New Town Historian Bill Jackson, Still Going Strong at 85

As an 85-year resident of East Haven, Bill Jackson is an expert in its history. His mind is sharp, recalling dates and times many have only heard about, not lived through.

This is one of the reasons why, in January, Bill was named a co-town historian (with Roberta "Cathy" Watts, a former Person of the Week) by the Historical Society. He has been a member of the society since 1994 and served as president in 1998.

Born in 1927, Bill's childhood memories are set in a section of East Haven known as Riverside. He reminisces about football games with neighborhood friends, when they would gather in the streets since there was so little traffic.

He also remembers the cost of a movie: 11 cents.

"We would get 5 cents for candy and 11 cents for two shows," he recalls.

He and his brother would cross the meadows and walk the trolley tracks to the center of town where the Capitol Theatre stood.

In 1937, Bill joined the Short Beach Boy Scout Group. This group consisted of a dozen members, half from the Short Beach section of Branford and the other half from the Riverside section of East Haven.

Although he learned many things in the Scouts, he specialized in communications and used some of the same skills when he joined the Navy in 1944 during World War II.

As a marine on a Liberty ship, Bill was primarily responsible for communications as a signalman.

"One of the hardest things to learn in the Navy was the code," he says. "But I could sit down today and tap out the code as good as I used to."

Bill also remembers his travels during World War II. His 18th birthday was spent in 115-degree weather in New Guinea.

"It was so hot, we had to pour water over the ammunition to keep it cool," he recalls.

Upon his return home in 1946, Bill used his G.I. Bill to become a private pilot. He joined the Riverside Volunteer Fire Company (#6) the same year. By 1953, he was on the payroll at the Fire Department as a driver.

It was in the mid-'50s that he met his wife, Patricia. Shortly after getting married, he demolished the house his grandmother had left him and revamped the floor plan, relocating a fireplace and building his own chimney. He and Patricia raised a family, having a son and two daughters. Today, he enjoys eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

During a 27-year career with the town fire department, he helped found the firefighters union in 1955. He also advanced within its ranks, spending 12 years as fire marshal. He retired from the department in 1980.

Although he no longer wears a firefighter's uniform, he serves the town in a variety of ways. In addition to his work as a town historian, he is chair of the seven-member board of the Old Cemetery. He is also involved with the town festival and several veterans' groups.