USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > New Canaan > Landmarks of New Canaan > Part 20
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From that night on for eight solid hours un- til four in the morning the town was on the brink of disaster. Because of the high wind driving from the north few had heard the bell. Four men dragged the hand pump engine from the fire house, dug through drifts of snow to reach the hydrant, and within fifteen minutes had several streams of water pouring into the basement of Silliman's where the fire had started. The smoke thickened and soon the house was a mass of flames that reached high into the sky.
More help finally came but fire fighting was a cruel business. In no time at all the men's clothes were frozen stiff. The snow and ice and biting wind hindered their movements so that as one would become exhausted another would take his place. Buttons had to be cut off their coats before they could be removed and left standing in a corner, while the men thawed out before a pot stove in the tavern.
L. M. Monroe, druggist, W. S. Corties and the hotel kept open house all night giving free coffee and refreshments and, rumor hath it, Tom-and-Jerries, to the half-frozen men. People from all around began coming in with food and New Canaan ran her own canteen for the firemen and a few burned out persons who had boarded with a Mrs. Rice on the second floor of "the Old Red Store." One of them, a little old lady, when she had been taken to
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New Canaan Engine Company No. 1
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safety across the street, suddenly cried, "Land o' Mercy, I've left my scissors" and was all ready to go back for them.
By morning there was nothing to go back to but a heap of smouldering timbers which had to be watched for two nights following the fire. As the ice would melt away they would again burst into flame. The cause of the fire was never determined, the casualties fortunately amount- ed to no more than frozen fingers and ears, but the property damage was $25,000.
Everywhere it was agreed that it could have been so much worse that there was high praise for the firemen's leadership and stamina as well as for the work done by 39 other citizens whose names the paper published in a roll of honor.
Other fires have been as great in their own way. Some have been more tragic, as when Hoyt's Nurseries burned back in the eighteen forties and several men lost their lives, or when Benedict's shoe factory and two other build- ings were entirely destroyed in the center of town in 1875. Because of lack of fire fighting equipment very little could be done about it.
Today the outstanding fires that company members talk about were the burning of Hat- field's house in 1925 or Child's in '27, or the time when Dr. W. W. Week's house on Valley Road was struck by a U. S. Army Thunderbolt in 1942. The plane nose-dived through the house setting everything aflame with the burn- ing gasoline. It killed the pilot and kept the firemen busy dodging bullets as the guns mounted on the fuselage continued to fire.
The character of a fire can vary so greatly that the apparatus used becomes very impor- tant both in shortening the time spent in fight- ing the fire and in saving property damage. This apparatus sees the firemen through such times of stress that they become as attached to their engines as seamen to their ships.
Back in 1882 when the old Gulf Stream hand pump enginc came to town you'd have thought she was a visiting prima donna. The New Ca- naan Engine Company No. 1, organized just the year before, had collected money in gifts for her purchase.
Over a hundred people were at the station when she rode up on a flat car attached to "the
cvening train." They gave three rousing cheers and pulled her triumphantly through the streets to the first engine house on Forest Street (where Silliman's farm storc now stands ). The second house, moved into in 1891, is now Bres- low's store. The third fire house is the present one.
The Gulf Stream saved many a piece of prop- erty in its day and when it was sold to buy a fancy hose carriage in exchange from Provi- dence the committee said, "We hope Provi- dence will send this where it will make mem- bers of some young fire company as happy as it did us." Another favorite was the Watrous, the first gasoline fire engine in town, in 1904. She was drawn by horses rented from the Stevens livery stables across the street.
Even today with all the sophisticated equip- ment we have: gas masks, inhalators, and three trucks plus a lighting unit with flood lights fed by a 1500 watt generator in the truck itself, you find the same affection for each piece. There are two Seagrave trucks, one a 500 and the other a 750 gallon pumper plus a Diamond T Truck with a 200 gallon booster tank that can deliver a stream of water upon arriving on the scene. The Diamond T, therefore, is the first out of the house, and you get a feeling from the look in the men's eyes that things are really going to be taken care of when she "rolls."
And they are. All of the men who gather in this fire house are there because they want to give their services to the community and be- cause they like to be together. They are well- trained and hard workers. They apply for membership and run the risk of being black- balled. They must be willing to come to monthly practice and to monthly meetings and to report for every night fire or be fined.
