Biking Lyme with Ronnie Romance

Sunday, May 18

4:00 — 6:00 pm

Join us for an intimate lecture regarding the low key, yet highly influential cycling history and riding destination of Lyme and the surrounding river towns. Local resident Ronnie Romance runs a small bicycle business with world wide reach using the classic New England Yankee aesthetic of our area as a backdrop. People come from as far away as Japan and Europe specifically to ride in Ron’s events ranging from 100-500 people, or simply to find their own way on the countless winding country roads and trails that you might just take for granted as locals!  Ever seen a cyclist in plain clothes on a vintage inspired bike just enjoying the day? Curious how you can get out riding on a beautiful machine that matches the timeless aesthetic of our area? Want to meet other local cyclists? Want to make our roads even more attractive to cyclists?  This is the talk for you! 

Conservation of Stone Walls with Robert Thorson

Wednesday May 21, 6:00 — 7:00 pm

Stone wall interpretation provides new opportunities to thread together historical, archaeological, aesthetic, geological, and ecological interests. Historically, the walls are important adjuncts to the thousands of historic houses and buildings, cemeteries, battlegrounds, and monuments throughout the region. Archaeologically, they are above-ground ruins. Aesthetically, they convey essential themes in literature and art. Psychologically, they provide boundaries in space and time. Geologically, they are signature land forms for the Anthropocene epoch, the counterpart to the babbling brooks, inland wetlands, coastal dunes, kettle ponds, and bedrock ledges of the postglacial Holocene Epoch. Ecologically, they create dry lands as porous, elevated, and elongate volumes of surface stone that drain quickly.

These words by Robert Thorson convey the importance of New England’s unique stone walls, and he is the authoritative expert, having written the book (Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls) back in 2002. His urgent mission is the preservation of these ubiquitous structures: a step wise approach to the conservation and interpretation of New England’s stone walls that considers these diverse values while also remaining respectful of the presence of Indigenous stonework in the landscapes. We invite you to come and explore these ideas with Dr. Thorson in this fascinating talk – it’s one you won’t want to miss!

Robert Thorson has advised countless federal, state, and town governments, non-profit historical societies, conservation groups, law practices, and private landowners. In a 2023 Smithsonian essay he linked the history of stone walls to literature, ecology, climate change and geoscience, an article selected by the History News Network for the “Best History Writing of 2023.” At the University of Connecticut, he coordinates the Stone Wall Initiative as scholarly engagement within the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. For three decades he’s been a stump evangelist for the preservation of New England’s historic landscapes. (Photo of Hebron, CT stone wall by Robert Thorson)