Bryan Titus
Appalachian Trail "Through Hiker"
"My 2,200 mile walk of the Appalachian Trail”
June 9, 2026

During the last regular session of the year on June 9 (with new meetings beginning in September), some 37 Y’s Men of Meriden heard an illustrated talk by Bryan Titus about his 2013 through-hike of the Appalachian Trail. This remarkable achievement began on Springer Mountain in Georgia and concluded about six months later (after hiking 2200 miles) on Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

The 35 year old Titus started this adventure accompanied by his wife Katie, but she was forced to drop out in Tennessee following a leg fracture. The trail was marked about every 300 yards by unique white blazes from Georgia to Maine, mostly painted on trees, but occasionally on large rocks or other structures. Titus carried his tent, food and medical supplies in a backpack, but often was able to sleep in maintained shelters; food was replenished about weekly at small community stores. Food at night had to be carefully hung from a tree branch to protect it from predators.

Visibility of the skyline was limited by heavy tree growth and was best seen by climbing intermittent fire towers.  The Trail mostly consisted of a path through the terrain, but sometimes ran over rock formations, across streams and even through towns. Wildlife was abundant: herds of wild pigs (boars), butterflies, giant centipedes, copperhead and rattlesnakes, deer, bears, wild ponies and ever-present ticks (which required removal once or more daily).

Titus began the hike weighing 185 lbs., ending at 160 lbs. During the trek, his backpack weight dropped from about 43 lbs. to 33 lbs. His slides showed an array of mountain laurel, wild honeysuckle and rhododendron. The hike ended by traversing Maine’s “100-mile wilderness” leading to Mt. Katahdin. Following this presentation, Titus, a professional musician, then performed a song he had written, spurred by recollections of the Appalachian Trail experience.

The beginning of the trail at Amicalola Falls State Park.
The official beginning is at the top of Springer Mountain about 9 miles from there.

Even in Georgia there is snow in the mountains in March!
The Appalachian Trail is marked by signature white paint “blazes” every 200 feet or so.
They stretch all the way to Maine!


The unofficial midway point of the Trail is at  Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
It is the site of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy HQ.

The northern terminus of the trail is at the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine

John Wilson and Jim O'Brien
AARP Volunteers
"What I Need to Know About My Electric Choices”
June 2, 2026

On June 2, some 39 Y’s Men of Meriden attended the weekly meeting with speakers John Wilson (AARP Connecticut Volunteer State President) and Jim O’Brien (AARP Volunteer) discussing “What I Need to Know About My Electric Choices”, backed by a PowerPoint slideshow. During the program, Wilson noted that the AARP Bulletin is sent to some 38 million subscribers, making it one of the top publications in the country.

In 1988, Connecticut forced all electric utilities to sell their facilities, resulting in deregulation. Consumers since have had the option of staying with Eversource or United Illuminating, or switching to another utility company. There are no cancellation or early termination fees charged to the consumer.

There are four parts contributing to your electricity charge:
1, Generation of power
2. Transmission of the electricity (this part is regulated by the U.S. Government)
3. Local Delivery  (controlled by CT Public Utilities Regulatory Authority)
4. Public benefits (to offset charges for folks who cannot afford to pay for their electrical use [25%], as well as helping to pay for items like the Millstone Power Plant [75%])
Utility rates are adjusted twice yearly in CT (January 1 and July 1).

Wilson and O’Brien strongly advised homeowners to have an energy audit of their houses (if not already done), pointing out multiple areas of potential savings. And they noted that if you wish to pay less for your electrical usage, you will benefit by frequently checking rates quoted by the different Power Generators, and switching when better pricing becomes available.

Janet Cunningham
Owner and Tour Guide of Wanderlust Ecotours
"Estuaries to Uplands:
The Natural History of Connecticut's Tidal Ecosystems"
May 26, 2026

Thirty-three Y’s Men of Meriden, just returned from the Memorial Day holiday, were treated to a slide presentation on May 26 by Janet Cunningham about the history of Connecticut’s ecology. Cunningham, a Wallingford resident and a former Earth Science teacher, currently  is the Owner and Tour Guide for Wanderlust Ecotours (found at https://www.wanderlustecotours.com/) which provides Guided Kayaking Tours of Connecticut's Ecosystems.

