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Crusty Old Diver - Spring Trout on the Salmon River
Finding Solace Along The Salmon River
By John Tolmie / Photos by Kate Tolmie
The Salmon River State Forest is one of The Constitution States' most beautiful natural landmarks. The river winds for over ten miles south with its mouth opening into the majestic Connecticut River. This cherished watershed is the largest of its kind in the state, which begins and ends within the borders of Connecticut. Kayakers, hikers, bird watchers, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts have been flocking to the forest since its inception in 1934. The state has done an incredible job making hiking and fishing along its sandy and cobbled shores accessible and easy to transverse. The Comstock Bridge, a covered wooden relic built in the year 1840, spans the river and welcomes all visitors upon arrival at the park’s main entrance. Due to the river’s central location in Marlborough, Connecticut, most Nutmeggers can reach the Salmon River State Forest in about an hour or so. There is also a second entrance into the park that allows hikers and anglers to venture further and deeper downstream. As well, there are several spots to pull off northward where fly fishermen enjoy the exclusivity of angling the choicest spots in the upper waters.
Since the onset of the pandemic, alternatives for entertainment have been severely narrowed across the state. Getting outside and connecting with nature has surged with folks dusting off their hiking boots and enjoying the woodlands that abound across our picturesque state. Governor Lamont recently surprised Connecticut anglers by lifting the seasonal ban on fishing inland lakes, rivers, and streams. On March fourth, 2021 he announced his decision to open the season year-round due to the risk of spreading Covid on the historical crowds that accompany each yearly opening day. News spread quickly as fishing tackle sales jumped across the state and happy anglers sped off to wet their lines a bit earlier than anticipated.
The Salmon River, during March and April, rises and swells with vigor in direct cadence with the spring melt. Its crisp and frigid waters hold numerous species of both native and
Crusty old Diver
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39 Murals for 39 Years 39 Murals for39 Years
By Daniel Shkolnik Photos Courtesy of Rise Up CT Murals
39 Murals for39 Years
Lynn has joined a growing list of cities taking advantage of the power of street art to attract tourists, boost local economy, and improve morale. Lisbon has hosted mural festivals, and Montreal has a running mural program to beautify their neighborhoods. Philadelphia has about 3,600 murals. By comparison, Connecticut’s cities are behind. Downtown Hartford says Conway brings to mind “brick walls, cement. The XL Center is described as a bunker.” Conway thinks this is partly why the state is losing its 20- and 30-year-olds to New York and Boston, both of which have invested in vibrant public art cultures of which murals are a part. Conway wants to make Connecticut’s cityscapes a vibrant cultural landscape. When he looks out at the brick high-rises of Hartford, the stacked parking garages of New Haven, and the solemn walls of Bridgeport, he sees opportunity. “Connecticut is an open canvas,” Conway says.
The MLK mural project is more than a bid to make Connecticut more colorful, it’s an attempt to say something about how Connecticut values people of color. This series of murals won’t just change the aesthetics of individual cities. For the next two decades, MLK will become a prominent part of the Connecticut skyline. Unsurprisingly, not everyone is happy about this. Conway says he’s already encountered resistance from members of some communities. Someone has already asked him why they couldn’t put up a mural of George Washington instead of Martin Luther King. “If that’s your response,” he says, “you completely missed the point of the project.” But Conway puts a high premium on listening to communities, and each mural is intended to be a ground-up process that reflects its neighborhood. After a moment of thought he adds: “I’m sure Martin Luther King would want to be standing next to George Washington in a mural.”
Unveilings of new murals will begin in April or May and will continue through MLK Day 2022. But there’s a lot of work to do between now and then. While the first mural is up in Manchester, 38 remain to be designed, approved, funded, and painted. Each one will have its own funding campaign people can contribute to at CTMurals. com and each will have a community-driven ethos. Conway plans to visit schools and ask students their favorite Martin Luther King quotes and what Dr. King means to them. In the end, he hopes to see 39 unique murals, each arising from and reflecting the community in which it stands.
As the statues of confederate icons come down around the country and the murals of civil rights heroes go up, it’s easy to write off these changes as largely symbolic. And while it’s true much more complicated problems remain, public symbols are like weathervanes: they’re not the wind itself, but they can help us tell which way it blows. By MLK Day of 2022, Connecticut will have 39 new cultural weathervanes, all different in design, all aligned in direction, all heeding an old, persistent wind.
