By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The Ye Olde Lebanon Towne Militia fires during a ceremony at the Orange Fairgrounds May 28 in honor of prominent Orange residents who recently died. Photo by Lexi Crocco.
State and local dignitaries gathered at the gazebo by High Plains Community Center on the morning of May 28 to heap praise on Orange as the town marked its 200th birthday and kicked off what has been dubbed the “Summer of Celebration.”
“Let it be known that we, the people of Orange, rededicate ourselves to the advancement and progress of our fine community,” said First Selectman Jim Zeoli, reading from a proclamation dedicating the event, “that therefore I ask the people of Orange to take time to reflect upon 200 years of hard work, strong ethical values and good fortune that has made our town such a wonderful place to live. We genuinely do enjoy the good life here.”
As a pending rainstorm held off, about 100 people gathered around the gazebo on the fairgrounds to listen to Zeoli and a host of others with connections to the town talk about how far it’s come.
Town Historian Priscilla Searles, who is also a Milford-Orange Times contributor, recalled her involvement with the 150th anniversary in 1972, which she said took a different approach but had one common thread: an appreciation for the community.
“We don’t live on top of each other – we’re spread out. We have a secure town, thanks to an outstanding police department. The volunteer fire department is second-to-none,” she said. “The school system is outstanding. And as far as open space goes, there isn’t a town in Connecticut that has what Orange can offer.”
Orange’s state legislative delegation – Sen. James Maroney and Reps. Charles Ferraro, Kathy Kennedy and Mary Welander – were on hand to read a citation granted to the town from the Connecticut General Assembly. As Kennedy read the citation, the other three legislators held a Connecticut state flag, which they then presented to Zeoli.
Before reading the citation, Kennedy shared a story of her own decidedly difficult move from New Haven to Orange as a child in the 1960s. She said in one of her first visits to the house that her parents had built on Wheelers Farm Road, she stepped on a snake.
“For weeks to come I would sit in the car,” she said. “My parents were like, ‘You have to get out of the car.’ I’m like, ‘Oh no I’m not. This town has snakes!’”
Zeoli, for his part, told a group of Cub Scouts from Pack 922 who were by the gazebo that he remembered being a kid when the 150th celebration happened.
“You’ll be here for the next one, so you better do a good job when it comes,” he joked.
The ceremony was immediately followed by a dedication and groundbreaking for a bicentennial brick walk that the Orange Chamber of Commerce is spearheading that will be put in around the gazebo. The chamber presented special commemorative bricks to the families of three prominent members of the community who recently died: Chips Family Restaurant owner George Chatzopoulos, Orange Country Fair founder Walter Bespuda and Orange Hill Country Club founder Walter “Bud” Smith.
“Like a house, the community has certain parts of it that serve maybe a greater purpose, and I think of those like a foundation or a load-bearing wall or a beam that’s holding everything up,” said Ted Novicki of the chamber. “I think of those types of individuals in the community like our honorees.”
The presentation of the bricks was followed by three shots fired off in honor of Chatzopoulos, Bespuda and Smith by the Ye Olde Lebanon Towne Militia.
The Founding Day ceremony was only the opening salvo for a series of events to be held into September that include parades, dinners, games and historic displays. Later in the summer the town will be unearthing a time capsule buried 50 years ago and putting a new one in the ground.
Orange kicked off its summer-long celebration of the town’s bicentennial on May 28 with a ceremony featuring local and state officials, proclamations and dedications. After the ceremonies, the Orange Chamber of Commerce and local art studio Art People held a community art project to create seed mosaics that will be strung on a mobile display to be showcased at future events. Photos by Lexi Crocco.
