Spring and Summer is the perfect time to begin your gardening journey. The weather is warm, the sun is shining. As a gardener you might encounter many puzzling issues. This presentation will discuss and answer some common questions about general care, pruning, water management, fertilizing, and disease control in lawns, flower gardens, and vegetable gardens.

Presenter: Dr. Yonghao Li is a plant pathologist running the Plant Disease Information Office at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. He has more than 30 years of experience in gardening, disease diagnostics, and pest management.

Registration is required for this in-person event.

Long-time commuter advocate and newspaper commentator Jim Cameron offers a lively presentation and Q&A on Connecticut’s transportation future:

• Will riders ever return to commuter rail in big numbers?
• What will happen when train service is cut and fares increased?
• Where will money be found to repair our highways?
• How will new residential / workplace trends affect CT’s economy?

Cameron explores the options in an engaging, thought-provoking 45 minute workshop with plenty of time to hear your ideas and answer your questions.  Cameron has been called “the transportation guru” having spent over 25 years working and reporting on the issue.

A former NBC News anchor, Jim Cameron is recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award.  A Connecticut resident for over 30 years, he served 19 years on the Metro-North Commuter Council, later founding the Commuter Action Group. He also authors a weekly newspaper column, “Talking Transportation” which runs in the CT Mirror and other online news sites.

Presenter: Jim Cameron is a longtime commuter advocate and commentator on transportation issues in the state of Connecticut. Born and raised in Toronto, Jim attended Lehigh University and then worked in broadcasting and journalism in Hartford, Boston and New York City. He is the recipient of a George Foster Peabody Award for his work at NBC News. In 1993 he joined the CT Metro-North Rail Commuter Council where he served 11 years as Vice Chairman and four years as Chairman. He later founded The Commuter Action Group to push for reforms on behalf of Metro-North riders.

Since 2003 he has authored a weekly newspaper column and blog, “Talking Transportation”, which appears Mondays in the CT Mirror. He is also author of the tell-all book: “Off the Record: Confessions of a Media Consultant” Jim has lived in Darien for 30 years where he serves as Program Director of the town’s government TV station, Darien TV79. He also serves on the Merritt Parkway Conservancy and Darien’s “Representative Town Meeting” but says he has no aspirations for higher office.

Registration is required for this in-person event.

Join Richard DeLuca for a presentation about the importance of transportation as a force of history. During the lecture Richard will highlight the various stages of transportation development in Connecticut, from stagecoaches on the original Post Road, to steamboats, railroads, electric trolleys and of course the automobile in the twentieth century. The lecture will end with a short discussion of the impact of climate change on transportation and Connecticut’s future.

Presenter: Richard DeLuca earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from Manhattan College in New York in 1968, and a Master of Science degree in transportation planning from the University of Connecticut at Storrs in 1972. He has ten years of experience in the field of engineering as a transportation planner with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (1968-74) and with the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency (1974-78). In 1978, the author and his wife moved to San Francisco, after which he pursued a career as a writer, focusing on California history. He was a member of the California Historical Society, a volunteer teacher in the Society’s docent program, and past president of the Society’s docent association. For a short time, he was on the staff of the historical society as coordinator of their docent program. His article on the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island and the origins of the Native American civil rights movement was published in California History magazine and received the society’s Alice J. Clark award for twentieth-century history in 1984.

In 1994, the author published a book documenting the historical roots of the social protest that took place in the 1960s. Entitled: We, The People! Bay Area Activism in the 1960s, the book was published by The Borgo Press of San Bernardino, California as part of its series on Great Issues of the Day. The case studies focused on: investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the origins of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement; the San Francisco Freeway Revolt and the rise of environmental awareness in post-war America; and the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island and the origins of the Native American civil rights movement. A concluding essay discussed the implications of these events for a broad interpretation of the social activism that took place nationwide in the 1960s. The author and his wife returned to Connecticut in 1998. Since 2006, he has been at work on a two-volume history of Connecticut transportation from the colonial period to the present. The first volume, Post Roads & Iron Horses, was published by Wesleyan University Press in December of 2011, and covers the history of Connecticut from colonial times through the age of steam. A second volume, entitled “Paved Roads & Public Money,” focusing on transportation in the twentieth century was published in 2020, and received the Connecticut Book Award from the Humanities Council. The author has presented his research at several history conferences, and published several articles in Connecticut History, the journal of the Association For The Study of Connecticut History. A complete list of articles, talks and conference papers is available on request. The author also served as past membership chair for ASCH, and is currently on the editorial board of Connecticut History Review.

Following the presentation, Richard will be selling copies of “Post Roads & Iron Horses” and  “Paved Roads & Public Money” $35 each.

Registration is required for this in-person event.

There were more than 150,000 working horses in NYC by 1890. They had become both indispensable and unsustainable. To advocates of a newly emerging technology, the solution seemed obvious: get rid of horses and replace them with self-propelling motor vehicles, known at the time as horseless carriages. Electric cars were first introduced in the United States in 1890 and by 1897 the Columbia Electric Vehicle Co. in Hartford was producing almost half of the electric cars in the United States. By 1898, hybrid electric cars were offered. By 1899, most of the taxis in major cities were electric. Buses, trucks and even street sweepers were electric. They out sold gasoline cars at the turn of the century – then something happened. Join us and learn about why so many different electric cars swept the nation and what changed.

Presenter: John Cilio is a historical storyteller, author and researcher who has brought historical stories back to life for over 15 years. He is a member of the Organization of American Historians and the Association for the Study of Connecticut History. He has numerous articles printed in national magazines and newspapers and has published eight historical books ranging from women working in WWII and their impact on today’s business world to vintage helicopters. John hails from a career in corporate marketing and has spoken to large and small audiences in over 60 countries around the world. He lives in Sherman, Connecticut.

Program sponsored by the Friends of the Avon Library.

Registration is required for this in-person event.