St. Mary's Church

 

While I was in Stamford, Connecticut, I passed this beautiful Catholic church.  I had to stop for a moment.  

The bright light against the facade and the rich blue skies showed the church perfectly.  Unfortunately, I was in a hurry so I couldn't take the time to go inside.

Chelsea Piers Connecticut

 I was in Stamford, Connecticut, recently to watch a granddaughter in a swimming meet.  It was held at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, a simply massive sports facility.  CPC has a huge indoor Olympic swimming pool, two hockey rinks, a soccer field, a climbing wall, multiple gymnastic facilities, etc., etc.

Macedonia Church

 Macedonia Church occupies a prominent location on West Avenue in Norwalk.  It is a large and striking yellow brick and white marble building.  Originally a Methodist church, it was built in 1897 - 1898.  The building had, unfortunately, been largely neglected with little or no preventive maintenance for decades.

In 2013 - 2014 the Norwalk Preservation Trust took steps to raise awareness about the building's condition.  In 2014 Macedonia Church bought the building and has since then worked to raise the funds to restore it.  Macedonia Church is a nondenominational congregation led by Black evangelical preachers.

One stained glass window was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.  Another bears the likeness of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  Unfortunately, the church was closed when I passed by, so I was unable to get inside to see them.

Episcopal Church

The Wilton Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a developer's plan to convert an abandoned Episcopal church into ten residential units.

It is an attractive old structure on a promontory above U.S. Route 7.  The units are planned to be homes ranging from three to five bedrooms and between roughly 1,900 and 3,600 square feet.

I am glad that the church will be redeveloped into useful residences.  Too often old structures like this abandoned church are just torn down.

Mental Health Awareness Month

 This field of green and white pinwheels is on a grass plot at the front of the Wilton library.  The 290 green pinwheels represent the number of calls in 2025 to the Wilton mental health crisis line. 

The 435 white pinwheels represent the 3 in 5 Wilton residents thought to be suffering from mental health challenges who did not reach out for help.  Wow!

Danica

 Danica is Connecticut's urban and community forestry coordinator.  She came to Ridgefield last Saturday to talk with the Ridgefield Tree Committee and other interested residents about the health of urban trees in Connecticut and ways to improve tree health.

Danica has a Ph.D. from Yale's School of the Environment.  She has previously worked in rural Maine, and big cities like Philadelphia and Manhattan.  Now she has statewide responsibilities in Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Ridgefield is one of 23 Tree Cities in Connecticut.  From Danica's perspective, tree health is as much about people as trees.  People planting the right trees, pruning them wisely, watering them when needed, etc.  And, more governmental and private investment in tree research is needed.   

South Norwalk Murals

 Norwalk is a city on the Connecticut shoreline.  

A restaurant along Water Street in South Norwalk has an old, worn mural honoring the kind of sailing ship that once used Norwalk as its home harbor.

Across the street a newer mural celebrates the Sheffield Island Lighthouse.  

Today's post is linked to Monday Murals.

A sailing ship is moored around the corner.  It offers cruises to Sheffield Island, one of several small islands off Norwalk that constitute the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.

Wilton Congregational Church

In 1726, the Connecticut General Assembly granted 31 inhabitants of Norwalk the right to establish Wilton Parish.  The first meeting house was built on Wolfpit Road. Ten years later, the congregation outgrew that building and built a larger one at the corner of Danbury Road and Sharp Hill.

The sanctuary on Ridgefield Road -- shown above -- was the third meeting house built by the Wilton congregation, in 1790. It is the oldest meeting house in Fairfield County that’s still in use as a church. 

By the front doors, the church proudly displays banners for 1726 and 2026 to celebrate the 300 years the congregation has served Wilton.

Ridgefield Theater Barn

For sixty years, the Ridgefield Theater Barn has been home to live theatrical performances.  It produces comedies, dramas, and musicals with performers cast through open auditions. The cast and crew comprise both amateurs and professionals. 

Two years ago it underwent a $2.7 million renovation and expansion that transformed the Barn into a multi-use performing arts space.  Now, the venue features a Main Stage, a Black Box Theater, a recording studio space, and flexible community areas for holding multiple simultaneous events.

Colorful

 

I always turn my head when I pass this colorful house in Lewisboro, New York, right across the state line from Ridgefield, Connecticut.  It looks even better this year.  I think it has been freshly painted.

Abandoned and Falling Apart

 

Some factories near the center of Georgetown have been closed for decades.  They show how changes in market conditions, along with time, weather and vandals can destroy an abandoned structure.

Georgetown School of the Arts

 

Georgetown School of the Arts is a facility that houses art classes for kids and adults.

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 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.