Woodstock CT Café

See June Leavitt’s story .

Peter Leavitt, a 35-year resident of Woodstock CT, was born on January 22, 1913 in Constantinople, Turkey. He was the son of Arthur Howland Leavitt of Spencer MA and Englishwoman Elsie Baker. The Baker family members were prominent textile merchants in Constantinople and Arthur, who spoke many languages fluently, was in the Foreign Service stationed at the US embassy as a courier and translator. Peter is shown below at the age of five or six with sister, Ruth, younger brother John, and mother Elsie. In the second picture, a slightly older Peter is sitting on a launch at a dock on the Bosphorus between European and Asian Turkey in the early 1920s.

Because of the turbulent times in Europe with the outbreak of WWI (Turkey was on the other side), Peter was sent to England to live with the Bakers at the age of one and a half. When the USA entered WWI in March 1917, the Leavitt family had to leave Constantinople, allowing Peter to be reunited with his parents near London and then during their stay near Paris. In 1919 Peter and the family returned to now Istanbul on a boat that crossed the Mediterranean from Gibraltar. Peter’s childhood in Turkey ended around the age of eleven and a half in the summer of 1924 when he returned to England to attend Heathfield Boys School through 1926 at age 13. During these later years he would visit his Auntie Dolly Baker who worked at the girls’ school attached to Downe House (Darwin’s House) about 16 miles from the center of London. No doubt, his young life in England separated from his parents was very difficult for Peter.

In early 1927 the Leavitt family took a boat to Providence RI from Portugal and settled in Spencer MA, Authur’s home town. After about six months, the family moved to Westchester County NY and rented a house from Leland Magill at Milton Gardens in Rye NY. Leland was the father of Peter’s future wife, June. Eventually Peter was enrolled at Blair Academy in northern New Jersey where he finished high school. He enrolled at Amherst College in the early 1930s at the depth of the Great Depression, but left college after completing one full year and a few months. The picture on the left (above) was likely taken at Milton Gardens in 1928 when Peter was about 15 years old; the picture on the right was taken in northern Washington DC, in the mid-1930s after Arthur had taken a position with the National Archives.

Peter’s professional life began with a brief job at NBC in Manhattan. Then, he sold himself to F. Schumacher’s, a formidable home furnishing business that specialized in fine fabrics and wallpaper. He worked at Schumacher’s for the next 25 years. One of his tasks at Schumacher’s was to help Frank Lloyd Wright furnish the Guggenheim Museum.

Much of Peter’s early life was a mystery to his children as this was rarely discussed by Peter or his immediate family. Peter kept a file of letters from his close friend, Boyce Aiken, written in the 1930s and early 1940s which tell us a little about Peter as a young man in his 20s and 30s. Both Peter and Boyce were aspiring writers in the 30s although it became obvious in reading Boyce’s letters that Peter had decided to stay with Schumacher’s to gain his financial independence. Peter was initially stationed in Detroit and toured the Midwest to sell fine fabrics for drapes and upholstering furniture. Apparently he was successful and was invited to the home office in mid-town Manhattan in the late 30s where he became involved in purchasing materials from designers and mills. He commuted to mid-town Manhattan for more than 30 years after eventually settling in Rowayton CT.

In April of 1940 Peter travelled down to DC to visit his family and sought out the “cute little girl” June from Milton Gardens, whose family had moved to McLean VA. June, who was more than seven years younger at 19, was taken by surprise when Peter proposed to her; and as we all know, she said “yes”. Their McLean wedding was in August 1940 and the ceremony was well attended by many close friends from Milton Gardens. New York friend, Henry Maury – a future Rowaytonite and father of Brooke, Martha and Kirby – was Peter’s best man after Boyce, who was living in Taos NM, turned him down.

Peter and June took their honeymoon at Niagara Falls and then moved into the “boathouse” on Casmar’s Pond at the northeast corner of Rowayton CT. This shack was on property owned by the family of Boyce’s wife, Stella, also a good friend of Peter’s preceding the wedding. The scenes above are Peter and June at the boathouse in the late spring of 1941.

After a year at the boathouse, Peter and June rented an apartment on 18th Street at the edge Greenwich Village for about two years. While living there they became good friends with Margaret DeSilver and Carlo Tresca. On one occasion June traveled to the Midwest with them (a file of letters from Margaret confirms this friendship). Margaret’s former husband (deceased) had founded the American Civil Liberties Union which Margaret continued to sponsor and Carlo was an Italian leftist noted for his opposition to Mussolini. One morning as Peter walked to work at Schumacher’s from Greenwich Village, he came upon a curbside crime scene that turned out to be where Carlo had just been assassinated.

