USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 22
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APPLETON H. SEAVERNS
As Headmaster of Suffield Academy, Appleton H. Seaverns con- tinues an educational and cultural heritage from his father, Charles F. T. Seaverns (q.v.), and since 1952 has directed the expanding pro- gram of this old and notable Connecticut institution.
Son of Charles F. T. and Mary Bushnell ( Hillyer) Seaverns, he was born in New York City, November 17, 1916. He is a graduate of the Kingswood School, Deerfield Academy, Williams College where he took his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939, and Trinity College, which conferred his Master of Arts degree in 1950; he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Colby College in 1955. Mr. Seaverns taught modern languages, and coached baseball at the Laguna Blanca School in California before entering the Army of the United States, in which he served five years and was separated from the service as a major of infantry. During the six years prior to his appointment at Suffield, he taught and coached at the Kings- wood School. Mr. Seaverns is a trustee of the Hartford Seminary Foundation, the Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall and the Children's Museum of Hartford, and his social memberships are in the Hart- ford Club and the Anglers Club of New York.
In accepting the office of Headmaster of Suffield Academy, which was founded in 1833, Mr. Seaverns took over the leadership of one of the country's oldest independent boarding schools for boys. Offer- ing a 4-year college preparatory program, Suffield's campus includes more than 150 acres, containing fifteen school buildings, athletic fields, tennis courts and a hockey rink. The school, incorporated not for profit, has a modest scholarship endowment and is governed by a rep- resentative Board of Trustees. An early charter stipulates that " ... no person shall be debarred the literary privileges of said insti-
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tution on account of his religious or denominational peculiarities." This principle is as vigorously adhered to today as it was more than a century ago. The school is affiliated with the New England Associa- tion of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, the Secondary Education Board, the Na- tional Council of Independent Schools, and the Cum Laude Society.
Suffield's well-integrated academic program stresses self-disci- pline, industry, and good health and study habits. Small classes and personal attention characterize this school of about two hundred boys. Individual expression is developed by special courses, including art and music, and the entire curriculum is intelligently supplemented with audiovisual aids. There are varied extra-class activities such as Glee Club, Camera Club, Outing Club, orchestra, debating, student publi- cations and others and boys may also take advantage of educational and cultural opportunities in the cities nearby. Daily participation in athle- tics emphazing high standard of sportsmanship and gentlemanly con- duct, plays a part in training well-rounded young men. At specified times during the year, selected routine tasks in the kitchen, dining hall, and around the campus, are performed by each student. The science program is an important part of the curriculum. The courses in chemistry, physics, biology and geology include considerable work in the laboratories of the school. Every year the majority of the school's graduates enter liberal arts colleges, and recently an increas- ing number of seniors with a strong background and interest in mathe- matics and science have chosen schools of engineering. It is to the continuation and development of this program that Mr. Seaverns has addressed himself, and the record of the past eight years is en- couraging and stimulating.
Mr. Seaverns married Jeanice Hodges of Terrell, Texas, Decem- ber 3, 1943. Their children are: I. Virginia Hodges, born May 3, 1945. 2. Charles Bushnell, born May 5, 1946. 3. Mary Hillyer, born April 19, 1950.
EDWARD R. HENKLE
New London's city manager is Edward R. Henkle, who after training and experience in the law, assumed his present duties in the mid-1940s. He is a native of New London, and was born on October 31, 1907, son of Dr. Emanuel A. and Sophie B. (Shmauk) Henkle. Both of his parents came to this country from Russia, Dr. Henkle arriving in 1887 when he was fourteen years old. He attended Wash- ington and Jefferson College and later transferred to Cornell Uni-
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versity, where he graduated in 1894 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began practice in New London, where he continued his professional career until his death in February, 1947, at the age of seventy-four. Dr. Henkle served on his city's board of education, and he was one of the organizers and the first president of the New London Chapter of B'nai B'rith. He was also a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married to Sophie B. Shmauk in 1899, and they were the parents of three children: I. Doro- thy, who married Anthony Kemble Cooper. He is an actor with a record of many years on the stage. Mrs. Cooper taught schools in New London before their marriage. 2. Robert T. Henkle, M.D., a physician and surgeon practicing in New London. He resides in Water- ford. Married to the former Miss Hazel Scully, a native of Mechanic Falls, Maine, he is the father of three sons: Bruce, John and Richard. 3. Edward R., who is the subject of the following sketch.
