Saturday, February 15, 2025

Success is Possible, but Takes Many Hands

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[All Opinion pieces and Letters to the Editor reflect ONLY the thoughts of the writer, and not those of the Stratford Crier or its Editorial Board.]

Tom Yemm

With so many comings and goings in Stratford, it may be of interest to readers of The Crier that a remarkable number of accomplishments have been logged over the past two decades, by residents who took an active role in protecting and promoting our community. In a season when it is easy to become complacent or even discouraged, let us remind ourselves that most of the good work does not come out of Town Hall, but rather results from rolled-up sleeves. Of course, sometimes that effort has required petitioning Town Hall, from its front steps, inside at Public Forum, or even at the voting booth.

Let’s enumerate a few citizen successes, from a partial list to be sure, and in no particular order (and without names for credit where it is surely due):

The Perry House was saved from demolition, and volunteers turned it into a vibrant event hall and historical resource, akin to Judson House or Boothe Park. Vocal and public pressure brought the White House, a War of 1812-connected mansion, into the Academy Hill historic district, along with its partial renovation and occasional theatrical use. Different volunteer groups brought summer theater festivals to the Shakespeare grounds for a dozen years, both before and after the main building’s tragic and needless torching. Another steadfast group has spent thousands of hours restoring the Will Geer garden beside the Elm Street entrance to the campus.

Spontaneous actions by small, ad hoc groups have pushed to (at least for now) conserve or protect wetlands (Teakwood), residential neighborhoods (Homestead/Housatonic), encroached-upon town parkland (Meadowview, Juliet Low, Longbrook) and more. Trees have been planted, been saved, gardens grown; these jewels did not appear by themselves.

Most notably (lest we forget), residents organized an enormous team of volunteers who mobilized to compel Town Council to cease efforts that were aiming at employing eminent domain (as in New London) to seize Stratford Center business properties and turn them into a parking garage for Valley train commuters. Of course we’ve subsequently lost Center School to similar misguided plans, over neighborhood objections, although the elevated water table has paused underground construction for now.

And in perhaps its proudest hour of all—if you did not live here in 2015 you probably cannot believe it—Stratford volunteers initiated a voter petition drive, blasted through the 10% signature threshold to get the WPCA (Water Pollution Control Authority) referendum on the ballot. Voters that November prevented another egregiously short-sighted attempt to sell off an invaluable town asset, viz., the water treatment (sewer) plant near Birdseye Landing.

Like Will’s Shakespeare Garden, our town of Stratford only thrives to the extent that neighbors step up and get their hands dirty. We’re long past our agricultural and even our industrial heritage. The way forward requires cultivating our culture—that which we have already and that which we can imagine and create. The cavalry’s not coming; it’s up to us.

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