 100 of Connecticut’s original turnpikes, which serviced all but five of the state’s municipalities. Some are interstate highways today; others are neglected, torn-up, and nearly forgotten paths through woodlands. John Schwemmer, an aerospace engineer from Windsor Locks, had to match up ancient and current maps to even find the present-day locations for many of the turnpikes. Hear his fascinating story on this episode.

Hidden Revolutionary War Treasure

We know that vast sums of money passed through Connecticut during the Revolutionary War to pay soldiers for their service. Rumors remain to this day that two shipments were stolen, buried, and never recovered. These stories – from East Thompson and East Granby – involve millions of dollars in gold coins, banknotes, and possibly other relics. Many have searched for this missing Revolutionary War treasure, but none have found it. Hear Joe Iamartino, President of the Thompson Historical Society, recount what we know for sure.

The Mystique of the Old Connecticut Path

There’s a nearly forgotten, 100-mile-long trail that brought the founders of Connecticut from the Massachusetts Bay Colony nearly 400 years ago. The gorgeous and rustic Old Connecticut Path runs through northeast Connecticut’s so-called “forgotten corner” in Windham County (including the towns of Thompson, Woodstock, Eastford, Ashford, Willington, Tolland, Vernon, Manchester, and Hartford). Much of the trail is still in its natural state and the Massachusetts man who has rediscovered and publicized the trail’s existence, Jason Newton, thinks it should be preserved for future generations before it’s too late.

The Ice Man Cometh in Connecticut

Refrigeration, as a technology, is only about 100 years old. Before then, people kept food chilled in an insulated ice box. You needed to routinely place large chunks of ice in the ice box to make sure food didn’t spoil. For 150 years, the harvesting of ice from ponds and lakes in Connecticut was a big business. We’re going to learn how this was done from the Research Director of the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, CT, James Fischer, where one of CT’s larger ice operations was based.

Putting the Spotlight on CT’s Lighthouses

Connecticut has 21 active and inactive lighthouses – from Greenwich to Stonington. Some are on land, and some are built on rock outcroppings in Long Island Sound. Each lighthouse “blinks” in a unique rhythm, or character, so sea captains know which lighthouse it is. The oldest lighthouse museum in the country is in Stonington, and we’ll hear from the Executive Director of the Stonington Historical Society (which owns the museum), Elizabeth Wood, about lighthouses in the state and what the life of a lighthouse keeper was like.