Their practices deal directly with the prob- lems of a rural community and have to do with pumping from a variety of water supplies. It should give us all reassurance to know that when these men don't have one of the town hydrants to hook onto they are ready to lay 2,000 feet of hose and pump from a well, pond or cistern, or to dam up a brook if necessary.
They not only answer calls in our town but will go out to Vista, Pound Ridge, and all towns
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in Fairfield County if needed. When the roof of the Silvermine Tavern burned several months ago it was agreed that our men were a large factor in helping the Norwalk Fire De- partment to save that historic landmark.
During the war the Engine Company played a leading role in local defense. There was a total of five men sleeping in every night until V-J Day. Volunteer members who for some time had been exempted by ten years of ser- vice, gladly went back onto active roll call. "Jerry" McLane and others tell wonderful tales of the breaking-in period when some of the men were banished from the dormitory for snoring or had their troubles when the alarm wakened them out of a sound sleep and they jumped into their boots before their trousers.
One would have to go to the annual banquet to hear some of the best stories, and that is a carefully guarded affair, with only out-of-town or privileged guests. Paul Webb is often master of ceremonies, alternating with Dr. T. W. Benedict.
It is at the annual meeting in September that the ex-fire chief may have turned over the dis- tinguishing white coat to his succeeding officer. Or they discuss the annual report which is pub- lished at that time, recalling not only the hun-
dred or more fires they went out on but the times they were called to get men, boys and cats out of trees and a watch out of a well. After they had pumped the well dry, so the story goes, they found the watch still ticking.
Though the members of the department have their lighter moments and enjoy a good fellowship which keeps at least ten on hand every evening, available for duty, they are ready for that call when it comes. We can feel secure and proud to have such men of skill and good spirit in our engine company. And we can cheer them when they make their yearly parade appearance on Memorial Day. This time they will also be celebrating their tenth anniversary in the new fire house.
The officers of the present company are as follows: Chief, David McGrath; Captain, Al- bert A. Roles; First Lieutenant, Howard Hoyt; Second Lieutenant, John Pickering; President, "Pete" Raymond (Carlton S. Raymond, jr.); Vice President, Charles Kelley; Secretary, Riley Hogan; Treasurer, George E. Purdy. The drivers are: Joseph Ahearn, Frank Lown and Peter DiVenere; Trustces: John M. Karl, Carl Schilcher and Carlton S. Raymond, sr. Their Judge Advocate is William H. Makepeace.
THE NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL
ETHEL CHASE SELINGER, Author
MELBOURNE BRINDLE, Artist
[February 12, 1948]
In the early nineteen-hundreds, a Miss De- Vigne opened a small private school in New Canaan. It was housed in what is now the rectory of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and was called the Cornish School from Miss De- Vigne's home, which was in Cornish, New Hampshire. Later it was moved to the present
Bensen house on Church Hill. In the winter of 1916, Miss DeVigne informed the late Ray- mond E. Streit that she would have to discon- tinue the school, and asked him what the par- ents would like to do. Meetings were held dur- ing the winter and following spring and it was finally determined to continue the school under
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the administration of the parents. The group elected Mr. Streit their president, and the late Clarence Holmes secretary-treasurer. Mrs. Holmes and Mrs. Streit (now Mrs. Frederick Ewing) were delegated to secure a principal. The Young-Fulton office in Union Square in New York was the teachers' employment bu- reau of that day, and there Miss Edith Dudley and Miss Effie Dunton, among others, were interviewed by the committee. Miss Dudley and Miss Dunton were then teaching at the Jacoby School in New York, but, ready to make a change and pleasantly impressed by New Canaan, they came here for one half the salary they were receiving in New York.
On October 16, 1916, the Community School opened in a small house known as The Bunga- low, now 41 Seminary Street, with the follow- ing seventeen children enrolled: David Col- bron, William Colbron, John Ellsworth, John Frothingham, Donald Frothingham, Richard Frothingham, Adelaide Hall, Virginia Hall, Louis Hall, jr., Charles Holmes, Julia Holmes, Rupert King, Harriet Murphy, Marshall Stearns, jr., Dorothy Stearns, Margaret Streit, William Streit.
