The Rochester I Know; 201; Edward Curtis, Jr.

What. Do. You. Mean. He is the fifth generation of one of Rochester's oldest families without the efforts of his grandmother Cobbs Hill would not be a sand and gravel pit. His father worked with George Eastman and served under Dwight Eisenhower. His own life touches city hall the CIA Rochester's moved toward civil rights the highest levels of Eastman Kodak and nearly 40 years of politics. Today Bill Piers looks back at the Rochester Ted Curtis

knows. Ted we're going to talk about all of those things you just aired but I'd like to know what it was like for you growing up in Rochester and when the 30s and 40s were done in the 1930s basically here Bill and in my memories actually go back to pretty early childhood because we left Rochester 940 dad went back in the Army about a year before Pearl Harbor and we moved down there I was 10 years old at the time. But my early memories as a child most of the focus really on East Avenue we lived on is to have it just beyond saying Tell us more church at this point Brighton but all my pals at that point lived along Berkeley and Buckingham and Argyle and through their great neighborhood we might as well have a neighborhood still there of course one of my close pals a close pal of all of ours. It was kid named Gary Valentine whose daddy was present University and of course in those days the George Eastman House was the official residence of the prez and the University of

Rochester. So we used to play all through Eastman House and we'd slide up and down the banister and admire the elephants had run trains over the third floor and have marvelous old the stamina in those days IME. I understand was lined with these beautiful elm trees. It was extraordinary Bill I think that's probably for any of us who grew up then that is the single. Most lasting memory of early Rochester was the the tunnel of elm trees on a hot July day. You were in a tunnel of shade from Alexander Street all the way out to Colby in part. Come in there and these huge elms that met at the top. And of course what was it late 50s I guess when when the Dutch elm blight came through and within not more than a year and a half two years every one of them was gone would have been interesting to know what might have happened if the recent ice storm that Rochester head had hit those elm trees in those days that have you seen almost Avenue recently

or a result of the arm and the snow they used to have and the thing is is it's tragic I think is not really disastrous it will come back I was amazed at the trees that do seem to hold up the Copper Beeches are all coming through. But every now and then we do get hit with these natural disasters and for a city that values its tree as Rochester does you have that hard head you and your family have remarkable tradition this community could you take us back and let us know when when you all first came here. Well you got to go back I think to my great great great grandfather ever our pack who came up here from Connecticut in 1818 and settle down. And read a newspaper and he was a printer. He was an educator and a banker he got to read more things than I have I think. Where did he live. He lived in the Third Ward which is on the corner here and they were really in the Cornhill area of the house isn't there anymore. But he was that was there there stomping grounds right about three generations after dad was born in the

first few months of his life. Over on Cornhill corner of troop and concern but ever are. He had his issue. My great grandfather had been Edward pack. You don't hear an awful lot about but his kid brother was William Farley PAC was one of the great early historians of Rochester wrote the semi Centennial history the 50 year history of Rochester was a fascinating it was very appropriate that you should come along and here was there where there was a I was in family relationship birthday. Very very interesting. Before we get that close to the present time let's talk about your grandmother a little bit because she had a lot to do with Edwards way on Hobbes Hill. Edward had three daughters and one of them was my grandmother Alice Peck Curtis Margaret history very curious. And they had my dad in 1897 and she was a very civic minded person. She was involved in all kinds of things. But when the first thing she got involved in back around 19 11 or 12. Was the preservation of Cobbs Hill which then

belonged to the north have a bill on the sand and gravel company Cobbs Hill which is nothing more than a glacial Morein is an almost perfect sand a gravel deposit and they were briskly chillin it out and using it for construction projects around the town you can still see over in the. Field up by the water authority exactly where they stopped again. It was probably considered what country or at least a suburb Oh sure that was way out in the country right along the Erie Canal which of course to the big wide waters was right there as it came through called the road. She went to the boys and say you know you're destroying a very nice piece of woods and they said Madam it is hard piece of wood to do whatever we want but if you'd like to buy it we'd be delighted to sell it to you because we think there is merit in what you say. And I think there they agreed a price unlike $60000 for the woods. Oh my grandmother went to Eastman and said Mr. Eastman on here is this challenge will you put up all half at all if I can raise the rest and he said yes I will. She went and put together a veritable syndicate of booboos and civic bided character is they they made almost all of it city find

