When the people of Killingworth and the shoreline come out to celebrate at the Killingworth Town Parade and Picnic on Saturday, Sept. 2, it will be the satisfying culmination of two years of work by the 350th Anniversary Commemorative Committee.

It’s a birthday party that has been 350 years in the making, and Vice-Chairman Charles ‘Charlie’ Smith has been in on the planning from the beginning.

“Two years ago, our first selectwoman, Cathy Iino, came to a bunch of us and asked for ideas to celebrate the 350th anniversary. We created the committee of people with various interests and shared ideas for a town celebration,” he says.

Iino believes she chose wisely and knew he was the right man for the job.

“We are all running ragged trying to keep up with Charlie. He makes sure things get done in Killingworth,” she says.

“Now it’s the 350th anniversary parade and picnic, which really will be the biggest events in the town’s history,” Iino continues, “but over the years, he has been instrumental in building our ambulance association, our library, the Lions Club—so many town projects can trace their success to Charlie’s strenuous marshaling of the citizens of Killingworth to give as much as he does. He is just indispensable, and we are so grateful for his efforts.”

From that initial planning meeting grew an impressive year-long program to recognize their hometown, and the revival of the annual Killingworth Town Picnic was top of the list.

“The annual Town Picnic was created after the 300th anniversary. Every year, half the population of the town came out and it was a great gathering of friends, family, neighbors, and townspeople,” Charlie says. “It was originally organized by the historical society and when it got too big, the Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce took over, with a local group running it after that. It was a great event but a huge undertaking and it lost steam.”

It’s been 15 years since the last Town Picnic and the steam is back.

“The Town Parade and Picnic has all the energy and enthusiasm of the event when it first started 50 years ago—100 percent,” Charlie says.

“This Town Parade will be so much bigger and better, and there really is something for everyone. There are lots of local groups involved and participants from all over the shoreline. You’ll see a 1923 vintage fire truck, kids in a hay wagon pulled by an antique tractor, a 1928 Chrysler Imperial with Killingworth’s Top Dog, and a miniature horse pulling a cart.”

The parade path, along Route 81 from Stevens Road to Rocco Field, is lined with American flags. All parade floats will continue to Parmelee Farm for the judging of the best float contest.

“There will be lots of floats including those by the Lion’s Club, the [Killingworth] Women’s Organization, the Congregational Church. One float is a giant cake for Killingworth’s birthday and the Emmanuel Church has a float depicting the history of the church,” Charlie says.

Many townspeople have fond memories of past Killingworth picnics. Charlie recalls the friendly rivalry of the annual softball game between the Lions Club and the Fire Department—and time hasn’t erased the scoreboard for the Lions Club third baseman.

“The Fire Department usually took home the beer can trophy. Definitely the Fire Department,” he says.

“The original event had a great camaraderie, a great cohesiveness of people time and talents. The 350th Anniversary Parade and Picnic will be just like that.”

In 2017, the program of anniversary events included historical displays and talks at Killingworth Library, the Historical Trivia Scavenger Hunt and farmer’s markets at Parmelee Farm. Last week, there was a talk on Clark Coe’s Killingworth Images, and everyone’s invited to a lecture series on Native American Life in Connecticut in September, sponsored by the Killingworth Foundation.

Local businesses and organizations supported the production of a high-quality publication titled Celebrating 350 Years. Featuring a collection of historical vignettes, many by Municipal Historian Thomas L. Lenz, the keepsake was mailed to every home in town.

The Town Picnic will have an ideal location at Parmelee Farm, the home of the Killingworth Historical Society, and a picturesque natural landscape of ponds, hiking trails, and green pastures.

“The farm is just beautiful and it’s really a credit to the vision of the townspeople who wanted to preserve this special environment,” Charlie says.

More than a Birthday

Serving on the Killingworth 350th Anniversary Commemorative Committee is just the most recent role for a man who has been one of the town’s hardest working volunteers for almost five decades.

Charlie has a lengthy association with the Killingworth Ambulance Association as a founding member and its first president. He is a founding member of the Killingworth Chamber of Commerce and served as vice president.

