This blog belongs to the Art In The Everyday course at Eastern Connecticut State University which explores everyday life experience through various frames of reference, including: sound, ephemeral sculpture, movement and community building.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

What's the deal with Willimantic

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For Tuesday March 2 do some research on Willimantic.  Talk to at least two Willimantic citizens about the town.  Ask them how they like living here and whether they might know any stories about the town.  You can meet people in the library, at a coffee house or right on the street.  For the purposes of this assignment: on-campus conversations are not considered conversations with members of the Willimantic community. An interesting place to check out might be The Wrench In the Works on Main Street. 

Also do some Internet research that goes slightly deeper than Wikipedia.  Spend about half an hour online learning about the town.  Take some notes based on your conversations and internet research and bring whatever information you find of interest to class. 

17 comments:

  1. Umm I will take down some notes from learning about the town but I don't live at Eastern and I am only at school two days a week... so I will be unable to talk to anyone in the community.

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  2. You can begin your web research now. And you will have to conduct your other research when you are here. Plan to set some time aside the next day you are in Willimantic to do the street level research.

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  3. Well. I live in Willimantic (I don't live on campus) and I have lived here my entire life. So...how should I approach this assignment? Can I just talk about how I like it here and what I know about the town?

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  4. If the person has lived in Willimantic all their life, like Emma, does that count? Even if they are a student?

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  6. We would prefer each of you to take more initiative than talk to an Eastern student. Part of the idea of the assignmnent is for folks to move out of their comfort zone and to get to know a couple of people through their stories about Willimantic. A University staff member who is a Willimantic native might be okay, but our preference would be for each of you to travel off campus for the street-level component of the assignment.

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  7. Hey! I definatley intend on doing this assignment, but I went away this weekend, sunday night homework, and monday is my busiest day, and I didn't want to just make somthing up! Give me till Thursday?

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  8. I talked to two people today! one was rather off topic, in cafemantic. we talked about the tiger woods scandal and how it's ridiculous. celebrities shouldn't have to apologize for their personal lives, especially to all of us, whom it does not affect. The other convo i tried to talk was with a black man, he said "yo willirico sucks girl." and laughed. I decided not to pursue the convo further. I don't think I did the assignment correctly...

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  9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcfoNwBiYvs

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  10. I interviewed two people. Andrea from Beacon Pharmacy said that she's lived here all her life so she doesn't know how she feels about Willimantic. For the second question, she said that she has no stories. I also interviewed two people, Scott and Roche, from the tattoo parlor. They said that it used to be a nice town and that they've been living here for about 30-40 years. The second question that "per capita, there are more drugs here than NYC and that Willimantic is the heroin capital of New England.
    Around 1886 (or sometime around that time period) Willimantic had a lot of attractions all along Main Street. For example there was an opera house, courthouse, hotels and banks, Linen Company's four large mills, Smithville and Windham Company's mills and the Willimantic fair grounds. From what Scott and Roche said, they are right with what it used to be like. It was a peaceful place to live in and there were a lot of interesting places to entertain the people living in Willimantic at that time.

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  11. HAHAHHAHAHA ALEMO I just watched your video...1-thats awesome that you made a video, and 2- "they are down and dirty"...that was my favorite part.

    So Tuesday around 3:30, after class I went into downtown Willimantic with my camera to take some pictures...
    I passed by a small store with the door proped open, and a young man, maybe in his 30's cleaning up and gutting out the place; At first I just wanted to take some pictures of him so I popped my head in the door.
    "Hello there!"
    This scared the shit out of the poor guy. (It felt kind of good that someone found me somewhat intimidating)He whipped around with his broom, saw me , and put a hand on his heart. "You scared the shit out of me".
    I smiled, apologized, and asked him if I could take some pictures of his shop, and of him working. He smiled back, and said "sure" and went on sweeping.

    As I snapped some photos, I naturally just started a convorsation (I didn't even remember the assignment to tell the truth) He told me he was a dog groomer from Norwhich. He had just sold his place back there, and moved here to Willimantic to re-open. "Doggy styles" was the name of the place; it made me chuckle. I asked him about the relocation, if he was happy to move/or if it was his choice. He told me that it was time for a change, and that his appartment here was nice, but he did admit being a little nervos moving into willimantic. "Its not THAT bad" I told him, and he agreed =]. He told me he walked to work that day, and the atompashere wasn't nearly as menacing and "ugly" as he thought it would be. I told him of my similar experience moving into willimantic as a student. I had heard so much about the shitty town, that it almost swayed my choice before I had even visited! but after my first walk down the quaint little mainstreet , my mind was changed.. He asked me if I was taking pictures for the school paper, and I told him no that it was just a hobby, smiled and thanked him, and went on my way.