Reared in New London and completing his public school studies there, Edward R. Henkle graduated from New London High School in 1925, then entered Cornell University. When he completed his studies there in 1932, he had earned the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar of his native state, he commenced practice at New London, and continued his professional career as an attorney there until 1944, when he became acting city manager of New London. In December of the same year he was made city manager, and has served continuously in that office since, ren- dering capable and conscientious service to the municipality and its people. Mr. Henkle also served the city as assistant prosecuting attorney in 1937-1938. He represented his district in the Connecticut State Legislature during the same two-year period. In 1944 he was chair- man of the New London War Council.
As a lawyer, Mr. Henkle holds membership in the American Bar Association, the Connecticut State Bar Association and the New Lon- don Bar Association. He is also a member of the lodge of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and was formerly a Rotarian. He is an independent in his politics and is of Jewish faith. Fond of sports he excels in tennis, and has won eight championship meets. He is also fond of golf.
On November 18, 1939. Edward R. Henkle married Evelyn Monroe, daughter of William and Marie (Keating) Monroe. Her parents were natives of Massachusetts. and her father was an auto- mobile dealer who died in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Henkle make their home at 16 Glenwood Place, and they are the parents of three chil -.
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dren: I. Edward B., who was born on August 19, 1940. 2. Bonnie Jean, born on January 28, 1942. 3. Michael, born on August 16, 1943.
WILLIAM ELIJAH ATTWOOD, JR.
William Elijah Attwood, Jr., president of The New Britain Trust Company and an official of other organizations in that city, was born February 9, 1913, in New Britain, son of William Elijah and Fannie Merwin (Wetmore) Attwood. His father too was a banker, associated in various official capacities with Burritt Mutual Savings Bank of New Britain and The New Britain Trust Company, each of which institutions he headed as president and chairman of the board respectively. Attending local public schools, the younger William E. Attwood continued his studies at Pomfret School, where he was a student from 1926 to 1932. He then entered Princeton University, where he graduated in 1936 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He has since taken courses offered by the American Institute of Banking, New York Chapter, and New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.
In 1936, Mr. Attwood began his career with Goldman Sachs and Company as clerk and statistician. In 1938 he became assistant secre- tary of Burritt Mutual Savings Bank of New Britain, and there he was an active officer until his resignation in 1954. He became director and secretary of that bank in 1940; and in 1942 succeeded his father as treasurer. The elder Mr. Attwood's health began to fail rapidly in the late 1940s, and in the fall of 1949, William E. Attwood, Jr., succeeded him as president of Burritt Mutual Savings Bank of New Britain. He held office as both president and treasurer until 1950, when Gunnar H. Anderson became treasurer and thereafter he was presi- dent and chief executive officer of the bank until his resignation.
He resigned in 1954 to become executive vice president of The New Britain Trust Company. This bank, which he had been serving as a member of the board of trustees since 1947, was by that time looking for management succession, and Frank G. Vibberts, its board chairman, suggested that he join its staff in an executive position. He served as executive vice president from 1954 to 1958, and in the latter year, succeeded Harry H. Howard as president and chief execu- tive officer. At that time he resigned as a director of the Burritt Mutual Savings Bank.
Mr. Attwood's other business connections have been limited to the following corporate directorships : Allied Thermal Corporation and
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its predecessor The Hart and Cooley Company, since 1951; The Stan- ley Works since 1956; and Landers, Frary and Clark since 1957.
He also has to his credit a record of useful service in public office. He served as a member of the common council of the city of New Britain for three terms, covering the years from 1940 to 1946. Since 1954 he has been a member of the board of finance and taxation, and he became its chairman in 1956.
His memberships include the New Britain Club, Shuttle Meadow Country Club, and the Cap and Gown Club at Princeton. He was a member of the Princeton Club of New York from 1936 to 1940. He is a communicant of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New Britain.
