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A Celebration of Friendship-- Zeneida Swegun Northcott: A Newtown Notable

(with photos)

By Joanne Greco Rochman

Though her home is steeped in more than two centuries of New England history,

Zeneida Swegun Northcott, a thoroughly modern woman, always has been on a

best-friend basis with the future.

After living in Newtown for more than 40 years, she continues to turn the

pages in the chapters of her colorful life. With talk of retirement and a

possible move in the near future, some of her Taunton Hill neighbors got

together with her recently to celebrate long years of close friendship. It was

an event laced with local color and history.

Before Mrs Northcott moved from Staten Island to Newtown in 1955, she asked

the realtor if there was a League of Women Voters organization in town. The

affirmative response brought Mrs Northcott, then Mrs Peck, to the Taunton Hill

district of Newtown where she settled in a house dated 1748 and quietly and

determinedly set out to "make a difference in the charming countryside

community."

A widow with two young children, the move afforded the young mother the

opportunity to be closer to her sons, Phillip Curran Peck Jr and John H. Peck,

both of whom attended private boarding schools in the area. Within two years

from the day she moved into town, the former president of the Staten Island

League of Women Voters was president of the Newtown chapter. Enthusiastically,

she encouraged women to get more involved with the political issues of the

times.

"The League was an on-going education. It meant that you could have a hand, a

say in your government," said Mrs Northcott during a recent interview. "I knew

it was important for women of all ages to be well informed and involved in the

political structure. It still is," she added.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of Russian immigrants, she had three

sisters, one of whom was her identical twin sister, the late Irene MeVay of

East Williston, Long Island. Zeneida, especially accomplished in secretarial

skills, found her first job in the Wall Street district of New York in 1937.

There she met her husband Phillip Curran Peck, a successful lawyer who

specialized in patents and trademarks.

"In those days it was considered a disgrace for a wife to work," said the

dedicated volunteer. "My husband had graduated from Yale in 1896 and had a

very successful career. He frowned upon my working because of the social

stigma that accompanied working wives in those days. That's why I threw myself

into volunteerism. The League of Women Voters was my first choice because it

was made up of active, intelligent women."

"I remember one time when Mother told my father that she wanted to go to work.

He didn't speak to her for three days," said Mrs Northcott's younger son John,

a Colorado resident who is currently staying with his mother.

"My mother always had a way of including friends and family in her projects.

Even as young boys, my brother and I were often assigned to addressing,

stuffing and sealing "League" newsletters, envelopes or special mailings,"

said John, adding that in the 1950s addressing envelopes meant writing them

out in longhand or typing them out individually on a typewriter. "We couldn't

print out labels on a computer, then," he said with a laugh.

"When I first moved to my home on Taunton Hill, the former main house of the

Fairchild Estate, there were few houses. There was Boxwood Farm, the small

Fairchild house on the corner, and the Mentley house. Eventually, the

Engelbergers and the Brunos moved into the area," said Zeneida, her aqua-

colored eyes sparkling as she recalled the "good old days."

John interjected. "Joseph Engelberger is considered the father of robotics and

James Bruno created the game `Scrabble.' Mr Bruno used to produce the game in

a small factory around the corner on Plumtrees Road in Bethel. Today that

factory is a Day Care Center for children. As a teen, I used to do odd jobs

for both men. I used to mow the lawn for Mr Engelberger and simonize Mr

Bruno's car," he said.

"Marge Engelberger and I used to swap recipes," said Zeneida, "But Mrs Bruno's

hobby was her sheep farm. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mrs Bruno had a

full time shepherd living on the grounds. I guess Taunton Hill has changed

quite a bit since those days."

In 1957 Zeneida married Thomas Graham Northcott, a Presbyterian Church

minister and an intellectual with a quick wit and droll sense of humor. He had

three young children of his own, so the marriage instantly turned the young

mother of two into a young mother of five.

"Those were very busy times filled with hard work and laughter. Everyone had

to help with the chores. There were just too many of us, so we all had to do

our part. In the summer all the children helped with the gardening. We would

plant, pick and pickle," said Mrs Northcott with a laugh.