Miss Helen Rogers brought her Kindergar- ten of ten children into the school that year: Thomas Ellsworth, Lida Ellsworth, Anna O'- Shaughnessy, Ellen O'Shaughnessy, William Blood, Mary Louise Hall, Anne Bradley, Marie Guermonprez, Albert Hoffecker, Robert Beek- man.
Tuition ranged from $50 to $140, and ex- penses were met through these tuitions and by renting the bungalow for the summer months. This meant storing desks and chairs and black- boards in cellar and attic, borrowing furniture from parents and friends, and opening the house for summer tenants-a task undertaken each year by the mothers.
In October, 1919, Marshall Stearns, Law- rence P. Frothingham, and Raymond E. Streit, applied for papers of incorporation. To quote from the Articles of Association: "The pur- poses for which said corporation is formed are the following, to wit: To acquire, maintain and improve real property for the purpose of pro-
moting and maintaining a School thereon, for the instruction of children in the fundamental branches of elementary education, mentally and physically, to the end that they may be prepared for a higher education, and for that purpose to do and perform all and sundry the acts and things requisite and necessary, which may be permitted to such a body politic and corporate, under the laws of the State of Con- necticut." The members of the association were the "parents of scholars attending the school, the actual bond holders, and such other per- sons as may be duly elected." The first board of trustees consisted of H. S. Collins, F. E. Green, H. B. Thayer, Mrs. L. H. Lapham, R. E. Streit, Marshall Stearns, L. P. Frothingham, C. H. Holmes, Mrs. William E. Swift, and Louis H. Hall. Mr. Streit was elected president, Mr. Stearns, vice-president, and Mr. Holmes, secretary-treasurer.
It now became necessary to provide larger quarters. It is of more than passing interest that the crying need for more space at this time has echoed through the years, and is still heard. The amazing gencrosity of parents and friends of the school over a period of a little less than 30 years has provided more than $200,000 in capital funds for the ever expanding program. The board of trustees voted in 1919 to borrow "the sum of $16,000 for the purpose of pur- chasing from Edna H. Rogers the land and buildings situated on the corner of Park and Seminary Streets in the town of New Canaan," and to issue bonds bearing interest at the rate of five per cent per annum to persons lending the money. This amount was raised, the pro- perty was bought, and for five years the school occupied this house. But once more the school outgrew its quarters, and in 1924 this property was sold to the late Maxwell E. Perkins for the sum of $20,000, and the so-called Weissman place directly opposite on Park Street was pur- chased for $18,500. Here the school opened in October and for twelve years occupied this property. The building was ultimately razed when the large parking area was developed here.
The board of trustees opcrated the school
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dois
- WHElbowme Brindle '48
The New Canaan Country School
with the help of a house committee, a teachers' committee, a music committee, a French com- mittee, etc., all made up of mothers. Among the early presidents were Henry T. Eaton and Thomas W. Ashwell, and during their admini- strations many new matters came up for con- sideration-supervised play, a music program, the serving of luncheons at the school. In 1929, an extension to the assembly room became ne- cessary, tuitions were raised to finance it, and for the first time the matter of building a new school was brought up. In 1931, 92 students were enrolled, with ten teachers supervising the program. John R. McWilliam had been elected president of the board of trustees. Plans for the expansion of the educational fa- cilities of the school in all directions came up for discussion. Dr. Englehardt of Teachers College was engaged to make a survey of the situation, and his report was considered by the parents in special meeting in June, 1931. In November of this year a committee reported on the feasibility of building a new plant on a new site as soon as the necessary funds could be raised, and the parents voted that "a com- mittee of eight of the parent body be elected to raise the funds, suggest a new site, and plans for a new school."
In March, 1932, the resignations of Miss Dudley and Miss Dunton were presented and this resolution was proposed and adopted:
"Whereas Miss Dudley and Miss Dunton are retiring after having given of themselves unspar- ingly and devotedly for sixteen years to the direct- ing and building up of the Community School of New Canaan,
"And, whereas, their rare teaching ability, their sympathy, and their appreciation of values that go far beyond the mere intellectual have been a real force in the best development of all the children who have been under them,
"Be it resolved that the Parents of the Com- munity School hereby express to Miss Dudley and Miss Dunton their deepest appreciation with heart- felt wishes for future happiness."
