FELLOW AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR ENTHUSIASTS:
Two If By Sea Publishing, LLC is proud to announce that Common Patriot: The American Revolutionary War Magazine is now Patriots of the American Revolution starting with the June 2008 issue. Featuring: The Revolutionary War Today, My Patriot Ancestor, A True Patriot Hero, American Revolution Month-by-Month, Conversation with a Compatriot, trivia and more. This publication and website is devoted to promoting education of the Revolutionary War, to preserve American heritage and continue to honor those who served this country with no other incentive than to gain their independence. Patriots of the American Revolution is a quarterly publication (March, June, September, December) for $20. To view previous issues and for more information please visit our website at www.patriotsar.com.

Organizational Background:
The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
Formed in 1889, The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is dedicated to remembering the lives and sacrifices of the patriots of the American Revolution. Its 600 members from throughout the United States have traced their ancestry to Connecticut patriots who gave service for American Independence.

Three Museums Associated with Connecticut’s Revolutionary War History
The Society owns and manages The War Office in Lebanon, Connecticut, and the two schoolhouses (in East Haddam and New London) in which Nathan Hale, Connecticut’s State Hero, taught school before enlisting in the revolutionary cause.

Nathan Hale: Spy and Hero
The son of a deacon, Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1755, one of 12 children. He entered Yale College at 14 and, upon graduation in 1773, secured a teaching position in East Haddam. He taught in East Haddam for six months and then New London, at its Union Grammar School, for 16 months.

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From the New London Times

When they learned the Nathan Hale statue in Williams Park was missing so many letters the message on its base was not legible, the Whaling City Restoration Committee decided restoring it was their only option.

"People would pick the letters off throughout the years," Dennis O'Connor, a member of the WCRC, said. "At the time we started there were maybe 47 letters missing."

The WCRC, which previously restored the Wyland Whale Wall on Eugene O'Neill Drive, started work to restore the statue in May 2007.

"We started looking around and seeing what else we could do so people could enjoy it again," O'Connor said.

They hoped for a quick and easy restoration. O'Connor's wife, Suzanne, was able to secure a $5,000 grant from the Frank Louis Palmer Fund. The smooth sailing ended there, however.

"What we thought would be a six-month project wasn't," O'Connor noted. O'Connor, who did the majority of the restoration work, hit several road blocks when trying to find a font to match the antique letters on the statue's base. The font was so old, he was unable to locate a venue offering lettering in that style.

"We sent [pieces] to various places throughout the country," he said. "Everytime we sent them a piece, they would not have anything remotely like it."

O'Connor traveled across the country, searching for somewhere that would be able to recreate the letters on the statue.

"In the end, after a year and a half of running to Texas and California, I ended up learning to mold them myself," O'Connor said.

O'Connor used an acrylic material to form molds of the remaining letters on the statue. He kneeded the dough-like material and then pressed it to the letter he needed to mold. The process takes approximately 30 minutes per letter.

"I would go down there every night after work and mold a few letters," he said.

During this process, O'Connor contacted Sharon Hertzler, owner of Mystic River Foundry. She was able to make bronze castings of the molds that O'Connor had created.

O'Connor learned how to age the letters so they would appear as old as the ones still present on the statue. Finally, after two years of hard work and research, it was completely restored, just in time for Hale's birthday.

The WCRC has already started its next project, which is restoring the pedestrian entrance to Ocean Beach. "Our goal is to find things that have been neglected and try to bring some betterment back to the public so they can enjoy these things," O'Connor said. "A core group of people can make a big difference."