Derby family to receive prestigious Howe Award

Historical Society to make presentation at reception Nov. 19

James E. Cohen

DERBY - The Cohen family has been selected to receive the 2012 Dr. John Ireland Howe Award at the Derby Historical Society’s Annual Appeal Reception Nov. 19 at Grassy Hill Lodge.

The Dr. John Ireland Howe Award is presented to an individual, group, firm, corporation, business or industry whose presence has consistently benefitted one or more communities in the Valley region in the spirit of its namesake. 

Dr. John I. Howe, who resided on Caroline Street, was a founding father of the Industrial Revolution, inventing the mass production machine to make pins “common.”

Previous recipients of the Howe Award include: William Coffey, Charles Seccombe, John Walsh, William C. Bassett, John A. Frey,  The Descendants of Adolph Rapp, Margaret Gibbs, and Roseland Apizza.

The Cohen family has always been active in the Valley community.

 

Jennie and Meyer Cohen

The story begins with Meyer Cohen (1886-1968), who was born in Yanasheck, in what is now Lithuania, and arrived in Derby and opened The Fair, a ladies’ dress store in 1905. 
It continues with his grandson, James E. Cohen, current Valley Community Foundation President. 

Meyer Cohen was a member and officer of the Derby-Shelton Board of Trade (later the Valley Chamber) and an organizer of Derby-Shelton’s own synagogue in 1919. 

His son, David B. Cohen (1913-1991), lawyer, Derby City Court Judge and Corporation Counsel, was President of the Griffin Hospital Board of Trustees, and  an organizer of the Valley’s Visiting Nurse Program, VARCA, and the predecessor of the Birmingham Group.

David and Jane Cohen

David’s wife, Jane Cotter Cohen, chaired Valley Red Cross blood drives, served 25 years as a Director of the Derby Public Library, and was President of the Griffin Hospital Auxiliary.

Their son James E. Cohen practiced law for 37 years in the firm his father established, before becoming the full-time President of the Valley Community Foundation. He also was Derby’s Corporation Counsel and a Director of the Derby Public Library. 

Wanting to express their appreciation and commitment to the Valley for future generations, the Cohen family has established four endowed Funds at Valley Community Foundation, including one which provides the Derby Public Library with annual funding to purchase books it could not otherwise afford.

Keynote speaker for the reception is Glenn Cantwell, a longtime Early American History collector who has been researching all things Isaac Hull for 20 years and will soon publish his first book, "America's Captain of 1812."

Tickets to the annual appeal reception, featuring hors d’oeuvres, are $40. They are available at the Derby Historical Society office, 37 Elm St., Ansonia between 1 and 4 p.m. weekdays, or by calling 203-735-1908.

Donors contributing $200 or more to the Derby Historical Society’s annual appeal will receive an authentic 1935 Commodore Isaac Hull medal. 

For information visit www.derbyhistorical.org.

This information was provided by Randy Ritter, chairman, Derby Historical Society Annual Appeal.