Thanks and Farewell
Remembering
The Winsted
Journal
This is the last issue of The
Winsted Journal. In the last
few weeks of the newspaper,
through a series of articles,
we took some time to
remember the stories,
people, places and events
that we reported on in our
21 years of publication.
Those pages can be
found online at www.
tricornernews.com.
Below, the first front
page of The Winsted
Journal, published
June 21, 1996.
What we are losing with the closing of The Winsted Journal
W
hat are we losing in
our community when
The Winsted Journal
closes shop after this weeks edi-
tion? Plain and simple: an integral
part that contributes mightily to
our sense of community and a
vital ingredient in maintaining
a robust sense of community
spirit, as well.
So what is community, or for
that matter community spirit?
Worthy of an expansive definition,
Ill look at it in a more simplified
manner. If a sense of community
and community spirit is desired
and welcomed by our residents,
quite frankly you need a viable
source of information about what
you want to know and need to
know about what is going on in
and around the town the desire
to be as informed as possible about
everything and anything in regard
to Winsted.
Im from the school of native
Winstedites whose families
relied heavily on the Winsted
Evening Citizen for any and all
information in regard to what
was going on in our town
from births to deaths, meetings
and cancellations, from the little
leagues to the high school sports
and bowling results. New stores
opening, old stores moving
or closing, most anything you
wanted or needed to know would
eventually be found in the paper.
Unfortunately, we lost the paper to
Torrington and it was combined
with the Torrington Register
which adjusted its name to the
Register Citizen.
This loss was devastating to
Winsted and in my eyes was the
the experienced guidance of its
A Leftys View
C. Pink Bunel
beginning of the demise of our
communitys sense of community.
People knowing less and less about
what was going on in town led
our community into a gradual
decline in regard to public interest
in our town.
But all was not lost as eventu-
ally The Winsted Journal would
appear. Under the umbrella of The
Lakeville Journal Company and
to getting to the bottom of an issue
publisher, Janet Manko, Winsted
once again had its own newspaper.
For over 20 years the Journal did
its very best to keep our residents
informed by keeping a close eye
on the movers and shakers in our
political scene as well as most
everything and anything news-
worthy they were made aware of.
Three wonderfully talented
and devoted editors would guide
the paper for the duration of its
publication. First by June Peters-
en, followed by Mike Marciano
and finally Shaw Israel Izikson.
An earmark of all three of the
individuals was their ability to ask
tough questions when pursuing
vital information from sometimes
reluctant sources. Their level of
professionalism was never in
question and their commitment
was nothing short of admirable.
All three can share in their com-
bined accomplishments.
In the end, what we are losing
is the most important source for
promoting the sense of commu-
nity and community spirit in our
town. It will be greatly missed by
those of us who care about our
community and its future.
To Janet Manko, the Lakeville
Journal family and all of the fine
people that were part of the Win-
sted Journal family, job well done
and you will be missed.
C. Pink Bunel has written
for The Winsted Journal for many
years.
The Flood of 1955 and the Centrella Case
Remembering
The Winsted Journal
The last issue of The Winsted Journal will be published on
Friday, Aug. 25. In the last few weeks of the newspaper,
through a series of articles, we will be taking some time
to remember the stories, people, places and events that we
reported on in our 21 years of publication.
The Flood of 55
W
hile The Winsted
Journal started
its publication in
1996, 31 years after The
Flood of 1955, the effects
and the impact of the event
still linger many years after it
took place.
Back in 2005, former
Winsted Journal Editor
Michael Marciano wrote a
four-part series on the flood
for its 50th anniversary,
which included memories by
residents who endured the
disaster.
The series also included
pictures of Winsted from
before the flood and pictures
that showed how it devastat-
ed the town.
As Winsted families
awoke the morning of August
19, 1955, residents quickly
realized the date would be
bitterly ingrained in the
towns history, Marciano
wrote in the August 12, 2005,
issue of The Winsted Journal.
In 36 hours, 14 inches of
rain had fallen, turning Main
Street into a river of death
and destruction.
In the article, Marciano
quoted resident Milly Hu-
dak, now the town historian
Two significant upheavals in Winsted history
and historical society direc-
tor, who lived through the
flood and its aftermath.
[Main Street] looked like
a war zone after the flood,
Hudak said. Thats what it
was, just a war zone.
