Legendary Locals Of New Britain

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.

Since the 1920s, Daytona Beach has sold itself as "The World's Most Famous Beach," which, while not literally true, does suggest a city with a big personality and large plans. The people in these pages contributed to that personality and made those plans. These people include Matthias Day, the Ohio industrialist, educator, inventor, and newspaper editor who founded and gave his name to the new city in 1876; Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves, who founded the university that bears her name "with five little girls, a dollar and a half, and faith in God"; Bill France Sr., the race driver and promoter who took stock car racing from the beach sands to a state-of-the-art track and built a racing empire; and his son, Bill France Jr., who turned NASCAR into a national pastime. Other notable Daytonans include the builders, writers, artists, rockers, promoters, business founders, educators, journalists, politicians, pioneers, bootleggers, philanthropists, sports stars, and even a dog that made the city what it is today. They come to life in historical photographs from the Halifax Historical Museum, the Florida Archives, and files of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

A pictorial history of Fort Myers as exemplified by its citizens and their accomplishments.

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.

Through its history, Oceanside has been a community packed with personalities, including the first Eagle Scout, first female Jewish cantor, two Freedom Riders, noteworthy scientists, and caring citizens. It is where War of 1812 general Daniel Bedell shot his musket, Ziegfeld's Gilda Gray practiced her shimmy, basketball great Art Heyman dribbled, and NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler threw his first football. Academy Award nominee David Paymer studied acting, Disney chief executive officer Robert Iger watched the Mouseketeers, and New York Yankees president Randy Levine played Little League baseball. This is the neighborhood where Jeanne Marion Doane orated for women's suffrage, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter navigated canals, and Goldman-Sachs chief executive officer Stephen Friedman filled his piggy bank. Its foundation is the people in its religious institutions, fire department, and school district. The area's business people are unified, hard working, and charitable.

In 1831, Richard McLemore received a federal land grant of 2,000 acres located in the future Lauderdale County, Mississippi. He gave free land to those he considered good neighbors and built his home within the one square mile that would be incorporated as Meridian on February 10, 1860. On Valentine's Day 1864, Gen. W.T. Sherman's troops marched into the small railroad town. After burning the town, Sherman wrote in his journal, "Meridian . . . no longer exists." Meridian did survive and became Mississippi's largest city due to its railroad and timber industries and progressive settlers like the Weidmanns, Marks-Rothenbergs, Threefoots, Rushes, Rosenbaums, Rileys, Andersons, and others. Within these pages, meet the people who proved Sherman wrong and continue to influence the area today.

Joseph G. Stolp settled in Aurora on June 12, 1837, when there were 33 residents in the pioneer village. Stolp's vision helped shape the city's destiny. The Aurora Electric Light and Power Company used 2,000-candlepower electric lamps for the first streetlights in 1881. Today, the "City of Lights" is home to 200,000 residents and a diverse population with 42 percent of Hispanic heritage. The character of her people made Aurora an enterprising city. Notable residents include Maud Powell, violin virtuoso, and Harry C. Murphy, president of the Burlington Railroad. Profiles of Greek immigrant George Andrews and Aurora-born artist Wendell Minor, as well as Polish leader Bruno Bartoszek, color these pages with biographies of greatness. Astute business leaders include Robert Bonifas, Ken Nagel, Louis Leonardi, and Frank C. Schaefer. Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, Dr. Christine Sobek, and Dick Schindel give testament to adroit educational leadership. Legendary Locals of Aurora chronicles how the city's history has been blessed with noble and innovative leaders.

West Virginia's most impoverished county, McDowell County, is also its richest, with reserves of mineral wealth that continue to provide the framework for modern society from Panama and Toyko to New York and Chicago. With a history cratered by triumph and tragedy, the people of McDowell County have endured unspeakable hardships and near isolation but continue to excel in a myriad of unexpectedly surprising ways. Robert Morris, "the financier of the American Revolution," went to the poor house with the belief that McDowell's mineral wealth could fuel a new nation. Jedediah Hotchkiss, the mapmaker who charted the course for Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's valley campaign, resurrected Morris's dream to rebuild the South into an industrial giant on local coal. Men of vision and means like Frederick Kimball and J.P. Morgan built fortunes on McDowell County's mineral wealth. The musical Womack family, baseball manager Charlie Manuel, comedic genius Steve Harvey, writers Kermit Hunter and Jeannette Walls, and thousands who served in all ranks of the military, many making the supreme sacrifice, are among those who have made their mark on McDowell County.