CURRENT ISSUE

Spring 2015
VOLUME 13/NUMBER 2

 

SUBSCRIBE NOW

 

BUY CURRENT ISSUE ONLINE

 

Connecticut Explored CONNECTICUT HISTORY, ONE GOOD STORY AFTER ANOTHER

IN THIS ISSUE: Connecticut as Muse  >  Fame in a Pint-Sized Package   >   From Westport to the Great White Way  >   Calder Goes Big   >  It’s Elementary, My Dear Gillette

ON THE COVER: Top left: Paul Newman. photo: Larry Merz; Top right: Charles Stratton, a.k.a. General Tom Thumb. Library of Congress; Bottom left: William Gillette, poster for Sherlock Holmes. Library of Congress; Bottom right: Katharine Hepburn. The Bushnell

Table of Contents

9  Hog River Journal

10  Letters, etc.

13  From the State Historian: Benjamin Collins, Rock Star. By Walter W. Woodward

14  Connecticut’s Sherlock Holmes
William Gillette came to define the role. By Robert Cumming with Elizabeth Normen

18  Katharine Hepburn, Local Girl
Hollywood called, but Connecticut was home. By Tedd Levy

22  Tom Thumb and the Age of Celebrity
 A star is born in Bridgeport. By Eric Lehman

28  Connecticut as Magnet for Modern Artists
Where artists and writers found refuge and inspiration. By Kristen Nietering and Charlotte Hitchcock

34  American Theater in a Humble Connecticut Barn
From Westport to Broadway. By Martha S. LoMonaco

40  Connecticut’s Mount Rushmore Connection
Gutzon Borglum retreats to Stamford. By Mary M. Donohue

46  Calder in the Open Air By Susan Braeuer Dam

48  Site Lines: Marietta Canty By Jeffrey J. Mainville

50  re: Collections: A Bracelet from a Queen By Mary M. Donohue

51   Spotlight: Events & News from Partner Organizations

57  Afterword 

64  Connecticut Humanities: A Day in the Life of Connecticut By Douglas G. Fisher