In March, just as I was retiring after 47 years with The Ridgefield Press, I got an email from Tabitha Dulla, an editor at The History Press. On the web she had come across some of the About Town columns I have been doing for The Press, and wondered if I might want to write a book in a similar vein. Sure! Now that I’d become an Official Geezer, I had the time to get right on the job. The result is now available as “Ridgefield Chronicles,” a 160-page, extensively illustrated paperback (or a Kindle/Nook edition). If there is a theme to the book, it’s showing how Ridgefield is unusual in many ways for a town its size — unusual in its history, its geography and especially in the many fascinating people who have lived here. What other community its size has had six Pulitzer Prize-winners as residents? How many small towns have had a half-dozen residents honored on U.S. postage stamps? And how many have issued silver medals commemorating the nation’s most notorious traitor? Ridgefield is all of that, and much, much more. If you love Ridgefield as a current or past resident, I hope you will find this new book not only interesting and educational, but also fun. Incidentally, my 2003 book, “Ridgefield 1900-1950,” is still in print and offers more than 200 old postcard views of the town, along with loads of historical notes. (Coincidentally, while “Ridgefield Chronicles” was being put together, Arcadia, the company that publishes “Ridgefield 1900-1950,” announced that it was merging with The History Press.) Both these books are available locally at Books on the Common, Ridgefield Hardware, the Ridgefield Historical Society, and other outlets. If you live out of town, you can find them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And if you’d like to take a nice autumnal amble through Ridgefield history, pick up a copy of “Five Village Walks,” which costs only $5 — profits from which go to the historical society. As its name suggests, it offers five self-guided walking tours of streets and roads in the village, and includes many illustrations and a map. Books on the Common, the Chamber of Commerce, and, of course, the historical society should have it. And in a bit more shameless self-promotion, I might add that any of these three volumes would make nice gifts for Christmas or Hanukkah. Finally, thanks to all the great people here on the Old Ridgefield group who have helped me along the way with information and valuable comments on the postings I’d placed here. A number of topics discussed here have been worked into “Ridgefield Chronicles.”
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 12:42:24 +0000
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