A Late Middle-Aged Friendship
— A Remembrance by Lyman Wood
David Starr, who passed away in 2019, was a hard-working and generous presence in western Massachusetts. We asked a fellow philanthropist, Lyman Wood, to recount stories from their decades-long friendship. The following is his fascinating remembrance.
David Starr’s arrival in Springfield in 1977 began a journey that would span over 40 years. Little did I know that the “power of the pen” and a joint belief in Springfield would result in a partnership of friendship and philanthropy beginning in the early 1990’s that continued until Dave’s death.
David was far more than the publisher of the Republican newspaper. Dave was not one to stay neutral and quickly acted as he observed the economic distress, politics, and deterioration of Springfield. News stories and editorials followed. The attention was not lost on our Mayors, Congressmen, Senators, and Governors who recognized that, “you don’t ignore a person who buys his ink by the barrel.” It wasn’t uncommon to see Senator Ted Kennedy meeting with Dave and then visiting business leaders in western Massachusetts.
Dave’s principal interest was the Springfield Museums where he served a term as chairman of the board and remained on the board more than 35 years, chaired three capital fund drives, secured funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and was instrumental with many Dr Seuss projects.
Dave never failed to use his powers for the good of Springfield. He founded the “Business Friends of the Arts” and was instrumental as president in bringing directors of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations together. Understanding the importance of “paying customers” who were essential to the growth of Springfield, he generated more diners in restaurants, safer streets, and vibrancy to fuel the area. He was one of the founders of the Community Foundation, which today is a major source of funding for the whole Pioneer Valley. He served many other non-profits, and all benefited from his dedication. David never thought twice of picking up the phone and calling to get leaders involved. With a pull of his bowtie, a twinkle in his eye and a quick step, he would be telling me about the next project and donation he needed for his revitalization efforts for Springfield.
Dave and his wife Peggy were lifelong supporters of the arts and public media. Dave combined efforts with WGBY to bring local programming to our city and Peggy was instrumental in the creation of WGBY’s Murrow Society. In 2009, thanks to the generosity of David and Peggy, WFCR radio was able to make a great leap forward in its coverage of local news in the Greater Springfield area with the opening of the Peggy & David Starr Broadcast Center in the WGBY building on Hampden Street in Springfield. Of course, we didn't know then that WFCR/NEPR and WGBY would come together as NEPM in 2019.
David worked tirelessly to bring Dr. Seuss to Springfield where Ted Geisel was born. It was just like Dave to hop on a plane to San Diego with me and Joe Carvalho — then president of the Springfield Museums — to meet with Ted’s widow, Audrey, who headed up Seuss Enterprises, to pitch the idea of an outdoor tribute to Dr. Suess in Springfield. There was a lunch, a three-hour session, followed by dinner and return on the red eye flight that night. Dave’s efforts were inspired by his friendship with Ted, and his request to honor him with a statue, and Ted’s approval, began the creation of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. With Audrey donating one million dollars to the effort, her daughter, Lark Grey Diamond-Cates, a noted sculptor, began the task of creating over two dozen bronze sculptures including one of Dr. Seuss himself. Taking several years and insisting on every infinite detail, faithful to the pictures in his book, the work was finally completed. Dave was instrumental with his loyalty to Ted, Audrey, Lark, Leagrave, and Seuss Enterprises and Foundation. When Audrey gave Dave one of Ted Geisel’s bowties, she knew Dave was the man to wear it with honor. It now resides in the Dr. Seuss Museum.
David never left a “chip” at the table. He decided a casino would be a huge economic engine for Springfield, and on the sly, Dave and I flew to Las Vegas to meet with Steve Wynn. The largest player in Vegas at that time, Wynn was a formidable man with a red Mercedes with “777” on his license tags and a bodyguard nearby. Several weeks after our visit, Wynn came to our city and addressed business leaders, politicians, and city officials. Voters turned down gaming for the city initially, but years later MGM came roaring in and opened a billion-dollar casino.
As our philanthropic work gained traction, we continued to gain respect for each other and became closer friends as we worked together to bring leaders in and strengthen our area. From Sister Caritas who became the “Queen of Sludge” to the “Republican” that gave of themselves to grow the city. The leaders were uniting and beginning to bring Springfield to the front and center of western Massachusetts. Mayor Sarno’s work with David and other leaders continued to fuel the growth of Springfield. Full recognition of Congressman Richie Neal, who backstopped all major projects, is totally merited.
