Bedtime stories, folktales and even stories about family members that we don’t know but have heard about cyclically at annual family gatherings seem to have a life power of their own. These stories form thoughts and even outcomes for our behaviors or choices. In my introduction I mentioned how my students have impacted and influenced my life over the 30 years that I have had the pleasure of guiding them to discoveries and providing instruction. Most importantly, I have been deeply influenced by my family and the stories they told me-- stories that had been unfolded and passed down for as far back as my eldest and most revered family relatives can remember.
While many can remember tales and funny stories told to us by our family members or others who were close to us, some people remember the town historian telling stories about the people, events and customs of our town.
One vivid example a folktale or legend- like oral story relates to the prominent frog statues near the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut. According the website, Connecticuthistory.org the bridge simply known as “The Frog Bridge” was approved for construction in and around the 1990s. While my daughter attended a university in the area and on my drives to visit, prepare a meal for her and her roommate Molly, I would pass those awkwardly posed, 11-foot tall copper frogs on each side of the bridge. On a local history/ human-interest piece by the NBC local channel 30 news, they interviewed the Willimantic town historian who shared how the town gained and paid homage to such interesting-looking creatures.
The full story can be found in “The Battle of the Frogs at Windham 1758,” It is even listed in the Library of Congress. Local folks know this as the famous Windham Frog Fight. On a night in June 1754 many of the inhabitants of Connecticut were afraid because of the fact that skirmishes could breakout any time—especially because they acquired Indigenous lands that were not originally their own. In addition, there was the French and Indian War also known as the Seven Years War, which had started approximately one month earlier. This was a war between Great Britain, the North American colonies and former loyal citizens of Great Britain and France. It is unnecessary to explain further their fears. On that fateful night screeches, screams and other indescribable sounds filled the air. Connecticut History.org says that “diarists, local historians and storytellers thought they heard their names” being screamed—loudly and repeatedly coming from the bottom of the hill, near the east side of town. Some men went to investigate and when they too heard those sounds, they fired their guns. When morning came, they found the answers to all of those sounds. The area at the bottom of the hill was littered with the bloody, slain remains of hundreds of bullfrogs! It sounds amusingly comical. However, it was a harrowing and true experience!
The story has continued for years, a local tale tied accurately to historic happenings during that time. The frogs and the generations of frogs before them remain on Willimantic’s Lilly Pad of celebrated true stories. In doing research I discovered the reason for their odd-looking chairs! When building the bridge, they also honored the city’s ties to textile and thread manufacturing and designed the frogs to rest playfully on spools. There are great pieces of history found in oral traditions, folktale and local lore.
