Southington in the American Revolution

SCREENSHOT FROM 'SOUTHINGTON IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION'

Today the names 'Sloper' and 'Woodruff' are likely to make you think of roads or places in town. Yet 250 years ago, they were the names of real people who lived in what we now call Southington. As part of this year's America250 celebrations, The Southington Outsider has teamed up with Christina Volpe, curator of the Barnes Museum, to create this short film that focuses on Captain Daniel Sloper, his wife Hannah B. Woodruff, and the small but not insignificant role they played in the American Revolution. Filmed at YMCA Camp Sloper and South End Burying Ground, it offers a rare glimpse into Southington's revolutionary past.

Southington in the American Revolution - A Short Film

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Special thanks goes to Wayne Edwards, who is a member of our Board of Directors and a professor in the Communications, Film and Media Studies Department at the University of New Haven, for working with his students Elisa Broche and Jay Sanders to film and edit this video. Thanks also to John McDonald of CTPhotoPro for sharing the drone footage of South End Cemetery.

Southington-Born Country Pop Singer Returns for Apple Harvest Festival

ERIN GIBNEY PHOTOS

For most people, the idea of a small-town girl living a double life as a musician is nothing more than an entertaining plotline, one reserved for fictional characters like Hannah Montana. For Southington native (and former Camp Sloper counselor) Erin Gibney, however, that idea has become reality.

Erin will be returning to Southington to perform at the Apple Harvest Festival on October 4^th. During an interview with the Southington Outsider on September 25^th, she said that after living in Nashville, Tennessee for 8 years and growing her career in the music industry, coming home “feels like Hannah Montana taking off the wig.”

Hometown Roots

As any Southington native who has left town could tell you, your roots stay with you no matter how far you stray. Erin echoed that sentiment: “I have a lot of nostalgia for Southington, and it has wormed its way into my songwriting and nearly every song I’ve put out. I feel so closely tied to it, and have had so many really defining moments that happened there.”

Much of Erin’s songwriting focuses on significant experiences, such as her breakup with her longtime Southington High School sweetheart. She also joked that there may be some influence in her songs from “some nights at 75 Center,” referring to the restaurant that was once located at that address downtown.

Her passion for performing also began during her time in Southington. She fondly remembers partaking in local competitions like ‘Connecticut Icon’ at just 13 years old. “I just loved it. I loved everything about it. I loved telling stories on stage, and it carried me through high school – it’s what brought me to Nashville.”

When asked if she had any lasting memories from the Apple Harvest, aside from the fritters, she revealed, “one of my first times on stage was actually at the Apple Harvest Festival. It’s so funny because back then I remember walking on stage and thinking it was the scariest thing in the world. I was shaking in my boots.”

“But now,” she added, “after 3 years of being on tour, it’s just an exciting feeling.”

Rise To Fame

Erin, left, with her family

After graduating from Southington High School, where she was class secretary, Erin moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University. Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin graduated in 2021. She signed with her current label, Rock Ridge Music, in 2020. Navigating a new city and a blossoming career posed additional challenges, especially for a 19-year-old. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget the bad moments when you’re living in the good moments,” she reflected.

“In this town you face a lot of no’s. You face a million no’s to every one yes, which can be really hard when you’re young.”

Even now, after releasing multiple successful singles and wrapping up her first headlining tour, there are still days that can feel difficult. “The hardest thing is keeping at it on the hard days. I wish I could go back and tell myself to stay positive even on the hard days because the needle does move every day, even when you feel like it doesn’t.”

“Still, I’ve always wanted to be a pop country singer,” she added. “It was always my dream. Coming up in the industry definitely had its growing pains, but I learned a lot through it, and I love my life here in Nashville.”

Looking Ahead

Erin will be releasing her new single, Risk, which is about her high-school breakup, on October 17^th. “I’m really excited to release something that’s fresh and new. It’s very upbeat.” You can get an early preview of Risk during her performance at the festival October 4^th at 7pm.

As far as what lies ahead for Erin, she says that she’s excited to see what’s in store given the trajectory of her career so far. “At this point, I feel so committed to my career that I’m just excited to watch it grow. I would love to be playing stadiums even if it’s just as an opener. I can promise you that even 10 years from now, I will still be playing. I will still be touring and doing the thing that I love.”

When asked if she thinks she’ll continue keeping the spirit of Southington alive in future songs, or return to the festival again, she confidently responded, “Oh, definitely!”

The Harvey Family And “The Cruelest Disease You’ve Never Heard Of”

Kevin Harvey PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

The two weeks starting September 21^st have been designated “Paving The Path Forward To End FTD Weeks,” according to a declaration recently signed by Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

Behind that declaration lies the story of a local family tested to it limits by what has been called “The cruelest disease you’ve never heard of” – Frontotemporal Dementia, or FTD.

In 2005 Esther and Kevin Harvey were living in Wolcott with their three grown children Meghan, Keith, and Shannon. Kevin was working as a cost-analyst for the State of Connecticut. Life seemed more or less normal.

