Happy Birthday! Marking forty years in anyone's life certainly is a startling occasion, a defining moment to think about how it all happened and what lies ahead. Marking forty years in the existence of the LWVLitchfield is mind boggling.

Those of us who were a part of the founding group in the spring of 1969 remember that little group whose boundless energy and enthusiasm will probably never be surpassed. They wrote the first KNOW YOUR TOWN booklet required to move from a provisional League status to a full-fledged League, took on every national, state and local study and rarely, if ever, missed a meeting. We were so young, determined, dedicated and so thin.

Purportedly Rousseau proclaimed "Le plus ca change le plus ca le meme". Voila! Throughout the 70's and 80's League studied recycling, school vouchers, the use of local public buildings, solid waste, water protection, affordable housing, the income tax, health care---every cause became a mission. Forty years later take a look at League's agenda...clean air, water protection, recycling, health care et al. The fight goes on and League is ever vigilant.

Times changed. The little woman at home in 1969 yearning for friends and causes to expand her horizons suddenly went off to work or back to school. Those exhilarating and often bitter days of the 70's witnessed; Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, racial and anti Vietnam War demonstrations, and the rise of a counter culture. There was heavy competition for League's demands.  Despite the setbacks, however, League remained steadfast in Litchfield and soon returned to its large membership and full programs. About 1995, as Leagues in the surrounding towns disbanded, their members flocked to the Litchfield League and the Board renamed us the LWV of Litchfield County, Inc.

League was not only a serious study and lobbying group, busy registering voters and disseminating information on legislation,  but also an organization of exciting women (soon to include male members) who relished the annual SIR Symposium, trips to historical sites, civic participation in the schools, awarding school scholarships and monitoring exit poll sites. The Candidate Debates became a League trademark each fall and continue today. Breakfasts and luncheons with our area legislators and selectmen and our annual International Luncheon are always jam-packed exciting occasions.

Today our legislators know most of our League members by name for we are forever by their sides via emails or lobbying and we enjoy a warm and rewarding rapport.

These past fifteen years since League's history was recorded for our 25th anniversary have been equally productive and exciting. In 1995, at Ming's Restaurant in Litchfield, League sponsored an incredible program on women’s human rights delivered by three Litchfield County women who had attended the 1995 UN Conference on Women’s' Rights held in Beijing, China. Betty Katzin, a past League president, even wore her Chinese work outfit previously purchased while on a LWVCT-sponsored trip to China. Following the death of our President Jane Knowlton, League purchased and placed an inscribed bench in her memory on the sands on Lake Waramaug. We sponsored (with massive persuasion) the first Hazardous Waste Collection at the town garage in Litchfield. Most recently a major study on the protection of water in our area has been instituted and continues to be a major program. Fundraisers these past years have been fun and successful by the showing of "Calendar Girls" at the Community Center and by the most generous, excellent and provocative programs on the political scene delivered by author Kevin Phillips and his cohort James Hatt. And, then there was that guest speaker at an annual meeting at the Litchfield Country Club a few years back who caught the attention of the reporters including the NEW YORK TIMES.

The impetus that inspired the suffragettes to establish a League "to finish the fight" following the passage of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote is alive in Litchfield County today. As League members we cherish the privilege of an unmatched opportunity we possess to make a difference in our communities, state and nation.

Judy Simoncelli, a late editor of the LITCHFIELD ENQUIRER once wrote "League is not for the dilettante but if you wish to make a contribution to your community, League is for you" . Yes, it is a happy birthday.

Marie H. Wallace
June 2009.