Radio Discussion: Twain & Keller – Easton & Redding’s Special Connection on WPKN 89.5 FM 10pm Sunday, June 10th, 2012

 WPKN 89.5 FM 10pm Sunday, June 10th, 2012

There has been so much interest in the Twain & Keller Exhibit currently on display at Easton Public Library, that a radio program has been planned for June 10 to discuss Twain & Keller’s relationship, their friendship and the interesting life parallels they shared on WPKN 89.5 FM.

The show will be produced by David Schwartz and hosted by Dolly Curtis with guests Brent M. Colley and Lisa Burghardt sharing more about these two world-renowned individuals who just happened to select Easton and Redding, Connecticut as their final residences.

You can hear this program on your radio on WPKN 89.5 FM or on the internet at www.WPKN.org Sunday, June 10^th at 10pm. After the program airs, the show will remain on www.WPKN.org  for the remainder of June under “current shows/David Schwartz” and “June 10.”

About the Guests:

In an effort to encourage a re-awakened interest in Mark Twain related research and tourism here in Connecticut, Brent Colley has been uncovering Connecticut's Twain 'Connections' in towns and cities across the State since 2008; This summer’s focus is: Redding and Easton. More of these Twain ‘Connections’ can be seen at his blog: http://twainproject.blogspot.com. To date he has connected 57 towns and cities to Twain.

Lisa Burghardt, who co-curated the Twain & Keller Exhibit with Colley and Heather Morgan, is President of the Historical Society of Easton, a historical researcher and genealogist.

WPKN located on the campus of UB is listener supported and has been on the air for the last 30 years with daily 24 hour programming. The program is produced and engineered by David Schwartz as a public service.  For further information please contact Dolly Curtis at dollycurtistv@aol.com or Brent Colley at bcolley@snet.net or Lisa Burghardt and HSE at  heastonct@gmail.com

About the Stormfield Project

The Mark Twain Tourism Project:

This project showcases the towns and cities across Connecticut that have Twain 'Connections.'

Stamford, Connecticut- Edward Quintard, M.D. (1867-1936) was born in Stamford, CT, the son of Edward Augustus and Mary (Skiddy) Quintard.

During his storied career, Edward was an outstanding medical practitioner and educator, but also was the personal physician to many celebrities. Perhaps the best known was Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- better known as the best-selling author Mark Twain -- Quintard was the physician of the entire Clemens family and in was at Twain's deathbed in Redding on April 21st, 1910.

Stamford Connection #2 is:

Henry  and Samuel Ferguson of Stamford- who helped Mark Twain write his newspaper article on the Clipper Ship Hornet. On their return voyage to California, Clemens (Twain) further interviewed the Ferguson brothers and Captain Mitchell. They let him examine their diaries, excerpts of which he incorporated into an article titled “Forty-three Days in an Open Boat. Compiled from Personal Diaries.” Submitted to Harper's New Monthly Magazine, they published it in December 1866. Thirty-three years later he reworked portions of it, gave the story a new title, My Debut as a Literary Person and handed it in to The Century Magazine, where the article appeared in November 1889.

In this work, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) stated it was not the Jumping Frog story that launched his literary career, but the saga of the survivors of the clipper ship Hornet.

http://www.stamfordhistory.org/hornet.htm

See more stories from more towns:

List of Towns and Cities that have Twain 'Connections'

Now Open- @ Easton Public Library in Easton, Connecticut-

Twain & Keller: Easton and Redding, Connecticut's Special Connection

Curated by Brent M. Colley, Heather Morgan and Lisa Burghardt

"He entered into my limited world with enthusiasm just as he might have explored Mars. Blindness was an adventure that kindled his curiosity. He treated me not as a freak, but as a handicapped woman seeking a way to circumvent extraordinary difficulties. There was something of divine apprehension in this rare naturalness towards those who differ from others in external circumstances."
-Helen Keller on meeting Mark Twain

Their paths crossed at pivotal points in both their lives: A series of failed business ventures had pushed Twain into bankruptcy and Keller was being pressured to decide whether she should continue with her studies or devote herself to the cause of the deaf and blind. In a roundabout way, it was Henry H. Rogers who championed for both of them, corrected their situations and fortified a friendship that would continue until Twain's passing and beyond.

This exhibit is a celebration of their friendship and the interesting parallels between these world-renowned individuals who just happened to select Easton and Redding, Connecticut as their final residences.


The Online Version of the Twain & Keller Exhibit.