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MILDRED LARASON<br />
Ms. Mildred Larason was the first woman to serve in the<br />
prestigious position of <strong>Hunterdon</strong> <strong>County</strong> Clerk. As such, she<br />
was one of the three constitutional officers of county<br />
government, and the first of her gender in any one of these<br />
positions.<br />
Born June 16, 1908, on the family farm (David Larason<br />
farm between Ringoes and Mt. Airy, on Rt. 202), Ms. Larason<br />
is a descendant of one of the oldest families in <strong>Hunterdon</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong>.<br />
As a child she went to the Mt. Airy two-room school; then<br />
on to Lambertville High School, from which she was graduated<br />
in 1927. The following year, she secured a position in the<br />
office of <strong>County</strong> Clerk, C. Lloyd Fell, a man well-known for his<br />
precise and gentlemanly ways.<br />
Under the next Clerk, Bergen Carter, Ms. Larason rose to<br />
the position of Deputy Clerk. Upon the death of Carter, Ms. Larason was selected by<br />
the <strong>Hunterdon</strong> <strong>County</strong> Republican Committee to run for the office of <strong>County</strong> Clerk. This<br />
was a very progressive and practical move on the part of the Republicans. Not only<br />
were they supporting the most knowledgeable person, but a woman of such dedication<br />
and reputation would be difficult to beat. Ms. Larason ran away with the election, and in<br />
1967 became the first woman in <strong>Hunterdon</strong>’s history to hold an office of such visible<br />
responsibility.<br />
For 15 years Mildred Larason served the people of <strong>Hunterdon</strong> well, retiring in 1982<br />
after 54 years as secretary, Deputy Clerk and <strong>County</strong> Clerk. The changes experienced<br />
by Ms. Larason during her years in office were many. During her tenure the methods of<br />
filing county records changed dramatically -- progressing from handwritten and manual<br />
typewritten documents to microfilmed records, and later to the computerization of all<br />
records. A new records storage center is being constructed, with state-of-the-art<br />
archival and records retention facilities.<br />
Ms. Larason indicated that the most exciting times in the Clerk's office were during<br />
the Hauptmann trial. The monumental task of taking the minutes of the trial, having<br />
them typed and ready for the reporters, filing the handwritten records, and keeping all<br />
documents up to the minute was both exhilarating and exhausting; however, "people<br />
did their work with great dedication." Ms. Larason was the last remaining county<br />
official to have taken part in the "Trial of the Century."<br />
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