Legendary Locals Of Middletown

Although the town benefits from a position on a major navigable waterway, Middletown's success is primarily due to the energy, creativity, and diversity of its people. These include James Riley, whose autobiography detailing his trials as a white slave in Northern Africa showed millions of Americans the evils of slavery; Max Corvo, who helped the World War II Italian underground defeat the fascist regime; and Christie Ellen McLeod, longtime chief pathologist at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. Middletown can boast of athletes such as Helen "Babe" Carlson, a tremendously strong competitor who participated on men's baseball teams; Willie Pep, who, while going for the world featherweight title, had a record of 134 wins and only one loss; and Corny Thompson, who sparked the University of Connecticut basketball program's rise to national prominence. More notables include Allie Wrubel, a prolific songwriter and Academy Award winner for his song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah;" Vivian McRae Wesley, a teacher, reading director, and leader of Middletown's African American community; and Francesco Lentini, who was born with three legs and appeared in every major circus and carnival.

Although the town benefits from a position on a major navigable waterway, Middletowns success is primarily due to the energy, creativity, and diversity of its people. These include James Riley, whose autobiography detailing his trials as a white slave in Northern Africa showed millions of Americans the evils of slavery; Max Corvo, who helped the World War II Italian underground defeat the fascist regime; and Christie Ellen McLeod, longtime chief pathologist at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. Middletown can boast of athletes such as Helen Babe Carlson, a tremendously strong competitor who participated on mens baseball teams; Willie Pep, who, while going for the world featherweight title, had a record of 134 wins and only one loss; and Corny Thompson, who sparked the University of Connecticut basketball programs rise to national prominence. More notables include Allie Wrubel, a prolific songwriter and Academy Award winner for his song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; Vivian McRae Wesley, a teacher, reading director, and leader of Middletowns African American community; and Francesco Lentini, who was born with three legs and appeared in every major circus and carnival.

While Middlesex County is one of the most historic communities in the nation, some of its past is little known. Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth, and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America's oldest continuously run family business. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories.

New Britain began in 1754 as an ecclesiastical society and farming village, and with few natural resources, was transformed into a modern industrial city by the time of its incorporation in 1871. Attracting waves of immigrant workers and entrepreneurs, this became a diverse but unified community in which people of all ethnicities worked together, served together in times of war, and even played together on the baseball fields. Legendary Locals of New Britain includes remarkable residents among the early inhabitants and settlers; the people and institutions that brought New Britain to cityhood; artists and entertainers; famous or leading immigrants; sports legends; and men and women who have otherwise made their mark on New Britain, the nation, or the world.

In its early years, Red Bank was a place where Sigmund Eisner, a Jewish emigrant from Austria, could arrive with empty hands and build a manufacturing empire that served the nation. It is a place where families like the Irwins could make a home for generations: Capt. Edward Irwin started his marine business by the side of Red Bank's Navesink River in 1884, and his great-grandson Channing still runs the family marina by the water. It is the place where Thomas Edison experimented with sonar and where the Dorn family launched a photographic dynasty that has chronicled the life of the community for more than a century. It is a place where the Drs. Parker, a family of black physicians, earned an enduring place in the hearts of Red Bankers by caring for its citizens, both black and white, with skill and kindness. Red Bank is a place where Bruce Springsteen could start off playing at high school dances and end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These are only a few of the legendary locals of Red Bank.

The celebrated history of New Haven often overshadows its fascinating and forgotten past. The Elm City was home to America's first woman dentist, an architect who designed the tallest twin towers in the world and a medical student who used toy parts to create an artificial heart pump. A city noted as the home of one of the top universities in the world, New Haven is also home to the third-oldest independent school in the United States, the first African American to receive a PhD degree and the founding of what would become the largest Catholic fraternal benefit society in the world. The city's share of disasters includes Connecticut's worst aviation crash, a zookeeper who was mauled to death and a fire at the Rialto Theater. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal the rich and fascinating cultural legacies of one of New England's most treasured cities.

Established by Colonials seeking religious and cultural freedom in 1639, Newport has enjoyed nearly four centuries of growth--from a thriving seaport to a summer hideaway for industrial revolution excesses, from an active Navy town to a modern world-class destination for sailing and tourism. But beyond the marbled mansions and active harbor-front wharves lie legendary locals building a city of living history, education, arts, and philanthropy. And as this "City-by-the-Sea" celebrates 375 years in 2014, residents honor the diversity of the people who keep it flourishing. Stone carvers John "Fud" Benson and son Nick utilize time-honored techniques etching gravestones and memorials by hand in the oldest trade shop in the country, while nearby, the largest high-tech megayachts in the world dock at the Dana family's Newport Shipyard. Newporter and Navy SEAL Terry Moy helped the last Apollo mission land safely back on Earth, while advocate Florence Gray helped keep affordable housing residents grounded only a few blocks from the city's upscale neighborhoods.

In Rumson’s formative years, people journeyed to the Jersey Shore to escape the heat and pestilence in the cities. In what is now Rumson, river-to-river land parcels were developed into farms and country estates for the elite of New York City. Along with “the Baking Powder King” and “the Calico King,” another of Rumson’s notable residents was a US Secretary of the Interior who was asked to run for vice president, refused the honor, and left the position open for the second choice, Teddy Roosevelt. Today, one of the world’s most famous and enduring singing stars and one of America’s most famous chefs have ties to the town. Rumson has been the home of entertainers, sports stars, financiers, entrepreneurs, scientists, brewers, legislators, philanthropists, and jurists. It is a community that brings together people of varied interests, ages, and walks of life yet still remains a warm and comfortable small town.