NewHartfordPlus.com

On the first day of April vacation for school kids – and their parents and teachers – and with the temperature hitting 90 and still rising, the town center seemed particularly quiet as I went downtown on business. A quick drive up to Brodie Park confirmed my suspicions: a large crowd had spontaneously assembled on the beach.

“I had to take a picture for my husband or he wouldn’t have believed it,” a resident held up her cell phone as I went by. “Me, too!” I called back and went on, marveling at the numbers of children and adults who had braved the chilly waters of the lake to take an early dip today, Monday, April 16. Here are some snapshots for the record books.

On the last day of March we are finally seeing some snow.  This is how two of our favorite roads in town looked like at 9 a.m. this morning.  The third, a quick stop at the DD drive-through window at the bottom of Town Hill, didn’t get photographed…

Pine Hill Road this morning with a light snow falling, Saturday, March 31, 2012. Photo: Maria Moore

The view going up Hoppen Road off Steele Road this morning, Saturday, March 31, 2012. Photo: Maria Moore

Photos & Text: Maria Moore

Presidents’ Day is traditionally the time of the year when maple trees are tapped and the sap is collected to be boiled down into maple syrup. With the warm weather this year, plastic tubing is already in evidence, strung from maple tree to maple tree, sometimes for hundreds of yards alongside our country roads until the tubing ends in large, plastic collection tanks. Modern, clean and very efficient.

Here and there, though, you can still catch sight of a metal bucket, collecting sap the old-fashioned way. A metal tap is driven into the trunk and a metal bucket is hung underneath to catch the sap as it drips from the spout, drop by drop, into the bucket.

And if you’re really lucky, as I was the other day, you’ll come across a whole cluster of metal buckets, hanging from the trunks of maples. Coming across this scene on Niles Road, I parked my car and wandered along, taking photos of the trees, each with multiple buckets hanging from their trunks. And in the background was the steady dripping of sap, falling from the spout against the metal side and sliding down into the the pool inside. And once filled, to be collected and boiled and bottled up for use. A sweet time of the year.

Allynda Deloy sent us these photos of a Christmas tree out on Teddy Bear Rock in the middle of West Hill Lake.
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"Happy holidays to all!" From Allynda Deloy

Many Thanks, Allynda for sharing these delightful photos with us.

Note to our readers: If you’d like to share your favorite photo or photos of the holidays in New Hartford, please email them to us at newhartfordplus@gmail.com and we’ll gladly share them.

We received the following photo from Steve Roth, President of New Hartford Football & Cheer, showing members of the Wolverines this past Saturday morning, December 2, at Brodie Park South helping to repair the damage to the field area where several trucks had gotten stuck while attempting to retrieve their program’s storage POD in the park.  Steve emailed us his consent for us to use the photo of the players on NHPlus and he added: “I appreciate your crediting NHYFC for its responsible stewardship of the playing fields that we all value so much.”

Members of the Wolverines and their families helping to repair the damage at Brodie Park South. Contributed photo courtesy of Steve Roth

“HUGE Thanks” to the Wolverines and their families for helping to restore this town park to a condition where it may be enjoyed by all. Happy Holiday, everyone! The NHPlus Crew

Text & Photo By: Maria Moore

Walking down Church Street North, the NewHartfordPlus crew noticed some unusual activity in front of the Parsonage next to the North Congregational Church. A man was busy hammering a sign into place on the front lawn: “Available: Commercial Property” the sign proclaimed. And so another remnant of a time gone by fades away, a time when the Pastor lived next door to their church and everyone knew just where to find them. Slowly, over the last few years, pastors and their families have moved from their church’s Parsonages into homes of their own, homes where they and their families can enjoy privacy in their personal lives – something which we all take for granted.

The North Congregational Church Parsonage is available through the Commercial Real Estate Group with Vance Taylor as the listing agent.

The "Available" sign being put up in front of the Parsonage next to the North Congregational Church on Monday, November 21. Photo: Maria Moore

Photos & Text By: Maria Moore

With the temperature in the 90s, the NewHartfordPlus crew headed for the Cove – Stanclift Cove, our town’s private beach on the Barkhamsted Reservoir. Here are some images from that trip.

Driving down Route 219, the first glimpse of the reservoir promises cool waters.

Driving farther along, both public beaches on the Reservoir, East Beach and West Beach (in image), are filled to capacity and closed to the public.

Hanging a left from Route 219 to 318, we headed down the steep hill only to come up the other side onto Route 181. We'd missed the Cove!

Slowly retracing our route, we found the entrance tucked away on the right.

At the end of the long drive, a sign that we've arrived.

Tall pines line the entrance to the beach area.

The large beach area.

The swimming area goes out to the diving platform, a favorite with good swimmers.

At the farther end of the beach is a small boat launch.

The shade of the pines provides a cool respite from the open beach area.

