Russell "Russ"HYDE

Russell Hyde

Russ's 2011 Autobiography

As you can see there is no class picture of me. I skipped school the day the pictures were taken, not a rare occurrence. After graduating from Staples, and tired of goofing off for a few months, I joined the Navy and served aboard the USS Wasp. The Wasp was an aircraft carrier stationed in Boston. During the late '60's NASA was launching manned Gemini flights. Our job was to find them when they hit the Atlantic and get the astronauts and their capsules aboard the ship before they sank. My last year of service, I married Susan Lawder class of '62. After my discharge, I attended the University of Denver. Susan had attended Colorado Women's College and Denver seemed like a good fit. We stayed there for a year and transferred to UConn where I graduated three years later with a degree in Forestry and Forest Management. Jaymie, our daughter, was born during my senior year.

After leaving college, we moved to Essex, CT where we started a small manufacturing company The Essex Forge. The Forge was an operating tin and blacksmith shop. We specialized in manufacturing reproductions of Early American chandeliers, lanterns, sconces and fireplace equipment. I actually became a very good blacksmith. The company grew to thirty employees and after twenty-five years we decided to move on to something else. We both found new callings, Susan became the Advertising director for a daily newspaper and I had various sales positions but found my ultimate place with an audio book publishing firm as their national library sales director. After leaving that position two years ago, I decided to go back to my roots and started Essex Lanterns. We are again a small company specializing in handmade copper outdoor lights, www.essexlanterns.com.

Our daughter and our two very active grandsons live in East Hampton, NY. The beaches in the Hamptons are the best for surfcasting, swimming or just good people watching. We spend as much time there as possible . For the last several winters, Susan and I have been snow-birding to the Naples area of Florida but now, out of retirement and growing a business, we'll have to endure New England winters for awhile.

Not long go Susan and I went to a Bob Dylan concert, Modern Times Tour, and I was reminded of the music that was so important to us. Dick Grass and the Hoppers and Bo Diddley at Longshore, Dylan, Ray Charles at Yale Bowl and those wonderful cheap record stores in Harlem that Gardner and I frequented. My I-touch is full of those memories. Westport was the center of our childhood universe and I can think of no better place to have grown up. Hard to believe how fast this ride is moving, but I can't wait for what's next.

Russ’s Update (2021)

Susan Lawder Hyde (62), the love of my life, passed away five years ago. We had been married for fifty years. At the time of Susan’s death my daughter, Jaymie was living in Long Island and going through a nasty divorce. She decided to relocate to Essex with her two boys, at the time Liam 14 and Henry 12.

For the past five years I have been the grandfather of grandfathers. Liam is attending a community college until COVID ends and Henry is a high school sophomore.

I fill my days working a few hours a week at a local hardware store and playing golf with some local pals. I keep in touch with a number of classmates through Facebook.

To all of you stay healthy and safe, maybe one day we can do this in person.