Town #46 Naugatuck

Saturday, May 9, 2009
Barbecued ribs supper at the Congregational Church of Naugatuck * Boys in Hats

This trip was a mystery outing, where Jan plans an event and doesn’t tell me where we’re going until we get there, when maybe I’ll figure it out by myself. This trip was to the Congregational Church of Naugatuck for their annual spare-ribs-with-all-the-fixings supper. The portions were generous and very tasty and included a large baked potato, coleslaw, corn bread, beverage, and ice cream with a cookie for dessert. People were friendly and it was an easy group to chat with. The tables were filled almost to capacity—about 100 people.

There was evening entertainment afterward by Boys in Hats, a folk-singing duo, Eric Anderson and Paul Bryant-Smith. (They were the main reason Jan chose this outing--she wanted to hear them live for the first time and knew I'd enjoy them too.) Paul and Eric met in seminary and both are ordained ministers. Eric is also the "alpha geek" at the CT Conference of the UCC. They perform for church fundraisers and coffeehouses. We both had Eric as a student a quite a few years ago, and he and Jan shared an office at the UCC Conference Center until Jan’s retirement. We enjoyed their traditional and newer folk music like Waltzing with Bears, Hot Frogs, Charlie on the MTA, and one Eric composed for a friend, Chasing the Sun. We assume, by the lyrics, that the friend is someone quite special.