Community’s ​“House” Turns 50

When you talk to Alex Palluzzi Jr., (pictured) you can almost see the ghost of his mentor, Joe Trapasso, looking over his shoulder.

Alex and Joe have been the only two directors in 50 years of the Branford Community House’s history. An open house celebration will take place Sunday, Dec. 1, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Joe Trapasso gym.

If you look back far enough in Community House history, you will find passing mention of a few directors, but the Branford Recreation Department and the Community House as we know them took root on June 15, 1951, when Trapasso (pictured) was named director. He served until Dec. 31, 1992. That’s 42 ½ years for anyone doing the math. Palluzzi, who was assistant director, became director on Jan. 1, 1993. Trapasso died on March 23, 2003, at the age of 83.

It’s hard to separate the two directors and their programs from the building itself, which served as a model for other facilities when it was constructed in the early 1960s.

Before then, Trapasso took a run-down building at the corner of South Main and Montowese Streets, dubbed the Dustbowl, and recruited those ​“unruly teenagers” of the ​‘50s to paint and repair it.

Trapasso wanted more for Branford’s kids. In the late 1950s he started fundraising for a new building. Palluzzi, 55, still has the small box with the 3x5 index cards (in alphabetical order) listing donations of $1, $5, $7.25 from a brownie sale, $15 from adults and especially children, who donated proceeds from bake sales and other efforts. Here is Trapasso teaching boys baseball skills.

The Branford Women’s Club was also instrumental, dedicating 1958 as the year for the Community House fundraising campaign. The organization, now the Branford Garden Club, will be honored with a proclamation at the open house next Sunday. Town historian Jane Bouley will contribute an article for the program.

Also participating will be Bill O’Brien as emcee, local architect Ed Johnson, Paul Criscuolo, Board of Recreation chair, and of course, Palluzzi, who said he will present ​“50 years in 5 minutes.”

Early History

In the Nov. 13, 2002, edition of the Branford Review, Jane Bouley traces the history of the Branford Recreation Department back to the Branford Community Council, organized as a private organization in 1920 with Frank Kinney Sr. as chairman. Kinney had an intense interest in recreational activities and the invitational basketball tournament bearing his name has been running for 62 years.

The Harrison House at 960 Main St. was leased for its use for five years at $500 a year. Bouley writes that the space was occupied by the Visiting Nurse Association, the Gaylord Health Association, which emphasized the teaching of cooking, sewing, health, and activities for mothers and children.

At that time sports was unorganized and neighborhood teams played on empty lots or the green. The Hammer family (founder of the Malleable Iron Fittings – MIF – manufacturing plant) became interested and the land on Meadow Street was filled in and graded for use as ball fields by the town and the Community Council.

Early directors were Henry Parsons in 1924 (at a salary of $1,800 a year), followed by Paul Rhodes and Dave Kilgore, who organized various youth and adult sports activities. The town supplemented the Community Council’s budget beginning in the late ​‘20s. The Community Council officially directed the town’s recreational activities until the Board of Recreation was founded in 1950

According to Bouley, in 1926 the Pythian Hall, located at South Main and Montowese Streets, was purchased by MIF and turned over the Community Council. Built in 1896 by local contractor Benjamin Hosley, the rambling old building had been used for sporting events, school space and a corset factory. At that point the director was Henry Brazeau and it became a focal point for events and recreation. Bouley says more than 16,000 people used the place in 1930.

Residents (including this writer) are quick to remember the building’s light green exterior and its walls echoing with basketball and ballroom dancing lessons.

But when Joe Trapasso was hired in 1951, the town’s morale was low. Many activities were geared toward adults and there was concern about out-of-control teenagers. In his first month on the job, Trapasso created a network of playgrounds for kids and hired young adults as supervisors. He also included their input in remodeling the building and put them to work painting it, thus instilling a sense of pride.

Under Trapasso, the Recreation Department flourished though by the late 1950s, it was clear that a new building was needed.

The New Community House

With land donated by the Hitchcock family of the Atlantic Wire Co. and the lovingly donated funds from residents and civic organizations who raised $82,000, construction for the new building began in 1961; the town contributed the balance of $315,000. The architectural firm was Davis, Cochran & Miller and the contractor was J. Warren Mylchrest of Middletown. Contributions also came in the form of labor with Dan Cosgrove, a master builder as well as a politician, grading the lot and donating gym bleachers and Bradley & Upson donating pilings and foundation work.

