I think we could all use a feel good story.
It starts with a little bit of history.
Georgetown, Connecticut is a village located where the corners of four towns — Ridgefield, Wilton, Redding, and Weston — meet.
My great grandparents lived in the section of Georgetown that’s in Weston.
They had a small farm with a bunch of animals and a small apple orchard.
One of their daughters, my grandma, got married and she and my grandfather bought a house in the Redding section of Georgetown.
A couple years later my dad was born.
That’s baby Papa.
How great is that picture?
So my great grandparents lived in Georgetown, my grandparents lived in Georgetown, and my dad grew up in Georgetown.
Oh.
And my mom grew up in the Ridgefield section of Georgetown.
Back then the Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill was a booming industry in Georgetown, and it employed a lot of people from different countries, but especially Sweden. There was a large Swedish population in town.
(Gilbert and Bennett wire mill photo credit www.historyofredding.net)
My dad’s dad was born in Sweden and my mom’s mom was born in Sweden, and both families ended up in Georgetown.
A large part of town was comprised of the buildings that belonged to the wire mill as well as housing for the employees.
With the growing population of town, a school was built.
It was named the Gilbert and Bennett School.
Both of my parents went to school there, and they were in the same kindergarten class.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT???
(About 30 years later my brother and I would go to vacation bible school there in the summers, and about 12 years after that I’d have my first job there as a camp counselor.)
Several churches were constructed in town as well.
In this tiny area of less than three square miles, there were six churches!
My parents started dating when they were 13 or 14 years old, and a couple years after they finished high school, they got married in one of those six churches — the Methodist church.
My mom was 19 and my dad was 20.
I was born about five years after they got married, and then my younger brother was born, and we lived in a little house right next to the Gilbert and Bennett School.
The year I started kindergarten, we moved to the Georgetown section of Weston, and my parents built a house on what used to be part of my great grandparents’ apple orchard.
So the point of that little history lesson is that my family is a four-generation Georgetown family.
My parents still live in the same house they built almost fifty years ago.
That’s why I’ll always be a small town (and Georgetown) girl at heart.
It’s in my DNA.
This isn’t just my story.
It’s a common story for many current residents of Georgetown. They trace their roots back to the wire mill days (and before).
Every summer Georgetown celebrates its history and businesses and residents with a celebration called…
Georgetown Day.
My dad LOVES Georgetown Day.
This will become relevant in a minute.
One of those six churches I mentioned before is the Georgetown Bible Church.
It hasn’t been used for services in a long time, but my great grandparents (the ones whose farm my parents built their house on) used to go to church there.
Here’s what it looked like back in the day:
My dad cuts the grass there and maintains the grounds.
I never really knew how this came to be.
I assumed the church hired him since he also cuts the grass at the Methodist Church where he and my mom got married.
And then, last week, I randomly got a message from an old friend of mine.
We went to nursery school together in Georgetown. My grandmother was our teacher.
My friend is from one of those families whose parents and grandparents also lived in town and she still lives there.
Her message said, “Your dad got a really nice shout out today.”
It was from a local Facebook group. She sent me a screen shot.
(I contacted the author and am sharing it with her permission)
It reads:
For sometime now, someone has been cutting the Georgetown Bible Church lawn. It has been a mystery. We had thought that the town was cutting it for the longest time since the parking lot is used for public parking during the week. They haven’t. Today I drove by and saw a man with a truck in the parking lot. He had a mower and weed wacker so I stopped.
I said “Hi, have you been cutting the lawn?” with a big smile on my face. “My parents have been wondering who was cutting it.”
He said “Yes, for some time now. Who are your parents?”
I told him. He said “Oh your mother went to school with my sister.” We chatted for a while. He knew my grandfather “Dink” who worked for Connery Bros, who used to deliver coal to his house as a kid.
I said “why did you start cutting the lawn?”
He said “well, we were down here for Georgetown Day a few years ago and the lawn was overgrown and my wife said Hey, why don’t you go down there and cut the lawn and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
I said “Well, we really, really appreciate and what a kind thing to do.”
He said “Well, I’m a Georgetown guy and I want to keep Georgetown looking nice.”
I said “I understand since my roots are in Georgetown too.”
My point here is amidst all the chaos, the virus, all the hate, all the disagreements, there are genuinely good-hearted caring people who are your neighbors. He wasn’t asking to get paid, he wasn’t asking for recognition, he just did it because he loves Georgetown.
God Bless you Mr. Lee Johnson and thank you for your kindness and your love of Georgetown!
I’ve always thought my dad was the GOAT.
But I’m a little biased.
To have other people recognize it brought me to tears.
Amidst all the bullshit going on in the world right now, there are still lots of really good people out there and some really awesome small-town communities and families who look out for and appreciate each other.
And every day, but especially right now, I’m really proud to be a part of one of them.
