Learn about Topsmead before it was Topsmead

Virtual program slated for Nov. 9

LITCHFIELD — The Friends of Topsmead State Forest will give a virtual presentation on life at Topsmead before it became a Connecticut state forest, at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9.

The Friends of Topsmead State Forest is a non-profit organization that provides programs to engage the public and local school students in learning about and preserving the ecology of the park and enhances visitors' experience at Topsmead State Forest, located in Litchfield.

From the many interviews with the relatives and staff of Edith Morton Chase (aka, "EMC"), Jerry Geci will narrate and show slides of life at Topsmead when EMC and the Burrall sisters, her companions, lived there. Participants will learn how the ladies spent their time during a typical summer day and about the people who served to build and maintain Topsmead, according to a statement.

After retiring from teaching English at Litchfield High School in 1998, Geci began giving house tours at Topsmead State Forest. Over the years, he interviewed over 20 people connected in some way with those who lived and worked at Topsmead. He has shared his knowledge as tour guide and archivist in numerous talks, mostly given in the History Bites Lecture Series, funded by the Connecticut Community Foundation, according to the statement.

This presentation will be held on Zoom. There is no fee to attend; however, an RSVP is required. For more information about the event or to RSVP, go to: https://www.friendsoftopsmead.org/ events.html

Zoom registration information along with a technical assistance contact will be provided to registered participants. For more information about the event or the Friends of Topsmead, contact Colleen Stradtman at 203-584-0826.

Contributed photo The Friends of Topsmead State Forest are holding a program on what the forest was like before it was designated a state forest.