USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 37
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In 1942, shortly after this country had become involved in World War II, Mr. Ekblade was transferred to Lansing, Michigan, where as supervisor of gun training in the Oldsmobile Division, he ren- dered service of value to the defense program. From late 1943 until 1947, he was zone service manager with Oldsmobile at Oakland, California. He returned to Lansing as assistant service manager of this division of General Motors, later becoming service manager and held that position until December 1, 1950.
At that time, Mr. Ekblade returned to Connecticut and opened
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Ekblade Olds, Inc., at Hamden. He has since headed the organiza- tion as president and general manager. He is a member of the Na- tional Automobile Dealers Association and the Connecticut Auto- mobile Dealers Association.
Mr. Ekblade is a past director and past vice president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Wapawaug Country Club at Milford and the lodges of the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks and Free and Accepted Masons, and he is a former Rotarian. He attends the Lutheran Church, and is an independent in politics.
At New Haven, on March 26, 1927, Harry Rudolf Ekblade married Alice Ferguson. Born in that city on September 23, 1903, she is a daughter of Hugh and Agnes ( McCance) Ferguson. Both of her parents are deceased. Mrs. Ekblade graduated from New Haven High School in 1921. The couple are the parents of three children : 1. Karen Lane, who was born on April 6, 1932. She attended high school in California, and went on to advanced courses at Ohio Wesleyan and the Rhode Island School of Design. She is now the wife of Warren Kelley. They live at North Branford, and have three child- ren: Thomas, Peter and Janet. 2. Carl Richard, born May 5, 1936. A graduate of Hamden High School, he attended General Motors Institute at Flint, Michigan. He is now associated with his father in the management of Ekblade Olds, Inc. He is enrolled in the National Guard. Carl R. Ekblade married Deborah Carl, and they have one son, James. 3. Herbert Thomas, born January 10, 1938. A graduate of Hamden High School, he is now a student at Quinnipiac College at Hamden, and is in the Army Reserve Corps. All three children were born in New Haven.
EDWARD COOGAN MULLIGAN
After valuable experience in the sales field, Edward C. Mulligan joined the Moran Brush Manufacturing Company of Hamden several years ago, in the dual capacity of general manager, and secretary of the corporation. Since that time he has played his part in bringing about the growth of the firm and in expanding its markets. He is a veteran of wartime service in the United States Navy.
Born February 20, 1925, in New Haven, he is a son of Eugene and Madeline (Coogan) Mulligan. Both of his parents were aiso born in that city, his father in July, 1891, and his mother in 1896. Both are living. Eugene Mulligan was for forty-five years a member
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of the New Haven Fire Department, and during much of that time, was fire marshal for the city. He retired in July, 1958. He formerly served as president of the Connecticut State Firemen's Association. During World War I, he was a sergeant in the army, serving with the American Expeditionary Forces. He is a member of the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks and the American Legion.
Edward C. Mulligan completed his secondary courses at Hill- house High School, where he graduated in 1942. He has since taken courses at the University of Connecticut and Yale University. In 1943, he entered active service in the United States Navy as a petty officer, and was in the Pacific Theater much of the time between then and 1946, when he received his honorable discharge.
In that year, he took a position as salesman with the Atlantic Refining Company. He left in 1948 to accept a sales position with Motors Insurance Corporation, a Division of General Motors. In 1951 he came to Hamden as secretary of the Moran Brush Manu- facturing Company, and general manager of its piant. The company, which now employs thirty-five persons full time, produces a variety of brushes and brooms, primarily for industrial use. These are mar- keted in all parts of the United States, and there is a sales force of twenty men on the road at all times. In addition to the headquarters and home plant in Hamden, warehouses are maintained in Dallas, Texas, and in California.
Active in his industry generally, Edward C. Mulligan is a mem- ber of the National Sanitary Supply Association. In his home city of Hamden he belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, and was formerly a member of the Lions Club. His fraternity is Sigma Chi. He is a Roman Catholic and a member of the Knights of St. Patrick. In politics he counts himself an independent.
