"Adventures in Naugablogginland"

My name is Ron Gagliardi.  Normally I live in the mythical kingdom of "Ronnyworld," but from now on I'll also be visiting "Naugablogginland" to share some history and some images about Naugatuck's past.

I am heavily historicalized.  I am the former executive director of the Naugatuck Historical Society Museum and a life member there.  I wrote the Arcadia Publishing book about the borough, Images of America: Naugatuck Revisited, that was published in 2004.  Much of what I will share with you in this blog will be from the pages of that book and will include some of what I experienced and learned during the researching and writing of it.

I have a few other historical connections that I will share with you in this initial installment.  I am on the board of the New Haven Museum and the Naugatuck Historical Society Museum.  I am the director of the Lock 12 Museum in Cheshire where I am a life member and former officer and board member of the Cheshire Historical Society.  I wrote the Arcadia Publishing Images of America: Cheshire that was released in 2001.  I am also the business historian and director of the Museum Of Now And Then (MONAT) for the Cheshire Chamber of Commerce.  I am the assistant director of the Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum in Cheshire and the honorary historian for Cheshire High School.  I am a resident of Cheshire and I am the Town Historian Emeritus of the town.  (I include those details from my resume because I feel the more the followers of this blog know of my background, the more possibilities for mutually beneficial interactions.)

I am a retired elementary art teacher and I taught English at Cheshire Academy for a year.  I'm married to the former Diane Piscitelli and we have two children, Jeff and Gina.  Gina and her husband, Stefan DaLan, have blessed us with two grandchildren, Maya and Luke. 

My next installment will begin the adventure and exploration of Naugatuck's storied history.