Rene Lafayette

Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Joanne Medoff.

Graduate of Brown University and Harvard Medical School.

Ph.D., Harvard professor.

Allumna of Wellesley and Sorbonne.

Brown University alumnus. Managed Top Company, South Barre, MA, until 1974.

Of Worcester, MA.

Died, buried in Russia.

waste-fiber merchant

The story of Arthur Darman is the story of a 19th Century Horatio Alger. His is the story of America. Arthur I. Darman, was a poor Jewish immigrant from the obscure village of Kurelvitz, referred to as "...an obscure Russian backwater." The Russian Empire was simmering with revolution and with its systemic anti-Semitism culminating with pogroms, the family Darman: Arthur, his nine siblings, father Louis and stepmother immigrated from there in 1901 to America. America, the land of opportunity and promise, a new country in the family of nations, and one where through hard work and enterprise, not ethnicity or birthright, dreams could come true. They went immediately to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, a vibrant industrial city built on the banks of the Blackstone River. Louis was a waste fiber merchant and after only two years of public education and his basic religious education in Russia, Darman ran away from home and joined the circus! He rose from peanut vendor to actor and although a brief stint for the teenager, the stage would forever lure young Arthur to glamor and fantasy. He went on to manage a restaurant in St. Louis, having discovered fine dining. He returned to Woonsocket in 1914, return to work for his father, met and courted, then married Frances Cohan of Worcester. In 1917 he launched his own wool and waste fiber business and built the Darman Building that still stands at the corner of Railroad and Arnold Streets. He became a leader of the city's Jewish community. Darman was equally at home in New York City, where many fellow Eastern Europeans first arrived in their adopted homeland. There, Darman made connections that would last a life time, including in the city's hotel and entertainment industries, including gaining an appreciation for vaudeville, and Yiddish theatre. Darman ultimately made his way to Darman contributed to the city's dominant textile industry by establishing a mill that specialized in the manufacture of velvet. Blessed with a natural entrepreneurial spirit, knack for organization and "larger than life" persona, Darman soon formed life-long friendships with the city and state's power elites including fellow Woonsocket resident Aram J. Pothier, Rhode Island's longest serving governor (elected to a record seven terms as Little Rhody's chief executive) and the Republican Party. Regardless of the successes Darman would achieve throughout his lifetime, he would be proud of his Jewish faith perhaps best edified by the construction of B'Nai Israel synagogue in 1962, a shul, described as "grandly conceived and opulently executed, ... a perfect embodiment of the aspirations of its lay leaders" of whom Darman was at the forefront. In 1919, the Jewish community "...embarked on a vigorous era of lay leadership with the election of thirty-year-old Arthur Darman as its president. "Pre-January 1920, Darman procured the entire liquor inventory of a NYC hotel and had the fine wines and liquors shipped to his substantial home on Woonsocket's Prospect Street, ensuring that the successful industrialist/entrepreneur, his family and guests would not be affected by Prohibition. The next focus for Darman was real estate and the arts two sectors that he would dominate, among others, for the rest of his life. Darman went on to purchase the then, Woonsocket Opera House (built in 1888), known from 1913 to 1963 when it closed, as the New Park Theatre, a vaudeville and later movie venue. Darman's real estate crown jewel would remain the Stadium Theatre. In 1926, he invested one million dollars and built the Stadium Building and Theatre complex, the premier office, retail address and entertainment venue for decades, a red brick complex that featured Art Deco touches including elegant lobby with arched and vaulted ceiling, an ornamental fireplace and recessed fountains. Darman purchased real estate off Winter Street originally part of another estate, whose grounds had been designed by the world famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. There, in 1952, he built a brick and sandstone mansion at 531 Harris Avenue, accessible by automobile via "Winter Court, a Private Way." Facing the home was a second mansion that he had built for his only daughter, Sorbonne educated, Syvia* Medoff née Darman and her husband, Dr. Edward B. Medoff and their two children, James and Joanne at 507 Harris Avenue. It was here in Darman's expansive French manor styled home that, according to local legend, Darman hosted President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a private, black tie dinner, during the later's Newport vacations in the late 1950s. The Darman mansion boasted radiant heating, marble floors, coatcheck room, powder room, lavish entertaining areas including a built in wet bar with white leather stools, two kitchens and movie theater, capable of being transformed into a dining area for over 100 guests or cocktail reception for 150. In a compromise, between Darman and his wife, the home had only one fireplace, in Darman's wood paneled study. It features a staff suite for three, solarium, breakfast room, the dining room featured originally a custom dining room table with an electric "centerpiece" with avant garde communication to the kitchen and staff quarters. *Not Sylvia.

Daughter of Lucille Anger and William McNamara, she graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI with an Associates degree and then a Bachelor of Science Degree. Eventually she graduated from Fitchburg State University with a Master of Art's degree in Education (M. Ed.).

Luc Rene Lafayette was born on August 7, 1997 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island United States to Rene Marcel Lafayette and Paulette Rosemarie Baril, and has a sister Corinne Irene (Lafayette). Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Luc Rene Lafayette.

Paulette Rosemarie Baril was born in 1957 in Woonsocket, Providence County, Rhode Island United States. She was married to Rene Marcel Lafayette on December 26, 1987 and they later divorced in November 2003. Paulette Baril has children Corinne Irene (Lafayette) and Luc Rene Lafayette. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Paulette Rosemarie Baril.

George Leo St-Germain Jr was born in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island United States, and died in Providence. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember George Leo St-Germain Jr.

Monique Helen St-Germain was born in 1967 at Chicago Lying-in Hospital 5841 S Maryland Ave, in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island United States, and died in GA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Monique Helen St-Germain.

George Leo St-Germain was born in Woonsocket, Providence County, Rhode Island United States. He was married to Felice Agnes (Lafayette) St-Germain in August 1966, and they were together until George's death in 1988. George St-Germain had children Monique Helen St-Germain and George Leo St-Germain Jr. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember George Leo St-Germain.

Corinne Irene (Lafayette) was born on December 23, 1994 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island United States to Rene Marcel Lafayette and Paulette Rosemarie Baril, and has a brother Luc Rene Lafayette. Corinne died in Woonsocket. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Corinne Irene (Lafayette).

Dry sense of humor. Engaged personality. History and political advocate. Experienced public servant.