Frederic & Howard's Home Life
While Frederic renovated the inside (and occasionally outside) of the house, Howard took care of the property itself. He enjoyed doing yard work and wanted the outdoor space to become a sanctuary for himself and Frederic. Since he had 50 acres to work with, Howard decorated as much of it as he could with topiaries and statuary. He was very purposeful in his placement of seating areas, statuary, and plantings around the property as to give each area its own feel. Of these topiaries, the most famous are the two rabbits that sit side by side in the center of the property. These topiaries evolved over time, depending on how Howard wanted to trim them. They started as cats, but Howard decided to re-trim them into bunnies to add a bit of whimsy to the property. There were also bunny statuaries in the sitting area in the backyard to compliment the bunny topiaries. Howard enjoyed collecting animal figurines and his tastes are reflected in the gardens of the house, most notably with the rabbit topiaries but also with his choice of garden statuary – rabbits, fish, frogs and birds. The rest of the statuary throughout the property tells the story of Frederic and Howard’s love of Greek art and Eastern religion. For example, there are multiple Greek style urns and vases as well as multiple statues of Buddha placed around the backyard.
Topiary and Statuary Photos: This collection of photos was taken by Howard to document his gardens, including flowers and different topiaries and statuaries throughout the grounds. Photos and objects owned by: CT Landmarks.
Other than taking care of their home, Frederic and Howard also had multiple pets to look after over the course of their lives in the house. Frederic took on the responsibility of his mother’s cat, Nero, after she passed away. Once Howard moved into the home they added more cats to their family, including Philip, Little Arthur, and Chop Chop (who had a litter of kittens), and little kitty. Other than cats, the two men also cared for multiple dogs, including German Shepherds, at least two of which were named Hulda. One dog in particular, Miggie the Great Dane, was given to them by a neighbor who was too ill to continue caring for her.
Pet Photos: This collection of photos is of the many pets Frederic and Howard had over the course of their life together. Pictured in order: Hulda, Hulda #2, Miggie, Chop Chop and her kitten, Little Kitty. Photos owned by: CT Landmarks
When the two men would take a night out on the town, they enjoyed going to the theatre. Since the Goodspeed Opera House is so close to their home (only 2.5 miles away), they would spend a great deal of time there. As a thank you for the renovation work Frederic did in the early 1960s (the opera house reopened in 1963), the Goospeed would give Frederic free tickets to shows. They were also friends with a few men who were actors and when they could they would go watch them perform in different shows. Even in the mid-20th century (when Frederic and Howard were living together), theatre and the LGBTQ community went hand in hand. Today, that is still the case. Whether as viewers or performers, many in the LGBTQ community have found a home in the theatre.
If Frederic and Howard really enjoyed a show, they would often go out later and purchase the cast album for that show (similar to people streaming the albums for Dear Evan Hansen or Hamilton today). However, it wasn’t just show-tunes that the men enjoyed listening to. Over the course of their time together, Frederic and Howard listened to many different genres from multiple eras. Frederic was more a fan of classical music like Tchaikovsky and Brahms, or opera, whereas Howard listened to more of the popular music of the time, whether that was Bob Dylan in the 1960’s or ABBA in the 1980’s. There are some records in the collection that appear to be a blending of the two men’s favorites (or possibly Howard trying to get Frederic to listen to popular music), such as different piano/instrumental covers of pop songs. This love of music culminated in a vast record collection, totaling nearly 450 records between the two of them. This record collection is also how they showed their love for one another. For birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays, Frederic and Howard would often buy each other records of their favorite singers/performers as gifts (even before they were living together). On the record sleeves, the two men would write little notes to each other using their initials. For example, they would write ‘From FCP to HAM’ and vice versa.
Record Collection: This is a small sample of the more than 400 records contained in Frederic and Howard’s collection that span multiple eras and genres. Pictured above are Brahms Double Concerto (classical) 1954, Man of La Mancha (Broadway) 1965, and The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (rock) 1967. There is also The Hollyridge Strings Play: Magical Mystery Tour. Objects owned by: CT Landmarks; Photo by: Chelsea Marti