ORANGE BICENTENNIAL The Town Celebrates 200 Years

The Town Celebrates 200 Years

WRITTEN BY: ANNEMARIE SLIBY

Plantings in shades of orange peppering the Town Green, flags emblazoned with the bicentennial logo aligning Orange Center Road, a grand tower clock standing tall in front of Town Hall, life size cows artistically painted pondering about, and a multitude of events all signify the Town of Orange is gearing up for a very special occasion.

In preparation for the town’s Bicentennial celebration, First Selectman James Zeoli formed a Bicentennial Committee and appointed members in October of 2021. Former Town Clerk, Pat O’Sullivan was appointed as Chairman and the first meeting was on December 9th.

“Fashioning a theme and brainstorming ideas was the first order of business for the committee,” says O’Sullivan. “Things are different today, what was good back then, doesn’t fit in today,” referring to the town’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 1972, when a different event took place every day of the week during the commemoration.

Remembering his experience during the Sesquicentennial, Zeoli says, “Being a 12-year-old at the Town’s 150th anniversary was an exciting time. There were many events held for young and old for an entire week, and we were allowed to stay up late and really feel the sense of celebration townwide. I have such vivid memories of the fair – the crowning of Miss Orange, the soap box derby down Greenbrier hill, the men and ladies dressed in costumes of the 1820’s for events – it was all such fun!”

BICENTENNIAL LAUNCH

This time around, events are planned all summer long. Fittingly so, the theme is A Summer of Celebration and festivities begin with a Founder’s Day Ceremony on May 28th at the Gazebo on the Fairgrounds, where dignitaries from around the state are slated to speak. Immediately following the ceremony, will be the Bicentennial Brick Groundbreaking, a program created by the Orange Chamber of Commerce, who began selling commemorative bricks at the end of last year.

Zeoli exclaims, “I look forward to the events going on from May until the Country Fair in September, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Town of Orange!”

EVENTS

Committee meetings were twice per month, and members were responsible for organizing events. “We had a great group of people with a lot of knowledge and skill, and I commend them for donating their time,” O’Sullivan says.

Some events planned are a restaurant and business week, a parade and family dinner, a golf tournament, mud run, flower show, scavenger hunt, goat hike, falconer demonstration, historical tours, and more. In addition, the 1972 time capsule will be erected, and its items will be on display at the Orange Country Fair.

The Bicentennial Committee - back row from left to right: Ginny Prostakes, Selectman Mitch Goldblatt, Lynn Plaskowitz, Patrick O’Sullivan, Ann Denny, George Lesko, and Pastor Joshua Schiff. Front row from left to right: Kevin Margenau, Santo Galatioto Jr, Polly Demirjian, and Lawrence Messina (additional members are missing from picture).

PAINTING THE TOWN ORANGE

Besides planning events, the committee came up with ideas for creating a joyous feeling throughout town. Orange lights will illuminate the windows at Town Hall, orange flowers will surround town buildings, and life-size cows with artistically painted themes will be scattered about.

The public can also look forward to commemorative items adorned with the official bicentennial logo, which will be available for purchase at events and via the town’s website.

A TOWER CLOCK

A beautiful tower clock will be installed in front of Town Hall by the end of September. The Howard Replica clock is 16 feet, and has a double-sided 36-inch face, with Roman numerals surrounding the bicentennial logo. The clock will be placed on a concrete slab surrounded by landscaping and will be a beautiful addition to the town center.

“It’s something that we’ve wanted for a long time to commemorate the bicentennial and will be enjoyed for years to come,” says Zeoli.

He and Selectman Mitch Goldblatt came up with the idea, researched a few clock companies, and brought the information to a Board of Selectman meeting for approval.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

With a goal of creating an historic video to be posted to the town’s website, Selectwoman Judy Williams was charged with interviewing a group of people who have given insight of what Orange was like as far back as the 1930s. Williams was born and raised in Orange and her family has been in the area since 1622; so this is an appropriate task. The purpose of the video is for future generations to hear and see what Orange was like in the past and what it is like currently.

“We are fortunate to have residents who can tell us firsthand what Orange was like in the 1930s and 1940s, but can also tell us even more information as told to them by their parents,” says Williams.

Working with Chris Kelly and his sister Lauren from Orange Government Access Television who are producing the video, Williams posed three questions to over 30 people: How and when did your family settle in Orange; what contributions to Orange did you and your family make; and what historical event in town was most memorable to you? Some of the people interviewed were, Walter Bespuda, Carmen Rodriguez, Doris Knight, and Emma Cuzzocreo.

