USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 27
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WILLIAM HENRY MORTENSEN
A varied and useful role in the community life of Hartford is being played by William H. Mortensen, whose major occupational connection for some years has been that of managing director of Bushnell Memorial. He has served as mayor of his city; has held membership on a number of public bodies; has stimulated cultural and entertainment facilities locally; and has exerted his influence in a number of local organizations.
A native of Hartford, he was born on July 15, 1903, the son of Danish parents, John L. and Karen (Petersen) Mortensen. After attending elementary schools in the southern part of the city, he enter- ed Hartford Public High School, and while there became acquainted with Charles F. T. Seaverns, then a member of the faculty. This con- nection was later to bring him the offer of heading Bushnell Memorial. From high school he went to Antioch College in Ohio, and in later years took courses at Hartford College of Law and evening courses in banking offered by Hartford Bankers' Institute.
Mr. Mortensen began his career with the AEtna Life Insurance Company, serving as assistant to the vice president in charge of casualty agencies from 1924 to 1929. When, late in the 1920s, the trustees of Bushnell Memorial, then being constructed, wished a survey made of the uses to which similar auditoriums in various parts of Conn. III-22
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the country were being put, Mr. Seaverns as chairman, and his fellow members of the board, sought the help of Mr. Mortensen. He was given a leave of absence from AEtna to make the survey; and the leave of absence became permanent when, on making his report, he was found to possess such a thorough knowledge of management and operations that he was asked to become managing director of the foundation. He has served in this position since 1929.
He has had well over a decade of experience in adult education work, and was long associated with the Bureau of Adult Education then headed by Howard Bradstreet. He gave instruction in naturaliza- tion, and assisted immigrants arriving in Hartford from abroad. He also organized a lecture series on foreign policy subjects. He has been consulted by most charitable, religious and civic groups of the Hart- ford area on their plans for fund-raising programs.
Formerly an alderman-at-large on Hartford's Board of Aldermen, he served as mayor of the city from 1943 to 1945. He held office as state senator from 1942 to 1944. He was a member of the Hartford Board of Education from 1935 to 1939 and in 1951 was appointed chairman of the State Development Commission. When in 1953 a commission was established to study state highway needs, planning, and fiscal resources, he was named to the body. The group recom- mended a three hundred and seventy-five million dollar construction program, and the means for financing it. In depression days, he had served in the local leadership of the National Recovery Administra- tion. In more recent years, he has been vice chairman of the Con- necticut Commission on the Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight ; a member of the New England Council; member of the Armed Forces Advisory Committee, First Army ; and member of the executive com- mittee of the Connecticut Development Credit Corporation, a state- wide banking and insurance credit pool for industrial development.
His term in the mayoralty during difficult World War II years was distinguished by his improvement of public services, his lowering of the tax rate and his uncompromising insistence that wrongdoers be swept out of positions of public trust. Refusing to run for reelection, Mr. Mortensen, following his term as mayor, organized the Citizens Charter Committee, a civic-minded group which, under his inspired leadership, and against the bitter opposition of both major political machine organizations, finally was able to vote into effect the new Council-Manager Charter under which Hartford has been admin- istered since 1947.
Mr. Mortensen's business connections at the present time include
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membership on the boards of directors of the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, the National Fire Insurance Company, and Heublein, Inc., and he is a corporator of the Institute for Living and of Hartford Hospital. He is director and honorary vice president of the Connect- icut Opera Association, director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Metropolitan District Commission. He is vice president of the Civic Music Association of Hartford and serves as trustee of the Hartford Public Library, the Children's Museum of Hartford, Hartford College, and of the Ella Burr McManus Fund. He is a director of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the Knollwood Beach Association, and his present memberships include The Hartford Club, Hartford Golf Club, the University Club, Twen- tieth Century Club, and Dauntless Yacht Club.
Mr. Mortensen has written a number of articles for newspapers and magazines. He is fond of travel, book-collecting and music. He is a Protestant in religious faith.
On June 9, 1930, William Henry Mortensen married Alice Dorcas Carroll of Burlington, Vermont, daughter of John and Ann (Bolger) Carroll. Mrs. Mortensen is a director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and of the Connecticut Opera Guild. The couple have a summer home at Old Saybrook.
