newsandviewsjb

NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts from the “NEWS” Category

Hayrides & The Bennett Family Farm in New Hampshire

Posted on August 17, 2014

By: Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com   Among the many photos I have taken, one of my favorites I shot during my first ever hayride. It was on a gorgeous, late summer day in September of 2012, sunny, dry with a slight chill in the air – perfect sweatshirt and shorts weather – my favorite kind. I attended the Grange Fair in West Simsbury, Connecticut where they were offering free hayrides, and I decided it was high time that this New England girl get aboard to find out what it would be like firsthand.   To get started, the line of eager passengers was to climb up a small step ladder into the wagon. Thanks to my long legs the step ladder was unnecessary for me.…

Categories: Family, family farms, Hayrides, New England, New England Grange Fairs, New Hampshire, NEWS

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Mom’s Recipe Box: “Everybody Loves” Sweet Baked Beans from Melane

Posted on August 15, 2014

                      “Everybody Loves” Melane’s Sweet Baked Beans   When my parents returned from their trip to Australia, I received a treasure to complement a favorite recipe. An Australian deep dish pot for my baked beans recipe that everyone loves. Every 4th of July I bring my baked beans to our family picnic and return home with the pot empty! – Melane Larned     INGREDIENTS 3 cups dry Navy Beans soaked for 8 hours; 1 cup Maple Syrup; one half cup ketchup; 1 cup molasses; 1 large onion chopped; one green pepper chopped; one half cup mustard; 1 small package salt pork chopped into small cubes; 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; one fourth teaspoon garlic powder;…

Categories: Baking, Cooking, Family, Food, NEWS, Recipes

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Lonestar To Perform at Farmington Polo Grounds for Dream Ride Weekend

Posted on August 14, 2014

Write-up by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com     Lonestar, a premier national recording country music band is coming to Connecticut on August 23. The group, known for hits such as “Amazed”, “I’m Already There” and “My Front Porch Looking In” is scheduled to perform at the Farmington Polo Grounds in Farmington, 152 Town Farm Road, as part of the 2014 Dream Ride Experience Weekend. A limited number of concert tickets are said to be available at $30 each. All seating will be lawn seating. Parking cost is $5. Gates open about 4 p.m. and the concert is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. Dream Ride is one of the biggest, if not the biggest of all annual multi-state charity rides. With start points at various…

Categories: Charity concerts, Country music bands, Law Enforcement Torch Run, Music, New England, NEWS, Special Olympics, Summer concerts

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Destination: Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough

Posted on August 12, 2014

      Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com     It is like a treasure hunt navigating the twists and turns through the small village of Noank, Connecticut to reach Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough. Waiting at the end is their famous, scrumptious Hot Lobster Roll  “a quarter pound of pure lobster meat (more than is found in a small lobster) with melted creamery butter, mounded on a toasted bun”,  up to ten pounds of “steamed and succulent” lobster dinners, and more melt-in-your mouth seafood selections. Just thinking about my recent visit to Abbott’s makes me want to return.  The atmosphere at this shoreline summer landmark is pleasant and relaxing. Seating is available inside a small screened-in dining area, at an ample…

Categories: Casual shoreline restaurants in CT, Food, New England, NEWS, Seafood

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Mom’s Recipe Box: “Nana Nunu” Date Nut Bread from Debbie

Posted on August 8, 2014

                  “Nana Nunu” Date Nut Bread from Debbie It is only fitting, that my recipe for “Mom’s Recipe Box”, be a recipe in honor of my “Nana Nunu”. Words alone cannot convey, the love and gratitude, I have for my grandmother. My grandmother loved and raised me as if I was her own. The love of family was her mission, her credo and the fabric of her being. I have many fond memories of family gatherings, that included signature favorites and a venue for new and exciting dishes. A very special memory, is one where Nana and I would have a cup of tea together. We would sit in the red and white kitchen of 128,…

Categories: Baking, Family, Food, NEWS, Recipes

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Cruisin’ On Main 2014 Postponed to Sunday, August 10

Posted on August 5, 2014

Write-Up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com Due to the threat of rain the 14th Annual Cruisin’ on Main in Manchester, Connecticut originally scheduled for August 3 was postponed to this coming Sunday, August 10. Not everyone heard of the postponement. About a dozen people showed up anyway last Sunday morning looking for the enormous display of vintage vehicles that usually fills downtown Manchester on Cruisin’ day and draws thousands of viewers. One vintage car owner also showed up and a trailer truck from the motorcycle museum. Those who came milled about the area in front of Mary Cheney Library. “We didn’t know it was postponed,” said the vintage car owner. The change put in a crimp in the plans of a man on…

Categories: Free events in New England, NEWS, Vintage Car show

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Mom’s Recipe Box: Candy from Candy

Posted on August 1, 2014

                    (Candy from Candy) Marshmallow Fudge I watched my mother make this recipe when I was quite young. Then little by little she let me help, until the first time I made it myself and I was so proud and happy. My mother noted on the recipe card that it was originally tested by one of her best friends – Evelyn Wallen. Then Mom tested it herself. The Marshmallow Fudge is sweet – just like the memories of cooking in the kitchen with Mom. – Candy Bennett       INGREDIENTS 3 cups sugar; three fourths cup milk; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1 teaspoon vanilla; pinch of salt; 1 tablespoon butter; one half cup cocoa; one half…

Categories: Cooking, Family, Food, NEWS, Recipes

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Dragon Boat Races & Asian Festival Coming to Hartford, Connecticut

Posted on July 31, 2014

Write-Up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com Riverfront Dragon Boat and Asian Festival, a two-day event, returns to Hartford, Connecticut from August 16-17. The festival will be held on Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, where boat races can also be viewed. Colorfully decorated boats powered by competitive rowers race along the Connecticut River making for an eye-catching sight. Each athlete has a story of his or her own to tell – three years ago when I covered this event I interviewed a group of women from Pennsylvania, all breast cancer survivors, who got involved in the competition to help empower themselves physically and spiritually.   Participation in the boat races is fee-based and is now closed, with 92 teams signed on. First held in 2000, the…

Categories: Dragon Boat Races, festivals, NEWS

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Wild Bunch a Swiss Hit at Colchester Fife & Drum Muster

Posted on July 29, 2014

Article & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com The Wild Bunch, an American-style fife and drum corps from Switzerland was warmly welcomed at a muster held July 26 in Colchester, Connecticut. Led by the Colchester Continentals Fife and Drum Corps, the event began with a short parade onto the town green where performances from approximately a dozen groups was punctuated by the Swiss visitors. The day before, the Wild Bunch had taken part in a large muster in Deep River and their corps was scheduled to participate in another one near Old Saybrook the following day. Members, who hail from Basel, Switzerland, and an American from New York, praised the congeniality they said greeted them everywhere they went in the United States, as well as,…

Categories: American history, Fife & Drum music, Music, Musters, NEWS, Swiss American Fife & Drum Corps

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If You Value Local Newspapers – Show It

Posted on July 27, 2014

Commentary by: Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb.com    Over the weekend I was out-of-town and stopped into a grocery store where, as I always do, I went in search of the newspaper rack. I found a three-tiered rack with the state newspaper and New York Times on the top shelf, the Boston Globe on the second shelf and tucked on the bottom shelf  in the left hand corner, barely visible, was the local newspaper. I am proud to say I have written for both the New York Times and the Boston Globe. As well, I have a writing assignment on tap with a nationally circulated periodical. That said, most of my career in journalism has been spent as a local newspaper reporter. This translates into countless…

Categories: demise of local newspapers, NEWS, Preserve democracy

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