USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 50
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A Certified Public Accountant with many years' experience in Hartford to his credit, James W. Hickey is now senior partner in the firm of Hadfield, Rothwell, Soule and Coates, with offices at 750 Main Street. He is a native of Stamford, and was born on December 30, 1898, son of Charles, Jr., and Rose (O'Brien) Hickey. His father, a merchant in Stamford for many years, died in February, 1957, at the age of ninety-two. Mrs. Hickey died in 1944. She was a native of Ireland who came to this country as a young girl. Her husband was born in Stamford.
In the schools of that city, James W. Hickey received his educa- tion, and he came to Hartford in 1917. In that year he took an ac- counting position with the Internal Revenue Service, and over the years which followed, prepared himself professionally for a career in Accounting, taking Columbia University extension courses. He became a Certified Public Accountant in 1933. Meantime, he had left the Internal Revenue Service in 1928 to join the firm of Hadfield, Rothwell, Soule and Coates. He became a partner in 1936, and senior partner in 1957.
For some years, Mr. Hickey has been active in the work of the Connecticut State Board of Accountants, and he served as its pres- ident from 1944 to 1950. He was president of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants during the 1945-1946 term; and he holds membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Ac- countants.
Among his business connections, Mr. Hickey is a director of the Edward Balf Company of Hartford. He is a member of the city's Chamber of Commerce and of the Hartford Club, and is a communi- cant of St. Thomas' Roman Catholic Church.
In Hartford, on November 17, 1924, James W. Hickey married Grace Murphy of Rockville, daughter of Michael and Margaret (Hy- land) Murphy. The couple are the parents of the following children: I. Grace Marie, who was born on January 27, 1926. She graduated from St. Joseph's Academy in Hartford and also from Connecticut State College for Women at New London. In 1955, she became the wife of Edward Wallace, Jr., of Litchfield. He is a graduate of Michigan State School of Veterinary Medicine, and is a veteran of military service in the Korean War, during which he held the rank of captain.
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Mr. and Mrs. Wallace have two sons : Michael Wallace, who was born on July 30, 1956, and John James, born August 12, 1958. 2. James Gregory, born in Hartford on March 14, 1929. He is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Science, and also graduated from that university's law school. He is a member of the Connecticut and the District of Columbia bars, and of the State Bar Association of Connecticut and the Hartford County Bar Association. James G. Hickey married Joan Powers of Waterbury, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Powers, on April 23, 1954. They have two sons: i. James Gregory, born in Washington, D. C., on May 3, 1955. ii. Jeffery Leon, born May 10, 1957, in Hart- ford.
THOMAS A. STEVENS
The president and treasurer of the Deep River Hardware Com- pany, Thomas A. Stevens is one of that community's leading citizens. Carrying varied business responsibilities, he also heads the township's board of finance, and holds office in a number of organizations.
He is a native of Deep River, and was born on August 27, 1901, son of Herbert W. and Helen L. (Post) Stevens. Attending local public schools, he graduated from Deep River High School, and for his advanced studies, went to Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1923 and took his professional degree of Electrical Engineer. He still retains the designation of Re- gistered Professional Engineer in the State of Massachusetts.
Many years of Mr. Stevens' career were spent in engineering, with the Boston Edison Company, which provides electric light and power in the Boston area. He was with that organization from 1923 to 1947. From 1935 to 1942 he held the position of district manager of the company's Framingham-Natick District, and in the latter year he entered naval service in World War II. Commissioned a lieutenant, he was subsequently promoted to lieutenant commander, and spent time in both the North Atlantic and the Pacific theaters. Mr. Stevens is also a veteran of World War I, but during that conflict he was in the army as a field clerk.
He resumed his connection with the Boston Edison Company after World War II, but left in 1947, and until 1949 was managing director of the Marine Historical Association at Mystic, Connecticut. In 1949 he returned to his native town of Deep River, where he or- ganized the Deep River Hardware Company, Inc., becoming its pres- ident and treasurer. The store is located at 177 Main Street. In addi-
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tion, he is a director of the Deep River Savings Bank. He was town clerk of Deep River from 1949 to 1951 and since 1953, he has served on the board of finance of the Town of Deep River, and is its chairman. He is president of the Deep River Chamber of Commerce. He retains his vital interest in historical organizations. He is currently secretary of the Deep River Historical Society, which he formerly served as president; and is vice president of the Connecticut League of His- torical Societies and a member of the Connecticut Historical Society. Mr. Stevens was instrumental in the formation of the State Historical Commission of which he is a member.
