Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3 January/July Page 1 Continued on next page Kendall F. Wiggin, State Librarian In this Issue Not so Bold Vision by Kendall Wiggin, Pages 1-2 Connecticut Archives Month-October 2012 by Mark Jones, Page 2 Edith Stoehr, the First Female Game Warden in Connecticut by Mark Jones, Pages 3-5 The LSTA 2008-2012 Five- Year Evaluation ... by Douglas C. Lord, Page 6 Connecticut Arms the Union by Dean E. Nelson, Pages 7-11 The Somers Church Fire and the Connecticut State Library by Carol Ganz, Pages 12-14 The Teaching American History Project in Connecticut by Paul Baran, Pages 15–17 The Origins of Flag Day , by Allen Ramsey, Pages 18-19 Sharon Brettschneider Retires as Director of Library Development by Kendall Wiggin, Page 20 Not so Bold Vision by State Librarian Kendall Wiggin In June I had the privilege of attending “Bold Vision + Collective Capacity > Transforming Communities,” an ALA Pre-Conference sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. The objectives were to re-envision public libraries’ community information services; identify promising practices that will drive community transformation; and develop plans to use our collective capacity to achieve favorable outcomes at all levels. Key drivers for this discussion were the redefining of communities through the development of new partnerships; the abundance of information and scarcity of attention; mobile and interactive information services; and the yearning for place and community in a world of global virtual connections. We did not emerge from the several days of great conversation with a bold new vision. Instead it became clear to me that we, the library community, need to make the mission of today’s library known to the community. There are any number of innovative things going on in libraries around our state and our nation that address the needs of the citizens they serve. This has been the great strength and contribution that libraries have made since the social library evolved into the public library in the late 19 th century. Since the early beginnings of the public library movement in this country, libraries have changed and transformed along with the ever diversifying socioeconomic structure of the nation. The Gates conference galvanized two things for me – the need for policy makers to understand the role libraries play, and should play, as our towns and cities transform and secondly the need for library leaders and staff to have the skills needed to meet the rapidly evolving information needs of their communities. At a time when policy makers believe the role of the library is diminished because of a perception that everything is online and that all books are ebooks, we have to better educate them about the important role that libraries play in this world of e- everything. We know libraries are still vital to those seeking to improve their lives, succeed at school and work, find a job, start a business, access government information, or just enjoy a good read. Libraries are about making sure every child is ready to read. Libraries support continuous education. Libraries promote all literacies, especially digital literacy. Libraries play an important role in civic engagement. Some libraries already excel as community conveners, but more need to take on this role. ...Preserving the Past, Informing the Future
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Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 1
Continued on next page
Kendall F. Wiggin,
State Librarian
In this Issue
Not so Bold Vision by
Kendall Wiggin, Pages 1-2
Connecticut Archives Month-October 2012 by Mark Jones, Page 2
Edith Stoehr, the First Female Game Warden in Connecticut by Mark Jones, Pages 3-5
The LSTA 2008-2012 Five-Year Evaluation... by Douglas C. Lord, Page 6
Connecticut Arms the Union by Dean E. Nelson,
Pages 7-11
The Somers Church Fire and the Connecticut State Library by Carol Ganz,
Pages 12-14
The Teaching American History Project in Connecticut by Paul Baran,
Pages 15–17
The Origins of Flag Day,
by Allen Ramsey,
Pages 18-19
Sharon Brettschneider Retires as Director of Library Development by Kendall Wiggin, Page 20
Not so Bold Vision
by State Librarian Kendall Wiggin
In June I had the privilege of attending “Bold Vision + Collective Capacity >
Transforming Communities,” an ALA Pre-Conference sponsored by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. The
objectives were to re-envision public libraries’ community information services;
identify promising practices that will drive community transformation; and
develop plans to use our collective capacity to achieve favorable outcomes at all
levels.
Key drivers for this discussion were the redefining of communities through the
development of new partnerships; the abundance of information and scarcity of
attention; mobile and interactive information services; and the yearning for place
and community in a world of global virtual connections.
We did not emerge from the several days of great conversation with a bold new
vision. Instead it became clear to me that we, the library community, need to
make the mission of today’s library known to the community. There are any
number of innovative things going on in libraries around our state and our nation
that address the needs of the citizens they serve. This has been the great strength
and contribution that libraries have made since the social library evolved into the
public library in the late 19th century. Since the early beginnings of the public
library movement in this country, libraries have changed and transformed along
with the ever diversifying socioeconomic structure of the nation.
The Gates conference galvanized two things for me – the need for policy makers
to understand the role libraries play, and should play, as our towns and cities
transform and secondly the need for library leaders and staff to have the skills
needed to meet the rapidly evolving information needs of their communities.
