History Comes Alive at Wilton Historical Society ‘Taste in Time’ Fundraiser [PHOTOS]; Some Get Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Collections

Saturday evening, Mar. 1, Wilton went back in time to celebrate history’s role in the present as the Wilton Historical Society hosted “Taste in Time” to raise money for the Wilton museum.

With catering by Marcia Selden, attendees enjoyed delicious food and drink in the Historical Society galleries while celebrating three important eras in time: the Colonial era, the 1940s and the 1960s.

During the event, Wilton Historical Society officials held a fundraising paddle raise, as many attendees donated to support the museum’s mission. Most generous was First Selectman Toni Boucher, who bid $10,000. Emceeing the paddle raise were Historical Society Executive Director Nick Foster and GOOD Morning Wilton Editor Heather Borden Herve.

Some lucky guests were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the museum’s collections where some of the rarest items are kept and preserved. Foster showed pieces that dated back to each of the eras that were part of the evening’s theme.

Among the special items Foster showed was a cello once owned by a member of the Gregory family that dates back to 1750, as well as a newspaper from 1789. He also brought out a baseball-sized piece of lead that came from a statue of King George that had been torn down in New York City right after the first reading of the Declaration of Independence there in July 1776.

According to Foster, a group of rowdy patriots ripped the statue down and smashed it to pieces. The colonialists planned to melt down the lead image of the king and turn it into bullets to be used to fight against the British army. The statue pieces were shipped to Norwalk and brought to a colonial tavern located in one of the historic buildings that now stands on the site of the Historical Society. The statue was held there overnight — but the tavern was actually owned by loyalist still aligned with the king. Wilton loyalists Samuel Belden and Joe Burlock — who lived in what is now Trackside Teen Center — came over in the cover of night, stole the pieces and threw them into the pond next door. The pieces were fished out many years later, and that’s how Crowne Pond got its name.

From the 1960s, Foster showed a Vietnam War protest banner that was carried by Wilton high school kids who led a protest against the war in Wilton Center in October 1969, as part of a country-wide call for a moratorium on the Vietnam War. Many of the protesters signed their name on the banner. One of the signatures Foster pointed was that of Chance Browne, who grew up to take over the “Hi and Lois” comic strip created by his father, Dik Browne.

Foster also shared a Wilton Junior High yearbook from the 1968-1969 school year. Coincidently, one of the people on the behind-the-scenes tour was Barli Nugent, who spotted herself in one of the class photos included in the yearbook.