His local memberships include the Deep River Rotary Club and the First Congregational Church of Deep River. While in Framing- ham he was also active in community affairs, serving as president of the Framingham Chamber of Commerce and as president of the city's Kiwanis Club. He is a former president of the Northeastern Univer- sity Alumni Association of Boston, Massachusetts. He is a past mas- ter of Trinity Lodge No. 43, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. His hobbies are historical research and travel. Both he and Mrs. Stevens are members of the Deep River Congregational Church.
On July 30, 1927, Thomas A. Stevens married Amelia Roy of Newton, Massachusetts, daughter of Arthur and Sophia (Messier) Roy. Mrs. Stevens is a graduate of Newton High School.
DAVID CRAMER
Senior member of the law firm of Cramer, Blick and Fitzgerald of Litchfield, and active in the practice of law since 1928, Mr. Cramer is also active in professional organizations and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Connecticut Bar Association, and the Litchfield County Bar Association.
He was born in Norwich, on July 21, 1902, the son of Abraham Cramer and of Tillie (Levine) Cramer. He attended Norwich Free Academy, obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts at New York University in 1924, and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Yale University Law School in 1928. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1928.
Mr. Cramer began the general practice of law in Litchfield, in 1928, with the late Judge John T. Hubbard, and he also maintained an office in Torrington, until 1939. His present firm of Cramer, Blick and Fitzgerald maintains an office in New Milford, in addition to its main office at Litchfield.
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Mr. Cramer was formerly City Attorney for Torrington and a judge of its City Court. He is a past president of the Torrington Lions Club. A founder of Station WBIS in Bristol, he also served as a director of this radio station. At one time Mr. Cramer was the owner of the "Litchfield Enquirer." For a number of years he has been a director of the Litchfield Savings Society and he is now a member and was, formerly, president of the Litchfield County Bar Association.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Cramer enjoys social connections as a member of Cosmopolitan Masonic Lodge No. 125, and he holds membership in the Litchfield County University Club, and the New York University Club of New York City. He is a former president of, and attends religious worship at Beth El Synagogue in Torrington.
He is married to Rose M. Dankin, the daughter of Morris Dankin and of Celia Dankin of Torrington.
Mr. and Mrs. Cramer have one son, Adam, born on May II, 1949, and now a student in the Litchfield public schools.
CARL, F. HEEBNER
Carl F. Heebner's record of service in the banking profession dates from the beginning of his career. He began as a bank runner, and has advanced to the presidency of The Citizens and Manufacturers National Bank. At the same time, he has been active in the political and public life of Waterbury.
Born in that city on April 23, 1894, he is a son of Edmund R. and Mary (Kuhn) Heebner, both of whom are deceased. He attended local public schools in Waterbury. As preparation for his professional career, he graduated from the American Institute of Banking, and later attended the Graduate School of Banking conducted at Rutgers University, and graduated there.
He began his career with the Waterbury Trust Company in the capacity of runner, and remained with that financial institution for six years. He left to join the staff of the Citizens National Bank as a teller, and had advanced to assistant cashier by the time that bank merged with The Manufacturers Bank in 1922 to form the present Citizens and Manufacturers National Bank. In the emergent organization, Mr. Heebner continued with his duties as assistant cashier in 1940. He was named vice president in 1949, and the follow- ing year was appointed to the bank's board of directors, and was elected president July 1, 1957. On July 1, 1959 The Citizens & Manu- facturers National Bank of Waterbury merged with The Colonial
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Trust Company of Waterbury forming The Colonial Bank & Trust Company.
Mr. Heebner was elected chairman of the Executive Committee and to the board of directors of the new bank.
For eight years, Mr. Heebner served on the Waterbury Board of Finance. In politics he is a loyal Republican. He is a member of the lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Continental Lodge No. 76, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master. His other memberships include the Waterbury Club and Waterbury Country Club. He is active as a communicant of Bunker Hill Con- gregational Church, and has served on its board of trustees.
