LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - AUGUST 19, 2018 Edith Hartwell Woodward by Lynne Belluscio Edith Hartwell was born in Pavilion on August 24, 1878 and graduated from LeRoy High School in 1896. She grad- uated from Geneseo Normal School and was a teacher in Le- Roy. In 1903, she married the eldest son of Orator Woodward. Their wedding took place in the spacious home on West Main Street, which was a present from Ernest’s father. Today the house is the home of the Amer- ican Legion. Their only son, Talmadge, was born in 1905. In 1906, Orator Woodward died and left the Jell-O fortunes to his family. Eventually Ernest would become the CEO of Jell-O and would manage the selling of the company in 1925 to the Post Company - - the be- ginning of General Foods. Er- nest and Edith lived in the house on West Main until their new home on East Main, known as Poplar Lane, was completed in 1921. Mrs. Woodward was a member of the LeRoy Women’s Club, the LeRoy History of Art Club, the Historical Society, the Genesee Valley and the Coun- try Club of Rochester and St. Mark’s Church. She and her husband gave generously to the Genesee Memorial Hospital and St. Jerome’s Hospital in Bata- via, as well at the Woodward Memorial Library. They donat- ed the property north of the post office to be used as a park and gave their first home on West Main Street to the American Le- gion. Edith also acquired the old Kellogg House on the corner of Church Street and East Main and planned to create a recre- ation center for the community. The building was damaged by a fire and the house was razed and the property became a park- ing lot for St. Mark’s Church. The Woodward’s donated mon- ey to have the parish rooms at St. Mark’s Church remodeled. They also donated funds for an athletic field for the Batavia School District. In 1948, Ernest purchased his brother Donald’s house on West Main and gave the property to the University of Rochester to be converted into a residential medical center for epileptic children. The gift also included funds to furnish and equip the center. It was named the Edith Hartwell Clin- ic. Ernest died the same year, but Edith continued the family’s philanthropic endeavors and do- nated the 42 acre athletic field for the LeRoy Central School, known at Hartwood Park. Edith was upset that the students at Notre Dame in Batavia were not allowed to use the athletic field that she and her husband had donated, so she donated funds for the athletic field for Notre Dame. Edith encouraged the adoption of a zoning ordinance in LeRoy and encouraged the community of Lime Rock to spruce up its homes and roads. Ernest died in 1948 and Edith died seven years later on October 8, 1955. All the busi- nesses in LeRoy were closed during her funeral in respect for a women who had contributed so much to this community. Her ashes were placed next to her husband in the Woodward Mau- soleum. Her estate was estimat- ed at $12 million Poplar Lane on East Main Street was given to the Univer- sity of Rochester with the pro- vision that it would be used and maintained. It became a retreat house for several years, but the U of R decided that they no longer wanted it, and accord- ing to Edith’s will, the gracious mansion was torn down. The Episcopal Diocese was given all of her pearl jewelry with the provision that they be sold and the proceeds be used for the church. A $2 million trust was established with a variety of or- ganizations to receive the pro- ceeds, including the Woodward Library and the Batavia Chil- dren’s Home. The University of Rochester received $5,600,000 and R.I.T received $1,200,000. The Salvation Army $400,000; the Rochester Humane Society $400,000; the Seeing Eye Inc. of Morristown, New Jersey, $400,000 to train seeing eye dogs. A trust fund of $1 million was left to her only son, Tal- madge, but he challenged the will. He died five weeks after his mother and the litigation was never pursued. When Edith was 28 – the year after her son Talmadge was born, noted artist Irving Wiles – and son of Ingham University’s professor Lemuel Wiles, painted Edith’s portrait. Eventually it hung in the Edith Hartwell Clinic until it closed in 1958. At some time, the portrait was transferred to the Universi- ty of Rochester and it hung in what was known as the “Jell-O Room” at Strong Memorial Li- brary. In 2004, the portrait was discovered in a closet of the Development Department at the U of R. It was offered to the Historical Society, if we could raise sufficient funds. David Walsh, noted artist and former professor at the U of R, donat- ed several pencil sketches, to raise money and generous do- nations from Robert Fussell and Lorelie Ketter, made it possible to acquire the portrait. It now hangs in the back hall of LeRoy House, a tribute to a woman from Pavilion, who never forgot her roots, and like others in the family, made the word philan- thropy synonymous with the name Woodward. Edith sitting on the front porch of Poplar Lane in 1940 Don't waste precious time traveling around ... SHOP LOCALLY! Le Roy Pennysaver Mon.-Fri. 8 am to 5 pm