In 1943 Peter and June moved to Darien CT to share a house with physician Alan and wife, Scud Frazer. This is when their first child, Christopher (John), and the Frazer’s daughter, Gail, were born. A year later, Peter and June purchased a house on Harstrom Place in Rowayton CT and Rowayton was where Peter and June lived for the next 36 years owning homes in the 40s and 50s on Bryan Road and then in the 60s and 70s on the water on Bluff Avenue.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s while continuing to work at Schumacher’s, Peter became involved in local politics. He represented the 6th district (Rowayton) on the Norwalk City School Board. He was also elected as an independent candidate to the Norwalk City Council representing the 6th district. At the same time he chaired the Independent Party which elected Irving Freese as Mayor of Norwalk for eight years (1947-1955). In the early 1950s Peter was approached by the FBI and asked to attend meetings of the local Communist Party in the Harbor View section of South Norwalk. A true politician at the time, Peter willingly attended and left no secret to the comrades about his being contacted by the FBI which no doubt won him some votes for this honesty.

The picture on the right shows Peter in the late 1960s with father, Arthur, and brother, John, on the Bluff house terrace in Rowayton.

In 1960 Peter left politics and Schumacher’s to form a partnership with Henning Watterston, a designer of Jacquard fabrics. Together they founded the Leavitt, Watterston Corporation based in Woodstock Valley CT on Barber Road in a restored 18-century house on 164 acres. The house on Barber Road in the early 1960s is shown as it looked before and after. The business designed and sold fine fabrics for mills surrounding the quiet corner of CT and Italian mills to companies like Schumacher’s, one of Peter’s best customers. A studio was added attached to the back of the house where the design work was done.

This is where Peter and June lived for most of the final 35 years of their lives. During many of those years, Peter donated his time on almost a daily basis, with Jill and Alex Walsh at Majilly in Woodstock, at the University of Connecticut library in the Art Department, and at Wonderland Books in Putnam CT. Peter and June also busied themselves in retirement with impressive dedication to literary pursuits, painting, pottery, and sculpting.

In the fall of 1981, eldest son John (Christopher) delivered his green 1975 Jeep to “the farm” before moving to California. Peter used this vehicle to tour the fields, collect firewood, and provide joyrides for grand children. In 2002, the Jeep was given to Howard, a mechanic at Bowen’s Garage in Eastford. The repaired 35-year old Jeep can often be seen in Bowen’s parking lot these days. Speaking of the Bowens’, matriarch Gertrude Bowen was Arthur’s (Peter’s father) half sister, also from Spencer MA.

Peter passed away naturally in North Woodstock at the home of John and Becki Leavitt on December 28, 2010 following the death of his wife Junie by three months and two days.

In addition to John, Peter is survived by three sons, Peter and David, who live near Boone NC, and Andrew who lives in Gaithersburg MD with their respective families, and daughter, Phoebe, of Kennebunkport ME, eleven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.

Christmas At Rock-Away Rest

‘Twas the night before Christmas at Rock-Away Rest,
and all of us seniors were looking our best.
Our glasses, how sparkly, our wrinkles, how merry;
Our punchbowl held prune juice plus three drops of sherry.

A bedsock was taped to each walker, in hope
That Santa would bring us soft candy and soap.
We surely were lucky to be there with friends,
Secure in this residence and in our Depends.

Our grandkids had sent us some Christmasy crafts,
Like angels in snowsuits and penguins on rafts.
The dental assistant had borrowed our teeth,
And from them she’d crafted a holiday wreath.

The bed pans, so shiny, all stood in a row,
Reflecting our candle’s magnificent glow.
Our supper so festive — the joy wouldn’t stop –
Was creamy warm oatmeal with sprinkles on top.

Our salad was Jell-O, so jiggly and great,
Then puree of fruitcake was spooned on each plate.
The social director then had us play games,
Like “Where Are You Living?” and “What Are Your Names?”

Old Grandfather Looper was feeling his oats,
Proclaiming that reindeer were nothing but goats.
Our resident wand’rer was tied to her chair,
In hopes that at bedtime she still would be there.

Security lights on the new fallen snow
Made outdoors seem noon to the old folks below.
Then out on the porch there arose quite a clatter
(But we are so deaf that it just didn’t matter).

A strange little fellow flew in through the door,
Then tripped on the sill and fell flat on the floor.
‘Twas just our director, all togged out in red.
He jiggled and chuckled and patted each head.

We knew from the way that he strutted and jived
Our social- security checks had arrived.
We sang — how we sang — in our monotone croak,
Till the clock? tinkled out its soft eight-p.m. stroke.

And soon we were snuggling deep in our beds.
While nurses distributed nocturnal meds.
And so ends our Christmas at Rock-Away Rest.
‘fore long you’ll be with us, We wish you the best!