“I had such fun speaking with this group of people, hearing their stories of how they came to be in Orange, why their families remain here, and learning what the town was like so long ago,” says Williams, as she recalls discussions she found fascinating while interviewing the group.

A FARM TOWN

Many of the interviews provided a view of how Orange changed from a town that was supporting about 30 individual dairy farms with herds of 30 to 40 cows in the 1930s.

Williams had the pleasure of interviewing Walter Bespuda before he passed away in March. Bespuda told of how his parents settled in Orange in 1930 and bought a farm (125 acres) from Mary L Tracy (the then Principal of Orange Center School), without knowing anything about farming. Bespuda’s parents were living in Bridgeport at the time, and his dad held a full-time job there.

“They wanted land and a place they could enjoy it,” Bespuda told Williams. Beginning with working full-time in Bridgeport and part-time on the farm, they soon found out that working partially on the farm wasn’t enough. They eventually committed to farming full-time, starting with dairy cows producing 120 to

Photo: Courtesy of The Town of Orange

Field View Farm on Derby Avenue was established in 1639 and is still owned and operated by the Hine family.

Photo: Courtesy of The Town of Orange

Wellington Andrew, Jr. and Helen Andrew Ewen in 1906 on what is now Lambert Road.

Photo: Paula Severino

The Ewen homestead and Shamrock Farm in the distance as it stands today on Lambert Road.

Photo: Courtesy of The Town of Orange

A couple in the distance strolling down Lover’s Lane, which was later developed as Chestnut Ridge Road.

140 quarts of milk a day, and then potatoes--Bespuda working side-byside with his parents.

He cheerfully informed Williams, “You buy milk, you buy a potato and that went along pretty well.” The farm went from producing dairy, to vegetables, and then meats. Cedar Hill Farm is still operating today on Derby Milford Road, with Bespuda’s children and grandchildren at the helm.

LOOKOUT TOWERS

Williams recalls an amazing story during her interview with Doris Knight about townspeople looking out for enemy planes and submarines during World War II. Knight informed of how she climbed up the threestory staircase of a medal lookout tower, which was on the corner of Racebrook and Tyler City Roads. She stood on the round platform at the top and scanned the skies for planes. In order to identify the planes correctly, the ‘lookouts’ were supplied with cards of pictures of the different aircrafts. There was also another lookout tower on top of a barn at Hayland Farm on Old Tavern Road. Doris Knight and her family are the owners of Knight’s Inc, located on the Boston Post Road since 1954.

OLDEST DAIRY FARM

Orange evolved a bit after the war, as farming (especially dairy farming) became difficult in which to make a living, and some of the farms were sold. Although, one dairy farm that remains in operation in Orange today is Field View Farm, located on Derby Avenue. The farm, established in 1639 and owned by Walter S. Hine and generations of his family, is one of the oldest farms in United States history.

NEIGHBORHOODS CREATED

As farmland was sold, it became available to the building boom, which accommodated the population growth after the war. Cow pastures turned into neighborhoods and more roads were constructed. Williams told about her father Tom Wright, who took advantage of the boom by starting his own excavating company in 1949. He began with building roads and digging cellars for new houses on Meeting House Circle, which was formerly a cow pasture that his uncle (Paul Wright) had used. T M Wright Excavating is still in business today and is being run by Wright’s son and son-in-law, Tom Wright Jr. and Jay Daymon respectively.

BUSINESS EXPANSION

Employing skilled farm hands was a challenge according to Carmen Rodriguez, whose father Hermenejildo worked on the Cuzzocreo Farm in the 1950s. With a desire of expanding their operation to include bedding plants, the Cuzzocreo’s put up 20 new greenhouses, but did not have the staff to tend to it. Mr. Cuzzocreo went to Puerto Rico to hire skilled farmers, hired Hermenejildo Rodriguez, and brought him to Orange. “It wasn’t a boss/employee relationship, they worked side-by-side to get the job done,” Carmen Rodriguez told Williams. Eventually, Cuzzocreo was instrumental in moving the Rodriguez family to the area, as Williams reflects on her interview with Rodriguez. In addition to farming, the Cuzzocreo family went into the fencing business, and the family owns and operates Orange Fence located on the Boston Post Road, since 1930.

“Interviewing a large amount of people in such a short time was a challenge, but It was an amazing experience, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with these important townspeople,” says Williams.

A link to the video will be posted on the town’s website, orange-ct.gov. For information regarding Bicentennial events, check the Summer of Celebration on Page 23. 