Do You Remember the Lobster Claw Game at the Old Hot Shots II in Newtown?
It was the story of the weekend, when the building that once was home of Hot Shots II went up in flames in Newtown.
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Friday morning (1/14/22), social media was flooded with local videos of a raging inferno at the bar that was most recently McGuire's Ale House but was most successful when the building was the home of Hot Shots II.
According to I95 via Newtown Hook & Ladder, all five Newtown departments rushed to the scene to battle the blaze, along with fire departments from surrounding towns. Unfortunately, when all was said and done, there was nothing but a pile of rubble.
Friday evening, I went out with some friends and we were discussing the fire and sharing memories of fun nights out at Hot Shots. My buddy Dave asked me if I remembered the lobster claw game.
I had no memory of this, maybe it had something to do with all the booze I used to consume there, but it wasn't ringing a bell. I remembered that I95 hosted a lot of parties at Hot Shots, I remembered going there with an ex-girlfriend and I remembered that I once lost a shoe in the parking lot, but nothing about a lobster claw game.
Then I challenged whether such a game even exists and Dave sent me a ton of pictures and videos of them. It's similar to the game where kids pump quarters into the machine and use a claw to fetch a teddy bear, only with lobsters.
So these things do exist but my question is, is Dave right? Was there a lobster claw game at Hot Shots II?
P.S. I wonder if PETA even knows about these lobster games, if they do, you can bet they don't love them.
Raging Blaze Leaves Well-Known Newtown Building in Shambles
A devastating structure fire has left one of the local area's most well-known establishments in complete wreckage after multiple departments joined together to battle the blaze.
Youtube Video Proves There is More Nightlife in Danbury Than I Thought
I'm at Hat City resident and have been for the last six years, and last year we moved from the Germantown Road area to Downtown Danbury. My wife and I can, and do walk to dinner at places like Pippa's, Empire of the Incas and Two Steps but when dinner is over, sometimes we want to stay out, get some drinks and dance but haven't found a lot of options. Maybe I wasn't looking closely enough or I was overlooking some existing options. I found a new video on Youtube that suggests I am missing something. I know there are some Spanish spots downtown that I've been curious about but never visited and now this video confirms that I need to take a closer look.
The Trail of the Whispering Giants Runs Cold in CT
Mike Allen is I-95's former News Director and a brilliant researcher. On Tuesday January 11, 2022 he was our guest, on I-95's the Ethan & Lou Morning Show, as he is every week. Mike guides us through a segment we call "The Place You Live." The feature is a deep dive, into a piece of Connecticut history. Allen researches and presents these stories for our audience in a way, no one else can. The most recent story was called "The Trail of the Whispering Giants."
This past summer (2021) Mike Allen went on a vacation to Ocean City, Maryland and saw an exquisite and massive art installation. It was a 30 foot statue, resting on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, carved out of wood and depicting the face of a Native-American with tears coming down it's cheek.
He went to read the plaque and learned that this wonderful work of art, is one of fifty, with one in every state in America. The series of statues is called "The Trail of the Whispering Giants" and the artist behind the work is a man named Peter Toth. (PHOTOS BELOW)
After reading the statue's plaque, Mike's journalistic instincts kicked in and he began investigating Peter, and the project. Allen reached out to Toth who lives in Florida and operates an outdoor art gallery/museum.
He asked Toth what his inspiration was for the project? Why put a massive Native-American face in every state in the country? Allen relayed some of his conversation with Toth saying, "He was born in Hungary and his parents had their land taken by Russian Communists and he says, his family became refugees and he said he can absolutely empathize with the plight of the Native-Americans and he wanted to make sure people understood what Native Americans have gone through."
Let's backup, I may have buried the lead, because there is a mysterious element to the story, that involves Connecticut. You see, before Allen went in search of the artist, he first went looking for the CT "Trail of the Whispering Giants" statue.
After some internet research Allen learned that the statue was originally installed in Groton, CT but was listed as missing which intrigued him to no end. He kept digging for clues and found one "obscure" website that had one clue, a photo.
The photograph was of the statue itself, "wrapped up in a sky blue tarp" laying in what he could only describe as a "statue crib." Underneath the photo there was a caption that read Jerry Olson has this, he's holding onto it because it rotted and they are hoping to get repairs done. But, if you contact him, he'll take the tarp off so you can see it.
This was the only clue Allen had and he knew what his next mission was, find out more about Jerry Olson. First Mike called the phone number that was listed under the photo and got an answering machine for the Olde Mistick Village. Allen says he left a message and no one got back to him.