Over the years The Win-
sted Journal has published
articles commemorating the
flood, including in August
2015, which included inter-
views with residents Moe
Gabelmann and Tom Casey.
Oh my God, the flood
ripped out holes on Main
Street six to seven feet deep,
Gabelmann said. Gas mains,
water mains, sewer mains,
everything was exposed in
the street. All the buildings
on the river disintegrated or
moved down the street.
Everything on Main It was devastating. But
Street was all torn up, Casey even though I owned
said. Whole bedrocks of a business I felt I was
road were all pulled up. Jag- young and I felt I could
ged pieces of concrete were start up again. For people
sticking up, almost like an
who were ready to retire
earthquake had happened.
Everything on the river side and had their whole
was gone. We saw cars from businesses destroyed, it
several dealers floating down was really awful.
Mad River. It was pretty Anthony Cannavo,
horrific. former mayor; Aug., 2005
Shaw Israel Izikson
The morale of our people is at
an all-time high as they have
accepted the results of the
disaster with perseverance,
cooperation and a faith in the
future of our community.
Mayor P. Francis Hicks,
a week after the Flood of 55
[Winsted] was all of the things you hear about the great
50s. We had a very closely bonded group of friends.
We went to everybodys houses and we knew all the
parents. Very few of us drove. We would just ride bikes
or walk. It was such a small town it was an absolutely
great environment.
Richard Hughes, July, 2005
 Firefighters tried every road possible
to get to Winsted after they were
activated by civil defense officials,
but the roads were impassable. They
tried for more than eight hours to
reach friends and family.
Larry Hurlburt, chief of the Winchester Center
Fire Department in 1955; Aug., 2005
Photos by Milly Hudak,
Larry Winn, Anthony Cannavo,
and courtesy of Bob Grigg
The Henry
Centrella case
A
nother story that had
a great impact on the
town and its residents
was not a natural disaster
but was manmade.
Nevertheless, the whole
saga of former Finance Di-
rector Henry Centrella was
PHOTO BY MICHAEL MARCIANO
a tragedy.
A once highly respected
Henry Centrella
longtime town employee,
at a Selectmans the first finance director the
meeting in 2013. town had ever had, plead-
ed guilty to five charges of
larceny in January 2014.
He was eventually sen-
tenced to 11 years in jail in
April 2014.
The investigation into
Centrellas criminal acts
started in June 2012 when a
months-long investigation
began after town auditors
BlumShapiro discovered
an unusual general ledger
account titled Change Line
item.
When questioned about
the account, Centrella told
auditors that funds had
been withdrawn from the
bank and placed in the
towns safe for future emer-
gencies.
The auditors noted that
$54,106 was missing from
town accounts, but was de-
posited in small increments
over the course of the week.
An investigation was
instigated by then Town
PHOTO BY SHAW ISRAEL IZIKSON
Manager Dale Martin. In
the investigation, conduct-
Henry Centrella ed by BlumShapiro, it was
being transferred discovered that between
to Litchfield County 2008 and 2012 a total of
Courthouse to be $2,073,340 in tax revenues
sentenced in 2014.
It was never normal again. It was a total change.
I think the town recovered but it has changed. It
adapted to the situation because there was no
other choice.
George Nichols, Aug., 2005
was missing.
The investigation
determined Centrella was
responsible for the daily
bank deposits that were
short of cash.
BlumShapiro also discov-
ered, after researching 58
months worth of docu-
ments, that cash deposits by
Centrella had been replaced
with forged checks.
A state police investiga-
tion concluded that Cen-
trella stole cash deposits
from the towns tax office
and inflated his income tax
withholdings since at least
1995 by at least $180,000.
The state police also
found that Centrella and his
wife, Gregg, had incurred
$548,000 of gambling losses
from 2008 to 2012 at state
casinos.
Just before his sentencing
on April 4, 2014, Centrella
was led into the courthouse
in prison shackles. He wore
an orange prison uniform
and looked down in sadness
as he was led in by officers.
This defendant is a
cancer to this town, Town
Attorney Kevin Nelligan
said to Judge James Ginoc-
chio at the sentencing. He
used town tax payments
as his own. He covered
up facts, and he left both
co-workers and his friends
out to dry. This defendant
is not Winsted. Winsted is
a hardworking town. The
defendant can never call
Winsted his hometown.
Shaw Israel Izikson
 Parades, Parties, Festivals and Fairs
Celebrations strengthen the community
Remembering
The Winsted Journal
The last issue of The Winsted Journal will be published on
Friday, Aug. 25. In the last few weeks of the newspaper,
through a series of articles, we are taking some time to
remember the stories, people, places and events that we
reported on in our 21 years of publication.

