Historical Society presents free History Bites lecture

TORRINGTON — A consortium of cultural organizations in Connecticut’s northwest corner is presenting History Bites, a free lunchtime lecture series, which is intended to share topics of local history with regional audiences.

The History Bites series is sponsored by the Connecticut Community Foundation. On May 10 at 12 p.m., the Torrington Historical Society will host a program in the Carriage House Gallery at the Torrington Historical Society, 192 Main Street. Attendees are invited to bring lunch; beverages and dessert will be provided by each organization.

The theme for this year’s lecture series, “Local Treasures,” highlights stories preserved in the objects and histories contained in each institution’s collections. The May 10 program will featured Elizabeth A. Kaczmarcyk, author of the recently published Images of America – Torrington (Arcadia Publishing), who will present an illustrated lecture “Torrington: A Photographic Journey” featuring photos from the book. A joint effort of the author and the Torrington Historical Society, the book tells the story of Torrington, Connecticut using photographs from the Society’s collection supplemented with images from private collections. Over the course of two years the author, with help from Torrington Historical Society staff, combed through thousands of photographs in the museum’s collection and researched the history of each photograph. The book is noteworthy for the depth of Ms. Kaczmarcyk’s research that resulted in well-written chapter introductions and detailed captions for each photograph.

Kaczmarcyk was born and raised in Torrington where she attended Sacred Heart School and Torrington High School. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from Trinity College and a Master’s in Social Work from Boston University. In 1991, she and her husband Peter Avenia moved to Seattle; in 2015, the couple returned to Connecticut in 2015. They reside in Hartford.

The Torrington Historical Society program will begin promptly at noon on May 10th in the Torrington Historical Society Carriage House, 192 Main Street, Torrington. The next program in the History Bites series “Now and Then”, will be presented by the Old Woodbury Historical Society on Thursday, May 17th. This photographic journey will compare existing sights in the town of Woodbury with earlier images of the same locales. For more information, call 203-2632595 or email hurdhousect@yahoo.com.