Date: Fri 18-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

Anderson-Freedom-Trail

Full Text:

2nd Annual Freedom Trail Celebration Will Be Saturday At CityCenter green

(with cut)

DANBURY -- The state will mark its second annual Freedom Trail Day on

Saturday, September 19, and Danbury will ride its own road to freedom with a

celebration on the CityCenter Green at 9 am that day.

"The Freedom Trail has risen to a higher status here in Danbury now that

Marian Anderson's studio has been saved, and in the future, relocated to

downtown Danbury," said State Representative Lew Wallace, who is chairman of

the Danbury Celebration Committee. "We wanted to participate in this day to

coincide with others around the state."

Rep Wallace, a resident of Danbury, worked to get legislation through to

partially fund the relocation of the Anderson studio.

"It's an important and historic educational site in our city," Rep Wallace

said.

The state has launched a monumental effort to get the second annual Freedom

Trail Celebration off the ground. Each town on the Freedom Trail -- a series

of numerous sites in the state that are associated with the heritage and

movement toward the freedom of its African-American citizens -- has been asked

to make a quilt square honoring its site.

Danbury's quilt square was crafted by Janet Hochsprung of Bethel, who owns JH

Homestead at 5 Front Street in Bethel. The shop holds classes and sells

supplies for the quilt hobbyist. Ms Hochsprung explained that the square was

pieced as opposed to appliqued, which took more time and effort. The block

offers a view of Marian Anderson's home.

"I think this [quilt] is a wonderful opportunity for sharing between

communities," Ms Hochsprung said. "It's a terrific way to commemorate

something of great historical importance that in the past may have been

overlooked."

Each site on The Freedom Trail is contributing a 15 by 15-inch quilt block

depiction. The quilt block of Marian Anderson's house will be featured

alongside such sites as the Lighthouse Archaeological Site in Barkhamsted, a

village made up of Native Americans, African-Americans, and whites who in

their time were considered outcasts; the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in

Hartford, where the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin resided from 1873 until her

death in 1896; and the Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, the last

of the 19th Century wooden whaling vessels on which African-Americans, Native

Americans and other diverse groups crewed. There are 78 sites on the trail.

On September 19, each quilt square will be taken by bicycle courier to

Hartford. Dr Edward James, the chief of neonatology services at Danbury

Hospital, will serve as Danbury's courier.

"As an African-American, it's important for me to do this," said Dr James,

whose trek will take him to additional Freedom Trail sites in Wilton, Norwalk,

New Haven, and then on to Hartford. "I'm most interested in history in this

country, the whole issue of slavery and the end of slavery, the Underground

Railroad... I believe these are things that I think as a country we should

actually celebrate."

Dr James' wife is Michelle James, the president of the Danbury chapter of the

Coalition of 100 Black Women. She and Danbury Mayor Gene Eriquez were

instrumental in getting the Freedom Trail celebration and participation

underway. Both will give remarks at the celebration Saturday morning, along

with State Representative Wallace and John W. Cherry, a native Danburian, who

will give the keynote address.

"I tend to think of Marian Anderson as a giant," said Mr Cherry, a teacher at

Pembroke School in Danbury. "In terms of her craft, and in terms of her impact

on the world."

The celebration will culminate in a send-off for Dr James.

Once the quilt squares reach Hartford, volunteers will fashion the quilt at

the Faith Congregational Church. The quilt will be completed at the Civic

Center Mall on Saturday, September 26, and then presented Sunday, September

27, at 2 pm, at the Legislative Office Building in the State Capitol.

For more information, call the Housatonic Valley Tourism District at 743-5710.