Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Stub-Brown-magician-horse

Full Text:

Stub Brown: An Ageless, Active Humanitarian

(with cuts)

By June April

With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, 95-year old Stub Brown called out to

the waitress, "Excuse me, miss, could I have some more coffee?"

As she poured, we watched her eyes grow wide as she realized the thumb on the

coffee cup's handle was blinking with a small red light. She looked

momentarily befuddled, but then saw us holding our hands over our mouths to

keep from laughing and knew she had been "had."

Somewhat sheepishly, Stub admitted to having a tendency to carrying around

magic tricks in his pockets. He relishes his opportunities to put them to use.

There are some unusual people in this world, and this particular industrious

and funny man is one of them. A long-time Newton resident, his values of

honesty, integrity, kindness and sharing are admirable.

Stub Brown does not have a mean word to say about anyone. After 44 years of

marriage, he still deeply loves and respects his wife, Marie.

Nicknamed "Stub" by his father, Arcsel Brown was born just 15 miles south of

the Canadian border in Columbia, New Hampshire, on August 10, 1903. The second

oldest of four children, Stub was up early to milk the cows on the Brown farm

before going to school. He had to quit school in order to work full-time when

he was 14 to supplement the family's income.

In 1923, Guy Brown moved most of his family south to Connecticut to help build

Yale University's golf course. Widely respected for his skill in working with

explosives, Guy Brown had no difficulty getting his son hired to be part of

the crew preparing the site.

The following year, the 21-year old Stub sought employment at Chatfield Paper

Company, where he began working as a truck driver. Fifty years and seven

months later, Stub retired, after having become manager of the warehouse.

When he wasn't working, socializing or riding horses, Stub was square dancing.

At age 50, Stub was struck by love one night while at a dance at Al Brundage's

barn. Stub recalled seeing a "vivacious, natural and lovely young lady ... who

cornered well and was one of those dancers who was light on her feet and could

really move.

"I went over to her and said `You're at the wrong end of the dance floor,'"

Stub said, looking with a warm, lovely smile at the woman who is still by his

side, long after that first dance.

Laughing her musical, gentle laugh, Marie admits she thought Stub was at first

"rather presumptuous," but she decided to be his partner anyway. Stub and

Marie were married two years later by the Reverend John Culliton at St Rose Of

Lima Church in Newtown. Two children, three grandchildren and many cues later,

the dance continues.

For 12 years, during his tenure at Chatfield, Stub drove a ten-horse hitch for

Kriz Brothers, the famous horseshoers whose clients, among others, include the

Budweiser Clydesdales. Stub was at the reins for a number of Danbury Fairs and

Barnum Festival Parades.

Tommy Monetti, the Bethel restaurateur, met Stub nearly three decades ago. At

the time the owner of The Colonial Club in Oxford, Mr Monetti contacted Kriz

Brothers to have a team brought to his restaurant during an Oktoberfest

Celebration. Stub was the driver of the six-horse hitch of Belgians

commissioned for the job. The two men immediately became fast friends.

"I would meet Stub at the Danbury Fair over the years," Mr Monetti recalled

recently. Although his job as director for food and beverages for the

Hilton-owned Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan would have allowed him

top-of-the-line facilities at the local Hilton during the run of the Danbury

Fair, Mr Monetti instead chose to stay with his friend Stub, sleeping on hay

bales at the fair.

"We referred to it as the Hay Bale Hotel," he said with a laugh, "and we had

some great times there."

The horses for the Budweiser hitch were stabled in the building along with

some Holstein cattle, Mr Monetti started to share, "so Stub masterminds a

prank wherein we switch one of the Clydesdales with a Holstein.

"We got up about 5:30 the next morning, and hide behind a wall to watch what

will happen.

"There had been a lot of partying going on, and the fella who was caring for

the Clydes was really bleary-eyed that morning. He's going down the line of

stalls, feeding then currying the horses.

"When he gets to the stall with the cow, he climbs the ladder, just like he

does with all the horses, and starts going through the same motions. "It's

only because we couldn't contain our laughter that he finally realized what

was going on," Mr Monetti laughed.

It was also while working at Kriz Brothers that Stub met Stew Thompson, who

would become a fellow horse/buggy trainer and a dear friend.