Festive events
through time
O
ver the past 21 years
The Winsted Journal
has covered cele-
brations throughout the
Northwest Corner.
Whether it is the Pet Pa-
rade, the Gator Parade, the
Laurel Festival, the Riverton
Fair, or school events and
graduations, each is a cele-
bration of the culture and
the people of the Northwest
Corner, as well as a celebration
of traditions.
While the way these events
are held may have changed
over time, the basic principles
for each event always remains
the same.
Each January for the past
27 years, The First Church of
Winsted has held their Boars
Head Festival.
The festival is held right af-
ter Christmas and represents
the end of the Christmas
season.
It tells the tale of the Epiph-
any and is a celebration of
the Three Kings, all done in
medieval fashion with unique
period costumes.
Each Boars Head Festival
includes Christmas caroling,
live animals, dancers and
handcrafted period costumes.
For the past 14 years, ei-
ther in late February or early
March, the Penguin Plunge
has been held at Highland
Lake.
For the event, a benefit for
the states Special Olympics,
residents and participants
from surrounding towns
plunge into the cold waters
of the lake to raise money for
the organization.
The Pet Parade, a Winsted
tradition, has been held for the
past 81 years.
At the parade, any resident
can take part and walk with
their dog, cat, chicken, horse
or any kind of pet that they
have.
This year marked the 83rd
Laurel Festival, which is typi-
cally held in June.
For years, the festival
included the crowning of a
Laurel Queen, but over the
past two years the event has
included the crowning of a
Laurel King. Photos from the 2005 Pet Parade
This year marks the 155th
year of the Winsted Fire
Departments Carnival and
parade. People keep
The event is the depart- attending the Pet
ments main fundraiser and Parade because it
includes a variety of carnival
games and a parade down
is a great tradition
Main Street featuring both and the town loves
department members and it. Children always
surrounding departments. love to participate
This year, local organiza- in it.
tion Friends of Main Street Sarah Dziedzic,
will hold its 20th annual Fall 2017 event co-organizer
Foliage Festival.
The festival typically in-
cludes booths from local or-
ganizations, music and food
from local vendors. Photos by Winsted Journal Staff
Another event held in
October is The Riverton Fair.
The fair, which dates back
108 years, includes down Its past all
home fun with lumberjack that commercial
events, livestock judging, mu- stuff, all that
sic and carnival rides.
Finally, The Gator Parade
has gone by, and
will mark its 14th year this now we have a
December. chance to reflect
The event, which is held by on the true
the Winsted Fire Department, meaning. Its one
is named after Gaeton Ga- of those things
tor Gangi, a member of the we couldnt
fire department who passed
away in Dec. 2004. do without all
The parade includes fire the help of the
engines and emergency vehi- community.
cles from throughout the area Debbie Storrs,
all decked out in Christmas Youth Choir director
lights. at First Church of
The vehicles drive in a pa- Winsted; Jan., 2017
rade route that encompasses
a large section of town.
These are the celebrations
that help to define our com-
munities and make them
good places to live in and
to visit.
Shaw Israel Izikson
Photo from the 2007 Boars Head Festival