The 22,000-square-foot, 22-room building was dedicated on Feb. 2, 1963. Much of the furnishings were donated and many of them are still in use. Trapasso was especially proud of the gym, which today sees the likes of some 100 teams playing from Wednesday through Sunday. In addition to basketball, there’s volleyball and badminton. Palluzzi said a newer addition has been the glass backboards behind the basketball hoops. He would like to see the floor replaced in the future.

Palluzzi said the Community House was a model for all community houses ​“from afar.” The residents of North Kingston, R.I., used it as a template for their own community house as cited in a clipping from 1970. He said old school buildings were often used as local community centers.

Trapasso took immense pride in the upkeep of the building. Paluzzi said it was closed during dinnertime so the floors could be buffed. Palluzzi has inherited that same pride, pointing out that the flooring, many doors and hardware, and furnishings are original.

There’s an ongoing debate about whether the concrete block wall of the hallway (lined with framed article of residents who have been elected to the Hall of Fame) should be painted. ​“Joe didn’t think they should be painted,” Palluzzi says. However, a small room where Trapasso and Palluzzi once shared an office was painted light blue. It overlooks the gym and serves as a sort of skybox for those viewing games.

“It’s outlasted the firehouse and public works building built around the same time,” says Palluzzi. He cited various improvements made over the years: a couple of roofs, air conditioning, energy-efficient lighting, the resurfaced parking lot.

He says there’s always been talk of putting in a pool, but he would really like to see an elevator installed and an addition that would include another gym.

The Recreation Department is a leader in the maintenance of the athletic fields, Palluzzi says. He works with a pathologist and uses organic treatments, including compost created from residents’ leaves.

It was once suggested to him that he should let the building go, so he could get funds for a new one. ​“That’s not an option,” he says.

Programming

Along with the playgrounds he created when he first became director, Trapasso built the first outdoor basketball court in Connecticut and the field house at Hammer Field. He oversaw the construction of the John B. Sliney Park (the former first selectman was Trapasso’s father-in-law), Foote Park, the Branford Little League Field, and established three long-running tournaments: the Kinney tournament (mentioned above), the Joan G. Bradley Basketball Tournament, and the Chester Blomquist Volleyball Tournament.

The new Community House became home to countless other recreational, social and civic programs and doubled as a senior center until 1974. Palluzzi noted that senior activities still take place there.

There was a small staff and volunteers were key to running the programs. And the ebullient Trapasso was an ongoing presence in town, greeting everyone with a smile.

If Joe Trapasso wanted more for Branford’s kids, Alex Palluzzi wanted even more when he became director.

He’s broadened participation to encompass younger age groups and says the programs meet the needs of residents from ​“birth to seniors.” The Community House is open seven days a week … through dinnertime, Palluzzi added, and as late as midnight for activities such as Bridge and contra-dancing. The building is also used for christenings and birthday parties. In addition the Recreation Department has coordinated town wide activities such as the Christmas Tree Lighting, the annual Summer Jazz Concerts, and this fall’s Columbus Day Parade.

The staff today includes Dale Izzo, assistant director; Victor Amatori, program supervisor; Andrea Kenney, program coordinator; and Marcel Cote, maintenance supervisor.

He believes the programming has become more inclusive. ​“We want people to participate,” he says. ​“The demand is there.”

Palluzzi, himself, was a child of the new building. As a 5‑year-old, he took part in the first program, ​“The Games for Fun Program.” It didn’t take long before he was volunteering. At age 9 he was scoreboard keeper, then at 16, Trapasso hired him as a playground leader. He was also lifeguard, pool director, and did maintenance. He was director of men’s and boys’ activities before being named assistant recreation director in 1984. The step to director in 1993 appeared to be a seamless transition.

He says the Community House (pictured) and its programs ​“improve the quality of life for all residents – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”

In deference to his mentor, Palluzzi frets that the Community House won’t be clean enough for the Open House on Dec. 1. Not to worry. Those attending will be caught up in the memories, sights, and smells of the community’s house. 

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