[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 32 (Friday, March 20, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO RAYMOND SCHMITT

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a man 
who, like me, called East Haddam, Connecticut home and who demonstrated 
a great passion and love for this little town along the Connecticut 
River: Raymond Schmitt, who recently died at his home in Florida.
  Raymond Schmitt was a successful businessman who owned several 
companies that manufactured components for the aircraft industry. He 
was very generous with his wealth, donating money to the school system, 
the local historical society and many other organizations.
  He will be best remembered for his association with a Victorian-era 
mill village in Connecticut known as Johnsonville. In 1965, he 
purchased the mill village and restored the old schoolhouse, general 
store, and carriage house. In the windows of the buildings, there were 
whimsical mechanized scenes that delighted all visitors. Johnsonville 
would open during Christmas and other special occasions, and thousands 
of people delighted in visiting the village. It became part of the 
holiday tradition for many Connecticut families.
  Johnsonville has been closed for almost a decade, but Mr. Schmitt 
would still open it for certain events such as a fund-raiser for music 
students at an area high school.
  Mr. Schmitt was known not only for his commitment to his community, 
but also to his ideas for making it better. In recent years, he came to 
believe that the town's selectman style of government, which has been 
in place since the town's inception, was too antiquated and in need of 
reform. As a result, he wrote his own town charter, which called for a 
7-member town council and town government.
  His charter was never adopted. But no one doubted that Raymond 
Schmitt loved the town of East Haddam. And it is this passion for his 
hometown for which Raymond Schmitt should and will be 
remembered.

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