newsandviewsjb

NEWS&VIEWS by Jacqueline Bennett

Posts tagged “Jacqueline Bennett

A Soldier’s Collection Jar – Remember the Troops During the Holiday Season

Posted on December 8, 2013

Write-up & Photo by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb With so much discussion in the news about drawing down the United States military in Afghanistan, it might be easy to forget there are still American troops fighting there. Ann Walsh, the coordinator of Windsor, Connecticut’s “SEND” which stands for “Send Hometown Windsor to the Troops” is appealing to citizens to remember them, especially during the holiday season. At businesses throughout Connecticut’s oldest town “A Windsor Soldier’s Jar” can be found. The coins placed in those jars helps pay postage for the care packages mailed to American troops still in the Middle East war zones; SEND has gone from a high of 33 soldiers once stationed in war zones down to the current number of nine Windsor-related…

New Christmas Tree for Downtown Manchester Replaces ‘Charlie Brown’ Spruce

Posted on December 6, 2013

Write-up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb  The Christmas season was welcomed into downtown Manchester, Connecticut December 5 with the lighting of a new tree donated by Jeff and Dianne Hedrick. A twenty foot Balsam fir, it replaces a once 37 foot Norwegian spruce that had to be removed after Hurricane Sandy hacked several feet off of it last year. However, left without time to find a different tree for the 2012 holiday season the Downtown Manchester Special Services District decided to decorate the sparse tree and it was dubbed a ‘Charlie Brown Tree’ borrowing from the famed Peanuts series. The ‘Charlie Brown Tree’ drew more than the usual attention to the annual event. Arrival of the new tree just over a month ago…

Gingerbread House Festival Continues Through December 15 at Wood Memorial Library

Posted on December 5, 2013

Write-up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb A jewel of an event is underway, the 3rd Annual Gingerbread House Festival at the Wood Memorial Library and Museum in South Windsor, Connecticut. Seemingly tucked away in what is known as old South Windsor, inside the library is setup like a winter wonderland with gingerbread houses of all shapes and sorts displayed on multiple floors. From the whimsical “Candyland” to the “B Strong” gingerbread replica of Fenway Park field that will please fans of the 2013 World Series Champs Boston Red Sox, to a tobacco shed entry – a reminder of the rich tobacco farming history of the area, there is something for everyone to enjoy. History buffs will not want to miss an impressive replica…

Thanksgiving – a Special American Holiday

Posted on November 29, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb “There is one day that is ours.Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” – O Henry – American author. After the road races, football games and Macy’s Parade, most Americans sit down to a lovely Thanksgiving Day dinner. In its purest form, this is a day to come together with friends and family to give thanks for the bounty of the Lord, a plentiful harvest and what is truly most important in life – the health and well-being of loved ones. History tells us the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians at Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to be observed each November. Centuries later,…

Sunny Skies Grace 77th Annual Manchester Road Race

Posted on November 29, 2013

Write-up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb It was a good day to bundle up as sunny skies but c-h-i-l-l-y temperatures graced the 77th running of the Thanksgiving Day, Manchester Road Race on November 28, 2013 in downtown Manchester, Connecticut. Some 15,000 runners and walkers filled Main Street for the 10:00 a.m. start of the race. As usual, spectators lined the 4.748 mile course in numbers that easily rival turnouts for events in much larger cities. Sam Chelanga of Kenya took first place with a time of 21:31 and coming in first for the women was another Kenyan, Alice Kamunya with a time of 25:07. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing last spring, beefed up security was apparent with uniformed Manchester police…

Turkey Man in the Kitchen – My Progressive Dad Gobbles Ahead of His Time

Posted on November 27, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb Though old-fashioned when it came to boys dating his daughters and granddaughters, I’ve long realized in all other ways my father was progressive. There was never any question, I was college bound. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of a big, red piggy bank college fund. My father often said, “Education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you.” I remember too at around age five, on one of our annual summer sojourns from Connecticut to visit my grandmother ( my dad’s mother) in New Hampshire asking him  –   “Daddy – does Gram like having white hair ?” He laughed at length then said to me -“When we get to the farm –…

Tom Brady & New England Patriots Nail-Biter Victory Over Manning and Broncos

Posted on November 25, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb Clearly, the highlight of Tom (could he be any cuter) Brady’s post Patriots/Broncos November 24 game press conference, posted on the New England Patriots website, is his broad smile as he says what sounds like -“Jackie”- when calling on a reporter in the room. Okay – now that I have that out of the way … What a night last night. Brady and the Patriots came up with a 34-31 win at frigid Foxborough but one that had Patriots’ fans holding their collective breath up until the final play, a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski giving the Pats the victory in overtime. From that bleak first half and the frustration of quarterback Brady’s preeminent rival, Peyton Manning, being so far…

Thanksgiving Manchester Road Race Walk-In Registration Today

Posted on November 23, 2013

Write-up & Photos by Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb The only walk-in registration for this year’s Manchester Road Race will be held today during a Sports Expo at Bennet Academy from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The academy is located at 1151 Main Street in downtown Manchester, Connecticut. The 77th running of the Manchester Road Race held annually on Thanksgiving Day will be on November 28. Start time is 10:00 a.m. in front of St.James Church along Main Street. According to the road race website, 14,000 runners have signed up and initial online registration is closed. It will only be reopened if the maximum participation number of 15,000 is not reached by the close of today’s Sports Expo. No evening registration or race day registration will…

Jackie Bouvier Kennedy’s Dedication to Duty Evident at Young Age

Posted on November 22, 2013

By Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb In the days leading up to this, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, there has been much historical and individual reflection about President Kennedy, his presidency and the legacy of both. The nation has remembered a handsome, young president with an engaging Boston accent and grand ideals. As well, there has been a great deal of reflection about the graciousness of the woman he chose for his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy – later following her remarriage, Onassis. Documentaries have shown Mrs. Kennedy’s style brought elegance to the White House, and enormous dignity in the way she handled the national tragedy of her husband’s assassination. According to historians, she had a prominent role in planning President…

“LEARN THE ADDRESS” Project Ongoing for 150th Anniversary of Gettysburg Address

Posted on November 21, 2013

By: Jacqueline Bennett newsandviewsjb As the nation marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19,1863, a project by documentarian Ken Burns titled “LEARN THE ADDRESS” continues. For the project, Burns is encouraging all Americans to video themselves reading or reciting the Gettysburg Address then upload it. His PBS documentary -“The Address” – is slated to air in the spring of 2014. Considered by historians to be perhaps the greatest speech in American History, it was delivered by President Lincoln for the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania just four and half months after the Union Army defeated the Confederacy in the Battle of Gettysburg. Noted for its healing tone, Lincoln is said to have…