Spring 2015
VOLUME 13/NUMBER 2
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Connecticut Explored CONNECTICUT HISTORY, ONE GOOD STORY AFTER ANOTHER
IN THIS ISSUE: Connecticut as Muse > Fame in a Pint-Sized Package > From Westport to the Great White Way > Calder Goes Big > It’s Elementary, My Dear Gillette
ON THE COVER: Top left: Paul Newman. photo: Larry Merz; Top right: Charles Stratton, a.k.a. General Tom Thumb. Library of Congress; Bottom left: William Gillette, poster for Sherlock Holmes. Library of Congress; Bottom right: Katharine Hepburn. The Bushnell
Table of Contents
9 Hog River Journal: The Upside to Our Proximity to New York City
10 Letters, etc.
13 From the State Historian: Benjamin Collins, Rock Star. By Walter W. Woodward
14 William Gillette: Connecticut’s Sherlock Holmes. By Robert Cumming with Elizabeth Normen
William Gillette came to define the role.
18 Katharine Hepburn, Local Girl. By Tedd Levy
Hollywood called, but Connecticut was home.
22 Tom Thumb and the Age of Celebrity. By Eric Lehman
A star is born in Bridgeport
28 Connecticut as Magnet for Modern Artists. By Kristen Nietering and Charlotte Hitchcock
Where artists and writers found refuge and inspiration
34 Westport Country Playhouse: American Theater in a Humble Connecticut Barn. By Martha S. LoMonaco
From Westport to Broadway
40 Gutzon Borglum: Connecticut’s Mount Rushmore Connection. By Mary M. Donohue
Gutzon Borglum retreats to Stamford
46 Calder in the Open Air. By Susan Braeuer Dam
48 Site Lines: Marietta Canty. By Jeffrey J. Mainville
50 re: Collections: A Bracelet from a Queen. By Mary M. Donohue
51 Spotlight: Events & News from Partner Organizations
57 Afterword
64 Connecticut Humanities: A Day in the Life of Connecticut By Douglas G. Fisher