Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — For nearly three decades, thousands of northbound travelers on Broad Brook Road in the southeast corner of Enfield no doubt asked themselves, "Who the hell is Kristin?" once they passed the intersection of Town Farm Road and encountered a large barn containing a huge painted message: "We Love "U" Kristin."

For the first time publicly, the story behind that message is revealed in this column. I will name no names of those who perpetrated the painting, as I have no desire to get our former mayor into any kind of trouble (I did check with his brother-in-law and found out the statute of limitations on petty vandalism by a 17-year-old expired back when we both had hair, so he should be in the clear - you too Lynne).

Kristin refers to Kristin Michalsen, a high school classmate of mine from the Fermi High School Class of 1983. Kristin was a foreign exchange student that year from Norway, and since my grandfather had immigrated to America from that country, we immediately formed a bond of friendship. I was co-captain of the cross country team and Kristin was also on the squad, though she wrote in my yearbook, "I hated to run." In the team photo below, she is seated on the far right, and I am also in there (see if you can find me).

The tall Scandinavian beauty made the most of her time at Fermi, participating in numerous clubs and activities: downhill and cross country skiing, student faculty senate, float committee, Model U.N. and the senior variety show. She was an absolute sweetheart, and upon our graduation on June 8, 1983, some of her close friends created her sendoff on that barn. Surprisingly, it is believed to be the only farm structure in Enfield not painted by Chip and Chap.

Whatever became of Kristin? Word from some classmates is she moved to Greece and had a daughter, but she is believed to have since returned to her native Norway. Wherever she is, she will never be forgotten by her 400-plus classmates who were privileged to spend an entire school year with her.

And as for the barn? As evidenced by the photos below from Google Maps historic imagery, it stood for nearly 30 years after the paint job, collapsing after the freak October snowstorm of 2011.

Here is a contemporary look, taken by me a few days ago, at the barn rubble (see what I did there?).

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Alphabetically, who was the last member listed in the final ninth grade class at Kosciuszko Junior High School before the merger with JFK?" The answer: Debbie Zipp, who literally grew up across the street from me on Douglas Drive. The last ninth-grade class at "The Big K" was in 1981-82; the following year, the two junior high schools consolidated into a 7th and 8th grade John F. Kennedy Middle School, and freshmen began attending Enfield and Fermi high schools. Sharon Mucci, a classmate of Debbie's who also lived on Douglas, was the first person to provide the correct answer, and didn't even have to Google it, copy and paste or anything. This image is from the 1982 Kosciuszko yearbook, courtesy of the Enfield Historical Society.

This week's trivia question:
A small building at 171 Elm Street, directly across from Kosciuszko (now Asnuntuck Community College), was home for many years to Lownds & Manning Realty (pictured below in the mid-1970s, courtesy of the Picture Enfield Facebook group), and is used today as headquarters for Trend 2000 Real Estate. It has not always been a real estate office, however; several other businesses occupied the site in the 1980s and 1990s, including a longtime local floral shop which bought the building and moved there in 1999. Name that shop. Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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