Legendary Locals of Wallingford

By Tarn Granucci

Legendary Locals of Wallingford is about fabric--the fabric of community that is made up of an amazing variety of threads, yarns, and whole panels of every color, design, and origin. These represent the people of the community. Wallingford's story goes back over 350 years and encompasses an enormous range of people with every kind of motivation for being part of this town. The people of this community love where they live and give back to the townspeople who have supported their businesses, educated their children, and protected them in so many ways. Wallingford has produced a number of people of celebrity, including Morton Downey, the famous singer and songwriter of the 1920s and 1930s, and also his son Morton Downey Jr., who earned a name for himself in the TV talk show world; Beverly Donofrio authored Riding in Cars With Boys; Maureen Moore acts on Broadway; sculptor Robert Gober recently completed a major show at MOMA in New York; and Maj. Raoul Lufbery was a renowned World War I Flying Ace. These and more are celebrated here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Legendary Locals
• Release date: Sep 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781439653098

Tarn Granucci

Tarn Granucci has spent almost his entire life living in Wallingford. He and his family owned a number of retail establishments serving homeowners, and thus, he came to know most people in the community.

Book preview

Erin!

INTRODUCTION

In 1638, a group of 38 people with vision and adventure in their hearts headed upstream from New Haven to an area of land to begin to settle it and develop it into a place to live. The original town was laid out by John Brockett, one of the town planners of New Haven. The center of town was on The Long Highway, which later became South and North Main Streets. The Long Highway began at what is now Parson Street and advanced north to the current North Street. The property was divided into parcels for the original settlers of approximately six acres each, and the lots ran from Long Highway to the Quinnipiac River on the west side and to Wharton Brook on the east.

In 1670, Wallingford was incorporated, and the town, named after Wallingford, England, became official. About 126 people settled the original town. Some of the names of the original visionaries include, but are not limited to, the following: Street, Doolittle, Moss, Atwater, Hassett, Luby, Mix, Hall, Wilcox, Andrews, Beach, Benham, Brockett, Brown, Cook, Hall, Harriman, Heaton, Holt, Hopper, How, Ives, Johnson, Lewis, Merriman, Ives, Munson, Peck, Potter, Preston, Sherman, Tuttle, Whitehead, and Yale.

This book aims to paint a picture of community, of how the town came to be via the many and varied choices and activities of those who came before us. Many citizens today are direct descendants from early settlers, and most would say that they are still here because Wallingford is a great place to live.

A great number of varied ethnic groups have settled in Wallingford. These include Italians, Hungarians, Irish, Polish, and the Hispanic community, which includes immigrants from Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Central American countries. Wallingford became a melting pot because of the industrial development that occurred here with the silver industry, the steel industry, and many other types of businesses. Workers came from around the world to work and settle in Wallingford, and they have all added to the magnificent weave of the fabric that is this community. Today, Wallingford still has a great number of manufacturing and high-tech and pharmaceutical companies, and people still flock here for good jobs.

The silver industry developed in Wallingford, as people such as Robert Wallace, Samuel Simpson, and others came to town with ideas and vision. In the 19th century, Wallingford’s industry expanded with a considerable concentration of pewter and Britannia Ware manufacturers. By the middle of the century, Robert Wallace had acquired the formula for nickel silver, and he established, with Samuel Simpson, the R. Wallace & Company, the forerunner of Wallace Silversmiths.

Fred Ulbrich, of Wallingford’s Ulbrich Steel, who passed away in 2014, told stories of his father’s involvement as the warden when Wallingford was a borough. He said that most of the lower-cost housing for the new populations was built on the west side of the tracks, and that these ethnic groups were able to maintain their own identities and honor their ethnic origins relating to their home countries. They could walk to work at the nearby factories that abutted the Quinnipiac River.

Today’s Wallingford is as friendly and welcoming as longtime residents remember. The people of the community and the various service clubs and organizations in town are always trying to find ways to help those who are less fortunate. For example, Harvey and Martha Bray and a number of others formed an organization, Holiday For Giving, over 45 years ago under the umbrella of the First Congregational Church. Nancy Freyberg, a dedicated woman who settled in Wallingford 30 years ago, has fed needy families with help from many other citizens, serving Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter meals for many years as well with her program, Holiday Meals.

Wallingford is home to the Wallingford Garden Club, a group of extraordinarily talented and committed women who dedicate their time to creating beautiful flora and fauna displays and experiences by adding natural beauty to the world. Wallingford is blessed to be the home to Choate Rosemary Hall, which had its start here 125 years ago. Choate is one of the finest preparatory schools in the world. Its campus is a magnificent setting of lawns, stately buildings, walking paths, and playing fields.

