Every year, Essex Savings Bank gives thousands of dollars to help aid the efforts of local non-profit organizations. This year, the bank collected member votes in February for a long list of local community organizations – and we were one of them!  We recently received a donation check in the amount of $619 from Essex Savings Bank, representing the share of votes received for the Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives. A big thank

We are so pleased to announce that the Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives has been awarded a $5600 CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant from CT Humanities. This grant will enable us to continue providing many events free to the public, and to assist with maintaining the Public Hall and Archives. The LPHLHA was one of 725 organizations in Connecticut receiving a CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grant. Totaling more than $8.5M, these

Big thanks to everyone who came out for the 2022 Chowder Dinner, and to our wonderful volunteers whose helping hands and enthusiasm contributed in large part to a wonderful evening. It was a joy to see so many friends and neighbors gathering at the Hall; we are so appreciative and couldn’t have done this event without your support. Thanks also to Long Table Farm and the Connecticut Shellfish Company for supplying fresh local ingredients to

Archive News Pleasant Valley Association papers now available Our new archivist Julie Hughes has been hard at work every Thursday at the Bacdayan Archive Room in the Lyme Public Library. In addition to the Beebe Collection, she has organized all of the papers we have received relating to the Pleasant Valley Association so that they are fully inventoried with a complete finding aid, now accessible in our Archives collection. Anyone is welcome to visit with

You are cordially invited to the Lyme Public Hall’s Spring Open House on Saturday, April 2 from noon to 3 pm. Java Groove (“from swing to Sinatra to Sting – music with twice the caffeine”) will be performing in the Hall through 3 pm, and the Rolling Tomato pizza truck will be serving from noon to 2 pm (get a slice and beverage for $2). We’ll be handing out free trash bags for the annual

Please use extra caution when driving in Lyme this April — watch for your neighbors and Town workers along the roadsides during the annual Lyme Roadside Cleanup! In honor of Earth Day – April 22, 2022 — residents are invited to (carefully and safely!) show a little love to our beautiful roadways, adopting areas near their homes to pick up trash and recyclables during the first three weeks of April, filling up bags provided by

The Local History Archives has been awarded a Connecticut Humanities Cultural Fund grant of $6,700. These funds will be used to defray the cost of digitizing the valuable and much-requested two thousand or so pages of the George Caples diaries, using a non-profit company that specializes in the careful handling and preservation of archival materials. Wondering what the Archives are all about? Read about our collections here on the website. We also invite you to

Endings and beginnings meet at midnight on 31 December 2021 and 1 January 2022, but we thought that was a bit early for a reception.  Our fun begins on 1 January at 3 pm and runs until 6 pm.  Our very own house band will liven up the Public Hall this New Year’s Day at our annual New Year’s Day Reception and we’re hoping to receive you!  To keep your blood sugar raised, we’ll be

… those jammin’ jazzers.  And, in a sense, accompanied by the likes of Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk (don’t we wish), and a few of the other greats because they played Blue Seven, Meditation, Beatrice, Night and Day, Recorda-me, Footprints, St Thomas, In Walked Bud, Autumn Leaves, ‘Whisper Not’, and Avalon, a 1920 song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose. All to the tune of delicious homemade cookies and hot chocolate brought by Board

Where did all those greens come from! Those were Lyme greens collected by members of the Lyme Garden Club from the Lyme woods for members of Lyme Public Hall who signed up for the Wreath-Making Workshop that was held in the Public Hall.  From set-up to clean-up, the Club gets the credit for arranging a wonder-filled afternoon of wonderful wreath-making. A few participants (thanks Pinky and Rachel) shared a few photos.  If you’re interested in

This Wednesday, 8 December, at 7 pm we will be hosting the third open-jazz jam.  Bring your own refreshments or enjoy cookies and hot chocolate provided by us. Everyone’s welcome.  No entrance fee.  Masks required.  Hope to see you.

The Wreath-Making Workshop is full!  Registration is closed.

The Wreath-Making Workshop is a LPHLHA-Lyme Garden Club event, but the credit goes mostly to the Garden Club.  Don’t miss this opportunity to do something creative and have some fun. The Workshop is free and almost full.  If you plan on participating register ASAP. Call Bill Denow at (860) 574-4143.

