‘Now & Then’ is sponsored by Brown Harris Stevens Realtors Joanne Santulli, Karen Ceraso, Bettina Hegel and Schuyler Morris.
[Part 1 of this two-part installment can be found here.]
Mr. Robert Jewett, like his father and brother, attended Tabor Academy and he went on to Rockford College. After completing a Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics in 1972, he began a 41 year teaching career at Saint Paul Academy and Summit School in St. Paul, Minnesota. His work was exhibited throughout the midwest and on Martha’s Vineyard. Mr. Robert Jewett was also an accomplished sailor, known for his success in sailing his red Soling Andiamo. Mr. Robert Jewett died on July 18, 2019. The Jewett family home on Martha’s Vineyard, a former tavern built in 1768 was sold in 2019. At some point the property was divided and another smaller home was built in 1999 on Jewett Lane where Mr. Robert Jewett is listed as being a past resident. No information could be found about the other Jewett children other than they both lived in Massachusetts at the time of their brother Bob’s passing.
Mr. Frank Baldwin Jewett worked as the vice president and manager of Vacuum Engineering division at the National Research corporation and was the managing director of engineering and research development of General Mills. He was a lifelong member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and received a certificate of merit for the crusade for Freedom and a Presidential citation for his work on the Manhattan District Project. He was a member of the American Nuclear Society, the Union League Club of Manhattan, a member of the Senior Men’s Club of New Canaan and a former commodore of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. Mr. Jewett was an accomplished sailor. In 1934 he and his crew won the Prince of Wales Trophy (one of the most highly prized yachting prizes on the Atlantic) and in 1937, he and Ambassador Kingman Brewster retired the Prince of Wales Bowl (retired by virtue of the three wins from one yacht club, having been won in 1934, 1935 and 1937).
In 1936 Mr. Jewett was selected to represent the United States as a contender in the Olympics racing the monotype class in Kiel, Germany. In 1962, twenty five years after the Prince of Wales Trophy was retired, the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club deeded this bowl to the North American Inter-Club Match Race Championship, which was first held in 1967.
The Jewett Estate. Courtesy of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society
Mr. Jewett spearheaded the organization of this new race where one design, swap boat match racing championship was introduced on a national scale. The regulations developed by the committee (including Jewett) have been adopted by other match racing events. The U.S. Yacht Racing Union presented Mr. Jewett with a special award in 1977 for his dedication to developing this new concept. Mr. Jewett died on July 3, 1986. At the time of his death he was writing an article on the rules of backward sailing.
Ms. Adar Von L. Fleming was born on November 23, 1916 in Washington, D.C. Her parents were Robert F. and Ida Von Lengerke Fleming. She married Mr. Jewett in 1942. She received a bachelor of arts from Wellesley College in 1938 and received a bachelor of science in library services from Simmons College in 1941. She was a member of the Colonial Dames of America and the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. She lived in New Canaan for forty years and was a member of the New Canaan Sewing Group and volunteered at Norwalk Hospital. She was also a former officer of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association. Ms. Jewett died in May of 1986. In 1997 the property was sold to Mr. Raymond J. Pacioretty.
Mr. Pacioretty and his family moved from another house on Oenoke Ridge and in the early 90s were residents of Bald Hill Road. While living on Bald Hill Road in 1986 the Pacioretty family was chosen by the Smithsonian Institute to depict a “typical Eastern Seaboard Reader.” Mr. Pacioretty explained that they were part of a special edition of the magazine that also included a typical Midwestern Reader and Western Reader.
The process took four days and 1,000 photos were taken (only 7 photos were used). The idea, according to Mr. Pacioretty was that “they [Smithsonian Institute] wanted to show buying power and the quality of life of its readers.” The Paciorettys sold their home on Bald Hill in 1987. Mr. Pacioretty was the owner of Awards Unlimited and the New Canaan Mint, both of which made trophies and other novelty items. In 1991, Mr. Pacioretty donated medallions that were strung on red, white and blue ribbons that were engraved “Welcome Home. Operation Desert Storm.” The medals were personalized for each returning New Canaan soldier. In 1992 Mr. Pacioretty made the Ellis Island Medals of Honor whose recipients included: Connie Chung, Olympia Dukakis, Mickey Mantle, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and Ellie Wiesel. The Paciorettys remodeled and installed a new fireplace in July of 1997 and added French doors to the barn in August 1998.
Their son, Max Pacioretty, who played hockey for New Canaan High School and went on to play hockey at the University of Michigan is a professional hockey player who began his long professional career with the Montreal Canadiens. Mr. Max Pacioretty played for the United States Olympic Team in 2014, and now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He married former professional tennis player Katia Afinogenov in 2011. Her brother is the former NHL player Maxim Afinogenov. The Paciorettys have four children.
Their second son, Max Jr. is actually not named after his father. His father was named after St. Maximilian Kolbe, a hero in World War II. His middle name is his mother’s maiden name, Kolenda. His son’s full name is Maximus. In June 2015 the property was sold to its current owners.