The Springfield Art and Historical Society will kick-off its 2018 free programs on Saturday, January 20 at 2:00 pm with an illustrated talk appreciating the life and times of Springfielder Edward Sanborn French. This program will be presented by Walter Wallace and held at the SAHS facility, 65 Route 106, North Springfield.
From the early years of the last century until his passing in 1968, French got up to do what needed to be done to keep New England and the nation’s railroads and economy on track. Born in Portland, Maine, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1906, settling in Rochester, Vermont. He quickly developed a reputation as a no-nonsense fixer in leading northern New England short-line railroads out of bankruptcies, including the Springfield Electric Railway. When in 1920 he was elected president of the newly re-organized Springfield Terminal Railway, he relocated to Springfield.
For the next 40 years from his home on Summer Street he became a leader in Vermont’s granite and talc industries, elected 21st president of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and was appointed to the Boston Federal Reserve Board during the Great Depression. With a national reputation as a leader in progressive railroading, he worked to make sure the country’s railroads met the challenges of war-time production and transportation during World War II.
Following the war he continued to chair the board of Jones & Lamson machine tool, serving as president from 1955 onward. At an alumni award ceremony in 1955, Dartmouth College president Ernest Hopkins observed that Edward Sanborn French was born into a railroad family “with iron in his blood” who served well his home, New England, and the nation.
For more information, call 808-886-7935 or email sahs@vermontel.net. This program is free and open to all.
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