… here’s the press release (below) and here’s an article in The Day (thank you Elizabeth and Sarah) because this is a big deal! Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives Inc honors Archives’ Founder The Board of the Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives Inc. is pleased to announce the renaming of the Lyme Local History Archives in honor of its founder and initial archivist, Carolyn Bacdayan. Carolyn initiated the idea of a

Flashback to 2008 when the the Local History Archives was ten years old.  Our newsletter that year celebrated the occasion with the article below.  We focused more specifically on the driving force behind the Archives, Carolyn Bacdayan, in our 2020 newsletter (Passionately Preserving Lyme’s History by Joan Motyka) and our 2021 newsletter (Carolyn Bacdayan, Archivist Emeritus by Rolf Wolfswinkel). Now we’re celebrating more than Carolyn Bacdayan’s accomplishments in creating the Archives (with the assistance of many, many

Ok, we weren’t, but here is the first salvo. Today, we celebrate Carolyn Bacdayan’s monumental contribution as Archivist, now Archivist Emerita, to the town of Lyme.  Henceforth, our Local History Archives room at the Lyme Public Library will be named the Carolyn Bacdayan Local History Archives. There will be a public celebration for Carolyn in the spring, but come back later today for a slide show titled Traces in the Archives on this homepage created

We’ve still got a few events on our 2021 calendar — Wreath-Making with the Lyme Garden Club, another of our monthly jazz jamming evenings, and our welcome to the New Year … or, to warrant it being on our 2021 calendar, our goodbye to the departed year. More about each coming soon.

For the second year in a row, our Annual Meeting will be a Zoom event.  This year it will be on Wednesday, 10 November, at 7 pm. Members are, of course, invited to participate in the Annual Meeting.  If you would like a Zoom invitation, email us.  

Rinse.  Wash.  Repeat.  But different each time.  That’s a jam.  That’s jazz. The core rhythm section from September of Adam Anderson (bass), Hillyn Schmelzer (drums), and Tim Lewis (guitar) returned again in October.  They were joined by a number of other musicians who lit up the Public Hall on the last Wednesday of the month playing songs like Autumn Leaves and Autumn in New York. This is becoming a habit.  (To be repeated one more time before

Rolf Wolfswinkel gave the third and final talk in his series on Germany (1919-1946) at the Hall this past Sunday (24 October.)  Most of the 60 people in attendance were also present for the first two talks.  This one stood out because Rolf included personal observations from his experience in Holland during and after the war. You can watch the talk which is now available on our website.

This Wednesday at 7:00 pm, another opportunity for musicians to sit-in, another opportunity for the rest of us to listen-in. We did this a month ago and had a few surprises.  We expect more of the same this month. Please join in, one way or the other, for things unexpected because it’s all about jazz.

We recently had the opportunity to listen to Lyme resident and [Ret.] Professor of American Studies George Willauer speak about Joseph Caples (1873 to 1954) who lived on Gungy Road in Lyme.  (Videos of this talk is in the Archives Video Gallery.). George researched Joseph in our Local History Archives, a sanctuary for Lyme history housed at the Lyme Public Library. The Local History Archives is available to you, too.  Wondering about the history of your house or

On Sunday 24 October at 2:00 pm, we present the third and final lecture in the series on Germany from 1919-1946 by Rolf Wolfswinkel, [Ret.] Professor of Modern European History at New York University. The title of the lecture, ‘Stunde Null’ (Zero Hour), refers to the period after midnight on 8 May 1945, the end of World War II in Europe. While the nightmare seemed to be over, complications arose within Germany and between Germany and the Allies

To our members, Lyme residents, and those in surrounding communities: Sadly, we are announcing postponement of our Chowder Dinner.  This is because COVID, in its many variant forms, continues to threaten the health of our community.  It’s unwise and even dangerous for our community to come together at the Hall with masks removed for an extended period of eating and socializing.  It is our hope that the environment will be safe enough to reschedule in the spring.

On Tuesday (5 October) George Willauer gave a talk at the Lyme Public Hall.  Forty people were given an intriguing look into an earlier time in Lyme through the life of Lyme resident Joseph Caples.  The talk was recorded and is now available on our website. Our next talk, ‘Stunde Nul’ (Zero Hour) by Rolf Wolfswinkel is the third in his series on Germany (1919-1946).  It will take place at the Hall on Sunday, 24

This Tuesday, George Willauer is giving his long-awaited talk “Joseph Caples and the Land of Steady Habits.  It begins at 7:00 pm and we look forward to welcoming you. Joseph was a Lyme resident whose diaries can be found in our Local History Archives. The times being what they are, we’re taking a number of COVID precautions: Masks are required for your protection and the protection of those around you. We encourage you to be