Mike would later come to learn that Olde Mistick Village was a destination location that was the brainchild of Jerry Olson's father. He also would come to find out that Jerry Olson had a twin sister named Joyce, who was the current manager of Olde Mistick Village. He was also able to gather, that the original site for the CT statue was in front of the Groton Public Library.
At this point he'd gathered a lot of information but still doesn't know for sure who is in possession of the statue, and he's not spoken with Jerry or Joyce. When men can't find things, what do they usually do? That's right, they ask their wife and that is precisely what Allen did.
Mike asked his wife Yvonne what to do, she happens to be a librarian and told him to reach out the Groton Public Library, he did that and learned even more. Mike spoke to Jennifer Miele, the Director of the Groton Public Library and she had more leads for him.
Miele confirmed to Allen, that the Groton Public Library was the original site for the CT "Trail of Whispering Giants" statue. She also explained that the statue was taken down and placed in storage after people began to worry it would fall on someone. Mike was stalled out again when he learned Miele didn't know where it was stored.
Enter Peter Toth. Yes, we made it back to Peter but sadly, he didn't know where the statue was either. Toth explained that if Allen could find it, he'd be happy to get involved with the statue's restoration.
Mike was back to square one looking for Jerry Olson and using the first phone number he had, he called again. Allen told us "sure enough a woman picks up the phone." Mike introduced himself, the woman introduced herself and he's now speaking with Jerry Olson's sister Joyce.
Allen shared the story of his search for the statue and asked to speak to Jerry, and after a moment of silence, Joyce told Allen that Jerry passed away three years ago. After sharing his deep regret, Allen asked Joyce if she knew what happened to the CT "Whispering Trail" statue and he says, she replied by saying "I don't know what you're talking about." The call ended soon after but Mike was in no position to give up. He'd come this far and his years of journalism experience taught him he was onto something.
The part I found most intriguing about Mike's journey, was the part he couldn't or wouldn't tell us. Allen said "I can't tell you exactly who I called and what I did but I had come to find out that there were some people I needed to speak to."
Doing whatever it was, he could not tell us, led Mike to two former Groton Town Managers. The first was a man named Ron who told Allen the statue was there when he left office. Ron put Mike in touch with his successor, a man named Mark.
Mark told Allen that the core of the statue had rotted out, so for safety reasons, they took it down and gave it to the Department of Public Works. They held it for awhile but when they needed more space they made arrangements to give it to, you guessed it, Jerry Olson.
According to Mark, Olson kept the statue in his maintenance garage in Olde Mistick Village. Allen followed up, and spoke to the former Director of Public Works. That person confirmed they did give the statue to Jerry Olson.
Armed with a lot of information indicating Jerry Olson had this statue at some point, Allen called Joyce back and shared what he learned. Allen told Joyce, what he'd been told and asked to speak to Joyce's son Chris who manages the grounds at Olde Mistick Village. Chris got on the phone, Allen asked about the statue and according to Mike he said, "yeah, we've got it."
Finally, Mike Allen knows where the statue is, and he's talked to almost everyone who has ever been involved with it, now what? Now the trail starts to reassemble itself. Chris told Allen the statue was in really bad shape so Mike called the artist Peter Toth. They arranged a conference call for all the involved parties. Based on what Mike told us, that conversation is taking place today (1/13/21).
Furthermore, the Town of Groton has gotten involved, a Town Councilperson has told Allen they will introduce a resolution to get the statue restored. Allen said after the conference call, he'll be stepping aside and leaving the rest to the Town of Groton and the other involved parties.
So, the "Trail of the Whispering Giants" ran cold in CT but Mike Allen heated things up and it's looking like, a happy ending is coming. A wonderful piece of art, with an important message will be fixed, put back where it belongs and a CT town will be reunited with a piece of it's history.
So, what about the artist, Peter Toth? Peter is not done creating thought provoking works of art. There are 50 "Whispering Trail" statues and he's done an additional 24 worldwide for a grand total of 74 statues. His 75th project, is one he's very much looking forward to. Toth said he intends to build a statue of an angel (artist rendering below), and install it on the banks of the Amazon River, on the edge of the Amazon Forest.
Toth told Allen this will be done as a reminder that the Amazon cleans and purifies the air that we breathe. Toth has already reached out to a notable Brazilian Chief about the project. Mike was in awe of Toth's brilliant artwork and life perspective and called him a "genius' several times during our discussion.
If you missed our live segment of the "Trail of the Whispering Giants", you can go back and listen to it on the Ethan and Lou Show Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, the I-95 Website and the I-95 Rock Mobile app.
Mike also has his own podcast where he presented additional information on the "Trail of the Whispering Giants." The podcast is called "Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path" and is available wherever you get podcasts.
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