"We felt like indentured servants," laughed her older son Phillip, a Manhattan

resident, who was also visiting with his mother. "The garden was huge and when

the string beans were ready, we children actually formed an assembly line in

order to prepare them for the freezer. Someone picked them, someone else

snapped off the ends, someone else broke them in half and someone else put

them in the pot for blanching before they were put into plastic bags and put

into the freezer."

Even with five young children, Mrs Northcott not only managed to stay active

in the League, but she also held needlepoint classes in her red barn located

on her property directly across the street from her house. Family and friends

referred to the old New England barn as "Northcott's Needle."

When the late Reverend Northcott opened a travel agency in the center of town,

Mrs Northcott helped him in the office one day a week and almost always

accompanied him on his international travel expeditions. Together they pretty

much covered the world, making friends wherever they went.

"We visited Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the Holy Land, of course,"

said Mrs Northcott, adding that they traveled by sea, air and land.

A notable Newtowner, Mrs Northcott, has been an active member in many church

and community organizations. An open-minded, ecumenical, progressive thinker,

Mrs Northcott not only supported her own church and opened her home to weekly

bible instruction, she was also an active member in Hadassah, which recently

honored her with a lifetime membership.

She has actively supported Newtown's library, often working behind the scenes

for the annual book sale and she has supported the American Association of

University Women. Locally, through the years she has been a supporting member

of the Town Players and the Friends of Music. When her twin was alive, the two

women would meet in New York City on Saturdays. Subscribers to the

Metropolitan Opera and the major museums, they would spend the day taking in

the arts, shopping and dining in New York before returning to their domestic

roles.

During the week, Mrs Northcott enjoyed golfing and socializing at Rock Ridge

Country Club, which she said she especially enjoyed because of its

appreciation for a diverse membership long before diversity was timely.

Known far and wide for her generous spirit and Christian fellowship, Mrs

Northcott would often take special projects under her protective wing. A small

post office that served a population of 200 in Deerton, Michigan, was in

danger of having its doors closed, in which case the woman who worked there, a

widow, would find herself out of a job. Mrs Northcott encouraged friends,

family and neighbors in Connecticut to take part in her postal crusade to save

the little post office. They all purchased their postage from Deerton. For a

while, the main office outside Deerton was confused by the sudden volume in

stamp sales that was coming and going from Deerton, but the end result was

that Mrs Northcott nearly single-handedly saved it.

While her sons reminisced with her about days of old, when the Dodgingtown

Volunteer Fire Deprtment held clam bakes every August, when they shopped for

meat at Abe's Butcher Shop in Danbury and chopped Christmas trees down from

their extensive backyard woodlands, her friends celebrated their good fortune

at having known a woman who was quick to help and slow to complain.

"When Zeneida moves out of the neighborhood, it will be a sad day for Taunton

Hill Road," said Joe Engelberger, who could not attend the neighborhood fete,

but who along with his wife wrote a note expressing their pleasure at having

been longtime friends.

"Memories of the Northcotts and the Pecks and the Engelbergers tumble over

each other," wrote Marge Engelberger.

Dr Ralph Schwartz and his wife Zelda, who purchased the farm that once

belonged to the Brunos, Fran Tyluki Roche, whose family now lives on what was

once part of the Wilder estate, longtime friend and neighbor Jo Spector and

Pierre Rochman and family shared happy memories with Zeneida. Conversations

focused on Mrs Northcott's custom-made stylish hats, which have been her

trademark; her beautifully prepared luncheons and dinner parties that brought

to her table guests including artists, missionaries and international

dignitaries; her knowledge of antiques and collectibles; and her unique and

personal way of caring for those less fortunate than herself.

"Zee Northcott can never really leave our community, her accomplishments and

her legacy will stay with us forever," said her neighbor and friend Pierre

Rochman. "She'll never be forgotten for the work she has done, especially for

the League of Women Voters, but also for many worthy causes, public and

private. She has shared her blessings with family, friends and strangers and

her generosity has touched so many lives that she'll be part of this community

forever."

One thing is for sure, the residents in the Taunton Hill area of Newtown, who

have known Zeneida Northcott, consider themselves especially lucky and cherish

their friendships with her. Everyone is confident that wherever Mrs Northcott

lives, that community will quickly recognize her extraordinary talents and

will embrace her as well.