that up I think putting up five six thousand bucks at the same time the back with family. What year was this. One thousand twelve I think. The back with family of home but with terraces name home the south half of the hill. And they very kindly give the whole thing the city for a buck. So that you preserved Cobbs Hill which of course will most beautiful areas around it and as you know Bill we have lived on the edge the cobs Hillwood for now thirty six years. So it it it all came full circle. Well it was remarkable that grandmother played such an important role otherwise it would have been a sand and gravel pit I don't know about the Riley Lake Riley or the skating on what would have happened to that. Who can say I don't say she went on as she worked with these men on the city manager plan of the twenties. Oh my my actually my dad sister ran for the Board of Education in the 30s. My Aunt Helen was on the city school board for a while there. Ted you had your finger in everything that's ever happened in this community I know it since like 20 or so

years that I've been here. And but I do want to go back and talk about your dad just for a minute you mentioned that you went to Washington with a whole family in 1040 because your dad went back in the Army and he was in World War One. He'd been a world war one had gone to the war to France and drove an ambulance for the American field service long before we got the war back in 1916. As soon as we got in he switched to the army and then the Army Signal Corps. Went to pilot training and in 1918 was one of the first pilots on the front for up until the armistice there he flew with the 95 squadron. He was an ace 6 6 enemy planes and a couple of balloons to his credit. Remarkable I think the National Air and Space Museum in Washington had something to commemorate for a long time they had their world war one air exhibit was a recreation of the airfield they had just suffered on in 1918 they they've taken it out now they're doing a new exhibit but which I will miss but your mother when you came into that it was it was a sort of a

recreation the airfield little the little operations hot and there was a blackboard on the wall and said duty officers lieutenants Curtis soul of the class. You have so many dramatic events. Now your dad went back into the air force in world war without it of course came back after the first war what with Kodak and all during the 30s he was there a top motion picture salesman beverly hills of Hollywood. We've moved out there everywhere. Well just for the winter when I was a kid we used to take the Santa Fe Super Chief out of Chicago every year right after Christmas we come back. That was great fun but then dad went biking 1040 you know everybody saw the war was coming. Spots and others asked to come back and help on some of the planning stuff. He did it we moved or we would walk in lock stock and barrel and stay there all during the war Dad went overseas and forty two first two in the north Africa Italy and back in England. I never saw him for three years I saw him one weekend he was only 44.

But by that time all my mother was always running the Northeast region for the Red Cross so we stayed down there and I was often boarding school. Ball then we all came back after the war and 45 46. But by that time I was away in school and college. Then when Claire and I are first married we've been watching for the first four years so I left Rochester 1940 and as a full time resident did really come back. Yeah you're back in 1955 now that you went to work for Kodak I was arguably the worst time study man. Was that actually your job I want a time study about God I said time study was it was it was popular a bit where you were so called and I didn't see it was it wasn't popular with those I was timing I don't mind telling you. But I do work with Marian Folsom during those years. Yeah diamond up to Kodak all famous Marion Oh yeah it was secretary of Health Education and Welfare ole boy sector of everything he had been.

He'd worked with Roosevelt back in the 30s putting together the original Social Security proposal. And then he went to Washington the Eisenhower administration with scores dead it also. But Folsom went down first under sector the Treasury and subsequently as secretary of what was in health education welfare health and human services. I did a fabulous job. Anybody who goes back to those days will still tell you that among the giants all of people who are sort of government intern outers Marion Folsom is about I used to do a lot of work with him when he came back to Kodak as treasurer and then to be was sort of quasar retired for a while. But every time check with the government would do another study on federal compensation especially the top level I was in the compensation area that point falls and would always be on the on the commission. He would call me up and say he had a very sort of saw Georgia drawl. He was George boy every time I used to chill on his glasses he could be absolutely uncomprehensible if he was part of his ability. But he called me and he'd say I courtesies you know I'm

