No Kings Rally

"No Kings" Rally on the Green, June 14, 2025

 

I’m not a big protest person. Gathering in crowds to chant slogans isn’t my thing. But I felt like I had to show my support at today’s rally on the Green. Our country is racing down a dangerous road, and if we want our elected representatives to stand up for us, we have to stand up with them. 

In New Jersey, a U.S. Congresswoman has been arrested and charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers. She faces up to eight years in prison for this, even though the video clearly shows that she was simply trying to do her job. In California, a U.S. Senator was pushed out of a room, shoved to the ground, and handcuffed after he tried to ask a question at a press conference. In Minnesota, a State Representative and her husband were killed and a State Senator and his wife were shot in a politically motivated assassination. These are terrible times. I fear for the safety of all of our elected officials and I am so grateful to them and their families for representing us. 

Today is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress voted to send troops from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to support the men fighting the British in Boston. The next day, George Washington was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Back then, the army drew its men and its supplies from the individual states, which maintained official militias for the common defense. In Waterbury, able-bodied men mustered on the Green every year to make sure they would be ready to serve should the need arise. 

The “No Kings” protests held all over the country today are a fitting tribute to the spirit that founded this nation 250 years ago: people banding together to demand that everyone’s rights be respected and to protest against government overreach. 

No Kings Rally on the Green

The rally was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. A good number of people showed up before then. When I arrived at the Green, protesters were lined up along the sidewalk facing the Rowland Government Building. It was a decent size crowd for a Waterbury protest, easily a hundred people with more people arriving steadily. The crowd size eventually reached about three hundred people.

Photographers, including ones from The Waterbury Observer and the Republican-American, stood in front of the Rowland Building, eventually crossing the street to get photos in the thick of the crowd. 

I walked into the center of the Green, looking for people I know. As I approached the Lux Clock, I saw that there was a funeral procession preparing to leave from the Immaculate. A man attending the funeral, red-faced with anger, was shouting “do you even know what you’re protesting” at people on the Green, some of whom appeared to be part of the protest. A woman attending the funeral was applauding the people on the Green. A woman on the Green, who didn’t seem to be part of the protest, was singing about God and her rights. I did a quick check to see where the police were located. There were uniformed officers with vehicles at intersections and two very obvious plainclothes officers strolling along the center of the Green.

Over the course of the hour, I saw numerous people I know, some I expected to see, others I was surprised (but pleased!) to see. Some of our State Representatives were present, as were a few other political leaders from the Democrat party. There were also leaders from local labor unions who did a great job keeping the protest focused and peaceful. 

The protesters were incredibly diverse in what they cared about and their approach to protesting. There wasn’t any one thing that everyone was protesting (other than pretty much everything being done by the Trump administration), and there wasn’t any one way in which they expressed their feelings. Some people came in their regular clothes, others dressed for the occasion. Some carried signs and chanted loudly, others stood quietly and listened.

There was one person who was there to disrupt the event. Dressed all in black, using a black megaphone, he began shouting pro-Trump slogans, egging people on as they tried to shout louder than him. He called them cowards and taunted them like he was a child. He was clearly trying to goad them into a fight and one person almost fell for it. The rally leaders were able to convince the crowd to ignore him, to stop giving him the attention he wanted. He moved to the edge of the protest, occasionally calling people names, but for the most part everyone was done with his nonsense.

The pro-Trump disrupter, pointing at John Murray of The Waterbury Observer

I was really impressed with the challenge that this type of protest presents. Organizers have to keep hundreds of people from dissolving into chaos, unify strangers, and peacefully handle counter-protesters. Meanwhile, there are cars driving by and stopping. Some of the cars have people showing support for the protest. Others have people expressing their disapproval. One driver looked like he was trying to goad the protesters into starting a fight with him. I started worrying that a driver would open fire or use their vehicle as a weapon (there are several states that are passing laws making it legal to run over protesters). Fortunately, no violence occurred.