During these busy volunteer days David and Peggy also started their new lifestyle, taking time to relax and see the world. They began with several trips to Europe with trips organized by the Springfield Museums. After their second trip, they invited my wife Merrie and I along. During those 12 days we found our time together relaxing and enjoyable and this led to many future trips together. David and Peggy’s love of birdwatching inspired an excursion to Trinidad and Tobago, where they would rise at 6 a.m., excitedly hiking the property looking for “lifebirds” (as Peggy explained those were birds not yet listed in their special journal) while my wife and I chatted over breakfast and reviewed birds from our window. We realized we could each have fun in our own skin and looked forward to more unusual trips.
Two, two weeks trips, two years apart to the Southwestern United States sightseeing both rims of the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches Monuments, Monument Valley and most interesting of all, four days and nights on a small houseboat on Lake Powell, sleeping the nights away with our feet almost touching. Our Lifelong friendship was sealed with a toe.
With a whaling trip on the sea of Cortez and on a Cog Railroad trip to the edge of Copper Canyon in Mexico — a chasm deeper than the Grand Canyon —we continued our journeys. The next year, there was a boat trip on the Amazon River in Brazil spotting more “life birds” and the curious Dave feeding part of his finger to a hungry piranha.
When Merrie and I received a last-minute plea from the Starrs to fill in for their daughter and son-in-law, who had to cancel a long-planned trip to Scotland, to help drive on difficult winding roads, we immediately stepped in and off we went. As age crept up, our long journeys shortened. But we continued to visit each other in our Marco Island getaway and Dave and Peggy’s beloved Martha’s Vineyard vacation home.
What began as a late middle-age friendship would now transition to “old times” together as travel stopped and our lives changed. I lost my wife Merrie to cancer and remarried. Before I introduced my new wife, Leslie, to Peggy and David, I warned her, “don’t be offended if Peggy isn’t too welcoming.” Leslie could not understand why I would say that because after supper Peggy invited her to their home and we continued our lovely evening. We then began a new friendship where we all dined out regularly. We have lovely paintings from Peggy in our home and a favorite plant of hers she gave us when they moved to Glen Meadows as her health worsened. The plant lives on in our home.
We began the final chapter as Peggy moved to a nursing home and David knew his time was growing shorter. He shared that he rejected surgery in his early nineties that might prolong his life could result in incapacity. Dave knew his hearing was going and Peggy was well cared for. He shared that he wasn’t afraid of what lay ahead as he said he had lived a full life. Until his end he was as sharp and quick witted as ever.
We would pick David up every Sunday at Glen Meadow and drive the short distance to the Iron Chef Restaurant. We would arrive by 5 p.m. where he would sit at the same table and tell stories from his early childhood through adulthood. He remembered events from every year of his life, and the names of most people he had ever encountered. David would tell us what he learned about space from his taped WGBY shows that kept his mind sharp and updated us on the Sunday political shows. He talked about the insight he received from his humble beginnings from living above his father’s candy store, to his military training and speaking different languages. He told us about his participation in turning over high-ranking Nazi, Pierre Laval to the French who would surely execute him instead of to the United States who might not. He spoke of his everlasting loyalty to the Newhouse Family where he trained two generations to run newspapers and their loyalty to him as he remained on their payroll and part of their family until his death.
Leslie and I looked forward to every Sunday’s dinner at the Iron Chef. We listened as he told us about his upbringing. Dave was born the youngest of nine children, and after his immediate older brother died suddenly, after David was born, that his family would thereafter refer to Dave as their eighth child. He would speak about sitting downstairs as a toddler in his father’s candy store observing him deal with customers and vendors. As a youngster he did chores stocking shelves, sweeping floors, washing the windows and anything else his dad would ask him to do. As a teenager, his dad would explain to him how and why he treated people differently. David believed his early years influenced how his upbringing gave him the lifelong skills in working with everyone from the “big wheels” to the “average Joe.” Dave would then give a sly grin and admit to a candy bar now and then sneaked out while he was also taught about honesty. Dave never forgot his humble beginnings and was proud of where he came from. He knew from the time he started delivering newspapers on his bike that newspapers would be his future. Little did he know he would change the face of Springfield with the power of his pen and his lifelong experiences.
He was born David Sinowitz, of polish immigrants, and became David Starr, when attending Queens College and serving as a correspondent for the New York Times while working on the campus newspaper. He was my friend, and he was a friend to Springfield.
— Lyman Wood