USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > Years of Meriden 150: published in connection with the observance of the city's sesquicentennial, June 17-23, 1956 > Part 13
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Meriden is the home city of many who rose to become celebrities in the world of entertainment. Among them, none achieved greater fame than Rosa Ponselle, born Rosa Ponzillo, often rated as the finest dramatic soprano ever to join the Metropolitan Opera Company. At the height of her career in the 20's, she sang with Enrico Caruso, Gigli, and other stars who have never been excelled. Her sister, Carmela, was well known as an opera and concert singer. Both sisters, when in their teens, sang between movie reels at the old Star Theater on West Main Street, and appeared frequently before various local organizations.
George Sklar, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ezak Sklar of this city, began his successful career as a playwright when he was still in Yale University. He has written a long succession of plays and novels and adaptations for the screen. In some of his books, a Meriden background was recognizable.
In the field of vaudeville, when it was in its prime, Meriden produced many headliners of their day, among them Milton Bros., acrobats; Vesta and Teddy Wentworth; Jack and Dennis Hag- gerty and their trained dog; the Savoys, another dog act; Kennedy & Kramer, famous dance team, of whom the survivor, James
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Kennedy, is still in Meriden and connected with the circulation department of the Record-Journal; Eddie De Voe, contortionist; John Potts, celebrated clown; Walter Brasyl, dancer with Prim- rose Minstrels; Harry Bolden and Hattie Sharp, singing and piano; Eddie Dowling, with Dockstader's Minstrels; Charles Nellis, Jr. with Guy Bros. Minstrels; Lee Harrissier Bros., with Guy Bros .; Bill Dunham, singer; Mike Carron, acrobat; Eddie Garvey of Girard & Garvey; Morris Slater, singer with Guy Bros .; Freddie Miller, dancer; and George Rollins, dancer. LeRoi McCafferty, well-known magician of the "big time" made his home here for many years.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Sports Celebrities
MERIDEN'S INTEREST in all forms of sports has always been keen. Many celebrities of the sports world have been born and bred in Meriden, and others, equally famous have become local citizens by adoption. Space does not permit the enumeration of all the greater and lesser stars who have lived here at one stage or another of their careers, but a few of special importance may be men- tioned.
There was the beloved Connie Mack who came to Meriden about 1884 as a lanky young catcher, signed by a local promoter also know as Connie. Cornelius J. Danaher, then a youthful attorney with a flair for arranging sports events, picked Cornelius McGillicuddy to play on the Meriden team which was giving a rub to many teams of the state in games at the old trotting park off Kensington Avenue. Both Connies made good in their separate ways. Connie Mack hit a triple the first time at bat. He later caught in Hartford and graduated to Philadelphia, where he rose to fame as manager and principal owner of the Philadelphia Athletics. Mack's original sponsor, Connie Danaher, gained dis- tinction as Connecticut's Labor Commissioner and in his long career before the bar. He is the father of former Mayor Francis R. Danaher and of John A. Danaher, who was elected U. S. senator in 1938. At that time another Meriden man, the late Francis T. Maloney, was also in the U. S. Senate. John Danaher is now judge of the U. S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.
Jack Barry, born in Meriden in 1887, starred in sports at Meriden High School and later at Holy Cross. He was signed by Connie Mack directly from the Holy Cross campus in 1908 as regular shortstop, and became an integral part of the illustrious "$100,000 infield" which included Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, and "Home Run" Baker. When the quartet was disbanded, Barry went to the Red Sox, and helped to spark the winning of pennants in 1915 and 1916. He managed Boston to second place in 1917. At present he is regarded as one of the nation's top
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coaches at Holy Cross.
Sam Babcock, outstanding amateur and semi-pro hockey player, has turned to officiating, and is now in his 16th year as National Hockey League linesman. He is the oldest official in NHL in term of service.
Lois Felix, Meriden tennis star, learned the game in Brookside Park, in the rear of her home. She became local, state, and New England champion without benefit of formal coaching. Miss Felix participated in the Nationals at Forest Hills and also played at Wimbledon in England. She was once ranked eighth nationally in singles by the U. S. Lawn Tennis Association and was rated fifth nationally in doubles.
