Welcome to a fresh new year, ready with anticipation of what it may bring. East Lyme is full of history, and one town comprising two villages adds to our uniqueness. Our sleepy little town once boasted nine school districts, a woolen mill once located on Mill Road which gave name to the village of Flanders (after the woolen region in Belgium) and a golden pink granite quarry prized by stone workers for monumental works.

I have learned this and so much more since I started volunteering at the East Lyme Historical Society. Besides learning the history of our town I also enjoy hunting for dead people and shaking trees and branches. With the availability of computers and data gathering programs, oral stories can be recorded and preserved, old photos can be scanned and made as good as new and transcribing records of all kinds can give a wealth of information to the right person. This is why volunteering, in any way or form or venue, is so important. Make it one of your New Year resolutions.

East Lyme Historical Society is ready to kick off the year with our 2018 Winter Lecture Series in February with guest Richard Donohue. This coming November will mark one hundred years since the end of World War I, and many monuments were dedicated to those who served. Richard will be our tour guide as he presents a pictorial of the World War I monuments in the state of Connecticut. Join us on Feb. 4 at the Niantic Community Church, 170 Pennsylvania Ave., starting at 2 p.m.

The East Lyme Historical Society always welcomes new members and volunteers. Stop in any non-holiday Monday morning at the East Lyme Library from 10 a.m. to noon in the East Lyme Room. You can also visit the society’s website at eastlymehistoricalsociety.org