In our Living section in 2019, we told you stories about a shoreline couple that hit the big time on HGTV, a recipe for coeur à la creme, why you should rethink leaves, and why some area teens had to work harder than ever to help save lives at Hammonasset Beach State Park.

Those were among our most popular stories online this past year, along with several others that told stories about our neighbors and friends here along the shoreline and in the Connecticut River valley. Rereading them, it made me think about how lucky I am to live here with these people.

If you have a great story about someone or something and you think we should tell that story to our other readers, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com, or drop me a letter at Pem McNerney, Living Editor, Shore Publishing, 724 Boston Post Road, #202, Madison, CT 06443.

In case you missed some of our top stories, here you go.

• Shoreline Couple Hits the Big Time on HGTV

Travis Gulick and his wife Felicia were approached by a producer several years ago to do a pilot for a HGTV show called Former Glory. Restoring homes to their former glory is exactly what they love to do. To add to the excitement, filming on the pilot wrapped up when Felicia was eight months pregnant. Jackson, their son, arrived in time for the airing of the pilot in February. From the story: “They really wanted to highlight our knowledge, and that we knew what made the history of the house special, and what made it authentic,” Felicia says. “We know what the history of the house is and some things we are just not going to take away. We’re going to incorporate it into the design. Everybody wins that way, and future generations get to enjoy the history as well. Things don’t go away just because they are out of fashion this decade.”

• When You Don’t Have a Coeur, You Can Still Have la Creme

Coeur à la creme is a delicious dessert made from cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest, and topped with a raspberry sauce. It’s a perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day, or any holiday that calls for something delicious in a cheerful red. But what happens if you don’t have the right equipment. Home cook Deb Rigney of Madison solved that problem. We also tell you where to go, if you do want to do it in the traditional way.

• Turning a New Leaf: Rethinking Leaves

This is one of several articles we ran by our gardening columnist Kathy Connolly, who lives in Old Saybrook. In this one, she explained how many people have changed their landscape practices over the years, in this case, their relationship to the leaves that fall in their yards. While it’s long been a practice for some to adhere to a neat and tidy approach to getting every last leaf off of their lawn, Connnolly points out that fallen leaves and leaf litter can actually be beneficial to fireflies, bees, butterflies, and moths. From the story: “Bottom line: When we leave even some of our leaves on-site, we support insect species, improve soil, reduce trips to the leaf dump, and reduce pressure on public waste disposal systems. Depending on how the leaves are managed, we may even reduce the use of gas-powered equipment, including the dreaded high-decibel leaf-blower. Like the journey of a thousand miles, perhaps now is the time to consider a journey to a new relationship with the gift of leaves. Begin with the first leaf.”

• Saving Lives—Just Another Day at the Beach for Hammo Lifeguards

A group of teens and young adults are charged with keeping millions of visitors safe each year at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Fortunately for those visitors, the lifeguard team at Hammo has been beefed up to 29 from 10 several seasons ago. And those lifeguards are trained and drilled until their reaction to an event is swift and effective. That was a particularly good thing this year, when incidents at all states parks rose exponentially. From the story: “If you ask [the lifeguards] about the saves, they’ll talk about it with accounts that are concise and to the point, typical of the ‘I-was-just-doing-my-job’ mentality characteristic of many first responders. It’s fair to say, however, that their colleagues and their supervisors could not be more proud of their work, and the broken hearts averted had those incidents gone in the other direction.”

• From Baked Goods to Broadway Productions: Shoreline Trio Tackles One of the Hottest Plays of the Season

Greg Nobile and Jana Shea of Branford, along with Carly Callahan of Madison, teamed up to produce one of the hottest and most controversial plays on Broadway this season. While the subject matter of Slave Play—racism, sexuality, psychology, black feminist and queer theory, and the trauma left in the wake of this country’s shameful history of slavery and colonialism—left some playgoers upset and confused, it was also identified as must-see theater and among the season’s bests by many critics, including The New York Times’sBen Brantley (“a barrier busting Broadway debut”) and Jesse Green (“If it weren’t so perverse, it wouldn’t be true.”). From the story: “Sure, it’s also risky. But the Seaview Productions trio is unanimous in this, that producing Slave Play, and plays like it, is a risk worth taking. ‘Nobody doesn’t have an opinion on it,’ Nobile says of the play, eyeing another blueberry muffin. ‘And it’s not our goal to have everyone like it. It’s our goal to have a conversation.’”

