From the 'Turnback Tuesday' archives: Derby's newspapers

This week's "Turnback Tuesday" features Derby's early newspapers. 

The Derby Journal was the city's first paper and began publication in 1846 with the office located on 139 Main St. During its time, The Journal underwent several name changes including The Derby Transcript in 1867. 

The paper again changed its name in 1889 to The Evening Transcript. Eventually the company was shut down in 1902, leaving The Evening Sentinel as the Valley's only local newspaper until that, too, folded in 1992. 

This image was taken in the mid to late 60's. The building still remains and fortunately, Derby Public Library has most of The Evening Transcript available on microfilm from 1848 - 1890.

This was first published on this date in 2017.

Thanks goes to the Derby Public Library staff for sharing interesting local history each week.

Residents can enjoy reading Charger football history at Ansonia Library

Shared from the City of Ansonia Facebook page:

Ansonia Mayor David S. Cassetti peruses a Chargers' scrapbook.

"A slice of Ansonia football history that was sent to Mayor Dave Cassetti earlier this year by former resident Gary Ewen has been professionally copied, put in a new binder, and is ready for permanent viewing at Ansonia Library.

The book will be available for public viewing beginning Monday June 4.
It is a magnificently chronologically paginated 118-page scrapbook of the first Ansonia football state championship of the 1976 season, as it appeared in mostly the former Evening Sentinel.
The undefeated season culminated with a 6-0 win over rival Derby in the Class S State Championship game.

It also contains nuggets of other gems such as proclamations, scorebooks, photos, and more.

1976 is typically recognized as the beginning of the great run Ansonia has enjoyed with state football championships, now totaling 20 since. Its cumulative record over this span is 450-50, a .900 winning percentage.

The original scrapbooks will be returned to Mr. Ewen, now residing in Florida.

Mayor Cassetti is shown viewing this scrapbook in his office, before turning it over to the library.

In one of the photos, an afternoon home game that season attracted a crowd of more than 8,000.

Unfortunately, how times have changed. Perhaps it’s time to consider Saturday afternoon football games again!!"

Newsletter: Transplant evokes memories for columnist, Seymour students learn driving skills

Dear readers,

Today's newsletter features more on my kidney transplant surgery written by my journalism mentor, among other topics.

Please click here to read all about it.

Thanks as always,

~ Patti 

Newsletter features Woodbury Path, and a stroll down memory lane

Dear readers,

Our latest newsletter features an interesting program held at Seymour Historical Society and some memories for me at a former daily newspaper. 
Click here to read all about it.

Thanks for reading,

~ Patti

Dedication of portrait at Derby courthouse brings back fond memories

The Hon. Joseph P. Flynn unveils his portrait Tuesday during a ceremony at Derby Superior Court. At left is the artist, Ansonia resident Nicole Salva. Flynn's wife, Marilyn, is at his side. 

DERBY - I started feeling nostalgic Tuesday afternoon as I sat in Courtroom B at Derby Superior Court waiting for the start of a ceremony celebrating the Honorable Joseph P. Flynn, a lifelong Ansonia resident. He is a retired Chief Judge of the state Appellate Court.

I guess I'm dating myself here but the event brought back memories of my many years working in the newsroom of the former Evening Sentinel newspaper in Ansonia. 
For those unfamiliar, the Sentinel was the go-to paper for Valley residents who wanted to know what was happening in their community. We published six days a week. On the seventh day we rested!

The Sentinel was closed on Christmas Eve, 1992. More than 70 employees got pink slips that day. I'm sure they would have preferred coal in their stockings. I was fortunate that I wasn't there that day. I had resigned seven months earlier.

Seeing so many Valley lawyers gather Tuesday in one room to honor Flynn, "a Valley guy," as colleagues described him, sent me back to a different time and place. Was life simpler then? It sure feels like it now.

I became acquainted with many members of the Valley Bar Association through my job, not because I had "issues" that would have required legal representation.

I won't name the lawyers who greeted me yesterday, but you know who you are! And it was truly a pleasure to see you, even if memories of the '80s made me feel a bit old. 

It was in that decade that Flynn was instrumental in getting the courthouse for the Ansonia/Milford Judicial District built on Elizabeth Street.  
I can remember when court was held in Ansonia City Hall in what is now the aldermanic chambers. And I also remember people who had a date with the judge lining the staircase leading to the second floor courtroom waiting their turn. 

Greg Stamos speaks
at Tuesday's ceremony.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Flynn, 75, was surrounded by his family and Valley colleagues who packed Courtroom B for the hour-long ceremony presided over by The Hon. Frank A. Iannotti.
Ansonia lawyer Gregory J. Stamos spoke of Flynn's lifelong commitment to the Valley community in both his professional and personal life. 
Flynn is a son of the late editor of The Evening Sentinel, Charles Flynn, who died in 1969.  
The Valley United Way's annual Charles H. Flynn Humanitarian Award has been presented since 1971 to recognize dedicated service to the community. Stamos said it is "the most prestigious award given in the Valley."

Flynn offered a special thank you to his fellow Valley Bar Association members. He joked that his father "detested lawyers as a group."

And as for the portrait that will hang in the courthouse? Flynn said with a smile that artist Nicole Salva of Ansonia "did an amazing job with what she had to work with."

There were several guest speakers at the ceremony. Please click here to read all about it in a story by my friend, New Haven Register correspondent extraordinaire Jean Falbo-Sosnovich. 

Flynn chats with the press after the ceremony. 

The heartfelt recognition from friends and colleagues of Flynn's dedication to the Valley and the state was much-deserved. I wish him all the best in his retirement.

Memories of '55 floods sought at Derby Library

Derby resident Mary Bisaccia, local history coordinator at Derby Public Library, looks at newspaper coverage of a flood that devastated the Valley and caused evacuations in 1982.

This Wednesday, Aug. 19, marks the 60th anniversary of the Floods of 1955. 

Read all about it in a story in the Valley Independent Sentinel.

Bisaccia will be discussing the Floods of 1955 at the Library from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 10 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays for the remainder of the month. She said she hopes people will stop by and share their memories.

This is one of many flood photos taken by the legendary photojournalist Edward J. Cotter Jr. of Derby. The late Cotter's photos were published alongside other photographers' work in a book published in December, 1955 by the defunct Evening Sentinel of Ansonia. (See book cover below)

The City of Ansonia will commemorate the 60th anniversary with a ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Vartelas Park on Maple Street.