This year marks more than 50 years since the Vietnam War ended and the 18-, 19- and 20-year-old, fresh out of school—filled with “other” plans, young men and women, whose lives were forever changed when they were drawn into that conflict are now in their 70’s and 80’s. It is worth reflecting that more than 60% of all Americans who are alive today were born after the Vietnam War ended and have no memory of that era…only the stories of a time long past and a place far away.

Today you are going to hear some of those stories. The committee has gathered some of the words, remembrances, and interviews…a deceased veteran’s letter to a rescued soldier’s son, and more. Memories retold by your friends and neighbors, some of whom served in the jungles of a faraway war. Others served far from the jungles, but often their service was connected to the war in ways we haven’t heard before. One of our neighbors here in Hampton, serving far from South Vietnam, overseas in a military transport and supply capacity, had, as a final assignment before shipping back to the states, the task of loading empty caskets onto a C-130 military transport plane headed for South Vietnam. Stories we may not have heard:

Our story begins with the words of today’s Grand Marshall, Jamie Boss:

I am honored that the committee invited me to discuss Vietnam this morning. Today we remember all those who gave their life in the service of our country. This year marks half a century since the last American troops left Vietnam. 58,220 American men and women died in that conflict. 33,103 of them were 18 years old or younger.

Imagine you have just graduated from high school. You are 18 years old. It is unlikely you can grow a beard. Perhaps you were lucky enough to have received your driver’s license. You are still three years away from being able to vote and drink alcohol legally. You are drafted into the Army and spend 8 weeks learning how to kill with a rifle and a pistol, a machine gun, a grenade, and a bayonet. For bayonet practice, we used a dummy stuffed with straw with the face of Ho Chi Minh. According to the Army, he was the ultimate bad guy. We believed what the army told us. He was the communist mastermind behind the backwards, tiny country of North Vietnam. In basic training, the bywords of the day were “Kill VC. Kill Viet Cong.” We hated Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Cong without knowing anything about them.

Over ten years, 2,700,000 American men and women were embroiled in that conflict. The war was made up of thousands of unique personal experiences. I went to Vietnam in 1968. 57 years ago. I spent 365 days repairing tanks, armored personnel carriers, and self-propelled artillery for the First Infantry Division. We did not win that war. We all knew we would be in Vietnam for precisely 365 days—no more, no less. As a result, our thoughts and motivations were always about getting on that civilian Boeing 707 and flying home on day number 365. Over time, the reasons we ended up in Vietnam have been muddied by politics and lies, but make no mistake. Every young man and woman who went to Vietnam performed brilliantly. They did their job and did it well. They did what their country asked them to do. Many died living up to that request. Unfortunately, they didn’t fully understand why we were there fighting. In truth, from the soldier’s point of view, we were fighting for 365 days of staying alive and then returning home to our families. I never heard anyone talk about winning, just doing their job and getting the hell out of there. Winning was an obvious bridge too far.

No one was safe in Vietnam. We lived in large base camps surrounded by barbed wire. There were over 90 large base camps in Vietnam. At any moment, the Viet Cong could hurl large 122 mm rockets at us from the jungle. As they set the rockets off, they would melt into the jungle and disappear. The roads were dirt, making it easy to bury mines big enough to disable a tank. Trucks carrying personnel never had a chance.

The news generally described Vietnam as a tiny, backward Southeast Asian country. In 1968, Vietnam’s coastline was 40 miles longer than our coastline from Maine to the Florida Keys. Vietnam’s population today is 100 million. Vietnam has existed for thousands of years. It is the third oldest country and was organized in 2879 BC. Vietnam is 809 years older than China.

By the 1850s, the French had begun to colonize Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. By 1887, all three countries were under French control and were now known as French Indochina. Using the population as slaves, the French enriched themselves with rice, rubber, minerals, and opium. Their treatment of the Vietnamese was brutal. Villagers were slaves on French plantations. Ho Chi Minh had been fighting for Vietnam’s independence since 1919. He spent 30 years traveling around the world on ships and freighters, as the French exiled him for speaking out about French colonialism. He worked as a cook, cook’s helper, pastry chef, dishwasher, and artist in New York City, Paris, France, London, England, Russia, and China. He spoke seven languages fluently. During those 30 years, he searched for ideas to free his country from French rule. His primary goal was complete independence from France.

For every soldier in combat in Vietnam, eight soldiers were behind the lines supporting the men in the field. There were at least 90 base camps in Vietnam. The largest, Long Binh, had over 60,000 personnel, 3,500 buildings, and covered an area larger than the city of Cleveland. It had night clubs, massage parlors, golf courses, leather crafts, college courses, photo labs, swimming pools, shopping areas, a wood shop, tennis courts, basketball courts, post offices, and a branch of the Chase Manhattan bank. It incorporated 180 miles of roads. The result was great enmity between those behind the lines and those in the field. That enmity exists to this day. For many, the war never ended. PTSD, effects of Agent Orange, broken marriages, and disabilities from combat still haunt veterans. It is estimated that 271,000 Vietnam veterans continue to experience significant PTSD symptoms. Estimates of Vietnam veterans having committed suicide range from 50,000 to 150,000. No one knows for sure.

