On Sunday, October 3rd the Cornwall Historical Society is hosting a reading by Julie Rose from The Heathen, her novel in progress.  Ms. Rose is Professor of American Literature and Creative Writing at Vassar College.  As her subject, she has taken the true story of the 1826 marriage of the daughter of a prominent Cornwall family to a brilliant Cherokee student at the Foreign Mission School.  For nine months, their engagement caused a storm of outrage and prejudice in the community and within her family. It is a timeless story of love, faith and determination.

How does a novelist create fictional characters from real people?  How does she understand the times they lived in, the social “rules”?  How does she know what a 19th century girl in a rural town thinks and feels, much less a young Native American living in two cultures?   Fun for readers and writers of novels, Julie Rose’s talk will give an insider’s view of what goes on between the covers of a book in progress.  Her readings will shine a new light on the hero and heroine of the Foreign Mission School story. Talk and Tea with Julie Rose, 2 P.M. Sunday, October 3rd at 7 Pine Street, Cornwall. Free. Refreshments.  Information: Call 890-672-0505.

CORNWALL HISTORICAL SOCIETY WALKING TOUR OF CORNWALL CENTER

On Saturday, September 18th, the Cornwall Historical Society will host a walking tour of Cornwall Center. The walk will be led by Ann Schillinger, a member of the Society’s board and Cornwall’s expert on the Foreign Mission School, the subject of the Society’s current exhibit. The exhibit may be visited before or after the walking tour.

Ann will guide visitors on a tour of the area around the village green, bringing to life early 19th C. Cornwall sites associated with the Foreign Mission School story: where the school stood, the location of the store where students and residents shopped, the homes of the staff as well as the places where dramatic events in the school’s short and troubled history occurred.

She will share stories of the students’ daily lives. How did Hawaiians fare in  this cold climate, how did educated Chinese and Native Americans react to being treated as “heathens,” and, simply, did the students ever have fun?

Meet at 11 AM on September 18th at 7 Pine Street, Cornwall, Connecticut.  The walk is free as are historical descriptive maps, made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut.  For information, call CHS at 860-672-0505.

The tour is presented in cooperation with the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area’s annual Heritage Walks event. Visit www.HousatonicHeritage.org for details about other programs about the upper Housatonic River region.