As January arrives each year, The Granby Drummer submits articles published during the preceding year to the Connecticut Press Club’s annual communication contest. Writers, editors and other media professionals across Connecticut vie for awards in over 60 categories.
In the competition for articles published in 2023, Mark Williams received a second-place award in the History category for his piece entitled, Three-hundred-year-old loom will again produce woven cloth.
Williams chronicles the discovery and rejuvenation of the loom from the time it was discovered in the attic of the Sadoce Wilcox house (c. 1800) after the structure was acquired by the Salmon Brook Historical Society in 2019. It is no exaggeration to say that this ungainly relic of the past, estimated to date to the early 1700s, has experienced a remarkable resurrection, as described by Williams in his article.
During 2023, the loom underwent painstaking dismantlement as experts prepared to move it from the attic to the first-floor parlor. Now reassembled and “dressed” (the process of preparing the loom for weaving with the necessary threads), the loom has come back to life.
Specialists in early American weaving techniques have demonstrated the loom’s abilities during several open house days. In 2024, tea towels woven in historical colors and patterns have fulfilled the prediction of the winning article’s title.
The article can be read by visiting this link, or by clicking the archives section at the top of the page, clicking clicking “read online” and selecting the September 2023 issue. The article is on page 29.