Jack Drake is a unique character.
Jack is a Danbury meteorologist with a unique personality. He showed this personality and his passion for nature in a post about beavers over the weekend. On Sunday (01/15/23) he shared the following on his Danbury Weather Facebook page:
“Danbury is about 25 miles north of Long Island Sound and consists mostly of lowlands between the hills of Redding and Ridgefield to the south and the even greater topography to the north. The geographic bowl surrounding Danbury makes it a prime area for large swamps… Even some of the most popular areas in Danbury used to be swamps: Danbury Mall…swamp…Danbury Airport…swamp…Danbury Walmart…also swamp…you know, it’s swampy.
So who lives in swamps? Beaver. Why would people want to live near the swamps? Also beavers.
If you’ve been in Danbury long enough, you’ve heard of Danbury’s world famous millinery. It’s true; Danbury was once the world leader in hat making. Traces of the hat industry can be found everywhere in the local nomenclature. The Hatters, the Hat Tricks and the ‘Hat City’ all pay homage to the hat factories of Greater Danbury in the 19th century.
But everyone always forgets about the largest rodent in North America and its immense contribution to our local economy. Our furry, water-loving dam-building friends weren’t just essential to the hat industry, they were the hats themselves.
Without an insane number of these creatures roaming the woods, the local hat industry would never have boomed, and Danbury might just have been a swampier version of New Fairfield. Would I84 even run through Danbury if it wasn’t for the beaver? I think it’s up for debate.
I’m not trying to forget the hats, just thinking about the beavers. It was the beavers who got here first and finally put Danbury on the map. Maybe instead of hat tricks it should be the Danbury Beaver Sticks.”
Amen brother, big respect to all our beavers out there.
I respect the passion, energy and historical accuracy and I know many others will too. Be sure to check out the I-95 Morning Show if a weather event is en route to Danbury.
Whenever bad weather is forecast, Jack joins us and tells us in great detail what to expect. If there is snow in the forecast, we don’t just tell you, we tell you how much, when it will come, when it will stop and even check the quality of the snow. Jack Drake aka “Jack On-The-Reels” The official weatherman of the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Morning Show on I-95.
Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s the same show we do on the radio but with limited advertising and no music. Or listen live by streaming the show on the I-95 Rock Mobile app or tune in to I-95 (95.1 FM).
Photo: Aurora Photography
Photo: Aurora Photography
7 of Danbury’s Most Interesting Signs
There is a song by Tesla and the lyrics go something like this:
“Signs signs there are signs everywhere blocking the landscape it’s driving me insane do this don’t do that can’t you read the sign?” I believe the song was actually written by a man named Les Emmerson, but that’s for another day. Signs can obscure the landscape, disrupt it, or even make it laugh. Danbury, CT has its fair share of signs, these are just a little bit more interesting than your average public message.
The Danbury Flood of 1869 is a local disaster lost to time
Almost everyone in Danbury knows or has heard of the disastrous 1955 Hat City flood that killed 87 people. On the other hand, most people we spoke to don’t know the history of the 1869 flood. In the “The Place You Live” segment that aired August 31, 2021, Mike Allen, former news director of I-95, shared, with his research into the failure of Danbury’s upper Kohanza Dam and what it meant for the people of downtown Danbury that day.
