Joseph Trapasso
What does it mean to be "the first" in Branford? Just ask Joe Trapasso. The first Citizen of the Year (1962), chosen over twelve other candidates and one of the first inductees into the Branford Sports Hall of Fame (1988), tonight Joe adds to those being one of the first inductees into the new Branford Education Hall of Fame. Though born in the coal-mining town of Logan, West Virginia, Joe has for nearly half a century called Branford home, and the town, in turn, certainly considers him one of its preeminent native sons.
One of thirteen children of Italian immigrants, Joe grew up in a town with no recreational facilities. Driven from an early age by his love of sports, he had to walk nine miles to find a suitable baseball field. When his father developed silicosis, the lung disease dreaded by mine workers, the family relocated to Ossining, New York.
When Joe returned to his family in 1944 after serving in the Air Force during World War II, his mother encouraged him to answer an ad for an assistant recreation director. Without benefit of a college degree or formal work experience, Joe not only got the job but was encouraged by the director to attend New York University, where he graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in recreation. The timing couldn't have been better. Joe's search for more interesting employment after graduation coincided with Branford's interest in developing the whole area of recreation; and the town hired him as its first paid recreation director. One of his early experiments in recreation was a series of dog obedience classes, where he developed a romance with one of the dog owners, Betty Ann Sliney. The two married and had six children, with Joe vowing that none of his children would have to walk nine miles to find a playground. Inheriting a facility known as "The Dust Bowl," a run-down, dilapidated building, Joe and the maintenance man continually replaced buckets to catch leaks from the roof, hand scrubbed floors, and repainted basketball lines. But Joe was not to be defeated nor to settle for the status quo and determined that quality recreation in Branford demanded a community effort. "It is important to take the time to make all of your people feel wanted. You have to go out of your way to make them happy and let them know that you appreciate them. Everybody has to be part of the group," Joe believes. After cleaning up "The Dust Bowl," he initiated football, basketball, dancing, and baseball programs that captured the interest of Branford youth; and the recreation department became the center of the community.
In 1957, he unveiled the impossible dream: a new Community House that would cost $300,000. Funds were raised by the townspeople, with nickels, dimes, and pennies trickling in; and civic, social and service organizations added their support. The dream became not only a reality but a model that other communities all over the country - and even in other parts of the world - have turned to when planning their own recreational centers.
Always willing to share his knowledge with others, Joe has helped set up recreation departments in twenty-one towns, helped set up senior citizen programs in thirty-five, and assisted the start of sixty-nine community centers all over the country. A list of his accomplishments, awards, and honors, both personal and professional, would overflow this entire program booklet. Undoubtedly his greatest testimonial lies in the many programs he has developed and helped to develop that will benefit not only present but also future generations.
One of thirteen children of Italian immigrants, Joe grew up in a town with no recreational facilities. Driven from an early age by his love of sports, he had to walk nine miles to find a suitable baseball field. When his father developed silicosis, the lung disease dreaded by mine workers, the family relocated to Ossining, New York.
When Joe returned to his family in 1944 after serving in the Air Force during World War II, his mother encouraged him to answer an ad for an assistant recreation director. Without benefit of a college degree or formal work experience, Joe not only got the job but was encouraged by the director to attend New York University, where he graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in recreation. The timing couldn't have been better. Joe's search for more interesting employment after graduation coincided with Branford's interest in developing the whole area of recreation; and the town hired him as its first paid recreation director. One of his early experiments in recreation was a series of dog obedience classes, where he developed a romance with one of the dog owners, Betty Ann Sliney. The two married and had six children, with Joe vowing that none of his children would have to walk nine miles to find a playground. Inheriting a facility known as "The Dust Bowl," a run-down, dilapidated building, Joe and the maintenance man continually replaced buckets to catch leaks from the roof, hand scrubbed floors, and repainted basketball lines. But Joe was not to be defeated nor to settle for the status quo and determined that quality recreation in Branford demanded a community effort. "It is important to take the time to make all of your people feel wanted. You have to go out of your way to make them happy and let them know that you appreciate them. Everybody has to be part of the group," Joe believes. After cleaning up "The Dust Bowl," he initiated football, basketball, dancing, and baseball programs that captured the interest of Branford youth; and the recreation department became the center of the community.
In 1957, he unveiled the impossible dream: a new Community House that would cost $300,000. Funds were raised by the townspeople, with nickels, dimes, and pennies trickling in; and civic, social and service organizations added their support. The dream became not only a reality but a model that other communities all over the country - and even in other parts of the world - have turned to when planning their own recreational centers.
Always willing to share his knowledge with others, Joe has helped set up recreation departments in twenty-one towns, helped set up senior citizen programs in thirty-five, and assisted the start of sixty-nine community centers all over the country. A list of his accomplishments, awards, and honors, both personal and professional, would overflow this entire program booklet. Undoubtedly his greatest testimonial lies in the many programs he has developed and helped to develop that will benefit not only present but also future generations.