It is the summer of 1913, and newlyweds Hazel and Irving Whiting are setting out for an afternoon drive in their roadster. Hazel Gibbs grew up on Litchfield Road and joined the ranks of June brides earlier that summer. By virtue of the century in which she lived, Hazel had escaped the clutches of Norfolk’s most enthusiastic bridegroom, Mr. Timothy Humphrey, who established his reputation in the 19^th century by marrying half a dozen Norfolk women. When his last wife turned 92 in 1883, the event was reported in the Winsted Herald newspaper, along with Humphrey’s marriage record: “The oldest person in Norfolk is ninety-two years old. She was the sixth wife of Mr. Timothy Humphrey. It used to be said that no woman in Norfolk need to despair of getting married as long as Mr. Humphrey lived.”

Ann Havemeyer