A charter member of the Killingworth Lions Club in 1970, Charlie has put his hand up for almost every executive role since including serving as the club’s third president and a 40-year board member. Among the list of local initiatives he help found are Kid’s Night Out at Haddam Killingworth Middle School, vision screening at local elementary schools, Project Graduation, and scholarship programs.

“Since 1970, our Lion’s Club has raised more than $750,000 for town and Lion’s charities. It’s the centennial year of the creation of the Lions organization and locally our club does a lot. Every year we have a seniors’ dinner; we donated $50,000 for renovate the pavilion at Parmelee Farm; we have a $7,000 camera to do vision screening of every student at the elementary school.”

A dedicated member of the Congregational Church in Killingworth, Charlie was inspired to take up another great volunteer role a bit further afield.

“I was at a Thanksgiving service at church and in his sermon, the deacon spoke about giving back to the community. That very morning I had been asked to serve on the board of the Community Soup Kitchen in New Haven and it just seemed like it was the right thing to do,” he says.

Charlie has now served 30 years as a board member of the kitchen, and the walkathon he initiated and chaired for 12 years generated $200,000. In the late ‘90s, his generous contribution was acknowledged with the Community Soup Kitchen’s volunteer award.

A local history buff, Charlie is the former vice president and board member of the Killingworth Historical Society. He also helped drive the Killingworth Library’s $1.1 million building campaign and believes the library is an important community space for the town.

“We don’t have a green or a town center here in Killingworth, so our library has become a lot of things—a place to meet with others, get books and computer knowledge, and share ideas.”

Charlie was named Killingworth’s Citizen of the Year in 2002 and was inducted into the Haddam-Killingworth Hall of Fame in 2015. In the mid-’90s, he was given the secretary of the state’s volunteer award.

“Giving back to the community is something that you may not always think about, but everything we benefit from today is thanks to the people who contributed in the past. All the people who serve on the Chamber of Commerce support local business, the work of the Board of Education supports the schools—so many people in one town give freely of their time and energy to make a difference.”

As is common with people who give so much to their community, Charlie won’t hear of any praise, instead passing the credit forward to his friends, family, and peers in Killingworth.

“I think it’s appropriate at the end of this historic year to thank all the townspeople and the businesses, clubs, churches for their contribution to making this anniversary special. We had great support from the community when they voted to give money in the budget for the event and our fundraising exceeded our goal. It’s been a great team effort and an unbelievable experience.”

Born in New Haven, Charlie grew up in Hamden and graduated from The Gunnery before earning a B.A. in sociology at Franklin and Marshall. He served the U.S. Air Force, in charge of a dispensary at an air station in Italy and was discharged as captain. A 39-year career as an insurance consultant followed, with Charlie retiring as vice president at Thompson and Peck Insurance in 1967.

Like the forefathers of Killingworth, Charlie and his wife, Sandy, chose to settle in the town for practical reasons.

“We were living in an apartment in Wallingford and we wanted to start a family. We looked at homes in the shoreline towns and well, Killingworth was the only place we could afford a house.”

It was a fortuitous choice and the Smiths happily raised two children in the town, with Kurt and Christi attending Haddam-Killingworth schools, and they now enjoy spending time with their three grandsons who live in Massachusetts. Charlie’s heart is firmly at home in Killingworth.

“Killingworth is a town made up of a lot of different people who somehow all found paradise here in our 37 square miles. Many of the town’s residents have restored older houses and invested a great deal of time and effort, so the townspeople appreciate that we need to preserve the history and heritage given to us by our forefathers, for those that come after us. That’s really the theme of our town.”

It’s a theme that’s served Killingworth well for 350 years—and it’s certainly a very special reason to celebrate.

The Killingworth 350th Anniversary Town Parade and Picnic is on Saturday, Sept. 2 with the parade along Route 81 starting at 10 a.m. and the picnic at Parmelee Farm from noon to 9 p.m. This is a free event and all are welcome. For more information, visit townofkillingworth.com.

The Native American Life in Connecticut lecture series is on 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Sept. 13 and 27, and Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Killingworth Firehouse, 333 Route 81, presented by Lucianne Levin PhD., Institute for American Indian Studies. The events are free; registration is required. For more information, call 860-663-2000 or visit www.killingworthlibrary.org.