Work Progressing On New Park In Vernon Named For Music Legend

VERNON, CT — Two dilapidated factory buildings along the Hockanum River in Vernon are long gone and are being replaced by a park named after a music legend.

Mayor Daniel Champagne Tuesday was guessing that the new Gene Pitney Memorial Park could be ready for a dedication ceremony "in a couple of weeks."

The project goes back about four years ago after one legendary mill — Roosevelt — was renovated into apartments and renamed Loom City Lofts.

That left the old Minterburn Mill standing out as an arguable eyesore on the curb across East Main Street. Champagne at the time said he discussed the property with the owner, with the explanation that a trail could be extended along the river all the way to the Grove Street side of the former Amerbelle Factory.

The Minterbrun owner then obliged. That left an small rundown factory across from Amerbelle as the final obstacle and that was torn down as the town took over the waterfront.

Because of was turned into parkland after the cleanup, the federal Environmental Protection Agency agreed to foot the bill for the roughly $800,000 it took to remediate the land.

It was then decided by town officials to make the park after Pitney.

Pitney was born in Hartford in 1940 and grew up in the Rockville section of Vernon, where he earned the nickname, "The Rockville Rocket."

He played at the old Palace Theater in Vernon as a young man and rose to fame in the 1960s with the title song to the Kirk Douglas movie, "Town Without Pity," and another entitled "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence," which shared a title with a John Wayne-James Stewart-Lee Marvin film but was not used in the western because of a dispute.

He also wrote "Hello Mary Lou," made popular by Ricky Nelson and also collaborated with several big acts, including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Pitney authored the eventual No. 1 hit "He's a Rebel," made famous by The Crystals.

Pitney later made his home in Somers and dedicated himself to several causes in north-central Connecticut.

Pitney died on April 5, 2006 while on tour in the United Kingdom, where he was very popular. A commemorative display was put up at Vernon Town Hall shortly after the singer's death and benches were placed about a decade later in both Vernon and Somers.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.