Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor
Publication date: 1949
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 922

USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 10
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 10

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Born at West Union, Fayette County, Iowa, on April 29, 1879, Jesse E. Dade was early brought by his parents to an undeveloped farm twenty miles from Austin, Minnesota. His mother died when he was eleven years of age, and his father remarried and went to Missouri, leaving the children to shift for themselves, which they did most capably. Jesse worked on farms during the summer at fifteen to eighteen dollars per month, and attended winter schools by doing chores for his board. He started in to attend the Austin High School, but eventually ran out of money to continue his studies. His early educa- tion, however painfully acquired, proved of great value to him in later life, but it is probable that the difficulties under which he secured it made him an advocate of easy education for all in more prosperous years.

Putting the question of further education aside, Jesse E. Dade started on a trek that took him even- tually to Blackduck, Minnesota, which he reached by tramping forty miles by foot-trail and swamp. This was one of the many boom sites that sprang up along the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, as prospected. Here he cast in his lot with the pioneers of an area upon which the timber had been cut during that winter. Quoting some of his descriptions: "The streets, as platted, were full of stumps and the sawmill had been busy cutting lumber for the three hotels, four general stores, a bank and twenty-five saloons which was the extent of the building layout when I arrived on April 1. 1901. It was typical of backwoods towns with a building boom in high gear, and every- thing running 'high, wide and handsome' with no at- tempt to close the saloons day, night, or Sunday. As for the population, they were transients, the majority of them the same as myself, coming to look up a homestead on timber claims. Money was fairly free." Railroad men and timber jacks increased the popula- tion in the winter to perhaps ten thousand: in sum- mer it was less than half this number. Blackduck for its first six or eight years was one of the "most notorious towns in the State." although it called it- self "The City of Destiny." Young Jesse Dade de- cided to cast in his lot with this "wicked community."

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He secured a homestead north of the town, upon which he built a log cabin and began to "prove up" on his holdings. As a side line he taught school, that some half-breed Indians attended, and became quite a grower of vegetables as well as staple crops. How- ever, he tired of homesteading, sold his place for four- teen hundred dollars, his first large stake to use for business purposes. He purchased a half interest in a livery stable in town, and within a few years had built it up to one of the largest of its kind in northern Minnesota. In the meanwhile Blackduck was develop- ing with many homes, a high school, three churches, but likewise an oversupply of saloons. There was also a great deal of gambling, and many homicides oc- curred. A committee of citizens determined to elimin- ate some "places of iniquity" and Jesse Dade was nominated to run for mayor. What seemed to him a joke turned out to be truth, and, as indicated, he was elected head of the town government, the youngest mayor in Minnesota. Taking his job seriously, he initiated a movement to eliminate the saloons and gambling joints, and related evils, and despite the op- position of their owners, particularly one of wealth and influence, did a very good job of making the community one of decency and attractive to pros- pective citizens and business men.

For fifteen years Jesse E. Dade was a resident of Blackduck, for three years its courageous and pro- gressive mayor, and for four years serving as its postmaster. In after years he paid this tribute to the place and its people: "I never met a more loyal, in- telligent, big-hearted class of people-generous to a fault. Their hospitality was recognized to be State- wide. I look back to those days as the happiest of my whole life. The many good times, the happy fel- lowship and business associations which were formed will always remain a very pleasant memory."

As he further relates: "It was during my first year as postmaster that I met and married my wife, July 26. 1911. On our first wedding anniversary, we were presented with a son, George Charles Dade, who is now president of Dade Brothers, Inc. The second son, Robert E. Dade, was born three years later at Fort Francis, Ontario, directly across from International Falls, and who is now vice president of the company which bears their name, the father having become chairman of the board."

One of the incidents of his life that Jesse Dade sometimes tells with a keen sense of humor, was his invention of a rubber suit filled with Kapok to be used to prevent the loss of life, particularly among aviators who flew the "crates" (airplanes) in World War I. He demonstrated the courage of his convic- tion of the efficacy of his invention before Army and Navy officers, a half hundred members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, by jumping off the Potomac Bridge, Washington, D. C., into a whirlpool. The demonstration was a success. but the cost and the bulk of his safety-suit cansed its rejection by the military authorities, but with the approval of its use wherever practical.

