hersam acorn news home magazine august 2010 north/south edition

8/9/2019 Hersam Acorn News HOME Magazine August 2010 North/South Edition

1/15

HOMEA Hersam Acorn Special Section

August2010

Greenwich Post The Darien Times New Canaan Advertiser The Ridgefield Press The Wilton Bulletin The Weston Forum The Redding Pilot The Lewisboro Ledger

Anconas MarketDoing What Comes Naturally

The Girl On The LandStory of Womens Land Army

HighsteadPreserving Paradise


2/15

2 HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn. August 2010

The dictionary dismisses a weed asundesired, uncultivated and useless.Most gardeners would agree. But at theparadise in Redding called Highstead, thereare wildflowers and wild grasses growing sofreely and beautifully that the word weedmakes no sense.

Highstead was formed in 1982 whenMr. and Mrs. James C. Dudley set aside an

initial 36 acres of woodland as a sanctuaryfor the study and appreciation of nativeplants, animals and woodland habitats.Through additional gifts of land, Highsteadhas become a center for conservation, eco-logical research and enhancement of nativelandscapes.

There are now 150 acres of diversewoodland, meadow, pond and swamp habi-

tats, and over two miles of trails through theproperty. It all adds up to a unique under-standing of the intelligence of nature, theresilience of New England forests, the earthsnatural cycles of life and how our land-usepractices have changed the landscape.

At Highstead, not only the concept butthe actual sensation of green can be felt. Walking into a stand of self-propagated

sassafras trees is like walking into a poem.There are 72 cultivars and forms of moun-tain laurel and 14 species of deciduousazaleas. But more than the size, varietyand visual discoveries everywhere, the wayyou relate to the landscape at Highstead isthrough simple, natural pleasure.

Bill Toomey, Highsteads director,explains the mission: to connect people

Highstead ... preserving,protecting paradise

by Lois Alcosser

The warm hue of goldenrod brightens the landscape and attracts butterflies.

Highsteadstaffphotos


3/15

August 2010 HOME, a Hersam Acorn special section, Ridgefield, Conn. 3

with plants and woodlands in their ownbackyards and afar, to motivate the appre-ciation, conservation and stewardship ofall natural landscapes for the benefit of theenvironment and ourselves. This is done inmany ways: studying why ash trees havebeen declining, analyzing the spread ofbittersweet, Japanese stilt grass and bar-berry. Of particular interest are the deerenclosures, designed to calculate the effectof deer on tree seedlings. For example, Billcomments, Many of the mountain laurelshavent been looking as well as they shouldlately, and so a study is being done. Is itdeer, or is it a decrease of sunlight? Orsomething in the soil?

The landscape around the main build-ing has been intentionally managed, hesays, so visitors can readily identify thetrees and bushes growing there. The acre-

age further away has been left to grow onits own, but its also being managed theway it has for hundreds of years. Meadowsare created from forests, for farming andgrazing. The meadow must be mowed, oth-erwise the forest would creep in and theredbe no land for farming.

In addition to the misconception aboutweeds, Bill says, theres that other negative

phrase invasive plants. Its true that whena plant is brought from its native habitatto some other place and it finds the rightconditions for growth, it will grow. Its not

the plants fault. Bittersweet, for example, isa delightfully decorative plant that peoplepay for at city florists. But when it wrapsitself around the trees in your backyard, itsan enemy. You cant just tear it off or spray itwith something; it may take decades to getrid of it completely.

Kalmias beautiful blossoms and evergreen leaves makeit one of our outstanding native plants.

See Highstead page 13

Be PreparedFor The

Next Storm.

Call Us

Today!


4/15


Summer weather has arrived, which toany foodie means grilling. Whatever themeal, outdoor living is all about delicious,healthy food.

Anconas Market, in the Branchville sec-tion of Ridgefield, has been in business for80 years. Now, the third generation of thisfamily, Joe Ancona, grandson of the origi-nal owner, has taken on a long-standingcommitment to offering their customers

the highest quality of meat and produce inthe area. Joe put it this way, Ive become the

gatekeeper at Anconas, so its my job tobring in quality foods. In general, there aremany things about food people dont know,so educating the consumer is what Imcommitted to, which means bringing in thehealthiest products I can find.

When it comes to beef, whether a steak,roast or the All-American hamburger,

Anconas has chosen to go all the way toMontana for natural beef Montana RanchBrand Certified Piedmontese Beef, whichhas a superb taste and tenderness.