It took me over 50 years to thoroughly understand the Vietnam conflict. I now realize how important it is for any government to be transparent in its actions, honorable in its intentions, and consider all possibilities before committing young men and women to combat. Character, integrity, wisdom, humility, and sound judgment are critical requirements for any of our leaders who would put young American men and women in harm’s way.

Ev Hyde: I was not a combat veteran. After HS I worked in Norwich as a lab technician and phlebotomist. I was very good at taking blood, from newborns to seniors at end of life. Good because I didn’t want to hurt my patients. I spent my service drawing, testing and shipping donor blood to those who were in combat.

Of a dozen disabled Vietnam vets I know personally I want to discuss two, who have not been at Memorial Day events. One is someone I worked for on a Home Builder charity remodeling project, needed because his physical disabilities were getting worse with age. I’m not revealing his name. That’s the way he and his wife want it. He still had shrapnel next to his spine too risky to remove and was years in VA pain management. But his greater disability was PTSD. He said, “they took all my guns away, but it was probably just as well.” His wife, of over 40 years, privately said to me, “oh, you should have known him before Vietnam… so much fun.” Once she thought going to DC and the memorial wall might help. He stayed on the bus weeping. He said, “there are names of guys on that wall. I wouldn’t be still alive if it weren’t for them.”

The other was a childhood friend I’ve known since I was six. Russ was a Navy corpsman, combat medic to the Marines. He had his buttocks blown off by a grenade. He spent about six hours wounded and hidden partly under the body of a dead marine, shooting up morphine, with full knowledge he was dying. Knowing the Marines don’t leave comrades behind, he called out rather than be bait for an ambush of soldiers who would try to rescue him. Russ was one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. He was told he would never walk again. After over 100 surgeries he did walk with two canes. He married the nurse who treated him for a year in Boston. Because of the location and severity of his injuries, he wasn’t sure if he could be a father. They had three boys. He taught anatomy to medical students for 30 years. But when he got back to Norwich, he rejected riding in parades, a life time membership in the VFW, anything making him a hero. He once asked me if I knew of any Quaker meetings he could join. Russ said, when they grow up they can make their own decisions, but with a Quaker family history, they’ll have choices. Russ died 8 or 9 years ago. In his obituary there was no mention of his service in Vietnam.

Dave Fowler: In the summer of1965, when our government just started involvement in the Vietnam War, I was drafted. At that time most draftees were inducted into the Army and the probability of going to Vietnam and being a ground solider was good. As a Christian and following the principles of the Bible I did not want to put myself in a position where I would have to fight and probably kill my fellow citizen of the world. I did not agree with the U.S. policy of fighting Communism. On the other hand, I felt fortunate to have been born in the United States, and was a proud citizen.

So I had a decision to make; I enlisted in the Air Force. The recruiter told me it was more like a job after basic training but still fulfilled the commitment to serve the country. The difference was four years versus two years in the Army, but I came away from the war the same way I entered it, health wise, unlike many of my fellow military companions.

The recruiter talked me into electronics and training at Keesler Air Force Base. I was then stationed at Westover Air Force Base. Lucky me. This was a base of B-52 bombers, in direct support of the war, deployed on six month rotations to places like Guam, bombing Vietnam 24/7. From there I was deployed temporarily in support of the war, to Guam, Japan and Okinawa.

My experience was very educational. I enlisted as a kid and came out a man. I was glad to serve my country despite not agreeing with some of the politics of why we were there.

Juan Arriola: I come from a long line of warriors, who fought against government forces and who fought with government forces. World War II saw my father, Francisco, in the U. S Navy shooting down Kamikazes. His two brothers were in the Army in the European Theater, Benito and Severiano, a prisoner of war in Germany liberated while he was digging his own grave. My brother Francisco was a “river rat” in Vietnam, slowly patrolling the Mekong, until shots fired would accelerate the cruise to maximum speed circumventing logs and bodies floating in the water that could catapult the PT boat. He finished his tour of duty in Da Nang, surviving the Tet Offensive. My brother Lasaro, a Marine, served in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Later he became an Embassy Guard. During the fall of Saigon, he was shooting South Vietnamese civilians off the helicopters during the chaos of the evacuation.

I was the lucky one. My draft number was high enough to prevent me from going to Viet Nam. Why, then, did I decide to volunteer?
I signed on with the U. S. Navy after the deaths of two of my close friends in Viet Nam. One, a farmer, was one of the gentlest persons I ever knew, sacrificed himself by jumping on a grenade on his third day in country, saving the lives of comrades he hadn’t even gotten to know. The other, also 18-years-old, was shot up so badly that his closed casket could not be opened. I remember his mother’s despair; she was never assured that her son’s body was in that casket.

I enlisted because after their deaths, I felt guilty. And to carry on the legacy of my family’s service.

I was lucky again when I was home-ported on the East Coast instead of the west coast during the final stage of the war.
Today, I recognize my good fortune, I recognize the service of my friends and of my family, and I recognize the sacrifice that all soldiers made in this, and every war.

Stan Crawford: During my teen years, I thought I’d made it: a construction job in high school and part time employment at a popular restaurant in my hometown, Willimantic. I had a car and I had money – everything a young man needs. My world crashed when my draft number was low. I saw the writing on the wall and started taking matters into my own hands by talking to the Air Force recruiter, and the U. S. Air Force became my life for the next four years, reporting for boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base and then to Amarillo, learning the craft of airplane and sheet metal repair.

