The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-01-15

If your future was at stake and you were called upon to de- eide between accepting a position in a lumber camp or Q depart. ment store, which would you select2 M have no ready means of ascertaining your de- cision but I am in Q position to tell you how one of our neigh bors did decide He exercised his discretion and chose the de- partment store. That neighbor is Ralph Howe Paine, now presi- dent and treasurer of the How land Hughes company's depart ment store on Bank street |. But, let me start at the be- ginning, and I'll tell you lots more about Neighbor Paine. l. 1.
 Ralph H. Paine, son of Oscar M. and Stella (Howe) Paine, was born September 9th, 1888, at Hartford, Vermont. His home was located approximately one half mile from the nearest neighbor and about 20 miles from Ply- mouth, Vermont, where the late President Calvin Coolidge was born. His parents were natives of Vermont and his mother is still living there. His father died two years ago in Florida One week before he had attained the age of five, Ralph became one of six pupils in the little red school house down the road. There had to be six pupils or no class would be held. Ralph made up the quota by his presence. By 1905 he had graduated from both grammar and high schools. Bent on furthering his educatoin he enrolled at Dartmouth college at Hanover, New Hampshire. He studied at the Amos Tuck school of Administration and Finance, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1910 It was then he was called upon to choose between @ position at lumber camp at Woodstock, Vermont, or one with the Rowland department store at Bridgeport. He weighed his de- cision well before rendering it. He figured 1t out that the luin- berjacks were felling trees so rap- idly that forests might eventual ly be swept clean and become q thing of the past, and that de- partment stores would last so long as milady sought new wearing apparel and things for the home. So he went to Bridgeport with the Rowland company, as Q sales man. His first sale was a pair of suspenders to @ male customer, and after three months was placed in charge of the altera- tion room. At that time womens clothes were fitted from the waist in contrast to the fashion now in vogue of hanging them from the shoulders. He advanced him. self from this position to floor man and then on upward to superintendent. In 1922 he left the Bridgeport store to come here to Rowland d-Hughes as treasurer and general manager. He soon became president as well as treasurer On Sept. 18th, 1913, MT. Paine mar ried Miss Florence Booth of Bridgeport, the wedding being held in the brides home city The union was blessed with one son, Morris, now 21, and a senior at Dartmouth. He is now pur- suing the same course his dad did Q quarter century ago at the Amos Tuck school of Admin. istration and Finance. Mir. Paine weighs 16S pounds and is five feet, II inches tall with blue eyes and brown hair He likes football and is a staunch Dartmouth rooter each season. He enjoys good game of golf. Like all Vermonters his favorite de- sert is pie. He smokes cigars and Q pipe. He prefers light reading for diversion yet enjoys books and articles on practical psychology. He wears glasses oc. casionally. His choice of enter