GERALD GODFREY HOTCHKISS
Vice president and general manager of Miner, Read and Tul- lock, Incorporated, New Haven, Connecticut, wholesalers of frozen foods, since 1950, Mr. Hotchkiss is active in professional organiza- tions and is a director of the New England Frozen Food Distributors Association, director of The National Association of Frozen Food Distributors and he also holds the post of director of Miner, Read and Tullock.
He was born in Plainville, on November 29, 1900, the son of George Lewis Hotchkiss and of Anna Mathilda (Gustaveson) Hotch- kiss. His father, born in Watkins Glen, New York, followed the car- penter's trade and died in 1941. Mr. Hotchkiss's mother was born in Dalsland, Sweden, and died in 1936. Mr. Hotchkiss graduated from New Haven High School in 1918.
An electrican's helper in 1918, learning the trade, Mr. Hotchkiss went into the wholesale hardware business in 1920 as a warehouse- man for Bronson and Townsend of New Haven, becoming a salesman later that year, and remaining in this post until 1930. Sales manager
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for Bradley-Smith Company, manufacturers and wholesalers of can- dy, from 1930 to 1935, he was a wholesale hardware salesman for the firm of Page, Steele and Flagg of New Haven from 1935 to 1945. It was in 1945 that he became associated with Miner, Read and Tullock, Incorporated, wholesalers of groceries and frozen foods. Beginning as assistant to the president, he became vice president in 1950. He was made vice president and general manager in 1950 and is also a director of the firm.
Mr. Hotchkiss has been active in community organizations and in 1958 served as president and a director of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. A director and past president of the Kiwanis, he is also a member of the executive committee of the New Haven Taxpayers Research Council and is also a member of the Board of Control of the New Haven Safety Council. He is a director of the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the executive committee of the Citizens Action Committee of New Haven, and a director of the Quinnipiac Valley Development Corporation. He is an independent in politics. Mr. Hotchkiss attends religious services at the Edgewood Congregational Church and is a member of the church's board of trustees.
He was married at Smethport, Pennsylvania, on October 7, 1924, to Anne MacGowan, born at Smethport on March 25, 1902, the daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. James MacGowan. Her father was born in Canada and came to the United States as a boy. Both of her parents are deceased. Mrs. Hotchkiss graduated from Hillhouse High School, New Haven, in 1920, she is chairman of the maintenance committee of the Young Women's Christian Association, is active in church work and is a member of the New Haven Badminton Club.
Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss have three sons, all born in New Haven: I. Welles Thompson, born on February 22, 1927, graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1944 and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Engineering from Yale University in 1949. During World War II, he served eighteen months, in 1945 and 1946, in the United States Navy. Now an electrical engineer for the Combustion En- gineering Corporation of Windsor, Connecticut, he is married to Elizabeth Maffe and they have three children: Mark, Wendy and Dorra-Lec. 2. Gerald Godfrey, Jr., born on September 22, 1930, graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1948 and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1952. He served with the United States Marines eighteen months in 1953 and 1954, and is a captain in the Marine Reserves. He is associated with Time,
Gobrukt Brooks
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Incorporated. He is married to Patricia Jane Vollner. 3. Stephen MacGowan, born on January 25, 1939, graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1956 and is now a student at Bates College.
WHITNEY LAWTON BROOKS
Whitney Lawton Brooks began his career with The Brooks Bank and Trust Company of Torrington in the early 1940s, and, in the intervening years, he has progressed steadily to the position of secretary-treasurer. He is an official of another bank and of an in- surance agency ; is interested in welfare and community causes; and takes a special interest in the study of regional history, holding office in several groups having this common point of interest.
A native of Torrington, he was born on December 13, 1918, son of Charles Kenneth and Laura Marana Brooks. His father was with the American Brass Company in that city, and at Toronto, Ontario, during most of his career. Entering the United States Marine Corps at the time of World War I, he served in France. His death occurred in 1955. His wife survived him, and is now remarried, to Kenneth B. Meurer of Litchfield. She was for some years treasurer of The Brooks Bank and Trust Company, until her retirement in 1945.