After Texas, I was reassigned to Otis Air Force Base where I maintained and repaired 16 Interceptor Fighter jets. There I became good friends with Normand Bernard. Normand received news that he was being sent to Viet Nam. He had just become a father; he and his wife had just had a son. I spoke with our Commanding Officer and convinced him to send me instead. Since the rate was billeted, I was that billet. The Air Force agreed to the request, a family was kept together, and after saying goodbye to my own family, I landed in the Republic of South Viet Nam.

I was assigned to Cam Ran Bay, a small island off the Vietenamese coast, where I was in charge of maintaining the flight worthiness of 100 F4 Phantom jets used in all sorts of missions at all times of the day and night and in all types of weather. Aside from two occasions when my comrade and I repaired aircraft that was downed and damaged in the jungle, I was not in danger. But I did my part for the guys in harm’s way. I did what I could to support the men on the line.

And I would do it again.

Randy Thompson (read by his niece, Lisa Vargas): Seven months after graduating from high school, my uncle, Randy Thompson, received an “Order to Report for Armed Forces Physical Examination.” He passed with, perhaps, too many flying colors, because he was selected to receive some of the most intensive combat training given. For 16 months, he and his comrades climbed mountains, performed beach landings, practiced jungle warfare and experienced live-fire trainings. When given a little book of Vietnamese phrases to learn, there remained no doubt where he was headed.

Sergeant Thompson arrived at Base Camp in Chu Lai in 1967. From then until he left Vietnam in 1968, his Unit experienced some of the most intensive fighting in Vietnam, including the Tet Offensive. During that twelve month period, his infantry experienced 102 soldier deaths. Some of them were Randy’s friends.

Before he died, Randy spoke to the son of a man whose life he saved in Vietnam. This is the letter he first wrote:

On May 9, 1968, we made a 2nd attempt to take out the enemy bunkers on Hill 352, (first try was on May 7). The volume of enemy fire was too much, so we withdrew back down the hill, maybe a distance of 300 meters. Another GI and I had just brought down the body of a dead platoon leader, Lt. Verrett. I don’t know who mentioned it, but someone said there was still a wounded GI up the path who had not come down. My recollection is that two of us went back up to look for him. When we got up there, maybe two thirds of the way up, I saw him (Louis R Voelk) sitting on the left side of the narrow path with his back up against a tree, rifle in his lap, pointed up hill. He seemed quite calm. He might have told me his name at this time (which I guess I never forgot) and said he was waiting to see who was going to reach him first – the NVA from above or his own guys from below. I think I remember your father getting up onto my back in a piggy back carrying position. I had his legs and he reached over and held onto my equipment belt. He didn’t seem to be in much pain. The other guy carried our M-16’s and kept watch up the hill as we came down. Later that afternoon a medevac chopper came and took the three wounded and one dead away. I really didn’t know your dad, as we were in different platoons, except for that day when we were all thrown together getting off that hill. I would like to hear how he described the events to you and see if they are close in description.
Signed, Bruce Randolph Thompson.

Bob Grindle: I grew up in a tiny town, not unlike Hampton, in Northeastern Indiana. It was a time and a place where to disagree with your parents, or any elder, for that matter, was considered an unacceptable level of disrespect, and I was eager to get away. Instead of paying for college, the military would pay me—not much—but, in the Fall of 1961 I signed on with the United States Air Force, and I moved from Texas to Mississippi to Washington state, Florida, North Dakota, California, Nevada, Japan, Alaska to the Philippines to Viet Nam and back to Tacoma, Washington. In that time I came to realize that I cared more about the men and women that I was now serving and working with than I cared about myself. I was no longer the snobby, self-absorbed, skinny, back woods 17-year-old-know-it-all, but rather a committed member of a group of equals who rarely all agreed on anything…we simply slept together, ate together, worked together and occasionally risked our lives together. We were, in the most basic sense, a tribe.

Although I flew several times into South Vietnam on transport and supply missions, I was never assigned to Vietnam and was discharged from the US Air Force in 1966 into a world that seemed to have changed. Perhaps it was me. I returned briefly to my hometown in Indiana, and although there were places in the United States where returning service women and men were celebrated, the larger conversation in 1966 was one of challenge and ridicule, and even though I had never been assigned to duty in Vietnam, I was filled with resentment—I knew a lot of those guys, and I took it personally. But a year later, as a university student on the West Coast I was one of the demonstrators. By 1968 more than a thousand men and women a month were dying in a war that seemed increasingly pointless. Friends that I loved were dying, and I wondered…for what? Students on campuses across the country, including mine, were dying, and I questioned if my country really cared. Was this war really nothing more than a reality show on the 6 o’clock news?

I dropped out of college, bicycled across the United States and began working. I met my wife, settled in Hampton and realized that in the quiet give and take of life off the heavily travelled main routes of our great land is, and always will be, the real strength that underpins our success as a nation.

Al Ameer (read by his son, Joey Ameer): My father enlisted in the Army in 1967 as a 68B20 Aircraft Turbine Engine Repairman stationed at Fort Eustis. After that, he served in Vietnam. For seven months and three days. Like so many of our Vets, he spoke little of his time there. But during his service, he was awarded medals for the National Defense Service, the Valatory Service, the Vietnam Campaign, the Army Commendation and was a Qualified expert with M-16. He was promoted to E-5 Tech Sergeant in 1969 and was honorably discharged in 1973.

