I went to college in the south (Go Heels!) where my friends couldn’t get over the way I pronounced the name of my hometown.  They’d roll their eyes and jut out and lock their jaws and say “Dairy-EHN” in mock imitation of me in a very exaggerated way, as if we residents of Darien have our own, special, affected way of pronouncing the name of our town.

Many people outside of Fairfield County and/or the Northeast pronounce it like “Darion,” with no emphasis on the “en” so that it rhymes with “Marion.”  And there are other Dariens around the country, supposedly all pronounced like Darion (anyone?): in Georgia, IL (named after our town), WI - there’s even a Darien Lake up near Rochester NY. Apparently the issue of the unique pronunciation of our particular Darien is such an issue of interest that there is a whole section dedicated to it on Wikipedia.

So over the years I just kind of bought into the idea that maybe we Darienites were, indeed, a little bit affected and therefore over time had adopted our own way of pronouncing the name: until the other day, when I actually discovered the ANSWER to WHY we call it “Dairy-EN!” Click To Read More of This Post

A very motivated neighbor of mine who obviously wanted to beat the heat by getting an early start on his yard work revved up his (very loud) lawnmower at 7:15am on a recent Sunday morning, which also happened to be one of those once-in-a-million mornings when the baby had fallen back to sleep and my husband and I were looking forward to catching a few extra zzzz’s ourselves …. but of course, my neighbor couldn’t have known that.  My husband sleepily grumbled that there is actually a noise ordinance that makes noise before a certain hour of the morning on Sundays in Darien illegal … and, naturally, that made me curious.  Was that actually true, or just wishful thinking?

I discovered a link to an official Code of Ordinances for Darien, CT document online, which is easily navigate-able and where you can find information on everything from rules about recycling to how the Town Council should be operated … But for those of you who are curious about the answer to the noise question, read on for the quick answer. Click To Read More of This Post

If it’s never happened to you before, I hope it will soon: you’re going about your busy daily life which takes you through downtown Darien at some point, and tolling through the air you notice the sound of church bells playing “Danny Boy,” and you take a deep breath and allow yourself just an instant of calm before you  continue on your way….

Those bells are coming from the Cavalry Baptist Church, a little white church on the Post Road nestled between Upper Crust Bagel & Deli and the Thrift Shop. 

 

Tolling daily at 9am, 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 7:30pm (which perfectly coincides with that after dinner stroll throuigh the streets of town) and 8:30pm, the goal of these bells are, as the church’s Reverend Tony Gibson says, “our way of ministering to the community.”

And it works!  Reverend Gibson told me a story about a woman who was trying to park in the lot of what is now behind the CVS, and was suddenly cut off by another car who slid into the parking space she was planning on taking.  Just as she was about to get out of the car and scream bloody murder at the other person, the bells began to chime: and suddenly, she thought better of it, took a deep breath, and proceeded to look for another space.  Apparently this is just one of many stories he hears from people who have been positively impacted by the bells …

And in case you’re like me, wondering if a robed parishiner dutifully climbs a long, winding staircase over and over again each day to manually ring them, the music of the bells is, as it turns out, programmed and played via a CD installed in the belltower.

Have any bell stories of your own to share?  I’d also love to know about other churches in town who ring their bells and what the meaning is behind them, so if you have any information on that please either post it here or email it to me!

Meantime, do try to notice the bells next time you’re downtown.  They have a transformational quality about them that is sure to brighten your day!

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