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Wow we have so much more in common then I realized from Weston. My maternal Grandfather emigrated from Sweden with his family. They lived on Main Street in front of Gilbert and Bennett which he worked at until retirement. Their house is still standing. Also attended the same church. I went to Nursery School below the church. Georgetown is a wonderful community and still friends with many lifelong residents!!
That’s a cool story! And god bless your dad- I know the church! I live in the branchville 😉
I bet he’d love to see your family in church worshiping the Lord on Sunday. Just a thought. T
Oh Susie, I love this story! I don’t know you but your writing is so personal I feel as if we could be friends. This story reminds me of years ago when you would tell stories more frequently.
Aw thanks, Cara. And you are right. I did used to tell more stories. I should get back to that. 🙂
Thanks for the great story.
I am fourth generation Georgetown as well raising a fifth generation in my grand parents house. Your father generous act of maintaining a corner stone of Georgetown is what makes this a great place to live. Your story is like my family and many others in Georgetown. This story brings me right back to the dinner table history lessons of “old Georgetown” as my grandparents and other old timers would rehash memories.
Thanks for the article.
Ross Nazzaro
Lovely story and part of my history also! I grew up on Peaceable Street and my brothers and sister rode our bikes into Gerogetown regularly! My best friend Randy Cochran ( can’t remember the spelling!) went with her dad boating from Norwalk, swimming and fishing, we caught huge flounders, haven’t seen anything that big in years! If anyone knows where she is today please let me know. We used to camp on the Norwalk Islands (they are all privately owned now!) a blessed and amazing childhood! We also would forage for garnets on the power lines property. I remember there was a short cut from Peaceable street to Georgetown through the woods! If you went down the street to the end and took a left there was a lake where Paul Newman and his wife shot the movie Rachel, I think it was. It was blocked off because the beach scene was too racy!!! We moved when I was 11 to Umpawauge road (again spelling is an issue!) and got a wonderful horse Figi, and rode throughout the town. Newman made another movie, shot in the Graveyard down the road on Umpauwauge which I rode down too while they were shooting, much to his dismay, I must say he was very sweet to me, he had a horse at the Weston Ring Club where I used to work ride and show. We used to have horse shows at great home where the sculptress, Anna Heighet (spelling!)Huntington had her home and studio. We also had a sculpture of hers at the Redding elementary school, of 2 men fighting, naked!one on horseback. I am an artist and the creativity in my life there formed my whole life! I had to ride through Storm King, Mark Twain’s home! to get to the farm, can’t remember its name, I will ask my brother and post it! One of my best friends neighbor was the Twilight Zones host, blanking out on his name, ah!!Rod Sterling!!!
Also, an elementary school’s friend I played with at their house was Burt Bachrach (heard him play often!) and at the other end of Fox Run Road in Redding was another friends home where I played with was Edward Steichin’s home, I remember the tree he photographed in each season!
I grew up in a magical time in that area. My Grandfather also is the person who developed ‘sound on film’, taking pictures, Theodore Willard Case. My father was a writer and editor. Our family was blessed to be steepted in creativity! Before I was born my family was also good friends with and lived next door to J.D. Salinger, my godfather was his best friend, Michael Mitchell. He wrote a short story, Ted based on my brother and family! How cool is that!!!
There is more and more in that area – too amazing to fit it all in!!! Thank you for that trip down memory lane – love it!! It is why I belong to this group!!!!
Wow Susan! You had some childhood!
I taught JD Salinger’s grandson when I was a 4th grade teacher in Wilton at Cider Mill.
Small world!!!
Thanks for the comment!
What a wonderful article! Please consider joining Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc., a nonprofit organization that is working slowly but surely to make and maintain Georgetown’s specialness! We had to take a break from meeting due to Covid but hope to be back at it as soon as it’s safe! https://georgetownct.org/
P.S. we put on Georgetown Day every year, except of course this year 🙂
I will do that! Thanks for all the work you are doing!
What a great, feel good story about your Dad! Thanks for sharing.
I love your stories about your dad. He is wonderful. You make me cry every time you speak of him!
I shed a tear or two myself writing that one. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. My grandparent lived in Georgetown, they came from Poland. My grandfather worked at the Gilbert and Bennett wire mill and lived on “company” housing until they build a house. They had 5 children that all grew up in Georgetown. There aren’t any of us left in town, passed away or moved away but I will never forget the fun we had at the annual fireman’s carnival that was held in the parking lot of the Gilbert and Bennett wire mill or getting to lay pool at the firehouse (my Uncle Walter Okarmus was a member). Oh, memories.
I totally forgot about the carnival. When I was a kid it was at the Gilbert and Bennett School on the field. Great times. So thankful for the memories.
