Smiler in Southport . . .

The Classic Car Gallery
- because life is too short to drive a boring car


The Classic Car Gallery is a fully licensed and bonded automobile dealership specializing in the sale, purchase, and consignment of Antique, Classic, and Exotic Automobiles.


Stop by and visit the showroom. The Classic Car Gallery provides complete mechanical, restoration, and transport services. They also provide financing, insurance, and a location service all tailored to your specific needs.

For more information contact:
The Classic Car Gallery
3266 Post Road
Southport, CT 06890
Telephone: (203) 256-9800
Email: info@classiccargallery.com
and/or visit:
www.classiccargallery.com

Cartoon trivia smiler . . .

Birthday salute to Johnny Gruelle (December 24, 1880 - January 9, 1938), artist, cartoonist, and writer of children's books.

His first well known cartooning work was Mr. Twee Deedle which Johnny Gruelle created after he beat out 1,500 other entrants in a cartooning contest sponsored in 1911 by The New York Herald. Mr. Twee Deedle was in print from 1911 to 1914.

He is best known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. He also provided colour illustrations for a 1914 edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Raggedy Ann and Andy

Johnny Gruelle lived in the Silvermine section of New Canaan, Connecticut, where the dolls were first mass produced, and later moved his home and company to neighboring Wilton, Connecticut.

Raggedy Ann & Andy image source (1)

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Graphics

Cartoon trivia smiler . . .

A Birthday Salute to Otto Soglow (December 23, 1900 - April 3, 1975), cartoonist. Otto Soglow is best known for his comic strip The Little King.

Otto Soglow Digital ID: TH-51646. New York Public Library

Otto Soglow published his first cartoon in 1919. His character The Little King first appeared in 1931 in The New Yorker. The King Features Syndicate officially debuted The Little King on September 9, 1934 and it ran until Otto Soglow's death in 1975.

Otto Soglow was a co-founder of the National Cartoonists Society and served as president for the 1953-1954 term. He received their Reuben Award in 1966 for the strip, and their Elzie Segar Award in 1972.

Soglow image source (1)

Smiler from Pequot Library . . .

Holiday Open House Party
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
4PM - 6PM

Please join friends and neighbors for a holiday caroling party. The evening begins with children's crafts, cookie-decorating, and ornament-making followed by choir performances and horse-drawn wagon rides. Cider will be provided for the kids and hot toddies for the adults. Drop in for any part! ALL AGES.




Give the gift of your time
BE A VOLUNTEER!

The Pequot Library could also use the gift of your time. Hundreds of volunteers help each year and can tell you what a rewarding experience it is. Many of the volunteering opportunities at Pequot Library are related to the special events (the well-known Book Sale, the popular Art Show and the growing Golf Outing). You can learn more about these by visiting the Volunteering & Events page and/or contacting:

Elizabeth Hanusovsky, Development Assistant
Telephone: (203) 259-0346 ext. 12
Email: ehanusovsky@pequotlibrary.com

For more information:
Pequot Library
720 Pequot Avenue
Southport, CT 06890
Telephone: (203) 227-1611
www.pequotlibrary.com

Smiler from Norwalk Library . . .


Are you a Ham? - that is an amateur radio operator . . . find out now, visit Norwalk Public Library and listen to shortwave radio signals from all over the world! The Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club donated a shortwave radio receiver to the Norwalk Library for public use this past September. If there are enough interested potential "Hams" the GNARC will conduct shortwave orientations to explain and demonstrate shortwave radio, foreign broadcasts, and talking to other amateur "ham" operators across the globe right from the Library.

"Hams" in the United States are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and are authorized to use thousands of radio frequencies for transmitting. Besides making friends worldwide, "Hams" continue to handle emergency radio traffic during times of severe disasters when electricity, phone, commercial and government communications systems fail.

For more information about Ham Radio
or email Jay Kolinsky at ne2q@arrl.net.


Everyone wants to save on energy costs. Want to know how much energy your appliances use?

Borrow a Kill-A-Watt electricity usage meter from the Norwalk Public Library. The Kill-A-Watt meter determines how much energy any appliance or device uses. Simply plug in the meter, plug your appliance or device into the meter, and wait 24 hours. Using the information displayed on the meter, you can calculate the number of kilowatts used per hour, day, and year. As energy costs continue to rise, this small meter can help you save money by discovering unnecessary electricity usage.

REQUEST THE METER AT THE CIRCULATION DESK

For more information contact:
Norwalk Public Library
1 Belden Ave.
Norwalk, CT 06850
Telephone: (203) 899-2780
Email: informationnpl@norwalkpubliclibrary.org

Smiler in Westport . . .

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM
McManus Room

Try the hottest new video game that everybody’s talking about! Follow the Beatles through their career and get a chance to play drums, guitar, or vocals on 45 legendary songs, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, Day Tripper, Taxman, and Back in the U.S.S.R.


All ages welcome.
FREE

For more information contact
Jaina Lewis at (203) 291-4809 and/or
email: jlewis@westportlibrary.org

Westport Public Library
20 Jesup Road, Westport, CT
Telephone: (203) 291-4840
Website: www.westportlibrary.org

Cartoon trivia smiler . . .

Birthday Salute to Marge.

Marjorie Henderson Buell (December 11, 1904 – May 30, 1993) was an American cartoonist who worked under the pen name Marge. She was best known as the creator of Little Lulu.

Marjorie Henderson Buell was a pioneering female cartoonist who had a long career in the industry. She took her Little Lulu creation from a one-panel cartoon in 1935 into an international marketing phenomenon and in all that time she kept the rare option of creative control for herself.

