First Pride Day, 1998
NUGGET #82
FIRST ‘PRIDE’ DAY: “A Celebration of Community: Straight, Gay and Lesbian“ took place in 1998, on the Community Center lawn. About 60 people attended the event, which was organized by local Democrats and was supported by clergy, representatives of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gay), then-Congressman Jim Maloney, the Inside-Out Players led by Ruth Leibowitz, and Harvey Fierstein. Just a year later, a Rainbow Flag was flown for the first time in the nation over a state capitol, Hartford, on March 21, 1999.
From reporter Julian Knox’s account in The Ridgefield Press of Ridgefield’s celebration in 1998: “The featured speaker was acclaimed actor, playwright and longtime Ridgefielder Harvey Fierstein, who emphasized the significance of holding the event: ‘It’s much too easy to ignore gays and lesbians in the community — most are invisible and it’s easy to forget they’re part of the community.’ “
The celebration included music and a prayer by the Rev. Richard Gilchrist of St. Stephen’s Church and a reading by Rabbi Jon Haddon, as well as presentations by the Ridgefield High School Diversity Club and the Inside-Out Players and music by Dave Goldenberg.
More Historical Nuggets
Hezekiah Scott (1789-1879)
Hezekiah Scott was a weaver and operated a distillery on the brook near his home on Barlow Mountain Road — a stream now called Kiah’s Brook.
Paving
The first road paving, part of a state experiment, was done on the eastern end of Branchville Road around 1912. Catoonah Street was paved in 1922.
Lillian Barnard Gilkes and Louise “Lulu” Davidson
Gilkes, Lillian Barnard, (1903-1977), was a nationally recognized scholar, author and critic who lived at 93 Olmstead Lane with stepsister.
Notable Snow Storms
What was winter weather like in Ridgefield in decades and centuries past? A synopsis of memorable storms over almost 2 centuries.