She first noted that Long Island Sound is an estuary (an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river) with the Connecticut River (beginning in Canada and flowing for 410 miles) providing 70 percent of its water. She then proceeded to trace the ecological history of Long Island Sound, noting that it was covered by a mile-thick glacier 22,000 years ago. But by 8000 years ago, the sound was fully marine, and sea level rising ended about 5000 years ago, with progressive brackish transition and salt marsh formation.

Today salt marshes thrive in the Sound, resulting in a profusion of life. Birds abound, especially Salt Marsh Swallows; in addition, about a half-million Tree Swallows congregate here before flying south during  September and October. Eagles and Ospreys also thrive here. Vegetation such as cottonwood trees now flourish here. And the salt marshes provide a welcoming home for crabs, fish, beaver, muskrats and turtles.

At around 5,000 years ago, rising sea level slowed enough for the formation of brackish marshes

Phil Callan
Former radio announcer and club member
"Vignettes from the Past"
May 19, 2026

Replacing a presentation on Panama by an ailing Dave Grodzicki who had to cancel his talk the preceding evening due to illness, club member Phil Callan with several hours’ notice provided a program on DVDs on May 19 to 32 attending Y’s Men. 

First up was a medley of song and dance routines, especially featuring Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Billy DeWolfe performing “Blue Skies, Shining On Me,…”. And then “Putting On the Ritz” with Fred Astaire showcasing a remarkable tap dance routine.  

Prohibition in America inspired ”I’ll See You In C-U-B-A” (where alcohol was available) starring Bing Crosby. Other DVDs depicted famous numbers including “A Couple of Song and Dance Men” featuring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, “The Memphis Blues” performed by Brian Donleavy and Jack Teagarden, and “Wait ‘Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” with Mary Martin and Bing Crosby.

Fred Astaire

Bing Crosby

Mary Martin

Jack and Barbara Brooks
National Park travelers
"National Parks and Missions in California"
May 12, 2026

Travel with us to California to see two National Parks, a National Monument, and a National Seashore. We’ll see one of the largest gatherings of elephant seals on the California coast.

The trip will also include five of the old Spanish Missions, with unique stories behind each of them, and how most are utilized differently today.

The presentation will conclude with a 10-minute slide show of pictures of the 51 National Parks that have been visited by Barbara & Jack.

Big Sur, California coastline

Elephant seals, Vista Point, San Simeon, CA

Point Montara lighthouse, Montara, CA

Cathryn Prince
Author
"For the Love of Labor: The Life of Pauline Newman"
May 5, 2026

Twenty-eight Y’s Men of Meriden heard an illustrated presentation on May 5 by author Cathryn Prince regarding her newest book “For the Love of Labor: The Life of Pauline Newman”. This narrative traced the origin of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) in the early 1900s, the first large labor union in America powered into existence by a woman.

Newman was born into a poor family in Lithuania in the late 1800s (the exact date is unknown) and was denied public education because of her Jewish heritage, although she was eventually allowed to go to a boys’ school run by her father where she was allowed to “attend but not participate”. But tens of millions of Jewish immigrants came to America during the period 1870-1920 and Newman, then age nine, was among them, being separated from her mother at Ellis island to live with her older brother who already resided in New York City. She immediately had to seek work; jobs were plentiful (e.g. clothing sweatshops or hand-rolling cigarettes), but paid little (e.g. 35 cents/day), required long hours (dawn to dusk), and all while working in squalor.

But a thirst for education led her to study the English language, and she was reading fiction by Charles Dickens by her teens and soon began writing. And an activist characteristic within asserted itself, causing her to lead a renters’ strike by 400 people at age 16 y/o and earning her the title “East Side Joan of Arc” in the N. Y. Times in 1907; this action became the precursor to rent control. In 1909, the first general strike in a women’s garment factory was mobilized by Newman; at that time, women and children made up the great majority of workers, but management remained fixed in male hands. Workers  received lower pay than men in comparable positions and had no tenure, often working 70-80 hours weekly. Striking women were often beaten by police and sometimes imprisoned. But the ILGWU ultimately prevailed, providing many benefits for women in the industry.

Overcoming sexism in the public, Newman soon became a driving force for voting rights for women, as well as organizing health care workers. She became a lifelong partner of Freida Miller (whom she met in 1910 and who also was a labor activist). And Newman became a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, another champion of women’s rights. In the end, Newman’s greatest characteristic was her “grit”, developed by age 16 on the picket line.

Pauline Newman, sometime in 1911

Child laborers working in a Lower East Side sweatshop

Women who were arrested for striking were often made to wear signs labeling them as prisoners