Photo from the 2006 Laurel Festival

I dont view being Being Laurel King was

named the winner as
winning, I view it more
as community service.
Its always about
character when you
are a Laurel Queen. Its
about supporting the
community. Winning
Photo from the 2009 Penguin Plunge Laurel Queen felt
exhilarating and surreal.
But its all definitely
This is the one crazy thing I do every worth it.
year. I do this for fun while helping Joanne Harrington,
people and then go back to my quiet life. 2016 Laurel Queen; June 2017
Shannon Lindau; March, 2017
an amazing and great
experience. Its something
I will never forget. The
scholarship money really
helped me through my
first year of college at the
University of Connecticut.
To be named the first
king and having the
honor of representing
my town in that way is a
great honor.
Ryan Weiss,
2016 Laurel King; June 2017
 Photos from the 2003 Fall Foliage Festival

Ive been coming

to the Winsted
Carnival since I was
a little kid, and Ive
been working it
for 9 years. I met
my fianc here,
10 years ago. I
was here with my
family, and he was
working in the food
tent.
Fire Department
member Jeannette
LaRose; Aug., 2016

Photos from the 2003 Winsted Carnival

I will remember all

the days strolling in
front of the snack
station staring at
the delicious, yet
malicious sugar
cookies. To me,
those cookies are a
metaphor for high
school: An epic
struggle between
pleasure or hardship,
Netflix or homework,
a night out partying or
a night in studying. All
roads lead to one of
two places.
Qiyi Vivian Qian,
2017 Gilbert salutatorian

Photos from the 2017 Gilbert School and Northwestern Regional High School Graduation Ceremonies

I think theres value in connecting

people with their roots, their
origins. Its a great opportunity
for people to get involved in
agriculture and kids being able to
present their talents.
Matt Cook, Riverton Fair president; Oct., 2015

