Bill would name portion of Route 12 in Preston for Parke Spicer
Preston — Parke’s Place once stood on Route 12 near the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, where former First Selectman Parke Spicer would welcome workers stopping for breakfast or fishermen and hunters catching an early morning coffee before heading out to streams and woods.
Soon, the section of Route 12 from the bridge south to the Ledyard town line could bear the name of the longtime political leader, civic volunteer and former Navy cook who loved to show off his culinary skills.
Spicer, 83, died Jan. 8 from pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
State Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, whose district includes Preston, said former Ledyard Mayor Joseph Lozier asked that the portion of Route 12 in Preston be named in honor of Spicer. France, state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, who also represents Preston, and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Ledyard, co-sponsored the bill to do so.
France said the bill will be referred to the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee and eventually would be added to an omnibus bill with other similar proposed naming bills. The exact name will come later in the process, France said, but it could be the Parke Spicer Memorial Highway, or something similar.
“He was an amazing guy,” France said. “I always enjoyed talking with him. He had such knowledge of the area. He was certainly involved in the town of Preston. He was a standard bearer.”
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
