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Special Section to: The Valley Gazette I The Stratford Star I The Milford Mirror I The Amity Observer I The Trumbull Times I Fairfi eld Sun I The Huntington Herald I The Monroe Courier I The Easton Courier

MARCH 2011 HERSAM ACORN NEWSPAPERS

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Wayne R at zenb er ger ph ot o



• 2 • • HOME • Hersam Acorn Newspapers • • March 10, 2011 •

by Tom Berquist

It all started, I think, with that 1856 Flying Eagle one-cent piece. I used

to hold it in my hand and rub fingers with Abe Lincoln, imagining

he carried this very coin in his own pocket. I guess Ihad an interest in old things when I was

young.

After college, I left the plain state where

I was born and came out East where our

nation was born. I eventually settled in

a town settled in 1639, called Cupheag

by the Pequonnocks, Stratford by the

English. By day I was a marketing

innovator, at night I eased into the

past. I collected Victorian trade cards

and put them into framed collages. I

loved the touch of refinishing antique furniture. Rubbing

the wood grain up, but leaving in the patina that came from dropped

vases and children’s toys.

Instead of amusement parks, the family went to Sturbridge Village

A TALE OF A HOUSE, A PASSION AND ...

Love’s labor triumphant

Jackie Perry, editorBryan Haeffele, designer

•Thomas B. Nash, publisher

•For advertising information

call 203-926-2080MARCH 2011 VOL V, ISSUE 3

Special Section to:

The Valley Gazette • The Stratford Star • The Milford Mirror

The Amity Observer • The Trumbull Times • Fairfi eld Sun

The Huntington Herald • The Monroe Courier

The Easton Courier1000 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton CT 06484

203-926-2080

Copyright 2011, Hersam Acorn Newspapers, LLC

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In 1870, this stately home on Academy Hill witnessed a review of the Connecticut National Guard, one of many events since it was built in 1753.

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Stanley J. Polcyn never knew his grand-

fathers, but he was determined that his

grandchildren would know him. Having

carried a heavy black case around for

years as an executive, the now-retired

grandfather still f inds use for his 40-year-

old black case. “It has served me well,”

said Stan, patting the case as if it were a

good, old friend.

The well-built case is heavy and lost its

shine many years ago. Gone, also, are the

ledgers, brochures, samples and files that

used to fill the weighted and locked box.

Now the contents in this thoughtful gen-

tleman’s case are more important than

ever. While the sheen on the outside of

the box has worn away, the smiles on the

faces of his grandchildren shine brightly

whenever grandfather arrives for a visit

and has his black case with him.

GRANDFATHER’S BLACK CASE

Once all business,

now all pleasureby Joanne Greco Rochman

Stanley J.Polcyn has

as much funstuffing his case as do

the childrenwho eagerly

await his visits. Pierre Rochman

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• March 10, 2011 • • HOME • Hersam Acorn Newspapers • • 5 •

“I used to carry all the materials I needed

for business in this case. Oh, I’ve gone

through plenty of fancy attaché cases

throughout my career, but this old box

is sturdy,” said Stan. The case actually

looks indestructible. It’s easy to see why

children would find the case mysterious

looking. It’s old and heavy and not like

briefcases or satchels we see today. Some

of the youngest of his 16 grandchildren

consider it a magic black box. Stan fills the

box often, but he doesn’t fill it with just

anything. He fills it with gifts he carefullyselects for each grandchild a gift that he

knows will suit each child’s preference and

personality.

“I hate to shop,” said Stan. Then he added,

“But I love to go to tag sales and garage

sales. That’s where I find the neatest gifts

for my black case. Of course, I only buy

items that are in good condition or new.

You would be surprised at what people get

rid of,” he said. What he always makes

sure of is that there are books in the

case. “I select books with subject matter

that I know each child will be interested

in. When they get older and recall these

books, I think they’ll remember that it was

their grandfather who introduced them to

great stories.”

As a young working father, Stan feels that

he had too little time for his children.

Times were different then. He worked

long hours to support his family. However,

whenever he returned home from a trip,

his children would gather round him and

check out his pockets. “They would find

bags of peanuts and other little goodies I

picked up while traveling. It always made

them excited and happy.” His black case isan extension of that experience. Not only

do the grandchildren look forward to Stan’s

visits, but there’s that added excitement

that comes from wondering what they will

find this time in his black box.

“My wife, Carole, often wondered why

the kids came running up to me first and

hugged me. It took her a while to realize

it had to do with the magic black case,”

he said. She nods in agreement and adds

that it is a wonderful tradition that he has

created, and inspirational to many of his

friends and acquaintances.

With most of the grandchildren grown and

some in college, there are only three young

ones left. Nicolas DeLuca is his 10-year-old

grandson. When asked what his favorite

all-time gift from the black case was, Nick

didn’t hesitate. “My favorite was the book

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” said the

youngster who loves to read. “The best

part of visiting with my grandfather is that

we always work on projects together. Still,

I would be very disappointed if he didn’t

come with his magic black box,” he said.

Nick’s eight-year-old brother, Anthony, saidthat he would never forget the race car he

got out of the black box. “It was my first

race car,” he recalled, mentioning that he

still has it. Six-year-old Victoria loves the

stuffed animals that she has received.

Stan’s daughter, Suzanne DeLuca, who

now lives in Pennsylvania, perfectly cap-

tured the significance of the black case.

“He’s done it in a way that anyone can do

it,” she explained. “It’s inexpensive but

most endearing.”