What we remember my father for is his service when he returned home here to Hampton, where he was a first responder for sixty years, with the Ambulance Corps and with the Fire Department, and was a mentor to many new recruits. He was recognized as Hampton’s Citizen of the Year in 1995, and last year, he received a proclamation from the Town of Hampton and a citation from the State Assembly for his volunteer service to our town.

My father passed away twelve weeks ago. The legacy he leaves us is one of courage, commitment and volunteerism, which he taught us through daily example. So many Memorial Day speakers have expressed the importance to all of us of building and maintaining, through volunteerism, a strong community, for the sake of those who live here, for the legacy left us by those who came before, for future generations, and for our veterans, making Hampton a place worth returning home to.

to the Memorial Day Committee for organizing the parade, ceremony, and activities into a seamless stream of community events,

to Hampton Elementary School and its float, Parish Hill High School’s marching band, our local scouts, and all of the parade participants, individuals and vehicles alike,

to the Congregational Church for providing a delicious (and free!) pancake breakfast, and the Hampton Gazette for providing the best chicken barbecue east of the Mississippi for lunch,

to all who participated in the ceremony – those who provided music, and those who provided words, and to all who participated in the naval ceremony along the Little River,

to the horses and riders entertaining us in the field after the ceremony, and to the Recreation Commission for sponsoring the Bar Stool Diplomats to entertain us in the pavilion,

to the Historical Society and their display of military uniforms from the Civil War to the present,

and to Grand Marshall, Jamie Boss, who produced a masterful video for us chronicling his “Year in Vietnam”.

Year after year, our premier community event, and the dedication of all involved, bestows us with the very best of Americana, making Hampton a place “worth coming home to”.

I was up to my forearms in coleslaw veggies when Mary came in. While we volunteers were preparing the Hampton Memorial Day Chicken Barbecue sides, other volunteers had taken care to create a Historical Society float for the Memorial Day parade.

This year’s float showcased a selection of the uniforms that have been donated to the Society. Our president, Matt, provided the trailer and know-how to secure each mannequin displaying a uniform, from Civil War to wars of more recent generations. Mary had pictures of their successful efforts, and I was glad to take a break from cabbage and carrots to view them.

She mentioned, with a quiet smile, that my father’s own uniform had been displayed on a chair, instead of a mannequin. His dress jacket was hung over the back of the chair, his dress slacks on the seat, his cap ‘on the lap of the pants’.

I am still touched. I don’t know if any who decided on this method of display realized just how pertinent it was to my dad. Until his death over four decades ago, Barney (my dad) was a simple man, but talented and honest in his actions. His talents took him into cobwebbed cellars and modest kitchens, attics and cow barns, fields and the homes of the wealthy. He was a man comfortable in the kitchens, the homes’ hearts, of each of his customers.

A simple chair did honor to my father’s uniform in a way that none of the mannequins would have. Long after his death his uniqueness still stands out. Whether by intent or necessity, a simple chair to hold his uniform would have been how he would have wanted it. He would have approved. I, too, approve.

This simple display of his uniform will make my father stand out long after departing these borders, just as he stood out as an Army Air force mechanic, and just as he stood out while working here after, faithfully, steadily. He was a man of steady habits, a true Connecticut Yankee.

Perhaps many will observe and wonder at the distinctly different treatment of his uniform, and in so doing, will suddenly ascribe to him legendary status. Thank you for that, Mary, Matt, Susan, Jo, even if it was unintentional on your parts. I knew it was there all along.

June Pawlikowski Miller

Approximately two dozen residents and officials unanimously approved the items on the call of the Annual Town Meeting on June 20th, forecasting the approval of all questions at the June 27 referendum.

After electing First Selectman Allan Cahill moderator, participants approved standard items such as: authorization of the Board of Selectmen to borrow, if necessary, money to defray expenses until funds are available, to enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation for the expenditure of funds for improvement and maintenance of Town roads, and to accept Local Capital Improvement Funds for road improvement. Residents also approved the 5-Year Plan as presented, which included improvements to roads, the Little River Preserve, the Town Hall, Community Center, and Transfer Station, the completion of the Tennis/Pickle Ball court, and the purchase of a Tractor and Road Mower for the Department of Public Works.

Stephanie Bayne was elected by acclamation to serve a three year term on the Regional District #11 Board of Education. She is replacing Kathy Freed.

First Selectman Cahill reviewed the Town Government’s $1,949,439 budget, a 3.17% increase over the current year, to be voted on at the referendum, listing the reason for increases in computers, programs and support in the Offices of the Town Clerk and the Assessor, the costs of early voting, mandated, and previously reimbursed by the State, hikes in heating oil and electricity, legal costs due to the Solar Park litigation, and a 2.5% cost-of-living-adjustment for all Town employees. He also explained the most significant increase, the rise in the contract with KB Ambulance, noting that funds from the American Rescue Plan Act were used in the past to offset these costs.

The Hampton Elementary School’s budget was also slated for a referendum vote. Board of Education Vice-Chairman Mark Becker explained that the proposal of $2,262,603, which represents a 3.81% increase over the current year, has added a full time Scientific Research Based Interventionist to the staff for students needing additional assistance. He explained that the majority of increases are fixed costs, such as transportation and tuition.

