Groton’s Brittany Station celebrates 25 years with art and photography exhibit

The town of Groton was incorporated in 1817, and in 1888, the community of Groton separated from the town by incorporating as a village. Through the decades, both the town and village of Groton have been home to businesses such as The Groton Carriage Company, Smith Corona, The First National Bank of Groton, The Groton 5 & 10 Cent Store, and many more — some that were short-lived, and others that made their marks as true Groton icons. One of the latter is Brittany Station, which is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary in style!

When it opened at 152 Main St. in 1999 as a quaint gift and collectibles shop, Brittany Station had customers lined up waiting to purchase the then-popular and highly sought-after Beanie Babies. From there, the shop continued to evolve as it added more and more collectibles, a flower shop, curtains, home decor, clothing, jewelry, candles and more.

On March 25, 2017, Brittany Station held its grand opening of a new Hallmark Gold Crown department in the store. While continuing to offer its current merchandise lines, it has since boasted a variety of Hallmark products, including the famous Hallmark Keepsake ornaments.

To celebrate its 25 years in Groton, Brittany Station will offer a plethora of exciting things from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 26 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 27.

There will be door prizes and a gift with purchase, while supplies last, and 25% off regular-price merchandise (some Hallmark exclusions apply). A special event will be an art and photography exhibit by local artist Tom Frank.

Brittany Station will host an artist reception and refreshments for Frank from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday. His work, which comprises abstract paintings and photography, will be displayed in a special section of the store that day and for a month thereafter.

Frank hails from Ithaca, New York, where he has primarily lived since the age of five, when his father, William Frank settled there as a professor in the College of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, along with his wife and children Nora, Kirsten, Janet and Tom.

Tom is a 1977 Ithaca High School alumnus and was involved in gymnastics there. Art was not something he had on his radar back then, although he did delve into some literary writing as a hobby. He worked part-time at the Ithaca Super Duper during his high school years, and later at Conley’s Liquor Store.

After high school, Tom attended the University of Minnesota for a year, but then he transferred to Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1981, but he said he had no idea what he wanted to pursue as a career.

“About two or three years after graduation, I ended up actually working for Cornell,” Tom said. “I worked for the Food Industry Management Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) in home study management, which was essentially a training program for managers in supermarkets. I was there until 1989 and then left to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland in College Park.”

While he was at Cornell, Tom’s sister, Nora, introduced him to her friend, Eleanor. The two started dating and were married in August 1988.

“Eleanor was working as an editor for Momentum Media and was thankfully able to work remotely when we went to Maryland for me to get my master’s degree,” Tom said. “I earned that in 1991, and we moved back to Ithaca in 1992. I went back to my job at Cornell until that program ended in 2002.”

In the meantime, Tom and Eleanor’s children joined the family — Jeremy in 1994 and Sylvia in 1998 — and Tom earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1999, having worked on it remotely since his return to Ithaca.

“After my job at CALS ended, I worked in the same field as a consultant for a while but ended up working as a grant contract officer in the Office of Sponsored Programs at Cornell until 2015. After that, I had a similar position at SUNY Cortland until I retired in 2022.”

In the midst of his career — in 2013 to be exact — Tom began his abstract painting with acrylic paints. He also began taking photographs around the same time.

“I had always been interested in [art],” Tom said, “so I just started doing it and really enjoy it. As far as photography, I started taking sports photos of my children. Jeremy played tennis and Sylvia was in track and field, cross-country and basketball. Then, I started taking pictures of birds. I really like taking pictures of them because they are fun to photograph, but I also take [pictures] of trees, animals, flowers and other nature photos.”

Tom added that he set up an Etsy shop for his artwork in 2015 and posted his photos on Flickr. He has displayed his work at local art shows and in Massachusetts, but now he primarily focuses on putting it on Instagram under his handle, tomfrank4226.

“I’m going to have a designated space at Brittany Station for a month to show my work, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to put a show together with both forms of media,” Tom said. “I think it’s very exciting to be in that space for Brittany Station’s 25-year celebration, and I’m looking very forward to it.”

Brittany Station invites all to the celebration and art show and extends thanks to its customers and the community for 25 years of support!

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Open house at the Legion

The Groton American Legion Post 800, 307 Main St., invites the public to attend an open house from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 27. There will be door prizes throughout the day, a cake wheel, activities for children, cardiac health table with blood pressure screening and music by Logan Wannall from 5 to 7 p.m. 

There will also be members on hand from the Legion, the Sons of the American Legion and the Legion Auxiliary to assist anyone interested in finding out whether they are eligible to join any of the groups and in filling out applications if desired.

National Day of Prayer

The National Day of Prayer (NDOP) was established by federal law in 1952 when the United States Congress passed a joint resolution, which was signed by President Harry Truman. The law was amended in 1988 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, specifically designating the first Thursday in May as the official National Day of Prayer. Thus, this year, May 2 will mark the 72nd annual NDOP. 

In Groton, midday prayer will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Terrence Graves Memorial on Main St. The evening prayer meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St.

What concerns you about our community, state and nation? We can pray together. Do you work for or are you involved in any of these key areas of prayer focus: government, military, media, education, business/own your own business, health care, first response? We want to pray with/for you. Everyone is welcome. Call 607-898-5263 for more information.

Time for spring, time for geraniums

After years of excellent service from the Groton Rotary, this year’s annual geranium sale is being sponsored by Friends of the Groton Public Library. These beautiful plants in 4.5-inch pots are available in red, white, fuchsia or pink for $5 each or three for $14. 

Orders can be placed by Thursday, May 9 by emailing fotgpl@gmail.com, in person at the Groton Public Library or Brittany Station or by calling the store at 607-898-4994. 

Plants will be available for pickup at the American Legion Pavilion on Wednesday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Color run

The Groton Jr./Sr. High School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) will sponsor a color run again this year on Saturday, June 15. Registration tables open at 9:30 a.m. The event begins at 10:30 a.m.

Register at grotonpto.square.site. Early bird registration on or before May 15 will guarantee a shirt and color packet. Cost is $25 for adults, $20 for students and $10 for children under five, and will go up by $10 each beginning May 16. Additional color packets and sunglasses will be available for purchase on race day.