Author Unknown

For those who don’t follow women’s college basketball, the UConn women broke an unbreakable record last night. They won their 89 game in a row (beating Florida State) breaking the UCLA men’s team record of 88 wins in a row in the early 1970s. The team has another tough game against Stanford on the night of December 30th. They beat Stanford in the NCAA finals last year. Stanford was the last team to beat them in April 2008.

Hear from Matt Sanderson in the comments under his article below.

The Salt Barn

Outdoor parking for the trucks next to the salt barn.

The new garage with 12 bays for trucks including a wash bay. The trucks will be indoor for the first time.

The fueling station which is now fully lit and under cover for town vehicles including school buses.

I get irritated every time I go to the pump this time of year when I see the sign on the pump “10 percent ethanol”.  Initially I don’t have to see the sign to note that Gasohol has arrived because I notice that my mileage per gallon has diminished by watching the gas gauge and have to strategize more frequently about where and when to stop to fill up. I’m too time-strapped to find a way to go to the pump in Massachusetts which is out of the way for me unless I just happen to be there at the right time.

I have a modest  Ford Focus to conserve gasoline usage so my annoyance stems from seeing my mpg drop from about 31-32 mpg to about 26-27 mpg. Let’s say that my mpg drops by 14.5%. This means that I have to fill up every 4+ days rather than every 5+ days. We are not reducing dependence of petrol because replacing 10% of the gasoline with ethanol which does not account for the 14.5% reduction in miles per gallon. The other problem is that we are not getting a 14.5 % reduction in price – in fact the price has gone up.

What was the EPA drinking when they dreamed this up? Probably not Kool-Aid.

The data below does not match my experience with gasohol. My experience is that I am using more fossil fuel because of the lower efficiency of gasohol. The noxious components produced assumes that we are all getting equal mpg with gasohol versus regular gas; but it sure looks like they are using HUMVEEs to come up with this result.

Matt Sanderson says “Happy Holidays Woodstock Cafe”.

Matt Sanderson, former ace reporter for the Villager, has set up this newsy blog (see http://tiverton.patch.com/ ) for Tiverton & Little Compton RI. Perhaps the Cafe influenced this move. He and Stephanie Jarvis improved the Villager with their reporting. We wish Matt the best and will now be able to follow the goings on in these other previously unheard-of towns – especially our RI visitors. Below is a map that locates these towns.

from Candi Smith

Frog Rock is going to be sold to the highest bidder.  Situated at the Pomfret/Eastford town line, it is one of the Quiet Corner’s biggest attractions, and a historical megalith.

This info was found on: Connecticut Museum Quest:

“Frog Rock was the brainchild of 1880’s Republican state legislature Thomas Thurber. He passed it day after day on his trip from Putnam to Hartford and finally decided to paint it like the frog he thought it looked like. It faded over time, of course, but in 1997 Thurber’s descendants repainted it green and added a little memorial to the 19th century statesmen on a nearby rock as well.

“To find it for a nice picnic (there are still about 3 usable stone picnic tables): The road that the rock was on is gone. Frog Rock can barely be seen behind the trees on Rt. 44 headed west from Pomfret to Eastford. Look for a shoulder on Route 44…. a small gravel area and a guardrail, where you can pull off the road. Park there and walk about 50 feet down the remains of the old road.”

I contacted Mike Alberts who wrote to the Facebook page for Frog Rock:

“William and Diane, thank you for writing to me. I’m very familiar with this site, too and am disappointed that the picnic area has not been able to remain in use for its originally intended purpose. 
 
As you may know, the state continually reviews its park and recreation facilities. Sometime ago it was clear that state residents weren’t using the roadside picnic areas as we once did. What’s more, many of these sites, this one included, were being regularly vandalized. As a result, this and many similar picnic areas have been closed for many years. In my six years of state service, no one has complained to me about a lack of access to the site. 
 
We created an opportunity for the Town of Eastford to purchase the site if they so chose, but there was no interest in pursuing this. At a time when the state is facing a $3.5 billion annual budget deficit, we simply don’t have the money to restore and maintain this facility at the state level and the Town of Eastford is facing similar municipal constraints. 
 
I have been approached by a Putnam resident (Candi) who may be soliciting funds to acquire the facility at auction. If you would like, my aide Jason Schuetz can put you in touch with her. Just let me know by responding to this email.”

Having read articles/comments at Woodstock Cafe about RAP on Pulpit Rock Road, and the encouraging concern of people in this area to maintain the unique flavor of the Quiet Corner, I would ask people to do whatever needs to be done to prevent Frog Rock from becoming the site of a gas station.

Please visit the Facebook site of Frog Rock to get an idea of the devotion people have for this glacial erratic!

Candi Smith

from Nary

Planning and Zoning is presently giving great attention to a specific topic that does now and will continue to affect many of us in Woodstock. Some PZC members are so focused on this topic that it trumps any and all other work.