Julius Woronick, Meriden's No. 1 professional wrestler, appeared under the name of the Great Mephisto. He won the recognized light heavyweight world's wrestling championship in the early 1930's, and is still in competition. In Canada he is a special favorite.
"Big Ed" Walsh, born in 1881 in Plains, Pa., came to Meriden when he was 21, and played for this city in the old Connecticut League. During his first year in Meriden (1902) he won 15 and lost 5. The White Sox of the American League bought him from Newark after he had compiled a 9-5 record in 1903. In his first season with Chicago (1904) Walsh won 6, lost 3. Chicago paid $750 for him, probably baseball's greatest bargain. He gained the height of his fame in 1908, when he won 40 games, lost 15, appeared in 66, struck out 269, walked only 56 and worked 464 innings. His top salary was $3,500. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. His son, Young Ed, who seemed destined for a brilliant future in baseball, died in 1937.
Louis "Kid" Kaplan retired as undefeated featherweight champion of the world. He is regarded as one of the greatest of all time in his division. Nicknamed the "Meriden Buzzsaw," he won the title on Jan. 2, 1925 from Danny Kramer on a kayo in the eighth round. Kaplan began fighting in Meriden in 1921 and had nine bouts that year; six in Meriden, three in Hartford. He won all on decisions. His first fight was July 1, 1921 against Sammy Waltz, which he won in 12 rounds. He retired Feb. 23, 1933, three days after he lost a 10-round decision to Cocoa Kid in the New Haven Arena, a fight which did not cost him his title.
Harry Costello, regarded by many as the greatest football
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player in the history of Georgetown University, was termed by "Pop" Warner, the famous coach of the Carlisle Indians, "for his inches, one of the finest players who ever lived." Joe Beecham, former West Point coach, said of Costello, "He's the best football player we had at West Point for as long as I can remember." He could punt, pass, run, and drop kick with equal facility. At Georgetown, he starred during the seasons 1910-1913.
Dennis McMahon, known all his life as "Dinny," was the manager of world's champion Kid Kaplan. He is one of the few to hold the coveted Gold Key awarded by Connecticut sports writers. He is now State Athletic Commissioner.
Walter Surowiecki, one of Meriden's all-time great bowlers, won the national singles bowling championship against thousands of the country's top keglers with 445.
Steve Carr, born before the era of television, was the best of his day in the light heavyweight division. He was undefeated in 1932 and 1934.
Ben Zajac, one of the city's finest basketball players, captained Meriden High to the state and New England championships in 1935. He became a successful basketball coach at Wilcox Tech.
In schoolboy sports, many interesting chapters have been written here. The three major sports, football, basketball, and baseball have dominated the scene at Meriden High School, while tennis, soccer, swimming, and golf have always been rated there as minor sports. The high school's greatest successes have been scored in football and basketball. The achievements of the 1916 and 1926 football teams and the 1934 and 1935 basketball teams are best remembered by the older graduates.
Coach Frank Barnikow, who served M. H. S. from 1926 to 1946 is credited with one of the best coaching records of the kind in the state. He gave the Red and Blue two state and New England championship basketball teams in 1934 and 1935, and the second unbeaten and untied football team in M. H. S. history in 1926.
Intersectional games were not taboo in high school sports in those days, and Meriden beat Nashua, N. H. in 1926, the first out-of-state journey ever taken by an M. H. S. eleven.
Meriden's first intersectional game was played earlier in the 20's, when Jimmie Fitzpatrick, a star on the first M. H. S. team ever to attain a perfect record, came here from Portland, Maine for a clash at Hanover Park which drew a crowd of 2,000.
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The first paid coach at Meriden High School was Pat Meskell, who was appointed to coach football in 1917.
In recent years, Little League baseball and Junior League football have become popular in Meriden. A baseball park for the Little Leaguers was created on Britannia Street, where games are played throughout the season. Teams are uniformed and sponsored by local business concerns. Meriden in 1954 was the scene of sectional play-offs in Junior League football. In 1955, the Meriden "All Stars" were sent to Redondo Beach, Cal., for the play-offs there. The local eleven lost the big game by a close margin, but gained more ground than their opponents. The expenses of the trip were defrayed through local contributions.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
World War I
THE ASSASSINATION of an Austrian Archduke and his wife on June 28, 1914 was an event so remote from Meriden that none could have guessed its implications, so far as this city was concerned. But the deaths of Francis Ferdinand and the Duchess of Hohenberg led to conflict between Austria and Serbia. The rivalry of great European powers, already primed for war, soon burst into full flame. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and against France on August 3. The German armies invaded Belgium on August 4. This is not the place to record the titanic struggle which raged up to the time the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917. But from that moment, Meriden was involved, along with the rest of the country.