Hi Robin, my maternal grandparents came to Georgetown from Poland also, with their two oldest children. The youngest were born here. When my mom was born in 1916, they lived in a Gilbert & Bennett house on Main Street, across from Connery’s store. They later moved a little farther down the road. Three of their four children settled in Georgetown, and all of us third generation cousins grew up together. Three of us cousins are still in the area – one in Redding and two in Weston.
I have the same great memories of the Fireman’s carnival. It was THE event of the year. Also swimming at Georgetown Beach- first on the north side off Portland Avenue, then on the south side off North Main Street.
My grandfather of course worked at the wire mill. My mom (Genevieve Mendick) knew your family, I think she went to school with Joseph Okarmus, and was friends with Mary as well. And everyone knew Walter.
Georgetown was (and still is in many ways) a great place to grow up!
Although I have no ancestors who lived or immigrated to Georgetown, I have lived here for 46 years and love the town. I did attend the Gilbert and Bennett School in 4th grade after my family moved to Wilton, graduated with and knew many Georgetown WHS students along with several Swedish Johnson Families. Lee Johnson is an exceptional person with his positive, generous and caring attitude! Thanks for sharing this story.
Hey Bobbi! Great to hear from you!
Not from Georgetown…but swam in the pond behind the mills.
Georgetown has been fortunate to have stayed much the same as I remember it since 1970; except the public swimming hole has long since closed.
Your grandmother was my nursery school teacher as well! My kids are now fourth generation as my grandparents all came over from Sweden. Dad grew up on Samuelson Road and I believe your grandfather was in the Georgetown VFW with him. One of the six churches you’re probably talking about includes the Covenant Church (now a house) in Covenant Lane. Thank you for bringing back a lot of childhood memories.
Thank you for this very sweet story. And, thanks to Lee for his generosity and town spirit. If you have not seen the film, A Georgetown Story, by independent filmmaker John Maher, I am providing a link to Part One on Vimeo. It gives great historical background to the town, the wire mill, the church and the interesting people who made it all so special.
Oh I’d love to watch it! Where can I find the link?
Hello Susie. You don’t know me, but I knew your parents when we were teenagers. I was a Branchville girl with Italian & French roots. The ball lot in Branchville, the G&B school field & ice skating on Factory Pond bring back many good memories. Your Georgetown Story is a wonderful tribute to the town, and to your parents and grandparents. Your grandfather’s picture was like looking at a picture of your uncle Mark, a former beau. I married into the Hennessey family. They lived further down the Weston road from the Johnson farm. What is remarkable is stumbling upon your article today when I was looking for a DVD titled, “A Georgetown Story” produced by Georgetown Village Restoration, Inc. I have the DVD, but a longtime friend reached out to me after many years today from CT. She and her husband Don Garrick (whose mother was a Matson of Portland Ave.) attended Gilbert & Bennett School and it’s reunion. We talked about the DVD and where to get a copy. Interestingly, parts of the DVD contains film footage my grandfather Americo Ridolfi took. He is pictured holding a large fish. My Dad, Lou, in his Navy uniform is pictured smooching a young woman at the end (not my mother). My brother Larry & I are visible several places. It’s a wonderful video capturing Georgetown in its prime; showing how the G&B factory, G&B school, the railroad, the collection of churches and it’s immigrant families contributed to the unwavering growth, stability and lasting influence of small town life in the 21st century.
Hi Susie. I grew up in Georgetown on Old Mill Road. I also went to Gilbert & Bennett School and swam at Georgetown beach and even skated there in the winter. I worked at the A & P as a teenager, and enjoyed my fair share of Heibeck’s ice cream. I was doing some writing of my own, and I decided to look around at pictures from the area when I came up the picture of the bride I believed to be Miriam & she caught my eye. I only knew her when she was older, but I knew it was her. As I scrolled down the article I came upon your Mom & Dad’s wedding picture. You see, my Aunt Linnea was Miriam’s daughter and my first job was sitting with your great grandmother, Flora Kramer, in fact all of my sisters spent time with your great grandmother. I remember your mom and dad building their house at the end of her drive. They were close with my brother Tom. I used to walk Mrs. Kramer’s dog, Laddy, and sit with her almost every Friday and Saturday night when I was a young teen. I’m pretty sure I met you when you were very little, blond curly hair. Anyway, I had to reach out since we share an aunt and uncle and a couple of cousins, Stephanie & Greg. I also have Aunt Linnea’s cookbook, and I’m pretty sure you or at least your mom have recipes in there. I enjoyed the feel good story. It’s good to know that Georgetown hasn’t lost it’s charm in all these years. Thanks, and keep up the writing. I’m glad I came across your grandparents’ wedding picture.
Hi my name is Paula scarpelos I actually grew up in Redding but would frequently visit Georgetown. My best friend used to live there so I was there quite a bit 🌞 I can’t express how lucky I was to grow up in that area.. those were the best days of my life and I will never forget them they are embedded in my heart forever💌