Shoemaker Overrides Historic District Commission Denial With Blue and Gold Star Memorials at Old Lyme Town Hall

OLD LYME, CT – After nearly a year, the Duck River Garden Club of Old Lyme will install gold and blue star memorial markers at Town Hall, but not where the Historic District Commission decided they should go.

“I’m going to bat for the veterans on this one, and their families,” First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker said Friday.

Shoemaker said she will have the markers installed on the wings of the existing memorial monument in front of Town Hall. In June, the commission denied a Certificate of Appropriateness to put the markers there.

The previous month, the commission had approved installation of the signs on the ground in the circular garden maintained by the garden club on the other side of the building. The area contains a large, vertical Old Lyme marker with details about the town’s history. 

Shoemaker said after the denial she met with the town attorney and members of the building department to explain her concerns.

“I told them I wanted the markers on the wings,” she said. “I just told them I was going to put them there. There’s no reason they can’t go there. It looks quite distinguished.”

Shoemaker said commission co-chairs John Noyes and Russ Todd were also in the meeting.

“We just came to an agreement at that time,” she said.

Todd, asked late this week about the process for moving forward without a Certificate of Appropriateness from the commission, said the question should be directed to “the person or persons choosing to do so.” 

Because the Town Hall is in the town’s historic district, final approval for the markers and details for their location had to be hashed out and approved by the commission. Local and state law puts the commission in charge of issuing certificates of appropriateness whenever a structure goes up or comes down – or is significantly altered – in the historic district.  

Back and Forth

In December, the Board of Selectmen first gave the garden club the go-ahead for the memorials without specifying a location. In May, selectmen voted unanimously to authorize Shoemaker to draft a letter to the commission saying the markers should go on the wings of the existing memorial monument in front of the Old Lyme Town Hall.

Original plans from the garden club early this year included larger highway-style memorial markers, which would have measured 41 inches high by 45 inches wide atop a 90-inch base, with the installation in time for the United States’ 250^th anniversary celebration in July.

The commission rejected that proposal with members voicing concerns that the highway markers were too big.  

Following two months of discussions, the commission in March agreed to allow smaller markers at Town Hall. Each marker, per the decision, would be mounted on a low stone base, tilted slightly for readability, measure no more than 15.25 by 24 inches and rise no more than 18 inches above the ground.

Their exact placement was to be determined at a later meeting. In May, after an on-site presentation, the commission approved putting the markers in the sign garden.

Shoemaker was at the presentation, Todd said. After that, she returned with a proposal to place them on the memorial, which the commission denied.

Shoemaker said the Board of Selectmen supports installing the markers on the monument.

Selectman John Mesham, on Friday, said selectmen endorsed the placement after considering various locations, the last being on the wings of the monument, which, he noted, the commission rejected. The commission suggested not putting the markers more than six inches off the ground and oriented horizontally.

Selectmen did not like the option, Mesham said, adding that he suggested selecting another site such as the Sill Lane Green.

“There were numerous other sites,” he said. “Martha took it upon herself to obtain an opinion from the building department, I believe, and she overrode HDC.”

Other locations considered over months of discussion included the garden club beautification site near Exit 70, the newly expanded Boughton Road firehouse, the post office on Halls Road and the transit stop near Hartford Road. 

Mesham said he objected to overriding the commission for several reasons, including alienating commission members and setting a bad precedent. 

He said he believes the commission’s only recourse would be to sue the town.

“I’m glad this worthy project is coming to completion but disappointed how it was done,” he said.

According to the commission’s June minutes, it received Shoemaker’s letter and recapped its reasons for objecting to the placement of the markers on the memorial, including that they would “disrupt the dignity and serenity of the existing memorial”; that the wording on the markers would duplicate existing veterans memorial wording; and that the vertical placement of the markers with large colored stars protruding above the borders of the markers would be aesthetically incompatible with the existing memorial.

“Commission members believe that the references to historic military service on the new markers could more effectively be presented in the circle of plantings surrounding the sign on the history of Old Lyme,” the minutes state.

Commission member Carolyn Wakeman voted in favor of placement of low-lying markers in the small circular garden despite reservations expressed over multiple meetings. 

She acknowledged the amount of attention being paid to the issue and said getting the size and placement right “matters a lot” to the commission. 

Wakeman cautioned that installing the smaller plaques on large or elevated backings could detract from the landscaping.

Historic Considerations

While it took months to come to a decision on the markers, Todd said that’s not unusual. The commission often takes time to review details, ask questions and request additional information.

“Even before there’s a submission, we encourage people to come talk to the Historic District Commission about whatever it is they’re proposing to do,” he said.

Once an application is submitted, the commission has 60 days to make a final decision, Todd said. Any approved project must be completed within a year or be renewed by the commission.

The commission is tasked with maintaining the historic character of the district, which was established in the 1970s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The commission reviews specific architectural features, including structure, signage and things that might be installed on the exterior of a building to determine how they relate to the historic character.

Shoemaker noted that sometimes it takes a while for things to happen in a small town, especially when groups have to go before multiple boards and commissions.

She added that the markers also had to be designed and ordered, which took months in itself.

The commission meets on the first Monday of the month, with the next meeting on Monday, Oct. 5.  

The Unveiling

The markers will be unveiled at a ceremony on Nov. 7 at 11 a.m.

Karen LeBuffe, publicity chair for the garden club, said she believes the club is only the second in the state to install a Gold Star Memorial marker. The Milford Garden Club was the first.

LeBuffe said a garden club member who is a veteran proposed the installation.

The Blue Star Memorial program, which began in 1944, honors U.S. service members who have served, are serving or will serve in the Armed Forces, according to a press release from the garden club. The Gold Star Memorial honors the families of service members who died in service to the nation.

“We voted on it and thought it would be a great addition to our town,” she said. “The selectwoman and the historic commission have been generous in listening to our request.”

Todd said he would announce the unveiling at the next commission meeting.

According to Shoemaker, the installation is an important moment for the town.

“We believe that the veterans and their families in the town of Old Lyme should be recognized,” she said.

Mesham said he is looking forward to the unveiling and is glad the journey to place the markers is coming to an end.

The unveiling will include patriotic music, a flag ceremony, remarks from community leaders and a tribute to the military and Gold Star families.