Back in the 50’s and 60’s, the hardscrabble town of Holyoke, Massachusetts, like many other communities, turned its back on the Connecticut River. Kids learned the river was a smelly, dirty, dangerous place…a trash-filled sewer best avoided. Among these kids was a lad named Vincent Hogan. He was one of eight siblings in a sprawling, warm, Irish family. His dad often worked 2 or 3 jobs to keep the brood in shoes and Sloppy Joes. In his first decade, Vincent, along with his peers, gave the river little thought and a wide berth.

 

That attitude changed dramatically in 1969. Dad got a bit ahead of the game and scraped together the wherewithal to purchase a little piece of land on the riverbank upstream in Hatfield. For 10-year-old Vincent, that purchase resulted in a wondrous epiphany. The Connecticut River became the source of adventure, exploration, education and just plain good old-fashioned fun. Days were spent in pursuit of sturgeon, eels, trout and catfish. Nights by the campfire were filled with the sounds of the wind, crickets and owls. The boy developed a life-long love of the river, returning whenever possible to “The Land” as it was known in the family, even as life took him far from Massachusetts.

 

Vincent married young and sired a slightly smaller, but still sizable family of his own. He lucked upon a summer job in a film laboratory that set him on his career path. He became a wizard of the photochemistry of film processing. His post-production and technical skills kept him in high demand in a very competitive industry. He built film labs in several states throughout the South. He also became involved in the post-production side of movie-making, working on several major projects including, “Twelve Years A Slave.” But whenever he could get away, he would bring his wife and kids back to “The Land” to renew his bond with the river and to inculcate a love for water and place in his family.

 

The 21st century found him in California, just as the world of cinema underwent a sea-change in technology from film to digital. His foresight and technical expertise placed him among the pioneers exploring new dimensions in the transformation of images. Even though Vincent was geographically far from the Connecticut River, it loomed large in his heart and mind. He began to formulate the idea of producing a work that would fulfill a lifelong dream. It would portray the river and its watershed and highlight the people who love it, work on it, and work for it. When he sold his California business, he and his wife, Tracy, decided that it was time to fulfill that dream and the “The Connecticut: Our River” project began. The goal is to create a quality production that features the past, present and, importantly, the future of the river. It will serve as an educational tool and an inspiration and introduction to the river.

 

Vincent and Tracy now lug heavy camera equipment up steep terrain to capture the very beginnings of the river on the Canada/US border. They fly their drone in search of perfect shots not accessible by land. They set up their portable studios in homes, offices, restaurants and classrooms from Vermont and New Hampshire down through Massachusetts and Connecticut. They doggedly interview a vast array of river folk. They chat with historians, teachers, antiquarians, writers, environmentalists, Indigenous people, ferry boat captains, magazine editors, curmudgeons, museum directors, fisher folk, scientists, and more. They are accreting a vast collection of tales, truths and insights about the Connecticut River that will provide an intergenerational portrait of the river and its people. 

 

It is a long-term project. A year of filming was delayed by COVID-19, as the quality of interviews over Zoom didn’t meet Vincent’s high standards. The target date for completion is 2023. The finished product will premier in big screen showings in all the New England states touched by the Connecticut River. It will then be distributed to schools and colleges throughout the watershed in hopes of educating young people about their river and motivating them to become active advocates for its future. Museums, environmental organizations, historical societies and community groups will also show the film along with Q+A sessions whenever possible and ultimately, distributed on the internet. 

 

The film will show the beauty of the river from its early gurgles in Canada down to Long Island Sound. It will also highlight some not so beautiful aspects like invasive species, sewage runoff, dams and the river as a dump. The wit and wisdom of interviewees will weave stories of lore, legend, the on-going fight for a healthy Connecticut and a vision of hope for the future. We hope you will enjoy it when it graces a screen near you.

 

Renwick Griswold

Professor Emeritus

University of Hartford

Commodore Connecticut River Drifting Society