Completing his secondary studies at The Kent School, Whitney L. Brooks graduated there in 1937, and in 1941 he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts at Williams College. In that year he began his career in banking as a teller with The Brooks Bank and Trust Com- pany at Torrington. He left in 1943 to serve in the Army of the United States, and was a sergeant in the Finance Department. He spent two years in Greenland, and received his honorable discharge in February, 1946.
Resuming his connection with the bank at that time, he was ap- pointed note teller, and was promoted to office manager in 1950. In 1952, he completed professional courses at the Graduate School of Banking of Rutgers University, and the same year joined the man- agement staff of the Brooks Bank and Trust Company as treasurer. He has been secretary as well as treasurer since 1955.
Mr. Brooks is also a corporator and trustee of The Torrington Savings Bank, and is secretary and a director of Burns, Brooks, and McNeil, Inc., an insurance agency. Welfare and community causes in Torrington, and the cause of culture and public education as well, have benefited from the bank executive's interest and devoted service. He is secretary-treasurer and a trustee of The Torrington Library, and assistant treasurer of The Hillside Cemetery. He is secretary-
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treasurer and a trustee of The John Brown Association, and treasurer of the Litchfield Public Health Nursing Association.
His profound interest in history has brought him a number of other organizational responsibilities. He is currently vice president of The Torrington Historical Society; president of The Connecticut League of Historical Societies; and a director of the North American Association of Historic Sites Public Officials. In 1956 he was appointed to a four-year term as chairman of the Connecticut Historical Com- mission. His memberships include the Litchfield Historical Society, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, the American Association of State and Local History, the New England Numismatic Association, and the American Numismatic Association. Coin-collecting is one of his hobbies. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, having applied for membership by virtue of descent from Joseph Brooks of Goshen; and his member- ship in the Society of Colonial Wars is predicated upon descent from Governor William Leete, Colonial Governor of Connecticut in 1676.
As a veteran of World War II, Mr. Brooks is a member of Post No. 38 of the American Legion. He is also a member of the Torring- ton Club and Litchfield Country Club. An Episcopalian, he attends St. Michael's Church in Litchfield.
At Grace Church in New York City, on May 7, 1945, Whitney Lawton Brooks married Nancy Pierson Hirose. She was born there, the daughter of Arthur Pierson and Marguerite (Byrnes) Hirose. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks make their home on Goshen Road in Litchfield, and they are the parents of two children, both of whom were born in Torrington: 1. Marguerite Laura, born on September 10, 1946. 2. Marana Lawton, born July 18, 1949.
BARNARD FLAXMAN
At an early age, Mr. Flaxman came to this country from Russia, where he was born on October 5, 1899, son of Harry and Ida (Aber) Flaxman, who are now deceased. The family settled in Hartford, and Barnard Flaxman attended the city's public schools and graduated from Hartford Public High School. He went to Syracuse University for his advanced studies, and graduated there in 1922 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. While at Syracuse during the World War I period, he was a member of the Students' Army Training Corps.
In the year of his graduation, he began his career in the field of business research with the Standard Statistics Company. In 1924 he left that connection to join the investment staff of the Hartford
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Fire Insurance Company, and, in 1937, he was elected assistant sec- retary of that firm. In 1938 he became assistant secretary of the Hart- ford Accident and Indemnity Company. He became secretary of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company in 1944, and secretary of the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company in 1947. The following year he was elected assistant vice president of both the above com- panies. In 1952 he was promoted to vice president of both firms, at the same time becoming financial vice president of New York Under- writers Insurance Company and the Hartford Live Stock Insurance Company. Mr. Flaxman was elected vice president of Citizens Insur- ance Company of New Jersey and Twin City Fire Insurance Company and financial vice president of London-Canada Insurance Company in 1956. He is a director of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, New York Underwriters Insurance Company, the Hartford Live Stock Insurance Company, the Citizens Insurance Company of New Jersey, Twin City Insurance Company of Minneapolis and Columbian National Life Insurance Company. He is also a director of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, and a trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank of Hartford.
