The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-09-04
DEATH COMES
SUDDENLY TO
{. S. HIGGINS
County Warden Apparently in
in Perfect Health
FUNERAL HELD TODAY
Department Official Who Was in
Charge Of Bennington County
Field Station Hatchery.

Edward S. Higgins, Bennington
county fish and game warden and one
of the most thoroughly respected citi-
zens Of Bennington county, died sud
denly Saturday night. The warden
and Mrs. Higgins, who made their
home with Mrs Higgins parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Eli Briggs, in Bradford
place, retired about $3.50 o'clock and
that time Mr. Higgins was apparent
ly in perfect health. In less than an
hour Mrs. Higgins awoke to find that
her husband had passed away A
physician, who was summoned as
quickly as possible was unable to
satisfy himself as to the cause OF
death.
Warden Higgins was born in Ar
lington February 2, 1865, the son of
Michael Higgins and Mary Cullinan,
but had passed the larger portion of
his life in Bennington. He was a
machinist by trade and had been EN-
ployed at different shops in the vii
lage, latterly at the plant of the
Charles Cooper Estate Inc. He had
been the Bennington county warden
since 1911, at first giving only por.
tion of his time to the work, but late.
ly as salaried official of the depart
ment To the department, as to every
other employer, he gave his last
ounce Of service. Absolutely fearless
and possessing a rugged constitution
no risk was too dangerous and nc
task too arduous for him to under
take. Weather conditions and dis
tance meant nothing to him in full
filling the duties of his office. Hi:
enforcement of the fish and game laws
was rigorous and without the leas
partiality but it was not vindictive.
During the past two years Warder
Higgins had been in charge of two ex
periental hatcheries in this county
built for the purpose Of testing watel
supplies before constructing a per
manent plant and ii was in this worl
even more than as an official that HI
| demonstrated his whole-souled inter
| est in the department With no prev
| ious. experience and with only an ex
| perimental outfit he hatched ant
raised to the fingerling stage nearl.
seven hundred thousand brook trout
lake trout and land-locked salmon, al
accomplishment that would have beel
| possible in few hatcheries in New
England and an undertaking tina
must have resulted in failure, but TO
the supreme devotion of the wardel
to his work. Thrown upon his owl
resources by the change in the hea,
of the fish and game department.
Warden Higgins was forced to as
sumo responsibility for which h
realized he was not sufficiently el
perienced and the summer had hee
an exceedingly anxious and tryn
period He proved equal to tn
emergency, however and not onl
demonstrated the possibilities of tn
plant in his charge, but also prove
his own ability to handle a tryin
situation. II was a pathetic inciden
of his passing away that IL shoul
have come so closely upon the end c
his seasons work at the hatchery. II
had made the final shipment of fls
from the station on Saturday col
signment OF lake trout for LAX
Dunmorc.
| There are a goodly number of me
living outside of Bennington count
and outside the borders OF Vernon
who will learn of Warden Higgin
death with much regret These al
the men who composed the profe
sional baseball teams maintained
Bennington for n number of yea
and of which he was the manage
When they eventually learn of Il
warden's death through tho new
: papers. for these men are now wide
scattered through the country, IN,
/ | will recall him as the manager wi
. under every circumstance alwa,
gave them a square deal. Althou,
, he had never played professional
he had an intuitive faculty for selet
ing good players and his teams ma,
reputation for Bennington In d
baseball world. Much of his succe
as baseball manager and also as
. warden was undoubtedly due to h
d true sportsmanship His contem
for unfair tactics of any kind was Of
OF his chief characteristics.
t Generous to fault, impulslve al
$ insistent in the correctness OF
! own beliefs as man must be vi
|. rises above the treadmill OF ordlna
: existence, he possessed an unusu
c personality, one that has made
/. lasting impress upon the life Of {
|. community and that found a place
: the friendship of every man and b
4 who loves the great outdoors.
= The warden was twice marri,
His first wife, who was Johanna G
Imam Of Arlington, died 22 years al