Buttolph-Williams House

Broad Street in Wethersfield is home to many old houses.  The Buttolph-Williams House was built in 1711.  It was declared a national historic landmark in 1968.

The Witches of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is a 1958 Newberry Medal-winning children's book that was set in this house.  The book is about a young girl who arrives here from Barbados.  She arouses suspicion among the townspeople because she can swim, stands up to her elders and befriends an old woman regarded as a witch.

The West End

The City Daily Photo bloggers post photos on a theme on the first day of every month.  This month the theme is "the beauty of decay."  Their pictures can be seen here.

Like many inner city neighborhoods, the West End of Hartford undergoes cycles of restoration and decline.  I expected that the economic troubles of the last five years would produce some dramatic examples of fine properties in the West End that are on the ropes today.

Not so.  The vast majority of the homes look great.  So, because it is far more productive to be positive than negative, today I feature a lovely old West End home that is receiving the attentive facelift that it deserves to ward off decay.

Now It Is Time For Peonies

A pink peony

And white dogwoods

And early daisies

And the earliest roses

Recorder

He rode his bicycle into the Elizabeth Park Rose garden, set up a music stand, put a CD into his portable player and accompanied the music with his recorder.  It was quite beautiful.

Kids!

West Hartford has kids.  LOTS of kids.  Baseball players, softball, soccer, lacrosse.  Boy scouts, girl scouts, cub scouts, brownies.  Martial arts and dancers.  Marching bands.  

And, on Memorial Day, every kid marches.

Memorial Day Parade

Veterans

Fire Department

Volunteer distributing American flags

Congressman John Larson

Daytripping: Commencement Weekend

Class of 1942

Class of 1948 -- 65th reunion

Class of 1968 -- 45th Reunion

Barrett Hazeltine

Professor Hazeltine has been on the Brown University faculty for 53 years as a professor of management and engineering.  He was given the senior class award for best teacher so many times that the university named the award after him and made him ineligible to win it any more.  Every year more than ten percent of the entire undergraduate student body signs up for his course on entrepreneurship.

President Paxson

Class of 2013 -- graduating seniors