A Reflection upon the Celebration of Our 250th Independence Day

Reverend Sharon R. Holt of First Baptist Church PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON HOLT

On July 4^th we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which established the United States of America. It was comprised of the first 13 colonies established along the Eastern Seaboard in chronological order of their founding: Virginia (1607), Massachusetts (1620), New Hampshire (1623), Maryland (1634), Connecticut (1635), Rhode Island (1636), Delaware (1638), North Carolina (1653), South Carolina (1653), New York (1664), New Jersey (1664), Pennsylvania (1681), and Georgia (1733).

Thirteen years after the Declaration, James Madison wrote the “Bill of Rights;” the first ten articles of the United States. The first, and to many, the most important was the first amendment which established the separation of church and state. While the words “separation of church and state” are not directly contained in the first amendment, two clauses clearly established the principles of this separation. The first clause prohibits the government from establishing any official state religion or endorsing any one religion over another. The second clause protects the right of individuals to practice their faith, or hold no faith at all, without government interference.

The First Amendment, while written by Madison, was largely the result of the work of two prominent Colonial Baptists; John Leland of Virginia and Isaac Backus of Massachusetts. Both men urged Madison to include religious freedom as a prominent tenant based on their own personal and religious history. Both men were familiar with the precedent set in Massachusetts in 1638 when the “State” church banished Roger Williams for espousing Baptist beliefs. Williams established the first state in the union based on the concept of religious freedom – Rhode Island.

For Baptists and all Americans, it is crucial that we hold tight to the first amendment lest the government, local or national, compromise our right to worship, or not worship, as we each choose. It is also imperative that we not try to impose our religious beliefs on any other individual or group.

The freedoms that were worth fighting and dying for 250 years ago are no less important today. Let us continue to insist that the church and state are both of immense value, but they should never become the entwined.

Rev. Sharon R. Holt

The First Baptist Church of Southington

Volunteers and State Funding Will Restore Missing Names to Veterans Memorial

The five stones memorializing veterans of modern wars on the town green. PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

For nearly 60 years, a set of five stones has stood on the Southington Town Green that memorialize the names of local residents who fought in various modern conflicts – WWII, Korea, Vietnam, as well as the Gulf War and the Global War on Terror.

It was as complete a list as local veterans groups and the Southington Veterans Committee could compile at the time. But it wasn’t perfect – some names were misspelled, as noted by family members here, for example.

And some Southington veterans' names were missing altogether – more than 50, as it turns out.

For the past several years, Veterans’ Committee Members Joe DellaPorta, Rachel Wache, and Joe Woloszyn have been working to compile an up-to-date and fully accurate list.

“The stone is going to stay the same,” Woloszyn said. “However, the names are going to be more accurate and more additions will be made on the plaques attached to the stone.”

“You would think that it would be an easy process,” he said of drawing up the list. “But when you look closely at their names and compare their DD214’s, there are several names on the monument that are misspelled, and some missing a middle name or a ‘junior.’ There’s a lot like that.”

DD214 is the official name for a servicemember’s military discharge papers. Veterans typically file these documents at their local Town Clerk’s office. Because they contain vital statistics and personal information, they can only be accessed with special permission from the Town Clerk.

Cabinet with DD214's in the Town Clerk's Office

 “There are some where father and son have the same name, but the father was in WWII and the son was in Vietnam,” Woloszyn explained. “There are some additions for vets that have not been on there yet. We do some digging and we see if they have a DD214 filed.”

“Joe DellaPorta, Rachel Wache, and myself were working last night,” he said. “For some of the names that we had in the past, the records are at the Town Clerk’s office – let’s say it’s volume 7, page 23. But now we’re coming to the point where we don’t have a page and a volume number."

“So now I’m going through death certificates for some of these individuals. I’ve got a couple of names that I discovered last night where I’m going to have to go to DellaVecchia Funeral Home, to Plantsville Funeral Home, to see if they have any records. There’s a block on the death certificate that will say if they’re a vet.”

“We had a letter from one veterans’ family. They said they had a veteran’s funeral. But we couldn’t find a DD214. So we went to the funeral home and found the proof. It was a magic moment.”

The trio has left no stone unturned in their efforts to find accurate information on past veterans.

“Early in the process, I had to go to the high school to look at old yearbooks. We wanted see if they were a Southington resident when they left to go into the service. We would get a timeframe for the year and go through a bunch of different books. We’ve found a couple of veterans like that. It’s not as easy a task as one might assume.”

Funding the New Monument

To complete the volunteers’ project, these new and emended names will have to be added to the town’s monument. However, the lettering on the existing bronze plaques can’t simply be scratched out or written over. New plaques will have to be designed and cast from scratch – a very expensive proposition.

That is where the State of Connecticut comes in. 81^st District State Representative Christopher Poulos recently announced in a press release that he had secured funding for the town to recast the plaques. Poulos, who is a member of the Legislature’s Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee, said that he worked with fellow committee members as well as the House and Senate Appropriations Committee to secure the necessary money.

"To me, this is important because I believe in service," said Rep. Poulos, a member of the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee. "When people visit the town green and pass by the monument, hopefully they will pause and recognize a name — a grandfather, a parent, a neighbor. This is an opportunity to connect with our town’s legacy of service. I’m honored to help see this project through."

“That was a wonderful thing that Mr. Poulos has done for the veterans in Southington,” Woloszyn commented.

Joe DellaPorta, Rep. Chris Poulos, Rachel Wache, Chris Poulos Sr., and Joe Woloszyn PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS POULOS

The committee is working with Lauren Dziedzic at Plantsville Funeral Home to find a vendor who can do the bronze-casting. Several years ago, they got a quote for the project that put it at about $30,000. Given inflation, the job is expected to cost substantially more now.