working on the Randolph Commission or the commission he said. And I got the 400 page bill in every study that came out it just arrived here today and he said suppose you could let me have an executive summary by noon tomorrow that I would go back and take it all apart and get tell about was it. I don't know what all Paulson was was. The most broad vision man in terms of domestic politics and government of anybody I've ever worked with extraordinary guy you know he obviously left the details to other folks. Yes yes he was very much like a lot of things are bad but he was not what we're talking about the late 50s early 60s. That's that's about what we're up to now. You know famous Rochester riots took place in 1964 well example and were you involved. Boy I can tell you exactly what I was doing then I was driving home from Maine we've been up there for 4th of July. My folks always had a summer place up there and I remember driving back

starting back into Hampshire's over there with the the lead item on every single hourly news broadcasts always the riots in Rochester. Not that they were the worst in terms of you know what and what ultimately happened around the around the country but they were the first and one of the least likely places that unless of course you were actively watching what was going on. No we'd lose you at all prior to not be because you were the only person I was I was actually involved with then who really knew and understood what was happening. Always I was going to quit and Primo who was the rector of St. Stephens or St. Simon's church. All went on to be got this because Chicago. Marvelous préval and a few other people long Conny Mitchell. Well you can certainly name Mrs. Sibley who was terribly involved in all these there were people who if you bothered to ask would say you know

we've got real problems in this town and we're not addressing them. But those were bike I would say in the heyday of what you would call it smug. This is right after her girly road smug USA I know there was a lot actually come out. I guess I am guessing 58 59 somewhere around there. So it was very much it reflected the pre riot situation. I remember Bill and Lee. When we work with Brookings on that urban policy conference 20 years ago and we did that survey and Brookings said you know we've never seen a question that got a more unanimous answer. What what what's the the most extraordinary things happen the last generation and everybody said the right 64 of course they were right. I've got a thesis to say that there are two events in the history of Rochester that totally change the town overnight. What was the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and what was the rise of 64. Now how were you involved if you got back from Maine. Well obviously the LCR member vividly is we have the National Guard kept over in

Topsail. Ah by they probably there for about 10 days or so. And then we all went to work out the interesting thing is a lot of Kodak management obviously was very concerned on this relatively shortly after that they got a request out of Washington. To send somebody down on loan to the president's committee on equal employment opportunity. This was as had been founded by President Kennedy but but really was being pushed by President Johnson. They had an industry program called plans for progress on the site. So Marty Diller was director industrial relations called me and said look we feel very strongly about this program we joined it all they've asked us to send someone because it's being run in Washington by loaned executives from various. U.S. corporations. Or would you have any interest. And I said Yeah sure I would have some interest because this is a field I'm very interested in looking back on it it was probably the single most personally inconsiderate thing I ever

did to my bride because at that point we had four she was pregnant with our fifth. We picked everybody up and we moved to Washington for. A while I was down the better part of two years. We did a lot of commuting back and forth. But those were interesting times and this was at the height of the Linda Johnson administration when the civil rights the war on poverty are an interesting the I was over Brookings for a while as a public affairs fellow on that assignment was working the Pentagon in the very early days of Vietnam. So we do we can action must have allowed you to bring that wonderful Brookings program here to Iraq. It was exactly that that the follow on of on of when the when I went Alrighty I was after city management days and all yeah we're jumping ahead here all right OK. Your back is all that we could ride we went to Washington for it and for a moment on October 64 we came back in mid 66. And at that point our OB Kodak said we have a special session the Tribal Council I was the

first person ever head that was specifically assigned to looking at our government relations with local and state and federal. And that was a very amusing very interesting interlude. We had a lot that went on there that when you first started getting really wrapped up in politics. Yeah I'd done some early work in politics up to I work with Dick Rosenbaum for a long time all the time I was then the Monroe County Republic was general County Republican chairman who was about to come into it. He'd been active in a lot of stuff earlier. Later he became state that he went to the state chairman and I'm going to go to Washington with Rockefeller I don't know if you know I know he came back to enjoy Nixon how great records were used to a very distinguished journey. But Dick was one of the one of the greats of the Republican hierarchy and of course he was a guy that recaptured the city for the Republicans in the 1960s you were part of that campaign as I recall we got involved the campaign workers actually when I first came to town I was just getting acquainted out those kinds of things.

