Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 114

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2002 THE HARTFORD COURANT 1246 1890: The Year Connecticut Elected Nobody Governor 5 Dinner A Date I- Ross Pratt Met His Future r.Mate When She Served Him Supper At Mr. Steak By KORKY VANN SPECIAL TO THE COURANT 1 Asa waitress, Nancy Marchuk dished up plenty of conversation and friendly banter with her regular customers at the Mr. Steak restaurant in Manchester. The job offered her flexible hours and plenty of free time to spend with her adult children and work on her hobbies, which included a variety of craft projects. But there was one patron who stood out, a pleasant man with a great sense of humor who started coming in every Friday night for dinner in the LOVE STORY faU 0f 1994.

He was Ross Pratt, 64, retired and the owner of a small woodworking shop in Willimantic, where he made unfinished furniture. The two quickly discovered their shared craft connection. "It was his Friday night routine. Ross and a friend would stop by Mr. Steak for an early dinner, then head over to Home Depot for wood and supplies," says Nancy, who was 57 at the time.

"He'd always sit in my section, and we'd talk about the things we were working on." One Friday, Nancy mentioned she was having difficulty re-covering some dining room chairs. The following week, Ross showed up with a special stapler. On another visit, Nancy Senate committee invited Bulke-ley to the inauguration, Bulke-ley replied: "I give you notice that I regard such action as revolutionary and unauthorized." Bulkeley then refused to leaveof-fice. "He just said, Tm staying put'" Besso said. It may or may.

not have been constitutional, but hediditChristopherCollier.the state historian, thinks Bulkeley, sidestepped the constitution. Besso, whose research focuses on how political figures shape constitutional meaning, isn't convinced. "The governor in 1890 constructed a constitutional meaning in an area previously ambiguous," he said. "I wouldn't necessarily call it unconstitutional" Besso, who also is an attorney and serves as an assistant attorney general for the state, said the story of the 1890 campaign illustrates the virtue of history itself, in that it demonstrates political dynamics that continue to thisday. "At times, political actors are going to provide constructions of meaning to the Constitution," he said, whether that is the U.S.

Constitution or the state consti-tutioa "The examples are important not just because they have a set meaning that we are stuck with today," Besso said. "History is more important to show us a process that occurs, and it is a process that still occurs today." Morris, by the way, won the 1892 election without dispute and took office early in 1893, serving a 2-year term. Gov. John G. Rowland and challenger Bill Curry needn't worry about a repeat of 1890.

"Our state constitution no longer contains the provisions that resulted in the governing impasse of 1890-92," Besso said. "Subsequent changes to the constitution ensured that" Steve Grant can be reached atgrantcourant.com showed Ross a sample of the soft-sculpture Santas she designed and created, and he was so taken with them, he offered to display and sell them in his shop. "He was so sweet He said, "Hey, we could put your Santas on my furni- FROM PAGE HI compared with the 1890 election, which produced such intractable political gridlock that the sitting governor, who was not even seeking re-election, refused to leave office, declared himself the de facto governor and served the ensuing two-year term himself. Not only that when the legislature refused to appropriate money for state government operations because of the deadlock, the governor, Morgan G. Bulke-ley of Hartford, who also happened to be president of Aetna Life Insurance had his company pick up the state's bills until the next election.

Imagine that today. "I can't think of another instance where things ground to a complete halt for so long," said Bruce Fraser, a historian and executive director of the Connecticut Humanities Council "It was a spectacle." Here's what happened: When the votes were counted, Luzon B. Morris, a New Haven Democrat, narrowly outpolled Republican Samuel E. Merwin, also of New Haven, with minor party candidates gathering a fraction of the overall vote. But the state constitution at the time required that the winner garner an outright majority of all votes cast not just the most votes among candidates, and here the issue arose.

According to election moderators, Morris had a 26-vote majority, 26 more than 50 percent of the votes cast. The state canvassing board noted this, but in reporting results to the General Assembly, which was charged with receiving the returns and declaring a winner, it noted that a large number of ballots had been rejected as illegal. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, accepted the canvass results without argument and declared that fellow Democrat Morris was elected. The House, controlled by Republi- ASSOCIATED PRESS Today is Sunday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2002.

There are 58 days left in the year. Today's Highlight In History In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik TJ, the second manmade satellite, into orbit; on board was a dog named "Laika" who was sacrificed in the experiment. On This Date In 1868, Republican Ulysses S. Grant won the presidential election over Democrat Horatio Seymour. In 1896, Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan for the presidency.

In 1900, the first automobile show in the United States opened at New York's Madison Square Garden under the auspices of the Automobile Club of America. MARRIED in May 1997, Ross Pratt and Nancy Marchuk held their reception at Mr. Steak in Manchester, where she had been a waitress when he came in for dinner. "It seemed natural to have it there," she said. "It was where we'd met and fallen in love." after they first met, Ross proposed.