At Fenwick Chapel, Saybrook, on September 9, 1939, William Elijah Attwood, Jr., married Elsa Morgan Frisbie, daughter of Leon- ard Welles and Elsa Morgan (St. John) Frisbie. Mr. and Mrs. Att- wood make their home at 37 Windsor Road, New Britain, and they are the parents of three children: I. William E., 3rd, who was born on July 16, 1946. 2. Suzanne Morgan, born December 1, 1948. 3. Polly Frisbie, born June 24, 1958.
SANFORD HUTTON WENDOVER
From the early years of his career, Sanford Hutton Wendover has been identified with the Meriden Journal, and for some time has been its editor. A hard-working leader in civic affairs, he was chair- man of the Meriden Sesquicentennial Book Committee, and co-author of the history published for that occasion.
A native of Warwick, in Orange County, New York, Mr. Wen- dover was born on July 19, 1894, son of Dr. William W. and Pauline (Sanford) Wendover. His mother too was born at Warwick, while his father was a native of Kinderhook, New York. The couple were the parents of another child, a daughter, who is now Mrs. Howard Conklin of Goshen, New York.
Beginning his education in local public schools, Sanford H. Wen- dover went on to Columbia University School of Journalism, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Literature in 1916. At that time he came to Meriden, and joined the staff of the Journal Publishing Company as telegraph editor of the Meriden Journal. He later served the paper as its advertising manager, and the corporation as secretary and vice president. He became editor of the Meriden Journal in 1942, and continued in that post following the purchase of the newspaper by the Meriden Record Company in 1949.
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When Meriden had its sesquicentennial celebration in June, 1956, he served as chairman of the Book Committee in preparation of the history, and he is co-author of "One Hundred and Fifty Years of Meriden." He has also been active in civic organizations for many years. He formerly served as a member of the Meriden Board of Apportionment and Taxation, and is former president of the Meriden Community Fund. He is an honorary life member of the Lions Club in his home city, and a member of the Wallingford Country Club.
Mr. Wendover in 1954 married Gladys Hiller, daughter of the late William G. and Cora Hiller. By a former marriage he is the father of three children: Mrs. J. Laurence Powell of Lexington, Mas- sachusetts; Mrs. Maurice G. Hartnett of Belmont, California; Wil- liam Arnold Wendover.
OSTROM ENDERS
Identified with the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company from the beginning of his career, Ostrom Enders has been its presi- dent for the past decade. He is also an official of a number of other local corporations. He is a veteran of World War II, when he served as a naval officer.
Born at West Hartford, on September 19, 1902, he is a son of John and Harriet Golden (Whitmore) Enders. After beginning his education in the local public schools, he completed his preparatory studies at St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire. Graduating there in 1921, he entered Yale University, which conferred on him the degree of Bachelor of Arts on his graduation there in 1925.
The following year, Mr. Enders joined the staff of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company. He advanced steadily to positions of increasing responsibility, and was named president of the institution in September, 1947. He is also a member of its board of directors. In addition, he is a director of Hartford Electric Light Company, United Aircraft Corporation, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, and The Torrington Company.
Absent at the time of World War II, he served as an air combat intelligence officer in the United States Navy, with the rank of lieu- tenant commander. He was in uniform from 1942 to 1945, and spent time in both the Atlantic and the Pacific areas.
In his home city of Hartford, Mr. Enders is a trustee of the Society for Savings and the Wadsworth Athenaeum. He is a director
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of the Hartford Hospital and the Institute for Living. He is a life trustee of Trinity College.
On April 14, 1928, Ostrom Enders married Alice Dudley Talcott, daughter of Charles H. and Mary Vaill Talcott. They make their home at Avon, and have three children: March, Thomas O., and An- thony T.
JOHN REINHART REITEMEYER
One of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the United States is the Hartford Courant. For the past decade, its publisher has been John Reinhart Reitemeyer, who is also president of The Hart- ford Courant Company. He has devoted his entire career to the news- paper field.
