LIFE

In the years leading up to the American Revolution the people of the Middletown Upper Houses became increasingly involved in a burgeoning but under-documented coastal trade operating out of the village. Like many merchants along the Connecticut River, these maritime businessmen owned and sometimes operated vessels that sailed to and from the West Indies and along the Eastern seaboard, trading local produce for molasses and rum, the most lucrative products of the sugar cane gr

Special honors often come to those who excel at a given task or career for a long period of time. That’s not the case with Emma Baker. A third grade teacher at Woodside Intermediate School, she is still in her 20s but already earning top accolades. Baker was recently presented with the Teacher of the Year Award for the Cromwell Public Schools.

Members of the Board of Education were saddened when Superintendent of Schools Dr. Enza Macri announced that she would retire at the end of this academic year. But they are also confident that they have selected the right person to replace her.

Founded in 1917, Lions Club International is 109 years old. It’s the world’s largest volunteer service organization with 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries.

Call it a Christmas miracle, even if the idea was conceived at Christmastime, but not completed. Two friends have a casual conversation about crisscrossing the world and wind up raising thousands upon thousands of dollars to beat pediatric cancer. They also set a Guinness World Record while they were at it.

The spirit of independence runs deep at the 1851 Kitchen and Cocktail Bar. Named after the year the town of Cromwell was separated from Middletown and became its own official municipality, the restaurant serves “new American cuisine” reflecting global influences.

“The citizens of Cromwell manifested their delight on Wednesday evening upon attaining the dignity of a free and independent township, by the firing of guns, burning of tar-barrels and sundry other demonstrations usual upon such occasion.” –Hartford Courant, June 23, 1851

Barbara Ambler has a unique take on local history. She has seen a lot of it during her long life. Cromwell is celebrating its 175th anniversary as an officially recognized town this year and she has been around for more than half of that time. She still lives in the same house her late husband Homer built on West Street Heights many years ago.