Meriden companies of the National Guard had been seasoned a year in advance, when the border troubles with Mexico began in 1916. The State Armory here had been dedicated December 15, 1908, and the local guardsmen had received the standard peacetime training in the form of drills and maneuvers. But the Mexican border forays under the bandit general, Pancho Villa, had cost American lives, and Gen. John J. Pershing, with 12,000 troops, was sent into Mexico. On June 6, 1916, Meriden guardsmen were mobilized and sent to his support. On October 16 of that year, the local soldiers returned, and were ready when the next duty called.
There was a hard core of experienced men available to form the nucleus of the forces summoned from here as America's entry into World War I. When the break in diplomatic relations with Germany occurred on February 3, 1917, the National Guard was mobilized. Two days later, the local companies were on guard at the Westinghouse plant at the north end, where large defense contracts were being filled.
On March 8, there was full mobilization, and Companies I and L were sent to Bridgeport for guard duty on April 1 with the 3rd battalion of the 2nd Connecticut Infantry in anticipation of the declaration of war, which came only five days later. At that
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time, Company I was in command of Capt. William H. Whitney, with John R. Feegel as 1st lieutenant and Company L was under Capt. Frank H. McGar, with Samuel Tyler as 1st lieutenant.
The Meriden soldiers served in Bridgeport until July 25, when they were moved to Yale Field in New Haven, where the 2nd Connecticut Regiment was assembled.
On August 25, the 2nd Connecticut Infantry became the 102nd U. S. Infantry of the 51st Brigade, 26th Division. Company L was increased to a strength of 250 men and six officers, with comple- ments from Company L of the 1st Connecticut Infantry, Company K of the 1st Vermont Infantry and casuals from the 6th Massachusetts Infantry. Company I was undergoing much the same process.
The Meriden soldiers, with other units of the 102nd, entrained from New Haven for Montreal, Canada on September 14, and from there sailed to Europe. They landed at Liverpool, England on October 2, and moved by way of Southampton to Le Havre, France. On October 7, they arrived at Certilleaux, Vosges, and were part of the 1st Corps Reserve until February 6, 1918, when they were sent with other infantry units of the 26th Division to Chassemy Wood, Vailly, France, in the Chemin des Dames sector. The next transfer was to the American sector on the Toule front. They arrived in Ansauville on April 1. On July 3, they were drawn into the thick of the fighting in the sector around Chateau-Thierry. Following the Champagne, Marne, and Ainse-Marne operations, they were moved to Perrefette and Rupt en Woevre for the St. Mihiel offensive, which began September 5. After the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient, the men from Meriden were in the movement through Verdun to Bois des Ormonte for the closing engagements of the war, ended by the Armistice on November 11, 1918. After that, they were held in Army reserves near General Headquarters, Chaumont, until cleared for return to the United States. They sailed from Brest, France, on April 1, 1919, and arrived in Boston, April 7. The local units were demobilized at Camp Devens, Mass. on April 29.
The engagements in which Meriden soldiers took part were the gas attack at Pargny-Filain, March 17-18, 1918; Seicheprey- Toule front, April 20-21; Xivray-Marvoissin, Toule front, June 16; jump-off from Moresches for Chateau-Thierry counterattack, July 18, to Epieds Trugny Aug. 4; St. Mihiel operation from
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Woevre to Vigneulles, September 12-13; Wadonville, Saulx and Marcheville, September 15-26 as diversion attacks and a feint at Metz to cover preparations for the Meuse-Argonne offensive; in the Meuse-Argonne offensive their assignment was to protect the right flank of the 1st American Army at Bois d'Ormonte October 16, and they helped to press the attack through to clear the enemy from this area and push him back from the last of his strongly entrenched positions.
The losses of Meriden men in the last phases of the war were heavy. Eighty-four names are inscribed on the World War I Memorial.
Throughout the war, the home front in Meriden was lending all possible assistance in the support of the fighting forces.
