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The Tunbridge Historical Society’s 46th season will feature talks about the town and Bethel’s Italian settlers, mystery and ghost walks, and raffles to help restore the North Tunbridge Church building. The opening meeting, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 5, at the library, will begin with a short program by Euclid Farnham about the Tunbridge Village Store. At 8 p.m. Bill and Fran Johansen will give a slide talk, "The Italian Settlement in Bethel." Her grandfather, Lorenzo Peduzzi, was one of the Bethel Flats settlers. Her parents bought a farm on Taylor Road, Tunbridge, in 1946. Bill, who is retired after 31 years as a biology professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., put together the presentation, focusing on Fran’s family as representative of Bethel’s Italian residents in the early 1900s. Fran’s grandfather was born in northern Italy where men worked in stone carving and quarrying for centuries. He settled his family in Bethel where a white granite was quarried. The Italian immigrant families lived in small houses along Bridge Street off River Street. The houses were destroyed in the 1927 flood. Lorenzo Peduzzi died of silicosis, the respiratory disease that proved fatal to many quarry workers, in 1918. The Johansens’ presentation will include photos and letters from Fran’s Aunt Barbola, a world traveler and photographer who documented growing up in Bethel. Future Programs The annual History Mystery Walk is Sunday, June 10. Drivers should meet at the library at 3 p.m. to follow the leader, Euclid Farnham. The Shugarmakers and Friends will provide musical entertainment at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, after the Tunbridge Church’s annual ice cream social. Euclid Farnham will give a slide talk on "Later Tunbridge: The Village" at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Dodge-Gilman Building. At 6:30 the society and Good Sam Club will host a potluck supper. The annual Ghost Walk will return to Spring Road Cemetery on Sunday, Oct. 21, 1 p.m. For information about society programs call 889-3458 or 889-5528. ____________ |
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