Many artists lived here

#Middlebury

This poem by Mary Scholan Delaney was published in 1943 in a volume of patriotic poems. The Middlebury Historical Society has a copy of the book. (Robert Rafford photo)

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

Middlebury has been the home to many artists, including painters, writers, composers, sculptors, craftspeople and poets. The Middlebury Historical Society has long been interested in collecting the works of Middleburians and has a modest collection of them. We are always interested in contributions of our artists and their works, famous or unknown. Naum Gabo, the world-famous sculptor, was a Middleburian. A painting by a former first selectman, Forrest Granville Purinton (1889-1969), adorns a wall in our museum.

Additionally, we have collected five murder mystery volumes written by Middlebury author Robert George Dean (1904-1989) in addition to our research of his life. He was the author of at least 19 mysteries between 1938 and 1954, also writing under the pseudonym George Griswold. He was known for the Tony Hunter series of mysteries.

Another writer was Middleburian Emma Lou Fetta (1898-1975), who also wrote murder mysteries. She wrote under the name Emmy Lou Hawkes. She was married to William V. Hawkes of Middlebury. She was the woman’s page editor and feature writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer for more than 25 years and conducted a medically supervised feature sponsored by the Public Health Federation. She conducted newspaper work in Europe and the Near East, according to an article in The Cincinnati Enquirer. In addition to our research on this wonderful writer, we have two donated first editions of her works from 1939 and 1940 from a woman who grew up in Fetta’s former house, Claire Osborn. Claire’s discovery of Emma Louise Fetta occurred as she was researching her house’s history.

Flora Brownlee Walker (1861-1958), of Porter Hill in Middlebury was profiled in a November 1946 edition of the Waterbury Sunday Republican, and her poetry is featured in the Helen Hickcox Benson scrapbooks in our collection. She was a prolific poet and was widely published, beginning to write poetry after her daughter’s tragic suicide in 1915. We have two small volumes of her poetry.

I recently attended the inauguration of the first poet laureate for North Haven, Connecticut, a friend, Gabriella Brand. The event inspired me to propose that our board of selectpeople appoint a committee to begin the process of establishing the honorary title of poet laureate for a worthy Middleburian. If you are interested in helping, please contact me.

Mary V. (Scholan) Delaney (1899-1963) and her husband, Charles William Delaney Sr. (1902-1963), lived in Middlebury and raised their family here. Mary was born and raised in Waterbury, and was a teacher for years, serving as principal of the Mary I. Johnson Elementary School in Middlebury and Saint Margaret’s Lower School in Waterbury. She was a graduate of Notre Dame Academy, Perry Business School in Waterbury and New Haven Normal School Teachers College. She also was a published poet, publishing nationally. The historical society has a volume of patriotic poems published in 1943, at the height of World War II, that includes two of her poems. See one of them in the photo with this article.

You are urged to join the Middlebury Historical Society by going online at MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or visiting them on Facebook. Questions about membership can be sent to Bob at robraff@comcast.net.