New Canaan There & Then

New Canaan There & Then: A Life of Firsts—Marion Dickerman’s Legacy of Equality and Service

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. Marion Dickerman, born in New York in 1890, was a woman truly ahead of her time, and served as a pillar of equality, education, and historical preservation. From suffragette to educator to wartime nurse and beyond, Dickerman’s legacy lives on. She is one of the exceptional women who have been residents of New Canaan. During her college years first at Wellesley and later Syracuse, Dickerman was a strong advocate for women’s suffrage, as well as protective labor legislation for women, and the abolishment of child labor.

New Canaan There & Then

New Canaan Now & Then: Congregational Church

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. Without the Congregational Church of New Canaan, there would be no Town of New Canaan. In the first decades of the 18th century, residents of Norwalk and Stamford pushed north seeking additional land, and on May 13, 1731 Puritans living in present-day New Canaan obtained authorization from the Connecticut General Assembly to form the ecclesiastical society of Canaan Parish. Why “Canaan”? As Mary Louise King wrote in her impressive 1981 history of our town, “Portrait of New Canaan”:

Neither then nor in later years did anyone record when, how and why “Canaan” was chosen as the parish’s name.

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New Canaan There & Then: Waveny LifeCare Network

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. In a somewhat exhaustive 1992 history of Waveny Care Center, the (unknown) authors’ first sentence was as follows:

“In the early 1960’s several New Canaan people became concerned that an increasing number of their neighbors, many of them long time residents who had contributed much to the growth, development and appeal of the community, felt obligated to move out of town because of a lack of appropriate housing accommodations and inadequate support services for the elderly.”

Sound familiar? While dedicated senior housing still remains an elusive goal for New Canaan, Waveny LifeCare Network (formerly Waveny Care Center) has for over 50 years provided much more-than-adequate support services for the elderly, with a continuum of healthcare to serve the changing needs of seniors from New Canaan and beyond. And the history of Waveny LifeCare is fascinating, starting in 1961 when a small highly motivated group of respected town doctors joined with the clergy of seven New Canaan churches to form the Interchurch Service Committee, with the intention of addressing the problem detailed in that first sentence. The Committee was frustrated in its efforts though the ‘60s to find a suitable and available site, and it wasn’t until early in 1969 that the Committee realized that a portion of the estate recently given to the Town of New Canaan by the magnificent Mrs. Ruth Lapham Lloyd might be the answer.

New Canaan There & Then

New Canaan There & Then: The Artist and the Activist—Alice King’s Dual Legacy

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. While many knew Alice King (1890–1979) as an upstanding citizen, proponent of the arts, and talented vocalist, few realized she orchestrated one of New Canaan’s most significant social transformations. Realizing the housing challenges for minorities and refugees, she welcomed them to stay with her family on their Silvermine property until they could find other opportunities. Most notably, in 1941, Alice bought 12 houses on East Avenue and Cherry Street (then known as Baldwin Avenue) and first rented and then sold homes to Black families. For those who had only a down payment, she provided the financing.

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New Canaan Now & Then: Aviation to Administration—The Legacy of Walter and Mary Poor

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‘New Canaan There & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Bettina Hegel, Joanne Santulli, Dawn Sterner and Pam Stutz. Walter Poor Sr. (1916–2003) and his wife, Mary, were notable New Canaanites who lived on Bowery Road with their five children. 

Over the many decades the couple resided in New Canaan, they made countless community contributions demonstrating the kind of sustained civic engagement that transforms a town into a true community. 

A Civil Air Patrol pilot, and active member of the Men’s Working Party, Walter was an avid sailor, a vintage car enthusiast, had a pilot’s license, an aircraft of his own, and held several aerospace patents. 

He worked at the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, a global corporation which produces precision optic equipment, and was relocated to Norwalk, CT in 1941, where it would remain until 2000. Perkin-Elmer was instrumental in producing the tools that led to American victory in World War II, including optics for airplane range finders, bombsights, and reconnaissance systems. 

Perkin-Elmer’s rapid expansion, fueled by the wartime effort, led to its distinction as the first optical instrument maker to receive a Navy “E” for Excellence. A pioneer in its field, the company produced its initial infrared spectrometer in 1944, establishing a significant lead over Germany amidst their urgent military needs. 

In a 1992 New Canaan Advertiser article, Poor recalls his passion for aviation, “I was always interested in aviation… I got my pilots license in 1948 and the first plane of my own in 1950.” 

Poor’s interest in aviation led him to be recruited for the Civil Air Patrol by Philip Kleinert of Darien, group commander of this area’s CAP. Walter would serve in the Civil Air Patrol from 1950 until 1958, where he taught local teenagers about aviation techniques, as well as participating in various rescue missions. 

Most notably, Poor was on the squadron during the great flood of October 1955 when entire buildings and towns were swept away due to the overflowing of several Connecticut rivers.