Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in line to get $150K in federal funds

President Obama has before him legislation that would provide $150,000 in federal aid to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.

The legislation, the 2010 Interior-Environment Appropriations Act, was approved on 72-28 vote in the Senate on Thursday, just hours after the House passed it, 247-178. The basics are reported on in Government Executive; to find the Stowe money, go to page 19 of this list of earmarks (PDF).

The House vote prompted the following news release from Congressman John B. Larson, whose district includes Hartford:

"Washington, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed broad legislation that makes targeted investments in our nation’s natural and cultural resources. Included in the legislation was $150,000 in funding, supported by U.S. Congressman John B. Larson, to preserve the home and historical collections at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford.

"Harriet Beecher Stowe is the celebrated author of the antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, the 19th century bestseller. Her 1871 home and the center has over 200,000 artifacts and documents and holds the collection of materials of important themes of 19th century America including the women suffrage movement and slavery. The Center’s archives are also utilized by local and international scholars, including recent Pulitzer Prize recipients.

"'As a former history teacher, I believe it is important to ensure that future generations understand the history that came before them. Harriet Beecher Stowe was truly a remarkable woman, whose writing of social justice positively altered the very landscape of our nation.  I’m proud our state and the City of Hartford are home to a rich history, and we must continue to protect it by fostering greater access to our cultural past,' said Congressman Larson.

"The Interior Appropriations Act makes key investments in protecting the nation’s environment and supporting historical conservation. Also, the bill supports projects of excellence for the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities."

Saturday: A talk on Hartford and the WPA

From the Hartford Public Library's Hartford History Center:

"Join us for a conversation with Cynthia M. Koch, director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York and Connecticut State Archivist Mark Jones, project coordinator for the Connecticut Federal Art Project Artists. FDR's New Deal cultural programs marked the U.S. government's first big, direct investment in cultural development. The largest and most important of the New Deal programs, and the favorite of Eleanor Roosevelt, was the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a massive employment relief program launched in the spring of 1935. Cynthia Koch and Mark Jones will discuss FDR's national policy and how it played out on the local scene in the context of art and artists in the Hartford area. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Eugene Leach of Trinity College. For more information, call Hartford History Center at (860) 695-6297 or visit online at www.hplct.org/hhc."

How CNNMoney.com views Hartford

CNNMoney.com has ranked Hartford the country's fifth-best metropolitan area in which to launch a small business.  While that may have many of us scratching our heads--especially in light of near-daily bummers like the City Council's acknowledgment last week that the Project Mayor project planned for the vacant corner of Main and Park streets will never become reality--it's worth noting that CNNMoney.com repeatedly references the city's history:

"The past few years have seen new life--hotels, restaurants, a convention center and a science center--sprouting in the historic city, where you'll also find the country's first public art museum and oldest public park."

There's even a photo of the Old State House. It all speaks to the potential for using the Hartford area's history as a draw not just for visitors but new residents. Heck, it seems to be one of the positive attributes people already associate with us, so why not get the most out of it?

Conference on 'Connecticut at War'

A bunch or organizations -- but namely, the Association for the Study of Connecticut History, the Connecticut Militia Heritage Committee, the Connecticut State Library, and Manchester Community College -- will hold a conference next month on how Connecticut people have experienced war over the state's long history.

The Friday, November 13th session will be held at the State Library and the State Armory, both on Capitol Avenue. The Saturday, November 14th session will be held at Manchester Community College. Fans of Hartford history will be particularly interested in the keynote talk on Friday by Bruce Corrigan regarding the Armory, which is marking its 100th anniversary.

Get the full rundown and register on the Association for the Study of Connecticut History website.

Great new site on Connecticut radio history

Connecticut has made a lot of great history on the airwaves. (Anyone remember WTIC-TV's Ranger Andy?) Now it's celebrated on a relatively new website, Connecticut Broadcast History. The site tilts heavily toward radio history, but there are also pages devoted to TV stations, experimental stations--even pirate radio stations.

Meanwhile, "alumni" of  the Hartford area's most venerable radio stations have been operating some great websites on the individual stations right along. Check out wdrcobg.com and wticalumni.com.

Note: Though the URLs are similar, Connecticut Broadcast History is not connected to this blog's companion site, HartfordHistory.net. Connecticut Broadcast History lists as its webmaster John Ramsey, the general manager and chief engineer of WWUH at the University of Hartford.

Doing right by Eugene Bradley—and history

Sure, it's not in Hartford, but Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is vital to the city, so the airport's history should matter to anyone interested in Hartford's history—especially when a mystery is involved.

In the summer of 1941, when the airport was just an Army Air Corps landing strip recently carved out of the tobacco fields north of Hartford, Lt. Eugene M. Bradley lost control of his P-40 Warhawk fighter during dogfight training—perhaps blacking out—and plunged 5,000 feet into the ground. Bradley's death, coming a few months before the Pearl Harbor attack but amid growing anticipation that the U.S. would be dragged into World War II, led to the new airfield being named after him. The exact site of his crash was forgotten, however; the Army quickly bulldozed the site after removing Bradley's body, and no marker was erected.

Now, thanks to the dogged efforts of historian Thomas Palshaw and state Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni, the crash site may have been discovered. Bellantoni says ground-penetrating radar indicates that fragments from the plane are under what's now Runway 33, in a corner of airport property that juts into East Granby. The team's next step is take a core of soil from the site and analyze it.

Bellantoni made a great observation for WNPR: "Seven million people a year go through that airport, and probably not seven know the story of Eugene Bradley. We forget sometimes how many people gave their lives preparing for combat, and Bradley's one of them."

Hear the WNPR report and see a photo of Eugene Bradley here. The discovery was first reported in this Hartford Courant article. And don't forget to visit the New England Air Museum, adjacent to the airport.

It's not too late to enjoy the river walk...

Indeed, Riverfront Recapture will be holding the Pipes in the Valley Celtic Festival this weekend at Riverfront Plaza. From there you can walk the beautiful new path that leads a short distance north to Riverside Park. On the way, you'll find an important piece of Hartford history: a highway overpass pillar that hosts plaques showing the high-water marks for the three biggest floods of the Connecticut River over the past century. I've highlighted them in the photo below,
part of a bunch taken on the riverfront last month.