UCONN Eclipse

The BASKETBALL Capital of the World

April

The events highlighted here are either Kiwanis Club activities

or events by organizations Kiwanis supports.

2024 Wilton Reads

Lauren McLaughlin, Carol Johnson, Caroline Mandler

New York Times illustration

Author

Cristina Henriquez

Michael Friedman, Kiwanian Mike Whitted, Donna Friedman, Kiwanian Jack McFadden

Photo by WHS: Kiwanians Mike Safko, Karen Tartell (wife of Kiwanian Ross) and Bill Brautigam and wife

Kiwanians Frank Mabley, Whitney Janeway, Tom Connors, Mary Anne Franco, Rudi Hoefling, Dave Gortz and Jack McFadden surround Mike Conklin

1. How much trash is expected to be collected in Wilton in 3 hours on April 6?

A. A s***load (yes, it’s an official measure of weight!)

B. A bushel and a peck.

C. A ton.

D. None, no one litters in Wilton.

2. What was the most requested book at the Wilton Library in 2023?

A. Lessons in Chemistry

B. Steal this Book

C. Call of the UCONN

D. Our Town (Center)

3. What did Local Historian Ed Hynes say at a Kiwanis lunch about a major change during the early years of the Revolutionary war?

A. The role of the Continental Navy replaced privateers.

B. The nutmeg trade between CT and NY was disrupted.

C. Most deaths during the war occurred on the battlefield.

D. Loyalists were forced to leave CT for Long Island and Patriots left Long Island for CT.

4. What did Mike Conklin, Director of Environmental affairs, say at a recent Kiwanis meeting about the next big Wilton project?

A. Fixing the bridge at Lovers Lane.

B. Fixing the Baltimore bridge.    

C. Fixing the bridge to the train station.

D. Fixing the Bridge over Troubled Waters.

*For answers go to the end of Newsletter

This month’s Corner will be written by Newsletter Editor Jack McFadden about Ray and his wife Gail.

Most people in Wilton are aware of the Kiwanis Club. They may get pumpkins in the fall from the “Pumpkin Patch” at the Wilton Historical Society, purchase citrus and chocolate in the winter, chow down on pancakes on Memorial Day, and every quarter donate cash or gift cards during” Feed Wilton” food drives to benefit the food pantry (averaging about $40K a year for more than a decade).

Others who know the history of the Kiwanis Club, started in 1951, may be aware that Kiwanis donated the land to the YMCA and purchased the town’s first ambulance.

We been giving back to the Wilton community through funds and service since our Club’s beginning. Want proof? Take a look of the headline from the Wilton Villager on July 17, 1997 about Ray and Gail Moskow: “Giving Back as a Way of Life.”

The list of all of the organizations Ray and Gail have founded and led is too long for this Newsletter (above article available upon request). But just one is the paddle tennis tournament featured in this Newsletter edition that took place March 16 for the 39^th year!

Here are subhead quotes from the article:

From Gail: “I think sometimes, in the fast pace that we run, we lose sight of the very basic important values—health, well-being, family, and caring for people.”

From Ray: “We’ve got fervent volunteers and fantastically capable people in Wilton—an amazing repository of skills and experience.”

Those thoughts were true 27 years ago and they are as true today. Join Kiwanis and find out for yourself.

“Never let success get to your head;

never let failure get to your heart.”

-Anonymous

"Did You Know?" Answers: 1. C, 2. A, 3. D, 4. A

Happenings, the Newsletter of the Kiwanis Club of Wilton CT, Inc.,

Editor: Jack McFadden

Please send your news and announcements to: 

concom@optonline.net