A native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, he was born on April 14, 1898, and is a son of John R. and Margaret (Cunningham) Reite- meyer. Attending the public schools of his native state, the publisher graduated from Rahway High School. He first came to Hartford to attend Trinity College, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1921. He served in the Tank Corps of the United States Army during World War I, enlisting in 1918 and receiving his honorable discharge in 1919.
Mr. Reitemeyer's newspaper experience dates back to his high school years, when he worked for the Elizabeth Daily Journal during vacation periods. On completing his courses at Trinity College in Hartford, he remained in the city to join the staff of the Hartford Courant as a reporter. In the years which followed, he advanced through the positions of assistant city editor, Sunday editor, and city editor, and after serving in the army from 1941 to 1946, returned to the Courant as executive vice president. He was elected president of The Hartford Courant Company, and publisher of the Hartford Courant, in 1947.
During World War II, he served with the rank of colonel in Military Intelligence, being with the First Army and Eastern Defense Command. After the war, he retained his commission as colonel in the Military Intelligence Reserve, commanding the 1035th M.I. Head- quarters Group, a training outfit, and continued in this assignment until he was transferred to the retired reserve in May, 1956. In the course of his military career he won the Legion of Merit and the Army Commendation Ribbon.
Mr. Reitemeyer is a director of the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, Central Ver-
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mont Railway, The Associated Press, Inter American Press Associa- tion, and a trustee of the Society for Savings and Trinity College. He is a member of The Hartford Club, New York Athletic Club, Twentieth Century Club, Norfolk Country Club, and his fraternities are Sigma Nu and Pi Gamma Mu. In politics he is a Republican.
On November 17, 1923, John Reinhart Reitemeyer married Ger- trude Bullis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George F. Bullis. They make their home in Pleasant Valley.
NORMAN BOONE BERTOLETTE
Coming to Hartford in the mid-1930s, Norman B. Bertolette has held the office of president of the Hartford Gas Company since that time. He is an official of other corporations as well, and has been a leader in utilities and manufacturers' groups.
The son of Daniel A. and Alice J. ( Dutlinger) Bertolette, he was born at Norristown, Pennsylvania, on January 28, 1891, and received his education in his native state, graduating from Drexel Institute of Technology in 1911 with the professional degree of Mechanical Engineer. The following year he began his career in the utilities in- dustry as an engineer with the Philadelphia Suburban Gas and Elec- tric Company. He won promotion to division manager, and remained with the organization until 1928. He left in that year to accept a division managership with the Philadelphia Electric Company. In 1930, the Harrisburg Gas Company, in the Keystone State's capital city, offered him the presidency of that corporation, and he served until 1936, when he came to Hartford. He has been president of Hartford Gas Company throughout the intervening years.
He serves on the boards of directors of Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Travelers Indemnity Company, Travelers Fire Insurance Company, Charter Oak Fire In- surance Company, and on the board of trustees of the Society for Savings. A well known figure in his industry, he has served as presi- dent of both the Connecticut Electric and Gas Association and the New England Gas Association, and he is a member of the American Gas Association. He is a member and past president of the Society of Gas Engineers, of New York.
Among the offices of a public nature in which he has rendered valuable service are the directorships of the Connecticut Public Ex- penditures Council and the Government Research Institute. He is also a director of the Hartford Hospital, and a trustee of Greater Hart- ford Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member and past
Penchant 1. Fideon teleon
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president of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce. In recognition of his achievements in the civic sphere, he received the Alumni Citation of Drexel Institute of Technology in 1951.
Mr. Bertolette is a member of the Newcomen Society and the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. He is a member and past presi- dent of The Hartford Club. and a member of the Twentieth Century Club, the Hartford Golf Club, and the Tinwhistles of Pinehurst, North Carolina. He and his family attend the Congregational Church.
On September 6, 1916, Norman B. Bertolette married Katharine Marie Schweyer, and they have two children: Robert Boone, and Reed. The family lives on Pilgrim Road in West Hartford.
REINHART L. GIDEON
Since his return from military service in World War I, Reinhart L. Gideon has practiced law in Hartford. In recent years he has served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from West Hart- ford, where he makes his home.