Shortly afterward, he moved in with Nancy. In May of '97, they were married. The reception was held where it all started at Mr. Steak. "It seemed natural to have it there," says Nancy.

"It was where we'd met and fallen in love." After a Cape Cod honeymoon, Nancy and Ross returned to Manchester and started making crafts together. Nancy gave up waitressing, and Ross moved his woodworking shop into the basement, where he continued to make his custom furniture. The two began to create a series of original scarecrow lawn ornaments that turned out to be very popular with customers. "I drew the patterns; Ross cut out the frames. I dressed them; Ross put them together.

It was great fun," says Nancy. "But we found time for traveling as well. We spent lots of time at the Cape, which Ross loved, exploring and shopping and watching the sun set over the water." But slowly, Nancy noticed something was starting to change with the man who had come into her life at just the right time, who made her laugh and gave her strength. "He started to forget things," says Nancy. "At a point, it became evident it was Alzheimer's.

Over time, he had to give up the woodworking he loved so much." After a hospitalization for pneumonia last spring, says Nancy, Ross Pratt moved to a long-term-care facility, where, though his health was failing, his personality and good humor made him a popular resident On Oct 2, he died. In spite of the disease, he knew Nancy right up to the end. 'Td read stories of how other couples met and got together and always thought that Ross and I would make a great love story, so I'd written a letter to The Courant that I was meaning to mail," says Nancy. "But I had to take it out and rewrite the ending. "Ross was older in years and wiser in wisdom than but so young in spirit I thought we'd have more time together.

Instead he's gone, and I carry the memory of him in my heart." "It was his Friday night routine. Ross and a friend would stop by Mr. Steak for an early dinner, then head over to Home Depot for wood and supplies. He'd always sit in my section, and we'd talk about the things we were working on." NANCY PRATT ON HOW SHE MET HER HUSBAND-TO-BE says Nancy. "And so we did." The arrangement led to a series of phone conversations first about orders, pick-ups and deliveries then about interests beyond crafts.

"We'd talk about all sorts of things," says Nancy. "We were becoming friends." On New Year's Eve that year, the friendship started to dee- MORGAN BULKELEY cans, noting that the legislature could "examine" the results it was presented, looked into the matter of the illegal ballots. In arguments echoed in the presidential election dispute over "hanging chads" two years ago, one iuue in the ensuing battle was whether to count a cluster of ballots that had imperfections, little pinprick-size defects. But the real key was whether ballots cast for a third-party candidate, Phineas Auger, should have been counted, according to Michael Besso, a doctoral candidate in political science at Rutgers University who is researching the 1890 election for his dissertation. At the time, parties prepared ballots for their own candidates, and the ballots for Augur said "For Governor, Phineas M.

Augur," rather than "Governor, Phineas M. Augur," the style that state election laws specified. The Republican-controlled House decided the ballots should count that the intent of the ballot was clear. When those votes were added to the total vote, it left Morris just shy of a majority of the votes cast. The House then refused to declare Democrat Morris the winner.

The House and Senate were divided. When Democrats moved to install Morris as governor, and a ALMANAC In 1903, Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia. In 1908, Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, outpolling William Jennings Bryan. In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt won a landslide election victory over Republican challenger Alfred M. "Alf Lan-don.

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson soundly defeated Republican challenger Barry Gold-water to win a White House term in his own right. In 1991, Israeli and Palestinian representatives held their first-ever face-to-face talks in Madrid, Spain; in another milestone, Syria opened its first one-on-one meeting with Israel in 43 years. In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected to be the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President Bush In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. pen.

Ross arrived at Mr. Steak with a single red rose for Nancy. The gesture caught her totally off guard. "I was surprised and a little embarrassed," says Nancy. "I tucked the flower into the sleeve of my coat.

When I left at the end of my shift, I discovered a small card inside that read, 'For someone special, from someone who The next day, Russ called Nancy to wish her a happy new year. She invited him to dinner at her home, not at the restaurant. "That was our first date," says Nancy. "After that, we started doing things together regularly. And he still came into Mr.

Steak every Friday." Turned out Ross was a romantic. Nancy would come home from work to find a bunch of flowers or a little gift on her doorstep. In the fall of 1995, a year Know a good story about a special couple? We 'd love to hear about it. CallKorky Vann at 860-241-6502, e-mail her at vanncourant.com or write to Love Story co Korky Vann, The Hartford Courant, 285 Broad Hartford CT 06115. away.

If that's what they achieve, we will have walked into a trap, and we will have given them a major victory. 2. Libraries exist to provide information and knowledge to the public. When our own government places librarians in the position of participating, possibly against their will, to "watch" the public, it runs counter to vital principles that have guided us for much of our history. 3.

