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Grating the Nutmeg: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Connecticut Explored Magazine
Connecticut is a small state with big stories. GTN episodes include top-flight historians, compelling first-person stories and new voices in Connecticut history. Executive Producers Mary Donohue, Walt Woodward, and Natalie Belanger look at the people and places that have made a difference in CT history. A joint production of Connecticut Explored magazine and the CT State Historian Emeritus.
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- 6 days ago44 min
237. Mary Barlow: Hartford's Fallen "Six-Triple-Eight" Soldier
This episode tells the story of one of the women depicted in The Six Triple Eight, a 2024 WWII war drama film by Tyler Perry that tells the true story of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion. Mary Jewel Barlow was one of only three members of the 6888th Postal Directory Battalion who died in service during World War II and one of only four women buried in the Normandy American Cemetery in France. The 6888 was an all-Black, all-female Women's Army Corps battalion. A real young woman from Hartford's North End, Barlow's life and sacrifice deserve recognition. The guest is Orice Jenkins. A renowned member of Hartford's jazz community, Jenkins is also a genealogist and award-winning author originally from Hartford. His research has been featured in The Washington Post, on the National Parks Service website, and the Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Orice has meticulously researched Mary Barlow and brings that story to us. He is a returning Grating the Nutmeg guest - he was featured with Jill Marie Synder on episode #127 - Telling Your Family's Story. Listen here: gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/127-telling-your-family-story-with-jill-marie-snyder-and-orice-jenkins You can find out more about his work and contact information on his website at oricejenkins.com/ He is available for book talks, programs, and genealogical research. For more about his book, The Early County Massacre: Goolsby vs. The State of Georgia, go to: https://oricejenkins.com/earlycountymassacre Mary Barlow grew up in Hartford's North End. Be sure to go to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's website to plan your visit to see Drawn Here: Stories from Hartford's North End". In addition to the fabulous graphic novel artwork, the exhibit also has interesting items too. connecticutmuseum.org/exhibition/drawn-here-stories-from-hartfords-north-end/ -------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today - our Fall issue is out-plan your fall color-season daytrips. And please set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org so we can continue bring you new research in Connecticut history, compelling first-person stories, and fresh voices. https://simplecirc.com/shop/connecticut-explored This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- 2 weeks ago1h 1m
236. Greater Hartford's West Indian Diaspora (10th Anniversary Encore Release)
In celebration of our tenth anniversary, we are bringing you a remastered edition of an episode recorded in 2018 by Dr. Walter Woodward, Connecticut State Historian Emeritus with Dr. Fiona Vernal and former Hartford History Center Program Manager Jasmin Agusto. Dr. Vernal serves on the Connecticut Explored magazine Editorial Board. She holds a BA in history from Princeton University and a PhD. from Yale University. She is an associate professor of history and Africana studies and director of EPOCH: Engaged Public, Oral, and Community Histories at the University of Connecticut. Since this episode was recorded in 2018, Vernal has recorded hundreds of oral histories with members of Greater Hartford's West Indian community. The 2018 exhibit referenced in the episode has long since come down but a new exhibit entitled "Drawn Here: Stories from Hartford's North End" is open now, September 2026 to January 17, 2027, at the Connecticut Museum of Culture & History in Hartford. The exhibit exploresthe migration history and culture of Hartford's North End through a series of original graphic novels developed by local students and professional artists. The experiences of the Irish, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Black Southerners, West Indians, Puerto Ricans, and others who have made the neighborhood their home, whether briefly or for generations, add nuance and depth to our understanding this urban neighborhood. In today's Grating the Nutmeg episode, we're going to take a deep dive with Drs. Woodward and Vernal into the 70+ year history of West Indians who made Hartford home. Be sure to go to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's website to plan your visit to see Drawn Here: Stories from Hartford's North End". In addition to the fabulous graphic novel artwork, the exhibit also has interesting items too. connecticutmuseum.org/exhibition/drawn-here-stories-from-hartfords-north-end/ --------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our Fall issue is about to go in the mail-in your mailbox or your inbox. And please set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org so we can continue bring you new research in Connecticut history, compelling first-person stories and fresh voices. ctexplored.org/donate/ This remastered episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- Aug 14, 202630 min
235. Awakenings and Revolutions: The Harts, Saybrook, and the New Nation