At a time when policy makers believe the role of the library is diminished because
of a perception that everything is online and that all books are ebooks, we have to
better educate them about the important role that libraries play in this world of e-
everything. We know libraries are still vital to those seeking to improve their
lives, succeed at school and work, find a job, start a business, access government
information, or just enjoy a good read. Libraries are about making sure every
child is ready to read. Libraries support continuous education. Libraries promote
all literacies, especially digital literacy. Libraries play an important role in civic
engagement. Some libraries already excel as community conveners, but more
need to take on this role.
...Preserving the Past, Informing the Future
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 2
Connecticut Archives Month, October 2012 by State Archivist Mark Jones
The State Library’s Division of Library Development (DLD) has recently completed their strategic plan and the
State Library has completed and submitted the 5 Year Plan for LSTA. Both of these plans recognize that much of
what the State Library does is not “bold” but rather supportive of library service statewide. DLD’s vision is that
all people in Connecticut will be welcomed by vital and exciting libraries that will be centers of community life
and lifelong learning. Both plans recognize the need to provide librarians and trustees with the information and
skills to effectively advocate for community support to meet the needs of their communities in a time of rapid
transformation. To that end in the years ahead the Division of Library Development will focus advocacy efforts
on helping libraries demonstrate value to community and state policy makers. The Division will also focus
continuing education efforts on technology skill, civic engagement, and developments in the information
ecosystem. ♦
Kendall Wiggin, State Librarian 7/17/12
In his article, State Librarian Ken Wiggin offers a
proactive approach for librarians. He recommends
that the entire profession think about the future
impact of technology and its potential and publicly
enumerate the benefits of a library in such a world.
Institutions with archival holdings are also challenged
by the lack of understanding about the value of
archives to the everyday person and to research fund
allocators. Ken’s article is a “right on!” to us archivists.
In the face of mounting difficulties, shrinking budgets
and devaluation of cultural programs in this country
during the Great Recession, what can archivists do?
October is American Archives Month which is
sponsored by the Society of American Archivists and
the Council of State Archivists. The purpose of the
celebration is to exhort the public through posters,
special workshops and media initiatives asserting that
archives are necessary for government to continue its
operation in case of disasters, that archives enable
families to strengthen their bonds to each other, and
that archives are one of many cultural institutions in
our democracy that help citizens and officials to find
out where we were, where we are, and where we
might be going.
As in previous celebrations, we shall post on the
Connecticut State Library web site a copy of the
Proclamation signed by the Governor designating
October as Connecticut Archives Month. We shall also
keep a public log of special activities of local historical
societies, libraries and
museums around the state
during October, and we shall
post an announcement about
the Archives Month poster
funded by a grant from the
National Historical Records
And Publication Commission
and available from the State
Library. We shall have sent
copies of posters to public and academic libraries,
historical societies, and museums. Is this enough?
Is Archives Month enough? No, but there will be
more opportunities for us to make the case that
archives matter. There is; however, strength in
numbers. As Ken suggests, librarians need to make
the case that libraries matter more in a world of
rapid transformation and growing community
needs. So do Archives! Archivists and librarians
should join together to help “demonstrate value to
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 12
Continued on next page
When Somers Congregational Church went up
in flames after dark on last New Year’s Day,
televised images left little room to imagine that
any part of the structure survived. History and
Genealogy staff immediately checked records at
the Connecticut State Library to see if it had
historical volumes for this church, because it
appeared any at the church would have burned.
The Connecticut State Library houses records
from over 500 hundred churches in the State
Archives, the result of a project begun in the
The Somers Church Fire and the Connecticut State Library
by Carol Ganz, History and Genealogy
Pencil construction drawing with some dimensions.
Layout plan of the sanctuary,
showing pews.
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 13
Continued on next page
1920s to encourage churches to place records here for safekeeping and to make them available for research.
During the next two decades churches of all denominations were invited to bring in their original records and
the library made photostatic copies of the major volumes. If congregations were willing to permanently deposit
their records, they were given handsomely bound copies in return. Some churches preferred to bring in records
for copying but took back the originals, so the collection includes many original manuscript volumes but also
many in copy form. Of course, some churches preferred not to participate at all. The Connecticut Society of
Colonial Dames provided volunteer time to talk to church authorities and, in some cases, to transport the
precious volumes to Hartford. Florence Crofut, Chairman of the Society’s Manuscripts Committee, was
especially active in making this project a success.