Wache said that they would like to unveil the new memorial by Veterans Day of this year.

Woloszyn that the old plaques would likely be relocated to the Southington Historical Society.

Hundreds of Young Athletes Race at Sloper in Honor of Sandy Hook Child

Athletes and coaches from the Southington YMCA branch before participating in the Race 4 Chase triathlon on August 1. AVERY MARTIN PHOTOS

Chase Kowalski had a deep love for anything and everything athletic. At only six years old, he competed in his first triathlon, where he swam, biked and ran to the finish line with excitement.

“He was a great little boy who tried everything and excelled at everything that he did. So he was just a natural at getting people together; he made people laugh, and then he also would just be super active,” said Rebecca Kowalski, Chase’s mother.

Chase was just seven years old when he was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012. But his love of triathlon and sports lives on more than 13 years after his death through the Race4Chase Youth Triathlon at YMCA Camp Sloper in Southington, which was held on Saturday.

661 children from across Connecticut swam in Sloper Pond, biked along the gravel paths and ran through the field to reach the finish line. Some made it to the end on their own, while others crossed hand in hand, but all athletes were cheered on and supported by friends, family and teammates.

While Kowalski says she is often reminded of her son when she sees butterflies and dragonflies, it's watching that team spirit and camaraderie amongst the athletes that brings back the most memories of her son’s giving nature and love for helping friends.

“It's about the magic of Chase, who he was, what he did, sportsmanship, and helping each other. Triathlon is an individual sport, but we treat it as a community and as a team because if your teammate doesn't get across that line, it doesn't matter that you finish first. The most important part is getting your teammates across that line and doing whatever it takes as a team to be able to push them through,” said Kowalski.

Rebecca Kowalski addresses athletes before the triathlon.

Within months of her son’s death, Kowalski reached out to Jim O’Rourke, who is currently the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford. Hoping to create a children's triathlon in her son’s memory, Kowalski worked alongside the YMCA to bring Race4Chase to Camp Sloper.

“It's powerful. You know, watching the kids come through the finish line. They've done some accomplishments, and Chase is always with us,” said Jim O’Rourke.

Now in its 13th year, the Race4Chase Youth Triathlon is sponsored by the Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski Foundation and reaches thousands of children ages six to 12 across four states. Many former athletes return as coaches and help mentor the next generation in their triathlon journeys.

Kowalski said those returners, some of whom have been racing with the program since kindergarten, are the most inspiring to her.

“I've never seen a program where it's impacted a child from the time that they start to the time that they can give back. That to me is amazing,” said Kowalski.

Michael Tutoli is one of those returning athletes-turned-coaches. Now a rising junior at UConn, he was once a classmate of Chase. He has since competed in triathlons in his friend’s honor, and now coaches young athletes. He said the event has given him so much, which he hopes to reciprocate.

“It gave me, obviously, a way to physically stay in shape, but [to also] meet friends that I carried through high school, and also just a larger sense of purpose, going through something larger than myself,” said Tutoli.

Michael Tutoli leads young athletes to Sloper Pond at the Race 4 Chase triathlon.

Jameson O’Rourke, whose father Jim was instrumental in bringing the race to Sloper, participated as a triathlete for years. Now 14 and soon to be a freshman at Southington High School, Jameson has returned to inspire children as a coach.

“I love the program so much, everything it does. I couldn't not have something to do during the summer, so I had to come back as a coach and to pass on the legacy of Chase and pass it on to all of my campers,” said Jameson.

Rebecca Kowalski and Jameson O'Rourke with the young competitors.

Young athletes are guided by coaches like Tutoli and Jameson O’Rourke through a six-week training camp at YMCAs across Connecticut, which teaches children to pace themselves, transition between events and improve their race times.

New to the roster of participating YMCAs this year is Downtown Hartford, where 30 children learned the sport of triathlon. Many received bikes for the first time and also learned to swim, a skill that Jim O’Rourke says serves them far beyond the competition pond.

“The biggest thing that we learn in downtown Hartford and a lot of our urban communities, unfortunately, is that kids don't have access to water and are, unfortunately, most likely to drown as well, especially our black and brown kids. So it's so important that we teach them how to swim, and I'm pleased to say I was told almost all 30 of our kids know how to at least be safe around water now,” said Jim O’Rourke.

When the race is over, and medals bearing little Chase’s photo and artwork are handed out, Kowalski hopes the children who swam, biked and ran in her son’s honor take more out of the experience than simply crossing the finish line or achieving a personal best time.

“I hope they gain the confidence that they can do anything that they set their minds to, and the older kids that they keep chasing their hearts, and just keep giving back to their communities, and to all the other little kids, and stick with triathlon,” said Kowalski.

Jameson O’Rourke, who completed several laps of the course with his campers on Saturday, says he hopes children can take away a feeling of accomplishment and pride for what they finished.

“The finish line is what they've worked for the last six weeks. That's what they've been trying to do: to cross that finish line. Whether it's their first time, their second time, their fifth time, it always feels the same, especially when you cross it. Just the feeling of accomplishment – it just feels really good,” said Jameson O’Rourke. “Any tiredness is gone; it goes away.”

Athletes Zac Lipp and Nate Hurney after completing the Race 4 Chase triathlon

Athlete Mia Smith after completing the Race 4 Chase triathlon

Malcolm Miller-Stimpson after completing the Race 4 Chase triathlon

Athletes crossing the finish line.

A volunteer guides an athlete on a bike.