Mr. Dade was by this time an ardent believer in the future of aviation, and, after the end of World War I to 1924, was associated with the great Curtiss Airplane Corporation. Although he has since traveled widely in the United States, his home has been not far from Roosevelt Field. Long Island. The Curtiss Company moved most of its interests to the West, and Mr. Dade remained in New York to start a garage and building concern. This he operated to 1030 when world wide financial conditions necessitated his beginning all over again. His sons were then com-

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

ing along to maturity, and joined the elder man in what was originally The Dade Builders, the prede- cessor of Dade Brothers, Inc.

In retrospect, Jesse E. Dade once wrote: "The one broken down truck which Bob (a son), started out with in 1931 has grown to a fleet of over fifty first- class trucks, and the part which George played as president and general manager needs no embellish- ment. During 1944, I spent most of my time operat- ing the company's branch at the Oakland airport and had the pleasure of becoming a member of the Oak- land Rotary Club. To both Mrs. Dade and myself the boys have always been a source of pride and joy, and now the four grandchildren have only added addi- tional comfort."

Jesse E. Dade has been a member of the Garden City, and the Oakland, California, Rotary clubs. Fraternally he is affiliated with Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, of which he is chan- cellor-commander and past commander; the Modern Woodmen of America, which he served as clerk and venerable consul; is a trustee of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Bene- volent and Protective Order of Elks. He worships in the faith of the Plymouth Brethren Church.

A: Blackduck, Minnesota, on July 26, 1911, Jesse E. Dade married Nellie E. Scarlett, daughter of George and Elizabeth Scarlett. Mr. and Mrs. Dade are the parents of two sons: I. George C., born July 26, 1912. 2. Robert E., born October 1, 1915.

GEORGE C. DADE-The rapid development of the airplane in the past decade gave rise to problems of an unusual nature, and in the solution of one of these George C. Dade and associates built a busi- ness that in less than five years rose from a gross of $100,000 to more than $16,000,000. This enterprise, which sounds simple when it is described as methods of crating for shipment of airplanes and parts, is in reality exceptionally difficult and involved, requiring a tremendous amount of ingenuity, invention and the services of expert engineers. It is a matter of record that Dade Brothers, Inc., of Mineola, crated one-third of all the airplanes built in the United States dur- ing World War II. The president of the corporation, George C. Dade, had the honor of being named as one of the ten outstanding young executives of the year 1945, in the annual competition conducted by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.

George C. Dade was born at Blackduck, Minnesota, July 12, 1912, son of Jesse E. and Nellie E. (Scarlett) Dade, his mother a native of Duluth, Minnesota, and was brought by his parents to New York at the age of six years. The family located on the site of the old Curtiss Field near Mineola, so that it can well be said that as boy and youth he was literally reared on the Roosevelt Flying Field. He was educated in the Garden City public school and the Hempstead High School, where he made the class valedictory address, and entered into extracurricular activities, incidental- ly playing a leading role in the senior class play. Matriculating at New York University, from which he was duly graduated, he stood out in campus life, was president of student council; was elected to both the junior and senior honor societies; became a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, the oldest professional fraternity at New York University; and was chosen president of the Middle Atlantic Region of the National Student Federation.

Mention has been made that George C. Dade was raised on a flving field. It might equally well be re- ported that the business with which he has been so

importantly identified grew out of a disastrous land- ing of his airplane on what was not a flying field. Dur- ing his high school days he worked at the Roosevelt Field. "At the age of seventeen years," wrote an edi- tor, "he achieved the honor of being the first solo student at the famous Roosevelt Field Aviation School and the youngest licensed pilot in the United States at that time. His spare-time jobs at the field earned him enough money to secure for him a small used Aeronca plane for $350. A forced landing experience with that plane affected his future career, practically opened the door to it. His plane was torn apart in that landing because what he thought was a pile of hay turned out to be a pile of rocks with a thin coat- ing of hay. George called his brother, after the acci- dent, to borrow one of his father's trucks so that he could get the damaged plane back home. The incident spread quickly around the airport and soon other pilots, after emergency landings, called upon Dade brothers to dismantle and truck their planes to their home field."

