Grating The Nutmeg

  Dr. Richard Buel Jr., Professor Emeritus, Wesleyan University, describes the political climate that led to the Constitution of 1818 and how we must look to what was happening in France, and the ongoing conflict between England and France to understand what was happening here.  This episode is sponsored by attorney Peter Bowman, holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. Find out more at bowman.legal. And Connecticut Humanities, co-publisher of Connecticut Explored.   

Part 1 - Henry 'Opukaha'ia Two young native men.  Henry Opukaha'ia, a native of Hawaii, who died in Cornwall, CT in 1818. Albert Afraid of Hawk, a Lakota Sioux native who died in Danbury in 1900.  Nick Bellantoni was the archaeologist tasked with helping return the remains of each of these men to their homes and families, more than a century after they had died.  Hear him tell their strangely connected and deeply moving stories in this special two part Grating the Nutmeg episode based on Bellantoni's new Wesleyan Press book The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry 'Opukaha'ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk    This podcast is sponsored by attorney Peter Bowman, holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. Find out more at bowman.legal. And Connecticut Humanities, copublisher of Connecticut Explored. 

PART TWO: ALBERT AFRAID OF HAWK  Two young men. Henry Opukaha'ia, a native of Hawaii, who died in Cornwall, CT in 1818. Albert Afraid of Hawk, a Lakota Sioux native who died in Danbury in 1900.  Nick Bellantoni was the archaeologist tasked with helping return the remains of each of these men to their homes and families, more than a century after they had died.  Hear him tell their strangely connected and deeply moving stories in this special two part Grating the Nutmeg episode based on Bellantoni's new Wesleyan Press book The Long Journeys Home: The Repatriations of Henry 'Opukaha'ia and Albert Afraid of Hawk     

     In an unforgettable interview, historian Barbara Beeching describes the creation of a black middle class in Hartford – not in the twentieth century, but back in the 1800s. It's a tale full of insights and surprises – not the least of which is Beeching herself.       BONUS: For reasons that will become clear in the 1st five minutes, this  episode may make you want to upgrade your Bucket List. WWW   This episode is sponsored by Attorney Peter Bowman—find out more at bowman.legal, and Connecticut Humanities, co-publisher of Connecticut Explored, visit cthumanities.org.

In this episode recorded at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Twain scholar and University of St. Joseph Professor of English Emerita Kerry Driscoll explores one of the last unexamined aspects of American author and humorist Mark Twain. Twain, a resident of Hartford from 1871 to 1891, wrote some of his most beloved works while living in Hartford and was generally known for championing the underdog. But Driscoll unflinchingly reveals here and in her book, Mark Twain Among the Indians and Other Indigenous Peoples, Twain’s blind spot when it came to America’s first peoples. Want to win a copy of Mark Twain Among the Indians? Share the podcast on Facebook (facebook.com/CTExplored), Twitter (twitter.com/CTExplored), and Instagram (@ct_explored) and tag us to be entered in the drawing. Expires 7/15/18 This episode is sponsored by Attorney Peter Bowman—find out more at bowman.legal, and Connecticut Humanities, co-publisher of Connecticut Explored, visit cthumanities.org.

In 2010, Jamaicans became the largest foreign born population in Connecticut. At the same time, Jamaicans have the highest percentage of property ownership in Hartford County of any foreign born group. How did so many West Indians come to call Connecticut home? University of Connecticut Associate Professor Fiona Vernal documents this 70 year transformation in her traveling exhibit "Home Away From Home: Greater Hartford's West Indian Diaspora," currently at the Hartford Public Library.  HPL's Jasmin Agusto and I asked Fiona to share this fascinating story with Grating the Nutmeg listeners. Its a great story, told by a natural-born story-teller.    This episode presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal. And Connecticut Humanities, co-publisher of Connecticut Explored magazine. The episode was produced by Walter Woodward. 