Montana Ranch is a great transition forus, Joe said. What I tell people is, try [it]and taste the difference. This beef has amuch cleaner and lighter sensation, while

still having a very full, rich flavor becausethese animals are primarily grass-fed.Montana Ranch Brand, with head-

quarters in Billings, Mont., partners withselect family ranches in the United Statesthat raise the Piedmontese breed of cattle,which are native to the Piedmont regionof northwest Italy. A unique-looking ani-mal, it developed a lean physique and

ANCONAS MARKET

Doing what comes naturallyby Priscilla Whitley

Top-quality food and service are hallmarks of Anoconas Market in Ridgefield.


5/15


heavy muscular structure, appropriate tothe high-altitude environment in which itthrived. These attributes, combined withthe way the animals are raised, produce a

juicy, full-flavored beef with less fat andcholesterol than the traditional beef foundin most markets.

The cattle are allowed to roam freely onland managed in a sustainable manner. Notonly does this ensure a healthy animal, italso maintains the range lands for futuregenerations. One of the most important

SeeAnconas Market page 6

A 1940s photo shows the original Joseph Anconas Meat and Grocery store.


6/15


factors in the raising of these animals is thelack of antibiotics, steroids or any supple-mental growth hormones, making themunique when compared to their corn-fedcounterparts.

Cattle are brought to maturity in about

16 months by feeding them large quantitiesof corn that is high in fat and concentratedsugar, which fattens them up quickly. Cornalso presents a health issue for cattle; itshard for them to digest, and so hormones

and antibiotics are needed to keep themhealthy. And were the ones now con-suming exorbitant amount of chemicalsas a result, Joe said. Most people dontknow the ramifications of corn-fed beef. Its[important to know] because this waste

can now be found in our watersheds andmarshlands, having an adverse affect onour health.

In contrast, the Piedmontese cowsmature longer and develop a higher amount

of muscle. This particular breed has a muta-tion of the myostatin gene, a natural triggerin all mammals that causes the musculardevelopment to cease after puberty.

What happens, Joe explained, is thePiedmontese cattle keep [developing mus-cle] through the course of their life, and, indoing so, the muscle tissue becomes one,very lean, and, two, the actual cells in the

strands of muscle get smaller and closertogether, so once cooked it becomes verytender. With commercially raised cattle on ahigh-corn diet, you get a huge saturated fatproblem and a huge cholesterol problem.

The Montana Ranch Brand pastures themlonger so theyre eating grass longer, whichis their natural feed. Grass gives cattle ahigh Omega 3 fatty acid content, which isimportant to a lot of people right now.

The beef from Montana comes in verylean, with little gristle, Joe said. Beef cutup into small pieces results in a lot of sur-face area. Thats where the bacteria comes

from, which is the main transporter of E.coli. We dont use small pieces, we buywhole chunks of beef from one animal.

Anconas, a full-service market, cuts alltheir meat in store. They grind their beef

Anconas Market continued from page 5

CLASSICNEW ENGLAND

BARNS

PRE-CUT WITH

AUTHENTICMORTISE & TENON

JOINERY

(860) 350-5544GAYLORDSVILLE, CT

www.newenglandbarn.comHANDCRAFTED TIMBER FRAMES


7/15


first thing in the morning, giving it a 24-hourshelf life before pulling it off. So popular is theirground beef, they grind another round mid-afternoon, since the first batch has sold out.

Earlier in the year, Anconas partnered withApple Ridge Farms, part of a local CommunitySupported Agriculture organization that raisessix cows, organically, on the former McKeonfarm in Ridgebury.

We had a great response to this, so hopetheyll continue in the future, Joe said.

Anconas provides the Little Pub, inBranchville, with all their superb ground beefand the concession stands at Little League games

in Ridgefield will be selling Montana Ranchburgers. It will be served Friday nights at theRidgefield Boys and Girls Club barbecues.

With their long-standing tradition of qual-ity products, Anconas Market is committed toeducating and enlightening their customers onthe value of good food. Joe feels that his bestapproach is to offer people top-quality food andtheyll come back for more. That way, Joe said,

Im serving my customers in the tradition mygrandfather established 80 years ago.

Anconas Market is at 720 Branchville Road,Ridgefield; 203-544-8436; Web, anconasmarket.com. Although still on Rte. 7, a 1950s photo shows the markets new and expanded home.