One of the first essentials here was a uniformed force to replace the National Guard in protecting war plants. On March 30, 1917, the state called for enlistments in the State Guard. Several companies were formed here, later reduced to two companies of infantry, and Major Joseph DeCantillon was placed in command of the Meriden battalion. Captain H. DeForest Lockwood, after- ward promoted to major in the Medical Corps, formed an Ambulance Corps. He was one of those who had seen service with the National Guard at the Mexican border. A uniformed Motor Transport Corps of five battalions was organized, and Frank E. Sands was commissioned as major in command.
All of these companies drilled regularly at the State Army and engaged in maneuvers from time to time. As the war proceeded, many of the younger men in them became affiliated with the fighting forces, and older men filled up the gaps.
In the fall of 1917, the Meriden War Council was organized as an arm of the State Council of Defense.
Liberty Loan drives became frequent. The second such drive went over the top on October 27, 1917, the third in April 1918, the fourth a few months later, and the fifth in April 1919.
Shortages in various essential commodities began to appear in the fall of 1917, but the first real pinch occurred on January 18, 1918, when factories here had to close for five days because of lack of coal. It was an exceptionally severe winter, and many homes were without fuel on some of the worst days. Again, during the following August, deliveries of coal were reduced.
On September 21, 1917, for a period of about a month, "gasless
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WORLD WAR I
Sundays" were enforced, and no automobiles were allowed on the roads except for the most essential uses under permit. Newspapers had to be reduced in size to conserve newsprint. .
On March 21, 1918, daylight saving went into effect for the first time.
On February 28, 1918, dispatches received here carried the first news that Meriden troops were engaged in action. On March 9, 1918, the machine gun company from Camp Devens entrained here.
Full war production in local plants was not achieved until the summer of 1918, although war materials were shipped, in some instances, in May.
Long before that time, Meriden had been almost stripped of its young men, except those who had received exemption from the draft because of physical defects or essential war service. The first registration day was on July 5, 1917, and the first draft came on July 20. The second registration day was held on September 12, 1918, embracing those who had reached the age of 21. On September 17, all female aliens were required to register. On September 16, 1918 the whole force of the Connecticut State Guard was ordered to New Haven for review.
Home front activities appeared on every side in which women, as well as men, took part. On May 8, 1918, a meeting of citizens decided to organize a War Chest, covering many of the local agencies which were taking part in war work. The drive was a great success, and the inspiration carried ten years into the future, when the Community Fund was formed.
The news of the Armistice broke prematurely, and was greeted with wild rejoicing, but the crowds reassembled in even greater number when the official announcement was published on November 11, 1918. A large parade wound through the city's principal streets.
On November 11, 1918, Mayor Henry T. King appointed a Committee of Ninety to arrange a welcome home for Meriden soldiers. The committee went to Boston the following April to meet the first arrivals from overseas.
A "Welcome Home" monument was erected on Winthrop Square to serve until the form of a permanent memorial could be decided upon. During the war, a board with an honor roll had been placed on this site, which was an open plot of land until
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the present Colony Building was erected on it.
A long period was to ensue before Meriden's plans to honor its war dead matured. Organizations of World War I veterans were formed rapidly after the war, however, and took part in the deliberations. On March 19, 1920, Meriden Post No. 45, American Legion, sponsored a memorial service in the city hall auditorium to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives in the struggle. On that occasion, French awards to Meriden soldiers were presented, some of them posthumously. Lt. Robert Leconte represented the French High Command. Mayor Daniel J. Donovan spoke for the city, and Dr. David P. Smith, then commander of the Legion Post, opened the ceremonies.
The immortal Yankee Division, the 26th, in which so many Meriden men had served, was made up originally entirely of volunteers. When hostilities ceased, barely 15 per cent of them remained. To its credit were nearly 150 citations, and more than 7,000 of its men were cited individually for their bravery. Meriden soldiers had their full share of these honors, from their own country and from the French Government as well.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
World War I Memorial and Boulevard
THE COMMITTEE of Ninety, appointed by Mayor King, had as its first duty the task of arranging a suitable reception for the veterans, but it also looked forward to the time when the sacrifice of those who could not return would be suitably marked with a lasting memorial.
