Credit union supports Valley Goes Pink campaign at Griffin in Derby

Griffin Hospital events coordinator Lisa Nista recently received $1,000 for the Valley Goes Pink from, left to right, Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell, Mutual Security Credit Union President/CEO Larry Holderman, and credit union Executive VP Hank Baum./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Mutual Security Credit Union recently donated $1,000 to Griffin Hospital’s Valley Goes Pink campaign to help improve breast cancer services in the Lower Naugatuck Valley area.

The donation was collected through the sale of pink bracelets at Mutual Security’s branches.

The Valley Goes Pink is a grassroots, community-wide effort to increase awareness about breast cancer and the importance of early detection, support The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital, and to celebrate the charitable spirit of the region’s businesses and organizations.

Mutual Security Credit Union is open to everyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven County. 

Originally founded in 1954, Mutual Security is now one of the largest state-charted, community-based credit unions in Connecticut. Visit mscu.net, or call 800-761-2400 for more information.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Recuperation journey: Sad to learn of passing of a former colleague

Yesterday I was saddened to read of the passing Wednesday of Seymour resident Pauline Lounsbury, longtime reporter for the former Evening Sentinel. 

Reading her obituary reminded me of what a great reporter Pauline was - no one could cover Seymour more thoroughly and with more sources than she! 

We were a small staff, and Pauline often worked mornings by herself in a tiny bureau on Bank Street in Seymour before she arrived in the Ansonia newsroom. I remember her jokingly refer to herself as the "chief of the Seymour bureau." 

Pauline is the fourth journalist with whom I worked closely for 14 years at the Sentinel who sadly has passed away. 

I send my sincere condolences to Pauline's family. May she rest in peace.

Recuperation journey: Sunny Sunday in Derby

I missed getting a photo of the gorgeous sunset today but I did get this photo in Derby this afternoon while the sun was still shining.

Operas depicted in holiday decorations at Osborne Homestead in Derby

DERBY - Daughter Allegra and I visited the Osborne Homestead Museum on the day after Thanksgiving, as we have for many years in the past. It's a holiday tradition for us to tour the beautifully decorated home of businesswoman and civic leader Frances Osborne Kellogg. 
These little figures caught my eye in the studio. They depict characters in Richard Wagner's opera, "Das Rheingold."

Holiday tours will run through Dec. 17. Tours will be offered Thursdays through Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.  
On Fridays, Dec. 1, 8, and 15, from 4-7 p.m., the museum will present “Twilight Tours” to display the shimmering glow of the decorations. 

The Osborne Homestead Museum at 500 Hawthorne Ave. is operated by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Stay tuned for more photos of the decorations based on several operas in an upcoming Valley Voice newsletter. 

Author/illustrator to sign books at holiday marketplace in Ansonia Armory

Derby artist Richard DiCarlo will be signing his new children's book Saturday at the Holiday Marketplace in the Ansonia Armory. 

46th annual Seymour Christmas Parade steps off Sunday

The 46th annual Seymour Christmas Parade will step off at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Read all about it here in a story by New Haven Register correspondent extraordinaire Jean Falbo-Sosnovich.

Recuperation journey: Belated birthday cake, present

We finally sang Happy Birthday to Cameron, whose 27th birthday was Thursday. 
That's what happens when you are born the day after Thanksgiving and occasionally your birthday falls on the holiday.