Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

by Stasha Mills Healy

Overview

Did you know that there’s a Connecticut hotel room with a real helicopter inside? Can you guess who inspired the character of Indiana Jones, who was president before George Washington, and who flew before the Wright Brothers? Find the state’s most interesting and offbeat stories in Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.

Are you interested in taking a safari or racing a chariot? Had you ever heard that Martin Luther King Jr. spent two summers in Connecticut? Included are more than eighty engaging stories that provide insight into one of America’s oldest states. Inside are tales of pirates, an underground prison, and a possessed doll. Aren’t you curious about the spectacular stained glass church that was unknowingly built in the shape of a fish by a famous architect? From the world’s smallest Native American reservation to professionally coiffed cows and a replica of Marie Antoinette’s palace, you’ll find intrigue around every corner of this small but surprising state.

Author Anastasia Mills Healy brings to life the long history of intriguing people, places, and events that will fascinate even life long residents of Connecticut.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681063058
Publisher:	Reedy press, LLC.
Publication date:	03/15/2021
Series:	Secret
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	512,609
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Anastasia Mills Healy is a career travel writer and editor, formerly on staff at Condé Nast Traveler, Fodor’s, and Travel Agent. She’s been a freelance writer and editor for more than a decade for publications including Time Out and Frommer’s, and also provides content for travel industry clients such as tour operators and visitors bureaus. Stasha has won writing awards from the Connecticut Press Club and she’s a proud member of the Society of American Travel Writers, Women’s Media Group, and Greenwich Pen Women. A Connecticut resident on and off since 1980, she resides in Greenwich where she’s working on a young adult novel and planning lots of trips that she hopes to be able to take soon. Stasha has been to 64 countries (goal is 100) and all 50 U.S. states (yes, Connecticut is one of her favorites!).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction x

Up, Up, and Away 2

A Quarter Acre of Heartache 4

Dreaming in Simsbury 6

I Have a Bridge to Sell You 8

A Mikvah in Montville 10

First in Flight 12

Back to the Future 14

An Island Retreat 16

The Freeman Sisters and Little Liberia 18

Gatsby in Westport 20

Connecticut's Stonehenge 22

No Lute Required 24

The Ladies of Litchfield 26

The First US President was a Nutmegger 28

A Radiant Glow 30

A Refuge in an Archipelago 32

Friends, Romans, Connections 34

Our Own Indiana Jones 36

If It Flies, it Dies 38

Something to Think About 40

The Light on Ragged Mountain 42

Boys Will Be Boys 44

Berlin Graffiti 46

Beyond the Hand Sock 48

Holy Mackerel 50

War with Pennsylvania and Claim to Cleveland 52

Iranistan: Not a Former Soviet State 54

The Golden Age of Comics on the Gold Coast 56

Willimantic Rocks 58

20,000 Leagues under the Connecticut River 60

Would You Like a Tour of Hell? 62

Nazis Get NIMBYed 64

Spooky Fun 66

O Little Town 68

There's Something about Amy 70

Frisbie! 72

Ribbit! 74

You Can Go Home Again 76

How to Make $4 Billion from Teapot Lids and Spare Bolts 78

If These Walls Could Talk 80

Wild Horses Couldn't Get Me to … 82

Green Acres 84

A Woodstock Nakation 104

America's First Spa Resort 106

Shade Swamp Sanctuary 108

Let Them Eat Grey Poupon 110

A Safari in Litchfield 112

A Few Good Men 114

Education Pioneers 116

Sergeant Stubby 118

Before Her Time 120

Moving Mountains 122

Whoa, Nellie! 124

Adriaen Who? 126

Madame Butterfly on the Mianus 128

Firsts and Lasts in Bridgewater 130

A Camp for Adults 132

Reuniting Europe in Middlefield 134

Calling All Scholars and Space Nuts 136

"Lone Eagle" in Connecticut 138

Who Ya Gonna Call? 140

Monets on the Mountain 142

Hidden Commentary 144

Radiance Captured 146

"I am no politician" 148

Slow Down and Pay Attention 150

Don't Mess with Connecticut 152

The State's Stepford Legacy 154

The Mysterious Critter that Started a Craze 156

A Walk through the State's Military History 158

What in the World Is a Gungywamp? 160

No Boring Artifacts Here 162

No Throwing Stones 164

Ahoy, Matey! 166

Looks Can Be Deceiving 168

There's Nothing Evil in the Dark Forest 170

The Mystery of the Leatherman 172

Before There Was Bernie 174

Look Out Behind You! 176

Elementary, My Dear … 178

Putting the "woods" in Foxwoods 180

Connecticut's Sweet Tooth 182

Have it My Way 184

A Tale of Quarantine and Star-crossed Lovers 186

Sources 188

Index 195