The committee voted on April 1, 1919 that any balance of funds remaining after paying the expenses of welcoming celebra- tions should be devoted to paying "part or the entire expense of a suitable bronze memorial or - the entire expense of suitable separate grave markers or monuments" in memory of the dead.
A canvass for funds resulted in donations of $9,813.70. After paying for the welcome home exercises and the maintenance of a Soldiers and Sailors club room in Journal Hall, a balance of $3,262.20 remained.
At the same time Mayor King appointed the Committee of Ninety, he appointed another committee "to inquire into and report to the people concerning a memorial to those who entered the service of their country from Meriden." This committee reported in favor of erecting a memorial building on the site of the Charles S. Palmer residence, later the home of P. T. Ives. This proposal did not meet with favor, and the smaller committee took no further action.
Another plan for a large stone with a bronze plate affixed, to stand at the southwest corner of the city hall was also rejected. A third proposal was rejected because the chosen site was that occupied by the G. A. R. monument to Civil War veterans.
Thomas L. Reilly, former mayor, moved that the council be requested to appropriate "as much as was necessary of $25,000" for the erection of a memorial.
Additional suggestions for various forms of memorials and various sites were appearing frequently, but all fell flat, for one reason or another.
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WORLD WAR I MEMORIAL AND BOULEVARD
Six years had passed, and the city seemed to grow weary of argument. No further proposal appeared until May 1928, when the plan to make a portion of Broad Street into a Memorial Boulevard, and to place a monument at the interesection of Broad and East Main Streets was brought to the attention of the Chamber of Commerce by Lorenzo Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton had drawn plans to accompany his suggestion, and the Chamber's directors appointed a committee to take up the matter with Mayor Wales L. deBussy. The plans were submitted to the State High- way Department, which approved Mr. Hamilton's design.
Through further conferences between local and state officials, agreement was reached for the construction of Memorial Boule- vard. The state was already committed to the repaving of Broad Street as a state highway, and consented to assume the cost of the strip on the east side of the dividing plot in the center of the
boulevard, assessing the cost of the west side against the city. The state would also take and pay for any land needed to widen the southeast corner of East Main Street where it intersected with Broad Street, and the city agreed to acquire the land needed for improving the opposite corner, west of Broad Street. The residence of Daniel J. Donovan, which occupied the site where the old Central Tavern had stood, had been sold, and was to be removed to make room for a gasoline station. The new owners came to an agreement with the city which permitted the widening of this corner. Nothing further stood in the way of the proposed Memorial Boulevard, but the question of the monument was still unsettled.
On January 7, 1929, the council approved the appointment of a committee of five aldermen to be known as the World War I Memorial Committee, "whose duty it shall be to select a suitable memorial and site ... said committee to have full powers to act in any manner in regard to this memorial."
Mayor deBussey appointed Mrs. Mildred Williams as chairman, Alderman Horace F. Doolittle, secretary, and Aldermen Castelow, Quinlan and Ficken. The committee's membership was later increased by the appointment of 36 other citizens. Additional sub-committees were appointed on site, ways and means, the memorial, publicity, dedication, and reception.
The site committee reported favorably on the Broad Street location, and on June 11, 1929, the general committee passed the
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following vote:
"that Broad Street from the junction of East Main Street to the junction of Curtis and South Broad Streets be adopted as Memorial Boulevard and the site of the World War I Memorial, and that the memorial itself be placed as near the junction of East Main and Broad Streets as practical."
The council gave the committee power to take the necessary steps. The ways and means sub-committee reported that the funds should be raised by general taxation and favored the laying of a one mill tax for the purpose. The Board of Apportionment and Taxation followed this recommendation by laying a half mill tax in 1930, with the understanding that the second half mill would be applied the following year.
The contract for the Broad Street route was let to the L. Suzio Construction Company of this city, and work was started on November 30, 1929 at the north end of the junction of Berlin Road and Broad Street. The roadway laid was 20 feet wide, of reinforced concrete eight inches thick. The second contract, with the same company, was signed June 17, 1930, and provided for the central or boulevard section and the cut-off at Yalesville leading to the old railroad underpass. The Southern New England Telephone Company placed an additional contract for under- ground conduits, and the city contracted for the laying of sewers. The state contracts amounted to nearly $400,000, the telephone company's to $220,000 and the sewer bill to $5,200.
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