A Relaxing Afternoon

Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Newgate Coon Club. It turned out to be a beautiful day & we decided we needed to be out enjoying it! The club is in Norfolk, CT. about 1/2 hr. away from where we live. The photo shows part of the wonderful wrap around porch. Another view of the porch. There used to be mature hydrangeas all along this side, but in the bad ice storm we had last Dec. they were all destroyed. We had our wedding reception here & it was beautiful with the hydrangeas all in bloom!

The Coon Club is the oldest continually operating sporting club in the USA. They were founded in 1897. Not sure how the name came about, but they haven't had organized coon hunts in 20 years. There used to be one member that would arrange ladies coon hunts--I don't think so!( Did you know you hunt for raccoons at night?!)

The club has 105 members and almost always a waitng list. So much hunting land is being lost to development, so there are members from all over CT and a few from MA. It encompasses over 600 acres of land , 2 fishing ponds,camping, pistol & rifle range, sporting clays area and a 15 room house.

One of the fireplaces--there are 3 on the 1st floor. The 1st floor is used for meetings & functions--showers ,weddings etc. Upstairs there is a card room , bathrooms and several

The deer mount is hanging in the barroom, along with a bear mount & several fish. Members can go up Wed-Sun. and have a meal, a drink or just see who else is around. Her's an aeriel view of the clubhouse--there is also a 5 room apartment for the couple that lives on the premises.

Here's Ed, working hard at the bar--he's a great storyteller & loves his captive audience!
After lunch and a drink, we went down to one of the ponds to bask in the sun!