What do you think of when you hear "New Haven?" Yale University? The New Haven Green? IKEA? How about the beach? Today we’re taking you on a trip to the beach in New Haven! Morris Cove on the east shore of New Haven Harbor is a world apart from the rest of the city. A sandy beach, an armed attack by the British, a vanished amusement park, and the summer home of the New Haven Museum all come to light in this episode of Grating the Nutmeg. We’ll hear from Jason Bischoff-Wurstle, director of photo archives and Ed Surato, librarian for the New Haven Museum about why Morris Cove was called the “Newport of Connecticut.” Learn about one of the most interesting summer day trips in Connecticut, and plan to attend Morris Cove Day on June 9, 2018. Find out more about Morris Cove Day at morriscoveday.wordpress.com. For more information about the Pardee-Morris House, visit newhavenmuseum.org This episode was hosted and produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan.  This episode was sponsored by attorney P

     All the time Joel Kupperman was a soft spoken, distinguished philosophy professor at the University of Connecticut, he carried a secret he discussed with no one – not even his family.    That secret? That he had once been America's greatest child radio and tv star . Joel Kupperman was so popular he was written about by J D Salinger, Philip Roth, Nora Ephron, and the poet William Friedman. Now, as he slips into dementia , his son, the award-winning graphic novelist Michael Kupperman has created a graphic memoir about his father's hidden past. All the Answers uncovers Joel Kupperman's life as a Quiz Kid, and the cost being the most popular child celebrity in America inflicted, not just on Joel, but his whole family.       This is one of our best ever podcasts, and at the end, we'll tell you how to enter to win a free copy of the book.        This episode presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal. An

A group of architects known as the Harvard Five made their mark on New Canaan, Connecticut—a suburban town within commuting distance of New York City. They designed and built there some of the most influential and significant examples of Mid-century Modern architecture in the country. Today you can visit Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, now a museum operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. But stellar Modern architecture can be found in other Connecticut towns, too, commissioned by sophisticated clients including homeowners, mayors, and factory owners. Long-time architecture fans Robert Gregson and Peter Swanson take listeners to Hartford, New Haven, and Litchfield to discover some of the state’s other Modernist landmarks. Every wonder what that big concrete building in front of Ikea in New Haven was? Find out in this episode. If you thought all there was to Connecticut was Colonial homes, this will change your mind!   More Stories about Moderns in Connecticut! See Connecticut Exp

America's First Law School, Sarah Pierce's Academy, & The Way We Mourned It was home to America’s first law school and to one of the first schools in which a woman could get a real education. Litchfield today is one of Connecticut’s prettiest towns. Join state historian Walt Woodward on a field trip to the Litchfield Historical Society, where Executive Director Cathy Fields talks about her amazing institution and it’s two brand new exhibits – one of the Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy and another on expressions of sorrow and mourning in the early 1800s.  This episode was sponsored by attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured, and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal.  

Episode Notes. Episode 46 Staying on the Land: Five Generations of Connecticut Pioneers   Political unrest, religious dissension, women’s rights, and mental health-stories from today’s news? All this happens in Thy Children’s Children by historian Diana McCain. It’s the story of a real family, the Lyman’s of Middlefield, in the thick of CT and American history for more than a century. Hear how historian McCain wove decades of research into a compelling novel. Music on this episode by Henrik Andersson.  Hosted by Mary Donohue and produced by PDO Media.  Want to win a copy of the book? Share the podcast on Facebook (facebook.com/CTExplored), Twitter (twitter.com/CTExplored), and Instagram (@ct_explored) and tag us to be entered in the drawing.  Exp. 5/1 Visit the author’s website at dianarossmccain.com. Presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, personal injury lawbowman.legal  Subscribe at ctexplored.org

     On the 200th anniversary of the creation of the state Constitution of 1818, we remember one of Connecticut's least well known but most important events. Hear State Historian Walter Woodward's Old State House talk about the events that led to the Constitution of 1818, and all that document did and didn't do. Presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal  

   When co-host Brenda Miller suggested we do a podcast with the authors of a new book about America's first (1796) cookbook, I thought a culinary episode might be a nice change of pace.     What we found, though, is that Keith Staveley and Kathleen Fitzgerald have not only written an extraordinary history of Amelia Simmons's  Hartford-published American Cookery, they've also written one of the best books about Connecticut history in a generation. This is an episode you don't want to miss. Presented by Attorney Peter Bowman, helping the seriously injured and holding distracted drivers accountable for their actions. More at bowman.legal .  