Twice married, Carl F. Heebner chose as his first wife, Miss Elsie Chase. They were married in 1916, and she died in 1922. In 1926, he married Helen Lawrence Fowler. Mr. Heebner has five children: I. Edmund Richard. 2. Doris, wife of Walter Rauch. 3. Shirley, married Guy Beardsley. 4. Charles F. 5. Nancie, now Mrs. Raymond A. Pidge. Mr. Heebner has fourteen grandchildren.
IRVING J. LAMAY
For the past thirty years, Irving J. LaMay has been active in the contracting business, heading his own firm, LaMay Construction Com- pany, at Old Saybrook. He is no less well known for his dynamic leadership in community affairs-leadership which has won him the Man of the Year Award for the Lower Connecticut Valley.
Born in the Town of Haddam on April 12, 1893, he is a son of Napoleon and Madeline (Sevigny) LaMay. His father was engaged in the lumber business. Irving LaMay attended Haddam District School in Tylerville, and completed his formal education with his graduation from high school. At the outset of his career, he worked with his father in lumber business. During the chestnut tree blight, he and his brother, Ernest LaMay, moved to Long Island and set up a sawmill with which to carry on lumbering operations with the dead chestnut trees there. They worked on the estates of Theodore Roosevelt, the Tiffanys, and other well-known figures.
Mr. LaMay remained on Long Island until about 1918, then re- turned to Connecticut. He settled first at New Britain, where he re- mained until 1921, working as a carpenter. Also, in 1919, he established his own trucking business in that city, carrying out express deliveries between New Britain and New York. However, this enterprise was short-lived.
In 1921 Mr. LaMay moved to Old Saybrook as a salesman with
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his brothers, Fred and Albert LaMay, who operated an agency sell- ing Model T Ford automobiles and Ford tractors. He continued with their organization until 1927. In that year he purchased his first power shovel and entered the contracting business in his own name. Concen- trating his attention on heavy construction work, he has built LaMay Construction Company into a leading organization of its kind, with a creditable record of completed large-scale contracts in various parts of the Lower Connecticut Valley. He is treasurer of the firm as well as its president. Its headquarters is at 40 River Street. In recent years, Mr. LaMay has been active in the real estate business as well.
His record in civic affairs is exceptional. Over the past few years, he has worked effectively through nearly a score of organizations in the interest of a better community. He is a member, and has served as president, of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, and he has also headed the Saybrook Rotary Club. Active on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America, he has served as director of its Middlesex Council, and he is also a director of the Middlesex Memorial Hospital. He was one of the leaders in an effort to establish a community chest in Old Saybrook; and has effectively supported, both financially and through his own efforts, the programs of the American Red Cross and the national groups to fight polio, cancer and heart disease. He has worked effectively for the Parent-Teacher Association, and has been a direc- tor of the Young Men's Christian Association and of the Middlesex County Hi-Y. He is a member of Lodge No. 1784, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In the fall of 1957, he constructed, at his own expense, an area which will be used by local children as a safe ice-skating rink. He has also donated his time, and that of several of his employees, in rigging the Christmas lights which adorn Main Street each year.
He has had a role in public affairs as well. Since 1935 he has been a member of the Old Saybrook Board of Finance, and has been its chairman since 1952. He has taken a constructive interest in public power resources, and is a member of the New England Water Works Association and the Connecticut Water Works Association. A mem- ber of the Old Saybrook Nursing Board, he was its chairman for two years. He is a past director of the Connecticut Road Builders. His other memberships include the State of Connecticut Civil En- gineers, the Contractors Labor Relations Board, the Connecticut Street and Road Officials, and the Middlesex Manufacturing Association.