One day that year Esther’s mother passed away. At the funeral one of her friends expressed a concern: “Kevin seems very distant.” At first Esther thought she was referring to the fact that Kevin sat in the back row. No, the friend replied, he is acting distant. Esther recalled that her husband, who was usually a very caring person, had not come straight home from work after hearing of his mother-in-law’s death. It seems like an indication – but of what?

Unusual behaviors began to pile up. He would promise to add his daughter to the family car insurance plan after she passed her driving test, then fail to do so, repeatedly. Did this mean he was losing his memory? He went to a formal wedding dressed in an outfit from the 1980’s that had holes in it. Was he depressed?

Things came to a head in October of 2006 when he was sent home from work. His behavior had become erratic; he seemed to have an impulse to put inedible things like pieces of paper into his mouth. Soon he was put on administrative leave. Esther was told to have him visit a work-related psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist referred him to a neurologist, who after taking one look at Kevin recommended that he visit a neuropsychologist with expertise in diagnosing rare behavioral disorders. There were some false starts along the way to the correct diagnosis – sleep apnea and male menopause had to be ruled out first. But eventually Dr. Brett Steinberg of Cheshire found the answer.

Kevin, the family learned, had a behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia. While some of its symptoms resemble those of Alzheimer’s, it is not primarily a disorder of the memory. Instead, the loss of neurons in the front half of the brain causes changes to a person’s behavior; their language, emotion, and executive functioning can all undergo abrupt shifts.

Medical professionals are able to diagnose the condition, but cannot yet pinpoint the underlying reason for the neuron loss. All that is known for sure is that genetics plays some role. The upshot, tragically, is that there are few effective treatments for the illness, and no cure.

The best that families can do with a loved one who is suffering from FTD is prevent them from harming themselves or others while treating that person with as much love and dignity as possible.

Basic functions like mobility can become serious problems. One day Kevin went to the supermarket and exited through a different door than the one he had entered. Confused and unable to find his car, he reported it to the police as stolen. The family made the difficult decision to take away his keys. Although Kevin resisted the decision, they felt they had no choice.

Because Kevin could still walk, he liked to go for strolls. Unfortunately he would walk into neighbors’ houses looking for food. Soon that freedom too had to be curtailed.

Through it all, the family kept doing everything they could to keep Kevin active and engaged and to spend time with him, especially on occasions like his birthday:

Kevin spent the last 19 months of his life at the LiveWell facility in Plantsville. He died on January 26, 2012, at the age of 57, a beloved son, husband, father, and grandfather.

*****

FTD is a relatively rare condition that is believed to affect some 60,000 Americans -about 1 in 6,000. Esther, however, kept hearing about people who were afflicted with the disorder – another Southington resident, or the husband of an old high school friend. Eventually she and her children helped organize the Connecticut Frontotemporal Dementia Foundation.

Now in its 13th year, the foundation has raised and donated over $600,000 to organizations that work on drug discovery and caregiving. Beyond that, it offers a support group for family members of people suffering from FTD. The group meets online on the third Sunday of every month from 6 to 7pm, and is available as needed at other times to offer advice, sympathy, and help with identifying resources.

The foundation also seeks to make more people aware of the disorder. Awareness spiked in a dramatic way recently with the announcement that actor Bruce Willis had been diagnosed with FTD. Esther is careful to note that Willis has the PPA variant of the disorder, which affects the left brain and leads to loss of language and speech, rather than the behavior variant, which Kevin was suffering from.

Southington residents Lewis Schassler and his wife Kathleen are also wrestling with the disorder: Kathleen has PPA and rarely speaks. It was through the FTD support group that Lewis got to know Esther. He later invited her to give a presentation before the town’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities. She did so, and at the end of a 40-minute long speech, the commission, moved by her story and impressed by her knowledge, broke into applause.

Esther with Lewis and Kathleen Schassler

Lewis has been working with the Commission to create a list of persons in town who have disabilities. The hope is that this list will prepare first responders to better meet their needs in crisis situations. The survey can be found by clicking here.

Esther credits another support-group member, Steve Batte, with the idea of asking the state of Connecticut to create an FTD-awareness week. She pitched the idea to State Representative Christopher Poulos, who worked to make the Governor’s proclamation a reality. At a ceremony held in the library last Monday, Poulos presented Esther with the signed text of the proclamation:

Keith Harvey, Shannon Macca, Meghan Roscoe, Esther Harvey, and Rep. Christopher Poulos

In her thank-you speech she summed up the story of her family's experience with FTD:

“My family and I are elated by Governor Lamont’s proclamation. FTD is a sick disease and as you all know, Kevin had the behavioral variant which shook my children and me to our core. With every struggle came strength, with every challenge came courage, and when it became time to provide Kevin with a new way of life, then came love – love with the dignity and respect Kevin so rightly deserved.”

This article has been updated to correct Kevin's age at the time of his death and the length of time the foundation has been operative.