Americans moved out of the cities and into the suburbs in droves after World War II looking for single-family homes. In this episode, we talk with the experts about Connecticut’s history of steering certain people to certain neighborhoods through restrictive covenants, racial and religious discrimination, and federal housing policies—all of which helped determine where African American and Jewish homebuyers could purchase homes. Using West Hartford as an example, learn what some common real estate terms really mean—“redlining,” steering, and exclusionary zoning—and how they affected West Hartford’s neighborhoods. Please note that this episode contains outdated language used in historical context. Guests are West Hartford Town Historian Dr. Tracey Wilson and Trinity College's Dr. Jack Dougherty View Dr. Dougherty’s accompanying presentation at http://bit.ly/2017-11-02 and also visit his online book On The Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs at OnTheLine.trincoll.edu.

      It's a brand new year, and what better way to start 2018 than with a Treasure Hunt.   Join Brenda Miller, Executive Director of the History Center at Hartford Public Library and State Historian Walt Woodward as they explore the treasures of the Watkinson Library at Trinity College with curator Rick Ring. 

     Archaeologists working at Wethersfield's Webb-Dean-Stevens Museum recently found something completely unexpected - signs of a 17th century palisade adjacent to the historic house where General Washington met with French Count Rochambeau to plan the campaign that won the American Revolution. Along with the soil stain that showed there was a defensive wall, they also found artifacts dating to the time of the 1637 Pequot War, which Connecticut declared after a Wangunk-Pequot attack on Wethersfield that left 9 people dead. Is this fort - as archeologist Ross Harper posits - possibly Connecticut's Jamestown?       Join Wethersfield residents at the Webb-Deane Stevens museum as the archaeologists provide a surface-to-paydirt - 20th to 17th century - description of what they've found so far. 

Conniving bosses, predatory slumlords, greedy industrialists and political intrigue abound in Steve Thornton’s latest history book, Wicked Hartford—but his take on this universal topic is not quite what you’d expect. Hear Steve tell us about the fascinating stories in “wicked” Hartford history.   Music by Hartford jazz artist Orice Jenkins from the album ‘SOAR’ available on iTunes now. Connecticut Explored is celebrating its 15th anniversary—and we’ve got a special offer for new subscribers. Subscribe before December 31, 2017 and receive 6 issues for the price of 4. Use coupon code “Nutmeg” when you subscribe at ctexplored.org/shop.

      In this special 3 Part series on Witch-Hunting in Connecticut, we investigate the surprising story of witchcraft in colonial Connecticut. Why did Connecticut execute New England's 1st witch? Why was it early New England's fiercest prosecutor of witches (Who knew?) And how did European witch-hunting affect the same practice in New England? We cover all this and more in an exciting three-cast.      Episode one talks about the European witchcraft tradition from witch Connecticut's witch hunts were derived. 

               In part two of our Special Series Witch-Hunting in Connecticut, you'll hear the sobering tale of Connecticut's rifle in New England witch-hunting, from executing the first witch, to the Hartford Witch hunts of the 1660s, to the trial of Katherine Harrison, arguably the most important witchcraft trial to take place before Salem. 

   In part 3 of our Special Witch-Hunting in Connecticut series, Brenda Miller, Executive Director of the Hartford History Center and I interview historian Richard Ross about his new book, Before Salem: Witch- the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663. Ross's historical spadework provides many new insights into one of Connecticut's most important, and least well known, events.