Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/author/todd-vibert/)
Last month’s column highlighted how helpful the cadets of the Lost Acres Fire Department were in building the July 3 bonfire that celebrated our nation’s 250th anniversary. Those cadets are taught by a dedicated group of volunteers at the Lost Acres Fire Department, which is celebrating its 90th year of service.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society was one of many organizations that played a significant role in this year’s 250th Anniversary celebration of our nation in Granby.
Most non-profit organizations have big fundraisers each year. The Lost Acres Fire Department used to have a rummage sale in the first week of May. Now they have a car show, which is Aug. 1. The Granby Drummer has its Puzzle Slam in early February. The Salmon Brook Historical Society has its flea markets held twice a year in May and October.
Granby has had town parades and celebrations since the dedication of the Civil War Monument in 1868. At that time, we celebrated the end of the Civil War while remembering those men who had died. For many years, those somber observances were known as Decoration Day. Today, we know it as Memorial Day.
Soon, the sounds of Little League baseball will be with us again. The infield on my team would chant in chorus, “Hey, batter, batter, batter, swing! Hey, batter, batter, batter, swing!” We were trying to entice the batter to swing at a bad pitch and get out. Granby Little League is about to begin its 73rd season, and that brings back fond memories of when I played.
The Salmon Brook Historical Society has two framed hair wreaths in the parlor of the historic Weed-Ender House. These two hair wreaths were made in the mid- to late-nineteenth century and were crafted in memory of members of the Emmons-Case families as well as the Messenger family. During the Victorian Era, hair art was a common way for families to preserve the memory of a loved one.
Last month I wrote about Granby’s more recent doctors, William Dwyer to Alfred Weed. They were modern doctors who had learned the principles of germ theory. They understood that microscopic organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi cause disease. However, that knowledge was relatively new. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, doctors saw medicine differently.
In the last two months I had to find a new doctor. The physician I had been seeing moved his practice from Avon to New Britain. I made the drive once, but realized it was too far to travel for routine care.
With the holidays fast approaching and having friends over for holiday parties, there may be thoughts about what gifts to get friends or loved ones. Most towns like folks to shop locally, which is a sound investment in those communities.
Fifty years ago an iconic landmark, the Loomis Bros. Store in the center of Granby was torn down and with it a piece of the town’s sense of place and history disappeared.