Box 1019, Ridgefield CT 06877

203-438-6544

Copyright 2010, Hersam Acorn Newspapers, LLC

Jackie Perry, editorJessica Perlinski, designer

Thomas B. Nash,publisher

For advertising information

call 203-438-6544AUGUST 2010 VOL XIV, ISSUE 7

Special Section to:

Greenwich Post, The Darien Times, New Canaan Advertiser,

The Ridgefield Press, The Wilton Bulletin,

The Redding Pilot, and The Weston Forum in Connecticut,

and The Lewisboro Ledger in New York

HOME


8/15

LOCATION: Christened by a former owner, a Joycean scholar, after a home in

Finnegans Wake, this house in Wilton was once part of a cedar tree farm.PROPERTY: Two acres offer scenic views from the porch, patio and deck.HOUSE: The antique farmhouse has a spacious living room with rusticbeams, dining room with an original stone fireplace, gourmet kitchen and two

bedrooms, one a master. The original barn, now connected to the house andrecently renovated, has a series of open rooms ideal for entertaining, plus two

bedrooms. There are two full baths and one half-bath.GARAGE: Two-car attached.PRICE: $1,150,000.

REALTY: William Raveis.Agent: Michelle & Company, 203-454-4663.

Photography: Bryan Haeffele.

Home of the Month August 2010

The Haunted

Ink Bottle

Photo courtesy of William Raveis


9/15


Its a hard job to plant potatoes,Its a darn sight worse to hoe;

Its a hard job to weed tomatoes,When the pesky things do grow.Farewell to all the bright lights,

Good-bye, old BroadwayWe are all out here to serve our country,

And you bet well stay!(To the tune of Tipperary)

This is just one of the songs that circulated to cel-ebrate the Womens Land Army of America (WLA).There were 20,000 women across the country, 400

in Connecticut, who left their homes and families toreplace the farmers who went to war in 1917.

Its all documented in Fruits of Victory by Elaine Weiss, who consulted hundreds of sources toresearch the subject, with special thanks to the

Wilton Library.

The Girl on the Land Serves the Nations NeedSTORY OF THE WOMENS LAND ARMY OF AMERICA

by Lois Alcosser

There were 400 women in the Connecticut unit of the womens land army.

Est. 1987 ServingFairfield County

THE GARAGE DOOR EXPERTS

www.lifetimedoor.com

Visit Our Showroom Today - 54 Research Dr. Stamford, CT

203-323-4165

Outstanding selection of doors to choose from


10/15


She found long-lost posters issued torecruit farmerettes. One showed a womanin overalls and straw hat, The Girl with theHoe, behind the Man with the Gun.

The history had been forgotten, Ms. Weiss says. I didnt know about it untilI met Alice Holway in Vermont, a formerfarmerette, who was still working the landat age 80. She regaled me with stories and

was very proud of having done her bit inservice to the country.

With that as an incentive, I had a grandadventure in archival archeology becausethe history of the WLA was scattered andburied for nearly nine decades. It wasnt agovernment organization; it was privatelyfunded and privately run.

In 1917, one of the big questions was,How are we going to feed everyone?There were slogans: The fate of the nation

depends on food, and Food will win thewar!But where was the labor? Women could

be the answer. It would be hard work, learn-ing to drive a tractor, hoeing, weeding andharvesting all day. But women responded.Students, factory workers, teachers, office

See Farmerette page 12


11/15


workers, rich and poor. There was a two-week training period with strict rules.

A Connecticut farmerette wrote in herdiary: Was told to bring low-heeled shoes,overalls, middy blouses or mens soft shirts,rain gear, bedding, towels and a lunch box.

No jewelry or good clothes. Day starts at

5:45 a.m., put on my working togs andlearn how to hoe tobacco.

In Connecticut, the tobacco issue becamea problem. The WLA was supposed to pro-vide essential foodstuffs to nourish the troops

and stave off famine. But tobacco? I need

smokes more than anything else, claimed aposter of a soldier. After much controversy,

it was decided that if tobacco helped thetroops relax, it was an essential crop.

Two Connecticut women who ran thestates WLA were Corinne Alsop (moth-er of the future journalists Stewart andJoseph) and Grace Knight Schenck, bothof Wilton. Grace Schenck was a natu-ral-born organizer. Three months afterarriving in Wilton, she initiated the first

womens suffrage meeting at Town Hall,launched the Womens Suffrage League

and an Equal Franchise branch. Womenwere working the farms, but they stillcouldnt vote.

WLA uniforms varied in different states.Some wore overalls, some wore skirts orbelted smocks covering their overalls.Sunhats were a necessity. In 1917, overallsfor women were outrageous. Women driv-ing tractors? Impossible! But those objec-

Farmerette continued from page 11

See Farmerette page 14


12/15


Bill studied biology and marine biol-ogy at Fairfield University, worked for theNature Conservancy and studied the sci-ence of soil ecology in North Carolina. Iwas always interested in frogs, flies andsnakes and loved the woods as a boy.

He remembers his late teacher SalvatoreBongiorno, whose passion for ecology wasthe influence that led him to the field.

