Notes on Two Hundred Years (and More)
by Douglas H. Parkhurst
The late 1940s were pivotal years in the history of the Danbury Universalists. A new generation of clerical and lay leadership was coming of age, both locally and in the two denominations which constitute today’s Unitarian Universalist Association. Universalists were beginning to embrace a “new Universalism,” a “religion for one world.” Unitarians were initiating a largely successful “fellowship movement,” a two decade effort to bring Unitarianism to underserved areas. Both groups were becoming more Humanist in their religious orientations and approach. And, before long the two denominations would begin exploring anew the possibility of coming together as one [see note below].
First Universalist Society, now called Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Danbury (UUCD), marked exactly 125 years on December 9, 1947. Much had changed on the national and world scenes since the parish observed its centennial twenty-five years before. Prosperity in the 1920s was followed by the Great Depression of the 1930s, and then, from 1941-45, U.S involvement in World War II. As the war ended, the Atomic Age began. Danbury, too, was evolving during those years. Let’s set the stage before we look at how First Universalist commemorated its quasquicentennial [see note below].
Between 1920 and 1950, Danbury’s population increased from about 22,000 to 30,000 residents, and a substantial diversity of ethnic groups was calling Danbury home. Hatting, long the city’s primary industry slowly declined. Farms in rural areas of Danbury, also important drivers of the local economy, were disappearing as well. Fortunately, the Danbury Industrial Corporation, formed in 1918, was successful in attracting several non-hat related businesses to town during this period. These included Danbury Electrical Manufacturing Company (later Amphenol), Lansden Electric Truck Company, Bard-Parker Company, Barden Corporation, and Republic Foil.
Nevertheless, Danbury was hard hit by the Depression of the 1930s. A local committee on unemployment was formed to aid an increasing number of people out of work. Early on, private donations helped fund public works projects that provided at least temporary employment. City and town employees took pay cuts and went without paychecks at times. A soup kitchen called the Danbury Unemployment Restaurant offered meals to adults and children in need. The local Salvation Army, as well, did its part to feed the hungry. During this time First Universalist capped its minister’s salary at $1,800 (a little over $42,000 now) a year, and to save money removed the telephone from the church building. Ultimately, federal funding for programs sponsored by New Deal agencies helped mitigate some of the worst effects of the Depression. The economic engine created with United States involvement in World War II finally brought the Great Depression to an end.
Candlewood Lake, designed as a pumped storage facility for the generation of electricity, was built by Connecticut Light and Power Company in 1926-1928. Development along the new lakeshore began and property values there increased rapidly. In 1926 Danbury had a new high school, constructed on White Street; that same year Wooster School was founded as a private school for boys on the former Hodshon property in Miry Brook. During the 1920s, regional (Mohican Market and Genung’s) and national (J.C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck) retailers established stores on Main Street; this was long before shopping centers were built in outlying parts of town. Danbury Airport was dedicated in 1929 on Tucker Field, a farm field turned airstrip south of the then Danbury Fairgrounds. In 1930-31 over four miles of “waterbound macadam pavement” was laid on Clapboard Ridge Road, today’s UUCD address. During the 1930s the semi-pro Danbury Trojans football team played before large crowds on Lee Field; admission tickets cost $1. In 1938, the federal government announced a new prison would be built in the northern part of town. Construction ensued and the Federal Correctional Institution opened in 1940. In late 1941, Connecticut banned the use of mercury in hat-making [see note below], just days before the United States declared war on Japan and Germany. In 1942 Danburians joined other Americans in planting “Victory Gardens” and coping with rationing of tires, gasoline, sugar, and coffee. Meats, butter, cheese, shoes, and other products were added to the list later. The Danbury Fair, with roots in the nineteenth century, began its 1946 run (after being closed during the war), under the new ownership of local fuel oil dealer and entrepreneur John W. Leahy. That same year fundraising commenced for construction of a war memorial community center at the entrance to Rogers Park [see note below]. Radio station WLAD went on the air in 1947. And, in 1949 Danbury began planning construction of four new elementary schools to serve its growing baby boom population.
The war in Europe ended in May 1945 and Japan formally surrendered in September. There were thirty-nine veterans of World War II from First Universalist, thirty-eight men and one woman. Fortunately, no deaths were reported [see note below].
In 1947 the church “constituency” was approximately 173. The minister, since 1930, was Rev. Dr. Harry Adams Hersey. Miss Adelaide Grabert was organist and choir director. Officers and trustees for most of the year were Wallace Parkhurst, chair; Frank Rollins, treasurer; Harry Lincoln, clerk; Arthur Olson; William Wood; Sallie Rollins; and Edith Ritton [see note below].
Early in the year, the church board addressed the Fair Share amount of $203 requested for support of the denomination, formerly called the Universalist General Convention, and renamed Universalist Church of America in 1942. The board felt $203 (approximately $2,900 in 2025) was too much for First Universalist to afford. Dr. Hersey offered to canvass for donations; he felt selected individuals would contribute a large part of the requested amount. As well, a special Fair Share collection was set for June 8, 1947. Any surplus money taken in would be earmarked for the minister’s pension fund [see note below].
Revisions to the local church constitution had been proposed in 1946 and referred to a board committee for review. The committee reported back and it was decided the revisions should be considered at the next church annual meeting. As well, the board voted to continue payments for a Blue Cross hospital plan for Dr. and Mrs. Hersey.
At its meeting on May 16 the board appointed a committee to oversee the parish’s 125th anniversary celebration. Frank Rollins was chairman and committee members were Arthur Olson, Francis Rockwell, Pauline Olmstead, and Louise Parkhurst [see note below]. The event was anticipated for mid-October. This committee would coordinate activities with Dr. Hersey and Miss Grabert, and any sub-committees needed.
In the meantime, much work was done to spruce up the church building, some of which had been deferred during the years of depression and war. Roof repairs were made and the local Young People’s Christian Union (YPCU) donated funds to put the church’s Harrison organ in “first class shape.” Harry Lincoln, Wilbur Olmstead, and Arthur Olson were recognized for the time and effort they put in to redecorate the Sunday school, the dining room, halls, and kitchen. Even the floor of the coal bin in the church cellar was cemented! The MMT (Meet Me There) couples club offered to fund new robes for the church choir.
Sunday services closed for July and August. Dr. Hersey was an enthusiastic and accomplished bicyclist, easily recognized as he pedaled around Danbury. While on vacation that summer, at age 77, Harry Hersey rode his bicycle 400 miles down the west coast from Washington to California!
[Note – Talk of the two denominations coming together began in the nineteenth century.]
[Note – First Universalist Society was commonly known as First Universalist Church.]
[Note – Mercury had long been used in the felting or “carroting” process in making hats. Hatters could be poisoned by exposure to mercury vapors.]
[Note – Rogers Park, at the corner of Main and South Streets, opened in 1941. The War Memorial building opened in 1951.]
[Note – The World War II woman veteran from the church was Lillian Clasendorf, a corporal in the United States Marine Corps, Women’s Reserve Battalion. She joined First Universalist in 1937. Lillian Clasendorf later married Paul Ruehl.]
[Note – William Wood was a four-times great-grandson of Stephen Ambler. Stephen Ambler was one of the original twelve members of the Danbury Universalist Society.]
[Note – Dr. Hersey would retire in 1948.]
[Note – Wallace and Louise Parkhurst were this writer’s parents.]
To be continued in November 2025…