Yeah we were heavily involved in the body raising side some of the others over there was a gang of us used to pull watching over and say hello board Tory and I was all kinds of fun. But then I got put on the transitional committee that was a point because to be utterly frank even Rosenbaum never expected to win the bloody election the question is whether they deserved to I think they probably did. But all of a sudden you know here we were about to walk into City Hall and nobody give this much thought so they put a transition committee together and it is this is year. This is the fall of 69 remember Jimmy Carey and I were on imports for I think I've forgiven him for this or the guy went to Steve May and it had been agreed during the election with Republicans while the mayor was the mayor. Now Steve I was going to be the new mayor. If they if they won the election for Kerry went to you and said look it's going to take a long time to get up you know the fully professional city manager of the nationwide search et cetera et cetera you're going to need somebody the interim I think you have to go after Curtis. All which suddenly they did.

But not before they brought in someone else who is not a First why were you first I was thinking about it I'm at your party because you were our chairman here WXXI when you got the call I was about to take over and I think best burglar agreed to stay on for another few months something like that so that I could I could do this when he's very guarded borders and he'd. And that was I was only there for about four months but here it seemed like years and years and years is that when Julian or came to Julian followed me. He lasted less long than I did. You recall Julian was really not used to partisan politics as practiced in Rochester New York. But we had fabulous that's all changed course to a degree it was it's a little bit of that you know as big a little as we have for the first three months it's not every day. I was our 140 edge job. So we got really got to push installer. And we had of course a dreadful budget situation as you always do. We were in the middle of school integration and there was some real problems on that. It was it was a very jolly

time I packed a lot of the four months on that with a lot of it. Now we move along let's move along to the. Two Rochester's 100 50th anniversary because I know you played a lead role because you chaired that sesquicentennial committee and I guess what a year or two of planning before you often Vaal actually debate it was it was funny Bill. It was I remember it vividly was back I would say. Early in 82 I'd seen a mention in the paper of their putting a committee together on the house and it had mentioned the five Toronto and Rochester were incorporated in the same year 1834 and it always sort of celebrated together. At that point you remember I was I was I was the most foreign agent for the province of Ontario. The great acid rain controversy down here and I was also on the board of a Canadian cement company at the dry so I called gosh just when I think I said Hey Jeffrey I'm here who's Swain who's in City Hall City Hall he was then the parks

commissioner I think it was heavily involved and said to be planning. I said look I'm up in Toronto. Frankly two three times a month and I'd love to volunteer very silly thing to say but I'd love to volunteer to help out of this as we have particularly to work on our relations with Toronto on this thing. Well but I thought that was a good idea and we had a lot of things go on there and one of the early discussions the Tall Ships thing came up with the Toronto guys course are very central there and it was a bottom about five six months later and we still hadn't found a chairman and I sure didn't think I was going to be me I just kept telling the boys you know we ought to have a chairman. They came up and said Well you know all things considered why don't you do it. And it did not come at the best possible time. We're all busy with Canadians but it was just a it was too important to be was too much fun assignment not to take on and that when I would talk 1984 Now it was all year long 1984 and it was it was a marvelous proposition. It's one of the it's the thing that really got me taken off and as you know who are heavily

involved in this now. The whole issue of our waterways in Monroe County came up at a very interesting fashion. We were sitting around very early in the planning saying Oh. This can't be just a birthday party for the city of Rochester we've got to involve the entire community all of Iraq and he wanted everybody to feel they've got some equity and some interest in this thing and we are trying to you know what's the hawk that brings everybody am. I really look at the map and somebody I think was either posy or Jeff said you know we did off camera and now it's raining off and on and Jeff's way now dredging going to development. And they said gee you know there's only one town in the whole county that doesn't touch either the river the lake the canal or what was that meant and then of course they got amended by and so he said let's use all water as our main theme and of course historically it was marvelous with the Erie Canal with the early settlements along the Genesee River with India now and with bury Jebus and I mean you know the is