When Mr. LaMay received the Lower Connecticut Valley's Man of the Year Award in 1957, he was cited for "distinguished public
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service" to residents of Old Saybrook and the lower valley and shore line communities. He received a plaque presented by Curtiss S. John- son, publisher of The New Era. In announcing the award, Mr. John- son praised Mr. LaMay "for his many and varied civic activities, all of which he has conducted on a voluntary basis, without pay and with- out the thought of receiving any personal glory." At the same time, an editorial appearing in The New Era made this appraisal of Mr. LaMay's achievements :
During the eight years that The New Era has honored a Man Of The Year in the lower valley area there is one name that has been mentioned more times than any other ... even though up until this year other men's achievements have been specifically honored by our award. But this man, in his own quiet and consistent way has been working for the good of the town in which he resides and for the entire community as perhaps no other individual has . .. It would be an impossibility to name all of Mr. LaMay's good works. In addition to run- ning a highly successful construction business, Irv LaMay spends countless hours . .. not once a month or once a week ... but daily, on tasks for which he neither receives nor expects monetary recompense, but which are aimed at helping his neighbors to live a better life because they live in a better town . . . No more unassuming man lives than Irv LaMay. He doesn't do the good things he does every day of his life because he expects, or even wants, thanks and praise . . . he does them because he is that rare sort of human being who is dedicated to being the best kind of a citizen that exists . ..
On February 14, 1917, Irving J. LaMay married Eunice Cush- man Kibbie Warner of New Britain, daughter of Charles and Emma (Halloway) Warner, and a native of Ellington, Connecticut. The couple became the parents of the following children: I. Robert, who was born on Long Island on April 4, 1918. He served in World War II as a master sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps, and was attached to the 14th Air Corps under General Chennault. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and four oak-leaf clusters for flying fifty-seven missions from India over the Burma Road. He lost his life in an automobile accident in 1945. Robert LaMay was married to the former Miss Marion Marrio of Burlington, Vermont. 2. Lois, born in New Britain on December 12, 1920; killed in an accident at the age of four years. 3. Richard, born August 1, 1928. He graduated from Old Saybrook High School, and is now associated with his father, holding the office of vice president of the LaMay Construction Com- pany. Richard LaMay married Barbara Congdon, a registered nurse residing in Canterbury, Connecticut. They have two children : i. Roger, born in Old Saybrook on November 29, 1953. ii. Cindy, born there on December 17, 1956. 4. Irving C., born March 18, 1932, at Old Saybrook. He attended its public schools and graduated from its high school, and is now secretary of the LaMay Construction Company.
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From 1951 to 1953, the period of the Korean War, he served in the United States Air Force in the Middle East. He married Barbara Beakey, daughter of Francis J. and Barbara (Carroll) Beakey of Hartford, on May 7, 1955. They have two children: i. Lois, born April 16, 1956. ii. David, born September 8, 1957.
CURTISS SHERMAN JOHNSON
As head of Curtiss Johnson Publications, Inc., with headquarters at Deep River, Curtiss Sherman Johnson publishes no fewer than a half dozen local periodicals. He has been active in publishers' groups and has served on the staff of Governor Raymond E. Baldwin.
A native of Meriden, Mr. Johnson was born on April 7, 1899, son of Sherman F. and Adele (Curtiss) Johnson. He attended Wesleyan University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Science in 1921. In that year he began his career as advertising manager of Manning Bowman and Company at Meriden, and remained with that organi- zation until 1929. From 1930 to 1932 he was vice president of The Silex Company in Hartford. He resigned from that executive post to go to Philadelphia and assume duties as advertising representative of Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post and other well-known magazines of national circulation.
In 1937 Mr. Johnson came back to Connecticut to become pub- lisher of the Shore Line Times at Guilford. This was his major busi- ness interest for nearly a decade, and he left in 1946, coming to Deep River and beginning his duties at the head of Curtiss Johnson Publica- tions. At the present time his firm publishes six papers: The New Era, The East Hampton News, The Niantic News, The Branford Review, The Mystic-Stonington Compass, and The Colchester Citizen.
Mr. Johnson is a director of the New England Weekly Press Association of Boston, Massachusetts, and also serves on the Weekly Newspaper Publishers Council. He became a member of the staff of Governor Raymond E. Baldwin in 1941 and served until 1948. At the present time, Mr. Johnson is serving his state as a member of the Connecticut Safety Commission and is a trustee of the Whitfield House State Museum in Guilford.
