On a day when everybody is Irish, it’s only fitting that the “mayors” in Naugatuck and Prospect would be as well.
Naugatuck and Prospect honored residents of Irish descent as Irish mayors for the day on St. Patrick’s Day.
“The history of the Irish in Naugatuck goes way back to the beginning. They were the strongest group in Naugatuck and they did so much for the community, then and now. So, in that tradition, every year we honor our Irish mayors of the day. We have two great ones today,” said Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess during a ceremony to recognize Doris Ardry, 92, and her daughter, Joyce (Ardry) Luzio, 68, as co-Irish mayors for the day in Naugatuck.
The celebration, which was hosted by the Naugatuck Ancient Order of Hibernians at the St. Francis Church hall in the borough, marked the first time a mother and daughter had been honored together by the organization.
“We have had other teams before. We have had sisters be our mayors, we’ve had brothers and sisters, and we’ve had couples. But this is our first mother-and-daughter team, and we are very proud of that,” said Mary Ann Sigworth, president of the Naugatuck Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. “Doris and Joyce have contributed so much to their church, their families, and their community.”
Ardry married Bernard Ardry in 1947, and the couple moved to Naugatuck and raised their five children in the borough, according to a biography of Ardry and Luzio. All of the couple’s children attended St. Francis School and Naugatuck High School.
Ardry is a member of St. Francis Church, where she served as a Eucharistic minister, on the pastoral committee, and on the Altar Guild. She is a member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary and American Legion Ladies Auxiliary.
Luzio is also a member of St. Francis Church and served as a Eucharistic minister and a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Program teacher. She volunteers as a tax preparer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at the Naugatuck Senior Center.
In an interview after the celebration, Luzio said they were honored to be chosen the Irish mayors in Naugatuck.
“As a kid growing up in Naugatuck, I saw all the Irish mayors and thought this is really nice, but I’ll never be mayor,” Luzio said. “It was quite the honor for my mother and myself.”
Luzio said the event itself was very humbling.
“I was just very proud to represent the Irish, especially having a background of Irish heritage on both my mother’s and father’s side,” Luzio said.
As the Naugatuck Ancient Order of Hibernians celebrated in the borough, about 5 miles away the sounds of a bagpipe filled Prospect Town Hall as Beth Whelan ascended the stairs for her day in “office.”
Surrounded by family, friends and town employees, Whelan, 74, was sworn in as Prospect’s Irish mayor for the day and made herself comfortable behind the mayor’s desk.
“It’s really an honor,” Whelan said. “I feel very good.”
Whelan, a former educator who was support math teacher at the former Algonquin School in Prospect before retiring in 2007, wasted no time in proclaiming a few mayoral edicts.
First, she said, she would start by freezing property taxes for all residents when they turn 70 years old.
Second, she said, the town’s public work crews did a great job cleaning up from Winter Storm Stella last week. The crew may not be able to get a raise, but she said the town could take them out to lunch.
And finally, she said, she would get the repairs to the roof at the Hotchkiss House, the home of the Prospect Historical Society, underway.
Unfortunately, the Irish mayor for the day’s powers only stretch so far.
“I told her before, whatever she promises disappears at 4 o’clock,” Prospect Mayor Robert Chatfield joked.
Beth Whelan wasn’t the first Whelan to receive the honor. Her late husband, Frank, was named Irish mayor for the day in 2002.
Whelan, whose paternal grandparents were born in Ireland and is 100 percent Irish, thought someday she might be named Irish mayor for the day, but was still shocked to learn the news.
“He’s (Chatfield) running out of Irish people in Prospect,” she joked.
