The Romance of Norwalk

A baseball game between the doctors and the druggists of the town in the summer of 1889 provided the first money, $10.85, raised for the establishment of a hospital in Nor¬ walk. Local hatters, prompted by the women in various factories became interested, and through the combined efforts of all, the Norwalk Hospital Association was formed and the first hospital opened in June 1893 in a dwelling at 24 Leonard st. The association had been incorporated in the fall of 1892 and the first meeting of the corporators was held in the law office of John H. Light. John H. Fer¬ ris was first president, serving until 1902 when Robert Van Buren was elected. The latter was followed by Christian Swartz in 1906. Very shortly, the Leonard st. house be¬ came too small and so it was voted to build a 40 bed hospi¬ tal. The building, on the top of Armory Hill, was opened in August, 1899. In 1916, the Association, John McMul¬ len, president, voted $100,000 for increased hospital facili¬ ties. The Stevens St. site was selected and a new building to contain 60 beds started. The site was purchased and given to the Association by James A. Farrell, John Mc¬ Mullen, F. E. Lewis, 2nd, Jeremiah Donovan, and E. T. Bedford of Greens Farms. This marked the beginning of MODERN NORWALK 433 Mr. Bedford’s interest in, and generosity in behalf of, the Norwalk hospital. In the fall of 1921, Mr. Bedford was named president of the Association. A nurses’ home was now erected at a cost of $200,000, half of the sum being provided by Mr. : Bedford and half by public subscription. As the years went by, the hospital, now trying to take care of 90 beds, became very much overcrowded. More room was needed. Mr. Bed¬ ford offered half a million dollars for a new addition and ; this addition was built, and completed in the spring of 1929, after nearly two years of construction, and at a cost nearer a million. At the present time, the Norwalk Hospital is capable of taking care of 200 patients at once. The years have greatly changed conditions at the institution. Gone are the days which many of our older physicians can recall, when doctors often had to provide their own instruments in the hospital, because there were not enough to go around. Today, the laboratories and equipment are of the finest. The new Mary A. Bedford Home for Nurses, of brick, named after Mr. Bedford’s wife, was completed in Febru¬ ary, 1926. The nurses’ home and the hospital, share equally in an endowment of one third of a million dollars which the bottomless generosity of Mr. Bedford has provided through the Bedford Fund Inc. This nets an income of $10,000 yearly for the home and hospital respectively, the fund for the latter being given on condition that Norwalk contribute a like amount. Mr. Bedford has also endowed the mater¬ nity ward. Down through the years, the Woman’s Board of the Norwalk Hospital and the Hospital Sewing Society have done much to push forward the progress of the insti¬ tution. Edward T. Bedford is now (1929) president of the Nor¬ walk Hospital Association; John Cavanagh, vice president; Frank James, secretary; Harry M.< Lane, treasurer; John H. Light, counsel; executive committee — Samuel Roodner, John Cavanagh and George L. Woodward; directors — Edward T. Bedford, James A. Farrell, Thomas H. Canty, 434 ROMANCE OF NORWALK Russell Frost, R. G. Hanford, Dr. J. G. Gregory, John Cavanagh, E. E. Gorham, Samuel Roodner, Mrs. Louis Lehmaier, George L. Woodward and John Milne. Rev. Charlton Bates Strayer is superintendent. The Norwalk Y. M. C. A. at 370 West ave., was opened to the public September 9, 1928. A $400,000 drive which totaled $427,000 when all was said and done, made the building possible. Edward B. Gallaher donated a portion of the site. The “Y” now has a membership of 2,130. The building, a handsome structure, provides reading and game rooms, bowling alleys, swimming pool and dormitories for the men while the women have quarters of their own, have the use of the swimming pool and also of the large auditor¬ ium and dining room and the kitchen. Ernest L. Saxton was named the first executive secretary. The Norwalk Dispen¬ sary, Pine st., was originated November 4, 1909 as an anti¬ tuberculosis association, with Mrs. John S. Seymour as first president. The association became a general dispensary, October 15, 1910, and was incorporated January 22, 1914 as the Norwalk Dispensary association, Inc. During the year 1929, 3,633 general cases were treated by the Dis¬ pensary, 174 baby cases through the Well Baby Clinic, 688 dental cases and 1,042 outside visits were made. Norwalk doctors and dentists volunteer their services. A worthwhile philanthropy in the city of Norwalk is the Ledgewood