Welcome to our third issue under our new name: Hog River Journal is now Connecticut Explored! The new name better reflects our mission to uncover and discover the Connecticut story–statewide. Every issue, I learn something about our cultural heritage that enriches my life and deepens my appreciation for our state.
This spring, we’re exploring how Connecticans have faced personal, economic, and political hardships in times past. We’ve got three stories from the Great Depression but that’s not the only time we’ve faced hard times, so you’ll also find stories from the Colonial era, the 1830s, the late 1800s, WWII, and the Vietnam War era. From the 1930s, we’re exploring how the citizens of Seymour pulled together to help one another before there was such a thing as the New Deal and Federal Aid; how the Peter Paul candy company (makers of Mounds and Almond Joys—my fave!) of Naugatuck actually succeeded during the Depression; and a photo essay on how the WPA’s Federal Art Project gave work to artists and great works of art to the State. New York University professor Thomas Truxes regales us with Connecticans’ exploits smuggling contraband under the noses of the British before the Revolutionary War, and we learn about Mary Hall’s personal struggles to be admitted to the bar as Connecticut’s first female lawyer—and then to practice the law!
What’s up next? For summer we’re planning an issue aptly themed “Exploring Connecticut,” that is, we’re taking a look at the historic landscape and historic places to visit this summer. You’ll learn about pegmatite mines, the mulberry tree-growing craze, where to see the work of the Civil Conservation Corps, Connecticut’s own Chattaqua and more!
I invite you to join me by subscribing.
Begin your exploration of Connecticut history today. You’ll enjoy one good story after another!
Elizabeth Normen
Publisher