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11/20/2019 07:30 AMThe Town of Essex Annual Report this year is dedicated to Jacquie Wolff, aka the Mayor of Main Street.
“She is quite a character and just a wonderful person,” said First Selectman Norm Needleman. “We love her!”
Wolff, whose father owned Greenberg’s on Main Street in Essex, grew up in town and has fond memories of a bustling downtown, vibrant with a variety of businesses including a movie theater where Talbots is now, a supermarket in a spot now occupied bay an art gallery, a bowling alley, an ice cream parlor, and a hardware store, to name a few.
At 90, Wolff currently lives in the house on Pratt Street in which she grew up as a child. She is a wealth of historical knowledge about the town she loves so much and she is still an important component of the culture of Essex’s Main Street, as she’s the owner of the building that houses the Black Seal.
Although she left the area to raise her own family in New Rochelle, New York, where she was a kindergarten teacher for many years, she returned to Essex in the early ‘80s with her husband Daniel, who passed away five years ago.
An original member of the Corinthian Yacht Club, Wolff said that although she has traveled to several places all over the world, there is absolutely nothing like sitting on the deck at the Corinthian looking out over the Connecticut River.
“I love it here. It’s the best place on earth,” said Wolff.
She said she is honored to have the town’s annual report dedicated to her.
“I’m flattered. I think it is a great thing and I’m happy to be able to share this with my family,” she said. “Essex is my life. It’s me!”
A graduate of Pratt High School in Essex, Wolff explained that her yearbook was dedicated to the nine classmates who lost their lives in World War II. With that time so important to her, during her formative years, Wolff thought it appropriate that a Saturday Evening Post article written about post-war, small-town centers that highlighted Essex’s Main Street and mentioned Wolff’s father’s store as an example, should be the cover of the Annual Report instead of a picture of her.
“I don’t need my face splashed all over the cover of the report; instead I think that the article, which is very interesting, is what should be on the cover,” said Wolff, who was adamant that this year’s annual report have a historical theme to thread the report together.
“It’s a good read, filled with important financial information about the town,” said Wolff of the report.
“I think it’s very fitting that this year’s annual report is dedicated to Jacquie,” said Needleman. “Jacquie has been a fixture in town for such a long time and she is a lovely person who continues to be a vocal contributor to the community of Essex.”
A special dedication ceremony honoring Wolff was held Nov. 18 at the town Hall with town officials and members of Wolff’s family.