As I stated before, Woodstock’s sub-division regs are considered a model in the state of CT. I don’t think any other town in the state include regulations that contain a 50% conservation set aside of buildable land. Some towns have a 50% set aside of land that can include wetland etc. It doesn’t take much imagination to envision what Woodstock will look like in 20 or 40 or 60 years with a 50% conservation set aside of buildable land from that of a 50% set aside of non-buildable land. Which model offers more in the long-term?

Some planning and zoning members (aka – landowners) feel as if this is unfair to them.

I’m not sure I understand the argument fully — I hope that someone at the Cafe will jump in where I’m off track. The speakers in opposition to the 50% cons. set aside of buildable land claim that this devalues their land which causes problems when they apply for loans needed for farming. Thus, it gives them an unfair playing ground economically. My understanding is this — if someone opposed to the sub-division regs was flush enough (with cash) to bring a law suit, the sub-division regulations could be judged as a “taking” of land by the municipality.

From what I’ve observed of PZC, the serious work being done is obsessively centered around amending or rescinding the sub-division regs.

from JK

While I would not be excited to see a cell tower near my house, I would have a hard time taking a position to oppose it. We all have utility poles on our streets – that was done before most, or perhaps all of us remember. If you want to use a cell phone in Woodstock, I don’t understand how you can oppose a new tower. On the other hand, if you never use a cell phone, then you are at least putting your money where your mouth is, and I can respect that opinion.

The reality is that cell phones/smart phones have become part of our society in the same way that electricity and telephones (and later cable TV) required utility poles and wires on every street. The venom pointed at “farmers” in Woodstock is at best, unnecessary, and at worst, just nasty politics. I know someone with a lot of land and a small form who was not interested in allowing a cell tower on his property. H was offered a large sum of money up front, and a decent recurring yearly payment. He didn’t need the money, and didn’t want the tower, so he said no. If he had agreed, I wouldn’t have blamed him.

Zoning regs are needed in Woodstock, but I don’t believe that they can prevent all future development. Just ask people in Brooklyn. It would be nice to see, rather than a 2 acre lot for building, perhaps smaller house lots with open space requirements for subdivisions. For example, if there is a 50 acre subdivision on a previously undeveloped lot, there could be 25 houses and all 50 acres would be developed.I’d rather see 10-20 houses on 10 acres (more or less) with a the rest of the land left as open space. That’s what zoning could accomplish.

The anti-farmer rhetoric is just not helpful.

from Nary

We have also experienced much of what Ken reports in this thread (to Mike). Director of NECCOG, John Filchek once said, “it only takes 7 people on a PZC board to determine YOUR fate.” This is indeed true. It happened to us. Our quality of life and property value was taken away suddenly one night in a unanimous vote by PZC. We hope that what happened to us doesn’t happen to others. We intend to continue to work toward preventing that.

Woodstock quite effectively has NO zoning except for a set of sub-division regs which are VERY good and stand as a model in the state of CT. When it comes to building sub-divisions, we look good. However, every other application comes under “Special Permit” and ALL special permits are granted which means that everyone in Woodstock could suddenly have a 6 bay, 24/7 lighted Gulf station next to them one day or a version of the famed hot dog stand. It is true that this probably won’t happen to you if you happen to be friends with the “right” people in town for PZC decisions ARE selective rather than impartial.

As much as land owners wish to sell land at strong prices, I wonder why they don’t logically deduce that anyone “from away” with a lot of money to spend on land would want to build a home or a business when they can not know what might be built next to them in the future. How healthy is it to have newcomers or businesses that seek NO regulation? Why do they want to avoid regulation? And, do you want this type of owner(s) to move in next to you?

It takes 20 minutes on the net to research the wisdom of good zoning in regard to land values, community quality of life, strong schools etc. ALL strong communities have good planning and zoning.

Woodstock prides itself on being different in just about every topic one can think of — so far it’s worked pretty well, sort of . . but it is only a matter of time before it doesn’t work any longer. And then what? Where do we all move to next? Read the rest of this entry »

from Mike

As a newcomer to the Town of Woodstock and the Cafe, I am dismayed to learn of the CT Sitting Council approving the proposed site of a 160′ cell phone tower and telecommunication facility at 445 Prospect Street. What I find most surprising, however, is the lack of attention this issue has garnered from the local media! What about the scenery? What about having to cross wetlands along the access route? What about the proximity to the historic Seth Chandler house? And what about my never having hit a deadzone with Verizon in the vicinity where this tower is supposed to improve coverage?

    I suppose that this is all too-little-too-late, but the opposition many residents voiced over the paving of Pulpit Rock Road was inspiring! I was wondering what other readers at the cafe thought about this tower?