|
Evan Griswold of Old Lyme, CT,
featured in Yankee Magazine, July/August 2003
Native son Evan Griswold, both forester and realtor, eyes
properties in need of preservation Griswolds have lived at the mouth of the
Connecticut River since the 1630's. The windswept barrier beach at the
entrance to the river bears the name Griswold Point. Rare and
endangered piping plovers and least terns next of the sand spit that has been
owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 1973.
"In 1993 The Nature Conservancy designated the Connecticut
River Tidelands one of the Last Great Places in the Western Hemisphere,"
says Evan, "because it is a major river without a city at the mouth of it.
It's an accident of geology. There are extensive shoals off the mouth
and there's no channel, so large ships can't get up the river."
Evan, a forester by training and a real estate agent by
profession, has been in the forefront of efforts to protect the natural
resources of the tidelands region for almost 30 years. After
graduating from Yale Forestry School, he worked for The Nature Conservancy's
Connecticut chapter for five years, first as director of land acquisition,
then as assistant director and executive director. Since 1980 his real
estate work has let him alert conservation groups when sensitive properties
come on the market or are slated for development. He chairs the local
fund-raising committee for TNC's $60 million tidelands campaign and was
instrumental in TNC's 2002 purchase of the 56-acre estate of the late Roger
Tory Peterson, America's foremost bird illustrator.
Evan calls "inappropriate development and sprawl" the
greatest threats to the tidelands.
"We have to get the development community thinking in
terms of an ecological approach to land development," he says, "so they set
aside more land and concentrate development."
From our
genealogist Coralee Griswold:
Jean (Coghlan) Griswold who is the founder of "Griswold Special Care"
is the wife of Lincoln Tracy Griswold. Lincoln is the son of Clayton
Tracy and Miriam Rittenhouse (Mayne) Griswold and traces his ancestry back
to Michael [FFG#890/1324]. Information contributed by the Griswold Special Care Facility in Erdenheim,
PA. Check out their website www.home-care.net
Jean Griswold: A Modern Success
Story - Achiever of the Year, National MS Society magazine, January-March
2003
Jean Griswold was diagnosed in 1965, the “dark ages” of MS, more than 30
years before the FDA approved most of the disease-modifying drugs. In the
60’s, people newly diagnosed were routinely told that there was nothing
they—or anyone else—could do.
The wife of a pastor, mother of three growing boys, and a recent college
graduate will a degree in business and economics, Jean’s first move was to
hit the pavement in search of meaningful work. She wasn’t going to let MS
stop her. Unfortunately, prospective employers of the time weren’t so
enlightened. She was repeatedly denied work because she had been diagnosed
with MS>
After a bit of soul-searching, Jean took another approach...At her
kitchen table, Jean began to develop her own business, an employment agency
that would provide health-care services for the elderly, the disabled, and
children with special needs.
In 1982...Jean founded Griswold Special Care, first to help older adults
in the Erdenheim, PA, community remain independent in their own homes. As
Griswold Special Care grew, Jean expanded its services to include people of
any age with chronic illnesses as well as people recovering form surgery or
short-term illnesses….Twenty years later, Griswold Special Care employs more
than 7,500 caregivers, and boasts more than 70 offices in 11 states up and
down the eastern seaboard, from Florida to Massachusetts, as well as offices
in Michigan, Korea and Mexico. Jean and her business have been profiled in
Forbes, Entrepreneur, Success, and on NBC’s Today show.
|
Griswold Family Association
Photo of the Michael Griswold headstone, shared by a
Griswold correspondent