Mr. Flaxman is a member of the Hartford Investment Group, the New York Society of Security Analysts, and the National Federa- tion of Financial Analysts Societies. Interested in promoting the edu- cational facilities and the cultural life of his community, he serves as a trustee of his alma mater, Syracuse University, and on the finance committee of the Hartford Art School, and he is a corporator for the Institute of Living and a member of the advisory cabinet of the Uni- versity of Hartford.
He is a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity, and of Tumble Brook Country Club at Bloomfield, and his religious affiliation is with Temple Beth Israel at West Hartford.
In New Haven, on June 24, 1928, Barnard Flaxman married Bessie Aaron, daughter of Jacob and Dora (Rudolph) Aaron. The couple are the parents of three children: 1. Robert A., who was born on August 22, 1930. He attended Syracuse University and was gra- duated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Hillyer College of the University of Hartford in 1952. Married to Barbara, daughter of Irving Friedenn of West Hartford, he has a son. Jon, born March 22, 1957. 2. Donald H., born May 27, 1934, who was graduated from Harvard College in 1956 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 3. Doris, who was born November 2, 1940, is attending Syracuse University.
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WILLIAM P. CONKLIN
Since the beginning of his career in industry, William P. Conklin has been with The J. M. Ney Company of Hartford, and is now presi- dent of this firm, which manufactures precious-metal alloys for dental and industrial uses.
Mr. Conklin is a native of Hartford, and was born on August 14, 1907, son of William P., Sr., and Edith I. (Ney) Conklin. His father too had been identified with The J. M. Ney Company for many years, and was its treasurer for some years before his death, in Au- gust, 1940. Mrs. Conklin died in 1934. Attending Kingswood Academy in West Hartford until 1922, the younger William P. Conklin then entered Hotchkiss School at Lakeville to complete his preparatory studies, and graduated there in 1924. In 1928 he took his degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at Yale University.
In that year he began his connection with The J. M. Ney Com- pany, starting in the capacity of shipping clerk in the Chicago branch office. He returned to Hartford in 1932 as advertising manager, and at the same time was made a member of the board of directors. He was elected secretary of the corporation in 1934; became vice presi- dent and treasurer in 1941; and having had valuable experience in these other executive offices, assumed his duties as president in Feb- ruary, 1947, succeeding his uncle, Harry C. Ney. Mr. Ney had been president of the company from the time of its incorporation in 1909. Its history goes back much farther than that, however. It was founded by Marcus Bull, at Hartford, in February, 1812. For many years it has specialized in making various alloys of precious metal.
In addition to serving as president of this long-established firm over the past decade, William P. Conklin is a director of the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, the Hartford Steam Boiler In- spection and Insurance Company, the Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company of Middletown, Connecticut Printers, Inc., the Arrow-Hart and Hegeman Company and the Spencer Turbine Company of Hart- ford. He serves on the board of trustees of the Kingswood School of West Hartford, and is also a member of the board and of the execu- tive committee of Hartford Hospital.
Mr. Conklin is a veteran of service in the United States Navy during World War II. He served as a storekeeper, third class. He is a member of the Farmington Country Club and the Norfolk Curling Club. He and his family attend the First Church of Christ, Congre- gational, in Farmington.
At Walpole, Massachusetts, on June 1, 1935, William P. Conklin
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married Anne L. Allen, daughter of Philip R. and Anne L. ( Kirkham) Allen. For many years her father was president and chairman of the board of Bird and Son, manufacturers of roofing materials, linoleum, and other building materials. Mrs. Conklin attended Beaver Country Day School at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and also attended Smith College at Northampton, Massachusetts. The couple are the parents of three children: 1. John M., who was born in Hartford on June 22, 1937. He graduated from Kingswood School in 1955 and from Yale University in 1959. 2. Edward K., born in Hartford on September 25, 1941 ; a graduate of Kingswood School in 1959. 3. Anne L., born September 6, 1946; a student at Oxford School in West Hartford.
HONORABLE EDWIN H. MAY, JR.
The former United States Representative in Congress from the First District of Connecticut is a Hartford insurance man, Edwin H. May, Jr. He is one of the younger business and political leaders of his state, and was elected to his present office in 1956. Mr. May's home is in Wethersfield. On December 9, 1958 he became Connecticut State Republican Chairman.
