Naugatuck Nuggets

'Season of '42' a Tale of War and Baseball

Cavanaugh shares his latest book with Naugatuck audience.

NAUGATUCK — Jack Cavanaugh was going to be late. An auto accident on Route 8 was backing up traffic and preventing the author of Season of ’42: Joe D, Teddy Ballgame, and Baseball’s Fight to Survive a Turbulent First Year of War from keeping his 6:30 p.m. speaking date Wednesday evening at the Whittemore Memorial Library in Naugatuck. It was worth the wait. When he finally began his presentation, at about 7 p.m. or so, Cavanaugh was vintage Cavanaugh. Erudite, clear and occasionally humorous. After describing his trip through the Naugatuck Valley as a “sentimental journey” – he began his journalistic career as a Valley correspondent for the New Haven Register in the mid-1950s – Cavanaugh told the assemblage about his latest literary effort…

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MTV Show Featuring Naugatuck Students to Air Friday

"The Substitute," a trivia game show taped back in March, will pit Naugatuck High School against Kennedy High School.

The taping of an MTV show that includes Naugatuck High School students as contestants will air this coming Friday, a spokesman for the network confirmed. The game show is called “The Substitute,” and it’s a competition in which high school students face off against each other in educational trivia and interactive challenges. The host of the show is comedian Jon Gabrus, who facilitates the questioning during each challenge. The winner of the competition gets a $5,000 cash prize, network officials said. Naugatuck students, who were casted for the show a few months back, will be featured in the upcoming episode of "The Substitute" on Friday, May 11, which airs at 7 p.m. on MTV, said Brandi Albahary, representative from MTV Communications. …

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Naugatuck's 'Abe Lincoln' to Speak at School Oratorial Competition

Borough resident Lewis Dube to keynote Gettysburg Oratorial Competition in Waterbury next month.

Naugatuck resident Lewis Dube, who goes around the state performing Abe Lincoln impersonations, submitted this press release regarding an event next month in Waterbury: Abraham Lincoln, former aspirant in the 1858 Illinois Senatorial campaign will be keynote speaker in the upcoming Waterbury citywide Gettysburg Oratorial Competition to be held on Sat. May 19th, 9 a.m. The event will take place at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School, 16 South Elm St. Although Mr. Lincoln lost in his bid against “the little giant” Stephen Douglas, he gained national recognition in the famed “Lincoln Douglas Debates” He went on to become the 16th President of the United States in the 1860 Presidential Election which catapulted him into an internecine conflict …

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Naugatuck Nuggets

‘Season of ’42’ Author to Visit Naugatuck on May 16

Jack Cavanaugh to discuss new book, baseball's contributions to the American war effort and morale.

Baseball’s hold on the nation’s sporting masses was severely tested during the early months of World War II. With news of Axis victories in Europe, Africa and Asia dominating the headlines, and rationing becoming part of America's daily life, major league baseball – by comparison – seemed inconsequential. Jack Cavanaugh, a veteran sportswriter, radio newsman and author, has tackled the national pastime and its effect on the war effort in his new book, Season of ’42: Joe D, Teddy Ballgame, and Baseball’s Fight to Survive a Turbulent First Year of War (Skyhorse Publishing). The Wilton-based author will be discussing and signing copies of his new book at the Whittemore Memorial Library on Wednesday, May 16, starting at 6:30 p.m. “Was baseball…

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Titanic, 100 Years Later: Sinking's Centennial Spurs Film, TV Explosion

Whether you're captivated by the story of the Titanic or not, you can't avoid the avalanche of film and television offerings commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking.