In New Haven, on November 23, 1949, Edward Coogan Mulii- gan married Florence Moran. Born in that city on June 6, 1924, she is a daughter of George F. and Mary (Doyle) Moran. Both of her parents were likewise born in New Haven, her father in 1881 and her mother five years later. He was president of the Moran Brush Manu- facturing Company, which had been founded by his father. His death occurred in 1950. Mrs. Moran survives him and lives in Hamden.
Mrs. Mulligan graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1941, and from Albertus Magnus College at New Haven in 1946, taking her degree of Bachelor of Arts there. She and her husband are the parents of one son, Edward Joseph, who was born in New Haven on October 19, 1951. He is attending the Alice Peck School in Hamden.
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MELVIN E. WAGNER
Superintendent of schools of West Haven since 1951, and active in the educational field since 1923, Dr. Wagner is a past president of the Connecticut Business Educators Association. He is a member of the American Association of School Administrators, the Connecticut Association of Superintendents, the Association of Business School Officials, and the New England Association of Superintendents.
He was born in Park Rapids, Minnesota, on August 15, 1903, the son of August Henry Wagner and of Gertrude Estelle (Guern- sey) Wagner. His father operated his own business of tuning and re- pairing pianos and organs, and he died on May 22, 1954. Dr. Wagner attended schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin, graduated from Col- lege High School in White Water, Wisconsin, and obtained the de- degree of Bachelor of Education at Wisconsin State Teachers Coi- lege in 1926. He received the degree of Master of Arts from New York University in 1942, and it was in 1954 that he received the de- gree of Doctor of Education from New York University. During World War II, he served as a member of the Connecticut National Guard.
Head accountant for the Libby, McNeil and Libby Milk Depart- ment in Wisconsin in 1921 and 1922, Dr. Wagner was head of the account department at the Business College in Little Falls, Minnesota in 1923, and in 1924 was associated with the Business College in Mc- Keesport, Pennsylvania. Principal of the Country School in Wal- worth County, Wisconsin, in 1925, he was active in coaching boys and girls in Sports Public High School in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, from 1926 to 1942, and it was in 1942 that he became director of teachers training at Teachers College in New Britain. In 1951, 1954 and 1955, he taught administrative education and the history of edu- cation at New York University, and from 1949 to 1951, he was a consultant of the Raymond Loewy Corporation, while teaching part- time at New York University. He has been superintendent of schools in West Haven since 1951. He wrote the West Haven Alma Mater song in 1947 for West Haven High School.
An independent in politics, Dr. Wagner is a member of the West Haven Rotary Club, is a member of the West Haven Chamber of Commerce, the Elks Club, and is a past president of the New York University Educational Alumni. He is a member of the New York Uni- versity Federation, and holds membership in Delta Pi Epsilon, Kappa Delta Pi, and Phi Delta Kappa fraternities. He attends religious worship as a member of Christ Episcopal Church in West Haven.
Melvin E.
agner
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Dr. Wagner was married in West Haven on December 26, 1929, to Lora Thompson, the daughter of Major James White Thompson and of Laura Thompson. Her father served in the Army as a doctor in the Medical Corps and died on March 8, 1922. Dr. and Mrs. Wag- ner have one daughter, Loramel Patricia, now Mrs. Loramel Wagner Sanford. She was born on April 3, 1933, and was married in 1954. Mrs. Wagner and her daughter attend religious service as communi- cants of the Roman Catholic Church.
THOMAS J. DODD
Thomas J. Dodd of Hartford, has taken a prominent part in the public affairs of both his state and the nation. He has represented the First Connecticut District in the Congress of the United States, and participated in the famed Nuremberg trials. In 1958, he was elected to a six year term as United States Senator from Connecticut.
A native of Norwich, he was born on May 15, 1907, son of Thomas J., Sr., and Abigail (O'Sullivan) Dodd. His father was a business man. After attending public elementary and high schools in Norwich, the younger Thomas J. Dodd entered St. Anselm's Prepara- tory School in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he graduated in 1926. The next four years were spent at Providence College, where in 1930 he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1933, receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree. Immediately afterwards, he entered the service of the United States Government, holding a position in the Department of Justice in 1933, and in the Department of the Interior in 1934. Then, in 1935, he was appointed to the directorship of the National Youth Administration's program in the state of Connecticut. He was the first such appointee to be named from the national organization, and was selected because the authorities believed that a young man with the same point of view as the young people the Administration was created to assist, would be most successful. The scope of his work is indicated in a review of his career published in the late 1930S :
During the period covering his first report, the value of Mr. Dodd's work was shown by the fact that more than five thousand persons were aided. In the second year's report, the total number aided was more than ten thousand . . . This total includes nearly three thousand persons classified under student aid, more than one thousand in works projects employed and some two thousand eight hundred persons placed in work by junior placement offices in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport.
