Tournament today at Cromwell Martial Arts

MIDDLETOWN >> Cromwell Martial Arts, located at 871 Newfield St. Middletown, will hold a tournament on Saturday. Kids and adults will be competing in forms, sparring, and open forms and there will be a karate demonstration at 9am. Trophies will be awarded for the top 3 places in each event and all others will receive medals of participation. Outside schools are welcome to participate. Spectators are welcome free of charge. The annual tournament offers many benefits for young children, teens, and adults. Martial arts competition can help children understand how competition works in a friendly environment, and that if you try your hardest, you have a better chance to succeed. Improved self-esteem is another benefit of martial arts and competition. When a child wins individually or with a team, he or she feels accomplished and recognized. Even when they don’t win, a valuable lesson can be learned: that you can’t win every time and to learn from every competition win or lose. Children learn to hold their head high and feel proud for trying their best. Martial arts and youth sports can help deter negative behavior because competitive sports provide an outlet for expression, friendship and controlled aggression. Children who have positive influences and friends feel less of a need to participate in risky or negative behaviors.

For more information on the tournament, contact Professor Frank Shekosky at 860632-8188 or visit www.cromwellmartialarts.com

Church’s 100th year

MIDDLETOWN >> First Church of Christ, Scientist, Middletown is having its 100th year birthday and is sponsoring a free public lecture on Sunday, March 5, at 1:30 p.m. The lecture will be held in the church at 63 Broad Street. The topic is “Time is not a factor in your life!.” A reception and tours will be held after the lecture.

Early steps: In 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw moved from Stong, Maine when he took the position of Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds at Wesleyan University. He met a member of the faculty of Wesleyan and together they held the first Christian Science service on Oct. 29, 1911, in their home at 72 Cross Street. The house was located on what is now the southeast corner of the Olin Library of Wesleyan University. Public services were subsequently held in Pythian Hall in November and then in the Masonic Building on Court Street in 1912. The first lecture was given in January, 1914, at the Middlesex Theatre, Main Street.

Present location: Various places were considered for a church. The members selected the property at the corner of College and Broad Streets. The sale price was $7,000. On October 13, 1916, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Middletown, was incorporated under the laws of the State of Connecticut, and the property purchased — the owner, Mr. James Longworth, holding a mortgage.

About the building: Randolph Pease and his brother operated a major grocery and dry goods business on Main Street. He was born in 1788 in Enfield and moved to Middletown. In 1811 Pease was issued a “Certificate of Membership” in the second engine company to fight fires in Middletown. In 1830 he was one of the organizers of the Middlesex County Bank. The Middlesex County Historical Society reports that on May 3, 1830, Randolph Pease purchased the parcel of land from the estate of Matthew T. Russell, upon which he erected a “mansion.” Apparently Pease was so angered when the city widened College Street almost to the door of his first home at 148 College that he built this second home between 1832 and 1837.

When the Episcopal Church, which stood at the southeast of what is now Union Park was sold, Randolph Pease bought it. He had carefully taken down and used much of the lumber from that church in building this mansion, which itself has become a church edifice. This building and the Russell House at 350 High Street are the only strict examples of the Greek Temple form in downtown Middletown.

The church’s renovation included new windows designed by Henry Bacon. At the time of the renovation, he was consulting architect for Wesleyan. In addition, he had designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., which took eight years of construction between 1914 and 1922. Other changes included centering the main entrance on the College Street side of the building.

The chairs upon the platform were a gift from a member. On the first Sunday in March 1917, services were held in the new church. When all loans were paid off (just 3 years after the purchase), the church was dedicated on Sunday, Dec. 5, 1920. The Estey organ was purchased in the fall of 1921. In 1926 church pews were installed to replace the original chairs. Except for a period dating from October, 1927 to October, 1931, when the Reading Room was located in the Atwell Building on Main Street, rooms adjoining the church auditorium have been used for a Reading Room. In the early 1950s the Broad Street addition was constructed.