Martin Luther King in Connecticut

January 16       7 PM – 8 PM 

Did you realize that Martin Luther King Jr. worked at the Culbro Tobacco Farm in Simsbury as a teenager during the summers of 1944 and 1947?   Honor Martin Luther King Day by learning more about his Connecticut experiences and how they shaped him as an adult.  Windsor Historical Society invites you to join us on January 16, from 7 PM to 8 PM for a special showing of Martin Luther King in Connecticut, a film produced by Simsbury High School students last year.

Martin Luther King traveled to Connecticut from his home in Atlanta, Georgia.  Already a student at Morehouse College at the age of fifteen, King traveled to Connecticut along with hundreds of fellow college students during World War II to fill tobacco jobs left by men who had gone off to war.  While in Simsbury, King and  fellow Morehouse students worked hard for Culbro, played baseball against local teams, attended church, got milkshakes at the local drug store, went to the movies, and sat where they pleased.  Simsbury High School students used five of King’s letters sent  home from Simsbury, a speech he gave at the Bushnell in 1959, and oral history interviews to recreate Martin Luther King Jr.’s experiences in Simsbury as a young man. 

See the film and hear from students Nichole Byer, Billy Cahill, Monika Dragulski, Margaret House, Margaret and Taylor Willerup, and their teacher Rich Curtiss about how they produced the film and what they learned.   If you worked tobacco in the 1940’s and 1950’s, bring memories and artifacts to share for the evening. Cost for the program is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and $4 for Windsor Historical Society members.  Refreshments will be served, and the Society’s new Windsor, Bridging Centuries, Bridging Cultures exhibition, which features a section on growing tobacco, will be open for viewing.  For more information, contact the Society at 860/688-3813.