Brookfield Historical Society Presents at The Brookfield Lions

Pictured (L-R) Lion Don Winkley Brookfield Historical Presenter, Lion Tony Licursi, Lion Lyn Lyon President Brookfield Lions Club, Bob Brown, Brookfield Historical Presenter. The Brookfield Lions donated $500 to the Brookfield Historical Society.

Messers Winkley and Brown mentioned that in May 1788, by resolution of the Connecticut General Assembly, the Parish of Newbury was established from land given from Newtown, New Milford and Danbury in 1752. The parish was given town status and renamed Brookfield in honor of it's longtime Congregational pastor, Reverend Thomas Brooks. They used the various town cemeteries to tell the town’s story such as Central Cemetery on Federal Road has in the front of the cemetery is a large white metal monument. Standing on the top is a statue of a woman. The footstones around the monument are of several different designs. These types of monuments were manufactured at the Bridgeport foundry in Bridgeport, Connecticut and were sold by Sears Roebuck and Company. I guess Sears sold everything back then. Also buried at Laurel Hill is Lucia Ruggles Holman Tomlinson, one of the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands and is said to be the first American women to circumnavigate the globe. It was an interesting way to trace the Town’s history.

The Lions Club is the largest Service Organization in the World with over 1.4 million members in 45,000 Local clubs located in over 200 countries and territories. The Brookfield Lions support a number of local, regional and international causes including Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Pediatric/Adult Vision Screening, Connecticut Lions Eye Research Foundation, Eyeglasses for the Needy, Red Cross Blood Drives, Ability Beyond and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The Brookfield Lions meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. For further information about the Brookfield Lions contact Membership Chair Kathi Hlavac irishkbh@aol.com

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