This was inscribed on parchment and pre- sented to the two principals, together with a silver tray and a substantial gift of money sub-
scribed by devoted pupils as well as parents. One of the parent body of that period has written:
"It is impossible to discuss the Community School of that period without paying tribute to Miss Dudley and Miss Dunton. They lived in the school; they lived for the school; they were the school. They never attended the annual parents' meetings. The opinions of parents on educational or disciplinary matters never bothered them. Whether a child should be patted on the head or rapped over the knuckles was a matter they de- cided. Miss Dudley, slight, delicate, almost frail, had a spiritual ardor which somchow seemed to communicate her love of classical mythology and poetry and literature to her charges. Miss Dunton, more patient and perhaps more tolerant of the shortcomings of extreme youth, gave the younger classes a firm foundation in the A.B.C.'s of educa- tion. They held the respect and affection of their pupils. They instilled in their pupils a liking for learning which carried them successfully through boarding school and college. There are few gradu- ates of those early days who do not look back with gratitude on the basic training they received at the hand of 'Dud' and 'Dunt.'"
Mrs. Hope C. McIntosh, A.B. and A.M., University of Michigan, became headmistress of the school in 1933. Further plans for expan- sion had to be discontinued because of the im- possibility of raising money at this time, but with the admission of a group of children from Darien, the geographical boundaries were widened, later including Ridgefield, Stamford, Wilton and Norwalk. The growth and develop- ment of the school brought about many changes. A man teacher was engaged for the first time, a school doctor was appointed, a nursery school was considered, an art teacher and a music teacher were added to the faculty, and instruction in rhythmic dancing was begun. Richard R. Williams, who became president of the board of trustees in 1933, initiated a plan for free scholarships, a Parent-Teacher Associ- ation was formed, a health program was evolved. Authorities in the field of education were invited to speak to the parent body, and Dr. R. G. Reynolds, headmaster of the Horace Mann School, talked on "What the School
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Should Do for the Child;" Dr. Burton Fowler, headmaster of the Tower Hill School in Wil- mington, Delaware, spoke on "The Common Sense of Progressive Education"; Perry Dunlop Smith of the North Shore Country Day School at Winnetka, Illinois, an authority on parent- teacher relations, discussed this subject.
The enrollment in 1934 was 115, and once more the school found itself in need of space. The Weed House on the corner of Park and Seminary Streets was leased. The athletic pro- gram was now developed, and hockey and · basketball teams were organized under the direction of Mr. DeCoste. A ninth grade was added in 1935, luncheon was served at the school, a library was started, and the first num- ber of a school paper was issued.
In February, 1936, at a meeting of the board of trustees, Mr. Williams, the president, out- lined the negotiations which had been entered upon with a view to securing the Grace Church property on Ponus Ridge, and combining the Community School with St. Luke's School which then occupied that property. A com- mittee was appointed to survey the whole sit- uation and reported at a meeting of the parents in May. At this time Mr. Blakely withdrew his school from the proposed merger, and Grace Church, first securing a refusal from Mr. Blake- ly, offered the property to the Community School. The parents, in May, 1936, voted to sell the property on Park Street to the Playhouse of New Canaan, subject to an existing mort- gage of $12,500, for $7,500 cash, and to pur- chase the land on Ponus Ridge. This beautiful acreage had been acquired by Grace Church of New York at the turn of the century and there for some years they had operated Grace House-in-the-Fields as a vacation home for underprivileged mothers and children of the parish. From an early report in a Parish Year Book (1905) we learn that over a hundred wo- men and children were cared for at a time and that in eleven weeks 507 persons were enter- tained. New Canaan people made many wel- come contributions to this work. The house on the top of "Grace Hill" was thought by the children from New York to look "just like the White House." This land was doubtless owned
by the Indians originally, and purchased pro- bably from Chief Ponus of the tribe of Saga- mores in the eighteenth century. In early years, Ponus Ridge was known as Ponasses Path. A later article in this series of historical sketches will make an exhaustive study of this neighbor- hood.
