First SGT Trail-Side Bench Dedicated
The Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT) honored the memory of a local supporter, Richard Tietjen, Jr., on June 16 with the dedication of its first trail-side bench. Tietjen, a Guilford resident and passionate outdoorsman, was a founding member of SGT. A computer expert, he established and managed the non-profit organization's first website. Tietjen died in 2009 at age 57. During his 14-year battle with lymphoma, he continued to lead a full life, working, writing poetry, and riding his recumbent bike along the Stony Creek trolley trail, an activity that inspired many of his poems.
The June 16 dedication was attended by dozens of Tietjen's friends and family members, including his parents, Richard Tietjen, Sr., and Louise Tietjen of Old Saybrook, and members of the SGT Board of Directors.
The wooden bench, designed and built by retired Branford builder and SGT Board member Pete Peterson, is located on the promontory overlooking the western trolley trail entrance from Pine Orchard.
On June 16, the Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT) dedicated its first trailside bench, located on the Stony Creek trolley trail, to the memory of founding member and Guilford resident Richard Tietjen, Jr., who died in 2009.