Recent Stories

Go see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

Don’t miss a chance to share this funny, heartwarming play with your whole family. Start the season off with good cheer and this show produced by Good Company Theater. Performances are Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. at South Church, 242 Salmon Brook St. Tickets are $12 and are available at GoodCompanyTheaterCT.org, at Granby Pharmacy and at the door.Caption: Photo by Audrey Laird […]

Valley Pre-School buzzes with bee knowledge

By Andrea BurnsChildren at Valley Pre-School (VPS) learned how bees help fruits like apples grow, during a visit from local beekeepers.“Honeybees are big helpers in the apple orchard,” said Joyce Custer of West Granby. “The honeybee flies from one apple blossom to another and spreads the blossom’s pollen around.”The visit from the beekeepers is timed each year with a field trip to Lost Acres Orchard so the children can see the connection first hand. The beekeepers a […]

Granby residents celebrate Thanksgiving in many different ways

By John R. NiebSince the first Thanksgiving in 1621, holiday traditions have been passed down and some have changed. Granby families each have their own special traditions.Arleen O’Meara celebrates Thanksgiving with her husband, Lawrence, her three children and two grandsons. O’Meara’s celebration is held at her house or one of her children’s houses. They cook and serve traditional Thanksgiving fare of turkey and all the fixings. O’Meara’s daughter makes the p […]

Scout Troop 125’s excellent adventure at Quonochontaug Salt Pond

By Chris Kardys,Senior Patrol LeaderThe canoe outing, put on by Boy Scouts Troop 125, was a great success. The troop explored the Quonochontaug salt pond behind Quonochontaug Beach in Charlestown, R.I. The Scouts launched their canoes at the state boat launch. There were seven canoes and nine scouts and four adults. They paddled out to the flats around the salt marsh and saw bluefish blitzing. The water was boiling with bluefish chasing a school of baitfish. The fish quickly swam under the canoe […]

Granby Football captions

Clean getaway!Jack Hauser (Granby’s top rusher) breaks away for a 87 yard touchdown run vs. Lewis Mills at a recent home game. Photo by Jay HarderTim Nolan drops back for a pass vs. Lewis Mills. Photo by Jay Harder Photo by Jay Harder […]

Land Trust facilitates the health of the Salmon Brook watershed

By Shirley MurthaThe Granby Land Trust’s acquisition of many significant pieces of property, whether outright gifts or conservation easements, has played an important role in maintaining the health and viability of the Salmon Brook watershed. By keeping development away from many of the streams feeding the watershed, the water remains free of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, road salt and myriad other chemicals.This was one of the main points of a lecture given by retired Kingswood-Oxf […]

Hockey team library service

Hockey team scores goals with library patronsThe Granby Field Hockey players took time after practice to move lots of boxes of books for the Friends of the Granby Public Library (FOGPL) at Holcomb Farm to in preparation for the FOGPL annual book sale. Pictured are the Granby field hockey varsity, junior varsity and freshman team members. […]

Holcomb Farm offers turkeys for holiday meals

Holcomb Farm CSA is again offering fresh, locally grown, pasture raised turkeys for your holiday meal on a pre-order basis. These are fresh, not frozen, turkeys. Due to our limited cooler space, pre-ordered birds must be picked up on Tuesday, Nov. 22, between 3 and 7 p.m. We cannot hold turkeys overnight.Ekonk Hill Farm can supply turkeys from 10 pounds to 40 pounds—you decide and order the size that works best for you. Ekonk will match your order as closely as possible but there is no gua […]

Jean-Luc Godard

Sign maker, Artist, and Sculptor: Art of Light Studio, West Granby

Age: 52

Tell about yourself… I was born in the northeastern Champagne region of France.

Drumrolls – May 2018

Maxwell J. Toczydlowski and John F. Dolan IV were awarded faculty honors for the fall 2017 semester at Trinity College. Holly Sulzinski was recently initiated into Phi Kappa Phi at Westfield State University.

In Memory of…

Katan, Joan E., wife of Charlie Katan, March 26

Bergen, David M., 83, husband of Sarah J. (Mayhew) Bergen, April 3

Chapin, Norman S., 87, husband of the late Patricia Ann Chapin, April 3

Lord, Blanche (Fein), 94, wife of the late Edward Lord, April 5

Cardin, Willie Joseph George, 83, April 6

Barba, Robert J., 88, husband of Anne (Keller) Barba, April 10

The Posse tackles hard jobs, every season

This spring, take a drive down Simsbury Road in West Granby, enjoy the beautiful barns and farm fields and meadows of Holcomb Farm as they come to life, and give thanks to the Granby volunteers who have helped make it so. Among the many volunteers, there is one, lovingly known as the Posse, worth considering.

CSA Shares still available

Planting has begun, and sales of CSA summer shares are well underway. Thanks to careful nurturing of the soil (as well as new equipment), Farmer Joe reports increasing productivity is making even more CSA shares available, so it’s not too late to sign up.

Hartford Foundation Grant supports Fresh Access

The Friends of Holcomb Farm’s Fresh Access program joined with one of its institutional partners, Healing Meals, to apply for a “donor-advised fund” grant through the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. We received a $4,000 grant from an anonymous donor fund that will help provide produce and equipment to the Healing Meals Community Project.

Surplus pick-up trucks or tractors?

If you run across any surplus tractors or crew-cab pick-ups during your spring cleaning this year, please consider a tax-deductible donation of this equipment to the Friends of Holcomb Farm. Any money we don’t have to spend on equipment means more can go toward growing and providing food to underserved populations through our Fresh Access program.

Correction!

In the April Drummer, we told you about the newly-available monograph, Holcomb Farm Heritage, Struggles and Success. We failed, however, to thank Citizens for a Better Granby and The Granby Drummer, which helped fund the book’s publication.

May Highlights

Queen of Omelets: Wednesday, May 2, 1 p.m. Simsbury resident John E. Finn, author of The Perfect Omelet: Essential Recipes for the Home Cook, talks about the process of writing his definitive book on the iconic omelet. The book is full of practical wisdom about omelets, cooking and life.

Lunch for the Mind explores Scandinavia’s cities and countryside

The May Lunch for the Mind program takes an armchair tour of Scandinavia, a convenient term for the three kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Join the Civic Engagement Education Team at the Granby Senior Center on Wednesday, May 16, at 12:30 p.m. as photographer Mallorie Ostrowitz presents a slideshow covering her travels throughout Scandinavia in the summer of 2017.

Vote at the April 23 Budget Referendum

On Monday, April 23, the Town Budget Referendum will be held in the Town Hall Meeting Room in Granby Town Hall, 15 North Granby Road. The polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. As with all opportunities to vote, plan to bring identification so you can be checked off the official voter list and issued a paper ballot.

VPS students go on imaginative journey

Since 1991, Valley Pre-School has been using the power of imagination to transport its 4s classes on a magical beach vacation for one day each March. The annual “VPS Florida Trip”, now in its 27th year, is one of the school’s most beloved traditions and the source of many happy memories for VPS alums.

A true labor of love, parents and teachers spend hours clearing out the classroom and preparing the space.