From such a small beginning a great business grew, that proved of immense value in America's World War II efforts. The Dade Brothers started with a force of about twenty men engaged in getting bulky airplanes in shape for transportation over highways, railroads with limited space and clearance, and over- seas shipment.

The first big foreign order was for the crating of planes for the defense of Finland. The job was done on schedule and was universally praised by Fin- nish and American naval authorities. As outlined in a newspaper article: "Old methods of packing air- planes were antiquated, and young Dade, with the assistance of other members of the firm, called in experience and designed the original "bi-axial type air- craft export support,' the basic scheme used ever since in the shipping process. From 1940, through all the months of the war, Dade Brothers held con- tracts with Republic Aviation Corporation, Bell Air- craft at Buffalo and Grumman. They wrote the ex- port packaging specifications for all aircraft manu- factured in this country."

George C. Dade appointed a civilian consultant on packaging and shipping, and, attached to the army air force base services in Washington, made numerous trips to all parts of the United States and overseas. Later, he was requested by the British Royal Navy to visit the United Kingdom to survey and report on the methods used by the British industry in packag- ing aircraft.

At the peak of the war, Dade Brothers were operat- ing plants on both coasts and at New Orleans, Louisi- ana, and were turning out more than sixty com- pletely processed aircraft each day. The firm, in addition to the packaging job, developed the first strippable plastic coating used for the preservation of aircraft. Its trucking had now expanded to eighty- seven units of slick, new streamlined tractor-trailer and trucks capable of delivering as many as one hun- dred boxed airplanes to New York City piers daily. Six hundred sets of wings were built and delivered to the army by the Dade aircraft division. It is esti- mated that the company has shipped overseas more than $5,000,000,000 worth of war materials, includ- ing more than thirty thousand military aircraft. The officers and directors of the company are as follows: J. E. Dade, chairman of the board of directors: George C. Dade, president and treasurer: Robert E. Dade, vice president and secretary; and E. T. Clark, general manager.

Civic-spirited, Mr. Dade cooperates with many com-

George C. Dade

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

munity projects and organizations in the Mineola and the larger Long Island area. He is a member of the Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club, of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, of the aircraft committee of the far distant Oakland, California, Chamber of Commerce, and figures prominently as a charter mem- ber and director of the Armed Forces Welfare Foun- dation and the Aviation Section of the New York Board of Trade. At the age of thirty-three, with Henry Ford II, and eight others, he was chosen one of the "Ten Young Men of The Year," by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Dade, as chief executive, steered his organiza- tion on a path of production that led from a gross of less than $100,000 in 1940 to over $16,000,000 in 1944- from operations in a small garage to operations on a national basis in fourteen cities.

George E. Dade married Edith M. Gorman, born in Columbia, South Carolina, and they are the parents of two children: 1. Henry C., born in 1944. 2. Stephen H., born in 1946.

ROBERT EDWIN DADE-As vice president. secretary and manager of the Pacific Coast operations of Dade Brothers, Inc., of Mineola. Robert Edwin Dade continues to play an outstanding role in the development of this large corporation that during World War II "crated one-third of the airplanes built in the United States during that conflict." This line of business involved the shipping by truck on a large scale of the materials prepared for transport, a line that has become a specialty of the company in present peace times. Of major importance is the fact that Dade Brothers, Inc., devised and formulated one of the first readily removable plastic coverings for air- planes, and in the packing of parts for shipment by the firm almost anywhere in the United States and in a measure to foreign ports, have developed protec- tive imaterials for the machinery and the like that they transport.

Robert Edwin Dade is the second son of Jesse E. and Nellie R. (Scarlett) Dade. He was born on October 1, 1915, at Port Francis, Province of On- tario, Canada, which is just across the border oppo- site International Falls, northern Minnesota. Some of the colorful story of his father and family as pioneers of Minnesota is included in this volume, a tale of adventures and hardships, of primitive condi- tions in a new railroad and timber town, where as mayor and postmaster, courageous citizen and official, he contributed to the conversion of one of the most notorious towns in the state to a decent and attrac- tive community.