fabulous. And that of course we got the tall ships that tie in with it with Toronto and Kingston Bolton picking up the bales God bless them. I thought of course a fabulous operation. We had the great tall ships just to interrupt it was was a real coup. Ted and I don't know to this day. I know it was I think I should go there for the only reason it worked is because they were all going to call back. For I think the 400 50th anniversary up there. And of course the real big ones you know I have always been accused of running the. World's smallest fleet of tall ships. But the real big ones couldn't get up the St. Lawrence because they can't get into the power lines of a sea you know how do you. But we. And the two we've been counting on the income of them our case of course the mark case was lost on the Bermuda Halifax race with all and one of the great writers of our time in the end could never could come in because they were threatening to to put a lien on her. But we have 28 tall ships. It was a bar this time.

But when I was I was always sorry about all the waterways they didn't get the attention deserved as it was a beautifully organized as a wonderful thing was the great canal caper where we had every village from Medina on the West to Seneca Falls and east sent a decorated barge in a great parade down the canal they all met in jealousy Valley Park there. I'm going to I'm going to let you promote one of your pet projects here for about one minute because I know as a result of that. That canal caper if you will that you got very interested in can now travel and you and you're talking now by bringing a boat into the river I guess in the can now call the sampans tell us where that is and I guess that's an outgrowth of the it's really don't drop in the water to ask Lee Hudson are both in the waterway Ira I chaired last year the commission on the future of our waterways. The one thing the fabulous about this bill and that I think has really sunk into the town yet we've put out public and private over a billion dollars. Mina last

20 years to clean up the waterways of Mineral County the Genesee River Runaway Bay all the tributaries the creeks the lake shore it's the first time I've heard that number. Well you figure eight hundred million uncounted pure waters Kodak's got close to 200 million at least in the King's Landing a tertiary treatment plan. You figure all the other industries towns villages everything else yeah you can run a price tag of well over a billion dollars. We got we got value for that money. We have I would insist the cleanest waters in the Northeast United States a lot cleaner than than Toronto which is by everybody's favorite town but their water is used really polluted still. Tell us about the cenote. OK the Sampath named after you remember that famous character of on November 13th 1820 jumped to his death over the falls. They thought it's one of the falls and gone away but in point of fact is A. His body came up down and chill out with the ice melt in the spring. We decided a gang of us the Cornhill Association Chrysos from Johnny Heinrich from a lot of what Cliff and I we've been working for about a year to bring a tour boat him to Rochester

on the upper Genesee River at Cornell to work that part of the river and the canal which is really one of the most beautiful stretches a waterway anywhere in this region. Well after looking at a couple of that we might have Billy's turbos he might have brought it and we decided we would going to build a brand new boat. The first new passenger boat in the Erie Canal built in 70 years. And Peter Wiles who was runs middle age navigation once the a meet up and down the canal a lot of people. Peter is building the Sampat for us and a little bird called Bora Dido about eight miles south that's getting outlays. It's coming along very well. She's scheduled for a June 15th launch date is very very soon 15 91. We're working Hey somebody sees this program tonight is right. OK Jude we're working very closely with City Hall who've been immensely cooperated on this city is putting in docking facilities at Cornhill. That it's going to be. Rochester's knows waterfront attraction. We hope the first in a series of projects that will really let us use these

marvelous water resources we had we didn't get a chance to talk about all the spin off benefits of many of the other sesquicentennial programs you have to come back another time that's all there is to it really gets my day has been Edward Curtis who has been as far as I'm concerned Mr. every man in this community as long as I've been here. Ted nice to have you. Thank you. See you again so on. Your. For a VHS copy of this program send one thousand ninety five plus three dollars and fifty cents shipping and handling to the Rochester on no tape offer. Post Office Box 21

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