B y Derrick Arnold Immortalized in bronze, the statue of Nathan Hale sits outside of Connecticut Hall at Yale University.  Hale is depicted with one arm to the side and the other behind his back, indicating the nature of his work.  Hale fought and gave his life for the American cause during the Revolution, he was caught and executed by the British.  Hale is now seen as an American hero to many, he is a martyr in the cause for American independence. He serves as an archetypical young, loyal hero in the cause for freedom. However, it was not always this way.  Prior to the late 1800s, Hale was relatively unknown, during his life he received no praise for the work he did, he was buried in an unmarked grave by the British.  However, by the work of a few different individuals and groups, the memory of Nathan Hale was able to be revived. Nathan Hale’s New Haven Statue, erected in 1907, is one of the first instances of Hale being memorialized in this way (only pre...

By: Crystal Garcia New Haven’s Early Childhood Education system began as early as 1906 with the intent to relieve the stress of mothers who could not tend proper care to their children all while earning a working wage to contribute to the household. During this era, New Haven’s population was increased through an influx of Italian immigrants. In order to live, many low income Italian families were left with no choice but to send women off to work. In hopes to help uplift the poverty of the community and solve the issue of proper childcare while mothers were off at work, New Havener, Reverend John Bishop traveled to Italy and sought out the help of nuns, convincing them to travel to New Haven in order to provide the proper child care in place of working mothers. The nuns obliged and traveled to Connecticut, opening one of New Haven’s first documented Nursery facilities, operated by the Missionary Zelatrices of the Sacred Heart.  This facility, originally built in 1906 and loc...

By Jenahn Dawson Whalley Avenue in New Haven, which connects Downtown to the Town of Woodbridge through six city neighborhoods, is one of the most important roads in the city.   Named after the celebrated regicide Edward Whalley, the Westville section of this vital route was home to many commercial businesses, halls, taverns, shops and the location of the infamous raid by the British Army. Whalley Avenue was first laid out in 1797 to connect Broadway and Downtown with the Litchfield Turnpike. Much of the Avenue went undeveloped until the late-19th century when the horse-drawn streetcar made residential development possible beyond the c ity core.   One notable early resident was Sherriff Joshua Hotchkiss, who along with his prominent family moved to the area of present day Whalley and Blake streets in 1677. (Caplan 9) With a large family, the small hamlet was titled Hotchkisstown. Prior to the construction of the Westville Bridge on Whalley Avenue, which occurr...