We will miss you, but keep Northwestern Regional

High School in your memories. The next time you
are part of a captive audience, I hope that you are
able to tap into some good memories from your
time at Regional that inspire you to do great things
in your future. Dream on.
Frank Rodenberg, 2017 keynote speaker,
Northwestern Regional High School
Photos from the 2016 Riverton Fair
A6 THE WINSTED JOURNAL, Friday, August 25, 2017
Alicia Kirsch, Erica Taylor and Kateri Kosek
all worked as freelancers for The Winsted Journal
for almost three years.
Newspaper captured
sense of culture, community
Like Ryan Callinan, another
Winsted Journal stringer, ex-
pressed in a letter a few weeks
ago, writing for this newspaper
has been instrumental to my
development as a writer, and I am
very disappointed that it is about
to be so diminished. Though I
already had an advanced degree
in creative writing, journalism
is obviously quite different. But
not as much as one might think.
It, too, is about capturing a sense
of place and of character; a bit
of culture.
I didnt cover too many town
meetings or big stories for this
paper. Those are clearly im-
portant, but for me, the smaller,
slice-of-life stories get more at
what Winsted and the surround-
ing towns are all about. And its
those stories, focusing on culture,
arts, nature, and recreation, that
I am concerned are not going to
make it into the reduced version
of Winsted news. Of course,
many towns across this country
are not represented individually
by a local newspaper, but that
Fun experiences
at The Winsted Journal
Two years ago I had just
moved to Connecticut from
northern Virginia and didnt
know anything about the area,
nor did I have a job yet to keep me
occupied during the day. Despite
the fact that I didnt have any
professional writing experience,
Shaw was willing to give me a shot
by letting me cover the Car Show
at Northwestern Connecticut
Community College. That story
was published on Aug. 28, 2015,
and I had a rush of pride that I
did not expect.
Since then I have covered
stories from New Hartford to
Norfolk and have been exposed
to so much more of the area than
I ever couldve imagined. I have
met dozens of wonderful people
and even been lucky enough to
join one of the groups that I met
Thanks to the nonprofits
It is sad to see this 21-year-
old publication go dark. For two
decades, The Winsted Journal
provided coverage of ours and
several of our surrounding com-
munities, reaching thousands
of readers who learned about
the events that connected our
communities.
Winsted saw its first news-
paper publication in the 1880s,
and there have been many since.
Certainly, The Winsted Journal
will not be the last publication
to provide exclusive coverage of
our area, and when the next one
arrives, I implore you to support
it. Support local news because it
is the only way to keep connected
and educated about what is im-
portant to the residents of our
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Thanks and Farewell
makes it no less of a shame.
And while a craft fair or a
concert in the park may not be
front page news, one thing I often
find while covering stories is that
theres a bigger picture. There is
more than meets the eye. A seem-
ingly light and fun-filled event
touches on important issues that
the community would benefit
from knowing about.
A penny auction at The
Winchester Grange is not just a
story about the penny auction;
after talking to people, I saw that
a story on the Grange was about
the importance of community
identity, the loss of family farms,
the necessity for local food. A
church fundraiser touches on
hunger in the community. A
childrens library program about
bees touches on the decline of
our pollinators. And so on. I
hope that Winsted finds a way
to get the word out about all the
important projects its people are
working on.
Kateri Kosek
Sheffield, Mass.
while covering a story. Repre-
senting The Winsted Journal
always gave me a sense that each
event was elevated in a way be-
cause I would be able to share it
with all those who werent there.
I will miss getting the story
list every week and seeing just
how many things are happening
every weekend in the area where
my husband and I were worried
we would have a hard time find-
ing things to do. The pride that
this area has in the hometown
activities has continually over-
whelmed me and I feel so lucky
to have been given somewhat of
a backstage pass that allowed me
to experience it first hand. I could
not have asked for a better way to
fall in love with my new home.
Alicia Kirsch
Norfolk
community.
The Winsted Journal con-
tinuously covered events from
over 100 local nonprofit orga-
nizations. Our nonprofits are
the lifeblood of our communi-
ties and need your continued
support. The Friends of Main
Street, The Open Door Soup
Kitchen, The Beardsley Library,
The Winsted Fire Department,
The Community Bookstore, The
Salvation Army and Northwest-
ern Connecticut Community
College, to name a few, continue
to inspire the forward-thinking
people of this community to stay
connected.
Thanks for reading.
Erica Taylor
Winsted
phone: (413)-637-8838
The nature of print media
radically changed after the adop-
tion of the 1996 Telecommuni-
cations Act that allowed media
cross-ownership and resulted in
the conglomeration of the news
business. The result continues to
be lower quality and diversity of
information and the censorship
of a range of critical thought.
But there was a bright light in
the news business in 1996. The
area was months into the contro-
versy surrounding the proposed
closing of its beloved 100-year-
old hospital. We had collected
12,000 signatures opposing the
conversion of the hospital into
an out-of-town medical office.
The three daily papers, the
Hartford Courant, Register Cit-
izen and Waterbury Republican,
each had a reporter and daily
stories. The Winsted Voice, the
intrepid reader-written weekly,
printed articles, letters and Code
Blue bulletins.
In this context, The Winsted
Journal jumped in feet first with
So long and farewell
Its here. The final issue of the
paper I have loved since its debut