In 1938, Mr. Dodd was named special assistant to the United Conn. III-30
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States Attorney General, and served until 1946. He was executive trial counsel under Justice Robert H. Jackson, in the prosecution of the Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg following World War II. Some time after his return to this country, he was elected to represent his fellow citizens of the First Connecticut District in the Congress of the United States. He took his seat in the Eighty-third Congress, and served through the Eighty-fourth Congress.
As a member of the Senate in the eighty-sixth Congress, he was named to the following committees: Appropriations, Judiciary and Aeronautical and Space Sciences.
Mr. Dodd is entitled to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and the Court of Appeals of Washington, D. C., as well as the courts of his own state and district. He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American Society of International Law, and the International Penal Society which he has served as vice president. Active in the councils of the Democratic party, he was a delegate to the national conventions of 1936, 1948 and 1952.
Among the national and international honors received by Mr. Dodd are the Order of the White Lion of Czechoslovakia, the Order of Merit from Italy, the U. S. Medal of Freedom, and the Presidential Citation. In religious faith he is a Roman Catholic.
Thomas J. Dodd holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Rollins College in Florida, which was conferred on him in 1948.
On May 19, 1934, Mr. Dodd married Grace Murphy, and they are the parents of the following children: I. Thomas. 2. Carolyn. 3. Jeremy. 4. Martha. 5. Christopher. 6. Nicholas Owen. The family lives in Washington, D. C.
FRANCIS GOODWIN, 2ND
Active in the insurance field since he came to Hartford in the early 1920s, Francis Goodwin, 2nd, is now senior partner in the firm of Goodwin, Loomis and Britton, a general insurance agency. He has been active on behalf of welfare, cultural and educational causes.
In choosing Hartford as the scene of his business career, he was returning to his native city, for he was born there on April 30, 1895, the son of James and Frances Whittlesey (Brown) Goodwin. He graduated from St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, and in 1918 completed his courses at Yale University. From April, 1917, to November, 1919, he was in the United States Navy. Holding a
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commission as ensign, he served in the European Theater, in command of U. S. Subchaser No. 44. He was awarded the Navy Cross.
When he returned to civilian life late in 1919, he settled first in New York City, where he joined the general contracting firm of Todd, Irons and Robinson. He continued with that organization until 1922, then returned to Hartford and joined the general insurance agency of Beardsley and Beardsley as an employee. In 1924 he left to become a partner in another insurance organization, Silas Chapman and Com- pany, Inc. He remained with that agency for a decade, and when he resigned from the partnership in 1934, he founded his own concern, Francis Goodwin and Company. This was succeeded in 1946 by a partnership, Goodwin, Loomis and Britton. He has been senior partner since it was formed.
Mr. Goodwin serves on the boards of trustees of the Open Hearth Association and of Watkinson School of Hartford, and he is a director of the Hartford School of Music. Among his cultural interests is the Symphony Society of Greater Hartford, in which he holds office as executive vice president. He is a member of The Hartford Club, Hartford Canoe Club, the Yale Club of New York, and the Cruising Club of America.
A communicant of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, he serves as a member of its chapter. His hobbies are woodworking, music, and sailing.
Twice married, Francis Goodwin, 2nd, chose as his first wife Miss Janet Stanley. They were married in 1924, and became the par- ents of a daughter, Jane Fenwick Goodwin, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 2, 1933. She is a graduate of Miss Hewitt's School in New York City. In Londonderry, Vermont, on July 12, 1947, Mr. Goodwin married, second, Miss Effie Gilbertson, daughter of J. Stewart and Mary (Jarvie) Gilbertson. She is a graduate of Oxford School in Hartford, Class of 1932, and of Vassar College, Class of 1938.