Other matters voted on, and ultimately approved, at the referendum were the transfer of funds for a building and mechanical evaluation study at the elementary school, for the purchase of a Tractor and Road Mower for the Department of Public Works, and to fund the Volunteer Firefighter Length of Service Program.

The following questions were approved at the June 27 referendum with the following votes:
Shall the Town of Hampton appropriate $1,949,439 for the General Government for the 2025-2026 fiscal year? 154-41
Shall the Town of Hampton appropriate $2,262,603 for the Hampton Elementary School for the 2025-2026 fiscal year? 125 – 69
Shall the Town of Hampton transfer Account 2450 in the Capital Nonrecurring Fund of unallocated funds to Account 2430 Trucks and Equipment? 154-41
Shall the Town of Hampton approve the transfer of $150,000 from the Unassigned General Fund to the Capital Nonrecurring 2430 Trucks and Equipment for the purchase of a Department of Public Works Tractor & Road Mower? 146- 47
Shall the Town of Hampton approve the expense of $27,400 from the Unassigned General Fund for a Building and Mechanical Evaluation Study of Hampton Elementary School, as required by CGS 10- 220? 149-45
Shall the Town of Hampton approve the transfer of $50,000 from the Unassigned General Fund Balance for the Volunteer Firefighter Length of Service Program? 170-23

The Board of Selectmen at their June 2 meeting unanimously voted to appeal the recent decision of the State Superior Court regarding taxation of the Solar Park’s personal property, which ruled against the Town of Hampton’ claim on taxes owed. The litigation is the result of the AFL-HBAB Solar Trust’s refusal to pay personal property taxes on the equipment used for their enterprise at 37 West Fisk Road, a significant parcel in Hampton’s limited commercial zone. While taxes on the 33 acres have been collected, taxes on the personal property have been billed, but not collected since first assessed in 2020.

The plaintiff based their claim on Connecticut General Statute 12-81(57)(D), asserting that the solar panels and related equipment, installed for “commercial or industrial purposes” and located at the property, are exempt from taxation as it qualifies as a “Class I renewable energy source” as defined in CGS 16-1. In the summary ruling, rendered on May 23, the judge ruled in favor of plaintiff Solar Trust c/o Huntington National Bank against the defendant, the Town of Hampton, citing the relevant statutes and decisions regarding other municipalities, all favoring the plaintiff Solar Trust. Several similarity situated towns have settled for minimal amounts.

In arriving at their decision to appeal, First Selectman Allan Cahill noted the difference between the amount our town lost in uncollected taxes compared to other municipalities. The personal property of the Solar Park represents a larger percentage of our Grand List compared to those of other filers. The Selectmen hope to recoup some of the approximate 1.5 million dollars lost to unpaid taxes and interest. Since 2020, $29,059 has been spent on legal counsel to resolve the matter. The cost of the appeal, Cahill said when asked at a meeting of the Board of Finance, will probably be comparable.

Our publishing year began and ended with the town’s commemoration of Memorial Day, with photographs of the parade and ceremony, and recognition of all the participating organizations, and above all, our veterans. The Memorial Day addresses were featured on the front pages. In 2024, our Korean War veterans, one, George Miller, in person, and fourteen through representatives, shared their experiences, stationed in such far flung places as Japan, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, Casa Blanca, the North Pole and the Sahara Desert, and one, Gordon Hansen, who served for two years on the front lines. We started this tradition two years ago, commemorating the World War II veterans when the last of them, Tom Gaines and Clarence Thornton, passed away. The Gazette gathered and organized their words, through speeches, letters, and interviews, which were delivered on Memorial Day by friends and family members. This year, as we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, we honored those who served during that era, hearing from eight veterans whose stories are recorded in this issue, from Jamie Boss, who also produced the video, “My Year in Vietnam, 1968-1969”, comprised of photographs he captured and narrated, to Al Ameer, who returned to Hampton to serve as a first responder here for 60 years. As the pastor of our Congregational Church, who gave the benediction, later wrote, “the power in the truth of what they spoke was profound.”

In July of 2024, “Our Rural Heritage”, the series we started in 2018 “to tell the stories of our old barns while they’re still standing” which expanded to other aspects of Hampton’s history, featured “Our Parades” to include the memories of former residents, and in the May 2025 issue, “Our Veterans” chronicled our patriotic history, from the French and Indian War to the present, and shared an excerpt from a letter of a resident veteran of the Civil War. Every subject is accompanied by a related remembrance.

The series also covered “Music!”, recording personal memories from the last century, “Hidden Springs Farm”, a horse rescue, Quiet Corner Winery at “Open Door Farm”, and “Living off the Land”, Helen Matthew’s turn-of-the-century account of harvesting wild plants from early spring to late fall.

We started a series on “Our Roads”, and ended our two year exploration of the town center, which covered all of those village institutions, from its beginnings with the Congregational Church on its 250th anniversary, and culminating with the old town pound, the village blacksmith, and the library, compliments of Janice Trecker, on its 100th anniversary, an article enhanced with Jean Wierzinski’s “A Tale of Two Sisters”, the history of Harriet and Eliza Durkee’s role in the Fletcher Memorial Library. We also wrote an article on Morris Burr’s (not nearly as famous yet far more infamous) relative – Aaron.