While politics in any community can be controversial, argumentative, and challenging, Wallingford moves forward steadily. The economic development commission assists and guides economic growth, the education department teaches the children, and the town council and mayor pay attention to all the financial demands and regulatory needs of the community. Wallingford’s current mayor, William Dickinson Jr., has held his position for over 30 years, winning reelection 15 times! Before Mayor Bill, there were only three other mayors since 1962, when Wallingford created a mayor/council government.

Wallingford is strong economically, and it continues to grow, develop, and attract substantial companies to set up shop here. Downtown continues to grow and prosper with a wide selection of quality restaurants, retailers, and service companies to serve residents and visitors in an exemplary manner.

Most important, the people of Wallingford look to each other to find solutions. A community is made up of people from various and different backgrounds, politics, and personal concerns who find ways to work together. Wallingford has always been that kind of town.

Judd Mansion and Lyman Hall High School

In this photograph, the Elks Club offers food to the needy. Judd Mansion is now a parking lot, and the high school is the town hall.

CHAPTER ONE

Business and Industry

Early in the 19th century, a boy of Scottish heritage living in Prospect was apprenticed at age 16 to a certain Captain Mix to learn the trade of making metal products. After two years, this young man set out to start his own business and bought a gristmill in Cheshire. Soon after, he was presented with a spoon of a strange metal called German silver by a Mr. Sherman. At only 19 years of age, the young Robert Wallace went to New York and secured a bar of this metal. He returned to Connecticut, and so began the story of the origins of Wallace Silversmiths of Wallingford. Clarence Hale weaves the story beautifully in his book Tales of Old Wallingford and brings the romance to the beginnings of a major industry in Wallingford, Connecticut. As time went on, Wallace had dealings and partnerships with Samuel Simpson and others, eventually creating R. Wallace & Sons. In 1875, the manufacture of sterling silver flatware and other silver products began and the rest is history.

From these beginnings, a number of other people learned the metal manufacturing business, and Wallingford, along with Meriden, became the world center for sterling silver, silver plate, and Britannia Ware, also known as pewter.

Many a family still living in Wallingford can easily trace their heritage back to ancestors who had careers in the metals industry. Many people of various ethnicities also found their way to this mecca of jobs, and Wallingford grew into a richly diverse community. Michael Backes arrived in Wallingford in 1876 and created the M. Backes & Sons Fireworks Company. The company was known nationally for making all kinds of fireworks, including aerial and ground-oriented fireworks and also caps for toy guns and sparklers. Some of the original companies still exist to this day, and Wallingford remains a strong center for commercial and industrial development. This is due to a great geographical location, access to major highways, a government with checks and balances and an eye to economic development, and the cost-efficient bonus of its own well-run electric division, which delivers electricity at lower rates than most towns and cities in the Northeast.

Samuel Simpson

One of Wallingford’s most notable people, Samuel Simpson, like Robert Wallace, had great success in the silver manufacturing industry with his company, Simpson, Hall & Miller. He was descended from the Simpsons who settled Wallingford in the 17th century. Samuel was the great-grandfather of Margaret Tibbets, who married Hershel Taber and was instrumental in the success of the first library in Wallingford. Simpson financed the original library. A photograph in a local newspaper included this caption: Little Margaret Tibbets spreads the mortar on the cornerstone of the new Wallingford Public Library. Jane Fisher, head librarian of the Wallingford Public Library, said, The library wouldn’t have existed without Mr. Simpson. Upon his death in 1894, Samuel Simpson left $20,000 and the land to build the town’s first free public library at 60 North Main Street, which was completed in 1899. Simpson’s daughter, Martha DeEtte Simpson, was one of the original members of the Wallingford Ladies Library and Reading Room Association. Founded in 1881, the group met at various locations before the first library was built. When Simpson’s daughter died young, he left money for a library to be dedicated in her memory. The current library location at 200 North Main Street was once the site of the Samuel Simpson House, locally known as the Taber House. The house was moved and reassembled on Scard Road when the library was built. The town bought the property for the current library from Simpson’s great-granddaughter, Margaret Tibbets Taber. Simpson’s philanthropy was built on his success in the silver industry. He also partnered with Robert Wallace, another founder of the area’s silver industry. While he was successful, Simpson did not inherit his wealth, according to