Month: August 2017

Ye Olde Tyme Outhouse

Posted on by Logan Wheeler

YE OLDE TYME OUTHOUSE

 

The Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum will sponsor a program Ye Olde Tyme Outhouse on Saturday, August 19th at 10:00 AM.

Historian Georg Papp will bring outhouse models representing separate eras in addition to display boards, photos and articles.  This talk will be informative as well as entertaining with some American history mixed in.  The lecture is free but donations on behalf of the Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum are welcome. 

Papp says he became an OBPA (Outhouse, Backhouse and Privy Authority) when his daughter bought a 100-year old home in New Hampshire.  She wanted an authentic outhouse to go with the home so dad felt obligated to help.  Since building the first outhouse people started placing orders for outhouses and a new business was developed. 

Papp says old abandoned outhouses are a treasure trove for those who love history and digging.  Muskets, knives, coins, and wallets are among the valuable items found in colonial pits, but the most common items are whiskey bottles. 

The Eric Sloane Museum was built as a collaborative effort between Eric Sloane and Stanley Works of New Britain to commemorate the tool company’s 125th anniversary. Sloane is known to lovers of Americana as an artist and author who brought to life many forgotten customs and skills of past generations. In all, Sloane authored and illustrated over 38 books.

The Eric Sloane Museum is located in Kent, Connecticut on Route 7 (31 Kent-Cornwall Rd.) just north of the village of Kent and the intersections of Route 7 and 341. The museum is open Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  Regular admission:  Adults $8.00, Senior Citizens, $6.00, Children 6 to 17 $5.00.

2017 Summer Art Enrichment: another success!

Posted on by Logan Wheeler

2017 Summer Art Enrichment: another success!

The Society enjoyed another successful Summer Art Enrichment program educating youngsters in June and July with a variety of professional artists as instructors.

The organizers expanded the program to a full four weeks this year and several new instructors contributed their talents, including Sam Alford, an illustrator and animation artist, Albert Coffill, retired Kent Center School art teacher, and Gabriella Martinez, an art student at the Hartford Art School.  We also welcomed back Andy Richards, who is the head of the Visual Arts Department at The Gunnery school.

Some comments from parents: “The instructor was great and the projects were so creative.” “She enjoyed the group creation of comics. The creative interaction was fun for her.” “She enjoyed the chance to immerse herself in painting.”

There were a total of six different weekly sessions of instruction and 53 participants were involved. Many of the sessions also got a tour of the Seven Hearths Museum thanks to Curator Marge Smith.

At the end of each week, there was an art show presenting each child’s work and parents, grandparents and friends enjoyed seeing all the work on display.

“We continue to be awed by the high quality of art instruction that the Summer Art Enrichment students are receiving through this program,” said Melissa Roth Cherniske, one of the trustees that helped organize the program. 

“It was so nice to see the Art Barn buzzing with artistic activity. We started this to pay homage to George Laurence Nelson. I’m sure that he and Helen would be so happy and proud to see the program we have developed ” said trustee Lynn Mellis Worthington, one of the volunteers who helped organize the program.

The Society is thrilled to have the Art Barn in use to allow children to develop their artistic skills.  George Laurence Nelson gave art lessons in various forms over the years and so we believe our art instruction continues his legacy.

For a full description of the sessions, go here.

Interested in Summer Art Enrichment in 2018? Contact the Society’s organizers.

Images from the 2017 sessions:

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