Year Inducted: 2017
Alfred Carpionato - Alfred Carpionato started his life in humble circum- stances working for his fathers single family residential con- struction business when he was merely a teenager. As a very young man, he had traveled to Boston, Florida, and California where he gained invaluable expe- rience working with the top developers of that era. Taking everything he…
Ambassador and Mayor Joe R. Paolino Jr. - The Honorable Joseph R. Paolino, Jr. assumes a unique place in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. He is now the only inductee whose father, developer Joseph R. Paolino, Sr. and grandfather, Judge Luigi DePasquale, for whom the noted Federal Hill Plaza is named, are also members of the Hall of Fame. His mother,…
Archbishop Francis P. Keough - The Most Reverend Francis Patrick Keough, D.D., was the fourth Bishop of Providence. Keough was born in New Britain, Connecticut to Irish immigrant parents on December 30, 1890. After choosing the priestly vocation, he studied in St. Thomas Preparatory Seminary. Then, Bishop John J. Nilan sent him to the Seminary of St. Sulpice, at Issy,…
Arthur N Votolato Judge - Judge Arthur Votolato was appointed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Rhode Island in 1968. His exceptional work on that tribunal led to his appointment as Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit at its inception in June 1996. He served as its chief until April 2003. The…
Arun K Singh M.D. - Dr. Arun K. Singh, a native of Patna, India, was born in 1944. As a child, the future physician suffered several debili- tating injuries including the breaking of both of his hands at different times, with one of these accidents resulting in the tempo- rary paralysis of his right hand " not the most auspicious…
Barlett S Dunbar - Bartlett S. Dunbar, who grew up on Cape Cod, is presi- dent and founder of Bowens Wharf Company, the first historic urban waterfront rehabilitation in New England. The Bowens Wharf revitalization that began in 1969, two years after Bart arrived on Aquidneck Island, provided the catalyst for rebuild- ing the Newport waterfront. Bowens Wharf is…
Ben-Hur “Ben” Baddikian - Ben Bagdikian, a major American journalist, had long and significant ties to Rhode Island. As a young man he worked for the Pro^^'ide'nce Journal for 15 years from 1947 to 1962. As an "on-the-spot" reporter he rode on an Israeli tank during the Suez Crisis, covered the civil rights struggle including the Little Rock, Arkansas…
Carlton C Brownell - Most inductees to the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame are chosen because of their impact upon their state, or even the nation. Some, however, have such a pervasive and beneficial impact on their community or region that their life and work demand induction. Carlton Brownell is such a person. His impact upon Little Compton…
Charlie Hall - Charlie, as he prefers to be called, is a versatile comedian, writer, showman, artist, and political activist. In 2012, Charlie was the first person inducted into the newly-established Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame. His induction was the culmination of over thirty years of laugh-making through a variety of avenues including stand-up, writing, theater, and…
Christopher Grant La Farge - It is not unusual in Rhode Island that talent and accomplishment run in many of the state's long-established families. A case in point is the La Farge family. Christopher Grant La Farge was the son of a noted architect of the same name, grandson of John La Farge, a nationally prominent artist and stained glass…
Dr. Robert D Billington - Growing up, he just wanted to become a drummer. However, a new journey to reclaim a post-industrial valley, reveal its history, clean up its river, and build an understanding of events that changed the course of America was about to unfold. Bob built an organization and organized communities to bring back the Blackstone Valley from…
Henry M. Leland - Henry Leland approached his boss at Brown & Sharpe with a preposterous proposal: He planned to quit his job and move west to begin a business, and he wanted to take one of his best co-workers with him. To start his new business he would need to borrow $2,000, the current equivalent of $50,000; he…
James Henry Kiernan - On a crisp January morning in 1915, a thirty-year-old freshman representative from the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Providence strode into the Rhode Island state capitol. This novice legislator was James Henry Kiernan. For nearly fifty-one years thereafter Jim Kiernan would serve with distinction in the Rhode Island House, and for thirty-five years, until the opening…
Justice Jeremiah Edward O’Connell - Jeremiah O'Connell was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts on July 8, 1883 to Irish immigrant parents and financed his own education at Boston University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1906, a law degree cum laude in 1908, and an LL.M in 1908. Thereafter he moved to Providence where he served on the common council from 1913…
