About FOSA
FOSA and the OSA
The Office of State Archaeology (OSA) was established at the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History
(CSMNH) in 1987 to provide technical assistance to municipalities in the preservation of
archaeological sites within their communities that might be threatened by development and
vandalism.
While duly established, the OSA was not allocated sufficient funds to properly carry out its
responsibilities. As a result of this, the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology (FOSA) was
established in 1997, as a non-profit group to assist the State Archaeologists in the performance
of their duties.
FOSA assists the Office of State Archaeology by...
Providing archaeological educational curricula and experiences to schools.
Presenting and sponsoring public lectures.
Securing donations of office equipment, laboratory supplies, and field supplies for OSA.
Coordinating and participating in volunteer OSA field and office activities.
Helping coordinate, organize and schedule activities for Connecticut's annual "Archaeology Awareness Month.
Assisting scouts in earning archaeology merit badges.
Creating archaeological partnerships between local governments, students, and concerned citizens.
Helping increase corporate sponsorship of OSA-sponsored activities.
Obtaining grants and public funding for OSA collections management and office staff.
Providing for scientific investigation and preservation of materials in OSA collections through the Douglas Jordan Testing, Dating & Conservation Fund. (For information on the Fund, please click Jordan Fund.
Of Note: There was an article in the July, 2013 issue of Ink Publications Online! describing activities at a dig site in Windsor, CT, which viewers who are interested in seeing FOSA "in action" might care to look at. If so, please click INK Article.
And: There are numerous articles in our FOSA Newsletters which detail how FOSA helps the State Archaeologist in doing his job, particular in the "News from the Office of State Archaeology" article on each issue's front page. The Newsletters can be found by clicking Newsletters.
Officers and Board of Directors
President:
Glenda Rose
Vice President:
Thomas Ford
Recording Secretary:
Scott Brady
Corresponding Secretary:
Sandy DiStefano
Treasurer:
Jim Trocchi
Assistant Treasurer:
(open)
Other Board Members:
Dawn Brown
Mike Cahill
Dick Hughes
Patty Jubinska
Lori Kessel
Lucinda McWeeney
Jeremy Pilver
Mike Raber
Deanna Rhodes
Kathy Walburn
Ex Officio Members:
• Dr. Sarah Sportman, CT State Archaeologist
(OSA)
• Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, emeritus CT State Archaeologist
• Dr. Janine Caira, Director,CSMNH
• Lee West, ASC
• Dreda Hendsey
Committees and Committee Members (as of March 2022)
Archaeology Awareness Month Committee:
TBD (Chair), Jim Hall, Dick Hughes, Elliot Schawm, Kathy Walburn
Cooke Scholarship Committee:
Jeremy Pilver (Chair), Scott Brady, Lucinda McWeeney
Excavation Committee:
Jeremy Pilver (Chair), Scott Brady (Field Supervisor), Mike Cahill, Marlo Del Chiaro, Dick Hughes, Elizabeth Mark, Frederick Rivard, Jim Trocchi, Kathy Walburn, Lori Kessel
Membership Committee:
Mike Raber (Chair), Sandy DiStefano (Corresponding Secretary)
Newsletter Committee:
JerryTolchin (Chair), Jim Trocchi
Nominations Committee:
Deanna Rhodes
Outreach Committee:
Kathy Walburn (Chair), Bonnie Beatrice, Ken Beatrice
Volunteer Committee:
(open)
Website Committee:
Jim Hall (Chair), Jen Glaubius, Lindsay Kiesewetter
Questions on membership or functions should be directed to the Volunteer Coordinator at: fosa.ct@gmail.com.
FOSA and Social Media
Social Media for FOSA encompasses applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, where FOSA has
established a presence for purposes of expanding its visibility, and where people -- both FOSA and non-FOSA -- are able to
post commentary on things they see on our sites.
While FOSA will examine such postings, and reserves the right to remove those containing inappropriate language or
words which are inflammatory, discriminatory, and so forth, other postings will remain unchanged. In cases where the
posting is incorrect, though, FOSA will respond to the posting, explaining its position while leaving the original posting as-is.
FOSA members who are designated by the Board of Directors as such respondents must conform to a set of guidelines. A
copy of these guidelines can be viewed by clicking:
Membership Demographics
Have you ever wondered how many people are members of FOSA, and how they're
distributed across this state? (Of course you have!)
FOSA members Jim Hall and Mike Raber have prepared a state map showing our
membership demographics by town, which is current as of May 27, 2021.
Find A Town
In case you're one of those people who knows the names of many Connecticut's towns but has no idea where they are on a map of the state (say, for an excavation, presentation or meeting), we suggest you use the following method to quickly determine where it is...
> Find the Town name on the listing below, and note the 2-character code to its right.
> Scroll down to the map below the listing and use the code as a grid-locator to find the general location of the town.
| If you're trying to locate a place which isn't on the list (say, Moosup), it's probably a village within a Town. To verify, open a Google session and input selection criteria Which CT town is Moosup in? to quickly find out. (It's in Plainfield.) |
Smiles at the Memories
Over the years, FOSA members have contributed significant amounts of time, energy and money to
help the State Archaeologists do their job in a professional manner. Which doesn't mean that
we're an all-work/no play organization (though some might suspect otherwise). When the subject
of "zany photographs" came up, former FOSA President Scott Brady opined that, "I like it we
can be a serious organization and still have fun." Click on