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  13. I walked down the street for awhile, down to the traintracks where I had walked on my "adventure" last week during class. It was THEN that I remembered my assignment. I took my time walking back up the hill and down the street, stopping and taking pictures, not really LOOKING for whomever it was I would end up talking to..

    As I neared the bar, a youngwoman (late thirties?) stood up against a wall with her back towards me, talking to someone I couldn't see. I looked down and noticed that in her hand she held another little hand with a little boy attached to that hand! =] So I sat on a bench about 5-10 feet away and waited untill he saw me. I figured that just because I couldnt talk to him, dosn't mean we couldn't interact...I mean, peoples general atitudes are influenced by the things around them right? (most of the time anyways)...He still faced the stranger with his back towards me so I decided I needed to do somthing to catch his attention. I turned my flash on, and took a picture at the car infront of me...the actual light wasn't very effective, but the young boy whipped around at the noise of the shutter as if he were just WAITING for somthing to entertain him. I put my camera away (you shouldnt tke pictures of people without their permission...parents dont like that I've learned )I stared back at him while I slowly put my camera into my bag and he looked at me almost terrified...I could tell he was trying to decide if I was the stranger danger sort of deal. I smiled at him my biggest smile, and waved. He dropped his moms hand and grabbed onto her leg..pushing his whole body into her, so that he felt almost like I couldnt see him. The smiling wasn't working....I made sure his mother was still in deep convorsation, took off my shoe, pretended to smell it, then made a very disgusted face that told the little boy "YUCK! THAT SHOE SMELLS NASTY!" This got him to smile, but he stayed hidden....

    I knew I had to do somthing drastic...I took my boot, stuck my tounge out and licked it ; right up the side...the boys face came out from behind his mom's leg and he laughed...I put my shoe on and turned away as his mother looked down to check on him, and then she continued talking...I looked back at the boy and made a "laughing/smiling" face...It wasn't until I did my trick that he really connected with me....I have this fingertrick I do which isn't all that great but kids find it AMAZING...like magic..so I did the trick and made a face that told the little boy I was "suprised"...well he made that same face at me, only wayyyy more amazed. I chuckled at him, because he had no idea how rediculous this trick was...his eyes glued on my hands...his suprised mouth turning into a smile, he stuck his hand out and told me in a swift motion to "do it again"...so I did it again, for longer this time...with The same suprised look on his face he smiled and put up his finger to show me "one minute." he looked up at his mother, than back at me...he took his tiny little finger up to his tiny little nose, and pressed it in, which made his tounge pop out...I tried my best to mimick his same suprised/amazed look, but it ended up just turning into laughter as he continued pushing that nose button making his tounge go in and out and in and out...Then for just a minute we smiled at eachother, I pressed my nose, stuck my tounge out , and waved goodbye..(to which he waved back!!!!!NO STRANGER DANGER!)

    Sometimes walking down mainstreet can make me a little sad because alot of the people I see look kind of sad..but this time I walked back to school with a HUGE smile on my face...Thanks little boy =]
    Two interactions, both very different.

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  15. also my friend Liv is coming to class with me tomarrow...she'll be attending ecsu next yearrr

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  16. Besides making that poor quality video, I asked an old man walking down main street with a grocery bag, what he thought of willimantic. He told me as if I should have known that he has lived here for 40 years so I know he must like it. I also talked to one of the ladies who work at the Bench Shop and she likes working in this town because its close enough to the country. She used to live in Ashford, a town like 30 minutes from here.

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  17. Alex, I'd like to see you interview more random folks. You seem to have a good way with people. You ask questions in an unassuming way. The store owner seemed somewhat amused and at ease.

    Liz describes a humorous and event benignly subversive interaction. It brings to mind a very relevant point: that not all "subversive" acts are nefarious or damaging. From the mother's perspective, as protector of her child, any communication with "strangers" in public that occurs outside her view is potentially a threat. And yet, undercutting this fact with charm and authenticity can be enlightening for both parties (child and "stranger)-- as it clearly was here.

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