Connecticut Organization Participates in Pageant of Peace
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The New Britain Herald
Tia Albright
Boston University Washington News Service
December 7, 2006
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 – Participants at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree Thursday praised the historically themed ornaments donated by the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford.
“I think that the ornaments hanging on the Connecticut tree are a great representation of the state’s history and spirit,” said Devon Miller, a Greenwich native.
The Stowe center gave a collection of handmade ornaments for display on Connecticut’s Christmas tree along the “Pathway of Peace,” which consists of 56 trees representing the states, territories and the District of Columbia. One organization from each state provides ornaments that represent that state’s history.
Beth Giard, collections manager for the center, said, “We donated the ornaments as a way to represent the state of Connecticut in the pageant and to get out the message of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s to the nation.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in 1811 in Litchfield and is best known for her novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” written as a testament to the hardships of slavery.
The center’s ornaments are based on its “American Woman’s Home Collection.” They are miniature quilts screened with patterns of artifacts from the collection, including lace, pillows, ceramic plates, pitchers and bowls.
The first National Christmas Tree was lit by Calvin Coolidge in the Ellipse south of the White House in 1923. Last night was President Bush’s turn. The pageant will continue until early January.
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