(no subject)
source: hartford courant April 18, 2006
FORMER TOWN LEADER DIES
Essex-- Escott H `Eck" MacWhinney, republican who led town government of the 1960's and whose company built many homes in town, has died at the age of 86.
Macwhinney, who was the town's oldest living former first selectman, died April 13 at Middlesex Hospital. His funeral is scheduled today for 11 a.m. today at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on Prospect Street.
MacWhinney was remembered monday as a popular first selectman who helped lead the town into the modern era during his nearly eight years in the top job. MacWhinney, who was serving on the board of selectman at the time, became first selectman in December of 1960 when his predecessor, Republican Joseph Cucinotta died in office. MacWhinney left office in 1968.
Donald Malcarne, town historian, said that during MacWhinney's years, the position of first selectman was making the transition from part time to the full time position it is today. Malcarne said that MacWhinney's father, Thomas Macwhinney, served as first selectman during the early 1930s.
Malcarne said that MacWhinney may be remembered as much for the activities of his father's home building company, T.H. MacWhinney and sons, as for his service in elective office. He said a large number of the town's existing homes, including the Sunset Terrace-Grandview Terrace neighborhood overlooking Sunset Pond were built by MacWhinney's company. MacWhinney and his brother Andrew ran the company after their father's death.
Jerome Cutone, who served as minority Democrat on the board with MacWhinney from 1967 to 1968 said Macwhinney worked very well with people and was willing to compromise despite the local republican dominance in the 1960's.
One of the most controversial issues during his time as first selectman was zoning, specifically whether or not Essex should maintain and enforce zoning regulations. The town adopted the zoning regulations in 1960, but by the fall of 1962 the community was in an uproar over the zoning maps and rules imposed by the town's first zoning commission. Residents voted to throw out zoning in September of 1962 referendum and it took additional referendums and the construction of apartment complexes amid single family homes before zoning was restored in a fall 1965 vote.
Along with the restoration of zoning, MacWhinney's 1965-1967 term brought the creation of the town's first conservation commission and its first park and recreation commission. The town also changed from a sept 1- Aug 31 fiscal yera to the current july 1-june 1 fiscal year during MacWhinney's tenure.
MacWhinney will also be remembered by many for his role in the great Glowackus Hoax of September 1966. MacWhinney, a member of the CT lower valley horseman's club, had gone horseback riding in the woods on the east side of route 153 with a group that included Alfred Knapp, a millionaire industrialist who later donated the land that is the site of the Shoreline Clinic.
Knapp, who had a fascination with the lore of the CT River Indian Tribes, submitted a story to the Deep river based new era weekly newspaper claiming they had seen a creature in the woods called the Glowackus. The creature was described in the newspaper report as tall as an average man covered in dense milk brown fur with a small piggish almost human face and two sets of ears.
The story, which included a front page photo with the caption, what is it, generated unexpected hysteria and panic in Essex and surrounding communities, with parents taking their children out of school early and armed hunting parties forming to search for the beast.
After they were contacted by state police from the Troop F barracks in Westbrook, MacWhinney and Knapp admitted that the story was a hoax and that MacWhinney had posed in a mask for the photo. MacWhinney said in a November 2000 interview that he and Knapp were genuinely surprised that people took the Glowackus story seriously.
FORMER TOWN LEADER DIES
Essex-- Escott H `Eck" MacWhinney, republican who led town government of the 1960's and whose company built many homes in town, has died at the age of 86.
Macwhinney, who was the town's oldest living former first selectman, died April 13 at Middlesex Hospital. His funeral is scheduled today for 11 a.m. today at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on Prospect Street.
MacWhinney was remembered monday as a popular first selectman who helped lead the town into the modern era during his nearly eight years in the top job. MacWhinney, who was serving on the board of selectman at the time, became first selectman in December of 1960 when his predecessor, Republican Joseph Cucinotta died in office. MacWhinney left office in 1968.
Donald Malcarne, town historian, said that during MacWhinney's years, the position of first selectman was making the transition from part time to the full time position it is today. Malcarne said that MacWhinney's father, Thomas Macwhinney, served as first selectman during the early 1930s.
Malcarne said that MacWhinney may be remembered as much for the activities of his father's home building company, T.H. MacWhinney and sons, as for his service in elective office. He said a large number of the town's existing homes, including the Sunset Terrace-Grandview Terrace neighborhood overlooking Sunset Pond were built by MacWhinney's company. MacWhinney and his brother Andrew ran the company after their father's death.
Jerome Cutone, who served as minority Democrat on the board with MacWhinney from 1967 to 1968 said Macwhinney worked very well with people and was willing to compromise despite the local republican dominance in the 1960's.
One of the most controversial issues during his time as first selectman was zoning, specifically whether or not Essex should maintain and enforce zoning regulations. The town adopted the zoning regulations in 1960, but by the fall of 1962 the community was in an uproar over the zoning maps and rules imposed by the town's first zoning commission. Residents voted to throw out zoning in September of 1962 referendum and it took additional referendums and the construction of apartment complexes amid single family homes before zoning was restored in a fall 1965 vote.
Along with the restoration of zoning, MacWhinney's 1965-1967 term brought the creation of the town's first conservation commission and its first park and recreation commission. The town also changed from a sept 1- Aug 31 fiscal yera to the current july 1-june 1 fiscal year during MacWhinney's tenure.
MacWhinney will also be remembered by many for his role in the great Glowackus Hoax of September 1966. MacWhinney, a member of the CT lower valley horseman's club, had gone horseback riding in the woods on the east side of route 153 with a group that included Alfred Knapp, a millionaire industrialist who later donated the land that is the site of the Shoreline Clinic.
Knapp, who had a fascination with the lore of the CT River Indian Tribes, submitted a story to the Deep river based new era weekly newspaper claiming they had seen a creature in the woods called the Glowackus. The creature was described in the newspaper report as tall as an average man covered in dense milk brown fur with a small piggish almost human face and two sets of ears.
The story, which included a front page photo with the caption, what is it, generated unexpected hysteria and panic in Essex and surrounding communities, with parents taking their children out of school early and armed hunting parties forming to search for the beast.
After they were contacted by state police from the Troop F barracks in Westbrook, MacWhinney and Knapp admitted that the story was a hoax and that MacWhinney had posed in a mask for the photo. MacWhinney said in a November 2000 interview that he and Knapp were genuinely surprised that people took the Glowackus story seriously.