Historical Society Gleanings

Elizabeth’s “Unmentionables”: 

The Oxford Historical Society holds open house every first and third Sunday, from  2-4 p.m. featuring changing displays representing the history of a rural New England town once dotted with farms and small mills.  Current exhibits include the large Jensen family loom awaiting reconstruction and a new display, "Elizabeth's Unmentionables", featuring undergarments worn by Elizabeth Rowland who lived in what is now the Twitchell-Rowland Museum, 60 Towner Lane.  “Elizabeth’s Unmentionables,” will be on display July 7 and 21, and on August 4 & 18.  Admission is free.

See more photos of Elizabeth’s clothing and of the Jensen family loom at the Historical Society website: http://www.oxford-historical-society.org

FIRST OLD HOMESTEAD FLEA MARKET: GREAT SUCCESS! 

Thanks to our co-chairs, Marcia Wrogg and Jane Hulbert, our first flea market was a resounding success.  Vender space was sold out; we had a good crowd, many people purchased some excellent bargains, and one of our venders donated their entire day’s proceeds to the Society.  We are grateful for all the work and support.  The funds will be used in the preservation of the Homestead, where our current major project will be replacement of existing windows that will be period-appropriate, weather-tight, energy saving, and limit the ultraviolet light which can be destructive to museum artifacts. The Society has received a grant from the Naugatuck Valley Community Foundation to begin work on the project.

CONTINUING RESEARCH ON OXFORD PARACHUTIST ADELINE GRAY:  (See previous article at http://oxford-ct.patch.com/groups/history-highlights/p/adeline-grays-historic-leap for background information.)  Thanks to interest and help from local reader Joanne Polonsky and Merry Park at the Norwalk Public Library, we have found the obituary for Adeline Gray, who died in 1975 in Waterbury at age 59. According to the obituary, she was residing in Southbury. The article listed a son with the last name of Johnson, and a husband August Graf.  I found a patent issued for a Kenneth W. Johnson, with half the interest given to Adeline Gray Johnson of Southbury.  Kenneth W. Johnson was listed as "of Bethany, Connecticut," and I am hoping someone may be able to provide a source for information on the history of Bethany Airport.  Perhaps there may be more information on the couple there.  We also want to thank Cora Nichols for alerting us to the availability of a WW II era advertisement featuring Adeline Gray which we were able to purchase.

            For more information see the Oxford Historical Society website at http://www.oxford-historical-society.org/adeline/, where the complete text of the obituary, the Adeline Gray Camel cigarette advertisement, and a copy of the patent application are displayed.

 PEACH FESTIVAL TO FEATURE THE CHILDREN OF OXFORD:

The Oxford Historical Society will hold their Annual Peach Festival, Saturday, August 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Peter's Church.  Admission to the event is free.  The Society sells peach shortcake and ice cream in the Fellowship Hall.  Each year the Society features a large photo display related to a given topic.  Past exhibits have included the Barns of Oxford, Schools of Oxford, Animals of Oxford, Families of Oxford, and Transportation in Oxford.  This year's theme will be Children of Oxford.  The Society will feature many older photos of Oxford youngsters.  We would like to include photos of early youth sports teams, up through the present day. 

The public is encouraged to submit formal or informal photos of Oxford Children, past or present.  The photos can be scanned and returned undamaged immediately, or arrangements can be made to leave them at the Public Library and have the returned to the library within a week.  Photos of scouting activities, church youth activities, 4-H groups, and any other youth activity are candidates for display at the Peach Festival.  All photos submitted will be available for viewing in a slideshow that will be shown in St. Peter’s sanctuary throughout the event.  In addition, the Society will preserve a digital copy of all photos submitted, so that future generations may enjoy seeing life in Oxford in past years.  Today's children are an important part of Oxford's history, so current photo submissions are greatly encouraged. Persons who have photos which they would like to have featured may contact me at dottie@oxford-historical-society.org to arrange a time for scanning the photos.