The Life and Times of the Great Danbury State Fair - Hardcover

Gladys Stetson Leahy; John H. Stetson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0996567453 ISBN 13: 9780996567459

Publisher: Emerald Lake Books, 2016

Synopsis

This is the only history of the Danbury Fair written by family members of the last owner, who share their intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Fair itself.

Western Connecticut consists of a rich mixture of culture, history, sport, ingenuity and agriculture and the Danbury Fair drank deeply from its roots. While it started as a place for farmers and horsemen to share their respective arts, it grew to become so much more.

The unique influence of John W. Leahy, the last owner and general manager of the Fair, saw the addition of extraordinary displays, stunning performances, musicals, thrill shows, rides and races, while still remaining true to its agricultural heritage.

Leahy s veneration for P.T. Barnum and his desire to keep up with the changing times led him to enthusiastically try new things, some successfully and others not quite so.

You will be captivated by his story and that of the Fair, shared here in both words and pictures by those who knew him best.

About this title

About the Author

Gladys Stetson Leahy was born in 1897 in Poland, Maine, where she grew up with her mother in her grandparents home, a small produce farm. A bright girl with some promise beyond her current circumstances, she graduated from Edward Little High School in Damariscotta.

Presumably under the auspices of her aunt and uncle, Harriett and Luther Spiller, she attended and graduated from Bates College with a B.A. degree in 1919. (Aunt Harriett was the Regional Superintendent of Schools and Uncle Luther was the local postmaster.)

After marrying and being deserted by her third cousin, Abner H. Stetson, and bearing his son, she embarked on a teaching career. She started that career at the Edward Little High School. Over the next several years, she changed jobs and locations frequently, seeking to increase her wages in order to support her son, John Howard, who lived with Gladys blind mother. To further advance her position, she spent several summers gaining her M.A. degree from Boston University, which she achieved in 1928.

Her career travels eventually brought her to Danbury, Connecticut, where she began teaching at Danbury High School. She was introduced to John W. Leahy by a mutual friend in the mid-1930s. Eventually marrying him, she joined in helping her new husband with his various business ventures and was cajoled into writing a book (this book) about him and the Great Danbury State Fair.

John Howard Stetson, Jr., is the grandson of Gladys Stetson Leahy and John Leahy s step-grandson. Growing up under the strong influence of both Leahys, Jack began his working career as an office boy at a part-time job at the age of twelve. He graduated from Danbury High School in 1962 and spent three semesters at the University of Rhode Island.

Disillusioned with college life, he left there, came home, married Carol Farwell, and spent the rest of his life as a student of the John W. Leahy College of Life-Long Learning while working his way up the ladder as an employee of the various Leahy enterprises. That culminated in his owning those businesses, which will celebrate 100 years of existence in 2017.

His many joyful years of working at the Danbury Fair prompted him to complete writing the story of its history.

Edition details

• Publisher: Emerald Lake Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0996567453
• ISBN 13: 9780996567459
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Tara R. Alemany