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UNWLA BRANCH 106 PARTICIPATES IN WETHERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT CULTURAL FESTIVAL by MELANIE KUZMA In the heart of the Connecticut River Valley lies the"Most Ancient Town", Wethersfield. Only a stone's throw (four miles south, to be exact) from Hartford, the capital of the Constitution State, Wethersfield was founded in 1633 by John Oldham, who was somewhat of a rogue. Having been driven out of the Massachusetts Plymouth Colony for pulling a knife on one of his compatriots, Oldham, after a few years of wandering, mended his nasty ways and helped create Wethersfield as a much less pious town than Puritan settlements to the north. Named after a castrated sheep, a wether, Wethersfield developed as an agricultural community. The rich river soil was deep, well drained, piling up for a millennium under a prehistoric lake that once lay above it. The expansive fields along the Connecticut River produced luscious vegetables and grains, but the most abundant crop was the world-famous Wethersfield Red Onion. In those days, some say, you could smell the town before you could see it and outsiders referred to it as "Oniontown". The red brick Congregational Church is even known as "the church that onions built". Local seed companies sprouted up in later years and Wethersfield became the headquarters for the young country's sowers. The Connecticut River forms a natural curve right at the end of Main Street, the Wethersfield Cove, which provided a splendid harbor. Since navigation northward in the 17th century was virtually impossible, Wethersfield became the main port on the Connecticut River. Ships from the West Indies came up from Long Island Sound; traders and sea captains built homes, stately and tall with look-out towers which provided a view of the river. Women and children were known to anxiously await the return of the seafarers and the wondrous wares they would bring to town. Most of the buildings still stand, the oldest being the George Hubbard, Sr. House (1637) and the 1692 Butloph- Williams House, with its hewn overhangs. However, the real treasure is the chestnut-stained gambrel-roofed Webb-Deane-Stevens Home where Washington and Rochambeau met to discuss strategy before their victory over the British at Yorktown. Wethersfield has expanded westward and southward over the past hundred years. Progress has not eluded the town, although the historic district remains intact with 1,100 buildings within a two- square-mile area. The red onion is no longer the main crop. We are told that a blight during the Civil War wiped it out. However, two of the original vegetable farms and two seed companies are still in operation, some under the direction of the descendants of the original owners. Wethersfield is now a town of 27,000 inhabitants, many of whom moved here from Hartford during the migrations to the suburbs in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Among the many Irish, Italians, Greeks and other nationalities are over one hundred Ukrainian families who have found this friendly town a perfect place to live, since our churches (Orthodox and Catholic) and the Ukrainian National Home are located nearby in the south end of Hartford. The school system is excellent and our children are close to their Ukrainian activities: Ridna Shkola, SUM, Plast, etc. The Wethersfield Historical Society has always been a very active group, and in 1997, this body, together with the town council, planned a most extensive Cultural Celebration which included historical reenactments of George Washington's three visits to the area, Civil War battles, parades, and a concert by the Fife and Drum Corp. The three day festivities were to be finalized by international dance and choral concerts, and a food and crafts fair at the local high school. All ethnic groups were invited; Hartford's UNWLA Branch 106 accepted the challenge to represent the Ukrainian community. Several weeks prior to the event, we held a strategy meeting to decide what to do and divided the work among as many volunteers as possible. As is often the case, fewer than half of our 29 members were able to spare the time, but the festival committee had been advised of our participation and booths had been set aside for us. We could not give up. On a lovely Friday afternoon in May, three of us brought bags and boxes full of our most cherished Ukrainian artifacts, some borrowed, to the high school gym and set up a display. There were intricate embroideries, carved and inlaid wooden plates and jewelry boxes, a candlestick, a cross, ceramics, and, of course, pysanky. At one end of the table were colorfully illustrated books about Ukraine which visitors could peruse. On an easel nearby we placed a
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