A member of the Connecticut Editorial Association, Mr. John- son served as its president from 1942 to 1945. He is also a member of the National Editorial Association. He has contributed extensively to trade journals in the news publishing field. He is a trustee of the Deep River Historical Society, a communicant of the Deep River Con-
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gregational Church, and a director of the Middlesex Memorial Hos- pital. Gardening is his favorite outdoor pastime.
On September 12, 1922, Curtiss Sherman Johnson married Mary B. Lawton, daughter of Burton and Grace (Boardman) Lawton of Meriden. Mrs. Johnson is a graduate of Mary Baldwin College at Staunton, Virginia. The couple are the parents of two children: I. Curtiss Sherman, Jr., who was born in Hartford on March 28, 1926. He graduated from Guilford High School, and during World War II served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific. He was a sergeant, and his combat experience won him two Presidential Ci- tations. He is now an engineer with Standard-Knapp Company of Portland, Connecticut. Curtiss S. Johnson, Jr., married Elsie Haynes of Middletown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Haynes. They have two children : Patricia, and Burton L. 2. Dorothy Lawton, born April 25, 1931, in Hartford. She graduated from Guilford High School and from New Haven Art School. In January, 1953, she was married to Robert Pollitt of Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Pollitt served in the United States Coast Guard in World War II, holding a commis- sion. He is now with the Arthur Smith Lace Company of Deep River. The couple have one daughter, Candace.
HORACE S. BUSH
Horace S. Bush holds a prominent and influential place in the financial and general business affairs of Chester, holding positions as secretary and treasurer in two of its major banking institutions, the Chester Savings Bank and the Chester Trust Company. He has to his credit a record of more than three decades of valuable profes- sional service to the community.
Born at Monroe, New York, on July 22, 1903, he is a son of Horace G. and Mary (Smith) Bush. Both parents are deceased. His father was a farmer. Horace S. Bush attended local public schools and graduated from Monroe High School and from Blair Academy at Blairtown, New Jersey. He then entered Dartmouth College, and there received his degree of Bachelor of Science in 1926.
In that year he began his banking career with the City Bank and Trust Company of Hartford, working in its trust department until 1929. He left at that time to join the brokerage firm of Putnam and Company, remaining two years with that organization. He held various positions on the staff of the Riverside Trust Company of Hartford from 1931 to 1937. In 1937 he assumed his present dual
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duties as secretary and treasurer of both the Chester Savings Bank and the Chester Trust Company.
Mr. Bush has rendered capable and useful service in positions of public trust. From 1945 to 1948, he was chairman of the board of finance of the Town of Chester, and he was formerly treasurer of Regional High School District No. 4. He formerly belonged to the Saybrook Rotary Club, and held office as its president, but at the present time he is a member of the Rotary Club at Chester. His fa- vorite outdoor pastime is fishing.
In his native town of Monroe, New York, on December 17, 1927, Horace S. Bush was married to Elizabeth Hull, daughter of George and Alice (Deyo) Hull. Mrs. Bush, who died on April 28, 1955, was a graduate of Monroe High School and of Arnold College in New Haven. The couple became the parents of the following children: I. Horace Ivan, born in Hartford on October 2, 1930. He graduated from Chester High School, and from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1957. He now holds the rank of first lieutenant in the United States Air Force. On December 20, 1953, he married Betty Coisson of Kingston, New York, and they have two children: i. Laura Celine, born November 15, 1954, in New London. ii. Robert Hull, born August 14, 1956, in Bangor, Maine. 2. Elizabeth A., born June 9, 1932, at Hartford. She graduated from Chester High School, then attended the University of Vermont, where she received her degree of Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in June 1954. She is now with the Mutual Insurance Company of New York, in New York City.
Following the death of his first wife, Mr. Bush married, second, on January 1, 1956, Miss Vesta Reed Massey of Chester. The couple attend United Church, Congregational, in that city.
HENRY LONGDON SHEPHERD
A lawyer practicing in Hartford, Henry Longdon Shepherd is senior partner in the firm of Shepherd, Murtha and Merritt. He serves on a number of boards of directors; is an author ; and has been engaged in civic and cultural activities.
Born in New York City on July 12, 1907, he is a son of Henry L. and Marna (Magnussen) Shepherd. He received his degree of Bachelor of Arts at Texas Christian University in 1927; and two years later received his Master of Arts degree at Princeton Uni-
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