… was pretty fine this past Wednesday at the Public Hall. We had a core rhythm section with Adam Anderson on bass, Hillyn Schmelzer on drums, and Tim Lewis on guitar. But they weren’t alone.  We counted two saxophonists, a trumbonist, two additional guitarists, and, as you’ll see in the clip, a wonderful jazz singer.  You can get a taste of it in our Archives Video Gallery. But why not just come to the next one, Jam at

The geese are flying in chevrons and the Tag Sale has come and gone.  But before we leave it entirely, we want to thank a few people who jumped into the fray, from intake to cleanup, and carried the day.  Aside from all the donators and buyers, we are most grateful to: Brittney and Michael Baczewski Suzanne and David Buzanoski (from Falmouth, MA!) Lori Caine Betsey Copp Beverly Crowther Sara Denow Morgan Ely George House

Our indoor schedule of events and programs begins at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, 29 September, with an open jazz session.  There’s no telling who will show up.  Hopefully you! Space is limited as we will encourage social distancing.  Masks are required for your protection and the protection of those around you.  We also encourage you to be double-vaccinated.  As an added precaution, we will use our augmented exhaust ventilation system and carbon dioxide (CO2) monitor to

Instructor Joan Motyka, writing coach and former New York Times editor, will help you explore the stories only you can tell through writing prompts, readings and homework assignments. This three-session class in memoir writing is for novices and experienced writers. LPHLHA members: $30 Non-members: $50 To register, contact us by email or call Bill Denow at (860) 574-4143.

This year we have been wonderfully overwhelmed with your generosity and as a result today we reached capacity for everything except small houseware items, dishes, linens, and decorative items which we can still accept during intake hours. Thank to all who have donated and we hope to see you at the sale on Saturday.  Remember!  Masks are required.

The Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives (LPHLHA) rents the Public Hall from the Town of Lyme.  The Town is currently requiring that masks be worn in all town buildings. Therefore, throughout the Tag Sale masks are required in the main hall (upstairs) AND in the garage/basement. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of work setting up for the Tag Sale.  We try to make drop-off as easy for you as possible … and still

The George House Tag Sale will be held at the Lyme Public Hall on Saturday, September 18 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm  Concurrently, the Lyme Congregational Church will be holding a sale of children’s items (clothing, toys, etc.). The sale will feature housewares, furniture, tools, jewelry, and unexpected treasures.  Proceeds will go toward the maintenance of the Lyme Public Hall, the Lyme Local History Archives, and our programs. Intake for both the Lyme Public

From the town website: Following public health recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ledge Light Health Department (LLHD), masks will be required for all employees and visitors to Town facilities, regardless of their vaccination status, effective Monday, Aug. 23.  This step is being taken as a public health precaution as COVID-19 cases are rising in and around Lyme.  Town commissions and boards, as well as outside organizations, may continue

We begin this year with the newly named tag sale. We are honoring long time (now, ex-) Board member, George House, for his dedication to the success of this event over many years. The tag sale is our most demanding event. It requires as many volunteers as there are fingers on our two hands. And it requires those hands in four phases: Phase 1: Volunteers collect and receive items donated by Lyme residents. Phase 2:

Eyes right and you’ll see our September events and programs.  We’re beginning with our annual tag sale.  Well … really … we must.  Our basement is full and getting fuller.  It’s all got to go and on 18 September it shall. This is followed twelve days later by the long awaited lecture by George Willauer about Lyme resident George Caples who was a descendant of Native American and African American slaves.  He lived from 1873 to

We’ve added a new page to our website.  It’s called Recent Events and Programs. You can find it under Events and Programs on our navigation bar at the top of the website. Guess what you’ll find there? Yup.

From the town of Lyme: The three final candidates for the position of Director of the Lyme Public Library will be visiting Lyme to make presentations on the role they envision the library can play in our community in the next 10-20 years.  The presentations will take place on July 6, 7 and 8 at 5:30 p.m.  For the details, go here.  

Press Release. Date: July 1, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jos Konst. jkonst04@gmail.com July 10th concert sponsored by Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives A free front porch style concert will be held at the Lyme Grange Fair Grounds at 1 Sterling City Road in Lyme, Connecticut starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 10th. Everyone’s welcome. Bring your family, friends and your own picnic and seating. No alcohol is allowed on the fair

We have this prolific plant behind the Lyme Public Hall.  We’ve cut it three times and now have covered it with tarps. The more you look around Lyme, the more you’ll see, which is what has led to the Lyme “Nix the Knotweed Day on Tuesday, Jul. 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. when the Town of Lyme’s Open Space Coordinator, together with Friends of Whalebone Cove and the Lyme Land Trust, continue to