Protecting our freedom includes being able to openly communicate with each other without worrying that the government is listening or looking over our shoulders. The mere suspicion that we're being watched, even if we're wrong, can intimidate us in expressing our views. If Americans are only going to say and read what is "politically correct" our democracy will be in deep trouble. Questions can be sent to Bill Olds, in care of The Hartford Courant, Features Department, 285 Broad Hartford, CT 06115 or by e-mail at docbilloyahoo.com. to the computers.

0a What are the FBI and the Congress saying about all of this? Am Mum's the word. The FBI has refused to discuss the issue, and Congress wants to get more information. It has asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to describe what the FBI has been doing in the libraries. But Ashcroft also is not talking and has indicated he doesn't have to answer to Congress. QB I've got nothing to hide when I go into a library, and 1 don't care if the FBI sees what I'm doing at the computer.

What's the big deal? A a We all want to be safe, and I don't know anyone who opposes the prosecution of terrorists. However, the way it is carried out is important It comes down to a key question: How does a democracy deal with serious threats from terrorists and maintain its own freedoms? Three points to consider: L) We have to be very careful that we don't fight terrorism in a way that destroys democracy. Terrorists may want us to accept their methods and the idea that our democracy should be tossed In 1997, the Supreme Court let stand California's groundbreaking Proposition 209, which banned race and gender preference in hiring and school admissions. In 2001, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow to discuss nuclear arsenal cuts, American plans for a missile defense system and U.S.-Russian cooperation in the campaign against terror.

Today's Birthdays Actor Charles Bronson is 81. Actress Lois Smith is 72. Actress Monica Vitti is 71. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S.

Dukakis is 69. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 69. Movie composer John Barry is 69. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 56. Singer Lulu is 54.

Actor Mike Evans is 53. Comedian-actress; Roseanne is 50. Actress Kate Capshaw is 49. Comedian Dennis; Miller is 49. Actress Kathy Kinney: is 49.

Singer Adam Ant is 48. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 43. SEMINAR to Your Family NORWALK Saturday, November 9 10:00 noon (Continental Breakfast) Norwalklnn 99 East Avenue NORWALK Saturday, November 9 (Refreshments) Norwalklnn 99 East Avenue (even If you have a If you become ill or incapacitated, a court may assign a conservator to run your estate as he or she sees fit Attorneys Counselors at Law Nirenstein, Horowitz Associates, P.C. FREE "LIVING TRUST" Find Out How to Transfer Your Estate f3l Quickly- Without Unnecessary Probate Costs ATTEND ONE OFTHESE FREE SEMINAR h- Privacy FROM PAGE H3 people who have borrowed certain books, librarians can't tell anyone not even other librarians or you. They face a stiff federal penalty if they do.

It's unfair that librarians should be placed in such a position. Qa Does this mean that when I use the library's computer to do researchfor college papers on Saudi Arabia or Islam, theFBI could be following my steps on the Internet? Am Very possible. Of course, it may depend on which library you visit. And there's no way you're going to be able to find out. The librarians can't tell you, and you're not going to spot the special software in the computers.

Even if the software hasn't been installed, there's a back door for the FBI to tap in through. The Internet service providers (businesses located elsewhere) are required to cooperate with the authorities, and spy software can be installed at that end. 0a But isn't this snooping only going to be used against people suspected of being terrorists? AB That's not how it works. It can check on everyone who uses the bugged computers. The rules allow this kind of surveillance even if someone is not suspected of being a terrorist or under any kind of suspicion.

0a Is there a state law that protects my privacy in the library? A. Yes. Circulation records must be kept confidential. However, a new federal law the U.S. Patriot Act takes priority over the state rule and allows the FBI to have easy access to these records as well as MERIDEN November 6 (Refreshments) Ramada Plaza Research Pkwy MERIDEN November 6 Dessert) Ramada Plaza Research Pkwy BURUNGTON Thursday, November 7 10:00 am-1 2:00 noon (Continental Breakfast) Burlington Inn 304 Spielman Hwy.

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Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Villano of Wethersfield were married on October 27, 1952 at SS. Cyril Methodius Church in Hartford, CT.

The couple celebrated their 50th Anniversary on a cruise to Bermuda hosted by their childrenand grandchildren. Joseph and Frances cruised with their daughter Catherine Berey and her husband, David, of Glastonbury, their son, Vincent Villano of Wethersfield and grandchildren Christina, Benjamin and Nicholas Berey and Michael Seating is Limited, So Call Carla at (860) 548-1000 Now! ViAn Anniversary Mass was held on SS Cyril by a family dinner at The Hawthorne Inn. Church on October 27, 2002 followed 1991 k. Dunn a Associates (24-Hour Seminar Reservation Line.