We also reported on current events, our Annual Town Meeting and one with our State representatives, Pat Boyd and Jeff Gordon. Town officials kept us apprised with a new feature, Veterans News, from advocate, Garry Brown, and information from the Town Clerk on important matters such as dog licensing and transfer station stickers, and from the Registrars of Voters on voting events. Those responsible for the budgets reported on them, and we published the referendum results. The Planning and Zoning Commission reported on conservation subdivisions and residential development, and noticed us on the importance of filling out the survey for the Plan of Conservation and Development. The elementary school consumed a lot more ink, with headlines ranging from “Grievance Points to Need for NAACP Invitation” to “School Officials Review Test Scores, Note Progress”. We reported on the controversy surrounding the resignations of Principal Merendina and Custodian Harris, the resultant turmoil with articles such as “Rancor and Hostility Distract from Board Focus”, and the consequential complaints filed with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and the Freedom of Information Commission, the latter resolved amicably one month later in the complainant’s favor. We published four letters of opinion this year, on these and other topics.

There was plenty of good news to report for the schools, with the announcements of graduations, honor rolls, and Dean’s Lists, and the publication of elementary school students’ essays, poems, and biographies.

Regular features included the “Recipe of the Month”, with fifteen contributors, “Auntie Mac”, a favorite among readers at large as well as those needing advice, and the garden column, with subjects ranging from “The Scented Garden” to “Overgrown!”, including one of “Our Neighbor’s Gardens”, this year, Linda Wenner’s splendid wildflowers. We also started a new series, “I’m From Here”, beautifully written by June Pawlikowski Miller, born and raised here and, gratefully, still living among us and sharing such lovely and loving commentaries on our “Small Town, Big Heart”. This and other forms of art – Pete Vertefeuille’s photographs of birds, ten poems from adults and children alike – elevate our publication, and we are always pleased to receive them.

The 2025 annual calendar’s theme was “Hampton Farms”, illustrating all the various ways we continue our agriculture roots. Twelve of our local artists contributed photographs and paintings capturing barns, pastures, cornfields, farmer’s markets, cows, chickens, sheep, maple syrup pails, horses plowing fields, and a Christmas tree farm.

Sadly, we bid farewell to 19 residents, including front page tributes to Phyllis Stensland, the elementary school’s first, longest serving, and most loved paraprofessional, Jean Romano, who was the Gazette’s “gold standard” for years and Chairman for a few, Maurice Bisson, who became nationally recognized when he was elected First Selectman as a write-in candidate, due in large part to his extraordinary neighborliness, and Al Ameer, who we honored months earlier when he was acclaimed locally and on the State level for his 60 years of service as a first responder.
We also paid tribute to other deserving residents. Kathy Donahue was our Citizen of the Year, for her service on town boards and committees, and for her volunteer efforts for the school, on holidays, and in community kitchens. We also covered the dedication of the Town Pavilion to Michael Chapel, life-long resident, long-time Selectman, forever friend and neighbor.

Community organizations kept us apprised of their happenings, Fletcher Memorial Library’s monthly and weekly events, the exhibits at Top Shelf Gallery, summer’s Music at the Fletch, and new books. We also reviewed resident Jamie Boss’ memoir, “Coming of Age in Vietnam”, and former resident Janet Robertson’s memoir, “It Looked That Way to Me”, both of which can be found on Fletcher’s shelves. The Recreation Commission, the Seniors and the Scouts reported their news, and the Fire Department’s “Smoke, Mirrors and Spotlights” listing the emergency dispatches of our first responders. Joshua’s Trust, the Friends of Goodwin Forest, and the Connecticut Audubon Society listed their monthly events, and we published several excerpts from Edwin Way Teale’s “A Walk through the Year” which he penned at Trail Wood. The Congregational Church published their annual events, among them the Trekker Organ Recital and Soup n’ Silents, and Pastor Paula Mehel was introduced to the community with the article, “New Pastor in Sync with Church Vision”. The Howard Valley Church opened its doors at Christmas time for a special candlelit service, hosted by the owners, the Chokas family, and officiated by members of the Mennonite community.

Other annual events we announced were Walking Weekend in the fall, Arbor Day in the spring, Holiday Happenings at Christmastime, and the Harvest Festival at summer’s end, where the Gazette provides for a Community Poem – this year’s theme, I Hope… with stanzas ranging from “It Stops Raining! It Keeps Raining!” to “An end to prejudice, and ignorance, and hunger” — and a community poll. This year’s Hampton Poll had 77% of participants favoring the development of senior housing, with 23% opposed, the State Poll for favorite fall fair was, overwhelmingly, Brooklyn, and in the National Poll on the Presidential Election, 22 of the 38 participants selected “I always vote” on the likelihood of casting a ballot.

One of our favorite holidays, and our readers’, is April Fools, which we celebrate with a special issue generously sprinkled with humor. This year we continued the tales of the Ebenezar and Eliza Bakker Button Family, discovered, along with their gristmill, last year living under the bridge by Utley Road, though they’ve resided here for over two hundred years. This April they were interviewed for a front page article on life along the Little River and we were introduced to new family members Katrina, Joost, Kaspar and Piet. Along with columns from regular humorists Angela Fichter and Kit Crowne, we published a recipe for bologna cake, Our Rural Heritage featured Hampton tales of “The Funny Farm”, and the garden column offered a survey titled “You Know You’re a Gardener If…” which included such criteria as — You consider well-aged feces a thoughtful gift.