From the high seas to the town square, we're bringing you the story of a New England family navigating revolution, economic expansion, and nation building. Awakenings and Revolutions: The Harts, Saybrook, and the New Nation is a new look at the residents of the Old Saybrook Historical Society's Gen. William Hart House and the Hart family of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Moving between the Connecticut River estuary, Hartford, New London, Boston, New York, and as far as Ohio and the West Indies, the story reveals the Harts' surprising connections to major moments of Connecticut's and our nation's early history. Author and historian Elizabeth Normen shares details about the Great Awakening; slavery in the north; the American Revolution and privateering; the West Indies trade, and the birth of the two-party political system in America. From pious ministers to financial fraudsters, the Hart family spent 250 years in Old Saybrook. Normen is the founder and first publisher of Connecticut Explored, the magazine of Connecticut history and of the Grating the Nutmeg podcast. Visit the beautiful gardens of the General Hart House at 350 Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Order the book on the Old Saybrook Historical Society's website here: saybrookhistory.org/store/ -------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our summer issue is a double-issue celebrating our nation's 250th birthday! And set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org/ This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- Jul 15, 202629 min
234. Saving Connecticut's Historic Barns
In 2006, Preservation Connecticut, then the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, realized that historic barns across the state were being demolished or allowed to fall down. What could be done to save them? Where were they? How many are there? How can we get people across the state to be interested in barns? All of this was unknown. My guest, Todd Levine, was hired to help answer those critical questions. Todd is currently the Environmental Review officer and Connecticut Freedom Trail Coordinator at the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office of the Dept. of Economic and Community Development. He is an architectural historian and received his graduate degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. What did my guest discover about Connecticut's barns? Find more in this episode and by going to Preservation Connecticut's barns website at: preservationct.org/barnshttps://preservationct.org/barns Hilltop Farm was built by Indian Motorcycle co-founder, George Hendee, starting in 1913, as a gentleman's retirement farm. Construction of Hendee's signature dairy barn was completed in 1914. The Friends of the Farm at Hilltop (FOFAH), a nonprofit, own 11 acres where the "Big White Barn", outbuildings and house sit. The link to their website is here: fofah.org/ Our thanks to Preservation Connecticut for sponsoring this episode. preservationct.org/ ------------------------------------ Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today - our summer issue is a double-issue celebrating our nation's 250th birthday! And set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- Jul 3, 202629 min
233. Rough Justice for Connecticut State Hero Nathan Hale (10th Anniversary Encore Release)
Happy 250th birthday to our nation and 10th anniversary to Grating the Nutmeg! In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we are bringing you a remastered edition of an episode recorded in 2020 with Dr. Walter Woodward, Connecticut State Historian Emeritus. Dr. Woodward takes a new look at the actions surrounding the Revolutionary War execution of State Hero Nathan Hale, and finds there are still some burning questions left to be answered about this hasty and irregular event. It's a story from Walt's book Creating Connecticut: Critical Moments That Shaped a Great State from Globe Pequot Press. As you'll soon hear, when looking for answers about the Rough Justice handed out to Nathan Hale by the British in New York in 1776, where there's smoke, there's fire... ------------------------ Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our summer issue is a double-issue celebrating our nation's 250th birthday! And to celebrate Grating the Nutmeg's 10th anniversary, set up your $10 a month donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was originally produced by Walt Woodward in 2020. Don't forget to follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- Jun 15, 202634 min
232. Guides for Black Travelers: New London's Green Book Sites
What's the first thing you do when you want to take a trip? Look through Instagram to find things to do? Or Yelp for restaurants that serve local cuisine? Today travelers can follow social media influencers and websites that promise to give you an insider's look at places to stay or the best discounted hotel rates. But for Black travelers in the Jim Crow era through the 1960s, it wasn't easy to find places to eat or stay overnight. In this episode, we are going to talk about two national guides for Black travelers, both published beginning in the 1930s, and places that were included from New London, Connecticut. Our guests, Nicole Thomas and Tom Schuch, are part of the team that produced the New London Black Heritage Trail, designated as one of 20 Connecticut History Gamechangers by Connecticut Explored magazine in 2022. Nicole Thomas was born and raised in New London. She is the Assistant Site Administrator at the Hempstead Houses Museum for Connecticut Landmarks and is instrumental in the interpretation of the life of Adm Jackson who was enslaved at the Hempstead Houses. You can hear that story on Grating the Nutmeg episode #175 Sleeping with the Ancestors with author Joe McGill. Tom Schuch is a New London native and a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He has a special interest in forgotten local history. This interest led to the discovery of several of the New London Green Book sites, as well as other sites that are now part of the New London Black Heritage Trail. Tom was featured on Grating the Nutmeg episode #149 New London and the Middle Passage. Be sure to go to the Connecticut Landmarks