• ‘You Have at Your Power the Ability to Do Anything’

The shoreline is blessed to have so many amazing authors and artists living here. And among those are author Lary Bloom, who this past year published the definitive biography of Sol LeWitt, a giant in the world of conceptual art and minimalism. While conceptual art and minimalism can be hard for some to understand, Bloom did a masterful job of telling LeWitt’s story in a way that made it relevant, fascinating, and accessible. From the story: “LeWitt’s life story, Bloom tell us, is one that anyone can learn from, not only creative types working full time on their art, but also the rest of us trying to make a mark in our day jobs. Bloom tells us ‘he serves as an example for anyone who wants to create.’ LeWitt’s life story is ‘a call to think freely and honestly every day’ and that ‘it should interest anyone who wants to succeed but is afraid of breaking the rules.’ It is, Bloom tells us, a story of ‘obstacle and triumph’ about an artist who ‘led a purposeful and generous life.’”

• The Secret to Arnold’s Success

In an era of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and movie attendance levels at their lowest point since 1995, how does Arnold Gorlick do it? The longtime owner of Madison Art Cinemas presides over a theater that is packed most weekends and busy during the week. He draws customers from a 35-mile radius and further. He’s managed more than once this past year to significantly outgross the larger megaplexes in the state when offering the same movie. How does he do it? From the story: “As we talk, he continues to juggle our conversation with ticket sales, custom-brewed coffee, and popcorn, along with more phone calls. He asks questions, laughs often, and listens to both his customers and those he does business with. He knows we’re living in an era marked by increasing depersonalization. To counter that, he’s the master of the personal touch, and making people feel welcome. Also, the man knows how to tell a good story.”

• Down on the Farm in Fishers Island Sound

Kathy Connolly also told us the story of a Branford ocean farmer Bren Smith, who has garnered national acclaim for his innovative restorative 3-D ocean farming practices. A former commercial fisherman, Smith employs a scaffolding system that includes anchors, rope, and kelp growing vertically on lines next to scallops and mussels, with oysters in cages hanging off of that, and clams in the mud. From the story: “Greenwave’s goal is to help feed local communities while also protecting the planet. Uses for the kelp include food and fertilizer. ‘Food is most obvious as you can use kelp whole,’ says Krizl Soriano, a Greenwave spokeswoman. After it is grown, properly harvested, and cleaned, it can be turned into a variety of products. Some local restaurateurs—including ROÌA Restaurant and 116 Crown, both in New Haven—have used kelp in a range of dishes including kelp pesto, kelp noodles, kelp dashi, kelp salad, and kelp butter.”

• How to Build an Up-and-Coming Community Theater

The benefits of having a robust theater and music department in your local high school should be obvious. If it’s good for the kids, then it’s good. But there can be other benefits to the community as well, such as when someone like Colin Sheehan, a product of the Branford school system, comes back to town to help start up the Shoreline Theatre Company (STC). This year Sheehan and his team offered the smash hit The Producers, the musical’s only performance in Connecticut this year. From the article: “Sheehan, a native of Branford and BHS musical alumnus, planted the seeds for STC in his teens when he founded MusiKids CT, Inc., which gave away more than $25,000 over seven years to a variety of great causes including scholarships for instruments, lessons, and band camps. He went on to become a television actor who worked on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, and, as an adult, he has produced, directed, hosted, and performed both in the tri-state area and abroad. Never losing touch with his hometown, he has raised funds and awareness for many Branford organizations, as well as Rosie’s Theater Kids, Pulse of Orlando, Make-A-Wish, and many more. For years, Colin worked for Seaview Productions, a progressive production company based in Branford that has a remarkably long line of notable and high-profile successes to its name. He became artistic director of Tabor Arts Branford and eventually founded STC.”

Most-Read Columns of 2019

Here are our most-read columns this past year.

Spring Forward, Juliana Gribbins

It’s Time to Get Back to Real Food, Lee White

Nibbles: How to Make Bread Pudding from Leftover Panettone, Lee White

Game of Scones: Part II, Juliana Gribbins

Of All The Yummy Mac and Cheese Recipes, This is the Yummiest, Lee White

Nibbles: Better Than Bouillon, Lee White

Wendy’s and Wine, Juliana Gribbins

Post-Holidaze, Juliana Gribbins

Recipes Inspired by a Seder, Lee White

Nibbles: Café Routier, Lee White

Mommie Dearest the Car, Lee White

One Amazing Sandwich, Lee White

Nibbles: Paying it Forward, Lee White

A Recipe Good Enough to Double for Friends, and Leftovers for Yourself, Lee White

Another Great Way to Use Local Lettuce, Lee White

Nibbles: Easter and Passover Candy, Lee White

Nibbles: Healthy-ish Coke, Lee White

Game of Scones: Part I, Lee White

Nibbles: Little Pub, Lee White

Hunkering Down with Some Comfort Food, Lee White