At her suggestion, Reverend Charles L. Ives of Somers Congregational Church brought in three volumes for
copying in October 1941 and two more the next April, with the understanding that the church would retain the
originals. The Archives held copies of the five volumes for forty years until the church reconsidered and traded
their original volumes for the copies in 1982, ensuring the safety of the historic manuscripts.
In addition to official registers containing the “vital records” of a congregation (baptisms, marriages,
membership, burials) and recorded minutes of meetings, sometimes other manuscripts came with the deposits,
such as for Sunday School classes, the church treasurer or a women’s group. In many cases there were also
some “papers,” loose items that record the life of a church such as correspondence, receipts, or drawings of pew
arrangements. Materials also arrived from other sources, such as a dealer in antique books and records, who
customarily did business with the State Library.
On checking State Archives holdings, staff discovered that, in addition to the five volumes of manuscript
records, there were papers that were probably not in duplicate at the church. Incredibly, these were described
as “Somers Congregational Church - meetinghouse plans, contracts, reports and correspondence, 1841-1842,” records
from the building of the historic structure that had just been destroyed! The State Library had purchased these
from Gilbert Whitlock in 1958.
Staff excitedly contacted the church and soon
Somers Church Historian Ailene Henry and her
husband Roland visited the Connecticut State
Library to take a look at these documents.
While the records do not provide the type of
detailed drawings that would be expected
today, there were floor plans with dimensions
marked and an agreement with the builder with
some of the specifications. The church hopes to
rebuild as closely to the original appearance as
possible, with some hidden concessions to
modern materials, conveniences and
regulations. While the 1842 plans are not
sufficient to thoroughly inform that project, they
make a nice reference to consider - and a
wonderful historical artifact of the now-lost
Somers Congregational Church Historian
Ailene Henry and her husband Roland
examine the documents.
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 14
meetinghouse. Library staff was able to provide digital images for the congregation’s future use, happy to be
able to do some small thing to help after the tragic loss of their beautiful and historic building.
Somehow the serendipitous discovery of plans for the landmark church building caught the imagination of the
media and the story was recounted over and over on television and in newspapers. Even a sharp-eyed USA
Today reader in Florida caught the reference and sent a clipping to a staff member. This story reminds everyone
that the State Library contains important historical records that people, such as the members of Somers church,
can use. In light of the publicity given this story, yet another church has donated its records to the State
Archives. ♦
Dimensions of a House of Public Worship, as
proposed by a Committee of the
Congregational Society in Somers.
Notable Acquisition on The History of
Connecticut Education
The State Library has recently acquired the following:
CHRISTOPHER COLLIER. Connecticut’s Public Schools: A History, 1650-2000. Orange, CT: Clearwater Press, 2009. Pp. Xxii, 873, illustrations, bibliography, index (ISBN 978-0-578-01661-0)
Receipt from Chauncey L. Root acknowledging
payment for itemized work done.
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 15
Teaching American History
by Paul E. Baran, Assistant State Archivist
Continued on next page
This past June marked the completion of the
Connecticut State Library’s involvement in a three-
year Teaching American History (TAH) grant
administered by EASTCONN. EASTCONN,
headquartered in Hampton, is one of six Regional
Educational Service Centers in Connecticut. It
provides a wide range of educational services to
thirty-three towns and thirty-six boards of
education in New London, Tolland, and Windham
Counties.
TAH grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of
Education to “enhance teachers’ understanding of
American history through intensive professional
development, including study trips to historic sites
and mentoring with professional historians and
other experts. Projects are required to partner with
organizations that have broad knowledge of
American history, such as libraries, museums,
nonprofit historical or humanities organizations, and
higher education institutions.”
The EASTCONN grant, entitled “Themes of History:
Expanding Perspectives on the American Story”
offered fall, winter, and spring workshops, a
summer institute, public history events, and
seminars designed to highlight a different broad
theme each year. About forty-five middle school and
high school teachers participated in all three years of
the grant. Five students from the University of
Connecticut’s Neag School of Education also took
part each year. EASTCONN partnered with the
Connecticut State Library and several other
institutions to offer the workshops. The other
Assistant State Archivist Paul Baran speaks to Teaching American History workshop
participants at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center on June 28, 2012.
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 16
Continued on next page
partner institutions were the American Antiquarian
Society, the Choices Program of the Watson Institute
for International Studies at Brown University, the
Connecticut Historical Society, the Thomas J. Dodd
Research Center at the University of Connecticut,
Historic New England, and Museums of Northeast
Connecticut.
Each fall, representatives from each partner
institution and the EASTCONN TAH project staff
held a full day planning meeting to discuss the yearly
theme, and to suggest topics to be explored, materials
from their collections that could be the focus of an
activity, and historians who are experts on related
topics to speak at the public history events. By the
end of the day a draft outline of a professional
development program for the year was produced.
