Soldiers' Monument and Memorial Park
Soldiers' Monument and Memorial Park
P.O. Box 322
Crown Street
Winsted, Connecticut 06098

A Note from Deb Kessler...

The Soldiers' Monument Commission is very fortunate to have Deb Kessler in charge of our historic interpretation department and her husband, Lynn Kessler, as a consultant. They have years of experience in 19th and 20th century cultural history and have greatly expanded the scope of the Soldiers' Monument team.
Here Deb relates her insight on the couple's experience in the 2013 Cemetery Walk. For more photos, see the slideshow under "Events".

  • Home
  • 2017 Cemetery Walk
  • Memorial Day, 2017
  • Monument History
    • Restoration History
  • Monument Tour
    • Name Plaques
    • List of Names
  • 2016 Cemetery Walk
  • 2016 Summer Program Series
  • 2016 Memorial Day Poems
  • June 11 Walking Tour
  • 2015 Events
    • 2015 Annual Cemetery Walk Slide Show
    • Coming Home Events Slide Show
    • Town Green Memorial Day Ceremony program
    • 2015 Memorial Day Address
  • 2014 Events
    • 2014 Cemetery Walk slideshow >
      • 2014 Cemetery Walk- October 25, 2014
    • Ragtime Ball October 4, 2014 ( event proceeds benefit Soldiers' Monument!)
    • Patrick Falci, Actor, Historian and Lecturer - September 27 >
      • 2014 SoMo Picnic Slideshow
      • Patrick Falci - You Tube - The Making of the Film " Gettysburg"
    • July 26 Picnic
    • Cold Harbor Commemoration, May 24, 2014 Day and Evening program >
      • 2013 events >
        • 2013 Slideshow of Cemetery Walk
        • Winsted Journal preview of Cemetery Walk
        • 2013 Cemetery Walk Poster
        • 2013 Living History Event, September 7 poster
        • Slideshow- September 7, 2013 Living History
        • Memorial Day, May 27, 2013 Photo Gallery
        • YouTube- Sept. 7, 2013 Living History Event videos
        • August 4, 2012 Living History Slideshow
  • Park Info
    • Park Use Application
  • Links
    • Antietam Illumination - YouTube
  • March 2016 SoMo Sentinel-Front page
    • March 2016-SoMo Sentinel page 2
    • SoMo Sentinel- March 2016- page 3
    • March 2016-SoMo Sentinel page 4
  • May 2015- SoMo Sentinel Front Page
    • May 2015- SoMo Sentinel Page 2
    • May 2015- SoMo Sentinel p.3
    • May 2015- SoMo Sentinel p.4
  • February 2015 SoMo Sentinel-Front page
    • February 2015-SoMo Sentinel page 2
    • February 2015- SoMo Sentinel- p.3
    • February 2015- SoMo Sentinel p.4
    • February 2015- SoMo Sentinel p.5
  • Newsletter Archives- May 2014
    • May 2014 SoMo Sentinel - Front page >
      • May 2014 SoMo Sentinel - page 2
      • May 2014 SoMo Sentinel- Page 3
      • May 2014 SoMo Sentinel - Page 4
      • May 2014 SoMo Sentinel - Page 5
  • Newsletter archives - May 2013 to November 2013
    • May 2013 Front Page >
      • May 2013 Page 2
      • May 2013 Page 3
      • May 2013 Page 4
      • November 2013 SoMo Sentinel Front Page
      • November 2013 SoMo Sentinel Page 2
      • November 2013 SoMo Sentinel Page 3
      • November 2013 SoMo Sentinel Page 4
      • November 2013 SoMo Sentinel Page 5
  • SoMo Store
  • Contacts and Map
As a relative newcomer to Winsted, the recent historic cemetery
walk hosted by the Soldiers’ Monument Commission was a wonderful opportunity for my husband and me to expand on our knowledge of the history of “our” town. 

Researching for the historic cemetery walk helped  to illuminate the various local people buried in the South Road Cemetery and
their place in Winsted and indeed our country’s history.  

Some of the people we honored lived during the Revolutionary War -- we
met a man who fought at the Battle of Saratoga, a widow who raised her children in the wilds of Winchester during that same time period. Indeed, we met people from Winsted all the way into the 20th century and World War 2. What a long and interesting history for our town. 

My husband portrayed Silas McAlpine, an early abolitionist who
was also a published poet. We learned not only of Mr. McAlpine and his
 involvement in the local abolitionist movement but of a story of a Connecticut slave who struggled against the bondage of slavery and in the end had to buy his own freedom -- here in Connecticut!

I had the good fortune to portray a very interesting woman, Mary Blake Mitchell. In learning about her, I was able to make a connection to 19th
century Winsted when it was a bustling and busy industrial town. Mary Blake Mitchell endured losing not only her beloved son, but also her husband. Rather than retreat from life, this vibrant woman became an educator and helped many children learn and grow. Toward the end of her life, Mary wanted to leave a lasting gift to the town. She left a bequest to the town for the fountain that stands today in East End Park. During a time period when women were primarily silent, Mary Blake Mitchell, in her quiet way, influenced generations to come. 

We hope that those of you who came to participate in the historic
cemetery walk enjoyed meeting some of our town’s incredible residents from the past. Hopefully you learned a bit more about this special place we all call home.  Winsted is a town steeped in a rich history but if we don’t honor and remember the past, it may quietly slip away and be forgotten.

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