This last year, nearly a hundred people, from here and afar, contributed articles, announcements, recipes, poems, opinions, photographs, and advertisements, and we thank you all. It is your presence on our pages which make The Hampton Gazette a community newspaper.

The property at 217 North Bigelow Road has served several functions throughout its history. The 18th century beginnings were agricultural; it was a dairy farm, and through many years, and still, there have been horses. The barn once served as a stage for the Consolidated School’s production of “Rumpelstiltskin”, as the setting for a wedding reception, and the yard, with its view at the time of the Little River valley and Hampton Hill, as one of the scenes for a film on our town. While embracing the property’s history, agricultural roots, and value as a venue, its new enterprise is unique to the property and to Hampton.

Owner David Paine has recently opened a winery. With wines which have already put Hampton “on the map”. In its first appearance at the Big E, “Quiet Corner Winery” earned silver medals for Woodhill Savignon Blanc, 2024 and Tekton Mal Bec American, 2023.

“We make awesome wine,” Dave says, and if the silver medal doesn’t speak for itself, the wine I sampled surely does. “I love to cook,” he explains, “I love the creation.” Having worked in kitchens in German restaurants and Irish pubs, his own was jokingly referred to as “Dave’s Bistro” when he lived in Indianapolis and fed so many people at his place. It is not unusual for the Paines to invite several guests for plated, seven course, gourmet meals. For years, he’s been making wines with friends for fun, and after spending hours and hours, reading and reading, and purchasing equipment, last spring he decided he wanted to build a winery here.

Along with culinary delights, Dave is also familiar with the area, having grown up in neighboring Andover. He spent eight years in the military and lived in Germany for a time prior to arriving in Hampton with his wife, Meagen, an Advanced Placement teacher of Science and Forensics at Ellington High School, and their daughter, Berlin, (named for the band – as in “Take My Breath Away” — not the capital). Two dogs and five horses complete the family.

What separates this winery from most others is that there are no vineyards on the 30 acre property. Instead, the grapes are grown and imported from vineyards in California, Chili, Italy and South Africa with the wine produced here. Dave has been to the California vineyards, and is planning a trip next year to Italy’s. “Every wine maker creates their unique flair,” he says, and every region’s grapes are unique. Quiet Corner Winery affords customers an opportunity to sample wines from the different regions. Dave’s goal is to have three to five wines from each of them. Next spring he hopes to expand his offerings and add six to nine more wines to his portfolio. He is also working on different sized wine bottles, noting that sometimes people want a smaller bottle to bring to the beach or on a picnic.

Quiet Corner Winery is open Sundays, from noon to five. Here you are treated to wine tastings, or a five, or seven, ounce glass of wine. There is also soda available and snack boxes. Customers can enjoy the ambience of the old building, part of the old farm house, complete with the original rafters, walls, and counter. Stools surround oak barrels serving as tables, and white lights along the ceiling supply a mellow glow. It’s a comfortable space. The Planning and Zoning Commission recently approved entertainment here in the form of music provided by a guitar player.

Customers can also relax outdoors where a patio hosts Adirondack chairs and picnic tables and a view of the beautiful horses this summer, and what must be a magnificent blaze of foliage from the maples descending to the valley this fall. There is also a play scape for children; it’s a child-friendly place. A poster Berlin created for the winery greets visitors at the entrance.

In another building, which replaced a garage and sets on its footprint, the wine is produced. The various spaces are temperature controlled depending on their function. One room contains stainless steel tanks for the fermentation process. Laboratory equipment fills another area designated for testing. Another room houses French oak barrels in which the wine is stored for a minimum of 12 months. Every one of the several barrels contains 59 gallons, or 280 bottles, of wine. Bottling is another process. Wine suffers “bottle shock” if this stage is not completed properly. Red wine needs to spend three months in the bottle; white wine only one.

What I sense as I sit in its realm, is that the history of this place is respected, acknowledges what came before. The old barn still stands, a landmark on North Bigelow, horses still graze in the fields, a new barn built on the footprint of another produces the wine, and a portion of the old farm house is where it’s poured for customers. While the name of the property was changed to “Open Door Farm”, from the original “Ha’ Penny” and the more recent, Windbrush”, Dave recognizes a time-honored Hampton tradition and understands, as the Johnsons who lived here for several years prior to selling the property to the Paines, that we who have lived here even longer still refer to it as “the Milners”.

“We’re temporary stewards of this place,” says Dave.

And I sense a respect for Hampton, for the rural roots of the town they’ve settled in.

After I leave, I notice that the picture on the wine bottle I brought home is of a cow, and the label on the back reads: “Why a cow on a wine bottle? Quiet Corner Winery is nestled in a part of Connecticut rich in farming history. We chose to feature a cow on our Sauvignon Blanc label as a tribute to the hardworking farming community, particularly honoring the dairy farmers of Hampton. Our goal is to craft a wine that not only stands the test of time but also celebrates the heritage and dedication of this agricultural region.” The essence of the place captures exactly that.

