T. W. McNally

I live in northeastern Connecticut in a house/cabin I built 22 years ago on 160 acres with twenty-five mile views of the northeast's last green corridor. Two Scotch Highland cows help maintain "The Dirt", as I affectionately refer to my hilltop residence. I have recently acquired a 'family' of two teenagers, children of a lady landscape architect to whom I am engaged. I have had two practice marriages, but no kids. I have also been a practicing attorney, and am presently an industrial distribution business owner. From GDA, I got here as follows:

'62 - '64  Trinity College, Hartford, CT summer cartilage op knocked out football. Road trips, Bennett, '55 Chevy, AD. Lacrosse goalie.

'64 - '66  US Army "Intelligence" Germany - Ktown, Baumholder, Heidleberg, Karlsruhe.

'67 - '69  Trinity, live off campus, work in a Halfway House, City Hall, St. Legis, re-election US Rep. "Mim" Daddario. "Clean for Gene" in NH.

'67 - '70  X country trip on Triumph Bonneville, Legislative Assistant for Rep. Daddario in DC then Press Secretary "Daddario for CT Gov." [lost to Tom Meskill].

'70 - '71  Traveled mostly overland Japan, SE Asia, Burma, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Mid-East, around Mediterranean, across No. Africa, down the Nile, thru Egypt and the Sudan to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania - broke and home.

'72 - '75  Muskie Dem primary campaign in PA & west; swing through Boston, Denny Golden lines up job with his Bro-in-law, George Sacco in MA. Legis & Suffolk Law School, McGovern campaign in MI.

'75 - '77  Graduate from law school, marry Reva Seybolt, Dedham, MA [Middlebury '72, Harvard MBA '75]; travel "gringo trail" Mexico to Chile and back north to Argentina, Brazil on Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.

'76 - '78  Eastern CT small law firms, then open own practice in Storrs, then Putnam, CT. Shelter Inst., Bath, ME. Buy 60 acres on ridge in Pomfret, CT and build "Shelter"-type house. Two Scotch Highland cows, garden, Vermont Castings wood stove, composting toilet - "back-to-the-land", "small-is-beautiful". Write column for local weekly paper.

'78 - '81  Small town law practice, Rotary, Lions, atty for Battered Women's Shelter, Juvenile - CT, US Rep. Sam Gejdenson campaigns.

'82 - '86  Friendly divorce. Form partnership with 3 other Dem. attys. Clients incl. Crabtree & Evelyn, Downy & Burke Leather.

'87 - '94  Marry Karen Petersen, Escanaba MI, [U of M], sculptor in cast bronze. Win prize NE Newspaper Assoc. "Best Weekly Column". Buy BCS Company, Inc., Thompson, CT industrial distributor of metal cleaning and finishing machinery & abrasives, 16 employees, NE & 25% export. Another friendly divorce.

7/98  Engaged to Maureen Nicholson, Buffalo, NY [Pratt, Fordham, Cornell, MA Landscape Architect, U of Penn.], Mother of Sheileen, 17 and Charlie 13, for whom I am "substitute dad".

11/01  Elected Selectman, Town of Pomfret.

Misc.  Travel to South America every Feb., Amazon, Belize, Galapagos, Costa Rica, Patagonia; land grew to 190 acres where about 2,000 trees and bushes were planted over 22 years; about a third of which were killed by mice, rabbits, deer and bugs. Acquired Ford 250 pick-up, '90 Harley low-rider; "wood pile" cats, 2 purebred Highlands. Oil heat, garden down to 6 tomatoes, still a Democrat, but" progressive" instead of "liberal". No taller, nor thinner - alas, but otherwise healthy and happy in my own business and at home with my lately acquired family, especially as had not kids of my own.