These 140 acres of land became the property of the New Canaan Country School, Incorpo- rated, in 1936. Since the school was moving from the center of New Canaan and was draw- ing its support from a large neighborhood, the change of name was indicated. Parents and friends of the school at this time subscribed $41,000. $15,000 in cash was paid to Grace Church, and a mortgage of $70,000 arranged. The architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon was engaged to draw up a long range plan for the use of the property. About 50 acres were reserved for the use of the school, and the remainder of the land was set aside for ulti- mate sale. The buildings were remodelled and made ready for occupancy in the fall of 1936.
Alexander D. Harvey succeeded Mr. Wil- liams as president, and the board of trustees was now made up of six permanent members and five members elected for five year terms "in such manner that the term of one trustee shall expire each year."
Wishing to increase the number of boys in the school, it was deemed advisable to appoint a headmaster, and Philip H. Thomas, Yale, 1920, was selected. Mrs. Macintosh remained as head of the Girls' and Primary Schools, and John W. Irwin as head of the Boys' School. The enrollment had increased to 209 and all de- partments of the school were enlarged. Music was made an integral part of the curriculum, and supervisors were put in charge of both boys' and girls' playing fields.
With the resignations in 1938 of Mrs. Mac- intosh and Mr. Thomas, begins the headmas- tership of Henry H. Welles, Princeton, 1921, M.A. and Ph.D., Columbia University. The membership of the board of trustees was now increased to 15, seven permanent members, six elected for three-year terms, the headmaster and one member of the faculty, Alexander C. Neave was serving as president during this pe-
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riod and was succeeded by Dr. Jerome Selin- ger. Again the school had outgrown its plant, and another building was needed to accom- modate the fast growing enrollment. In the spring of 1939, $41,000 was subscribed for the erection of a building for the upper school and for repairs and changes in the old build- ings. With appropriate ceremonies, the new building was dedicated on September 22, 1940. Extra classrooms, a lecture and study hall, locker rooms and showers were thus provided. At this time, tax exemption was granted on the fifty acres of land and buildings used by the school, but in the event of the dissolution of the corporation all the property of the corporation shall devolve upon the town of New Canaan to be used for scientific, educational, chari- table or historical purposes of the town.
John F. Caskey served as president of the board of trustees until 1943 when John G. Pennypacker took office. During the war years, contrary to expectations, the school continued to grow, necessitating the purchase of the Ladd property on Ponus Ridge to house the Begin- ners Group and a faculty family. This was the beginning of faculty housing by the school which now also owns two houses in the village of New Canaan which have been remodelled into apartments for members of the faculty, and a newly built house on the Ponus Ridge property. Because of the tire and gasoline shortage at this time, a bus system was inaug- urated to transport children to and from school. A return to use of private cars has never been suggested.
A pond on the school property was im- proved in 1943, chiefly by funds contributed by Mrs. Knox Hardon in memory of her hus- band, and named "Hardon Pond". This affords an ice hockey rink for the boys.
The students engaged in many war activi- tics, including the collection of newspapers, books and magazines, scrap of all kinds, silk and nylon stockings to make powder bags. They sold war bonds and stamps, filled Red Cross gift boxes, knitted afghans and beanies, and earned money to buy an amphibian jeep and a machine gun.
An alumni association was formed in 1940, and the luncheon meeting held at the school each year just before the Christmas holiday is always well attended. Father and son dinners, mother and daughter dinners, are annual events, and the school picnic in May brings together parents and children for a day of sports and exhibitions, and awarding of hon- ors. This picnic, attended recently by over five hundred people, is one of the most successful events of the year.
In 1944 the enrollment had increased to 271- 131 boys and 140 girls. John C. B. Moore, · architect, was employed to draw up a general plan for the development of the school pro- perty. A program was adopted for the enlarge- ment of the school to accommodate two divi- sions for each of the eleven grades, to improve athletic fields and facilities, and to provide the necessary space for an adequate dining room and kitchen. In 1945 and 1946, $96,000 was raised for these changes. William T. Lusk be- came the president in 1946, and the next year the board of trustees was increased once more, from 15 to 18 members. The enrollment was 340 pupils and, with the changes made in the buildings to give added fire protection, it was believed that for the time being, no further expansion would be considered.
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