Lionel Joseph Jenkins - Lionel Joseph Jenkins, a life- long leader in the civil rights movement, was born in Washington, D.C. on June 20, 1934, the son of Clarzell V. Jenkins and Mabel (Brown) Jenkins. During his childhood, segregation was the law of the land, even in the nations capital, so his determined parents sent him to gain an…
Louisa Sharpe Metcalf - Jesse Metcalf and his wife Louisa Sharpe Metcalf were the dynamic duo of Rhode Island philanthropy in the early 20th century. Jesse was the son and namesake of the founder of Providence's Wanskuck Mills, one of America's largest woolen manufacturers, and his mother, Helen, a Hall of Fame inductee, co-founded the Rhode Island School of…
Marcus F. Wheatland Dr - When Dr. Wheatland died in 1934 at the age of sixty-six, his obituary in the Newport Daily News newspaper lead off by noting "The life of the late Dr. Marcus F. Wheatland should be an inspiration to every boy, white or colored, who believes he has no chance to succeed." In fact, Marcus Wheatland's life…
Marie Rose Ferron - Marie Rose Ferron was born to devout Catholic parents on May 24, 1902, in the countryside near Quebec. Her mother had dedicated each of her 15 children to the mysteries of the Rosary. As the tenth child, Marie Rose honored the Crucifixion. These extraordinary circumstances surrounding Rose's birth seemed to foreshadow her destiny. Rose's spiritual…
Richard A. “Dick” Ernst - Dick Ernst, a Cranston native, has served more backhands and slap shots, than the number of cars that ply route 95 on any given day. His rise to prominence (and dominance) began in his hometown high school tennis courts and hockey rink in the mid-1950's where he became an all-state high school selection in both…
Richard L Bready 2017 - Richard L. "Rick" Bready is an outstanding model of the successful international entrepreneur and corporate citi- zen who never really retires. Rick began his business career in 1967 as an accountant with Arthur Anderson in Boston where he was born in 1944 and grew up. He attended public and parochial schools in the Boston area;…
Robert Galkin - In 1917, Arthur Galkin I founded Natco Products Corporation as a recycler of waste materials. He had two sons, Bob and Warren. In 1949, his eldest son, Bob, graduated from Brown with a semester at Oxford and a BA in International Relations. At that time, Natco had two divisions; a division that manufactured mats, matting,…
Sarah J. Eddy - Sarah J. Eddy was a philanthropist and humanitarian; she was also a nationally recognized artist (painter and sculptor), photographer, suffragette and author. Born in 1851, the second of four children, to James Eddy of Providence, a wealthy art connoisseur and philanthropist, and Elisa Jackson of Boston, a staunch woman's rights advocate and suffragette. Sarah studied…
Sidney S Goldstein - Some individuals have been recognized for Hall of Fame induction because of the success and prominence of their business creations. Joseph Banigan, in whose building we conduct this ceremony, is one local example. He was a co-founder of U. S. Rubber Company (Uniroyal) and its early president. Today we honor another creator of a mammoth…
Thomas F. Gilbane - Humble origins have been the hallmark of many American and Rhode Island success stories. Not many can match the saga of the Gilbane Brothers and the establishment of the multinational Gilbane Building Company. The Irish potato famine of the1840's sent myriads of Hibernian refugees to North America. And so it was with Thomas and Bridget…
U.S. Senator Jesse H. Metcalf - Jesse Metcalf and his wife Louisa Sharpe Metcalf were the dynamic duo of Rhode Island philanthropy in the early 20th century. Jesse was the son and namesake of the founder of Providence's Wanskuck Mills, one of America's largest woolen manufacturers, and his mother, Helen, a Hall of Fame inductee, co-founded the Rhode Island School of…
Warren B Galkin - In 1917, Arthur Galkin I founded Natco Products Corporation as a recycler of waste materials. He had two sons, Bob and Warren. In 1949, his eldest son, Bob, graduated from Brown with a semester at Oxford and a BA in International Relations. At that time, Natco had two divisions; a division that manufactured mats, matting,…
William J. Gilbane - Humble origins have been the hallmark of many American and Rhode Island success stories. Not many can match the saga of the Gilbane Brothers and the establishment of the multinational Gilbane Building Company. The Irish potato famine of the1840's sent myriads of Hibernian refugees to North America. And so it was with Thomas and Bridget…
William Michael Vareika - In 1987, Bill and Alison Vareika opened a public art gallery on Newport's Bellevue Avenue Casino Historic District block after seven years as private dealers of American art operating out of their Newport carriage house home. The Newport and New England art scene has never been the same. The gallery has grown into one of…
Wini (Blacher) Galkin - In 1917, Arthur Galkin I founded Natco Products Corporation as a recycler of waste materials. He had two sons, Bob and Warren. In 1949, his eldest son, Bob, graduated from Brown with a semester at Oxford and a BA in International Relations. At that time, Natco had two divisions; a division that manufactured mats, matting,…
