Dan Antion

Europe, Goshen & Subcontinent Doors

Harwinton Congregational Church

Well, not really, but our daughter suggested the title and since she was kind enough to drive me on a frenetic doorscurrsion, I thought I’d go with it. The music Faith picked for the drive was a collection of songs that were featured in the movie “The Blues Brothers.” Notice, I didn’t say the sound track from the movie. That’s because not all of the music in the movie is on the sound track. Faith assembled her “definitive Blues Brothers playlist” as a labor of love. If you recall the movie, Cab Calloway introduces the Blues Brothers (at the Palace Hotel Ballroom) as having “returned from a three-year tour of Europe, Scandinavia and the Subcontinent.”

This past Monday was Labor Day here in the US, a.k.a. summer’s final fling. Here in the northeast, country fairs are common on that weekend, and Faith wanted to go to the Goshen Fair in Goshen, Connecticut. She also offered to drive and told me that there was at least one door that I would want to get a picture of. Faith is a sensible driver. Where I might pull off to the side of the road and snap a few pictures, she works to find a parking lot from which I can begin a journey on foot.

Goshen is tucked away near the northwest corner of our small state. The area remains largely rural and agricultural. The drive to Goshen from Faith’s place goes through a couple small towns, featuring some quintessential New England architecture. We stopped multiple times, and I collected more than enough doors for a couple of Thursdays.

Today’s pictures are from the fair itself, and from the section of Rt-4 that is closest to Goshen. Next week, I’ll bring us closer to home, but I’m not sure I’ll make it all the way, some of these doors may spill over into the following week.

Speaking of a labor of love, Thursday Doors is just such a thing. Presented each week by our benevolent host, Norm Frampton, we actually have seen doors from Europe, Scandinavia and the Subcontinent, as well as the US Canada and Mexico. I’m not sure how many continents have been represented on Thursday Doors, but this blogfest has certainly earned the “international” moniker. If you have a door to share, you should visit Norm at his door gallery in Canada. Check out Norm’s doors and check in with the blue frog. Add your doors and / or click on a few dozen links to doors around the planet.

The main bark at the Goshen Fair. This is where the farm antiques museum is located.
Lot’s of doors here.
Very important door in the foreground and nicer looking door in the back.
Main entrance to the museum barn and the pottery house.
The museum barn at the fair.
Back door to the museum barn at the Goshen Fair.
The Goshen Fair has been held at this location, on Labor Day weekend, for just over 100 years!
Inside the farm museum
These are portable chicken coops (and there’s a door at the top of the ladder). Don’t tell the Editor.
One of the buildings at the Goshen Fair
One of the larger buildings at the Goshen Fair.
It’s good that there’s a door on that loader, because I was going to include this anyway.
Modern church but I do like blue doors.
Harwinton Congregational church, from the parking lot.
Nothing remarkable, but it’s blue and there are a lot of doors.
This is a real estate office, but the style fits the rural setting.
Side door and handicapped-person access at Harwinton Congregational Church.
Harwinton Congregational Church
Back door Harwinton Congregational Church

64 comments

  2. You hit pay-dirt on this trip, Dan. Doors, doors, and more doors! I like the red and white real estate office. Those look like big barn doors flanking each side of the building. I think I could happily work in an office with a barn door 🙂

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    • Thanks Judy. Sorry to gang up, but if I didn’t, I’d be dragging you guys along Rt-4 until November. I’ve been through this area many times, but this is the first time since I joined Norm’s weekly challenge. Plus, Faith had scoped it out ahead of time as she’s been driving through this area to get to some hiking trails. So many doors!

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  8. So many doors, so little time! I laughed out loud at the door above the ladder in the chicken coop. Real Estate building is awesome. I notice the ‘very important door’ is well trafficked! Lol.

    Beautiful doors on Harwinton Congregational Church, but I also like the entire facade, right up to that clock. There’s enough barn doors here to keep me happy for a long time! Hope Faith enables you again. 😄 The whole place looks beautifully maintained.
    🔹 Ginger 🔹

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    • Thanks Ginger. Faith gets the door-geek-enabler-of-the-year award. There are probably two more posts to come from the pictures from that day. By the time we were done, she had mastered the art of turning around and finding a safe place to park.I knew she was committed when she parallel parked in the final stop of the day.

      The congregational church is amazing. I was impressed by how much texture can be seen, even though the entire building is bright white. I know they aren’t trying to call attention to the building, but it is a beautiful structure.

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  10. Fun post Dan. Consider this another vote for that real-estate office with the barn door look.
    I’ve always been fascinated by your county and state fairs. So much so that we may have to go down one labor day weekend to visit a typical New England fair. We don’t do many those around here and certainly not with as much flair as you guys do.
    To date the only continent we have not had a Thursday Doors contribution from is Antarctica. So if you’re planning any upcoming vacation time and would like to make Thursday Doors history… :-D

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    • There are so many fairs in August and September, Norm, it would be hard to direct you to one. Of course, the granddaddy of all fairs would be the Big-E which starts next weekend and runs through September 30.

      When I was working a lot with Microsoft SharePoint, they were holding “SharePoint Saturday” events all over the world. They finally did manage to hold on in Antarctica, but I couldn’t make it.

      Faith will be happy to see how many people like the real estate office. I pied that at the last minute, and she swerved into that parking lot pretty quickly. I think she might have been wondering about her dad at that point.

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  11. I had to laugh at “but it’s blue” in the caption of that one photo. My husband always complains that when I see a suspicious (or at least, unrecognized) car and he doesn’t, he’ll ask me what kind of car it was, and I’ll say, “I don’t know, but it was blue.” It also makes car shopping fun because I don’t much care what kind of vehicle I get as long as it’s a color I can live with, in a price I can afford.

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  12. This is a totally cool selection of doors, and it sounds like you’ve got a totally cool daughter. Put together her own Blues Brothers collection AND offers to drive you around? Bonus points.

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  17. Hi Dan – you had sunny weather … ours was cloudy. Lovely photos though and tons of doors … and it looks like a really well maintained little town – beautiful place … lovely and what a fun outing – good for Faith at finding a parking area … so you could have a look around – cheers Hilary

    PS On looking up Goshen – I found there was a defunct ‘state of Goshen’ in South Africa … what we find.

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    • Ha ha, it usually seems to be the case that every town in New England is named after a town in England (the place they were trying to get away from) but I didn’t know about Goshen in South Africa.

      That part of Connecticut really is beautiful.

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  22. Okay, so the Harwinton Church — OH MY WORD, I love that look! All that white! Be still my heart! ns that clock? Oh that is just somethin else. Stunning! Also like the side/handicap access door :)
    And real estate doors for the win! That’s just charming. You know how I love me a big red barn.
    Also, we have a Goshen in Indiana, cause if it’s a place from the Bible, we got one ;)

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  24. Hey Dan! that real estate office looks so much like Soergel Orchards in Wexford, PA. Many happy memories here with my kids when they were young. Do you know it? Although there is not a full building view on the site that I can see, here is a link for you to visit, perhaps it will jog your memory…https://www.soergels.com/history/
    Enjoyed your Thursday Doors!

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  27. Some great pictures and lovely information put together. I love such fairs you know like farmers market sorts. As always you did a fine job here.

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