When an anniversary as meaningful as a centennial comes around, you've got to expect a little fanfare and the inevitable TV special or two. But the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic has brought new meaning to the term "commemoration." There's been hundreds of ceremonies in towns throughout the Eastern Seaboard, if not the country. There's been numerous Titanic-themed exhibits opening, including one in our backyard designed by Dr. Robert Ballard at the Mystic Aquarium. But most conspicuously, the past few weeks have seen a flood of tributes, commemorations and investigations on cable television channels up and down the dial.  And, of course, the re-release of the James Cameron blockbuster "Titanic" in 3-D, which grossed …

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Titanic, 100 Years Later: Ballard Opens Interactive Exhibit in Mystic [VIDEO]

The famous explorer unveiled a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art interactive exhibit at the Mystic Aquarium Wednesday that brings visitors up close to the search for and discovery of the RMS Titanic.

It was just past 11 o’clock in the morning Wednesday, and Dr. Robert Ballard — renowned international explorer and the discoverer of the most famous shipwreck in history — bounced from the bowels of his latest project at the Mystic Aquarium like he was on springs, flashing a wide grin and thrusting his hand at yet another in a long line of media members waiting to talk to him about the RMS Titanic. “Where’s Joe?” he chided the reporter when she told him which publication she was representing. “Joe’s on vacation!” replied the female reporter, who matched his enthusiasm. “Oh, so he’s letting you do this story? You’re Joe today!” Ballard had reason to be upbeat. He, along with aquarium and Sea Research Foundation officials, unveiled “Titanic…

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Titanic, 100 Years Later: Survivor Suffered the Rest of His Life

William T. Sloper of New Britain found a seat on the first lifeboat launched after the Titanic began sinking but was falsely accused of impersonating a woman to get the seat. He spent the rest of his life defending his reputation.

Anyone who knows anything about the Titanic disaster believes that there was a certain protocol for those who boarded the scarce lifeboats onboard the ill-fated ship — or was there?  Actually, the “women or children only” rule was in effect only on the port side of the ship; “women or children first” was the rule on the starboard side. Furthermore, a 14-year-old girl in first class was considered a child; a 14-year-old girl in third class was considered an adult. These variations in protocol are important in understanding the sad case of William Thompson Sloper, a 28-year old stockbroker from New Britain who survived the sinking. Son of Andrew Jackson Sloper, a New Britain bank president, William had spent three months in Europe on both …

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Titanic, 100 Years Later: Cultural, Culinary Items Went Down with the Ship

The cargo manifest on the ill-fated ship was as diverse and interesting as the passenger list was.

Despite the common belief that there were mostly British, Irish and American citizens aboard the RMS Titanic, the truth is that 29 different nationalities were onboard. The cargo manifest for the Titanic contained articles as diverse as the nationalities of the people onboard the ill-fated ship. Consider the following items that went to the bottom along with the ship: Three very rare books were also lost to the sea. Harry Elkins Widener, a 1907 Harvard graduate and an avid book collector, had purchased several rare books to bring home on the Titanic, including a very rare first edition of essays by Francis Bacon. Harry saw to it that his mother and her maid were safely placed in a lifeboat and then stepped back. Later, William Carter …

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Titanic, 100 Years Later: Nearby Titanic Museum is a Hidden Treasure [VIDEO]

Don't be fooled by appearances: This museum contains some outstanding artifacts and is well worth visiting.

Edward Kamuda, founder of the Titanic Historical Society (THS) and curator of its Titanic Museum, remembers well how he first got hooked on the story of the Titanic. He was in junior high school in Indian Orchard, a part of Springfield, MA, in the early 1950s, and his teacher required the class to read an essay and write about it. Ed chose “A Great Ship Goes Down,” by Hanson Baldwin. It was about the sinking of the Titanic. The experience changed his life. Edward S. Kamuda started the Titanic Historical Society’s collection of survivors' artifacts in the early 1960s, and he and his wife, Karen, have been caring for it ever since. The collection is housed in the back room of his family’s jewelry shop at 208 Main St. in Indian Orchard. …

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Ronald DeRosa

6:18 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012

I love that phrase, "Protect the Wreck." - RD, editor   more ›