A native of the Midwest, Mr. Gideon was born at Farmington, Missouri, on October 17, 1890, son of Valentine and Elizabeth C. (Lang) Gideon. His father served for some years as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Utah, and his death occurred on February II, 1951. In Reinhart L. Gideon's early years the family moved to Utah, and he graduated from high school at Ogden in that state. He first came east to attend Amherst College, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1912. From there he went to Har- vard Law School, and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws there in 1915. Admitted to practice, he returned to Utah, and practiced at Ogden until 1919. During the World War I period, he served in the 145th and 25th Field Artillery, in which he held the rank of lieutenant.
He practiced at Ogden only a short time after returning to civilian life, coming to Hartford in 1919. He first entered the law office of Judge Joseph P. Tuttle, and they continued their association until Judge Tuttle's death in 1921. In the following year Mr. Gideon joined Hugh M. Alcorn in the practice of law. Their association lasted for six years, and throughout that period, from 1922 to 1928, Mr. Gideon served as assistant state's attorney for Hartford County. He was public defender for Hartford County from 1930 to 1951, and then resumed private practice. As a Democrat, he was first elected to the House of Representatives from West Hartford for the term begin- ning in 1955 and running through 1956.
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Mr. Gideon is chairman of the Town Planning and Zoning Com- mission of West Hartford, and is chairman of the advisory board of the State Security Training Center.
As a lawyer he is a member of the American Bar Association, the Connecticut State Bar Association, the Hartford County Bar Association, and the Utah State Bar. His other memberships include the Rotary Club of Hartford, the American Legion, Wampanoag Country Club, Hartford Canoe Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, and the University Club, and he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 6 at Ogden, Utah. He is also a member of the higher bodies of Masonry, holds the Thirty-second degree, and belongs to Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Royal Order of Jesters. Mr. Gideon is a deacon of the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church of Hartford.
Twice married, Reinhart L. Gideon chose as his first wife Mary M. Edmonds. They were married on August 1I, 1920, and she died on January 4, 1946. On November 15, 1947, Mr. Gideon married Caroline E. Lillard. They have one son, John W. Lillard, a graduate of Mount Herman School at Northfield, Massachusetts, and from Upsala College in New Jersey. He has served in the Army of the United States, and is now employed by The Insurance Company of North America. John married Melna Carlson, and they have one son, John, and one daughter, Nancy. The family lives in East Orange, New Jersey.
DR. ALAN STAFFORD WILSON
In the course of his distinguished career in education, Dr. Alan Stafford Wilson has had experience in the fields of industrial training and secondary education, as well as at the college level. For more than two decades he has been President of Hillyer College at Hart- ford, Connecticut.
Dr. Wilson is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and was born on March 8, 1905, son of Charles Clinton and Caroline (Stafford) Wilson. After completing his secondary education locally, he entered Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1929. In 1937 he received his Master of Arts degree at Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. He also holds a Master of Arts degree from Yale University (1944) ; an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Nasson College (1955) ; and a Doctor of Science from Portland University (1956).
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On September 30, 1933, Alan Stafford Wilson married Mary F. Seifert. Their children are Mary Katherine and John Alan Thomas.
He began his professional career in the field of education in Day- ton, Ohio, in 1929 as Director of Training with the Frigidaire Cor- poration. Later he worked from 1930 to 1932 in its purchasing and materials control departments. From there he returned to the educa- tional profession as a teacher of a one room elementary school, located at White Chapel near Xenia in Green County, Ohio. He remained there for a year, during which he also taught Science and Mathematics in the evening high school of Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, about fifteen miles distant. The following academic year 1933-1934, he be- came full-time principal of the Sinclair College Evening High School, and dean of the College's School of Commerce and Finance, a position which he held until August, 1938. He also served as acting head of Sinclair College in 1937-38.
Dr. Wilson left Sinclair College in August of 1938 to accept the appointment as Director of Hillyer Junior College in Hartford. He was named its first president in 1947 when Hillyer became a Senior College and he has held this office ever since.
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