Details of workshop days were worked out in smaller
follow-up meetings between EASTCONN TAH
project staff and partners taking part in a particular
workshop day. This approach fostered collegial
planning among the partner institutions. The State
Library participated in two different workshop days
during each of the three years. A look at the activities
of these days, though a fraction of what was offered
each year, still provides a sense of the program as a
whole.
For Year One’s theme on Freedom, Security, and
Diversity, I teamed up with the Connecticut Historical
Society to present a workshop day held at CHS,
focusing on the home front during the Civil War,
World War I, and World War II. First, Ben Gammel
of CHS presented an activity on Civil War draft
quotas. For the World War I unit, I held a mock
Council of Defense meeting. The Council of Defense
was a state agency that coordinated war-related
activities on the home front. Split into smaller groups,
activities. We followed this with a discussion on the
concept of a “total war” or the complete mobilization
of resources and population toward the war effort.
Finally, Ben Gammel,
Emily Dunnack, and
Richard Malley of CHS
had participants look at
the material culture of
World War II through
objects in the Society’s
collection. At another
workshop that year,
History and Genealogy
Librarian Carol Ganz
showed the participants
how genealogical resources
could be used for historical research, emphasizing
techniques on how to find and use data on
immigrants and immigrant groups.
The theme for Year Two was Individual Opportunity
and Social Responsibility. During the planning
meeting many of the ideas seemed to center on the
ideal of getting ahead in America. To this end,
Museum Educator Patrick Smith presented his
“Connecticut Invents” workshop. However, it
occurred to me that perhaps there should be a
workshop day to address those for whom
opportunity either passed by or seemed out of reach
and worked with the Mansfield Historical Society (a
member of the Museums of Northeast Connecticut)
to plan the day. For the first activity on poor relief
during the early Republic, I had participants
examine documents drawn largely from town
records for the years 1790-1830. During this period,
responsibility for poor relief in Connecticut fell to
the individual towns. We discussed the various
strategies used by towns to provide for the elderly,
the infirm and incapable, transients, slaves and
servants, and children. Ann Galonska of the
Mansfield Historical Society led the participants
through an examination of the Superintendent’s
journal from and other documents related to the
Connecticut Soldiers’ Orphan Home that operated
from 1866 to 1875. Finally, participants looked at
some of the “make work” projects of the Works
“The Teaching
American History
grant provided the
State Library and the
other institutional
partners with the
opportunity to make
their rich historical
collections known to
a group of educators.”
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 17
Progress Administration during the Great
Depression. Using the State Library’s digital
collections of the WPA Architecture Survey and the
WPA Art Inventory Project as examples, participants
searched the Internet for other digital collections of
WPA projects.
The Year Three theme of Sharing Power – Federalism
and International Relations seemed tailor made for
resources in the State Library. For the first workshop
of the year, Government Records Archivist Allen
Ramsey and I used documents identified by State
Archivist Mark Jones from the General Assembly
papers dealing with the sectional crisis leading up to
the Civil War. First, Allen led participants through
an examination of documents concerning Texas
annexation, the Mexican-American War, the
Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott decision.
In a follow-up activity, I asked participants to
compare resolutions adopted by both northern and
southern states concerning the Peace Conference of
1861 in Washington to determine whether there was
any way the Civil War could have been prevented.
These activities were a good juxtaposition with the
mock Constitutional Convention presented earlier in
the day by Historic New England in which
participants debated the ratification of the federal
constitution.
In the second workshop of Year Three, the State
Library planned a workshop day with a new
institutional partner in the grant, the Mashantucket
Pequot Museum and Research Center (MPMRC), on
State-Tribal relations. The workshop was held at
Mashantucket. In the first activity, Laurie Pasteryak
of MPMRC guided the participants through close
readings of visual representations of the Pequot War.
I presented an activity where participants looked at
“The Year Three theme of Sharing
Power – Federalism and International
Relations seemed tailor made for
resources in the State Library... ”
Connecticut General Assembly documents on
detribalization, or the efforts of state government to
legislate indigenous peoples out of existence in the
second half of the nineteenth century. J. Cedric
Woods, a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North
Carolina and Director of the Institute of Native
American Studies at the University of Massachusetts
Boston came in to speak to the group on the issue of
tribal recognition. In between were behind the
scenes tours and time to explore the museum.
