Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

America, but lived and died in the town
which had been the home of the Wagon-
ers for many generations.
William Richard Wagoner was born in
Canton, October 8, [864. lie was edu-
cated in the public schools of Collinsville,
then learned all the details of the meat
business in association with his father.
Beginning when he was twelve years old,
he took an interest in the work and estab-
lished himself in the confidence of the pa-
trons so thoroughly that when he suc-
ceeded his father in the business he held
the trade of the best people of the town,
and still caters to a wide and discriminat-
ing class of customers. This business
which his father established in 1862 has
been conducted in its present quarters
since 1871. The Wagoners, father and
son, have been progressive and up-to-the-
minute, keeping abreast of every new development
in their line of business. Col-
linsville is not a large village, yet there
is no modern equipment to be found in a
large city market that Mr. Wagoner has
not installed. Their refrigerator and
meat counter are cooled by an automatic
ammonia refrigerating plant, and their
equipment also includes an up-to-date
slicing machine for slicing boneless meats,
an electric meat grinder, the latest type
of computing scales, etc. Especial atten-
tion is given to sanitation. The success
of this business from a financial point of
view shows that even in a small town the
man who adopts modern business meth-
ods and devices wins recognition and the
substantial evidence of public apprecia-
tion. Furthermore, it is the progressive
retail dealer of Mr. Wagoner's type who
attracts to a town like Collinsville the
patronage of the more remote country
dwellers, and make it a center of trade.
Mr. Wagoner is a member of the Village
Lodge of Masons, of Collinsville ;
Wash-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HIOCR AIM IY
69
ington Commandcry, Knights Templar;
Connecticut Consistory; and Pyramid
Shrine, of Bridgeport; and Penevolent
and Protective Order of Flks, of Win-
sted.
Mr. Wagoner married Annie, daughter
of Frederick W. Konold, of Collinsville.
A sketch of Mr. Konold appears elsewhere
in this work. Mr. Wagoner has
four children : Anna, who married Or-
Raymond William, Elizabeth
ville Orne ;
Faith, and Richard Leslie.
CROSTHWAITE, Frederick H.,
Manufacturer.
Art in these days governs the simplest
and most useful product of manufacture.
The time was when art was considered to
be the prerogative of artists. If an artist
painted a canvas or a ceiling, it became a
picture. If anyone else did the work it
was merely a painted surface. A genius
created a tapestry and it was art. But
the fabrics of commerce were, for the
greater part, merely woven threads. In
architecture, perhaps, was art first made
a governing impulse, to a degree where it
was felt in other than its own immediate
circle. Art, as applied to castles and
cathedrals, now lives in many useful ob-
jects, as well as in art forms. The study
of line and color has followed the pro-
gress of useful invention, until the simplest
tool or utensil is attractive in form
and tint. The demand for artistic inter-
iors is not confined to institutions of cul-
ture, but wherever men pass or congregate,
even in the business office and
workshop of the everyday world, the
finish, the fittings, the whole effect, must
be artistic. Among the many and varied
industries in the city of Hartford, the
modest factory of the Hartford Wire
Works Company on Allyn street stands