Talk about Derby's 'darker side' enlightens

When Shelton resident Robert Novak talks local history, the locals love it.

Earlier this week his presentation drew a crowd of about 45 to Derby Public Library. My daughter and I were part of the audience.

Allegra and I are both local history buffs. She has worked as a docent in the Derby Historical Society's "A Day in 1762" program at the David Humphreys House in Ansonia, and I enjoy learning about what and who were here before us.

Novak is Shelton's municipal historian and the former executive director of the Derby Historical Society. 
His nearly 90-minute presentation was filled with facts about the trials and tribulations faced by Derby residents over a 300-year span, ending with the Flood of 1955. 

Novak describes clashes between Native Americans and the Colonists.

The crowd gathered at the library was most attentive, as were we. As Library director Cathy Williams said afterward, Novak "outdid himself" in the copious amount of information he covered.

I'm looking forward to the next installment.