newsandviewsjb

NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “NEWS” Category

“Dear Vietnam Veteran” Manchester CT Town Hall Displays ‘Wall of Healing’ Keepsakes

Posted on January 16, 2016

  Write-Up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   “Dear Vietnam Veteran   Thank you.  We are sorry for the loss of your friends and comrades ..  Thank you for your service and your bravery…”  A note with this message is positioned proudly and prominently in a showcase in the Manchester, Connecticut town hall. The showcase contains a tribute of mementos left beside  “The Wall That Heals”,  a traveling Vietnam Memorial that came to town in October, 2015.   Immediately behind the note, with the American flag as a backdrop and surrounded by white candles, blended together in an oblong bowl are “all petals from flowers left at the wall”. It is an especially touching sight as one pauses to imagine the hands that…

Categories: American history, NEWS, Wall That Heals, war memorials

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When I Danced For My Dinner in Downtown Hartford, Connecticut

Posted on January 14, 2016

(One day after I published this story highlighting the flavor and commerce, once popular eateries brought to Hartford, CT as part of the tapestry of the city, Hartford’s newly elected mayor, Luke Bronin, was quoted in an editorial titled -“Don’t Brown-Bag It” – in the Hartford Courant, citing the importance of restaurants to the capital city. The piece reads: “Everyone wants Hartford to succeed. It’s the seat of government, a cultural gem, the nation’s insurance capital. But the city struggles with a small tax base and a communter culture.   Now comes a dynamic new mayor with the daunting task of turning around this beautiful but beleaguered city. How can we help? corporate and civic leaders asked him this week at a meeting of the Metro-Hartford…

Categories: Dance for Your Dinner, Hartford Nostalgia, NEWS, Restaurants & Politics

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Celebrate the First-Ever National Hot Tea Month – January 2016

Posted on January 11, 2016

  Article & Photos By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Winter is upon us so button up that overcoat and warm up with a mug of something hot. Why not brew a cup of herbal delight? Join in the celebration of National Hot Tea Month which is being observed in the United States for the first time in January 2016, according to englishteastore.com. As well, the Tea Council of USA, Inc. has declared tomorrow, January 12th, as the “first-ever” National Hot Tea Day.   Tea has long been considered to hold health and medicinal properties, and to have social implications. In 1773, Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty, an underground resistance, edged the American Revolution along with the “Boston Tea Party” proving this mystical beverage…

Categories: Happy Sipping, Health Benefits of Tea, Jan 12 Declared Hot Tea Day, NEWS, Real Tea, Tea Time No Longer Just for Aristocrats

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Mom’s Recipe Box: It’s All in the Presentation! Merry Christmas Brownies

Posted on December 25, 2015

                  MERRY CHRISTMAS BROWNIES   When I decided to bake Christmas brownies I never imagined I would come across such a multitude of ideas, from brownies stacked as gifts and tied with bows to green frosting laden Christmas Tree brownies to pretzel ear reindeer brownies to white frosting bearded Santa Claus brownies. Well the list goes on and on and each idea looks like it would be fun to try.   I settled upon a simpler approach of my own – basic dark chocolate brownies presented on a holiday platter and accented by  Pepperidge Farm Gingerman cookies romping in whipped cream snow mounds.   Best wishes for a Merry Christmas! – Jackie          …

Categories: Baking, Christmas Brownies, NEWS

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‘Let There Be Light!’ – Winter Solstice & Other Seasonal Customs

Posted on December 22, 2015

Article & Photos By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Genesis 1:3 “And God said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.”   Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is said to fall each year between December 20-23 and in 2015 it is today, December 22. Marking the first day of the astronomical winter, it is considered to hold more than astronomical meaning, carrying as well cultural and religious significance. Although it is the longest night and shortest day of the calendar year, in the “battle between dark and light” it is light that is the central theme of Winter Solstice, according to SchoolsoftheSeasons.com. Celebrations focus on the turn of the clock towards longer hours of daylight, and a “rebirth” of light. As such, one custom noted…

Categories: Celebrate Winter Solstice, For Thomas Edison Science Meets Christmas Sentiment, Meaning of Christmas Candle Centerpiece, NEWS, Tradition of Christmas Lights, Who Sent the First Christmas Card?

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Yankee Magazine Food Awards Winner Helps Draw Winter Farmers’ Market Crowd Ellington, CT – Part of National Trend

Posted on December 20, 2015

Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   A thoroughly charming Englishman, David L. Davis, greeted visitors December 19 to a “Holiday Extravaganza!” Winter Farmers’ Market in Ellington, Connecticut. Wearing a colorfully designed bow tie and red apron, Davis, owner of Hillhome Country Products, stood beneath a large, beautifully adorned wreath hung on a wooden frame, spooning out samples of preserves he makes and which are known to be so good that he was named a Yankee Magazine Food Awards 2015 Winner.                            “Yes, I make them myself,” said Davis.   Displayed and for sale along with bigger jars were appealing gift bags of miniature selections.   “With perfect bows tied by my…

Categories: Burgeoning National Trends, Connecticut Farms, Consumers Demand Locally Grown Food, New England Winter Farmers' Markets, NEWS, Yankee Magazine Food Awards Winner

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Dreaming of a White Christmas?

Posted on December 19, 2015

Write-Up by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Unseasonably warm temperatures have New Englanders worrying aloud that a “White Christmas” may elude the northeastern region of the United States this year. Ever since crooner Bing Crosby sang the Irving Berlin tune, “White Christmas” in the film “Holiday Inn”, it has been an anthem of the Christmas season.   After “Holiday Inn” was released in 1942, American service members deployed abroad to fight in World War II are said to have requested to hear “White Christmas” over and over again. Concurrently, the sentimental song brought melancholy as distance kept them from loved ones back in the states, yet joyful memories of home. According to a documentary produced by public television, when visiting the troops, Crosby said it…

Categories: A White Christmas, American Standards, Holiday Traditions, NEWS, Winter in New England

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It’s a Wrap on December 20th for 2015 Holiday Hours at Gillette Castle

Posted on December 17, 2015

  Write-Up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett Holiday hours for Gillette Castle State Park are slated to ‘wrap-up’ on Sunday, December 20. Perched above the majestic Connecticut River in East Haddam, Connecticut, it is a treat to see this fascinating showplace decorated at Christmastime. Built from fieldstone with a steel frame it took five years for the castle to be completed, between 1914-1919. The project was overseen by owner William Hooker Gillette, a renowned actor of his time whose most famous role was that of Sherlock Holmes. The State of Connecticut, which administers the property, purchased it from the executors of Gillette’s will in 1943, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Now part of a state park and open to…

Categories: American Theater, Fascinating Architecture, iconic New England buildings, New England Destinations, NEWS, Visit New England

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Meet Me at the ‘Kissing Balls Bridge’ in Farmington, Connecticut

Posted on December 14, 2015

                                        Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   And if our love is true … Little tugs at the heartstrings more than plans for a clandestine love to be brought to light and sealed by a kiss in a future romantic rendezvous. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr gave unforgettable authenticity to such a story in the 1957 classic film “An Affair to Remember”, with a promise to reunite atop the Empire State Building six months after they fell for each other on a cruise despite being engaged to other people. Timeless in its intent to stir the emotions, an Empire State Building meeting was reprised…

Categories: Clandestine Love & Romance, English traditions, Holiday displays, Holiday Traditions, Kissing Balls in New England, New England Bridges, NEWS, Symbols of Glad Blessings, Symbols of Welcome

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