Picnic tables provide a place for family picnics and cookouts.

A last look back at the beach seen through the pines. Stanclift Cove is a wonderful place for families to spend the hot days of summer.

About Stanclift Cove: The Cove is a private beach on the Barkhamsted Reservoir shared by both the towns of Barkhamsted and New Hartford. Residents are required to purchase a beach sticker for the Cove. For more information about the Cove and to download a copy of the Stanclift Cove brochure, please see our June 18 article Stanclift Cove Beach Opens Today…

Our friend Steve Wilder of dotCanton.com keeps an eye on gas prices along Route 44 in Canton, Avon and Simsbury, and on Friday, June 8, he noted gas prices had spiked 5 cents to $4.01/9 for regular unleaded gas in all three communities.  It was only when he drove west along Route 44 into New Hartford that he was able to find gas prices below $4.

While out and about on our Sunday drive today, the NewHartfordPlus crew was able to verify that, indeed, both gas stations in town are charging below $4: The Mobil station is charging $3.89/9 for regular unleaded gas, while the Citgo station in the center of town is lower still at $3.85/9.   And the Valero station that recently opened up in Barkhamsted which, we’d been told by a very thrifty driver, is always cheaper than Citgo?  Well, not this time: Valero, too, is charging $3.85/9 for regular unleaded gas.

The moral of the story?  For cheap gas, drive west on Route 44 as we did today.  Unless, like us, tomorrow you’re headed east to work…

The Valero gas station in Barkhamsted with its vivid colors which makes our photographer feel as though she were on vacation in some southern state. Photo: Maria Moore

Photos & Text By: Maria Moore

The Best – and Only – Parade on the 4th of July is the one held in our neighboring town of Barkhamsted.  The NewHartfordPlus crew took a ride over to Barkhamsted this morning to cheer and clap at the quintessential New England Independence Day Parade – a must on the 4th!

Photos of the Parade:

The US and CT flags are carried at the beginning of the parade

The Star Band plays enthusiastically in the parade and at the ceremony after. The Band is made up of anyone who plays an instrument and shows up on the morning of the parade

Fire trucks from each of the volunteer fire departments participated in the parade

One of the Dalmatians with the Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department hitches a ride during the parade

The scouts marched in the parade

The girl scouts marched too

First Selectman Don Stein marching along

Master of Ceremonies Jim Hart is driven in style in the parade

A short ceremony followed the parade in front of the Barkhamsted School

The Star Band played one more tune to bring the day's festivities to an end

Among the spectators were Alex Hart, Jim's son, with his wife Jenny

Among a number of New Hartford musicians Larry Hilt added his drumming to the band

See the 4th of July Parade in Barkhamsted section of CTPhotoJunkie.com for Maria Moore’s complete photojournal of this year’s parade.

See also Bob’s video of Barkhamsted’s 4th of July parade.

Photos & Text By: Maria Moore

Everything came together perfectly for the first New Hartford Farmers’ Market of the season yesterday afternoon. The weather was ideal, sunny and not too hot; the vendors’ stands were filled with goods despite the earliness of the season; and friendships were rekindled among the vendors and their buyers, both old and new. Following are photos of the market, a celebration of the best in our community.

Ms. Carrot was happy to be back at the market after the long winter

Mike Hotchkiss shows his wife Connie a plant he's considering buying at the Barden farm stand while Mary Lou Ringklib takes a close look through the plants.

MarWin Farm is now bringing its farm-fresh poultry to the market for both their Farmshare customers and weekly shoppers. Here Kenny Dahill, operating from his "minimalist" stand, looks in his cooler for Karann Schaller's poultry.

 

Cara Donovan manning the Sweet Pea Cheese stand.

Nathan Day - and a friend - provided the lively music during Friday's market.

How much fun was the Farmers' Market on Friday? A LOT of fun, as Mary Barden shows in this photo.

The most original stand of the day was the Planted Feather with its tie-dyed canopy which took two tries to get it just right, said Wendy Scalon. Cool!

Chef’s Demo – A Weekly Market Feature

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The Chef’s Demo – a favorite of the 2009 New Hartford Farmers’ Market season – is now back! This season there will be Chef’s Demos every week. This past Friday, the demo was by Pamela Dunn; look for our separate article on the Chef’s Demos at the market.

Text & Photos By: Maria Moore

With the temperature in the ’80s and the humidity high, Sunday morning’s Race Around The Lake seemed more a mid-summer event than a late spring one, but that was not enough to deter either runners or walkers.  The record crowd eagerly lined up West Hill Road by Berkshire Hall and at the signal they took off, some intent on breaking personal records while others set off at a more leisurely pace.  While the competitors set off on the 3.5 mile loop around West Hill Lake, the spectators cut across the park to position themselves at the finish line near the Field House.

