Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton to host genealogy program Saturday

Genealogy Program: Researching our Roots - Digging Deeper

Location: Plumb Memorial Library, 65 Wooster St., Shelton
Date: Jan. 18, 1:30 p.m.

Register online https://engagedpatrons.org/EventsRegister.cfm?SiteID=2661&BranchID=826&Branch=Plumb%20Memorial%20Library&EventID=541165&PK=
or call 203-924-1580.

Genealogical research is both rewarding and challenging. Have you hit a roadblock in your ancestral research? 

Are you not sure how to find more generations of your family? Join instructor Sarah Miller as she shares tips and tools to help you dig deeper into your family’s past. 

Sarah will present a case study of how she solved a difficult family mystery, and will introduce international research. She will also discuss strategies to feel confident in sourcing your research. 

Please bring any family documents and information you have, as well as a tablet or laptop, for guided research time.

This is shared from the Shelton Library System Facebook page.

Shelton History Center shares 3 generation photo on Grandparents Day

Sharing today's Shelton History Center Facebook post:

Did you know today is #GrandparentsDay ?

Three generations of the Brownson family are shown in this picture from our collection. Harry Brownson (middle), his son Sheldon (right) and grandson Bernard (left) are working together to plow the field.

The photo can be found in the front hallway of the Brownson House at Shelton History Center, 70 Ripton Road.

The Center is operated by the Shelton Historical Society.

Derby Public Library group to discuss 'The Namesake'

DERBY - Derby Public Library will hold its monthly Lunchtime Book Discussion at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 26.

February’s featured book is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

   
In The Namesake, Pulitzer Prize winner Lahiri brilliantly illuminates the immigrant experience and the tangled ties between generations.
 
Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta, trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home. 
The name they bestow on their firstborn, Gogol, betrays all the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world - conflicts that will haunt Gogol on his own winding path through divided loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.

Lunchtime Book Discussions are held the last Wednesday of the month and are free and open to the public. 

Multiple copies of the book will be available at the circulation desk. 

Drop-ins are welcome - no registration required. The Library is at 313 Elizabeth St. 

For more information contact the Reference

Desk, 203-736-1482.

This is a press release from Kathy Wilson, Head of Adult Circulation.

Recuperation journey: Another vintage photo

The strangest feeling came over me when I uncovered this photo at the same time I found my mother's First Holy Communion photo from 1932, which I posted Monday.

It was strange because I didn't recognize my beloved maternal grandparents. 
At least I think it's them, since the photo was among my mother's things. I don't recognize them in their 20s. 
Naturally I knew them when they were in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Time does its thing. 

I imagine what was in store for them, the stock market crash in 1929, the Great Depression, unemployment, the landlady knocking on the door looking for rent money (I heard stories about that) and World War II. My mother always said they were happy, and didn't think about being poor.

I have so little information about my grandparents in their early days. 
How did they meet? Was it before or after he served in The Great War in France?
Everyone's family history needs to be preserved for future generations. It's interesting and it's important.

Recuperation journey: Down memory lane

My daughter Allegra uses this photo of my mother holding her when she was a baby for her Facebook profile pic.

I recently found this photo amongst some old photos. 

It's now my profile pic on FB.
 💗

Wesley Village in Shelton offers family-oriented environment

Pictured from left, Jackie Santagata (Kelly’s mom), Karly Coppola (Kelly’s daughter) with a photo of Claire Byle (Kelly’s late grandmother), and Kelly Coppola./ Contributed photo

SHELTON - Walk in the doors of any community at Wesley Village and after a few conversations, you can easily uncover dozens of unique stories about how residents, family members, staff, and volunteers became connected with the senior care campus.  
Wesley Village, at 580 Long Hill Ave., has been connecting families with high quality senior living options and healthcare services for over 125 years. 

Through each decade, those connections have grown in many ways, beyond simply finding mom or dad a place to live when they can’t live alone anymore. A current employee recently shared her story of how Wesley Village connected her family.

Kelly Coppola works as a receptionist at Crosby Commons, the award-winning independent and assisted living community at Wesley Village. Before taking the full-time receptionist position at Crosby, Kelly was a familiar face around the campus and worked as a Recreation Director at the neighboring community of Wesley Heights. Her career took her on a few different paths since then, but she is thrilled to be back at the campus, now working at Crosby. 
After seven months in this position, Kelly has not only made many helpful changes to the reception area, but was also recently recognized with the Outstanding Resident Service award from the Connecticut Assisted Living Association. 
A great asset to the community, she is also surprisingly part of four generations with connections to Wesley Village.

Kelly’s grandmother was Claire Byle, a New Jersey native who moved to Connecticut to be closer to her family when her health began to fail. Not wanting to be a “burden” to her family, she chose not to move in with her children and fell in love with the senior living options at Wesley Village, moving in to their Wesley Heights community in 2003. Claire loved the community and continued to enjoy life as a resident for about two years, before moving to Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center (at Wesley Village) for more skilled care. Sadly, Claire passed away in February of 2005, but left quite an impression on the community and the many friends she left behind.

Kelly’s mom, Jackie Santagata, was thrilled to have found a community close to home where her mom, Claire, could live in safety and security and continue to enjoy things that were important to her. Jackie loved being able to maintain a mother-daughter relationship with her mom, without having to feel overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities. She was also so impressed with the campus that she chose to become a registered volunteer. Jackie now actively volunteers with the Wesley Village Prayer Shawl Ministry and the new Music and Memory program, which the campus will be piloting at its Lifestyle Transitions Memory Care neighborhood this summer.

In addition to her mom and grandmother, Kelly’s daughter, Karly also joined the Wesley Village team in 2008 as a registered volunteer.  
Karly is a sophomore Psychology Major at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, studying Special Education. For the past seven years, Karly has volunteered in a variety of capacities at Wesley Village, serving residents and supporting staff by providing clerical and computer support, and assistance in our Recreation and Dining Services departments. 

To learn more about the many ways Wesley Village is connecting with families like Kelly’s to provide a continuum of award-winning care and services for their loved one(s), visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org. 

The Wesley Village Campus includes: Crosby Commons Assisted and Independent Living Community, Wesley Heights Assisted and Independent Living Apartments and Cottages, Lifestyle Transitions Memory Care, and Bishop Wicke Health and Rehabilitation Center. The campus is owned and operated by UMH, a local, mission-based, not-for-profit organization serving all members of the community. 

To schedule a tour at any of their communities, contact Lisa Bisson, 203-225-5024. 

For more information about volunteer opportunities at Wesley Village, contact Barbara Quinn, 203-944-8292.  


This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.