How long have you lived in Ridgefield and what brought you here?
We first moved to Ridgefield in 2003, when I started working at GE in Fairfield having been transferred from Upstate New York. We have family in Wilton and fell in love with Ridgefield for all of those reasons one falls in love with Ridgefield…. The Main Street, the town’s colonial village aura, the trees, the people, everything.
When did you first get involved with the Ridgefield Historical Society?
I have just recently gotten involved after having heard so much from my friends Tracy Seem and Kip Schibli.
Have you always been a history person?
Yes, I have always loved history and was a history major in college.
Do you have a favorite era of Ridgefield History?
I have read a great deal about America between the Civil War and WWI. It was a real period of growth economically but also culturally and architecturally.
Why should people care about history and the Ridgefield Historical Society in particular?
I am one that believes in learning from the past. The lessons are sometimes painful and sometimes uplifting but always informative. Maybe it sounds corny, but studying the past helps us forge a better tomorrow. And not only that, the past is full of really interesting and actually astounding information!! I am an avid reader, and I love reading old books, not just for the information that they provide but to notice how they were written, how the language sounded. The way people express themselves is fascinating. The Ridgefield Historical Society does many things but maybe most importantly it preserves and maintains old documents that enable us to learn what the people were doing, thinking and how they expressed it at the time. That is key to loving the past and learning from it.
Finally for you, What are your goals as the new president of the Ridgefield Historical Society?
I hope to learn how I can help as I learn more and more about the organization and its goals, objectives and projects. I have managed large organizations and hope that some of the structures and processes that I have successfully used in the past will help the Historical Society grow and thrive.
