Farewell Summertime

The September equinox is here, the time to say farewell to summertime. Fall is coming, and given some recent cool nights it  feels as if it’s already here.  School has started, summer vacations are over, and for many this time of year signals a time to get back to work after a season spent outdoors in the sunshine, hiking trails, swimming in our lakes and ponds and watching fireflies dance in the dark. 

Looking back over the news that dominated our summer, we are reminded that it was a full season. It started with high school graduations. Those seniors are now freshmen in college, or they are getting into the workplace with their first jobs that aren’t after-school or summer gigs. Summer interns came and went, gaining practical experience as they anticipate their post-collegiate careers.

Nature had an impact on the Northwest Corner, dumping heavy rains in early July and then again later in the month. The Housatonic River raged at Bull’s Bridge in Kent. In Norfolk, the downpours washed out Route 272 between Norfolk and Torrington, and throughout many towns the state of Connecticut faced a massive job to repair roads and bridges. 

The rains also dealt a biological blow to the spongy moth by triggering a fungus that attacked the invasive insects after two back-to-back years of defoliation. 

Our institutions became a focal point. Sharon Hospital remained in the news as its application to close labor and delivery services faced state and public scrutiny. By summer’s end it received a ‘no’ decision from the state  Office of Health Strategy. The issue will reach into the fall because the hospital was granted an extention until Oct. 18 to appeal. Another mainstay institution, Salisbury Bank and Trust Company, joined forces in a merger with NBT Bank, a bigger bank based in Norwich, New York. It was the end of an era for the local bank —  with roots dating to 1848 as the Salisbury Savings Society. Another venerable institution, the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, reopened in mid-August after completing a new addition to the building that had stood largely untouched for the past century.  The rebuilding of the Salmon Kill Bridge in Salisbury, which initially was targeted for a spring completion, dragged out. The bridge work continues with hope for a fall reopening. 

Summer 2023 was a social event for people in towns across the Northwest Corner, despite an uptick in COVID cases that once again threatened our communal health. This fall there are new boosters that are backed by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The summerlong list of weekend activities seemed to never end, ranging from farmers’ markets to foot races to community-wide festivals. The Lakeville Journal, a nonprofit, also held a street fair in Salisbury for the second year in a row, celebrating the work of 30 nonprofit organizations that serve the public. 

We said it here before. Marshall Miles’ death marked the end of an era when all of us in the Northwest Corner were lucky to have a “perfect local newscaster” with an unparalleled understanding of life in our towns. Marshall co-founded Robin Hood Radio, which later had affiliated with NPR and was broadcasting as “the smallest NPR station in the nation.” James L. Buckley, conservative politician and U.S. Senator representing New York, who had spent most of his life in Sharon, died last month at age 100. His death represented the end of an important political era, and he was remembered as a paragon of virtue. 

It was a full summer.