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| Old Stratford Neighborhood Association Newsletter |
| Winter Newsletter | January 2012 |
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Greetings!
Happy New Year to all our Old Stratford neighbors. Welcome to our Winter newsletter!
Lots of information to share: > New board members > Social events calendar > Business meeting March 22nd > 2012 communications plans > Katharine Hepburn talk
We're looking forward to seeing you at one of these upcoming events. We will also be sharing updates on civic matters that affect us all so read on!
Questions or comments, just reply back to this email. Sincerely,
Henry Bruce, OSNA President
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Featured Article
New Board Directors
As we kick off the New Year, we are pleased to announce three new members to the OSNA Board of Directors:
> Henry Bruce, New President
> Christine Rudney, New Treasurer
> Carol Lockshier, Bew Membership Co-chair
Henry, Chris and Carol join three longtime neighborhood residents and board veterans, Ann Lindsay Jackson - Vice President, Michael Bingham - Secretary and Paul Joy, Membership Co-chair. The new board has met twice already and has set an ambitious agenda for 2012.
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Social Events and Meetings for 2012
Mark your calendars now for the OSNA annual Business Meeting on Thursday March 22nd from 7:30 to 9 pm. Our Business Meeting is open to all OSNA members and neighbors and includes town officials and dignitaries. This meeting provides us the opportunity to discuss and share community-wide topics and issues that affect us all. This year's meeting will be at The Perry House.
Our entire events plans for 2012 are as follows:
- Business Meeting, March 22nd, 7:30 to 9 pm, The Perry House
- Spring Social, weekend of June 22nd, afternoon, Housatonic Boat Club
- End of Summer Picnic, September 9th, afternoon, 2252 Elm St
- Holiday Party & Caroling, Sunday December 16th, 4 to 8pm
These events are a great way to connect with old friends and neighbors and meet the many new ones (like myself). These gatherings are also a great way to stay up on all of the community happenings that affect us all.
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Holiday Season Events Recaps
December saw us celebrate two OSNA and Town of Stratford traditions: the Holiday Party & Caroling and the Main St Tree Lighting. Thank you again to new board member Carol Lockshier for hosting the holiday party at her wonderful home at 1865 Elm St ("The Lamps") on Sunday December 18th after the annual caroling. We had a great turnout of over 25 neighbors and everyone felt it was another great holiday social gathering for the neighborhood.
OSNA provided a number of hearty volunteers to help Faye Gerarden and the town with the set up of the luminaries along Main St for the annual tree lighting on November 30th. The luminaries add a very special touch and we thank all of you who helped make it happen.
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Communications and Outreach
At our January board meeting, we discussed the importance of neighborhood and community outreach in order to increase the awareness of OSNA, what we are doing, and what issues are important to our community. The Historic District is a valuable asset to the town of Stratford and we need to make every effort to draw attention to that value with our neighbors as well as our town officials. With that in mind, we discussed the need for
- Regular BLOG posts (2-3 per month)
- Periodic neighborhood newsletters (quarterly)
- Publicity that draws attention to the efforts of OSNA to preserve and protect the Historic District.
This type of outreach needs good content from many sources so you can expect the following communications:
- Quarterly Newsletter: sent to all OSNA members and Historic District residents
- Old House Biographies: The Historic District is rich with history and almost every house has a story to tell. So we are asking each of you to tell us your home's story and we will post on the BLOG. Michael Bingham started us off in January by telling the Story of the Leaning House. Michael's story can be found on the blog and was published January 13th in the Stratford Patch. Contact me by email or phone (203-870-9076) if you would like to submit your House Biography.
- "Did You Know" Historic District/OSNA Facts: It is clear that the Historic District and the neighborhood are full of little known facts and tid-bits that we would all benefit from knowing and sharing. For example, did you know that Elm St is the site of the smallest park in CT? Or that the HDC is the largest in the state?
- With that in mind, please forward any "facts" and tid-bits that you would like to share to me (email).
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Katharine Hepburn's Summers in Stratford
February 16th Fairfield Museum
Did you know that Katharine spent 2 summers here in Stratford in 1957 and 1960 performing at the American Shakespeare Festival? What to learn more?
Now we have a chance to join in a lively talk Thursday February 16th at noon at the Fairfield Museum. Presented by author and filmmaker Michael J. Bielawa, this unique event will focus on Ms. Hepburn's stay in Stratford, thoughts on Shakespeare, and an intimate look at Kate's Cottage, the little waterfront cabin where she helped bring Shakespeare's works to life.
For more details about this event, read our recent BLOG post.
For directions, please visit: Fairfield Museum & History Center.
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