Time nearly erased many astounding tales and unexpected anecdotes from Ridgefield's history. Its colorful characters include a widow who built a landmark Manhattan hotel, her neighbor who invented one of the first "helicopters" and a CIA operative who helped one thousand Americans flee Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Lesser known are the stories of the Ridgefield artists who gave the world Superman and Lowly Worm and brought the Wild West to life. One local writer helped make Hawthorne famous, while another penned thousands of hymns still sung around the globe. Join retired newspaper editor Jack Sanders as he uncovers nearly forgotten people and moments of Ridgefield's past.
A Connecticut native and Holy Cross graduate, Jack Sanders retired in 2014 after forty-three years as an editor of the Ridgefield Press. His books of history and natural history include Ridgefield Chronicles (The History Press), Ridgefield 1900-1950 (Arcadia Publishing), The Secrets of Wildflowers (Lyons), and Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles (McGraw-Hill). He and wife Sally, also a newspaper editor, live in a 250-year-old farmhouse in Ridgefield, enjoy bicycling and have two sons.