If you’re a resident or a fan of the Nutmeg State, Connecticut Collection, Volume I, CPTV’s new 10-DVD set of classic documentaries about our state’s legendary people and events, is an item you’ll want to add to your DVD library. The collection features three themes: Shaping Our State, Nostalgia and Calamities – plus the bonus CD titled Legends about unforgettable personalities who had an impact on our state.
Connecticut Collection, Volume I is available exclusively as a thank-you gift
for a membership pledge of $140.
SHAPING OUR STATE
The Shaping Our State category of three DVDs includes: Colt: Legend & Legacy; New England and the Civil War; and Mark Twain’s Neighborhood Nook Farm.
 Colt: Legend & Legacy
In the field of firearms, the Colt name is legendary. Hartford native Samuel Colt made his name as the inventor of the Colt revolver, and his manufacturing company became a giant in the 19th century. From the magnificent onion dome that once dominated the Hartford skyline to the gun that bore the family name, Colt has been a name synonymous with Hartford. But beyond the obvious, few are aware of the legacy, both industrially and culturally, left by Samuel and his wife Elizabeth Colt. Few today realize that the couple also transformed the look and history of Hartford. In this documentary, created in conjunction with the 1997 Wadsworth Atheneum's exhibit Sam and Elizabeth: Legend and Legacy of Colt's Empire, Colt historians created a multi-dimensional picture of a unique couple. Colt: Legend & Legacy is an Emmy-nominated documentary.
Co-produced by: CPTV and the Connecticut Humanities Council as part of The Connecticut Experience series;
Producer/Writer/Director: Ken Simon; Associate Producer: Jennifer Vasta; Narrator: Will Lyman; Original Music Score: Steve Evans; Executive Producers: Larry Rifkin for CPTV and Bruce Fraser for the Connecticut Humanities Council; copyright 1997 Connecticut Public Television
 New England and the Civil War
Riots, visions and bloody conflicts brought New England to the bitterly hard years of the Civil War from 1861-1865. In New England and the Civil War, this dramatic era is told through the documented words of New England’s abolitionists, fugitives, soldiers, nurses and civilians. Archival photographs and footage of reenactments sketch the scenes from battlefield and sick bed, factory and prison camps. Images of New England landscapes, cities, factories and small towns are interwoven with archival material, poignantly presenting the home that many Northern soldiers longed for from the battlefields of the South. New England and the Civil War was honored with a Telly Award.
Producer/Writer/Director: Roynn Lisa Simmons; copyright 2000 Connecticut Public Television
 Mark Twain’s Neighborhood Nook Farm
In the latter half of the 19th century, Nook Farm, an elegant residential neighborhood bordering the Park River in Hartford, flourished. During the heyday of Samuel Clemens’ (Mark Twain) writing career, Nook Farm was the remarkable neighborhood that his family called home. His neighbors included other literary, political and religious leaders of the day: Harriet Beecher Stowe and publisher Charles Dudley Warner, to name just two. While their children played under the trees, the denizens of Nook Farm gathered on porches and in parlors – sharing ideas about abolition, women’s suffrage and other issues of the day that would help shape society as the country looked forward to the new century. Mark Twain's Neighborhood Nook Farm was recognized with Telly and Grace awards.
Producer/Writer/Director: Roynn Lisa Simmons; copyright Connecticut Public Television
NOSTALGIA
The Nostalgia category includes three documentaries: UConn Men’s Basketball: An Illustrated History; Remember When…; and You're on the Air!—The Early Years of Connecticut Television.
 UConn Men’s Basketball: An Illustrated History
The amazing history of a team that became an undeniable presence in basketball during the 1990s under the direction of Coach Jim Calhoun is told in this popular documentary. Memorable moments and stories that have shaped generations of sports fans are captured through the use of rare photographs, archival films, interviews with former players and coaches, diaries and newspaper stories. Noteworthy tales of the regal Hawley Armory in the 1920s; the remarkable talents of Louis Alexander of Waterbury, the team’s first superstar; the story behind Worthy Patterson’s game-winning shot against Holy Cross in 1954; the thrill of Corny Thompson leading his teammates to the Big East Conference; and the unforgettable UConn game in 1990 – when Tate George fired the shot heard ‘round the state against Clemson – are all chronicled in the show.
Produced by: CPTV; Writer/Producer: Rich Hanley; Executive Producer: Larry Rifkin; Copyright Connecticut Public Television
 Remember When…
Do you remember when trolleys used to cruise the streets of New Haven and Hartford? When ornate downtown movie theaters had uniformed ushers with flashlights, and you could spend hours watching features, serials and newsreels? Or the sights and sounds of West Haven’s Savin Rock and Bristol’s Lake Compounce amusement parks? Narrated by Bob Steele, Remember When… offers a nostalgic look at Connecticut’s entertainment attractions of an earlier era. The documentary features never-before-broadcast film footage, home movies and photographs depicting life in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Hartford and New Haven residents share their memories of trolleys, movie theaters, amusement parks, neighborhoods, shops and sports arenas.
