Salisbury Rotary Club member Duane Estes, long-time baseball coach at Salisbury School and with a wealth of knowledge of the history of baseball, spoke to club members present at the 6/14 luncheon meeting on David Halberstram’s 1977 best seller, October 1964.  The book looks at the 1964 World Series with the aging NY Yankees vs the up-and-coming St. Louis Cardinals, and does so in the context of the societal changes of the times, primarily with regard to race relations, integration of Major League Baseball and differences between the American & National Leagues regarding their levels of having Black players.  He cited many examples and stories involving greats like the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Yankee Elston Howard.  The book chronicles the important interplay between sports, in this case baseball, and society.  The Cardinals won the ‘64 Series, 4-3, ending the Yankees’ dynasty since 1949.

 

 

 

Karen Grodell, Scoville Memorial Library’s new director since December 2021, was the 5/31 featured program speaker at Salisbury Rotary’s weekly luncheon at Noble Horizons. Coming to Salisbury after fourteen years directing the Beardsley Library in Winsted, she shared that she was ready for a change and applied when she learned of the opening and is happy to be here. Noting that SML was established in 1895, making it the oldest publicly funded library in the US, the Library as we know it today grew from two historic libraries, one of which received town tax dollars in 1810.  She reviewed the more recent history of how, during the COVID years, services became more remote, digital and hybrid offerings, much of which continues today, though there is still a major interest in and demand for readers to have and hold real books! FMI: 

Bill Spalding, current President of Habitat for Humanity of NW CT and President Elect of the Salisbury Rotary Club, spoke to SRC members attending the 5/25 weekly luncheon at Noble Horizons.  Sharing first the history of the National parent organization, he then noted that, since 1991, the local affiliate has been helping families achieve strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter in our NW Corner communities of Canaan/Falls Village, Cornwall, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon. Now, they are reaching into Torrington and will begin building a home there, its first. The not-for-profit org works with volunteers to promote home ownership by building houses in partnership with families who are priced out of the local housing market.  FMI:  https://www.habitatnwct.org/2016/07/25th/

Richard Tennyson, the club’s newest member, shared a bit of his autobiography with those attending the 5/10 luncheon meeting at Noble Horizons. Born and raised north of London in Ware, he has worked and traveled extensively throughout the world.  Married and with two grown children, his current work in telecommunications allows him to live pretty much anywhere and, having lived already in so many places, he chose Salisbury CT and is very happy with the decision.  He describes his interests as “anything that creates adrenaline to flow” (he’s tried sky diving!) and he is a classic car enthusiast.  He is a former member of the UK Roundtable, a civic service club, similar to Rotary.

    Returning to in-person luncheon meetings at Noble Horizons, Club mambers heard Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s executive director, Peter Taylor, speak to the members present and attending remotely via ZOOM.  Noting that BTCF was established in 1987 and manages over 550 funds valued at 225M$, with the goal of strengthening the communities served through philanthropy and leadership. Located in Sheffield MA, the Foundation distributes grants in Litchfield, Berkshire, Columbia and northern Duchess counties. He highlighted several NW Corner programs supported by BCTF, including the Jane Lloyd Fund and the Margaret Derwin Scholarship at HVRHS.  FMI:

 

At the District Foundation Brunch, on behalf of the Salisbury Club, Bill Spalding accepted the Rotary Citation for the year 2019-2020. This award is given to clubs that successfully accomplish a specified number of goals that were set at the beginning of the Rotary year. Presenting the award is Area 8 Assistant Governor, Heather Pantano.

Salisbury Rotary Club’s 8/31 program speaker was Amanda Freund, third generation of Freund Family owners of East Canaan’s Freund Family Market & Bakery.  She shared the history of the family-owned business, started by her grandparents in 1949 with six cows, telling how it has evolved from a roadside stand with a basket of sweet corn for $.50/ear to today’s farm market, bakery, garden center and catering business sitting in the middle of the family’s dairy farm. The operation was incorporated in the late 1980s as it transferred to the next generation. Looking for ways to be more than a seasonal business led to the creative use of the 100lbs of cow manure generated daily by their 350 cows and the creation twenty years ago of Cow Pots, and becoming the longest continuous methane digest operation in US today. They now ship nationally and internationally and feature 14 different Cow Pot sizes.  Cow Pots now fill a market demand for environmental products that are made from recycling waste material into a useful item that itself can be recycled and current research and development efforts are underway to create additional new recycled products.  FMI: 

 

      

 

 

The Salisbury club, in partnership with Lime Rock Park, held the annual Independence Day celebration fireworks event on July 5th after weather forced a postponement of the original July 3rd date. This event is a major fund raiser for the club and proceeds benefit local scholarships and community programs. The event, featuring approximately 500 aerial fireworks were launched by Legion Fireworks Company Inc. based in Wappingers Falls, NY.

 

 

 

 

In an effort to assist those most in need during the current pandemic, the Salisbury club donated $5,000 to Sharon Hospital for PPE equipment and medical supplies. The club also donated cash and food totaling over $10,000 to: The Corner Food Pantry in Lakeville, Fishes and Loaves Food Pantry in Canaan and The Cornwall Food and Fuel Fund in Cornwall. Members of the club purchased food locally and on-line and delivered the items to the local food pantries.

 

 

Lance and Ann Beizer were each recently awarded a Rotary International Paul Harris +8 pin. Paul Harris award is a prestigious award given to those who have donated $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Each successive $1,000 results in a Paul Harris plus (+) pin. Lance and Ann's award means they have donated $9,000 to TRF. Rotary International, through TRF, has donated over $4 billion dollars on life changing, sustainable projects throughout the world.