“I’m not a mushy guy,” said Stan. “I’m a

‘guy’ guy, but I don’t want my grandchil-

dren to forget me. I hope they understand

that this is about love. Whether it’s a

stuffed animal, toy or book, it makes a last-

ing impression. I have learned more from

this experience than my grandchildren

have learned from me.

“Through the years, when I arrived with

the black case, the children would gather

around and I would utter some magic

sounding words and spring open the box.

They could never open the heavy latch by

themselves, though they tried,” he said

describing the scene vividly.

Stan rattled off the names of all 16 grand-

children, noting that five of them are on

the West Coast and one is in Japan. “What

is so amazing is that when we all get

together, even the ones in high school still

wonder if there is anything in the case for

them. They are never disappointed. I also

pick out books for them as well. I guess I’ll

retire the case when Victoria is all grown

up,” he said.

Somehow, knowing how much Stanley J.

Polcyn cares for his family, I wouldn’t be

surprised if the tradition is carried on with

his great-grandchildren yet to come.

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GREEN Is Our Color And PASSION! Providing Homeowner Energy & Recylcing Leadership!

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that many walls were bulging and sagging.

Not bad for a post-and-beam of her age,

I thought. There were lots of closets, the

bedrooms were big, but the bathrooms

were scary. Dark and as narrow as a hall-

way, they had warped floors and stained,

lopsided fixtures. Ellen turned white, as if

she’d seen a ghost, and asked if we could

leave.

“One more bedroom,” I said, as I hurried

and knelt in front of the seventh fireplace.

It was blackened by soot and grime, but

I noticed dabs of white and blue peaking

through. I licked my fingers and rubbed

one of the tiles. “My God, these are 200-

year-old Delft tiles,” I shouted to Ellen. I

uncovered one beautiful nautical scene

after another windmills, seagulls, single-

masted schooners.

“This house is a treasure!” I declared. Ellen

must have read the infatuation in my eyes,

but she remained steady in her skepticism.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she warned, as

she gestured, “we gotta go.”

You, the reader, probably figured out by

now how things transpired. For weeks

we argued about the risks, the amount of

work, whether or not I was handy or hand-

icapped. It took a marriage of realism and

romanticism, and together we took the

leap. We committed to bringing her back

to life and deeply into our own lives.

From the day we moved in, every night

and every weekend was spent working

on her. We had to make one room at a

time habitable. We started with the bath-

rooms so we could feel clean, moved to

the kitchen so we could cook and finally

the bedrooms to crash in. From sanding

the floors to tarring the roof, we became a

“This Old House” couple without the crew.

Emily, at five, even pitched in, drawing dog

noses and flowers out of plaster dust.

Along the way we experienced your stan-

dard “remember when” restoration stories.

You know, the soot-belching furnace, the

munching termites, the oozing pipes. I

could write another book, but that’s not

what this short story is about.

Twenty-nine years later, we finished her.

Restored her back to her prime. She’s

now a soft green with porcelain trim, andthe reigning beauty of the neighborhood.

She’s listed in the Department of Interior’s

National Historic Places as the Captain

Samuel Southworth House, her builder. I

lobbied for a local historic district, which

gave her more protection.

When we give tours, I point and blab on

and on with pride. When I hear the oohs

and aahs I am rewarded for putting my

money where my heart was, honored to be

sharing my life with her. It may sound like

it, but that’s not the end of this story.

As I now move into a maintenance mode,

older and less agile, I realize that I will have

to leave her one day I know I will not

Gray Lady continued from page 3

A lovely place to drink in the pleasures of a summer’s afternoon.

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• March 10, 2011 • • HOME • Hersam Acorn Newspapers • • 7 •

be able to keep up with her. I had to do

some soul-searching in order to come to

grips with leaving her. How did this house

become so important to me?

Kapowee! One night I see this snapshot

of Emily, eagerly sanding a wall, the way

only a five year old could. That image

held me for a moment, then clarity came.

In thinking of my daughter, who is now

a professor of history, I realized that my

relationship with my house was more elu-

sive than I had believed.

Emily uses different methods in her work,

but she takes as much pride in capturing

the past and bringing it to life as I do.

I was in awe of how she could absorb

herself in any historical period, figure or

subject teach it and move on to the

next semester. Like daughter like dad? It

was then that I felt a loosening a feeling

of freedom as I saw that the old gray lady

was only a house. An artifact, a physical

abode occupied by generations of fami-

lies. No more than that. From that space,

I let her go.

I now realize that one cannot own history.

History is an account of people by people.It is a continuum. It has threads that can

catch and tug on a child and eventually

weave into stories histories.

We must help future generations, I con-

cluded, not just appreciate history, not

just pass through it, but find meaning in

it, contribute to it and pass it along. In

my case, it took a brief affair with a much

older lady and my daughter to teach me

that. And, It took my wife Ellen ... to allow

me that.

“What are you going to do with your time

now?” Ellen asked, with the house now on

the market.

“I found a new career”! I responded with

my renewed enthusiasm, “I’ll be helping

hospice patients do their memoirs I’ll

be a personal historian!”

“Great, but what about your own mem-

oir?” she asked. “I’m working on it,” I

said.

For more information call Victoria Fingelly

or Walter Dobosz, Nicholas H. Fingelly Real

Estate, 203-255-9900, 203-226-1900; online,

2048elmstreetstratford.com. Open house:

March 13, 1-4, 2048 Elm St., Stratford.

One of two original 12-foot mirrors represent the elegant features of this home, top. A before-and-after shot give

a sense of the monumental challenge of the renovation. Photos by Wayne Ratzenberger, including cover photo.

Tom Berquist

Tom Berquist

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