Marjorie Henderson Buell marketed Little Lulu widely throughout the 1940s and Little Lulu appeared in comic books, cartoons, greeting cards, etc., etc.. Little Lulu comic books were translated into Arabic, Finnish, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Greek.

Buell and Lulu image source (1)

Smiler from Branchville Motors . . .


WINTER SERVICE SPECIAL
free pickup and delivery within 20 miles
$2 a mile after. 10% off of labor!

Whether you need to winterize your bike, get an annual service, have some repairs done, install some performance upgrades, or get some custom paint, NOW IS THE TIME to do it.

Branchville Motors has trained Triumph, Moto Guzzi, and Vespa technicians. But did you know that they now have Rob Rader, a Master BMW Certified tech on staff?

Call Chris at (203) 544-7900 to discuss having your motorcycle or scooter serviced, accessorized, and customized.

Call Alex for a
Veterans or Active Duty Discount on Triumph or Moto Guzzi
SEMPER FIDELIS

They have some big things cooking - check out the new Branchville Motors Blog.

Join them on Facebook and be sure to visit their ebay store for the holidays!

For more information contact:
Branchville Motors
63 Ethan Allen Hwy., Route 7
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Telephone:(203) 544-7900
www.branchville.com

Stamford Santa smiler . . .

Rappelling Santa
Jose Feliciano and Holiday Tree Lighting
Stamford, Dec 6th, 2009

From 22 stories high above Stamford Downtown, watch and cheer for Santa Claus as he makes his daredevil descent, twisting and flying from the top of Landmark Square.

Sing along with the K.T. Murphy Chamber Singers and enjoy a spectacular Fireworks Display as the exciting descent happens.


Afterwards follow Santa up Bedford Street to Latham Park for an evening of holiday fun where he will join the Stamford Community in the lighting of the Holiday Tree, donated by Bartlett Tree Company at First County Bank’s Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony starring Jose Feliciano and The Broadway Kids.

The event is sponsored by First County Bank, Reckson, A Division of SL Green Realty Corp., The Advocate, 95.9 The Fox, 96.7 The Coast, Star 99.9, 1400 WSTC/1350 WNLK, Bartlett Tree Company and Happyhaha.com and brought to you by The City of Stamford and The Stamford Downtown Special Services District.

THIS EVENT IS FREE! Free Hot Chocolate after the event at the First Congregational Church and Unitarian Universalist Society adjacent to Latham Park!

For More Information:

Stamford Downtown Special Services District
Telephone: (203) 348-5285
Email: dssd@stamford-downtown.com
Website: http://www.stamford-downtown.com

Smiler from Audubon Greenwich . . .


Saturday, December 5th
Audubon’s Animal Ambassadors
1:00-2:00 pm

Meet the non-human members of Audubon Greenwich’s teaching team. Take a close look at the snakes, turtles, frogs, and insects during this fun class with an Audubon naturalist.

Space limited.
Call the Store at (203) 869-5272 x221 to sign up.
After this class, the family can enjoy the music concert.
*****

Musica Plenti’s Winter Solstice Music Festival
Saturday, December 5th & 12th at 2:00 pm
Sunday, December 6th & 13th at 3:00 pm
at Audubon Greenwich

A celebration of music and nature to welcome the winter solstice and the holiday season. The family-friendly events will showcase an original children’s musical designed for this event by The Greenwich Performing Arts Studio (Dec. 5th, 12th), as well choral concerts performed by The Bows and The Good News Gospel Choir (Dec. 6th) and Musica Plenti (Dec. 13th). Musica Plenti is an award-winning vocal chamber ensemble formed in Connecticut in 1987.

For tickets, call (203) 637-3058.
Visit their website: www.musicaplenti.org for more information.
*****


Sunday, December 6th
Protect Our Trees From Invasive Insects:
A workshop about the
Asian Long-horned Beetle & Emerald Ash Borer
Led by Rose Hiskes
from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
2:30-4:30 pm

A two-hour training session will be held at Audubon Greenwich in an effort to teach people how to identify the Asian Long-horned Beetle (ALB), the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and the tell-tale signs that indicate an infected tree. These wood-boring beetles infest several hardwood trees including maple, elm, willow, birch, horse chestnut and poplar and can kill a tree in 3-5 years. They came to the US from China in wooden pallets or packing material and are now killing groves of trees in nearby areas, including New York, Long Island, and New Jersey.

Since winter is a great time to see what is going on in our deciduous trees, please take this opportunity to learn about these beetles and help look for the first signs of these insects while your out counting birds or walking in the woods. Please note: the larval form of these beetles can be transported unknowingly in firewood.

Co-sponsored by the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Greenwich Land Trust, Garden Education Center, Knollwood Garden Club, Northwest Greenwich Association, Northeast Greenwich Association, Old Greenwich Association, Greenwich Conservation Commission, and the League of Women Voters of Greenwich.

This event is offered free of charge but RSVPs are required.
To sign up, leave a message at( 203) 869-5272 x239

For more information about these insects, call the guest speaker, Rose Hiskes, a Diagnostician & Horticulturist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at (203) 974-8483 on Mon/Wed/Fri or (860) 683-4977 on Tues/Thurs.

Information is also available online at: www.ct.gov/caes.
To see a video about this insect in English or Spanish, visit: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/alb/albvideo/albvideo.shtm.

Insect images source (1)
*****

For more information contact:
Jeff Cordulack
Events and Communications Manager
Audubon Connecticut/Audubon Greenwich
613 Riversville Road
Greenwich, CT 06831
(203) 869-5272 x239
(203) 613-8813 (cell)
jcordulack@audubon.org
www.greenwich.audubon.org