Produced by: CPTV; Writer/Producer: Rich Hanley; Narrator: Bob Steele; Original Music: Bruce Zimmerman; Executive Producer: Andrea Hanson; Copyright 1994 Connecticut Public Television
 You're on the Air!—The Early Years of Connecticut Television
In 1939, an innovative new medium called television was introduced at the New York World’s Fair. By 1945, television had made a limited debut on a few Connecticut television sets that could pick up signals from New York and Philadelphia. When WNHC-Channel 6 (later WTNH-Channel 8) was launched in 1948, it was the first TV station in New England. The story of the Connecticut television industry’s precarious and sometimes hilarious beginning is told through archival footage and photographs, as well as through interviews with people who were there. Broadcast legends Bob Steele, Brad Davis, Johnny Palmer and Mr. Goober, a.k.a. Mike Warren, reveal the growing pains and successes of early television in our state.
Writer/Producer/Director: Frank Borres; Narrator: Don Russell; Executive Producer: Larry Rifkin; Copyright 1997 Connecticut Public Television
CALAMITIES
The Calamities category includes three documentaries: When Disaster Struck Connecticut; The Circus Fire; and The Flood of '55.
 When Disaster Struck Connecticut
Between 1888 and 1955 – in the span of a single lifetime – four major disasters occurred that changed the landscape of Connecticut and the lives of people who lived here. King Blizzard, an 1888 storm that delivered 20 to 50 inches of snow and drifts of up to 20 feet; two floods of near-biblical proportions; and the most destructive hurricane in the state’s history are the focus of When Disaster Struck Connecticut.
Writer/Producer/Director: Rich Hanley; Copyright 1997 Connecticut Public Television
 The Circus Fire
This CPTV Original tells a tragic story that has lingered in Connecticut’s collective memory for more than 60 years. On July 6, 1944, the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus big top caught fire during an afternoon performance in Hartford. After less than 10 minutes of unimaginable horror, 168 spectators, mostly women and children, were either dead or dying. Hundreds were injured. The Associated Press named the fire the 20th-century’s top news story in Connecticut, and for good reason. It touched tens of thousands of people, including more than 8,000 who were in the circus tent that fateful day. Even decades later, many survivors and relatives of the dead remain haunted by what happened and why.
Writer/Producer/Director: Rich Hanley; Copyright Connecticut Public Television
 The Flood of '55
In August of 1955, Hurricanes Connie and Diane smashed into Connecticut. The storms spawned record rainfalls that turned placid rivers into killers. During the night of August 18, 1955, and into the next morning, the landscape of nearly half of the state was ravaged and transformed. Dozens were left dead, thousands became homeless and the lives of survivors were forever changed. Forty years later, Connecticut citizens chronicled the most traumatic experience of their lives in The Flood of ’55. Underscored by stunning archival film and photographs, The Flood of ’55 is an unforgettable story of tragedy and heroism… of lives ended and lives renewed.
Co-produced by: CPTV and Tele-Media Company of Western Connecticut; Writer/Producer: Rich Hanley; Co-producer, Valley segment: Gary Peterson; Narrator: Charlie Bagley; Original Music: Bruce Zimmerman; Executive-in Charge: Andrea Hanson; Copyright 1996 Connecticut Public Television
 LEGENDS (combination DVD)
Ella Grasso
In 1974, Ella Grasso became the first woman elected governor of Connecticut, and the first woman of any state to be elected governor in her own right. A trailblazer who won admiration both for her compassion and her toughness, Grasso (1919-1981) continued to influence public lives and inspire careers even years after her death. In Ella Grasso, candid interviews with the late governor’s friends and colleagues put her achievements in historical perspective.
Producer: Bob Douglas; Executive Producer: Larry Rifkin; Copyright 1994 Connecticut Public Television
Mr. Kennedy Comes to Connecticut
Just days before he was elected President, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy made a memorable campaign stop in Waterbury on November 6, 1960. Delayed while traveling, Kennedy did not make his appearance until nearly 3 a.m. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people, who had waited in the rain for hours, were on hand to greet him. Kennedy spoke from a hotel balcony to the crowd that overflowed the Waterbury Green. Later, his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, said it was the greatest night of the campaign.
Producer: Bob Douglas; Executive Producer: Larry Rifkin; Copyright Connecticut Public Television
The Real Bob Steele
For more than 66 years on WTIC-AM, Steele livened up the mornings of Connecticut listeners with jokes, the ‘word for the day’ and ‘no school’ announcements on snowy mornings. When Steele died in December 2002 at the age of 91, many Connecticut residents felt as if they'd lost a close friend. Narrated by Joanne Nesti, The Real Bob Steele shares heart-warming memories and thoughtful insights about this incomparable broadcaster.
Writer/Producer/Director: Ken Simon; Narrator: Joanne Nesti; Executive Producer: Jay Whitsett; Copyright 2003 Connecticut Public Television |