The elder man transferred his business interests to the East and on Long Island engaged in business, probably with the idea that here he could provide adequate educational advantages for his sons. Then came the financial depression of 1929-30. and a stag- gering blow to the resources of Jesse E. Dade. He had been connected with an airplane company, which, in order to reduce its operations several years earlier, had closed its plant on Long Island. In an effort to recoup failing fortunes, he started a garage and building business. By 1930 this was, in the words of the father. "reduced to one broken down truck."

Robert Edwin Dade decided that it was time for him to quit school and start contributing to the family fortunes. This was in 1931, and he began to drive and keep in some kind of shape the "broken down truck." of earlier mention. This was the foundation upon which the newlv organized concern named Dade Builders, built. Not long after, George Dade (q.v.).

the older son, and Robert Edwin Dade, of this ac- count, formed and incorporated, in 1938, as Dade Brothers, with George as president, and Robert Ed- win as vice president and secretary. In a biography of the president of the company, an outline of the scope of the World War and present-day operations of this corporation is given, together with some items in its annals.

Robert Edwin Dade, almost from the first, has been interested in the trucking feature of the business, now its most important activity. In 1933, he founded the trucking division of the company while continu- ing his work in the general contracting business, acquiring new customers, increasing and directing the operations of the fleet of trucks, until the United States became involved in World War II and a sudden demand cropped up in airplane transporta- tion, involving the delivery of a most cumbersome and relatively delicate machine to ports all over the United States from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast, and in the main to East Coast shipping centers.

In 1938, the business was incorporated under the nanie of Dade Brothers, at which time Mr. Dade was elected to the position of vice president and secre- tary. The company branched into the packaging busi- ness and considerable time was spent opening the various branches throughout the United States. Dur- ing the war traveling was required between the branches at Newark, New Jersey, Buffalo, New York, Savannah. Georgia. New Orleans, Louisiana, and Oak- land,California. Mr. Dade was manager of the West Coast operations of Dade Brothers, Inc., during the latter part of the war. Subsequent to the war, a brief period was spent at the home office at Mineola, and since that time he has been in charge of the West Coast operations of the company, which have been re-established in order to handle the packaging operations at that point.

At Jenkinsville, South Carolina, on March 21, 1942, Robert Edwin Dade married Kitty Glenn Mc- Meekin, daughter of John Calhoun and Bessie (Glenn) McMeekin. Mr. and Mrs. Dade are the parents of two sons: 1. Edwin Roger, born March 9. 1944. 2. John Glenn, born January 10, 1946. The family at- tends the Plymouth Brethren Church.

J. CARLTON CORWITH-The prominence of I. Carlton Corwith as farmer and citizen not only of Water Mill but all of the town of Southampton is suggested by the fact that when the Rotary Club of Southampton was organized in 1946-he was elected its first president. He has been an important member of the Suffolk County and New York Grange since 1915 and of the Suffolk County and New York State Farm Bureau organizations since 1917. He is a director and vice president of the Cooperative G. L. F. Exchange. Inc., an appraiser of the Federal Land Bank and the Farm Credit Administration. His principal crop is potatoes. Mr. Corwith is a brother of Dr. Arthur C. Corwith, of Bridgehampton.

J. Carlton Corwith was born in Water Mill on April 6, 1895, his birth taking place on the old family farm founded by his grandfather, Samuel Corwith. who also established a general store and a windmill in the village of Water Mill. The farm and store were later operated by Samuel Corwith's son, James H. Corwith, father of T. Carlton Corwith. James Corwith was also Water Mill's postmaster until 1007. The mother of J. Carlton Corwith was Mary (Fordham) Corwith.

Mr. Corwith attended the grade schools of Water Mill and then the Southampton High School, from

LONG ISLAND - NASSAU AND SUFFOLK

which he was graduated in 1911. He then obtained a scientific training for his career on the farm. He took this training at the College of Agriculture of Cornell University at Ithaca, from which he was graduated in 1916 with the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Returning to the home farm at Water Mill, he entered a partnership with his father, as of January I, 1917. The partnership lasted twenty-five years, end · ing only with the death of James Corwith in 1942, when J. Carlton Corwith took over control of the entire farm. He now cultivates one hundred and twenty- five acres, with grain, such as wheat and corn, sub- sidiary to potatoes.