I’m far from a connoisseur, but I’ve learned a lot about the process, and the owners, and the intent. I’m treated to a glass of white wine, delicious, neither too dry nor too sweet, a perfect balance even for this untrained palate, and I know I’ll return for more of the wine, and the ambience, and the company. Treat yourself to Quiet Corner Winery this summer.

Next month’s issue will feature the property’s history.

Remembering…Hampton

Oh, take me back to Hampton now that spring is here.
Oh to walk along the village streets and see what I hold dear.
To see again the churches, the library and schools.
Old places that are cherished homes built strong with pioneer tools.
The village store where I once went to purchase this and that,
And a central spot where people come to buy, visit and chat.
I miss the dear old house we had built in seventeen twenty three.
It was a home so cherished by my husband, children and me.
Oh what a busy, cheerful, joyful place on old North Bigelow Road
And what a sad day came for us when the dear place was sold.
Oh take me back to Hampton, — let me be there in the spring.
I will sit in the old orchard where the spring birds came to sing.
And I’ll walk by Little River where the grass would grow so high.
I’ll visit the old cemeteries, read the names and maybe cry.
Oh take me back to Hampton, the village I hold dear.
I think about it almost every day and wipe away a tear.

Elizabeth Hearn Milner

Ann Hamlin passed away on February 7, 2025. She was born on April 16, 1960, and lived in Hampton for nearly 40 years, a familiar face on Main Street, where she resided, and around town. She worked at the University of Connecticut as a lab technician, and in true Hampton tradition, when she retired, she visited the Office of the First Selectman and offered to volunteer wherever there was a need. She was subsequently appointed to the Inland, Wetlands and Watercourses Agency. Though many of us remember her companions – beautiful horses in the fields behind her house, and the dogs she often walked with — Ann was not married, had no children, or siblings, and her parents, John and Marion Hamlin, predeceased her, and so we offer condolences to her friends here. An avid gardener, her gardens were featured in “Our Neighbors Garden” in the 2018 Gazette. While some of us had the pleasure of visiting her gardens, others were treated to lovely, seasonal displays of daffodils, irises, rhododendrons, peonies and roses across the front of her house as we walked or drove on Main Street. She also loved to visit gardens and exchange plants. I am so grateful for her rare white silenes and the rarer lavender-pink Siberian iris which flowered in my garden this year, and for her friendship.

Glen Newcombe passed away unexpectedly on May 31, surrounded by his family. Born on November 21, 1948, he was 76 years old. Graduating from the Sterling School in Vermont, and later earning a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Connecticut, Glen co-founded a business, Water & Air Waterbeds, with his lifelong friend, John Sornberger, which eventually developed into a chain of six stores and several partnerships. After retiring, Glen worked for his long-time friend, Scott Johnson, at Scott’s Cyclery. A member of the Thread City Cyclers and New England Mountain Bike Association, Glen was an avid cyclist, which is how most Hamptonites recognized him and knew him as a genuine, generous and gentle man. He was a member of the Friends of Goodwin Forest, volunteering for Connecticut Trails Day for many years, served on the Inlands Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, and as a Cub Scout Den Leader and Boy Scouts Assistant Scoutmaster in the 1990s and early 2000s. Glen took great pride in his property, the gardens and pond where children are still learning to swim. Our deepest condolences to his wife, Kathi, son Geoffrey (and Nicole), daughter, Marjorie Cogan (and Saoirse), step-son, Edward Mackay, grandchildren, Eve, Theresa, Aubree and Natalie, brother Vaughan and sisters, Beverly and Carolyn. Donations in Glen’s memory can be made to: Friends of Goodwin Forest, Hampton Fire Department, or Alzheimer’s Association of CT.

Rose Bisson passed away peacefully at her home on June 29 in the 70th year of her life after a courageous battle with cancer. Born on June 14, 1955, she was a graduate of UCONN, earning a Masters degree in special education. A life-long learner, she also earned degrees from Fordham University, Lesley University and QVCC. Her life-long dedication to education began at the Dempsey Center. She went on to teach special education in Eastford and Greenwich, then served as Assistant Principal in Ledyard, Principal of Borough School in Stafford, and retired after serving as Principal at Natchaug School in Windham. A continual advocate for education, Rose served on both the Regional District #11 and Hampton Elementary School Boards of Education, serving as Chairman these last few years. Rose also served on several educational committees. A loving wife, mother, daughter and sister, Rose cared for her parents and husband during their final time on earth. Predeceased by her husband, Maurice, and her parents, she leaves behind her daughter, Elizabeth Bisson, her grandchildren, her brother Gilbert Robichaud, sisters Jeanne Robichaud and Ann Tidwell, several nieces and nephews. The family thanks all who assisted in granting Rose’s final wishes to be home and comfortable surrounded by love at the end of her life.
Donations in her honor may be made to the Hampton Elementary School Rose Bisson Reading Fund.

Bill Moyers
June 5, 1034 – June 26, 2025
Although Mr. Moyers never resided here, he was, among many people of import, aware of our town and our newspaper. In the June, 1978 issue, the famous journalist wrote to, and of us: “If the Hampton Gazette ever needs an editor, you know where I am! It does encourage me to consider such an endeavor here. We have an awful local weekly.” While his offer is no longer possible, we promise to continue to fulfill his expectations.