The 21 year full time job that didn’t come with a salary.  The primary champion of the restoration of the mill, Caryl did everything in her power and then some to keep the restoration moving forward.  Marketing, researching, securing financial and volunteer resources.  She did it all.  No one, with the exception of Chris Steffan (because where there was one, there was the other), has put in the amount of time, the work and dedication to get the mill where it is today in it’s restoration journey.

From 1992 to 2013, Caryl either was physically working in the mill or researching and documenting it’s history or sourcing and acquiring funding for the next phase. A good example; in 1997 we needed a preservation plan to acquire grant funding.  Caryl and our then in-house architect, Walter Hollien did the bulk of the work – though a “professional’s” name went on the plan.  Easy task?  Read about our current preservation plan update in “News” and draw your own conclusion.  Besides the original preservation plan, today we have a thorough documentation of the history of the mill and detailed records of the progress that we have made – all thanks to Caryl.  

Her leadership was felt throughout the organization. Caryl has been president, vice president and secretary.  Lending her professionalism and dedication to each position.  In addition, a prolific photographer of WTLT events and of documenting the progress of the mill restoration. Many of the photos on this site are from Caryl’s personal archives.

Caryl continues to be active on the stewardship committee and along with Chris Steffan, you can often find her performing maintenance in Mill Pond Park.   If it was not for Caryl’s leadership, the mill would not be where it is today in it’s restoration and perhaps, overall, the organization as well.