Gilbert & Bennett School

The Gilbert and Bennett Manufacturing Company was Georgetown's biggest employer.  G&B supported its employees and in 1915 allocated funds to build a school.  Eventually technology passed G&B by, its support dried up, and the towns responsible for the school all stepped away. 

n 2011, the town of Wilton entered into a five-year lease agreement with the Georgetown Community Association (GCA) for the aging school building.  The lease wasn't clear about responsibility for maintaining the building or notifying the town if/when the building needed repairs.

A major rainstorm occurred in August 2024.  The G&B school's roof leaked in numerous places.  The town declared the building uninhabitable and ordered the community association to vacate the premises immediately.  An evaluation put the cost of repairs at $3 million, which is a lot for a small town with other important claims on its funds.

So, today the G&B school is empty.  One resident group wants to see it repaired.  Another wants it torn down.  While the debates play out, the aging building just gets older and more deteriorated.

Run Like a Mother

 Yesterday was the 19th Mother's Day race in Ridgefield, Run Like a Mother.

It is mostly a fun race for locals, but some serious runners are placed in the front at the start.

Then the local mothers come through.

My feminist daughter ran in the pack.

Her budding feminist daughter turned eleven on Mother's Day.  

She was the youngest in the 11 to 13 age group but did very well.

 I have never seen a lead runner so far ahead of the pack.  This Brooklyn-based marathoner has her eye on the 2028 Olympics.  She finished a minute and a half ahead of the second place runner!

I didn't get down to East Ridge Road soon enough to see the faster runners go past.

Some parts of the race are pretty scenic.  These runners are on a steep climb of Governor Street, toward Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church on Main Street.

The race continues down Main Street before finishing in Ballard Park.

One fun tradition is for young kids to join their mothers as they run toward the finish line.

Every runner gets a medal on a ribbon, as well as a purple iris flower.

Mother's Day

Today is the day we honor mothers.  Our mothers.  Our wives who are mothers.  Our daughters who are mothers.  Our friends who are mothers.  The mothers of our friends.

My mother was born on February 8, 1918.  She died in 1989, when she was 71, but if she was still alive she would be 108.  Pretty amazing, isn't it?

When I was growing up, a  friend of my family was an artist.  My mother sat for this portrait, which I hang in my study.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  And Happy Mother's Day to all the other moms.

Reading Room

 Sometimes I pass the time in one of the quiet reading rooms in the original part of Ridgefield Library.

The library bought comfortable new chairs last year.  Magazines of all kinds line the walls.

A bronze cat sleeps on an open bronze book to honor a retired librarian.

And a stern ancestor assures that occupants are quiet.

Silver Lining

 Silver Lining is a Ridgefield consignment store.  Inside they have a good selection of the usual consignment store items:  furniture, rugs, china, artwork, etc.

But, outside the store there is an ever-changing and eclectic array of unusual things.  

Yesterday they included a fake fire hydrant, a metal pig and a black metal sculpture made from scraps.

Around the corner, there was a weird gentleman in a yellow suit and a green hat.

And a pelican with a fish.

Lambs

 The Hickories is a family-owned and operated farm in Ridgefield.  They are growing a herd of sheep.

From mid-March through mid-April, the ewes in the flock gave birth to lambs.  There were many triplets.

Lola

Monday night was tough.  Daughter Susie's 14 year old weimaraner, Lola, was in pain.  They rushed her to the veterinarian, but she didn't make it. 

Lola was born in South Africa, where Susie and her husband lived before moving back to the States.

Lola was a wonderful dog.  She was very energetic when she was young, but in recent years she had become pretty slow, with lots of her time spent sleeping. 

Lola is now with her longtime companion, Sequoia, who crossed the rainbow bridge two years ago.

R.I.P. Lola.