Around Town

VIDEO, PHOTOS: Hundreds Gather in Downtown New Canaan for Re-Routed Memorial Day Parade, Annual Ceremony

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Memorial Day Parade 2016
Uploaded by Michael Dinan on 2016-05-30. A person’s sense of accountability defines him or her, hard work and mastery of complex things is a virtue, be a professional and war is not glorious, though those who fight beside one another are—these are the four great lessons that William Ruoff carries with him on knowing, observing and serving with U.S. Armed Forces veterans. As a midshipman first-class in his senior year at the U.S. Naval Academy, the New Canaan resident recalled Monday, he applied for consideration to make submarines his warfare specialty following graduation. “To enter that specialty, I first had to interview with Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and father of the modern nuclear submarine force,” Ruoff told the crowd of locals gathered outside the northern entrance to Town Hall following an abbreviated Memorial Day Parade downtown.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The alpacas of Crajah House on Oenoke Ridge Road on Tuesday were shorn of their thick winter coats—see photos above. Their owner, New Canaan’s Debbie McQuilkin, tells us the process for each “blanket” includes picking out sticks, hay and straw, then going for the secondary areas of the neck, backside and legs. The material is sent to a fiber mill where it’s washed, cleaned again and dyed or made into a yarn that McQuilkin herself chooses—fine knitting or heavy weaving for rugs. It also can be sent back for hand spinning or felting, McQuilkin said. The alpaca fleece is hypoallergenic and contains no lanolin, and it’s naturally fire-resistant.