Mama Jo Makes It Happen, by Pat Seremet

"Mama Jo McKenzie knows pretty much everything that goes on around the Capitol. She's been in politics ever since she was old enough to slip a pamphlet in a mail slot. She has achieved the highest ranks of Connecticut Republicans, being the first woman elected chairman of the state Republican Party. At 70, she shows no sign of slowing down and vows never to retire."

The Wide-Awakes of Connecticut: A Most Remarkable Scene

"The successful presidential campaign of Republican Abraham Lincoln perfected the nighttime torchlight parade as an entertainment of unprecedented scale that attracted the attention of men, women, and children. The concept originated in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1858, and was revived for Lincoln’s campaign by the city’s young Republicans. Tailored oil-resistant enameled cloth capes distinguished the marchers, some of whom were too young to vote. Their example spread from Hartford to cities in the northeastern United States, which contributed traveling companies totaling some ten thousand uniformed men with torches to a Grand Procession in New York City on October 3, 1860."

Jo McKenzie, Restaurateur, by David Fink

"She has been in the thick of it for years. Her battle scars, which she wears very well, were collected in the rabbit-punch, scrape-for-contribution wars of Connecticut Republican politics. She was the party's first woman state chairman, its first woman finance chairman. And now, even as she sits resplendent in her fine black suit and… Continue reading Jo McKenzie, Restaurateur, by David Fink