The Teaching American History grant provided the
State Library and the other institutional partners
with the opportunity to make their rich historical
collections known to a group of educators. The
teachers came away not only with broader historical
knowledge but an understanding of how they might
incorporate historical documents and artifacts into
their lesson plans. A few of the teachers’ comments
about the program sums this up nicely. One wrote:
“Participation in the grant has prompted
me to consider for every unit: What
primary documents can I use?”
A second teacher commented:
“Words can’t express my gratitude to this
program in terms of influencing my
teaching. I started this program as a
beginning teacher and I have taken so
much of these informative sessions about
using primary sources…”
On the program as a whole, one wrote,
“This is an incredible program, I will miss
it so much. It has truly made me the
teacher I am.”
In my last activity with the teachers I told them that
all the hours it took me to design workshop
activities gave me a greater appreciation for what
they do to create lesson plans. From hearing their
comments afterwards I know it was time well spent.
♦
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
January/July Page 18
150th
Anniversary of the Connecticut Flag Day
and Constitution Day Resolution
by Allen Ramsey, Government Records Archivist
June 17, 2012 was the 150th
Anniversary of the
Connecticut General
Assembly’s passage of a
resolution recommending
the observance of Flag Day
on the fourteenth of June
and Constitution Day on
the seventeenth of
September of each year as
holidays. June 14 was the
day in 1777 that the
Continental Congress
adopted the Stars and
Stripes as the flag of the
United States, and
September 17 the day in
1787 the United States
Constitution was ratified.
The original 1862 Connecticut General Assembly resolution, which is available on the State Library’s Flickr site at http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzMN7zR, quashes the common misperception, as stated in U.S. House Resolution 662 passed in 2004, which states that Flag Day originated in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin in 1885. The founder, it claimed, was school teacher Bernard John Cigrand, who urged his students to observe June 14 as the “Flag’s Birthday.”
Connecticut State Library The CONNector Vol. 14, No. 1/3
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iJonathan Flynt Morris in his speech before the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolutionary War, at the Lebanon War Office, on Flag Day, 1891, talks about writing to Congressman Dwight Loomis in early June “asking him to introduce in Congress a resolution for the observance of “Flag Day” as a national holiday, to embrace “Constitution Day” also.” However, as of this writing, there is no direct evidence that Morris wrote asking State Senator Henry K. W. Welch to introduce a resolution in the Connecticut General Assembly for Flag Day and Constitution Day even though both the federal and state resolutions are identical in wording. iiCharles Dudley Warner, “National Holidays,” Hartford Evening Press, June 10, 1861. iiiFor Craig Harmon’s extensive research see: http://lincoln-highway-museum.org/FD-1862/FD-1862-Intro.html
year as holidays – the first to be
known as Flag Day and the latter
as Constitution Day.” The Senate
passed the resolution on June 12
and the House of Representatives
on June 17, 1862. A similar
resolution was introduced at the
suggestion of Morris in the U.S.
Congress by Representative
Dwight Loomis of Connecticut on
June 11, 1862, but was tabled on
June 12.
Governor Luzon B. Morris on June
14, 1893 signed into law “An
Act concerning Flags for
School Districts” which
required selectmen to
provide each schoolhouse in
their town with United States
flags. The second section of
the act required “Suitable
exercises, having references
to the adoption of the
national flag, shall be had on
the fourteenth day of June in
each year…” The General
Assembly four years later
passed an act imposing a fine
of ten dollars on selectmen
that failed to provide flags or
apparatus to school districts
as required by the 1893 act.
The statute was then
amended in 1905 by House
Bill 634, which added the
requirement that “The
governor shall, annually, in
the spring, designate by official
proclamation the fourteenth day
of June as Flag Day…” Governor
Henry Roberts issued the first
Connecticut Flag Day
proclamation on May 26, 1906
and the practice has been
continued by governors to the
present.
On the national level, President
Woodrow Wilson issued the first
Presidential Flag Day
Proclamation on May 30, 1916,
requesting that June 14 be
observed as Flag Day across the
United States. On August 3,
1949, President Harry Truman
signed an Act of Congress
designating June 14 of every
year as National Flag Day.
I would like to acknowledge and
thank Craig Harmon, Director of
the Lincoln Highway National
Museum and Archives, who after
years of research into the origins of
Flag Day, put all the pieces together
and discovered the long lost
1862 original handwritten
Loomis resolution [H Res
84], located at the National
Archives, which he brought to
the attention of the
Connecticut State Library
and shared with me along
with his ongoing efforts
nationally to set the record
straight and honor Jonathan
Morris as the originator and
Warner, Welch, and Loomis
as facilitators of what we
celebrate today as Flag Day
and Constitution Dayiii.
Anyone who wants to consult sources used by Allen Ramsey should contact him at