My grandfather, Pierre J.
Laramee
served as the mayor of Willimantic 1935 - 1941. He also served in the
Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1917-1918, and 1923-1924
and as a Connecticut State Senator from 1937 to 1942. One of the items I inherited was a copy of the
“Annual Statement of the Mayor of the City of Willimantic” for 1941. It
provides a fascinating look at the city and, with the city’s fiscal year
ending on November 25, 1941, it was published less than two weeks before
the United States entered into WWII. The booklet contains a detailed
auditor’s report and reports from six department heads. The “Mayor’s
Message” comes first and reads, “I have the honor to transmit herewith
detailed reports of the several departments, together with receipts,
expenditures, assets, liabilities and a complete financial statement.”
After a quick review of each department’s accomplishments and a thank
you to each, the Mayor concludes, “ I cannot but feel that…we have much
to congratulate ourselves on, both in respect to the quality of the work
done (and) the reasonableness of the expenditures necessitated by that
work. I wish to express appreciation to the several departments for the
cooperation and good will extended to me.” Following the Mayor’s words,
the auditor, H.A. Tillinghast Co., presented a 44 page report. The
auditors found that, “the various city officials, in general, have
conducted their office for the welfare of the city…”. During the fiscal
year, income was $192,605. Of that amount, $174,870 was raised by the 13
mill property tax on total property values of $14,815,812 (app $262
million today). Expenses
were $189,263.
Following
the auditor’s report, the department heads’ reports were given. Alexis
Caisse Jr., the Superintendent of Streets led off with his report. At
that time, the department had a Superintendent and assistant, six truck
operators, one equipment operator, ten laborers, one mechanic and one
sewer attendant. Sup’t. Caisse mentioned not
only the normal work done by the department but also made reference to
some special projects. He said that, “(O)ne of our principal
achievements was the rebuilding of a portion of Mansfield Avenue. The
work began at Handfield Avenue and proceeded in a northerly direction
for approximately 1,000 feet. It was necessary to lower the grade as
much as five feet in some portions”. Gravel sidewalks were constructed
and graded and finally, ”a properly graded and oiled surface road was
added to our several miles of streets”. (The results of that work can
still be seen on the west side of Mansfield Avenue in that area.) Sup’t.
Caisse then went on to say that the patching of road surfaces was a
priority and that he suggested an “armor coat treatment” of tar or
asphalt and sand be applied to every street because of, “the economical
maintenance cost, stability and wearing quality of this pavement”.
Jackson Street was also resurfaced from Main Street to Maple Avenue. The
city’s parks also fell under Sup’t. Caisse’s purview. He was unhappy
that the W.P.A. project at Rec Park had been curtailed since that meant
that it could not be used that year but was also pleased that the city
had provided funds so that the park could be opened again the following
year. While the baseball diamonds could not be used, Caisse was happy
that the Ice Skating Rink was able to operate and assured the Mayor that
it would be open again in the Winter. Superintendent Caisse then
concluded by saying, “(T)he inventory of this Department has been
completed and it pleases me to say state that all equipment is in good
condition and ready to render complete service to the community.”
Chief of
Police Grant Bombria’s report was next. He began by saying that 551
arrests had been made and 1,249 complaints investigated and adjusted by
his officers. The department consisted of Chief Bombria, Captain
Frederick Laramie, Lieutenant Roderick Lariviere, seven patrolmen and
twenty supernumeraries. The Chief was pleased that, “new equipment had
been added. The arsenal now consists of a high powered rifle, a machine
gun, gas gun, riot gun and gas grenades and gas masks”. A call box
system had been added and was operational and a new fingerprint system
had been installed. Chief Bombria concluded by thanking the city
leadership for their cooperation. We’ll continue looking at this report
next week. This week’s shows the Mansfield Avenue
road work mentioned by Superintendent Caisse in progress. The photo is
looking north in the vicinity of 235 Mansfield Avenue.
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