Mr. Corwith joined the Southampton Grange in 1915 and from 1918 to 1919 served as lecturer and from 1920 to 1921 as master. From 1920 to 1921 he was also lecturer of Pomona Grange in Suffolk County. He became master of the County Grange in 1922-23 and was gate keeper of the New York State Grange from 1922 to 1926. He has been a member of the Suffolk County Farm Bureau since its or- ganization in 1917. From 1918 to 1925 he was treas- urer; from 1924 to 1935, he was president of the county organization. From 1926 to 1928, he was second vice president of the New York State Farm Bureau Federation. Mr. Corwith was elected a direc- tor of the Cooperative G. L. F. Exchange, Inc. in 1932, and has served in this capacity ever since, be- coming a member of the service committee in 1937 and a member of the budget committee in 1942, and vice president in 1943. He has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Southampton since 1906 and of Old Town Lodge No. 908, Free and Accepted Masons, at Southampton, since 1917. He was master of the Masonic Lodge in 1936. To all these activities he added the presidency of the newly-chartered Ro- tary Club of Southampton in 1946.

Mr. Corwith married Hazel Howland, daughter of Walter and Elva (Hungerford) Howland, of Evans Mills, in Jefferson County, New York, in that com- munity on October 27, 1921. Mrs. Corwith is past matron of the Ashawagh Chapter, Order of the East- ern Star, at Southampton. Mr. and Mrs. Corwith are the parents of four children: Virginia, born at Water Mill on September 23, 1922; Barbara E., born in Water Mill on November II, 1924; Richard Carlton, born at Water Mill on September 29, 1928, and Paul M., born at Water Mill on May 22, 1930.

Virginia Corwith was graduated from Southampton High School in 1940 and from Cornell University in 1944, the latter awarding her the degree of Bachelor of Science. She became a teacher of homemaking. On February 9, 1946, Miss Corwith was married to Robert L. Staehle, who in World War II served as a private first class with the United States Army in the Euro- pean Theater of Operations and after the war en- tered Cornell University to complete his education.

Barbara E. Corwith, also a graduate of Southamp- ton High School, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University in 1946. On August 17, 1946, she married Arthur H. Burnett, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur H. Burnett of Water Mill. In World War II the younger Mr. Burnett was a radar operator in the United States Navy, stationed princi- pally in the Pacific Theater of Operations. After the war he became a member of the Yale University class of 1947.

Richard Carlton Corwith was graduated from South- ampton High School in 1946. He is now a student at Cornell University. Paul M. Corwith is a member of the Southampton High School class of 1948.

ARTHUR C. CORWITH, M.D .- A veteran of World War II, Dr. Arthur C. Corwith holds a leading position among medical men in the Bridgehampton area of Suffolk County. He is a physician to the Bridgehampton public schools and a member of the surgical staff of the Southampton Hospital. Active in civic affairs, he is a trustee of the Hampton Library at Bridgehampton.

Dr. Corwith was born at Water Mill, in the town of Southampton, on January 10, 1903, the son of James H. and Mary (Fordham) Corwith.

Arthur C. Corwith was graduated from the South- ampton High School in 1920. He then became a student at Cornell University, from which he was graduated in 1924 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1927 he was graduated from the Cornell Medical School with the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. For his internship Dr. Corwith went to the New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, where he remained through 1928, and Middlesex Hos- pital, Middletown, Connecticut, where he remained into 1929.

In 1929 Dr. Corwith opened his offices in Bridge Hampton-on Hildreth Lane-and has been in con- tinuous practice there ever since, except for the period of his war service. In July, 1942, he was com- missioned a captain in the United States Army Medi- cal Corps and soon thereafter was promoted to major. Throughout most of World War II he was in the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, including New Guinea. He was placed on inactive status in February, 1946, when he returned to Bridgehampton and to his practice, as well as to his place on the Southampton Hospital staff. He was appointed school physician. Aside from his trusteeship of the Hamp- ton Library, Dr. Corwith is a member of the Suffolk County Medical Society, the New York State Medi- cal Society, the American Medical Association, the Masonic order and the American Legion. He wor- ships at the Presbyterian church.

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Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor Publication date: 1949 Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 922

Author: Bailey, Paul, 1885-1962, editor
Publication date: 1949
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 922