Farms Vacation Lodge for Girls on Ponus ave., a private rest and welfare institution owned by Charles H. Harris and used for the recuperation, during the summer months of sick and undernourished girls. Most of them are sent up to Norwalk from the hospitals and welfare or¬ ganizations of New York city and they are of all races and religions. The lodge, commenced 12 years ago, has taken care of 2,200 girls during that time, giving each two weeks or more of rest and recreation in surroundings which could not help but invite better health and spirit. The lodge, set in a wooded section of the estate, can house 15 girls at a time. Nearby is a private swimming pool and an outdoor MODERN NORWALK 435 dance platform. Fresh farm produce and a healthy rec¬ reation program go far towards building up sickly bodies and unhappy minds. The Norwalk Day Nursery Association was incorporated March 4, 1909. The sunny nursery at 14 Webster st. was acquired to provide a suitable place where mothers work¬ ing outside the home, might leave their children in safety, during the day. Only a nominal charge is made. The Day Nursery was organized following the burning to death of the small child of Mrs. Kate Bartek of Springwood, who was forced to leave the baby home alone when she went out to work. At the present time between 15 and 20 children are cared for there every day. The Fairfield County Children’s Home, Westport ave., is a brick building which includes hos¬ pital and school in addition to living quarters. The county now cares for nearly 400 children, about one quarter of whom are in the home, the rest being boarded out in private homes. The Naramake Home, city poor farm, Strawberry Hill ave., has already been discussed. The King’s Daughters Home for the Aged, Westport ave., a fine, large home on a beautiful hilly estate, was built in the spring of 1914 for aged poor of good birth who were no longer able to keep their own homes. The home was erected under the direc¬ tion of a large building committee headed by Mrs. Leo Davis. SILVERMINE ART COLONY Much has been said of Norwalk’s industries, institutions, clubs, schools, churches, and the like, but little of Nojwalk’s art. This community has the right to claim some of the finest artists, writers, actors and musicians in the country. Silvermine, the most famous artists’ rural colony in America, is part of Norwalk. It surpasses Old Lyme and even Woodstock in its collection of painters, sculptors and illus¬ trators, the story of the colony being given by some of the “old timers.” Silvermine was “discovered” back in 1895 by the great sculptor, Solon Borglum, brother of Gutzon 436 ROMANCE OF NORWALK Borglum, Stamford carver of the Confederate monument on Stone Mountain. He found here a little white church, a little red schoolhouse, and lots of Butterys. The next year Mr. Borglum acquired a small home on a hill over¬ looking the Silvermine river from the east. He brought his bride here and made his home in Silvermine until he died. The great works of sculpture of Solon Borglum, who might well be termed the patriarch of the Silvermine art colony, may now be found in all corners of the earth. Mr. Borglum took word of his new home site down to New York where he interested Addison Miller, noted painter. Mr. Miller shortly went to Silvermine and he remained in this community until his tragic death in 1913. He died in a train wreck. But Mr. Miller, taking up the sceptre of Silvermine had previously passed the good word along to Howard Hildebrant, a promising art student of the ’9o’s. Mr. Hildebrant arrived here in 1900 and has lived here ever since turning out paintings which have brought fame both to himself and to Silvermine. D. Put¬ nam Brinley was another of the early settlers who was at¬ tracted to Silvermine by the descriptions given by his col¬ leagues and who has lived in Norwalk ever since. One of the most interesting of all Silvermine families was the Gruelle family. R. B. Gruelle, who was a noted land¬ scape artist, was in the early group which established Silver- mine. His two sons are carrying on the artistic reputation of the family. Justin, artist, now lives on Yew st. Johnny Gruelle, the other son, now living in Shorefront Park, is one of the best known American cartoonists and his famous “Yapps Crossing” and “Yahoo Center” have delighted thousands, while his creation of the “Raggedy Ann” story revolutionized nursery books. Merry years had the early artists. Every Sunday morn¬ ing, there gathered in Solon Borglum’s barn, the Knockers’ Club, which included in its membership, besides Mr. Bor¬ glum and his Silvermine cronies, Edmund Ashe for many years of Westport and Frank Thompson still of Wilton. MODERN NORWALK 437