Japanese Knotweed: Invasive in Connecticut Polygonum cuspidatum, Fallopia japonica is sometimes called Mexican Bamboo but is neither. It’s native to Eastern Asia and has many common names including Hancock’s curse, Himalayan fleece vine, monkeyweed, tiger stick and donkey rhubarb. History According to the University of Leicester, it arrived at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in August 1850 in an unsolicited package of plants from Philippe von Siebold in Holland. Japanese knotweed was subsequently sold by nurserymen

We could sure use your help to put on the Front Porch Style Concert at the Lyme Grange on 10 July 2021.  The Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archive has ten Board members and no staff.  The success of each event and program relies on those ten people … and our members. Can you give us a hand the day of the concert?  Send us an email or give us a call.  We will

Back in April, one of our Board members was in a conversation with Dan Stevens.  It was looking like a long and quiet summer at the Lyme Public Hall with nothing scheduled until September.  Though public events couldn’t be hosted inside the Hall, they thought by late June or early July an outdoor concert might be possible, possibly held at the Lyme Grange. The idea floated around Covid-19 developments for a month and began looking

When: Wednesday, 19 May 2021 at 5 pm Where: Outside of Lyme Town Hall, 480 Hamburg Road, Lyme Electors and citizens qualified to vote in Town Meeting are hereby warned and notified that the ANNUAL BUDGET MEETING will be held outside of Lyme Town Hall, 480 Hamburg Road, Lyme, CT Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 5 P.M. EDT for presentation of the following agenda: 1. Acknowledge receipt of the Town of Lyme Annual Reports for the Fiscal Years ending

The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) class is an 8-hour class that trains laypeople to respond to depression, anxiety, suicide, addiction and other common mental health disorders. The class is interactive and fun! This class is open to the wider community.  Bring a snack or meal and wear a mask. Where: First Congregational Church in Lyme. When: Friday, June 4 from 5 pm to 9 pm AND Saturday, June 5 from 9 am to 1 pm Cost: $10

The following was posted on the Town of Lyme Facebook page following the 27 April (meeting minutes) and 29 April (meeting minutes) Finance Committee meetings: To read the text of the proposed resolution requiring the Board of Finance to set a minimum goal of $1,000,000 for the Open Space Reserve Fund, please click on this link. This resolution will be discussed and voted on at the Annual Town Meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May

The Board of Finance will hold a virtual Special Meeting on Thursday, Apr. 29, at 6:30 p.m. This is a virtual meeting that will take place on Zoom. To view the agenda or see instructions on how to attend the virtual meeting, click here. This meeting follows the Tuesday Budget Hearing in which 60 Lyme residents registered concern for the Finance Committee’s decision to reduce funding for the Open Space Reserve Fund and to substantially

Lyme Friends – The town’s Board of Finance has recently voted to dramatically reduce funding for the Open Space Reserve Fund. Preserving land in our town is one of the most critical maneuvers we can make to enjoy healthy and sustainable futures for ourselves and the planet. This decision is concerning. There will be a PUBLIC HEARING on Tuesday April 27th at 6:30pm regarding this and other budget items proposed for the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

A virtual public hearing on the budget will be held Tuesday, April 27, via Zoom. Officials said taxpayers will be able to email comments to be addressed at the public hearing. More details will be released soon on the town’s website, townlyme.org. [From “Lyme officials talk taxes, choose status quo over decrease” — thanks to Jacque Landers.]

On March 19, the Ledge Light Health District (LLHD) issued this statement which we found posted on the town website: Southeast Area Transit District (SEAT), Uncas Health District and Ledge Light Health District are pleased to announce a partnership to improve transportation options for New London County residents seeking a COVID vaccination. SEAT buses serve many local vaccine centers, and we want to help assure that all residents have access to these vaccination opportunities. To

We pass this on from the town website knowing what a valuable resource we have in the Lyme Public Library. For an orientation to the Library, check out this pamphlet from 2014.  It has a history of the library including a list of all the librarians dating back to 1913!  Theresa Conley  has filled that position since 1986, longer than any who preceded her. The time has come to hire a new Director and the

Participate in Lyme’s next public meeting focusing on replacement of the Macintosh bridge — its design (including road work and guard rails) and construction. This virtual public meeting will take place on 11 March at 6:00 pm (online).  Click here to make arrangements. Detail: In 2019 our selectmen hired an engineering firm to take a look at the bridges in Lyme. (The report is available on request.) Two of the seven bridges requiring work will

Locally Written … The Newsey, Issue 3 is out.

