In this photo from a previous year, the parade heads down McCurdy Rd. towards the Duck River Cemetery. (File photo)

OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Memorial Day Parade will kick off from the Lyme Street Firehouse at 11 a.m. today, Monday, May 30, and continue to the Duck River Cemetery where appropriate ceremonies hosted by VFW Post 1467 will be held to honor the country’s fallen Veterans.

There will be marchers from Old Lyme including the Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) High and Middle School Bands and several others.

The New London Firefighters Pipes & Drums along with the Deep River Fife & Drum Corps will also participate.

Contingencies from the Connecticut Army and Air National Guard will support the parade with vehicles from the Army National Guard Firefighter Detachment and a C-130 flyover by the Air National Guard.

If inclement weather prevails, the ceremonies will be moved inside to the LOL Middle School auditorium.

Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau (LYSB) invites any youth in Lyme and Old Lyme, who are not already participating in this year’s Memorial Day parade down Lyme St. and McCurdy Rd., to join the parade and march with them.

The organization’s tag-line for the event is, “Everyone belongs at LYSB!”

Decorate your bikes, scooters, wagons, strollers … basically anything with wheels (but nothing that is motorized) and then join the fun!

Meet at the corner of the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School tennis courts (behind the large illuminated “Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools” sign) at 10:30 a.m.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms — and all those fulfilling the role of mom full-time, part-time or just occasionally — everywhere!

And very special thoughts to all those missing their moms today ….

To celebrate the power of mothers and motherhood, here are some of our favorite — and most thought-provoking —  quotes:

“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” – Barbara Kingsolver

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.” – Maya Angelou

“Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” – Tina Fey

“[My mother] had handed down respect for the possibilities—and the will to grasp them.” – Alice Walker

“Having kids—the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings—is the biggest job anyone can embark on.” – Maria Shriver

“[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary—it’s an act of infinite optimism.” – Gilda Radner

“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” – Robert Browning

This year, we are adding mention of a topical Facebook post by Heather Cox Richardson, dated May 7, 2022.

She opens with the words, “I told this story here two years ago, but I want to repeat it tonight, as the reality of women’s lives is being erased in favor of an image of women as mothers …”

She then continues: If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced American women that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change modern society.”

We send holiday greetings to all our readers, writers and advertisers and hope you are enjoying a wonderful and peaceful holiday season.

Thank you for staying with us through this past challenging and unpredictable year and we look forward to a calmer and brighter 2022.

OLD LYME — Old Lyme Emergency Management is urging residents to be prepared as Tropical Storm Henri works its way up the East coast, and seems likely to become a hurricane over the weekend. Text OLSTORM to 888777 to receive text updates from the Town of Old Lyme. 

David Roberge, Old Lyme’s Emergency Management Director, contacted LymeLine to ask us to remind our readers that every home should have a basic plan that can be used for any emergency.  Lyme and Old Lyme residents should know what potential risks their neighborhood may face, such as the effects of storm or tidal surge, flooding, or roadway closures.

It is recommended that all local residents take three simple preparedness steps now:

• Get a kit
• Make a plan
• Stay informed

In summary, this means residents should carefully monitor the summer’s weather reports, have a personal plan in place in case a storm hits and stay informed of any special information from local and state officials if a storm approaches.

Roberge urges residents to register immediately at OLD LYME ALERTS with your cell phone, work number, or other phone numbers for automated phone messaging during an emergency. You can choose to be notified by e-mail, phone or text message.

Do NOT wait for a power outage: visit www.ct.gov/ctalert and click on the blue Register for Alerts button.

Old Lyme Emergency Management offers the following preparedness tips:

Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit

• One gallon of water per person per day for at least three to five days, for drinking and sanitation
• At least a three to five day supply of non-perishable food on hand
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Chargers, inverter or solar charger for cell phones and electronic devices
• A whistle to signal for help
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• A manual can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Local and state road maps to aid in an evacuation

Family Emergency Plan

• Identify an out-of town contact.  It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members
• Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a cell phone, coins, or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.  If you have a cell phone, enter that person(s) as “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in your phone.  If you are in an accident, emergency personnel will often check your ICE listings in order to get a hold of someone you know.  Make sure to tell your family and friends that you’ve listed them as emergency contacts
• Teach family members how to use text messaging.  Text messages can often get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to be connected.

Stay Informed

In addition to using local TV and radio, Old Lyme Emergency Management utilizes the Town of Old Lyme website and social media such as Facebook and Twitter to share important storm related information to its residents.  Old Lyme Emergency Management also stays in close touch with LymeLine.com and we work with them to ensure we always have the latest information and publish all their announcements promptly.

Follow Old Lyme Emergency Management on Facebook and Twitter.

• Old Lyme Emergency Management Facebook
• Old Lyme Emergency Management Twitter

For further preparedness information, contact the Old Lyme Office of Emergency Management at 860-434-1605 extension 231 or visit the additional resources at the attached links.

Weather and storm information:

• • • Old Lyme Weather Forecast 

Emergency planning and homeowner information

• Being prepared for emergencies
• Insurance Information for homeowners
• Flood insurance information
• Animals and Emergencies
• Preparation & Prevention
• How to recover from a storm

The National Hurricane Center has developed the following video guides on hurricane preparedness:

• NHC Hurricane Basics
• NHC What is Storm Surge
• NHC Inland Flooding
• NHC Hurricane Forecasting
• Develop an Personal Emergency Plan

State and Federal Information:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency Home Page
• CT Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security
• Taking Action Against Upcoming Storms

Season’s Greetings to all our readers!

In this strange year, we still hope you enjoy wonderful celebrations wherever and with whomever you might be.

Sorting the food donated during the Food Drive is a Herculean task organized by LYSB Director Mary Seidner (center) in photo and assisted by Leslie Massa (right) and Arleen Sharp (left). File photo by B. Groth.

Old Lyme Police Officers will hold their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive on three dates starting Saturday at the Old Lyme Marketplace near the Big Y. The dates and times are as follows:

Wednesday, Nov.  18, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All food donated will be forwarded to the Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau (LYSB) for distribution to families in need.

Food will also be given to stock the mini-pantries at Lymes’ Senior Center and the Town of Old Lyme Social Services.

After local needs are met, all remaining food is given to Shoreline Soup Kitchens.

Arleen Sharp (left) and Leslie Massa continue their sorting efforts. File photo by B. Groth.

Donations of non-perishable food can be taken directly to the Old Lyme Police Department at 294 Shore Rd., or to LYSB at 59 Lyme St. between Nov. 16 and  Nov. 23.

Families in need of food should contact LYSB at www.lysb.org/holidaygiving or 860-434-7208.