Page 66 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 52 Winter 2025

which he sold at an art exhibit I don’t want to forget about the
called Seniors Have Dreams Too. (I “The Bards” a gentlemen’s group
own three.) He designed Christmas Al assembled from SMwP mem-
trees from Christmas cards. (I have bers. These poets met at Al’s home
three of them also). He drew and for discussions on beliefs of famous
created sculptures which he dis- philosophers, poetic analysis, and/
played in his rec room and home or worldly topics. No subject was
as well as exhibited at Gallery 53 overlooked.
in Meriden. His quirky sense of
humor often showed up in poems Although Al never considered him-
and art. A sample of his sculpted self a poet, he wrote prolifically.
art with poems is portrayed in this
article. Here are samples of his early work
(2009):
Al was a pianist, a flutist, and a
family man. He played the piano “Common Things I Treasure In
at SMwP programs and the flute at Life”
the United Methodist Church ser- Bicycling ‘n birdsong
vices. Al camped with wife, Nancy, Cape Cod, hot coffee ‘n corn on
and his daughters on summer va- the cob …
cations. He sledded downhill with Musselman Quiet nights ‘n Nancy
his children in winter and, in the Karen, Dave, Brenda, Jeff ‘n kids
fall, made leaf piles and jumped Libraries ‘n lightening bugs …
into them with his daughters and, I also learned Al could type 120
years later, with his grandson. words per minute! Al’s style of humor (2011):
“Schings To Do On A Rainy Day”
Al loved the opportunity to act. He Schmooze but don’t shemozzle ...
performed with the Castle Craig waltz to a schmaltz …
players in Meriden and with the Love someone…who’s not a
musical group of Wallingford’s First schnook …
Congregational Church led by Jean-
nette Gross. He played the Wizard Al moved by nature (2011)
in their production of “The Wizard Early Morning Gusts
of Oz,” a butler in the “Sound of coldly slap my face
Music” and a rabbi in “Fiddler on while my walking stick strikes the
the Roof.” After he turned SMwP road
over to me, he didn’t stop at eighty like a metronome
years young. In May of 2014, Al pro- and the honey on the horizon
posed to Beth Devlin on establish- fires my imagination
ing a WPL drama group. The birth
Al as a rabbi in "Fiddler on the Roof" of The Wallingford Play Readers His steadfast conviction (2014):
happened June 2014. Jane Fisher Peace
Al was no slouch to physical activ- was one of the initial participants. Striving for peace
ity. In speaking to Al’s daughter, In this project he provided several Is like carrying a bag of cement
Karen Kremzar, she confirms, “Dad plays selected by the group’s mem- Up a mountain at midnight
was an avid exerciser.” Biking was a bers.
favorite, participating in bike tours Al encouraged us to test ourselves
and races. Karen states that her At each meeting some “play read- in the reading aloud and writing
Dad was goal-oriented as exempli- ers” chose parts to portray in one process. He inspired us to exper-
fied by the charting and tracking selected play while others became iment, “get out of the box,” with
of his mileage. He earned a bik- the audience, then, actors and au- form poems: pantoum, etheree,
er’s shirt of distinction for cycling dience reversed roles for another diamante, sonnet, ode, found
15,000 miles. He completed 500 play. Members selected Shake- poem, triolet. He encouraged us
miles in his 86th year. He also speare, Eugene O’Neil, Thornton without us feeling we were being
hiked ALL trails at Sleeping Giant Wilder and other playwrights. His pushed to meet his expectations.
Park multiple times earning Giant group even staged a public perfor- His “At Home Exercise,” or prompt,
Master status. In addition to that, mance in the Community Room at became a regular part of the meet-
he gardened and tended to his me- WPL. ing but always optional. He repeat-
ticulous yard. edly told us our poetic challenges

66 Wallingford Magazine - Winter 2025