Good Vibes And History In One Couple’s Relaxation Space

By Shannon Hicks

Joyce and David Hannah have decided to move to Florida. The Sandy Hook couple have been packing up their belongings, putting into boxes the items that will go south with them when they make their final move from their Connecticut home into the home Joyce has been wintering in, and putting aside the items that will be sold during tag sales or donated to groups.

One thing that can’t go with the Hannahs is their yoga studio, which has special memories for them and a part of Newtown history built into it.

During the mid-to-late 1990s, a $26 million major renovation of Newtown High School involved additional wings and classrooms being built as well as partial demolition and reconstruction of interior spaces. One of the interior spaces that was worked on was the school’s main gymnasium, where a new floor was put down.

In February 1996, then-NHS principal Bill Manfredonia announced that the school’s mascot, The Indian, was being changed. To say that that announcement caused a controversy is putting things mildly. But the decision stood, and all symbols of a mascot that had well served generations of NHS graduates was slowly removed from letterhead, signs, jackets, playing fields… and the gymnasium floor.

When demolition began on the gymnasium, David Hannah was given permission to salvage the wood that was being pulled up. He ended up with seven pickup truckloads worth of the hard maple, “nails and all,” he said recently.

The first step in doing something with the wood was pulling out all of the nails and sorting the pieces. Colored tape and paint was still on much of the wood. David, who makes fine furniture (one of his pieces is in the permanent collection at Smith College), looked as the new acquisition as a giant treasure.

“Putting the wood, with those colors and shapes, back into a new pattern was kind of like working on a free-pattern puzzle,” he said. The couple decided to use the wood to create a new floor for a yoga studio-workout space at their home. Mrs Hannah has been doing yoga for a number of years; Mr Hannah practices tai chi.

That project, begun back in the summer of 1996, was finally completed last fall. David worked on putting the floor together on weekends, just working on the studio space part-time. He used a tongue-and-groove construction, and the floor he created has a loose circle pattern, some zig-zagging lines from one side of the studio to the other, and beautiful color when the sun comes in and hits the golden wood.

Last spring Joyce offered the space to fellow teachers at the high school who wanted to unwind during the week of final exams.

Last fall the couple hosted an art show and studio celebration, inviting a larger group of friends into their space for an afternoon of art and an evening warmed by a large bonfire. The art show presented large drawings by Walter Pascor and African and Indian-inspired sculpture by Ase Kariamu.

“It was a long, fun project,” Mr Hannah said recently, adding, “but I wouldn’t do it again. It was very labor intensive, but I’m very happy with it.

“Obviously we’re hoping someone who appreciates what we’ve done here will find it,” Mrs Hannah said.

The Hannahs have been married since 1982; she moved into the Sandy Hook house — where David had lived for nearly 40 years — in 1980. They have built plenty of dreams, hosted dinner parties, and created memories.

It’ll be difficult to say their final goodbye to their home… and the history that accompanies it.