Thank you to Virginia Harris, President of Friends of Boothe Park for her presentation. Boothe Park is a 32 acre park in Stratford and a underappreciated gem. We enjoyed the video thanks to Jack Cratty, Stephanie Philips and Diane Barber. We learned that Stephen and David Boothe were unique individuals who cared about the people of Stratford. They began as farmers and went on to own an insurance business, bought, sold and repaired farm equipment and owned over 100 apartments. However, most of all they enjoyed opening up the grounds and building to provide entertainment, religious services and meals to benefit local organizations. Upon their deaths, they willed the park to the Town in 1949 along with a fund to maintain it. Virginia had many stories about the brothers including how they would take things off the shelves in stores and people would think they were stealing. However, the storekeepers had already been paid for the month. The pair were also known to have paid off the debt for the Town of Stratford. They wanted their Homestead, the longest active homestead in the country, to be a pastoral relief for the Town. Virginia described the various building designs, which the Friends of Boothe open for tours June 1-October 1 on Tuesday and Friday from 11-1 pm and Sundays from 1-4 pm. There are so many more stories about the brothers that Virginia shared, too many to mention. She encouraged us to visit the Park and the new Visitor’s Center to watch the short video to learn more.