back in 1996. I believe I was one of
the first subscribers. It showcased
our community and having been
a fourth-generation Winstedite,
I knew almost everyone ever
featured in the paper!
I especially loved what we
called the Eye On page, which
was usually all photos from an
event that occurred the previous
week.
The Winsted Journal has
always featured fair and equal cov-
erage of politics, schools, churches
and nonprofit organizations. Not
to mention lively editorial and
op-ed pages.
Fast forward to 2005 when I
was hired as the office manager
and editorial assistant. I loved
this job. I loved being in the
know. I also loved dealing with
our subscribers, customers and
advertisers.
I loved dealing with the
schools, churches and nonprofits
preparing briefs that were vital to
their cause or activity. Everyone
knew me by name and I knew all
of them by name.
Do you have a family member
or friend in the military
who would be interested
in the news from home?
Remember
The Lakeville Journal
Company offers free online
subscriptions to our website,
tricornernews.com, for active
duty military personnel
from the Tri-state region.
For more information or
to set up a subscription,
contact Circulation Manager
Helen Testa at circulation@
lakevillejournal.com or
860-435-9873, ext. 161.
With thanks
to those who serve.
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Goodbye to an old friend
its June 21, 1996, inaugural issue
to bravely forge a weekly place
in recording the history of this
and many other events.
For the Office of the Com-
munity Lawyer, The Winsted
Journal was a natural platform to
publish useful information and
opinion to readers. Our weekly
column, Civic Beat, started
as a guest commentary in the
opinion section and became
a consistent voice on issues of
public significance.
Over the years, Office of the
Community Lawyer interns
shared a younger perspective
with readers. In letters to the
editor and a weekly summer col-
umn, An Interns View, interns
connected with the community,
developed opinions on local and
national issues, refined research
and writing skills, learned to edit
and to be concise. The Winsted
Journal also provided our in-
terns with a place to advertise
and launch their own projects,
such as the Veggie of the Week,
I worked under two incredibly
smart and talented editors. Both
have won prestigious awards in
the newspaper world for their
work.
The first was Michael Marcia-
no, and then our current editor,
Shaw Israel Izikson. I learned
much from both. I will continue
to look forward to Shaws report-
ing on Winsted in The Lakeville
Journal. And our reporters, I cant
even remember all of them. In my
12 years here there were many
and they were dedicated. Our
current group, Jesse Williams,
Kateri Kosek, Alicia Kirsch and
Erica Taylor, are just outstanding.
I wish them much success in their
future endeavors.
As for me, another chapter in
my life will begin. Not sure where.
Know that I have enjoyed my time
with The Winsted Journal and
my interaction with community.
I will miss it.
Lauren DiMauro
Winsted
DiMauro was the office man-
ager for The Winsted Journal for
12 years.
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Civic Film Series, and the Civic
and Legal Education Series,
among others.
The Journal was instrumental
in spreading the word about
countless events, projects and
other initiatives of the Commu-
nity Lawyer such as the Winsted
Community Bookstore and Mad
River Market Co-op.
Of course, the Journal did this
for many organizations, govern-
ments, schools and individuals.
So, what undermines support
for such a community news-
paper? The law, along with the
growth of online readership and
other, non-edited ways of receiv-
ing news, deserves some credit.
Also, the first issue in 1996 was
24 pages in three sections with
50 local ads. Last weeks issue
is 10 pages with four local ads.
Regardless of the reasons, rele-
vant local content and ad sales
diminished. There is no question
that this resulted in the demise
of The Winsted Journal.
Winsted has already suffered
Nader gives thanks
The closing of The Winsted
Journal reflects, among other
causes, an insufficient level of
subscription support in the town
and surrounding villages. Yet
most residents do like to read
about what is going on in their
community from hundreds of
social events to town government
to the schools to recreational,
business and civic activities.
They also like the Journal staff
led by hardworking Shaw and
the freelance reporters.
I found the editorials cogent,
timely and sometimes properly
urgent, along with one of the
best op-ed pages of columnists
of any newspaper plus ample
opportunities for letters to the
editor.
However, far too few residents
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the loss of other newspapers that
no longer cover or only minimal-
ly cover Winsted. But something
about the relevant reporting,
crisp editorials and countless
opportunities for residents to
voice their opinions and high-
light community events make
the loss of the weekly Winsted
Journal a particularly deep loss.
In the meantime, The Lake
ville Journal promises to contin-
ue covering Winsted within its
pages, with the current editor of
The Winsted Journal remaining
on the beat.
Assuredly, we will find a way
to talk with each other and re-
port on the certain resurgence
sweeping over the Winsted area.
Just give us some time!
Charlene LaVoie
Community lawyer
Cecilia Petricone
Cady Stanton
Selena West
Krystal Bagnaschi
Interns
Winsted
were willing to spend about a
dollar a week to receive The
Winsted Journal in the mail.
Many of the people who drive
by daily for over-priced coffee at
Dunkin Donuts seem not to fully
appreciate that a community
without a newspaper weakens
what a community can become
for its families.
Thanks to The Winsted
Journal, its publishers, editors
and writers, for 21 years of
highlighting the communitys
need and right to information
that affects, inspires, agitates and
regales their lives. Winstedites,
this is a time for constructive
introspection, which is needed
for a better future.
Ralph Nader
Winsted