A native of Hartford, he was born on May 28, 1924, son of Edwin H., Sr., and Dorothy Wells (Hannum) May. He is a descendant of Thomas Welles, the fourth governor of Connecticut, who held office from 1655 to 1658. Living in Wethersfield from his boyhood years, the younger Edwin H. May graduated from high school there in 1942. As a high school student, he was president of his class, and won letters in soccer, basketball and baseball. He took his advanced courses at Wesleyan University, where he majored in government, and received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1948. He was secretary-treasurer of the student government there, and continued to play soccer, basket- ball and baseball. He received the Olin Scholarship, the highest all- around student award.
From 1943 to 1945, Mr. May served in the United States Army Air Force, being a pilot and instructor with the rank of second lieu- tenant. He is currently a captain in the Air Force Reserve.
Entering the insurance business at the beginning of his career, Mr. May joined in forming the firm of May, Potter and Murphy, Inc., in 1956, and is now its president. The agency's address is 129 Trumbull Street, Hartford.
Mr. May has to his credit an exceptional record of civic service. He has served as president of the Greater Hartford Junior Chamber
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of Commerce: as president of the Connecticut Junior Chamber of Commerce, and as vice president and national director of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. He has been division chairman of the Hartford Community Chest, and vice chairman of the local chapter of the American Red Cross, as well as captain in its campaigns. He responsibly carried out important flood-relief work as a member of the executive committee of the United Service Clubs of the Con- necticut Flood Relief Fund. He is currently on the boards of directors of the Goodwill Boys' Clubs, the Volunteer Bureau of Greater Hart- ford, the Junior Republic, and Charter Oak Council of Boy Scouts of America ; he is an Eagle Scout and he formerly served as a director of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce and the Symphony Society of Greater Hartford. Mr. May was co-founder, and first co-chairman, of the Insurance City Open Golf Championship. On several occasions, he has received recognition for his role in civic affairs. He was voted Outstanding Young Man for Greater Hartford in 1954; Outstanding Young Man in Connecticut in 1955; and in 1954 was chosen outstand- ing state president of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.
In his home community of Wethersfield he also has a record of useful activities. He has been justice of the peace there, and active in political affairs, being a member of the Young Republican Club and the Republican Committee of District 2. He has taken a full part in the programs of the Lodge for Governor Club, of which he was vice chairman, and in the Ike for President Club. He is a member and past president of the Wethersfield Veterans Association, and a member of the Businessmen's and Civic Association of Wethersfield. His church affiliation, with the First Church of Christ, Congrega- tional, is also in that city.
Mr. May was elected to represent the people of the First District of Connecticut in the Congress of the United States in 1956.
On July 19, 1947, Edwin H. May, Jr., married Jean Blease, who is the daughter of Douglas A. and Dorothy (Smith) Blease, natives of Wethersfield. Mrs. May completed her secondary studies at the high school there, after which she attended the University of Con- necticut. The couple are the parents of three children: I. Edwin H., 3rd, born August 12, 1948. 2. Laura, born May 25, 1951. 3. Lisa, born January 31, 1955.
HERMAN ROBERT GIESE
Herman Robert Giese has to his credit a varied career in in-
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dustry, which has taken him to various parts of the country, and to responsible posts with well-known manufacturers. His present con- nection with Sargent and Company of New Haven began in 1942, and he is now executive vice president of this company. He is director of several other local organizations.
Born at Denver, Colorado, on October 13, 1904, he is a son of Herman A. and Louise Annette (Schlacks) Giese. His father was a native Easterner, born at Newark, New York, in 1875. For many years he was western sales manager for a leather goods company, Charles A. Schieren Company of New York, and during that time the family made their home in Denver. They later moved to Chicago, and Herman A. Giese died at New Haven in March, 1954. His wife, the former Louise Schlacks, was born in Chicago in 1872. She passed away May 4, 1959.
Herman R. Giese completed his public school education in his native area and graduated from East Denver High School in 1921. He then entered the University of Colorado at Boulder, and there graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1925. In 1927 he completed courses at Harvard Uni- versity leading to the degree of Master in Business Administration.
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