One of the protesters chastised me for recording the event, saying we’re not supposed to take photos of people’s faces, but given that the event was being heavily photographed by journalists and given that there are police cameras all over downtown, her criticism seemed misguided. I’ve noticed there’s a lot of advice online about what to do at protests, and most of it is conflicting (sit! don’t sit! document what happens so the opposition can’t lie! don’t document anything because it’s not safe!). I am sure there will be people on both sides of the political divide who will be mad at me for posting about the rally. On the internet, there’s always somebody mad at you.

Mail Theft

Last weekend, I learned some surprising things about the U.S. Postal Service after someone stole a check I put in the mail. Here's the story.

On Friday, May 2, at about 5:25 p.m., I put two checks in the mail using the blue mailbox outside the Post Office on Wigwam Avenue (next to Target). Normally, if I have to mail a check, I'll go inside the Post Office on Grand Street and put the envelope in the mail drop there. This time I was running behind on things and just wanted to get it done. 

The mailbox I used on May 2, 2025.

 

A week later, on Friday, May 9, I was wondering if the checks had cleared yet. I opened up the app for my bank account and was shocked to see that the check I wrote for $200 was processing for $4,900. I pulled out my checkbook to verify that I hadn't lost my mind -- the carbon for the check clearly showed $200.

It was late at night and the check was in process, so there was nothing I could do. 

Waterbury's Oldest Houses

I've been meaning to put together a catalog of Waterbury's oldest houses for some time now. I still haven't finished researching the buildings, but I figured I might as well get what I have posted, since there is interest in this. 

In some cases, the date of the house comes from the City Assessor's Office. In other cases, the date is based on historical records. The Assessor records aren't always accurate for houses built before construction records were kept. For some of the houses, I have done in-depth research. For others, the research remains to be done.

Please note this is a work in progress and I will add more information when possible. 

 

Some photos are new, others are from years ago.

Gaylord-Welton House
3029 North Main Street

c. 1704

This house was built for Joseph Gaylord, Jr. and later became the home of generations of the Welton family; it is quite possibly the oldest house in Waterbury, built sometime in 1703 or 1704.

3029 North Main Street, c. 1704

When "The Clansman" Came to Town

One of the greatest contradictions in United States history is the core belief that “we the people” are created equal, that we are all entitled to equal rights, to fair treatment under the law, that no one person is entitled to more rights than anyone else – and yet throughout our history, people have been denied equal rights, denied due process, and treated unjustly.

The history of our country is one in which people have always had to advocate for their rights, to protest against wrongs being committed by those in power, to protect themselves and those who need protection. Waterbury’s history is no different. There are countless stories of Waterburians standing up for what’s right, making their voices heard in an effort to make the world a better place. One such story involves The Clansman, a theatrical production that came to Waterbury in 1906, based on a book of the same name written by a Baptist minister, Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr. The Clansman, as the name suggests, glorified the Ku Klux Klan and vilified Black men. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation, a blockbuster movie based on Dixon’s play and book, was released. Both the play and the movie were loudly protested by people in Waterbury who made it clear that racism wasn’t welcome here.

 

The Clansman, with images from the movie
(from archive.org)

  

Union Station

 The most iconic building in Waterbury is about to enter a new era in its history. The Republican-American newspaper has been sold, and now the building is being sold as well (asking price is just under $5 million). Before the sale was announced, it looked like the building was going to be converted into apartments with restaurants or other types of businesses on the first floor. Whether or not that still happens will depend on the new owner. 

The future of the building is unknown, but I can tell you a bit about its past. Although best known now as the Rep-Am building, it was originally Union Station, constructed as a station on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad line. Construction was completed in 1909.

Postcard View of Union Station

When Union Station was built, it was the main entrance to Waterbury. Nearly everyone traveled by train, which meant that the train station was one of the most important and busiest buildings in town.