website to plan your visit to the Hempstead Houses. Learn about the mid-20th century Green Book guides that Black Americans used to find welcoming lodging and other services whether traveling for work or pleasure on Preservation Connecticut's website Architecture of the Green book in Connecticut: https://preservationct.org/architecture-of-the-green-book-in-connecticut And find Tom Schuch's blog All Schuch Up on Substack.com To see the Green books, visit https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/03/24/schomburg-treasures-green-book To listen to Nicole and Tom's other Grating the Nutmeg episodes. Visit: https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/175-sleeping-with-the-ancestors-in-connecticut https://gratingthenutmeg.libsyn.com/149-the-middle-passage-west-africa-to-connecticut Grating the Nutmeg is partnering with Preservation Connecticut to bring you summer and fall episodes on saving historic barns, New London sites found in the historic Green Book guide for black travelers, Mid-Century Modern architecture, and sites that reveal the state's LGBTQ+ history. Connecticut's historic places matter! Visit Preservation Connecticut's website to learnmore and become a member at https://preservationct.org/ ----------------------- This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at www.highwattagemedia.com/ Follow Grating the Nutmeg on Facebook and Instagram. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- Jun 1, 202627 min
231. John Hooker: Hartford's Abolitionist Lawyer
In this episode, you'll be introduced to John Hooker, a Hartford lawyer, judge, and abolitionist as well as a reformer for women's rights. Hooker was the president of the anti-slavery committee in Hartford, published the Charter Oak anti-slavery newspaper with the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society of Hartford, and co-authored with his wife Isabella Beecher Hooker, the state bill in 1877 that gave married women more control of their property. Why isn't he better known? Our guest for this episode is Erika Slocumb, Director of Interpretation & Visitor Experience at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism. Erika is a scholar of Black history. She received her BA in Social Justice Education, her MS in Labor Studies, and she expects her PhD in African American Studies in the fall of 2026—all from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Be sure to go to the Stowe Center's website at stowecenter.org/blog/ to read Erika's new blog post about John Hooker. Plan to attend the Nook Farm Lawn Party and Fourth of July events-all the info is on the Stowe Center website. Grating the Nutmeg is partnering with Preservation Connecticut to bring you summer and fall episodes on saving historic barns, Connecticut sites found in the historic Green Book guide for black travelers, Mid-Century Modern architecture, and sites that reveal the state's LGBTQ+ history. Connecticut's historic places matter! ------------------------------------------ Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our summer issue is a double-issue celebrating our nation's 250th birthday! And set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/ Follow GTN on our socials-Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
- May 15, 202623 min
230. Pursuing Happiness: New Horizons Village
In 1955, a group of disabled young adults living at New Britain Memorial Hospital signed a letter declaring their intention to seek out "adventuresome living for the physically handicapped." They formed a nonprofit called New Horizons and set out on a thirty-year journey to raise money and navigate legal barriers in order to realize their most cherished dream: a housing complex for the disabled, run by the disabled. In 2026, New Horizons Village in Farmington turns 40. In this episode, Natalie Belanger of the Connecticut Museum gives you a capsule history of the New Horizons movement and speaks with current residents and staff about what New Horizons means to them. Many thanks to our participants: Patricia Robothom, Gary Strickland, Chuck Hutchins, Jen Carver, and Pam O'Neil. Special thanks to Stephanie Tetreault for her assistance in facilitating these interviews! The story of New Horizons is featured in the Connecticut Museum's newest exhibition! The Museum is marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a new exhibition. Rebellious reflects on moments throughout Connecticut history when its people came together, pushed back, and sparked change to pursue their own visions of life, liberty, and happiness in America. You'll see artifacts and learn stories stretching from the American Revolution to the modern civil rights revolution. ----------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to Connecticut Explored magazine today-our summer issue is full of fun ideas for daytrips and staycations! And set up your monthly donation to Grating the Nutmeg at ctexplored.org This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Natalie Belanger and engineered by Patrick O'Sullivan at highwattagemedia.com/ Follow GTN on our socials-Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky. Follow executive producer Mary Donohue on Facebook and Instagram at West Hartford Town Historian. Join us in two weeks for our next episode of Grating the Nutmeg, the podcast of Connecticut history. Thank you for listening!
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About Grating the Nutmeg
Connecticut is a small state with big stories. GTN episodes include top-flight historians, compelling first-person stories and new voices in Connecticut history. Executive Producers Mary Donohue, Walt Woodward, and Natalie Belanger look at the people and places that have made a difference in CT history. A joint production of Connecticut Explored magazine and the CT State Historian Emeritus.
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