"There's a legendary quality to Stub," observed Mr Thomson. "He genuinely

cares about everybody. Good deeds are a way of life for him. He's sincere and

loves to have fun." The same sentiments were echoed by Mr Brown's young

neighbor, Roger Stevens, who added that Stub and Marie are like grandparents

to his children.

Next, Stub worked for Howard Garfinkel at Huckleberry Farm in Greenville,

N.Y., for a few years. By then the owner of a magnificent variety of

carriages, stagecoaches and buggies, Stub was busier than ever. He was

involved in competitions, exhibitions and demonstrations with the farm's

"wheeled vehicles."

"We were asked to participate in The Royal," he said, referring to an event

open by invitation only. Hundreds of ribbons pinned up in the barn/office

where he currently works, along with those that decorate the Browns' home,

testify to Stub's skill and mastery of horse and hitch.

After the death of Mr Garfinkel, thereby ending his career at Huckleberry,

Stub continued to be called upon to drive hitches for various individuals and

groups. Knee surgery three years ago caused a temporary halt to his

activities. Today he is happily employed by Roger and Mary Funk, for whom he

takes care of six Morgan horses, two dogs and three cats.

The Original Horse Whisperer

Stub has always been interested in people and "things," he says. In 1957, he

accepted an invitation from his friend Joe Pascale to join him at a meeting of

The Magic Society. Today the amateur magician still impresses people with his

tricks.

Stub often donates his talents, and time, to entertain at hospitals and

convalescent homes. His wife says he has brought happiness to patients of all

ages.

Marie related one special incident that happened years ago, when the Browns'

daughter, Dede, was 6. Dede went along with Stub for one of his magic shows at

a nursing home. To everyone's surprise and delight, a patient who had not

spoken for years responded to Dede, carrying around one of her father's trick

rabbits and asking "all kinds of questions," Marie shared.

Stub's magic repertoire includes rope tricks, slight of hand, and disappearing

objects including birds and bunnies that appear, disappear, and reappear.

Marie teases Stub, saying she has a hard time keeping her scarves and

handkerchiefs around.

A common observation about Stub is that he has the deepest respect for people

and animals. Like the now-famous horse whisperer from the book by Nicholas

Evans (and brought to life earlier this year on the big screen by the actor

Robert Redford), Stub creates magic with animals. He is gentle, but firm;

understanding and quiet. The integrity that marks his actions carries through

into the rest of his life.

Roger Funk waxed enthusiastic on the excellence of Stub's work, and the

strength that is at the center of the man's being.

"He has a wealth of knowledge about horses that he readily shares, and we

trust him completely in every way," said Stub's current employer, although the

two act more like buddies than employer-employee. "When Stub and I were

driving up to Litchfield, he said he would like to be able to drive horses

when he's 100. At first I didn't know what to say, but then I asked, `Do you

think [our horse] Major will make it?'"

Having worked with many animals during his life, one of the most special

memories for Stub are those which concern a Morgan named Ledgelands Firechief.

The horse was a retired roadster at Bittersweet Farms in Bethany, where Stub

worked for four years for Lance and Martha Wetmore.

"He caught my eye and I felt he would make a fine carriage horse," Stub

recalled. Although everyone else tried to discourage this fancy, within a few

months and after working his special touch and patience with the animal, Stub

achieved his goal.

"We melded into an impressive unit and for three years we traveled to and won

competitions throughout New England." In 1991, the American Morgan Horse

Association awarded Stub with its Masters Certificate.

Stories abound testifying to Stub's sense of honor and commitment. He is a

winner, in the best sense of that word.

"`Compete' should be his middle name," Marie points out with a laugh. "The

more in competition, the happier he is. Don't ever tell him he can't, because

then he'll have to prove to you that he can."

Stub still gets up every morning around dawn, going off to feed and care for

the Funks' horses. At age 95, he is the "Eveready Bunny, still going strong,"

he says. His grip is astonishingly strong, and his mind forges onto new tasks

and dreams.

There is a magnetic quality to this man that draws people from all walks of

life, and of all ages, to his side. There is much to be celebrated about Stub

Brown. Whether he is being honored as Recycler of the Month by his community

newspaper, sage adviser for the best ways to care for horses, or just making a

young child smile thanks to the enchantment of a magic trick, Stub Brown is

always ready to share and to give.