For the official results of the race go to Greystone Racing’s website.  Bob, NewHartfordPlus techie, shot a video of the race and he will post it shortly as soon as he’s finished processing it.  In the meantime, below are photos of the race. Enjoy!

The Beginning of the Race Around The Lake

The Finish Line

Kid’s Race

Awards

Young Medal Winners

Miscellaneous:

Beth Coates

From left to right are Jayson Beechnor, Mike Kurtz, Paul Mahoney and First Selectman Dan Jerram. All four have T-shirt designs from different years of the race.

Many Thanks: to the Friends of Brodie Parkwho once again pulled off an amazing event!

Update: 6 p.m., Friday, May 27:

One last call Carol Allen at UpCountry SportFishing at 6:00 p.m. this evening confirmed that the tagged trout worth $5,000 has not been caught. The deadline has now passed and anyone catching the trout after this point will not be able to claim the prize money. The fishermen’s loss is the insurance company’s gain: Odd On Promotions does not need to make any payments on the 2011 New Hartford Fishing Derby that had insured the chance of having to make a payout with them.

Check out Odds On Promotion’s website to see the full spectrum of promotions they offer.

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As of 5:00 p.m. today, Thursday, May 26, the tagged trout worth $5,000 that was released into the Farmington River as part of the New Hartford Fishing Derby has yet to be caught, our reporter confirmed with the Grady Allen at UpCountry SportFishing.

With the deadline set at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, May 27, there’s just one day left for some lucky angler to catch the jackpot!

Reminder: Only those who registered for the New Hartford Fishing Derby can claim the prize.

To review the rules for the New Hartford Fishing Derby, see our May 16 article A $5,000 Trout Yours For The Catching….

To read about the the Fishing Derby which was held on Saturday, May 21, , see our May 22 article Fishing Derby Awards Prizes…

Fishermen in the Farmington River near the Route 219 Bridge in New Hartford Center. Photo: Maria Moore

A beautiful place to sit and watch the activity in the river.

The plaque on the bench commemorating Paul Brodeur. Photo: Maria Moore

An Ultra Fine Day For Paul Brodeur: Newpaper clipping

A newspaper clipping has been tucked into the plaque on the bench near the 219 Bridge, probably put there by the same loving hands that have planted spring flowers around the bench. The clipping reads:

“It was an Ultra Fine Day for Paul Brodeur of Newington, Connecticut, when he landed this gorgeous 29″ brown trout on the Farmington River with his 7’9″ 2-weight rod. He tells us he has had many fine fish since he bought this “fun” Orvis Ultra Fine Rod in 1985, but this was “a record I’ll never top and a day I’ll never forget and all on a 2-weight rod!”

Wow! Very few will ever top that, Paul!

Text & Photos (unless otherwise noted) By: Maria Moore

The Robbin’s Hood team – a group of 36 members brought together by their friendship with Robbin Goodskey – turned out recently for the Walk MS event in Simsbury organized by the Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Easy to pick out in their matching green shirts with the Robbin’s Hood motif, the group set off on a pleasant Sunday morning from the grounds of the Westminster School, down Iron Horse Boulevard and then crossed over to Hopmeadow Street and looped back to the school.  The five-mile walk passed quickly as the group members chatted and enjoyed the sight of spring flowers already that much more open than the ones back home in New Hartford.

Once over the finishing line at the school, some of the group members entered the pavilion to enjoy the lunch provided for the walkers, while others stood and talked a while longer, and others still, like our NewHartfordPlus crew, went on to take up their other Sunday morning commitments.  A couple of hours, spent in the company of friends that, Robbin was just informed, raised over $4,000 for the benefit of the MS Society.  A good morning’s walk, indeed!

The Robbin’s Hood team was organized by Robbin Goodskey.  The team walked in the Simsbury Travelers Walk MS 2011 on Sunday, April 10.  To check out the members of the group, see Robbin’s Hood page on the National MS Society’s website.

Congratulations: To Robbin and her wonderful group of friends who enjoyed a Sunday-morning walk together for a good cause.

Robbin's Hood team members enjoying a free lunch at the pavilion. Photo: Courtesy of Robbin Goodskey

25 of the 36 Robbin's Hood team members in a group photo taken shortly before the walk started. Photo courtesy of Robbin Goodskey

The NHPlus Crew enjoying the walk

By: Bob Moore

This past Saturday, April 30 was the the perfect Spring day to begin the baseball season in New Hartford. The Opening Day ceremony had been scheduled for last Saturday, April 23, but had to be postponed because of heavy rain that day. Yesterday was perfect, the field was filled with young players eager to start the season and it was time to “Play Ball!” Following is the video of the Opening Day Ceremony.

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Photo of Opening Day 2011 at Brown’s Corner:

Opening Day 2011, Brown's Corner, New Hartford CT. Photo: Maria Moore