EDWARD S. ROGIN
Coming to this country from Europe at an early age, Edward S. Rogin has advanced through his own efforts to a prominent place at the Connecticut bar. Practicing at Hartford, he is senior member of the firm of Rogin, Nassau and Caplan. He has served with distinc- tion on the bench as judge of the town court at Newington.
Born in the Ukraine on May 15, 1908, he is a son of Samuel and
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Anna (Sagor) Rogin. His parents, who are now deceased, brought him to this country in 1913, and the family settled in New Britain in July of that year. There Judge Rogin attended the public schools, and he graduated from New Britain High School in 1925. He went on to advanced sudies at Clark University in Worcester, and for his professional training, took classes at Boston University Law School, graduating there in 1930 and receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to practice in the state of Connecticut on January 27, 1931. He has since been admitted to practice before the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals.
In 1931 he commenced his general practice of law in Hartford. His present firm, Rogin, Nassau and Caplan, was established in 1956. He holds membership in the American Bar Association, the Connecti- cut State Bar Association and the Hartford County Bar Association.
Edward S. Rogin assumed his duties as judge of the town court of Newington in 1939, and served on the bench there until 1941. In the Supreme Court case involving the Ringling Brothers' Cir- cus, which met with a disastrous fire in the summer of 1944, Judge Rogin was appointed receiver. In the fall of 1944, claims amounting to four million dollars were paid to persons injured in that fire. In a summary of the case appearing in Volume 141 of Connecticut Re- ports, page 86, the following statement of the Supreme Court is quoted :
Rogin was faced with the necessity of making sound decisions and reliable recommendations. A lack of diligence and comprehension on his part could well have been fatal to the entire program. He had to acquire knowledge about the business of the defendant, its financial operations and its management policies and problems as well as about the personalities directing its affairs with whom he had to deal. This required industry, integrity, skill and tact. His competence was recognized during the receivership by both the court and counsel for the defendant.
Mr. Rogin has been active in Welfare work in his home city, particularly in Jewish service organizations. He serves as a director of the Hartford Jewish Federation, and also as director of the Hart- ford Jewish Community Center. He holds membership in Temple Beth Israel and Emanuel Synagogue. Fond of golf, he is a member of Tumble Brook Country Club.
On July 15, 1938, in Hartford, Edward S. Rogin married Matilda Frances Cohen, daughter of Samuel and Baile (Tonken) Cohen, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Rogin have two children: I. Albert, who was born at Hartford on December 9, 1942. He is now attending Kingswood School in West Hartford. 2. Amy Jane, born in that city on February 26, 1948.
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NEAL C. O'CONNELL
In the industry for which Hartford is nationally known, the in- surance business, Neal C. O'Connell plays a dual role. He is president of the Connecticut Valley Mutual Insurance Company, and also vice president of the Mutual Insurance Company of Hartford.
A native of Bristol, he was born on September 15, 1899, and is a son of Christopher D. and Elizabeth (Hoylen) O'Connell. Both parents have been dead for many years, Mrs. O'Connell having died in 1918, and her husband the following year. He was a superintendent at the plant of New Departure Manufacturing Company at Bristol. Despite the death of his parents, Neal C. O'Connell managed to secure a good formal education, entering Morse College in Hartford follow- ing his graduation from Bristol High School. From 1922 to 1942, he was associated with Joseph W. Alsop in the tobacco and insurance businesses in Hartford.
Since 1942, insurance has been his exclusive career interest. In 1953 he became president of the Connecticut Valley Mutual Insurance Company, which has its offices at 95 Woodland Street in Hartford. In 1955 he assumed additional duties as vice president and director of the Mutual Insurance Company of Hartford. He is a member of the Farmington Country Club, being interested in golf. Another of his outdoor interests in sailing. He is a communicant of the First Church of Christ, Congregational, in West Hartford, where he and his family live.