Highstead is reaching out to the pub-

lic with many unusual events. Recently, Dr.David Kittredge, professor of forestry at theUniversity of Massachusetts, introduced

Wildlands and Woodlands, a vision for theNew England Landscape. Based on the ques-tion of what the landscape will look like in

50 years, the vision calls for a long-term con-servation effort to retain at least 70% of theregion in forestland, permanently free from

development.

Seldom does history give us a sec-ond chance to restore our natural infra-structure, Dr. Kittredge says. Each year,thousands of acres of forests and farms arebulldozed for houses, roads, commercialbuildings and parking lots, but 63 percent

of New England woodlands are privatelyowned. With easements from willing pri-vate land owners and strategic conservationacquisitions, forestland can be retained.

An art exhibition, Songbirds of theEastern United States, is planned for Sept.11 to Oct. 29. On Sept. 11, from 10: 30a.m. to 1 p.m., the artists will discusstheir work and share the experiences thatinspired them. For details, 203-938-8809or www.highstead.net

Highstead is at 107 Lonetown Road, Route107, in Redding.

Highstead continued from page 3

The mission of Highstead is to instill an appreciation of our natural habitat to inspire us to become conservators.


13/15


tions soon faded away and so did stereo-types.

Ultimately, the objectors, the groupsthat feared male farmers were beingreplaced, changed their minds. Poems,songs, drawings, cartoons flourished.Farmerettes sang while they worked,

despite heat waves, aching muscles and$15 monthly wages. (The going farm ratewas 25 cents an hour.) The WLA wasconsidered an example of democracy inaction.

With the end of World War I and alack of funding, the WLA disbanded. Thewomen whod been active leaders turnedtheir attention to the ratification of the 19th

Amendment. Before World War II, Eleanor

Roosevelt championed the idea of revivingthe WLA, and, in 1943, it became a branchof the United States Crop Corps, whichwas recruiting volunteers for emergencyfarm work.

Among the historic pictures Ms. Weissfound is one showing two generations ofa farmerette family: a mother wearing herbreeches, puttees and belted smock uni-form from World War I and her daughterin one-piece denim overalls, no longershocking attire, from the Crop Corps of

World War II.Fruits of Victory may be purchased at

Barnes & Noble or ordered at your local book-store. Its available on the Web at fruitsofvic-tory.com or at Amazon.com.

Farmerettecontinued from page 12

Get it all back in shape with us at

Does your outdoor furniturelook this good ?

Decorating Consultant on Staff

PowderCoating


14/15


Come join the fun at Bethels Eighth Annual Gardening Fair, Sunday, Aug. 15,from 12:30 to 5. The theme of this years

fair is Edibles, and the array of gardeningactivities is sure to please everyone.

Presentations by gardeningexperts will include: EdibleLandscaping, VegetablesContained, Vegetables thatGrow Above the Soil and

Vegetables that Grow in theSoil. Information boothswill cover a variety of top-ics vegetables, invasives,

turf care, ferns, power tools forgardeners and low-toxic garden-ing approaches. Master gardeners willanswer your gardening questions and offerfree pH testing of soil samples.

This totally free event, sponsored bythe University of Connecticut CooperativeExtension Master Gardener Program of

Fairfield County and the ConnecticutMaster Gardener Association, requires nopre-registration.

Free refreshments, demonstrations, afree plant raffle and a sale of gen-

tly used gardening books areplanned for those

who attend thiseagerly awaited

annual gardeningevent.The fair takes

place on the groundsof the Fairfield County

Extension Centerat 67 Stony HillRoad in Bethel, less

than a mile from Exit 8 on I-84. Callthe Master Gardener office with questions,203-207-3262, or check the fair Web site,BethelGardenFair.com.

Bethel Garden FairMARK YOUR CALENDAR


15/15


Oceanfront beach house. Private oceanfront with gorgeous views from Point Judith to Watch Hill. 3br 2.5bath.

Great cottage. A must see. Great views. Oceanfront. Wow. Impressive ocean views from Pt Judith to Beavertail

price. Great surf spot.

Rhode Island Waterfront PropertiesProvidence: 30 min Boston: 1.5 hours NYC: 3 hours

Call John Krekorian for all shoreline properties at ReMax Flagship

(401) 788-3711 or email John at [email protected]

Coastal living at its best. Custom built home in Anawan Cliffs with ocean views. Architecturally designed

shingle style home with amazing views of Narragansett Bay. Private association and beach. Gold LEED

green with style.

OPEN HOUSE

Saturdays andSundays

The Best Is Yet To Come

Maintenance free homes allow you to enjoy the

best years of your life.

and full basements.

Ideally located near numerous golf courses, world

Offering by

hersam acorn news home magazine august 2010 north/south edition

Documents