Every year at this time the Essex Savings Bank shares its profits with our community through its Annual Community Investment Program (ACIP).  The Bank donates up to 10% of their after-tax-net-income to non-profit organizations and community development projects. The Lyme Public Hall and Local History Archives is on the list of recipients. If you are an Essex Bank customer, the amount we will receive is determined by your vote.  You can get your ballot and

Each spring, we mail our newsletter the old-fashioned way to all residents of Lyme for whom we have accurate contact information, members and non-members alike. This year will be no different, though we anticipate it will be later than usual. Joan Motyka, formerly an editor with the New York Times, edited our 2019 and 2020 newsletters but was unable to continue as Editor.  We send her our heartfelt gratitude and the hope she will return

The Board and friends of the Lyme Public Hall—all COVID masked and socially distant—recently gathered in George House’s driveway for morning coffee and Flanders’ pastry.  The gathering was to acknowledge and thank George for his recently completed fourteen years of service on the Lyme Public Hall Board of Directors.  George is now taking a breather and stepping down from the board. During those years, George was present for all major and minor activities at the

If you didn’t receive an email from us in advance of our New Year’s Day Virtual Celebration, we don’t have your email address.  You can provide us with your email by signing up on the Locally Written section of our homepage.  If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Lyme Public Hall and Local History Archive, sally over to our Membership page instead. If you are already a member of the Public Hall and

Happy New Year to our families and loved ones, our friends and community! May 2021 bring happiness and peace to you all. Enjoy our New Year’s Day Virtual Celebration!

As if 2020 hasn’t been difficult enough, Carolyn Bacdayan, Archivist of our Local History Archives has become Archivist Emeritus.  As of Thanksgiving day, she retired.  We will have much more to say about this later in the year. The good news is that we have a new Archivist!  Her name is Julie Hughes, PhD and she hails from Newtown, CT.  She will begin one day a week in early January 2021.

As our members know, each spring we mail our annual newsletter to members and prospective members alike.  We begin the publishing project in early January in order to meet our April 1st publication deadline. In 2020 our volunteer Editor was forced to withdraw due to pandemic family obligations.  We’re looking for a new volunteer Editor for our 2021 Newsletter beginning in early January.  If you have the skills and interest to guide our eight page

In order to receive The Newsey by email and our annual newsletter, which will be mailed through the US Postal Service, please ensure we have your postal address and your email address. Ensure our emails don’t end up in your SPAM folder by adding info @ LymePublicHall.org (without spaces) to your email contact list. You can reach us by clicking on Contact Lyme Public Hall. If you aren’t a member of the Lyme Public Hall

We’ve now published four stories in two issues of The Newsey (found on the Locally Written page). We’re only finished if you’re finished writing and sending in your stories. The theme is Life in Lyme during COVID: lockdown, social distancing, and connection with family and friends among our members. Funny or poignant, whatever works. Send your stories vial email to Jacqueline. Ensure our emails don’t end up in your SPAM folder by adding info @

On our 4 December entry (below), we announced that we would post a New Year’s Day Virtual Celebration video on 1 January 2021. We taped two music sessions in a barn with Bella (yup … horse) looking on. The first session, a few weeks ago, was with two members of the LPH House Band (you didn’t know we had one?) who, with the addition of two more enthusiastic musicians, thought about calling themselves the Stablemates

On 1 January 2021 the Public Hall will air a New Year’s Day Virtual Celebration video on our website, our YouTube channel, our Facebook page, and our Instagram page. We are putting out a request for (homemade) video greetings from anyone who would like to be part of the completed video. Send your Happy New Year’s selfie to us. Please keep your message under 30 seconds and send it to us by 15 December. We

January 1, Music April 1-22, Roadside Cleanup April 19, Triumph of the Will: Talk by Rolf Wolfswinkel May 21, Joseph Caples Lecture: Talk by George Willauer June 1 & 8 & 15, Writer’s Workshop June 2 (6-8 pm), Eight Mile River Band June 11, Annual Meeting and Potluck with <program> August 2 or 9 (6-8 pm), Pie and Ice Cream Social with Eight Mile River Band ($5) September 13-19 (9 am – 1 pm), Tag and

All 2020 programs are canceled. We look forward to seeing you in 2021. Our membership year runs from May 1 – April 30th.Please click the Membership tab (above) for the support level that works best for you.

We invite you to attend the Lyme Public Hall & Local History Archives (LPHLHA) Annual Meeting on 18 November at 7:00 pm.  We will have a brief business meeting and afterwards time for a conversation with attendees. The meeting will be held on Zoom.  Click here to register in advance for this meeting (required). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.