Mrs. O'Connell is the former Miss Anita Holley of Bristol, daughter of Perry M. and Ida (Case) Holley. She is a graduate of Bristol High School and of Mount Ida at Newton, Massachusetts. She and Mr. O'Connell are the parents of two children: I. Neal H., born in Hartford on July 20, 1928. A graduate of West Hartford High School, he entered Yale University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Science in 1950. He has served in the Air Force, and is now with the Aetna Life Insurance Company. Neal H. O'Connell married Alice Hall of Elmira, New York. They have one son, Neal Stephen. 2. Gail Holley, born in Hartford on July 22, 1931. She is a graduate of West Hartford High School and of Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, New York. She is now the wife of Stanley A. MacBeth of New Hartford. They have three children: i. Craig F. ii. Karen Elaine. iii. Scott.
EDWARD JAMES DOWNEY
Following early experience in the music publishing and show
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business, and military service in World War II, Edward James Downey turned his attention to the beverage bottling industry. He is now executive vice president and manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New Haven.
A native of Wallingford, Connecticut, he was born on April 6, 1915, son of James A. and Elizabeth (Cox) Downey. His father, who was born at Cheshire in 1867, was for many years chief of the Wallingford Fire Department. He is now living in retirement in that city. Mrs. Downey died in 1956. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1872.
Edward J. Downey completed his formal education at New York Military Academy, where he graduated in 1934. Until 1937 he was employed by music publishing firms in New York. In that year he joined his brother, the well known vocalist Morton Downey, in show business as manager of the latter's personal affairs, and they con- tinued this relationship until Edward J. Downey entered military service in 1940. Joining the army, he served first in the infantry and was later assigned to the Intelligence Division. He remained state- side throughout World War II.
When he returned to civilian life, he went to Chicago, and took a position with the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of that city. Re- maining there until 1947, he left to return to his native Connecticut, assuming duties as manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Willimantic. He came to New Haven in 1953 as sales manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company there. His brother Morton is its presi- dent. In 1957, Edward J. Downey became executive vice president and manager of the firm, the positions he holds today.
He is active in his city's Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, and belongs to the lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus, holding the Third Degree in the latter lodge. He also belongs to the Knights of St. Patrick. While in Willimantic, he served as president of the Y Men's Club. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church.
At Wallingford, on September 19, 1942, Edward James Downey married Kathryn Conroy. Born in that city on June 4, 1915, she is a daughter of William B. and Mary (Griffin) Conroy. Both of her parents were also born at Wallingford, her father in 1884. He was a silversmith for Wallace Silver, and is now retired. Mrs. Conroy is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Downey are the parents of a son, Edward James, Jr., who was born on August 29, 1943, at the New Haven Hospital. He is now attending Cheshire Academy.
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PHILANDER COOKE
Founding the Cooke Express at North Haven in the early years of his career, Philander Cooke has capably headed this organization ever since. Now known as Cooke's Express Company, it has its head- quarters at 15 Middletown Avenue, and has become a rather im- portant industry in the community, operating trucking routes in all parts of New England and maintaing several branch offices. Mr. Cooke has become well known and respected in his industry, and has held office in trade organizations.
For ten generations his family has lived at Wallingford, and he was born there on July 29, 1902. His father, Levi Morelle Cooke, born August 3, 1875, is still active in his lifelong occupation of farming and dairying. He is still up at 4:30 in the morning to milk a herd of fifty cows with the aid of one hired man. A Mason, he is also active in the Patrons of Husbandry and a past master of his Grange. His wife, the former Nellie Marie Paddock, is also active in the Grange. She is a native of Meriden.
Attending the public schools of Wallingford, Philander Cooke graduated from high school there in 1922. After completing his sec- ondary studies, he worked for one year at the Connecticut Quarries in Wallingford, then drove a truck until February, 1925. Having de- cided that he could find a rewarding career in the transportation in- dustry, Mr. Cooke then decided to go into business for himself, and the Cooke Express, as his organization was originally known, was the result. It began its official existence on February 16 of that year. In the intervening time, he has successfully built it into one of the major organizations of its kind in the region. With the assistance of sixty-three full-time employees, he now operates between fifty and sixty units, including trucks, tractors and trailers, throughout Con- necticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Offices are also maintained at Springfield, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Cooke is also the owner of the Hercules Trucking Company of Provi- dence. He is a director and past president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut, and has also served as vice president from Connecticut in the American Trucking Association, an organization of trucking industry executives with headquarters in Washington, D. C. He held that office for four years.
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